Ryder, Bracewell axed from 2nd Test after bar brawl

February 10, 2014

Ryder_BracewellWellington, Feb 10: Facing investigation for a scuffle at an Auckland bar, New Zealand's temperamental batsman Jesse Ryder and medium-pacer Doug Bracewell will not be considered for the second cricket Test against India starting here on February 14.

The two players got injured after a physical altercation with each other at an Auckland bar before the Test first against India which the home team won by 40 runs yesterday.

Both have reportedly admitted to being at the scene of incident.

Ryder, who has a history of alcohol-related misdemeanours, and Bracewell are currently being investigated for the brawl.

"We'll be naming our second Test side tomorrow or maybe later on today and neither Jesse Ryder nor Doug Bracewell will be available for selection," New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said.

Bracewell suffered a broken foot, while Ryder also reportedly hurt his hand during the scuffle, the reasons for which are not yet known.

Neither of them was part of the first Test's playing XI but were there as cover for any possible injury breakdowns.

"There's an investigation taking place and we'll let that run its course before making any bold statements about that sort of thing. Once we get the full information and facts, we'll be in a far better position to make a statement. It's important we don't jump to conclusions without getting the full facts," Hesson said.

"We need to make sure all our players prepare themselves accordingly for Test cricket and at the moment we don't have confidence that that's the case," he added.

Hesson said the two players have his trust but he would wait for an enquiry to establish the exact sequence of events that night.

"We have faith in our players that they make good decisions around their preparation. We're dealing with grown men so if a player was to have a beer with their meal before a game we don't have an issue with that at all.

"These are grown men who can make decisions. There's a bit difference between that and what occurred the night before the Test," he said.

This is not the first time that Ryder and Bracewell find themselves at the centre of a controversy like this. In 2012, both were axed from the ODI team for breaching the team's code of conduct.

Ryder, in fact, has a very chequered past, having taken a break from international cricket before coming back last year. The comeback didn't go too well as he battled life-threatening injuries after another drunken brawl outside a bar.

In August last year, Ryder was slapped with a retrospective six-month ban for failing a routine drug test in domestic cricket.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Thursday dropped from the BCCI's list of centrally contracted players, raising fresh doubts on the future of the former India captain who has not played since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand last year.

The BCCI announced the central contracts for the period of October 2019 to September 2020. Dhoni was in the A category, which fetches a player Rs 5 crore, until last year.

Skipper Virat Kohli, his deputy Rohit Sharma and top pacer Jasprit Bumrah were retained in the highest A+ bracket of Rs 7 crore.

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News Network
July 18,2020

Johannesburg, Jul 18: Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Saturday mourned the demise of former spinner Ismail 'Baboo' Ebrahim who died in Durban at the age of 73.

"Baboo was one of the outstanding South African spin bowlers of the 1960s and 1970s who would undoubtedly have played as many Test matches for his country as the 48 first-class games to which he was limited," CSA said in a statement.

In those matches, he took 179 wickets at an average of 21.33 with an economy rate of 2.12 including 8 five-wicket hauls and 2 ten-wicket hauls.

The left-arm spinner only had one opportunity on the international stage when he played for a SA Invitation XI against the International Wanderers at Kingsmead in 1976.

"At the age of 29, he was in his prime and took a match-winning 6/66 in the second innings, his victims including international captains, Greg Chappell of Australia and Mike Denness of England. It was a clear indication of what he could have achieved on grounds around the world at the highest level had he been given the opportunity. He was a master of flight and spin and had a good arm ball to back it up," the statement read.

His ability to perform at this level had become apparent much earlier when he went to watch the Australians at practice before their Test match against South Africa in 1970.

He persuaded the Australians to let him bowl to them and made an immediate impression, bowling experienced Test batsman Ian Redpath and impressing the likes of Ian Chappell and Ashley Mallett, the latter being Australia's leading spinner of the 1970s.

He had one season for Radcliffe in the Lancashire Central League when he took 62 wickets at 14.62 apiece.

Baboo finally got his chance to represent his country in Masters events in one of which he dismissed both Sir Vivian Richards and Gordon Greenidge.

"Baboo Ebrahim was one of the countless number of outstanding cricketers who was denied the opportunity to display his talents to the world and live his cricketing dreams," said CSA Acting Chief Executive, Dr Jacques Faul.

"On behalf of the CSA Family I extend our deepest sympathy to his family, friends and cricketing colleagues," he added. 

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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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