Australia to fight for 'respect', says new coach Langer

Agencies
May 3, 2018

Melbourne, May 3: Newly appointed Australia coach Justin Langer will charge his players with winning back the "respect" of the cricket world after a ball-tampering scandal left the team's reputation in ruins.

Long touted as head coach-in-waiting, Langer was named as Darren Lehmann's replacement on Thursday, his predecessor having resigned in the wake of the Cape Town scandal even though he was cleared of wrongdoing.

A gritty opening batsman who played in some of Australia's greatest-ever teams, Langer takes over a depleted side, with disgraced former captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner serving year-long bans in the fall-out from South Africa.

"For me, I think one of the things that's really important is we keep looking to earn respect," the 47-year-old told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.

"To me, respect’s worth more than all the gold in the world.

"It’s not just about how we play our cricket, it’s about being good citizens and good Australians," he said.

Perth-born Langer scored more than 7,500 runs in 105 tests, including 23 centuries, before retiring with a slew of greats at the end of the 2006/07 Ashes series.

He has had success coaching Western Australia state since 2012, guiding Perth Scorchers to three domestic Twenty20 titles in the 'Big Bash', making them the most successful franchise in the tournament's short history.

Appointed coach of Australia's test, one-day and T20 teams for the next four years, Langer's first on-field assignment will be on tour against England next month for an ODI series.

One of his jobs will be to participate in a players' review aimed at improving team culture and conduct, which former players and media pundits have long criticised as boorish and out of step with public expectations.

Uncompromising Teams

Like his predecessor Lehmann, Langer carved out a career in some of Australia's most successful and uncompromising teams in the 1990s and early 2000s, led by captains that championed "hard, aggressive cricket" and never apologised for the use of targeted sledging to throw opponents off their games.

He felt Australia's players would need to "modify their behaviour a bit", but said the nation expected their teams to play tough as well as fair.

"The public will be disappointed if we don’t play good, hard, competitive cricket," said Langer, dressed in a dark suit and tie alongside Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland.

"How people view us, that's really none of our business.

"We know in this world everyone's got an opinion. If we go about our behaviours on and off the field really well, those outcomes will look after themselves."

Along with Smith and Warner, young opening batsman Cameron Bancroft was banned for nine months, having been caught on camera with a piece of sandpaper while out in the field during the third test in Cape Town.

Langer said he was stunned that "cricket tragics" Smith and Bancroft had been involved in the ball-tampering, but they and Warner would all be welcomed back into the side if they met "standards" once their bans were served.

A father to four daughters, he also described himself as a "hippy", as well as a mentor, to the amusement of reporters. He is also a man who meditates and spends at least one month a year growing a beard and walking around in bare feet during his downtime.

Rebuilding trust in Australia's dressing room, as well as the cricket world, will be crucial, Langer said.

"We’ll have to work on that," he said. "I would say, without being in it (at South Africa), camaraderie wasn’t as right as it needed to be.

"I've said for years if you’ve got that camaraderie, then it’s like that glue that keeps everything together, particularly when you’re under pressure," he said.

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News Network
January 27,2020

Auckland, Jan 27: : K.L. Rahul made an unbeaten 57 Sunday to steer India to a seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the second Twenty20 international and to a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Rahul and Shreyas Iyer put on 86 for the third wicket as India cruised past New Zealand's total of 132-5 with 2.3 overs to spare. Shivam Dube (13 not out) hit a six from the bowling of Tim Southeein in the 18th over to lift India to 135-3.

Iyer made 58 not out and Rahul 56 as India beat New Zealand by six wickets with an over to spare in the first match of the series.

New Zealand made 203-5 batting first in that match but on Sunday, on the same pitch, it struggled to achieve any real momentum. During the second match the pitch played much slower and India bowled expertly to restrict New Zealand's total.

Martin Guptill made 33 in a 48-run opening partnership with Colin Munro and Tim Seifert made an unbeaten 33 at the end of the innings but New Zealand wasn't able to reach a total that could stretch India's deep batting lineup.

Rohit Sharma (8) and captain Virat Kohli (11) were out relatively cheaply but Rahul and Iyer (44) sped India towards a comprehensive victory.

Dube came to the crease shortly before the end and quickly brought the match to a conclusion.

