Hot Spot had a 'stinker', says Pietersen

September 25, 2013

PietersenEngland batsman Kevin Pietersen declared on Tuesday that Hot Spot "had an absolute stinker" during the Ashes series, but said that players remain supportive of the technology.

The decision review system (DRS) came in for criticism during the series, which England won 3-0, with Hot Spot's infra-red imaging falling under particular scrutiny after a number of inaccurate decisions.

Pietersen became embroiled in the debate when Australia's Channel 9 television station claimed he used silicone tape in a bid to prevent Hot Spot from detecting when the ball had hit his bat.

The South Africa-born batsman laughed off the claims at the time but says he was bewildered by the accusation that he was a cheat.

"Hot Spot had an absolute stinker this summer for whatever reason but no-one was taping their bats with any artificial strapping or silicone," Pietersen told talkSPORT radio station.

"I've had the same strapping on my bat since 1995, when I became a professional. All the pros put fibreglass tape on their bat and I copied everyone else. Every cricketer in the world does it.

"I woke up one morning in the team hotel and my Twitter had just blown up. People were calling me a cheat and some horrible expletives, and I didn't know what was going on.

"I had a look at it and saw they had broken the news at 6:00 am (0500GMT) on Channel 9 and my image was used and referenced.

"I clearly denied it straight away on Twitter and it was done and dusted from my mind. It didn't really bother me. I had a lot more things to worry about than the strapping on my bat.

"It was ridiculous. It was just somebody being naughty and had no bearing on anything I did, and it won't in the future."

Despite the Hot Spot controversies, Pietersen says that the technology retains the support of most players.

"We just don't understand how Hot Spot didn't work as well as it had done before," he said.

"We've never had these issues and I know the players are happy with Hot Spot and with DRS. There are no issues."

Pietersen was named in England's squad for the return Ashes series on Tuesday and says he will approach the tour in positive fashion after putting niggling knee problems behind him.

"It was tough but I've done some incredible rehab in the last three weeks and it feels like I have a different knee. I'm feeling so good on it," said the 33-year-old, whose next Test appearance will be his 100th.

"For the first time since February, I am totally pain-free and I am continuing to do the right things.

"It was probably the best decision I made for my career not to have surgery because if I had done, I would be out till next February."

He added: "When you get to 33, you are definitely in your second cycle of your career and it is a case of ticking all the right boxes to keep you on the field."

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News Network
February 21,2020

New Delhi, Feb 21: Vinesh Phogat yet again fell to Japanese nemesis Mayu Muakida to go out of the gold medal race but Sakshi Malik will fight for the title after winning her semifinal bout at the Asian Wrestling Championship, here on Friday.

Vinesh had lost twice to Mukaida in 2019 – at World Championship and Asian Championships —and the trend continued as the gritty Indian yet again struggled to break the strong defence of the Japanese.

In a tough opening round, Vinesh tried single leg attacks a number of times but every time Mukaida blocked her move and eventually got the upper body lock to subdue the home favourite.

In her last two meetings, Vinesh had not scored a single point against the 2019 world silver medallist. She managed a takedown this time before eventually losing 2-6.

The hard-working Vinesh will now fight for bronze against Vietnam's Thi Ly Kieu but even a medal won't suffice to lift her mood as she and the fans have high expectations from her.

Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, who has been struggling of late, lost her opening round 1-2 to Naomi Ruike from Japan but later overcame two weak opponents to eventually reach the final of the non-Olympic 65kg category.

She could hardly attack Naomi but outplayed Korea's Ohyoung Ha in the next round, winning by technical superiority.

In her semifinal against Uzbekistan's Nabira Esenbaeva, Sakshi led 5-0 but her rival pulled off consecutive two-point moves to make it 5-4.

Sakshi has been losing in closing stages of late but this time she managed to hold on to her narrow lead, surviving anxious last two seconds.

Also in medal contention are India's brightest youngsters Sonam Malik (62kg) and Anshu Malik (57kg).

Sonam, who had defeated Sakshi in the trials, showed good tactical mind in her resounding win against Korea's Hanbit Lee and also in the 2-5 defeat against world bronze medallist Yukako Kawai.

She pulled off a superb point-scoring move from a disadvantageous position and resisted the 2018 U-23 world champion Yukako in a good fashion.

She will now fight for bronze against Aisuluu Tynbekova.

Anshu Malik opened up her campaign against Kyrgyzstan's Nuraida Anarkulova, winning by technical superiority but was outplayed by reigning world champion from Japan Riskao Kawai.

She will have to beat Sevara Eshmuratova from Uzbekistan to grab a bronze.

In the non-olympic 72kg, Gursharanpreet Kaur is in bronze medal contention. She beat Uzbekistan's Svetlana Oknazarova but lost to Kazakhstan's Zhamila Bakberzenova.

She still made it to the semifinal in which she lost to Japan's Mei Shindo.

She is now up against Mongloia's Tsevegmed Enkhbayar.

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News Network
June 11,2020

New Delhi, Jun 11: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has indicated that this year's IPL could be conducted in empty stadiums, insisting that all possible options are being explored to ensure that the suspended event does take place despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter to all the affiliated units sent late on Wednesday after the ICC Board meeting, Ganguly seemed confident of an IPL this year despite its current status of being indefinitely suspended because of the raging pandemic, which has claimed more than 8,000 lives in India.

"The BCCI is working on all possible options to ensure that we are able to stage IPL this year, even if it means playing the tournament in empty stadiums," Ganguly wrote.

"The fans, franchises, players, broadcasters, sponsors and all other stakeholders are keenly looking forward to the possibility of IPL being hosted this year.

"Recently, a lot of players both from India and other countries, participating in the IPL have shown keenness on being part of this year's IPL. We are optimistic and the BCCI will shortly decide on the future course of action on this," the former India captain said.

It is widely speculated that the IPL is eyeing the October event if the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in Australia at that time is postponed. The ICC has deferred a decision on the World Cup's fate until next month.

Ganguly also said that the BCCI is working on the domestic schedule while exploring various formats which would make tournaments like Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Vijay Hazare "competitive and feasible".

"Moving ahead, the BCCI is in process of planning the domestic competitions for the next cricketing season. We are working on various options and formats in our endeavour to ensure that various domestic tournaments are held, they stay competitive and participation feasible," said the former India captain.

"The BCCI will come up with more details in next couple of weeks," he added.

He also informed that BCCI is preparing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for resumption of cricket in all state units to ensure medical safety of those involved.

The president also informed that the BCCI has made "all efforts to release funds/grants to its various members."

"Associations which have made proper submission of their accounts and funds utilization certificates have already received their grants," he said.

The other units will also receive their grants once they submit relevant documents, the president assured while informing that vendors have also been paid.

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News Network
April 27,2020

Lahore, Apr 27: Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal has been banned from all forms of cricket for three years for failing to report spot-fixing offers, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced Monday.

Umar, who turns 30 next month, pleaded guilty to not reporting the fixing offers which led to his provisional suspension on February 20 this year.

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