Virat no 1 ranked ODI batsman, Bumrah top-ranked bowler in ICC Men’s Player Rankings

Agencies
November 13, 2018

Dubai, Nov 13: Virat Kohli is the number-one ranked ODI batsman, while Jasprit Bumrah is the top-ranked bowler and Rashid Khan is the leading all-rounder in the latest 

MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen, which were released on Tuesday.

After scores of 80 and 86 not out, Ross Taylor has leapfrogged Joe Root, Babar Azam and David Warner to third position.

New Zealand’s Ross Taylor has warmed up for the upcoming three-Test series against Pakistan by achieving a career-high position.

The 34-year-old middle-order batsman started the series in sixth position, but after scores of 80 and 86 not out, has leapfrogged Joe Root, Babar Azam and David Warner to third position. This is his career-best ranking, which has come after 207 ODIs in which he has scored 7,433 runs. The former captain had earlier reached fifth place this June. Taylor, reacting to the news, said, “First and foremost you want to win games, you don’t go out there to try to get your rankings up there. But I guess, at this stage of my career, it is nice to know that I am still able to compete."

“I think as you come towards the end of your career, you’ve worked your game out and you try to enjoy yourself a bit more. I'm not sure how many years I may have left so I'm trying to make the most of every opportunity," he said.

“It's obviously nice to achieve a high ranking, but at the same time I hope there're a few more runs left in me,” Taylor said.

Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman is the other batsman to achieve a career-high ranking from the series in the UAE, which ended at one-all after the decider in Dubai was washed out. The left-handed opener had scores of one, 88 and 65, which have lifted him six places to 11th in the latest rankings. The 28-year-old, however, will not be part of the Test squad.

Similarly, Shadab Khan has achieved a career-high bowling ranking but will not feature in the upcoming Tests. The wrist spinner bagged six wickets in the series, including four for 38 in the second match, to vault 16 places to 24th position.

The other bowler to make an impact in the ODIs and one to look out for in the Tests is Lachlan Ferguson. The New Zealand fast bowler had figures of three for 40, three for 60 and five for 45 during the series, which also reflect in the latest rankings, in which he has rocketed 31 places to 42nd.

Shaheen Afridi, who took nine wickets in the series and won the player of the series award, has rocketed 66 places to sit just outside the top-100 in 118th position.

However, Trent Boult and Hasan Ali have been unable to either defend or improve their rankings.

Boult made a dream start to his season when he took a hat-trick in only his second over. However, he managed to add just one more wicket to his tally and consequently finished in seventh position after starting in fourth place. Hasan, who had started the year with a number one ranking, has continued to slide. After falling three places following his four wickets, he is now ranked 13th, but remains his side’s highest-ranked bowler.

Down Under, South Africa defeated Australia 2-1 in a three-match series, with the series-decider in Hobart producing scintillating centuries from Faf du Plessis, David Miller and Shaun Marsh.

Du Plessis scored 125 in the run feast and finished with a series aggregate of 182 runs that has put him in seventh position with a rise of three places. 

Miller scored 139 and ended up as the leading run-scorer with 192 runs, which have been rewarded with a rise of 11 places and put him in 31st position. 

Marsh scored 106 to end the series with 128 runs and in 62nd position after starting in 80th place.

South Africa’s series win is also reflected in the bowling table in which Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Andile Phehlukwayo Lungi Ngidi and Dwaine Pretorius have made upward movements, while Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins have headed in the opposite direction.

Rabada’s haul of seven wickets has helped him move from sixth position to fourth, Steyn’s series figures of seven for 94 have lifted him nine places to 15th, Phehlukwayo’s three wickets in his only appearance have helped him gain six place to 28th spot, Ngidi occupies 43rd position after earning a rise of 19 places following his four wickets and Pretorius has finished in 55th spot after gaining 20 places with five wickets in the series.

In contrast, Hazlewood has slipped four places to ninth, Starc has fallen three places to 17th and Cummins has dropped one place to 19th.

However, Marcus Stoinis has enhanced his reputation as a world-class all-rounder in the making by finishing in 17th place after starting in 40th spot. 

This is after he ended in 49th batting position (up by three places) and 85th bowling position (up by 37 places).

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News Network
January 22,2020

New Delhi, Jan 22: The pitches in New Zealand have become a lot more batting-friendly over the years, says iconic former batsman Sachin Tendulkar, insisting that India have the “ammunition” to trouble the sprightly hosts during the upcoming series.

Tendulkar, who has been on a record five New Zealand tours since 1990, feels that from seaming tracks during his early trips years, the tracks became high-scoring hard ones during his last tour back in 2009.

“Of late, the Tests in New Zealand have been high scoring and surfaces have changed,” Tendulkar told PTI during an exclusive interview.

India will play five T20 Internationals, three ODIs and two Tests during the tour starting with the shortest format on January 24.

