Dhoni all praise for southpaw

August 29, 2014

SouthpawCardiff, Aug 29: India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has showered praise on Suresh Raina for his match-winning hundred in the second ODI against England which helped them take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.“It was a fantastic knock. By the end of the 30th over, we had not scored too many runs. It was important that he stayed at the crease because he was a set batsman. And we have realised that if we can get a partnership going and have wickets in hand, we can score a lot of runs in the last 10-12 overs. So his innings was very crucial in that respect.”

Raina and Dhoni put up 144 runs for the fifth wicket.“Raina is someone who scores at a very quick pace and he plays authentic cricketing shots. So I feel he played a fantastic innings as once he got his fifty, he continued and moved on to play some fantastic shots and got his hundred,” said Dhoni.

With the ODI World Cup six months away, when asked if this innings confirmed Raina’s spot in the squad for India’s title-defence, the Indian skipper replied, “If a batsman plays one good innings, he is put up on a pedestal. If he doesn’t play good cricket or indeed if Raina had not played this innings, the questions could have been very different.”

“If Raina doesn’t score in a couple of games against the West Indies (at home in October), some other questions will be asked. The World Cup is still three-four series away. Hopefully he won’t be injured.”

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Expressing solidarity with the 'Black Lives Matter' campaign, star West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has alleged that he faced racist remarks during his career and cricket is not free of the menace.

Gayle did not elaborate when he faced racial remarks but hinted it might have been during his stints at global T20 leagues.

"I have travelled the globe and experienced racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on," he posted on instagram on Monday night.

"Racism is not only in football, it's in cricket too. Even within teams as a black man, I get the end of the stick. Black and powerful. Black and proud," he said.

The big-hitting batsman's comments came in the backdrop of African-American George Floyd's death in the USA after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee on the handcuffed man's neck as he gasped for breath.

The incident has sparked violent protests across the USA.

"Black lives matter just like any other life. Black people matter, p***k all racist people, stop taking black people for fools, even our own black people wise the p***k up and stop bringing down your own!," Gayle wrote.

Racism in cricket was drew attention most recently last year when England pacer Jofra Archer was abused by a spectator in New Zealand.

New Zealand's top players and the cricket board had offered apologies for the incident to the Englishman.

Also on Monday night, the England cricket team's official twitter handle posted a message denouncing racism.

"We stand for diversity, We stand against racism," the message read.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 28,2020

New Delhi, May 28: India is not at risk of losing hosting rights for next year's Twenty20 World Cup despite its cricket board's failure to secure a tax exemption for the event, a key BCCI official has told Reuters.

Tax exemptions for International Cricket Council (ICC) events are listed as a requirement in host agreements and the BCCI was supposed to confirm they had secured one by May 18.

ESPNcricinfo, citing correspondence between the two bodies, has reported that the ICC has threatened to shift the tournament away from India over the issue.

However, BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal told Reuters that would not happen and that negotiations were continuing.

"There is no risk to the tournament," he said by telephone.

"That is a work in progress. We are discussing it with the ICC and we'll resolve it."

The BCCI encountered a similar problem when it hosted the event in 2016 when the government refused to provide a tax exemption, and there has been no change in New Delhi's stance despite the board's appeals.

Failure to secure that exemption in 2016 saw the ICC withhold an equivalent sum from India's share of revenue from the governing body's grants and it appears to be taking an even harder line this time around.

"There are certain timelines within the agreements that we collectively work towards to ensure we can deliver successful world class events and continue to invest in the sport of cricket," an ICC spokesperson told Reuters.

"In addition to this the ICC Board agreed clear timelines for the resolution of the tax issues which we are guided by."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
August 9,2020

Manchester, Aug 9: Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler played knocks of 84 and 75 respectively as England gained an improbable three-wicket win over Pakistan in the first Test of the three-match series here at the Emirates Old Trafford.

England chased down a total of 277 on the fourth day of the first Test.

Chasing 277, England openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley put on 22 runs for the first wicket, but Mohammad Abbas finally provided the breakthrough to Pakistan as he had Burns (10) adjudged leg-before wicket in the 12th over.

Skipper Joe Root came to the crease next, and he along with Sibley ensured that the side does not lose any more wickets before the lunch break, and England went into the lunch break at 55/1.

Sibley and Root eventually put up a 64-run stand, but their partnership was finally brought to an end by Yasir Shah as he dismissed Sibley (36) in the 36th over. Soon after, skipper Root (42) was also sent back to the pavilion by Naseem Shah, reducing England to 96/3 in the 39th over.

All eyes were on all-rounder Ben Stokes (9), but Pakistan's Yasir Shah sent him back to the pavilion in the 42nd over, and England was left in a spot of bother. Shaheen Shah Afridi, then also got among the wicket-taking charts as he scalped the wicket of Ollie Pope (7), reducing England to 117/5 in the 45th over.

Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler then got together at the crease, and the duo played in an aggressive manner to retrieve the innings for England. The hosts went into the tea break at 167/5, still, 110 runs away from the target with five wickets in hand.

Buttler and Woakes continued their march to frustrate the Pakistan bowling attack and the duo brought the target within the grasp of England. Both batsmen put up a stand of 139 runs, however, with just 21 runs away from the target, England lost the key wicket of Buttler (75) as Yasir Shah had him trapped in front of the wicket.

With England just needing four more runs for the win, Yasir Shah dismissed Stuart Broad (4), but in the end, Woakes and Dom Bess ensured England's win by three wickets.

For Pakistan, Yasir Shah was the pick of the bowlers as he scalped four wickets.

Earlier, resuming day four at 137/8, Yasir Shah (33) along with Mohammad Abbas (3*) and Naseem Shah (4) added 32 more runs to the overnight score to give England a target of 277 to win the first Test.

Stuart Broad was the pick of England bowlers as he scalped three wickets.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.