Nothing seems to faze this West Indies side: Clive Lloyd

October 13, 2012

Clive_Lloyd

Former West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd tells Deba Prasad Dhar that Windies have six of the 15 best strikers in world cricket.

It’s been a long title drought for the West Indies. What does winning the World T20 mean?
Winning this tournament was a lift that the team needed. For all those people hoping that the West Indies cricket would rise again, let’s hope this is turning point.


What were your realistic expectations from the team before the tournament?
I expected them to do well. We are one of the most explosive sides around. Out of the 15 big hitters in the world, six belong to our team. They are all phenomenal strikers. It gives them impetus on the field. They know they can go out there and dominate. That’s what they must do in the longer version too. Apart from Chris Gayle, we have Samuels (Marlon) who’s growing in confidence in both Tests and ODIs. We have a couple of good spinners and decent fast bowlers, basically an attack that can dislodge any opponent. We’re close to being quite a balanced side.


The core of the team is the same. What has changed?
They are gelling together. They seem to be quite happy when they go out there. Nothing seems to faze them. And they’re showing purpose. You have got to give credit to the captain (Darren Sammy), for he hasgot them playing as a unit. Don’t forget he has been under pressure too. In the long run, we’ll find out how good he is. So far he has done marvellously well.


How do you think Marlon Samuels has come along?
From the England series onwards he has done well. You can see that he’s concentrating a lot more and making his wicket difficult to get. You realise he’s not going to gift it. He is batting in a position where you need to be solid. And Samuels is solid.


Much was expected from the West Indies after their Champions Trophy win in 2004. Yet, they didn’t progress as well as they would have liked...
This looks a much better squad than the one in 2004. They have been together for quite a while now...like playing in the IPL. They seem to be strong-willed.


But is winning a T20 title truly an indication of how good a side is?
It isn’t really, but the win suggests that we can be a good ODI outfit. This is the start, the impetus that we needed to excel in the longer version.


Are Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine ready to operate in tandem?
Well, I hope so. I’m sure that’s what the thinking will be in the future. At least we have two spinners who are able to confuse the batters. In the longer format, we’ll know how good they are. In the one-day game, I don’t think too many people will attack them and be successful. Reminds me of our times. We had Inshan Ali, he was a left-armer. We had Imtiaz Ali, although he was a leg-spinner. And then Dinanath Ramnarine (the leg-spinner who became part of the the West Indies Players Association).


Chris Gayle’s showing in the World Cup...a kind of an apt reply to those keen on his ouster?
Chris just wanted to be back. He looks a really happy soul. Once he is happy, I’m happy. He creates that force and sort of generates the warmth needed for team spirit. I don’t think he’s giving the establishment any problems. They had one little spat. But he’s really a decent fellow to work with.


Given Gayle’s strike-rate (at times close to 200), how can he be so consistent?
If you watched his knock against Australia, he paces his innings to a nicety. He’s strong and has good eyes. He treats even the quicks with disdain. They are scared of bowling to him.


What areas must be addressed if the Windies are to be a force to reckon with, at least in ODIs?
First, they will have to identify who are their ideal ODI players and who are the Test cricketers. Someone like Kieron Pollard can do the kind of job Andrew Symonds did for Australia. Pollard is explosive and can be a handful down the order. We have enough bowlers to choose from — both pace and spin. Now is the time to move on to the next level.


Realistically, what can this team achieve?
They can do as much as they like. They are young and have everything before them. They can make this a golden period.


Perhaps, being one of the top three ODI teams to start with?
Why, I’m hoping they’ll be No 1 shortly.



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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8:  India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India''s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.

Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain.

Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland''s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list.

During India''s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings.

Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.

India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.

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Agencies
May 17,2020

Berlin, May 17: Top-flight football in Germany kicked off again on the weekend, becoming the first major sports league in the world to resume play, as parts of Europe took more tentative steps towards normality after the devastation unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic.

With the worldwide death toll past 310,000 and the global economy reeling from the vast damage caused by lockdowns, the reopenings in some of the hardest-hit countries provided much-needed relief from the pandemic.

The French returned to the beach and Italy announced a resumption of European tourism with outbreaks in Europe slowing, but the rising number of fatalities in the United States and Brazil were a grim reminder of the scale of the crisis, with more than 4.6 million infections reported globally.