"I think we backed up the first match with a very good performance today, especially with the ball," Kohli said. "We demanded that the bowlers stood up and took control of what we wanted to do out there.

"I think our line and length and the way we wanted to bowl on that wicket, sticking to one side of the wicket and being shorter was a very good feature of us as a team and helped us restrict a very good New Zealand team."

New Zealand's total was inadequate, even on a slower pitch, and India almost toyed with the home side as it made its way to a comfortable win.

New Zealand named the same team that lost the first match of the series and batted after winning the toss, just as it batted when it was outplayed in the first match of the series.

The match raised further questions about the coaching and captaincy of the New Zealand team after its humiliating test series loss in Australia last month. New Zealand showed again Sunday it hasn't the talent to compete with the best teams in the world.

"As a batting unit we probably needed another 15 or 20 to make that total more competitive," said New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. "But credit to the way the India side bowled, they're a class side in all departments and they put us under pressure throughout that middle period."

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News Network
May 27,2020

Bengaluru, May 27: Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has revealed that he was never able to dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq in the nets.

The Rawalpindi Express praised the former Pakistan skipper and said Inzamam could see the ball one second earlier than the rest of the batsmen could.

"Honestly, I don't think I could ever get him (Inzamam) out, he had the time and I always felt he saw the ball a second earlier than the rest of the batsmen because I had a complicated action unlike Brett Lee, I felt I could never dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq," Akhtar told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I couldn't get him out in the nets, I think he could see the ball a second before anyone else," he added.

Inzamam played 120 Tests and 378 ODIs for Pakistan.

He finished his career with 20,569 runs across all formats.

The right-handed batsman called time on his career in 2007 and he played his last Test against South Africa in Lahore.

On the other hand, Akhtar played 224 matches for Pakistan in international cricket and took 444 wickets across all formats.

The Rawalpindi Express last played an ODI in 2011 as he played against New Zealand in the 50-over World Cup.

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News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: Five centrally contracted Indian cricketers including Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul have been issued notices by National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for failing to disclose their whereabouts as the BCCI cited "password glitch" as the reason for delay.

The other players to have received the notice include women stars Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma, who are among the five cricketers in the 110 strong National Registered Testing Pool (NRTP). Speaking to PTI, NADA DG Navin Agarwal confirmed that BCCI has sent an official explanation for their five NRTP players' failure to submit whereabouts.

"There are two ways to fill up the whereabouts form in the ADAMS (Anti Doping Administration & Management Systems) software. Either athlete does it himself or association fills it up on his or her behalf," Agarwal said. "Now athletes in some discipline aren't educated enough or do not have access to internet and find themselves unable to handle the whereabouts clause of the ADAMS or upload the filled up

"They use assistance of their concerned federations. So federations have accepted responsibility of uploading their whereabouts," Agarwal said.

He said cricketers too at times find it tough to complete the process on their own. "Similarly in cricket also, although these people are well qualified and they can do it, perhaps they don't have the time for whatever reasons, so the federation concerned, the BCCI has taken upon itself the responsibility of uploading their whereabouts." So why didnt BCCI upload the the three-month whereabouts this time?

"Well they have given an explanation which appears to be reasonable but a decision will be taken. They have said that there has been a glitch with regards to password in ADAMS. Now they have said that issue has been resolved," Agarwal added. NADA DG added that "BCCI's explanation will be discussed as to whether it will be counted as one of three filing failures or not. It will be decided on the explanation given and how they (BCCI) proceed from here."

While country has been under lockdown, the rule to submit three months of whereabouts is mandatory. Three such failures to disclose leads to one Anti Doping Rule Violation (ADRV), which could lead up to two years of suspension upon hearing.

While BCCI has "officially gagged" its employees from talking to the media, it couldn't be ascertained that why as normal a glitch as a password error took days to resolve. A BCCI veteran, who has been privy to cricket operations, asked why the five cricketers were not told to upload the form themselves.

"This was lockdown period where they are not living out of suitcases. Some of the names have also engaged in multiple instagram chats and podcasts which their agents are managing," he said.

"If cricket operations team were having a glitch in fixing password, well the five cricketers could have been asked to do so and they would have done it individually with some guidance. "Probably NADA would be lenient this time but if it becomes an official warning, then who's responsible," he added.

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