Alastair Cook still wary despite latest hundred

June 20, 2012

alister_cookLondon, June 20: England one-day captain Alastair Cook refused to get carried away after his latest limited overs hundred sealed a series win over the West Indies.

Cook made 112 as England, set 239, won by eight wickets at The Oval on Tuesday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in a three-match series.

It was left-handed opener Cook's fifth hundred in 47 one-day internationals (ODIs) and third in just his last six matches at this level.

Yet there was a time when the 27-year-old Essex batsman , a mainstay of the Test side, was considered too slow a scorer for the 50-over format.

His appointment to the one-day captaincy last year, after Test skipper Andrew Strauss quit limited overs internationals, prompted former England captain Michael Atherton, himself an opening batsman, to describe Cook as "plodder" with the bat and a "donkey" in the field.

As Cook faced just 120 balls with a six and 13 fours during his innings on Tuesday, having previously run out West Indies opener Lendl Simmons with a direct hit, he could have been forgiven for thinking 'some plodder, some donkey', especially as Atherton managed just two hundreds in his 54 ODIs.

However, Cook insisted concerns about his form were a constant companion.

"I don't think you ever firmly put them to bed, as I always say," he said after his man-of-the-match performance.

"You are only ever a few low scores away but what was pleasing today, I haven't really hit the ball quite as nice over the last month as I'd like to have done.

"I've ground out a few scores in the Test matches but it was nice to go on today and contribute a match-winning innings.

"Any hundred for England is very pleasing," he added.

The West Indies came into this series with high hopes, firmly believing one-day cricket was more to their liking than the Test game where they suffered a 2-0 defeat by England in a three-match series earlier in the tour.

But Tuesday's defeat came after an equally comprehensive 114-run loss in the first ODI at Southampton on Saturday.

"We didn't score enough runs," said West Indies captain Darren Sammy, who saw his side collapse after opener Chris Gayle made a typically rapid fifty upon his return to the international stage following a 15 month-long dispute with Caribbean cricket chiefs.

"At the end of the day you need runs on the board to defend," all-rounder Sammy added. "We wanted 280, we know the Oval wicket is a good one.

"We know cricket isn't played on paper, it's played in the middle. You have to go out and perform and we haven't done that."

England announced later Tuesday they would be resting frontline bowlers Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann from Friday's series finale at Headingley, with their places in the squad taken by the newly called-up trio of Stuart Meaker, Chris Woakes and James Tredwell.


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News Network
March 30,2020

Lausanne, Mar 30: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday announced that the Tokyo Olympics 2020 will be 'celebrated' from July 23 to August 8 next year while the Paralympics Games will be held from August 24 to September 5, 2021.
"The International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympics Committee (IPC), the Tokyo 2020 organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Government of Japan today agreed on new dates for the games of the XXXII Olympiad, in 2021. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be celebrated from 23 July to 8 August 2021. They also agreed on new dates for the Paralympic Games, which will be celebrated from 24 August until 5 September 2021," the IOC said in a statement.
Earlier, the Tokyo Olympic Games were slated to be held from July 24 to August 9, while the Paralympic Games were scheduled to be held from August 25 to September 6. However, the coronavirus pandemic forced the postponement of the event.
IOC said the new dates are 'exactly one year' after those originally planned, giving the health authorities and all involved in the organisation of the games maximum time to deal with the constantly changing landscape caused by the coronavirus.
"These new dates give the health authorities and all involved in the organisation of the Games the maximum time to deal with the constantly changing landscape and the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," the statement read.
"The new dates, exactly one year after those originally planned for 2020 (Olympic Games: 24 July to 9 August 2020 and Paralympic Games: 25 August to 6 September 2020), also have the added benefit that any disruption that the postponement will cause to the international sports calendar can be kept to a minimum, in the interests of the athletes and the IFs. Additionally, they will provide sufficient time to finish the qualification process. The same heat mitigation measures as planned for 2020 will be implemented," it added.
The IOC president Thomas Bach thanked all the International Federations (IF) for their support.
"I want to thank the International Federations for their unanimous support and the Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees for the great partnership and their support in the consultation process over the last few days. I would also like to thank the IOC Athletes' Commission, with whom we have been in constant contact," Bach said in a statement.
"With this announcement, I am confident that, working together with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government, and all our stakeholders, we can master this unprecedented challenge. Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel," he added.
IPC president Andrew Parsons said the new dates will provide certainty to the athletes.
"It is fantastic news that we could find new dates so quickly for the Tokyo 2020 Games. The new dates provide certainty for the athletes, reassurance for the stakeholders and something to look forward to for the whole world. When the Paralympic Games do take place in Tokyo next year, they will be an extra-special display of humanity uniting as one, a global celebration of human resilience and a sensational showcase of sport," Parsons said.
"With the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games 512 days away, the priority for all those involved in the Paralympic Movement must be to focus on staying safe with their friends and family during this unprecedented and difficult time," he added.

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Agencies
March 6,2020

Mumbai, Mar 6: Former India batsman Virender Sehwag expressed excitement over the upcoming Road Safety World Series and said he is looking forward to playing with Sachin Tendulkar again.

"I am very excited about this tournament because I will get another chance to play with Sachin. We have played many international matches together and there was a gap and then we played an All-Star match and now again getting a chance. I am looking forward to playing with Tendulkar," Sehwag told media persons.

In the opening match of the Road Safety World Series, India Legends will play against West Indies Legends on March 7. The main aim of the Series is to create awareness about road safety and change people's mindset towards their behaviour on the roads.

Sehwag hailed the initiative of Road Safety World Series and said: "I think it is a very good initiative by the government that they are working towards creating awareness regarding road safety. Awareness regarding road safety is important for everyone."

Road Safety World Series, a five-nation T20 cricket tournament, will showcase some of the biggest names in cricket from India, Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and South Africa.

Players who will feature in this series include Tendulkar, Sehwag, Brian Lara, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brett Lee, Brad Hodge, Jonty Rhodes, Muttiah Muralitharan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Ajantha Mendis and many more. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar is the Commissioner of the Series.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Jul 2: Cricket Australia has decided to not use the Dukes ball from this summer's Sheffield Shield, having used it alongside Kookaburra for four seasons.

CA has confirmed that the Kookaburra ball will be used for the entire 2020-21 first-class season.

Australia has been using Dukes ball since the 2016-17 season in Shield matches with an aim to help its cricketers prepare for the hostile English conditions.

CA's Head of Cricket Operations, Peter Roach, said the decision to axe the Dukes was the right call. "The introduction of the Dukes ball has been a worthwhile exercise, particularly in the lead up to overseas Ashes series where the Dukes is used so well by our English opponents," Roach said.

"We have been happy with how the ball has performed when used in Australian conditions over the past four seasons. We do, however, feel that reverting to one ball for 2020-21 will provide the consistent examination of our players over a full season that CA and the states are presently seeking. The Kookaburra is the ball used for international cricket in Australia and many parts of the world and we see benefits this season of maximising our use of it," he added.

Roach said the ineffectiveness of spinners in first-class cricket in recent times played a role in CA's decision to do away with the Dukes. "We have noted that spin bowlers in the Sheffield Shield have been playing less of a role in recent seasons, most notably in games when the Dukes ball is in use. We need spinners bowling in first-class cricket and we need our batters facing spin. We hope that the change to one ball will have a positive benefit here," he said.

The CA official, however, didn't rule out the possibility of re-introducing it later.

"We see a definite opportunity to reintroduce the Dukes ball at some stage in the future."

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