Mitchell Johnson claims top ICC awards

November 14, 2014

Mitchell JohnsonNov 14: Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has won the top ICC awards for 2013-14, being named the Cricketer of the Year, as well as Test Cricketer of the Year.

South Africa's AB de Villiers was named ODI Cricketer of the Year, while Australia's Aaron Finch won the T20 performance award for his 156 off 63 against England at the Rose Bowl in August.

England's Gary Ballance was named Emerging Cricketer of the Year, while Sarah Taylor was named the Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year and Meg Lanning, the Women's T20I Cricketer of the Year.

Scotland's Preston Mommsen got the Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year award, and umpire Richard Kettleborough was named Umpire of the Year.

India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar had previously been declared the winner of the People's Choice award. England's Katherine Brunt won the Spirit of Cricket award, for asking for a referral when a South Africa batsmen was adjudged out caught - the decision was eventually reversed.

Responding to the ICC's announcement, Johnson said his success as a fast bowler came down to his "attitude". "Aggressive fast bowlers are something you'd have seen back in the day with the likes of [Dennis] Lillee and [Jeff] Thomson.

For me, it's nice to be able to contribute to the team and do the job that I've always thought I've been able to do. I suppose it comes down to the attitude I've got, the belief and the confidence," he said. "I'm very happy with where I am at the moment and I want to keep getting better as a cricketer.

"This [the awards] is something that I'll be able to look back on in time when my career is over and be exceptionally proud of."

The winners were picked based on their performance between August 26, 2013, and September 17, 2014. In that period, Johnson took 59 wickets in eight Tests at 15.23 and 21 wickets in 16 ODIs at 33.04. Meanwhile, de Villiers had scored 963 runs in ODIs at 60.18 with four centuries.

Ballance, meanwhile, made his debut in January at Sydney at the tail-end of England's woeful Ashes campaign and went on to establish himself as the team's new No. 3 during the home season where he scored 704 runs at 70.04 in seven Tests against Sri Lanka and India.

Awards list

ICC Cricketer of the Year - Mitchell Johnson

Test Cricketer of the Year - Mitchell Johnson

Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year - Sarah Taylor

ODI Cricketer of the Year - AB de Villiers

Emerging Cricketer of the Year - Gary Ballance

Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year - Preston Mommsen

T20 International Performance of the Year - Aaron Finch

T20I Women's Cricketer of the Year - Meg Lanning

Spirit of Cricket Award - Katherine Brunt

Umpire of the Year - Richard Kettleborough

LG People's Choice - Bhuvneshwar Kumar

ICC Test Team of the Year

David Warner, Kane Williamson, Kumar Sangakkara, AB de Villiers (wk), Joe Root, Angelo Mathews (capt), Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Broad, Dale Steyn, Rangana Herath, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor (12th man)

ICC ODI Team of the Year

Mohammad Hafeez, Quinton de Kock, Virat Kohli, George Bailey, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner, Dale Steyn, Mohammed Shami, Ajantha Mendis, Rohit Sharma (12th man)

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Agencies
August 7,2020

Islamabad, Aug 7: Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, known for his blistering deliveries on the cricket field, recently baffled many with a deadly off-field bouncer by claiming he is willing to eat grass if it enabled an increase in budget for his country's Army!

"If Allah ever gives me the authority, I will eat grass myself but I will increase the budget of the army," said Akhtar in an interview with ARY News.

The 'Rawalpindi Express', considered the fastest bowler in history said he does not understand why the civilian sector cannot work in collaboration with the Armed forces.

"I will ask my army chief to sit with me and make decisions. If the budget is 20 per cent, I will make it 60 per cent. If we insult each other, the loss is ours only," the once feared fast-bowler said.

Akthar had also claimed to ARY News interview that he was willing to take a bullet for his country and had turned down a county stint just because he wanted to fight the 1999 Kargil War.

Ties between India and Pakistan have been strained in the recent months over several issues, the latest being Pakistan's attempt to broach in the UNSC the issue of Kashmir on the first anniversary of the India's move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and to split the erstwhile state into two union territories .

Pakistan also has not been in a good financial position and under prime minister Imran Khan, himself an all rounder cricketer, has added nearly USD 22 billion, that is 35 per cent to the nation's international debt pile in the last two years, according to an Asia Times report in July.

