Michael Clarke undaunted by India spinners' threat

February 20, 2013

Michael_Clarke

Chennai, Feb 20: Australian captain Michael Clarke Tuesday sought to dismiss talks of his side's vulnerability against spin bowling, saying they would not be intimidated by the home team's slow bowlers in the high-profile Test series starting here on Friday.

Addressing a press-conference after the team's training session, Clarke said he has got a side which can achieve success in India.

"We will not certainly be intimated by the player whom we are playing against. We need to have success from every single delivery that we face. We have got a good squad, we have got plenty of good choices in spin bowling, batting and fielding," Clarke said.

"I do not think that we can look too much into how India are going to play and what conditions will suit them best. In Indian conditions the ball spins as the pitch deteriorates and also has variations and bounces as well. I think the reverse swing is also very important. But, as I said we have the capability to do well in India," he said.

He refused the take the bait on Indian offspinner Harbhajan Singh's remarks that the home side would win the series 4-0 nor dwell on the recent poor results of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men. "India is a fantastic cricket team, even better around their back yards. So, the focus of the Australian team is not on Indian team but completely on us to make sure that we are well prepared as we can be. Make sure that we do the right things to play the brand of cricket that we want to play," said Clarke when asked if India would be under pressure after their recent loss at home against England.

"We take a lot of confidence out of the Australian summer and we competed really well against South Africa, the number one Test team in world. We beat Sri Lanka in a most recent Test series. The guys are full of confidence and looking forward to the challenges," he said.

On Harbhajan's remarks, Clarke simply said, "It is nice to see him back in the squad. He is a wonderful player and a very competitive cricketer and loves challenge of playing against any opposition, especially Australia. I think he is a very good bowler and we have to play well to make sure he does not have too much of an effect on the series.

"In regard to result on the series, I am now focusing on the first Test and would like to take one match at a time," said the Australian captain.

Asked about his players' failure against spin in the practice games, Clarke said the slow bowlers got more wickets as they bowled more overs. "At the end of day you have to get out to somebody. The more overs that somebody bowls, he will take more wickets. The spinners' bowled a lot of overs and they got lot of wickets.

"Moreover, the conditions would be different in the Test match compared to what was there in the practice game," he said.

"But, it's again one of the areas we continue to improve as we are to face lot of spin bowling when we play against India in all four Test matches and certainly in the first Test in Chennai. Our boys have been training hard and preparations have been fantastic," he added.

He disagreed with the view that his side would struggle in the absence of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey in tough Indian conditions and said he would look forward to leading from the front. "No doubt, it's a challenge but I don't think it's any bigger as Ricky and Hussey are not here. It's an opportunity for a couple of senior members of the team to stand up. Our boys have been training as hard as possibly they can. That is my main focus to make sure for us to be well prepared as we can be. I am a hundred per cent fit and looking forward to the series, scoring runs and leading from the front.

Asked about the likely impact of Sachin Tendulkar, who struggled in the recent Test series against England, Clarke said, "Sachin got a hundred most recently. So, I think he is in really good form. He is a huge player for India and we have to just try and get him out as early as possible as he knows how to make lot of runs and big hundreds."

On the lessons learnt and positives got by his side from the two practice matches, Clarke said, "The real positives are playing in these conditions. Our guys have had some cricket under their belts ahead of the first Test is real positive.

"The fact that they faced lot of spin bowling and reverse swing bowling and playing in the game is better than batting in the nets and the preparation we got has been fantastic."

Clarke said he was confident that dashing opening batsman David Warner would play in the first Test in Chennai. "Warner has improved and continually improves every day.

"He faced bowlers at the net today. At this stage, I am very confident that he will be fielded in the first Test," he said.

On the slot for Shane Watson, Clarke said, "We have not picked our team at this stage and I do not have the batting order at this stage. But, Shane has been in good form these days. He played very well in both the innings in the three day practice game. He will come back into our team. I am not sure about what position he will be batting."

Clarke occasionally bowls left-arm spin and he said he would have to do it in India if the need arises. "Look, I think, it is part of your job and responsibility that you want to be the best you can be. You want to help the team win. This is what is most important to me. If I have to bowl, I look forward to that. I want to make sure that I am scoring runs and that is my first and main focus.

"Like I said everybody in the team have to score runs and contribute. It is going to take the full squad of players and support staff in the next six weeks to have success in India."

