David Warner walked walk-off after ‘hurtful’ sledge: Wife

Agencies
October 28, 2018

Sydney, Oct 28: David Warner’s decision to walk off mid-innings in a Sydney grade game was sparked by “hurtful” comments from the brother of ex-Test teammate Phillip Hughes, who died in 2014 after being hit by a ball, his wife said on Sunday.

The former Australia vice-captain, who is serving a 12-month ban from international and state cricket for his role in a ball-tampering scandal, was batting for his club Randwick-Petersham at the time on Saturday.

He left the field on 35 but returned shortly afterwards following the intervention of teammates, and went on to score a majestic 157.

Candice Warner said Jason Hughes -- the brother of Phillip, whose tragic death rocked the sporting world -- was the culprit.

“Look, I’m not going to go into the details. However, David was taken aback by the comments and thought they went a little bit too far so he decided to remove himself from the game,” she told Channel Nine.

Cricket Australia’s website claimed that what started as goading from Hughes soon turned personal and Warner -- who has a fierce on-field reputation -- decided to leave before it escalated.

Sydney’s Daily Telegraph alleged that Hughes called Warner “a disgrace” and “weak”.

It claimed one witness heard a direct reference to Phillip Hughes’s death. “Everyone has their own opinion, but I think there’s a difference between sledging and abuse,” Warner’s wife added.

“I’m not going to get into what was said yesterday, but it went too far. I would personally put (the comments) into the (abuse) category, but I’m talking for myself.

“He removed himself firstly because he didn’t like what he was hearing and where that could’ve been taken. It was hurtful, very hurtful.” Randwick-Petersham first-grade manager Bill Anderson told The Telegraph Warner felt the comments were “very offensive to him”.

“But he realised that he had to play. He turned around and back out he went,” he said.

“He wasn’t teary. But you could tell he had been quite affected by that. It wasn’t a heated exchange. It was something said in close range.” Warner was fielding on November 25, 2014, when Phillip Hughes was struck by a bouncer bowled by Sean Abbott during a Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Hughes, 25, later died from bleeding on the brain, sparking an outpouring of grief.

At the inquest, Warner said Hughes had been one of his “closest mates” and he missed him every day.

Warner, along with Steve Smith, was sent home in disgrace and banned over the tampering scandal during the third Test in South Africa in March.

He was blamed as the instigator of the incident in which Cameron Bancroft attempted to alter the ball with a piece of yellow sandpaper.

Two reviews prompted by the scandal -- one focusing on the culture within Cricket Australia and the other into the team -- are due to be released on Monday.

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Agencies
March 8,2020

Mumbai, Mar 8: Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned to India's ODI squad as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the team for the upcoming South Africa series.

South Africa are scheduled to tour India for a three-match ODI series, starting from March 12.

India's ODI squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Virat Kohli (C ), KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) have already announced their squad for the series and spinner George Linde was given maiden ODI call-up.

South Africa squad: Quinton de Kock (c, wk), Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Faf du Plessis, Kyle Verreynne, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Jon-Jon Smuts, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lungi Ngidi, Lutho Sipamla, Beuran Hendricks, Anrich Nortje, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Janneman Malan.

The first ODI will be played in Dharamsala while the other two matches will be played in Lucknow and Kolkata on March 15 and 18, respectively.

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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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News Network
June 15,2020

Melbourne, Jun 15: Star Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is the best fielder in the game right now, according to Australian batting star Steve Smith, who also rated KL Rahul as the most impressive among the younger crop.

Smith, who answered questions sent in by his fans on Instagram on Sunday, also said the Indian Premier League is his favourite tournament to play in.

Jadeja known for his quick and sharp fielding tactics has earned praise from several former players and respect from the current stars and Smith is no different.

Asked who the best fielder in the current lot of players Smith simply replied stating it was Jadeja.

When quizzed about which Indian player has impressed him the most, the Australian batting mainstay said: "KL Rahul. Very good player!"

Rahul, who has played 36 Tests, 32 ODIs and 42 T20Is for Indian, has become a regular member of the national team in white-ball cricket. Besides showcasing his skills with the willow, Rahul also bears the responsibility of being the wicketkeeper in the limited overs format.

Asked Mahnedra Singh Dhoni, Smith responded saying the former Indian skipper is a "Legend! Mr Cool". While he called the current captain Virat Kohli a "freak" when it comes to batting ability.

The Rajasthan Royals batsman, who rated his first innings his 144 at Birmingham in the first Ashes Test last year as his favourite Test knock till date, said the Indian Premier League (IPL) is his favourite tournament.

"Tough to beat the IPL. Playing with and against the best players from around the world."

India is scheduled to travel to Australian for a full series later the year and the 31-year-old said : "Can''t wait. Going to be awesome."

Asked about his opinion on India batting great Rahul Dravid, Smith said "what a lovely gentleman and seriously good player."

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