Favourites England aim to dominate South Africa in World Cup 2019 opener

Agencies
May 30, 2019

London, May 30: Hosts and hot favourites England will know this is their best chance to lift the crown for the first time, when they take on perennial underachievers South Africa in the World Cup opener at The Oval here on Thursday. England, who are still in search of their first trophy like South Africa, have risen from the ashes of their poor campaign in the showpiece last time, following that group-stage exit by ascending to the summit of the ICC ODI rankings.

Eoin Morgan`s side boast of the most dominant batting unit in 50-over cricket and their bowling too oozes the firepower few teams can rival. Such has been England`s dominance that their 4-0 whitewash of Pakistan earlier this summer meant the Three Lions haven`t lost a multi-game series for two-and-a-half years.

In the warm-up games, England faltered in their first outing losing to fellow title contenders Australia before chalking up an easy win over lesser lights Afghanistan. But other teams would very well know that these matches mean little when it comes to tournament proper where the English bat as deep as anyone with the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy boasting the highest strike-rates of any openers in ODI history to have posted more than 1,000 runs, yet still have the highest average of any pair topping the order in the competition.

Joe Root is one of the world`s best batters in all formats with skipper Morgan, in-form Jos Buttler, all-rounder Ben Stokes following him to lead a talent-laden cast of cricketers. In men`s ODI history, only 20 players have ever averaged over 25 with the bat at a strike-rate over 100. Four of them -- Buttler, Roy, Bairstow and Moeen Ali -- currently play for England.

England`s bowling might not be as breathtaking as their batting, but with the inclusion of Jofra Archer -- who has just qualified to represent the team but was fast tracked into the fold -- their pace battery could make a considerable difference. On flat decks, spinners could play a role and it is then that leggie Adil Rashid comes into the picture, having taken more wickets than any other bowler since the tournament`s 2015 edition.

Talking about South Africa, the Proteas received a body blow on Tuesday as pace spearhead Dale Steyn was ruled out for the first game with a shoulder injury. South Africa, always considered one of the favourites, have also had injury concerns over their two other main strike bowlers, Lungi Ngidi (side) and Kagiso Rabada (back), though both played in the warm-up win over Sri Lanka last week.

Branded as `chokers` due to their failure to make the final despite making the knockouts of every edition they have participated in -- barring 2003 when they were also the hosts -- the Faf Du Plessis-led side this time have one of the best bowling units of the tournaments but lack depth in their batting. In pacer Rabada, South Africa have one of the best in the business and the wily old fox Imran Tahir also adds variety with his deadly leg-spin.

As far as their batting is concerned, Du Plessis will have to shoulder a lot of responsibility along with stumper batsman Quinton de Kock. Hashim Amla`s international career appears to be winding down as this could be his last World Cup. Rassie van der Dussen has had a terrific rookie year so far, with four half-centuries in his first eight ODI innings. Aiden Markram, 24, has already captained South Africa, and 23-year-old Andile Phehlukwayo adds value in more ways than one, with his all-round capabilities.

Overall, many experts have said this will be the most exciting World Cup in recent times with each of the ten teams playing each other in a marathon round robin format. Besides England, Virat Kohli`s India and Aaron Finch`s Australia are the other favourites with West Indies and New Zealand tipped as the dark horses.

There will be considerable focus on Steve Smith and David Warner as the pair are making a comeback into international cricket since their ball tampering scandal in Cape Town last year. Former Aussie skipper Smith was booed during a warm up game and this could be the norm as they look for their sixth title.

Kohli`s India, boasting of perhaps the best bowling attack in the tournament with Jasprit Bumrah in their ranks, are also expected to fire on all cylinders with the hype they have brought along. Arguably the best batsman of his generation, 31-year old Kohli will also look to make this World Cup his own by racking up runs.

Former captain M.S. Dhoni could be playing his last World Cup but at 37, he showed no signs of ageing in the warm-up game against Bangladesh by scoring a brilliant century (113 of 78). With run fests expected in every other game, there could be upsets along the way too as Afghanistan showed by beating Pakistan in the first warm-up.

The Windies posted a total of more than 400 against New Zealand, in a game where more than 750 runs were scored in less than 100 overs. This will also be a World Cup where many first timers like Afghanistan star spinner Rashid Khan and Bumrah, who have already made a name for themselves, will want to make it count.

