Warner gets Australia off to flying start, Hughes remembered

December 9, 2014

WarnerAdelaide, Dec 9: Opening batsman David Warner blasted a rapid-fire half-century to drive Australia to 113-2 at lunch on day one of the first test against India, firing up an emotional Adelaide Oval crowd after solemn tributes to Phillip Hughes on Tuesday.

Australia captain Michael Clarke won the toss and gladly sent his team to bat, and though India's pacemen captured two early wickets, Warner put Australia in a solid position to exploit the flat pitch in the afternoon.

He was on 77 not out with Clarke on nine.

Warner, who was present when team mate Hughes was lethally injured by a short ball in Sydney, smacked seven boundaries in the opening four overs and brought up his 50 shortly after the drinks break on a glorious, warm morning.

Bringing up the milestone with a pull to the fence, the pugnacious 28-year-old raised his bat and his head to the sky, a poignant moment on the day cricket resumed in Australia nearly two weeks after the death of Hughes.

Warner's opening partner Chris Rogers was reduced to a bystander as his team mate ran amok, and ultimately a spectator when he drove recklessly at an Ishant Sharma delivery, edging the paceman to Dhawan at second slip to be out for nine.

Shane Watson, batting at three and recalled to the side after missing Australia's 2-0 series defeat to Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, survived a scratchy 53 minutes before edging Varun Aaron to the same fielder.

Watson's wicket, for 14 runs, brought captain Clarke to the crease and the 33-year-old, who played a leading role in supporting Hughes' family and his team mates, was given a standing ovation as he strode out onto the turf.

Aaron welcomed the 33-year-old with a bouncer first ball, prompting Clarke to walk down the wicket and spout a few words at the paceman.

Warner swept for two runs to reach 63, the score Hughes had advanced to before being struck in Sydney, and gazed at the cloudless sky again, clasping his bat and shaking it as the crowd rose to their feet.

13TH MAN

The opening match of the four-test series was originally scheduled in Brisbane but was delayed and switched to Adelaide Oval following Hughes' death to give players time to mourn for their former team mate.

Batsman Virat Kohli is leading India for the first time in a test match with regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni sidelined with a thumb injury.

Leg spinner Karn Sharma made his test debut for the visitors whose pacemen were inconsistent and may count themselves lucky to have taken two wickets.

On a day of tributes to Hughes, the number 408 was painted on the turf in front of the Sir Donald Bradman Pavilion, recognising the batsman as the 408th player to represent Australia in a test match.

Both teams wore black armbands and Hughes was named an honorary “13th man” in Australia's squad, with his former team mates to wear black armbands.

Following a video tribute narrated by iconic Australian commentator Richie Benaud, the crowd stood and applauded for 63 seconds in recognition of Hughes's final innings.

Hughes's death prompted a debate about the use of the bouncer, but paceman Aaron bowled the first in the fourth over, a sizzling 145 kph delivery that drew applause from the crowd and that Warner did well to avoid.

Earlier, young leg-spinner Karn Sharma made his debut for India as Australian captain Michael Clarke opted to bat.

Virat Kohli led the Indian side in absence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is still not fully match fit to resume his keeping duties.

In Dhoni’s absence from the playing XI, Wriddhiman Saha gets to play another Test match after he last played at the same venue almost three years back.

India went in with three pacers in Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Varun Aaron. Rohit Sharma also returned to the playing XI after his last Test match against England in Southampton.

Scoreboard at lunch:

Australia 1st innings

C Rogers c Dhawan b Ishant 9

D Warner batting 77

S Watson c Dhawan b Aaron 14

M Clarke batting 9

Extras (w—2, nb—2) 4

Total (For 2 wickets; 24 overs) 113

Fall of wickets: 1—50, 2—88

Bowling: Shami 5—0—30—0, Aaron 8—1—51—1, Ishant 8—2—17—1, Karn 3—0—15—0.

Teams

India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Karn Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Varun Aaron.

Australia: Michael Clarke (c), David Warner, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Kolkata, Jul 16: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday went into home quarantine after his elder brother and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint secretary Snehasish Ganguly tested positive for Covid-19.

Snehasish, a former Bengal first-class player, has been admitted to the Belle Vue hospital in Kolkata after his COVID report came positive.

"He was suffering from fever for the last few days and his test report came positive today. He's been admitted to Belle Vue Hospital," a CAB official said.

"The reports arrived late in the evening. As per health protocols, even Sourav will have to be in home quarantine for a stipulated period," a source close to the BCCI President added.

Snehasish had shifted to their ancestral house, where Sourav is based, in Behala after his wife and in-laws at his Mominpur residence tested positive for the dreaded virus.

The former India captain was, however, unavailable for a comment on the development.

Recently, during an interview to India Today, Sourav had spoken about how life around him has changed, making people more vulnerable.

"My brother visits our factories everyday and he is more at risk," the former batting star had said

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News Network
June 23,2020

Karachi, Jun 23: Pakistan cricketers Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and rookie Haider Ali on Monday tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

"The Pakistan Cricket Board has confirmed three players - Haider Ali, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan - have tested positive for Covid-19," said the PCB in a statement.

"The players had shown no symptoms until they were tested in Rawalpindi on Sunday ahead of the Pakistan men's national cricket team's tour to England."

The infected players will go into self-isolation.

"The PCB medical panel is in contact with the three who have been advised to immediately go into self-isolation," the statement said.

Earlier this month, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was tested positive for the deadly virus.

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Agencies
April 14,2020

Tokyo, Apr 14: Tokyo organizers said Tuesday they have no B Plan in the event the Olympics need to be postponed again because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Masa Takaya, the spokesman for the Tokyo Olympics, said organizers are proceeding under the assumption the Olympics will open on July 23, 2021. The Paralympics follow on Aug. 24.

Those dates were set last month by the International Olympic Committee and Japanese officials after the coronavirus pandemic made it clear the Olympics could not be held as scheduled this summer.

We are working toward the new goal, Takaya said, speaking in English on a teleconference call with journalists.

We don't have a B Plan. The severity of the pandemic and the death toll has raised questions if it will even be feasible to hold the Olympics in just over 15 months. Several Japanese journalists raised the question on the call.

All I can tell you today is that the new games' dates for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been just set up, Takaya said.

In that respect, Tokyo 2020 and all concerned parties now are doing their very best effort to deliver the games next year." IOC President Thomas Bach was asked about the possibility of a postponement in an interview published in the German newspaper Die Welt on Sunday.

He did not answer the question directly, but said later that Japanese organizers and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe indicated they could not manage a postponement beyond next summer at the lastest.

The Olympics draw 11,000 athletes and 4,400 Paralympic athletes and large support staffs from 206 national Olympic committees.

There are also questions about frozen travel, rebooking hotels, cramming fans into stadiums and arenas, securing venues, and the massive costs of rescheduling, which is estimated in Japan at 2 billion- 6 billion.

Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto addressed the issue in a news conference on Friday. He is likely to be asked about it again on Thursday when local organizers and the IOC hold a teleconferene with media in Japan.

The other major question is the cost of the delay; how much will it be, and who pays? Bach said in the Sunday interview that the IOC would incur several hundred million dollars in added costs. Under the so-called Host City Agreement, Japan is liable for the vast majority of the expenses.

This is impossible to say for now, Takaya, the spokesman said.

It is not very easy to estimate the exact amount of the games' additional costs, which have been impacted by the postponement."

Tokyo says it's spending 12.6 billion to organize the Olympics. But a Japanese government audit published last year says the costs are twice that much. Of the total spending, 5.6 billion in private money. The rest is from Japanese governments.

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