He also said that his side would play their brand of cricket and not what England had done recently. "I do not think anybody [any country] is invincible. It's always tough to beat the opposition in their own backyard. I think England played very well. I did see some footage of the recent England series against India. But that will have no bearing on us and we will try and play the Australian way. We will not be looking to play like England," Clarke said.

"We have spin bowling options. Australian strength now for a while has been fast bowling. We will assess conditions before selecting our squad for the first Test. I think we need to do what is best for Australian cricket team," he added.

Clarke said the exposure of many Australians cricketers playing in India in the IPL has made it a bit easier to adapt to the conditions here. "It is never easy to play in India. It is really tough conditions. Always it has been a hard place to win for the Australian teams. I think the IPL and the Champions League have played a huge part in regard to international players getting used to the country and the conditions and the culture.

"I think it certainly helped in regard to just about everybody in Australian squad had been to India for IPL or Champions League. But in saying that Test cricket is lot different to T20 cricket like I said it is always a tough tour to come here and have success. We have to be at our best to do that."

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Agencies
January 26,2020

New Delhi, Jan 26: The sports fraternity on Sunday extended greetings to the people on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day.

Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to write: "Wishing all Indians a very happy Republic Day."
"Rejoice the Glory of India and it's Freedom Fighters on this Republic Day. Wish you a very happy #RepublicDayIndia . Jai Hind !" former batsman VVS Laxman tweeted.

"Wish you all a very happy #RepublicDay2020 from here in New Zealand," Irfan Pathan tweeted.

Boxer Vijender Singh said India is blessed with different religions, societies, cultures and languages.

"INDIA is a nation where humanity has lived since ages.It is a country which is blessed with different religions,societies,cultures & languages all interplaying with each other in harmony. PROUD OF UNITY IN DIVERSITY #RepublicDayIndia #RepublicDay2020," Singh wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Former cricketer Virender Sehwag, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, wrestler Sushil Kumar and tennis player Sania Mirza also extended their greetings on the occasion.

On this day, 70 years back, India officially adopted its Constitution. Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro is the chief guest at the parade this year.

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News Network
March 29,2020

New Delhi, Mar 29: Former Indian batsman Wasim Jaffer on Sunday picked his all-time IPL team and appointed wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni as its captain.

Jaffer's team's feature opener Rohit Sharma, current Indian skipper Virat Kohli, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, spinner R Ashwin, and pacer Jasprit Bumrah as seven domestic players.
While the foreign players spot have been occupied by West Indies' swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle, all-rounder Andre Russell, Afghanistan's spinner Rashid Khan, and Sri Lanka's veteran pacer Lasith Malinga.
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been picked as 12th man by Jaffer.

Earlier this month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to postpone the IPL to April 15, 2020, as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 outbreak.
The board also assured that it will work in unison with the Sports Ministry and will adhere to the guidelines issued.

The 13th edition of IPL was scheduled to commence from March 29. 

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coastaldigest.com web desk
August 3,2020

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will not end its partnership with Chinese companies. Vivo, the Chinese smartphone maker, is the main sponsor of the new IPL season as well. Apart from Vivo, PayTM and Dream 11 will also be at the helm of the 13th edition of the IPL. The IPL governing council meeting on Sunday decided to retain the old sponsors.

As soon as the IPL GC announced the decision of retaining the sponsors, a huge number of fans took to Twitter to slam the board for the same. #BoycottIPL started trending as the users urged others to boycott the tournament for the Chinese connection.

Earlier, the demand for exclusion of Chinese companies from the IPL was strong in the wake of the India-China border dispute. But the BCCI cannot abruptly end its collaboration with them. Because of the signed contract itself. And in this age of declining economy, it is difficult to find new sponsors quickly.

The current BCCI contract with Vivo is for five years. Vivo has invested Rs 2,199 crore to become the main sponsor of the IPL. The contract was signed in 2017. However, the BCCI’s move is paving the way for new discussions as calls are mounting across the country to boycott Chinese companies.

The BCCI announced other important decisions besides retaining sponsors. The IPL will be held from September 19 to November 10. The Indian government has given permission to the BCCI to hold the IPL in the UAE. With this, all obstacles in the way of organizing the tournament were removed.

The IPL matches will be played at 7.30 pm Indian time (6 pm UAE time). Most matches are about one match a day. There are a total of ten ‘double headers’ (two matches a day) in the tournament. Franchisees are allowed to appoint as many replacements as they want in the new season in view of the new health situation. At the same time, the maximum number of players a franchise can accommodate is 24. The BCCI is also planning to host a women’s IPL tournament.

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