While Pakistan recently received USD 1.39 billion from the IMF to cushion the economic shocks caused due to COVID-19 outbreak, Akthar had a few months ago proposed that a joint cricket match be played between India and Pakistan to raise funds to fight the coronavirus. The suggestion that was put down by cricketers in India.

Meanwhile the 'Pindi boy' whose deadly pace and bounce was once dreaded by batsmen had recently taken to Twitter to deny former India cricketer Virender Sehwag's claim of sledging him.

Sehwag along with other Indian crickerters such as Harbhajan Singh and even Rahul Dravid had been at the receiving end of Akthar's sledging and antics during their playing days.

"Yes, totally self made story by him. Mujhe yeh bol k bach k jana kidhar tha us nay," Akthar tweeted to a report in which Sehwag claimed that he had sledged the 'Rawalpindi Express' by telling him that Sachin Tendulkar was his father.

During an awards ceremony Sehwag had recounted that fed up with Akthar's sledging and retaliated by telling him to say the same things to Tendulkar, who smashed the 'Pindi boy' for a six. Sehwag quipped that he told Akthar then that "Baap baap hota hai".

In the recent ARY interview, asked about the allegation made against him by former India cricketer Virendra Sehwag that he makes pro-India comments for greater following on social media channels, Akhtar said, "I cannot talk on the basis of hate." 

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Agencies
January 26,2020

New Delhi, Jan 26: The sports fraternity on Sunday extended greetings to the people on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day.

Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to write: "Wishing all Indians a very happy Republic Day."
"Rejoice the Glory of India and it's Freedom Fighters on this Republic Day. Wish you a very happy #RepublicDayIndia . Jai Hind !" former batsman VVS Laxman tweeted.

"Wish you all a very happy #RepublicDay2020 from here in New Zealand," Irfan Pathan tweeted.

Boxer Vijender Singh said India is blessed with different religions, societies, cultures and languages.

"INDIA is a nation where humanity has lived since ages.It is a country which is blessed with different religions,societies,cultures & languages all interplaying with each other in harmony. PROUD OF UNITY IN DIVERSITY #RepublicDayIndia #RepublicDay2020," Singh wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Former cricketer Virender Sehwag, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, wrestler Sushil Kumar and tennis player Sania Mirza also extended their greetings on the occasion.

On this day, 70 years back, India officially adopted its Constitution. Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro is the chief guest at the parade this year.

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News Network
March 16,2020

Mar 16: With COVID-19 outbreak killing over 5,400 people globally, former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has lashed out at those responsible for making the coronavirus infect humans and blamed China solely for the outbreak.

"I don't understand why you have to eat things like bats, drink their blood and urine and spread some virus across the globe...I'm talking about the Chinese people. They have put the world at stake. I really don't understand how you can eat bats, dogs, and cats. I'm really angry," Akhtar said in a video posted on his Youtube channel.

"The whole world is at risk now. The tourism industry has been hit, the economy is badly affected and the whole world is going towards a lockdown.

"I'm not against the people of China but I'm against the law of animals. I understand this may be your culture but this is not benefitting you now, it is killing humanity. I'm not saying you boycott the Chinese but there has to be some law. You cannot go on and eat anything and everything," he added.

Coronavirus, which originated in China's Wuhan city, has so far spread to more than 100 countries, infecting over 1,30,000 people.

In Pakistan, the number of positive cases reached 28 on Saturday.

Many sporting events, including the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL), have been affected by the disease which has now been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

While the IPL 2020, which was originally scheduled to start from March 29, has been postponed till April 15, the playoff stage of PSL has been curtailed and will be played behind closed doors.

"The biggest reason for anger is PSL...Cricket returned to Pakistan after so many years, the PSL was happening in our country for the first time now even that is at risk. The foreign players are leaving, it will take place behind closed doors," said Akhtar.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases across India has crossed 80 while two people have lost their lives due to the deadly disease. But Akhtar did not have the information and added: "God forbid the virus doesn't reach India. There are around 130 crore people there. I've been in touch with my friends in India and wishing them well."

In PSL, there will be no playoffs and the top four teams will now play semi-finals and then the final on March 17 and 18. The final was originally scheduled to be held on March 22.

"I've also heard that IPL has been postponed till April 15. The hotel industries, travel industries, broadcasters everything will incur losses because of this," he said.

The former Pakistan pacer also called on the world authorities to come out with a new animal protection law so that such diseases don't resurface in the future.

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