With governments trying to reopen their economies while avoiding the second wave of infections that could necessitate more lockdowns, Germany's Bundesliga resumed its season on Saturday with games played in vacant, echoing stadiums.

League heavyweights Borussia Dortmund hosted rivals Schalke at the all-but-empty Signal Iduna Park -- which would usually be packed with more than 80,000 raucous fans.

"It's sad that matches are played in empty stadiums, but it's better than nothing," said 45-year-old Borussia Dortmund fan Marco Perz, beer in hand, as he prepared to watch the game on TV.

Dortmund's Erling Braut Haaland became the first player to score a goal after the two-month shutdown and celebrated by dancing alone -- away from his applauding teammates -- in keeping with the strict hygiene guidelines which allowed the league to resume.

The only noise was the cheering and clapping of players and coaches.

League champions Bayern Munich will play Union Berlin in the capital on Sunday, with the resumption in Germany seen as a test case as other top sports competitions try to find ways to resume play without increasing health risks.

"The whole world will be looking at Germany, to see how we get it done," said Bayern boss Hansi Flick.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy, however, said Saturday he needed more guarantees before the government can give the green light for the resumption of its top football league, which is struggling with logistical difficulties as clubs try to arrange training sessions and quarantine facilities.

With the Northern Hemisphere's summer approaching, authorities are moving to help tourism industries salvage something from the wreckage.

Italy, for a long stretch the world's worst-hit country, announced that European Union tourists would be allowed to visit from June 3 and a 14-day mandatory quarantine would be scrapped.

"We're facing a calculated risk in the knowledge that the contagion curve may rise again," Conte said during a televised address.

"We have to accept it otherwise we will never be able to start up again."

In France, the first weekend after the strictest measures were lifted saw many ventures out into the spring sunshine -- and hit the beach.

In the Riviera city of Nice, keen swimmers jumped into the surf at daybreak.

"We were impatient because we swim here all year round," said retiree Gilles, who declined to give his full name.

With the threat of a second wave of infections on their minds, authorities in many countries have asked people not to throng public spaces like beaches as they are made accessible again.

Officials in parts of England on Saturday warned people to stay away from newly reopened beauty spots and avoid overcrowding.

Germany also saw the latest in a growing wave of anti-lockdown protests in many parts of the world, with rallies in major cities bringing together conspiracy theorists, anti-vaccine activists and other extremists.

There were similar protests in France, Switzerland and Poland.

Since emerging in China late last year, the coronavirus has whipped up a catastrophic economic storm, which has left tens of millions unemployed in the United States and many are wondering when a recovery will be possible.

With more than 88,000 deaths and 1.47 million confirmed coronavirus cases, the United States is the worst-hit country on the planet, and the administration of President Donald Trump has faced intense criticism of the way it has handled the crisis.

Former president Barack Obama took a swipe at the response to the pandemic, telling graduates at a virtual commencement ceremony that many leaders today "aren't even pretending to be in charge" -- a remark widely regarded as a rare rebuke of his successor.

Trump is keen to reopen the US economy -- the world's largest -- despite warnings from experts that infections could flare up again if social distancing measures are eased too quickly.

Forty-eight of the 50 US states have now eased lockdown rules to some extent.

Much like Trump and his political allies, Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro is also keen to end lockdowns, which he claims have unnecessarily damaged the South American nation's economy over a disease he has dismissed as "a little flu".

But the virus has continued its deadly march in Brazil, where the death toll passed 15,000 on Saturday and it became the country with the fourth-largest coronavirus caseload with 230,000 infections.

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Agencies
January 19,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 19: Opening batsman Rohit Sharma on Sunday became the third-fastest batsman to register 9,000 runs in the 50-over format.

He achieved the feat in the ongoing third ODI against Australia here at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Only Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have achieved the feat faster than Rohit.

Sharma brought up the milestone in the first over of the Indian innings as he clipped Mitchell Starc away for a single.

With this, the right-handed batsman has become just the sixth Indian to achieve the milestone.

Apart from Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and Sachin Tendulkar have more than 9,000 runs in the 50-over format.

Overall, 20 batsmen have more than 9,000 ODI runs to their name.

In the match between India and Australia, the former won the toss and elected to bat first.

Steve Smith played a knock of 131 runs to propel Australia to 286/9 in the allotted fifty overs.

 

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