World Twenty20: Afghanistan boosted by Gavaskar, de Silva pep talk

September 21, 2012

Afghan

Colombo, September 21: Minnows Afghanistan go into their World Twenty20 clash against reigning champions England on Friday night with their morale boosted by a pep talk from two former greats of the game.

India's Sunil Gavaskar and Aravinda de Silva of Sri Lanka spoke to the squad on Thursday evening after an invitation from Afghanistan's Pakistani coach Kabir Khan, media reports said.

"Cricket is a universal game and it feels good to interact with players," Gavaskar, the first batsman to score 10,000 Test runs, was quoted as saying.

Gavaskar spoke to the players in Hindi, which they understood, while de Silva's talk in English was translated into Pashto by Khan.

Afghanistan's wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad said the pep talk was a big boost for his team.

"It can't get better than having Gavaskar and Aravinda speak to us," Shahzad told the Kolkata-based Telegraph newspaper.

"They boosted our confidence before such an important match. Gavaskar said that our fielding had to improve. There were other suggestions as well.

"Both of them were so supportive. Our confidence can only soar. Going forward, we've got a massive boost," Shahzad said.

The Afghans, who until five years ago were playing in the lower division leagues, won hearts during a fearless display in their opening match against India on Wednesday.

The part-timers from the war-ravaged nation, many of whom took up cricket in refugee camps in Pakistan, gave India's multi-millionaires a scare before going down fighting by 23 runs.

Afghanistan's gritty display brought some respect to lower-ranked teams with Ireland being thrashed by Australia in their opening match and Zimbabwe already knocked out of the competition.

England's Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad, who watched Afganistan's game against India on television, said his team were not taking victory for granted.

"Whether you're playing against Afghanistan, or the best team in the world, your principles don't change," Broad told reporters on Thursday night.

"By the looks of it, they don't have any fear. They'll play a few shots.

"That is something we will have to counteract as a bowling unit, not get fazed by that, not panic too much."

Broad was reminded of England's shock defeats to the Netherlands at the 2009 World Twenty20 at Lord's and to Ireland at last year's 50-over World Cup in Bangalore.

"The shorter the game the more dangerous these teams are and Afghanistan are not going to hold back with the bat. It will be important we keep our cool."

England's second game will be against India in Colombo on Sunday, but victory against Afghanistan will ensure them a place in the Super Eights round.



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News Network
May 8,2020

Karachi, May 8: A cricket museum based in India has bought a bat auctioned by Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali to raise funds for the needy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Azhar had put two of his precious belongings -- the bat he used to score 302 runs against the West Indies in a Test in 2016 and the jersey he wore during the 2017 Champions Trophy final win over India -- on an online auction to raise funds for the people affected by the deadly disease.

Both the bat and jersey were signed by members of the Pakistan team.

Azhar announced on social media that he had kept a base price of one million each for the bat and jersey and they had sold for 2.2 million.

He confirmed that Blades of Glory Cricket Museum based in Pune bought the bat by making a winning offer of Rs. 1 million for the bat.

Azhar said that the auction of the shirt also generated a lot of interest and Kash Villani, a Pakistani based in California, came up with the highest bid of Rs. 1.1 million for the shirt before the conclusion of the auction.

Another Pakistani based in New Jersey, Jamal Khan also donated Rs. 100,000 for the cause.

"I put two of my closest belongings on auction with base price of 1 million PKR each to support people suffering due to ongoing crisis. Auction starts now and will close on 11:59 PM 05 May, 2020," Azhar had tweeted.

Ali became the first international player to score a test triple century in Day/Night Test when he scored an unbeaten 302 against the West Indies team in UAE in 2016.

"The shirt is from 2017 Champions Trophy which we won, it has the signature of all the players which were present in the squad," Ali said in a video posted on Twitter.

"Both these things are close to my heart but if it can be used in the difficult times for the benefit of the people I will more than happy."

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News Network
May 7,2020

Melbourne, May 7: Australia opener Joe Burns is eyeing the Tests against India should they take place later this year, to stabilise his stop-start international career, saying "you want to play in and do well in" in this kind of series.

India is scheduled to play four Tests in Australia in December-January, a series which is currently in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed over 2.5 lakh lives across the world.

"They are obviously world class team. I think the two teams going at each other will be very exciting to watch and players playing against each other as well," Burns told reporters in a video conference on Thursday.

"You look at the world ranking, they were number one and now we have got to number one, so I know that series will be anticipated by everyone and as a player this is a sort of series you want to play in and do well in."

With the coronavirus also threatening the T20 World Cup, Cricket Australia is under financial stress and has gone on a cost-cutting drive, which included standing down 80 per cent of its staff at 20 per cent salary.

There are also speculations that the Sheffield Shield for 2020-21 would be curtailed to cut costs.

Burns, however, hoped it won't be tinkered with.

"I love the fact we have a really strong first-class system. The 10 games, where you play everyone twice," Burns, who was struck down by a fatigue illness after an indifferent season, said.

"It leads to world-class players coming into Test teams. You don't want to see that get changed.

"Obviously it is unique circumstances at the moment and There's a lot of things to work through ... the players' association is consulted on those things."

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News Network
April 6,2020

London, Apr 6: As the coronavirus brings the international sports calendar to a grinding halt, news agency Sport looks at three long-standing habits which could change forever once competition resumes.

Saliva to take shine off swing bowling

It's been a tried and trusted friend to fast bowlers throughout the history of cricket. But the days of applying saliva to one side of the ball to encourage swing could be over in the aftermath of Covid19.

"As a bowler I think it would be pretty tough going if we couldn't shine the ball in a Test match," said Australia quick Pat Cummins.

"If it's at that stage and we're that worried about the spread, I'm not sure we'd be playing sport."

Towels in tennis - no touching

Tennis players throwing towels, dripping with sweat and blood and probably a tear or two, at ball boys and girls, has often left fans sympathising for the youngsters.

Moves by officials to tackle the issue took on greater urgency in March when the coronavirus was taking a global grip.

Behind closed doors in Miki, ball boys and girls on duty at the Davis Cup tie between Japan and Ecuador wore gloves.

Baskets, meanwhile, were made available for players to deposit their towels.

Back in 2018, the ATP introduced towel racks at some events on a trial basis, but not everyone was overjoyed.

"I think having the towel whenever you need it, it's very helpful. It's one thing less that you have to think about," said Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas when he was playing at the NextGen Finals in Milan.

"I think it's the job of the ball kids to provide towels and balls for the players."

Let's not shake on it

Pre-match handshakes were abandoned in top football leagues just before the sports shutdown.

Premier League leaders Liverpool also banned the use of mascots while Southampton warned against players signing autographs and stopped them posing for selfies.

Away from football, the NBA urged players to opt for the fist bump rather than the long-standing high-five.

"I ain't high-fiving nobody for the rest of my life after this," NBA superstar LeBron James told the "Road Trippin' Podcast".

"No more high-fiving. After this corona shit? Wait 'til you see me and my teammates’ handshakes after this shit."

Basketball stars were also told not to take items such as balls or teams shirts to autograph.

US women's football star Megan Rapinoe says edicts to ban handshakes or even high-fives may be counter-productive anyway.

"We're going to be sweating all over each other all game, so it sort of defeats the purpose of not doing a handshake," she said.

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