De Villiers dethrones Kohli from top in ICC ODI rankings

December 12, 2013

De_VilliersDubai, Dec 12: Star batsman Virat Kohli lost his top position to AB de Villiers while most of his teammates, barring skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, also slipped in the latest ICC one-day rankings issued on Thursday after the 0-2 series loss to South Africa.

India, in fact, dropped two ratings points but held on to the top spot with 120 ratings points despite the 0-2 loss in the three-match series, while South Africa continued to be in fifth place with 110 ratings points, with a gain of three points.

Dhoni remained static at sixth but Shikhar Dhawan was down a rung to 10th, while Rohit Sharma found himself 18th after losing three spots. Suresh Raina, who was 19th in the previous list, is now out of top 20 and is currently placed at 23rd.

In the bowling charts, Ravindra Jadeja was pushed to the 7th spot, a loss of four positions, while Ravichandran Ashwin ended up 17th after slipping three rungs.

For South Africa, leading the way is de Villiers, who had started the series in second spot behind India’s Virat Kohli, trailing by 17 ratings points on the rankings for ODI batsmen.

But now de Villiers at 872 has not only regained the number-one rank, he has also opened up a 13 ratings points lead over Kohli.

De Villiers, who scored 189 runs in three completed innings during the series, was the second highest run-getter on either side with a top score of 109 in the final match.

De Villiers, who was named in both the ICC Test and ODI Teams of the Year in 2013, now heads both the Test and ODI batting tables. De Villiers had also been shortlisted for the LG People’s Choice Award this year.

De Villiers is the third batsman from South Africa after Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla to head the Test and ODI batting tables at the same time, and the ninth player overall.

Amla achieved the distinction in February this year when he topped the charts after the Johannesburg Test against Pakistan.

Amla, on the other hand, has moved up a place to third in the batting list.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s Quinton de Kock has made the biggest gain in the latest rankings following his three successive hundreds in the series, jumping 61 places to a career-best 14th with a best-ever 672 ratings points.

De Kock became only the fifth batsman in history to score three successive ODI hundreds, to thereby end as the highest run-getter in the series with 342 runs.

Outside the top 20, the batsmen to move up include JP Duminy in 24th (up by three), David Miller in 45th (up by 12) and Ravindra Jadeja in 71st (up by one).

Meanwhile, South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn has continued his upward move in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers. Steyn has moved up three positions to second after claiming six wickets in the two ODIs that he played.

Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal continues to be number-one ranked on the rankings for ODI bowlers.

The other two South Africa bowlers inside the top 10 are Lonwabo Tsotsobe in eighth (up by two) and Morne Morkel in ninth.

Meanwhile, Ryan McLaren has entered the top 20 of the bowling ranking for the first time, as he moved up two places to sit in 20th.

Outside the top 20, the bowlers to advance up the rankings include Mohammed Shami in 43rd (up by seven) and Ishant Sharma in 51st (up by 16).

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra firmly believes that the BCCI has a plan for women's cricket but she wants the Board to communicate its ideas more specifically.

Speaking to news agency, Chopra, who is now a successful broadcaster, said the BCCI is thinking in earnest about the progress of women's cricket.

"It's not that the BCCI is not thinking about women's cricket. I only think they need to be more specific in communication about women's cricket," Chopra said.

"I firmly believe that they must be thinking about women's cricket but the communication all this while has been very specific to men's cricket."

The latest trigger for criticism of BCCI was India's withdrawal from a tour of England in September owing to logistical issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopra concedes it was "not nice" but Indian players' participation in the women's IPL, in November, will still be useful preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

"It is heartening to see women's cricket making headlines. They should have been a part of that England tour and it did not feel nice initially but the women's IPL, irrespective of the format, will be helpful for World Cup preparations. Any form of cricket is good preparation," Chopra said.

"Missing out on a tournament is not nice, but logistically there may have been issues. And you can't send an under-prepared team."

"If you see in isolation we may have missed out on an opportunity to play in England. The more the girls play the better it is, before playing a tournament of the stature of World Cup. The assurance from the president is a very good thing."

Chopra welcomed the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI's decision to hold the women's event in the UAE alongside the IPL, which will run from September 19 to November 10. The women's IPL will coincide with the business end of the men's league.