From 2002, when India played ODIs and Tests on green tops, to 2009, when India won only their second Test series in 32 years, Tendulkar has seen it all in New Zealand.

“I remember when we played in 2009, the Hamilton pitch was different compared to other pitches. Other pitches got harder (Wellington and Napier) but not Hamilton. It remained soft.

“But Napier became hard with passage of time (where Gautam Gambhir scored an epic match-saving 12-hour hundred in 2009). So, from my first tour (in 1990 till 2009), I realised pitches got harder with passage of time,” Tendulkar said.

Tendulkar is confident that the Indian bowling attack, spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah, has the ammunition to put New Zealand in trouble.

“We have a good bowling attack with quality fast bowlers as well as spinners. I believe we have the ammunition to compete in New Zealand.”

However, in Wellington, Tendulkar wants the team to be well-prepared to counter the breeze factor.

“Wellington, I have played and it makes a huge difference if you are bowling with the wind or against the wind. The batsman needs to be judicious in the choice of which end he wants to attack, it is very important,” he said.

Tendulkar said he would prefer spinners to bowl against the breeze.

“...the seamers bowling against the strong breeze need to be smart. So I would prefer that if there is strong breeze, let the spinner bowl from that end and from the opposite end, the fast bowler bowls with the breeze behind him,” he said.

The maestro is confident that Rohit Sharma's white ball experience will hold him in good stead in the Tests as well, an assignment that has been kept for the last leg of the trip, which begins with five T20 Internationals from January 24.

“The challenge would be to go out and open in different conditions. I think Rohit had opened in New Zealand in ODIs and has been there quite a few times, he knows the conditions well. Eventually, Test cricket is Test cricket,” he said.

“But all depends on surfaces that they provide. If they provide green tops, then it's a challenge.”

There is no Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Deepak Chahar in limited-overs series but Tendulkar is not ready to press the panic button.

“Injuries are part and parcel of the game when you play and push your body to the limits.

“When you play for your country you need to give your best and while you give your best, you can get injured. That's okay,” he concluded.

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News Network
April 28,2020

New Delhi, Apr 28: IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore's Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson returned to New Zealand on Tuesday after being stranded in India for over a month amid the nationwide lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ex-New Zealand player and coach had arrived in India on March 5 for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League but was stuck in the country after the lockdown was imposed and all flights were suspended.

"What a wonderful sight after spending over a day on a bus to get to Mumbai airport. The staff on @FlyAirNZ were simply outstanding on our return to New Zealand," Hesson tweeted.

He also thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the New Zealand Embassy in India, New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

"Special thanks to Down pointing backhand index @NZinIndia @MFATNZ @narendramodi @jacindaardern #repatriationflight #india #NZ" he added.

To stem the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, India and New Zealand had announced lockdowns in their respective countries last month, alongside travel restrictions, forcing the 45-year-old to stay in Bengaluru.

While India remains in lockdown till May 3, New Zealand eased its stringent measures on Tuesday.

The IPL, which was originally scheduled to get underway on March 29, has been suspended until further notice due to the pandemic.

The cornavirus outbreak, that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has infected over 30 lakh people across the world while killing more than two lakh.

All sporting events, including the Tokyo Olympics, have either been cancelled or postponed.

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Agencies
April 15,2020

Former Australia batsman Mike Hussey has heaped praise on MS Dhoni, saying the veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman is the "greatest finisher" the game of cricket has ever seen.

"Dhoni is the greatest finisher of all time that the cricketing world has ever produced," Hussey said while speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNcricinfo's Videocast.

"Dhoni can keep his cool and make the opposition captain blink first. Dhoni also has unbelievable power. He knows that when he needs to clear the ropes, he can do it. He has that kind of self-belief. Honestly, I didn't have that kind of belief in myself," he added.

The former Australian batsman, who shared the dressing room with Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings, said the 38-year-old Indian believes in the philosophy that he who panics last, wins the game.

"I tried not to let it reach 12 or 13 runs an over," said Hussey while talking about his ability to finish the game without much hiccups.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"Supportive owners who let coach Stephen Fleming and captain Dhoni decide how to run the team, excellent chemistry between the coach and the captain, Dhoni's leadership and lastly the foresight of the owners, Fleming and Dhoni to pick the best players, particularly the good Indian players and then stick with them for as long as possible."

"This has built an excellent continuity in the team. And once you have continuity, you build relationships and trust that otherwise takes time to grow," he added.

Hussey also said that once Dhoni bids adieu to the game, CSK would probably like to start all over again.

"That's a 60-million-dollar question, and I am equally intrigued. I believe the owners would like to keep Dhoni involved in some way or the other," said Hussey.

"However, whenever the change of guard happens, CSK might want to start all over again, build a brand, new team, and use their existing philosophy as they enter the next decade of IPL. It is definitely going to be more challenging in current times," he added.

Dhoni was supposed to lead CSK in the 13th IPL edition which now stands postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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