Unfancied Pakistan, who have done precious little since their 2017 Champions Trophy win, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will look to shrug aside the tag and over perform. Debutants Afghanistan have nothing to lose and will be expected to express themselves freely.

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News Network
June 6,2020

New Delhi, Jun 6: Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding has come out in support of MS Dhoni, saying that the wicket-keeper batsman indeed wanted to win the match against England in the 2019 World Cup.

India's performance in the World Cup match against England last year has once again become a matter of debate as all-rounder Ben Stokes in his book titled 'On Fire' questioned the intent of the Indian side.

Stokes also said that Dhoni's intent was questionable as he did not go for big shots when India still had a chance to win the match.

However, Holding said that nowadays people tend to write anything in their books.

"Well, people will write anything in books these days, because people are a lot more free with their opinions and when they are writing books, they need to be making headlines at times," Holding said on his official YouTube channel.

"But, to be honest, a lot of people watching that game perhaps wouldn't have arrived to the same conclusion that Ben Stokes arrived at that India were not trying to win," he added.

Holding did say that it seemed like that India did not have the same intensity as they would have had if the match was a do-or-die match.

"It was not the game that India had to win, but I don't think anyone can say that was a team tactic to lose the game. I watched that game and it appeared to me as if India weren't putting up their 100 per cent, but I realised it was not the case when the expression on MS Dhoni's face told me that he desperately wanted to win, so I do not think it was a team decision to not try to win," the former Windies pacer said.

"But I don't think they went with the same intensity of wanting to win the game, say, if it was a do-or-die situation. If it was, we would have seen a different game," he added.

On his official YouTube channel, Holding also said that no team goes in with a set pattern in terms of chasing targets.

In the round-robin stage match against England in Birmingham, India failed to chase down the massive target of 338 and fell short by 31 runs.

That was the only game that India lost in the premier tournament last year before the semifinal loss against the Kiwis.

India's chasing approach, in particular of wicket-keeper batsman Dhoni, was criticised by many, including the fans at home.

As soon as Stokes mentioned Dhoni's lack of intent in his book 'On Fire', Pakistan fans started saying that India deliberately lost the match to knock out their neighbours.

However, Stokes clarified that he never said India lost deliberately and some people were twisting his words.

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News Network
May 14,2020

New Delhi, May 14: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an unconventional and unique leader, whose biggest strength is his incredible gut feeling, says his Chennai Super Kings teammate Faf du Plessis.

The former South Africa skipper has spent considerable time with Dhoni after joining the Indian Premier League (IPL) side in 2011 and has been an integral part of its successful journey.

"He reads the others player really well and he uses that to make instinctive decisions on the field. He's got an incredible gut feeling on the game and I think that's his biggest strength," du Plessis said in a Facebook live session with Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal.

The 35-year-old said Dhoni changed his perception of how a captain should be.

"It was amazing for me to see how different M S was as a captain. I used to think a captain must speak all the time in team meetings etc but M S was completely different.

"He doesn't believe a lot in team meetings. He's a very instinctive captain he's got such a good cricket brain that he relies on it to make the right decisions on the field," du Plessis said of former India skipper.

Dhoni last played for India in World Cup semifinal last year and was expected to be back to playing competitive cricket at now-postponed IPL.

Calling Dhoni the best finisher he has played with, Du Plessis said no one can emulate what the dasher from Ranchi can do with the bat.

"He's extremely calm. I haven't played with someone who is a better finisher than him. It's just remarkable to watch him from the side of the field."

"If someone else tries to do it like him they won't be able to. He's just so unique like he times the ball so late he's got an incredible calmness. He knows his game and he picks a bowler and goes for it."

Du Plessis said that playing for CSK alongside Dhoni and under the guidance head coach Stephen Fleming has taught him a lot about leadership.

"I'm lucky to have started my journey there at CSK because I have really learned a lot from a leadership point of view. I tried to learn as much as possible from Dhoni and Stephen Fleming because both are great captains."

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News Network
March 13,2020

Mar 13: The start of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world's most lucrative cricket competition, has been postponed from March 29 until April 15 over the coronavirus, the Indian cricket board said Friday.

"The Board of Control for Cricket in India has decided to suspend IPL 2020 till 15th April 2020, as a precautionary measure against the ongoing Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation," the BCCI said in a statement.

The two-month Twenty20 competition is estimated to generate more than $11 billion for the Indian economy and involves cricket's top international stars.

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