"I am definitely happy, it's always nice to be part of any cricket anywhere across the world.

"They should have been nearing the final stages of the preparation for the World Cup by now, but because of the pandemic things did not go as planned," she added.

Chopra had a successful international career spanning over 17 years, during which she represented India in a record six World Cups and became the first woman cricketer to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She also felt that the pandemic would not have much impact on the women's game that has gained momentum in recent times.

"...Cricket was on pause button...Once cricket resumes and players are back on the park, everything is going to get picked up. It might take some time to get started as everything starts from zero...

"The awareness the women's game has created, I hope it stays. They will just restart, not start after the pandemic."

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Agencies
July 20,2020

Vitoria, Jul 20: Lionel Messi won a record seventh top scoring title in the Spanish league after netting twice in Barcelona's 5-0 rout of Alav s in the final round.

Messi ended with 25 goals, four more than Karim Benzema, who did not score in Real Madrid's 2-2 draw at Legan s.

Messi is the first player to finish as the league's top scorer in seven different seasons. He reached the milestone despite missing games because of an injury early in the season. The Argentine's 25 goals came in 33 matches.

Messi was tied with Telmo Zarra with six scoring titles. He has also now equaled Hugo Sanchez's feat of four straight top-scorer trophies.

"Individual achievements are always secondary," Messi said on Sunday.

"I wished it could have come along with the league title."

This is also the third successive season that Messi finished with the most assists 21 in the league.

Ansu Fati, Luis Su rez and Nelson Semedo also scored Sunday for Barcelona, which had already secured second place behind Madrid.

Fati opened the scoring in the 24th minute, Messi added to the lead 10 minutes later and Su rez closed the first-half scoring in the 44th. Semedo got on the board in the 57th and Messi in the 75th to help Barcelona rebound from a 2-1 home loss to Osasuna.

"Today things were different," Messi said.

"The team showed better attitude and commitment. It was an important step forward for us ahead of what's left in the season."

Barcelona now turns its focus to its Aug. 8 home game against Napoli in the round of 16 of the Champions League. The first leg, played before the break, ended 1-1.

Barcelona coach Quique Seti n finished under pressure after the team relinquished a two-point lead over Madrid when the league resumed following the pandemic break. It was four points back before Madrid's match at Legan s.

Barcelona defender Cl ment Lenglet had to be substituted early in the second half because of an apparent muscle injury.

Alav s, sitting in 15th, had already done enough to stay up.

BAR A "B" TEAM

American winger Konrad de la Fuente scored twice as Barcelona's "B" team beat Valladolid B to keep alive its hopes of reaching the second division next season. The victory put Barcelona in the second round of the promotion playoffs.

The 19-year-old De la Fuente, who recently had his contract with Barcelona extended through the 2021-22 season, scored in each half.

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News Network
June 29,2020

Jun 29: The West Indies cricketers will sport a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on the collars of their shirts during the upcoming three-Test series against England to protest against racism in sports.

Skipper Jason Holder, who has voiced his support to the cause that has once again come to the forefront after the killing of American George Floyd, said in a statement on Sunday: "We believe we have a duty to show solidarity and also to help raise awareness."

The ICC-approved logo, designed by Alisha Hosannah, will be the one which featured in the shirts of all 20 Premier League football clubs since the sport's resumption earlier this month.

"This is a pivotal moment in history for sports, for the game of cricket and for the West Indies cricket team," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"We have come to England to retain the Wisden Trophy but we are very conscious of happenings around the world and the fight for justice and equality. "As a group of young men, we know of the rich and diverse history of West Indies cricket and we know we are guardians of the great game for a generation to come."

Holder, who wants racism to be treated at par with doping and corruption, said they arrived at the decision to wear the logo after much thought.

"We did not take our decision lightly. We know what it is for people to make judgments because of the colour of our skin, so we know what it feels like, this goes beyond the boundary. There must be equality and there must be unity. Until we get that as people, we cannot stop," he said.

"We have to find some way to have equal rights and people must not be viewed differently because of the colour of their skin or ethnic background."

The West Indies players are likely to wear the shirts for the first time in this week's four-day warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Monday.

The opening Test of the series, which will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus, will get underway at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8.

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