Morgan urges England to hold their nerve after SL loss

Agencies
June 22, 2019

Leeds, Jun 22: Eoin Morgan urged England to revert to type after a shock World Cup defeat by Sri Lanka cast doubt over their ability to reach the semi-finals.

Friday's 20-run loss at Headingley means England could have to win all three of their final group games against champions Australia, India and New Zealand in order to secure a last four spot.

Worryingly for England, they have not defeated any of that trio at a World Cup since 1992, although they did manage to tie with India in Bangalore eight years ago.

Sri Lanka's total of 232-9 did not appear to leave England, yet to win the World Cup, with an especially stiff chase on Friday.

But, with veteran paceman Lasith Malinga taking 4-43 and England tossing other wickets away, it proved enough despite Joe Root's grafting 57 and all-rounder Ben Stokes' unbeaten 82, with England bowled out for 212.

"You look at the basics of a run chase," said Morgan. "Partnerships are very important, we struggled to get enough partnerships going.

"We had a couple of individual innings but that's not good enough to win a game."

This was England's second pool loss after a 14-run defeat by Pakistan, but Morgan is refusing to panic.

"We are going to lose games in the group stages. We didn't deserve to win the game, we still need to go back to the process that's taken us to being a strong side in the world," he said.

England were hampered in their chase by the ongoing absence of in-form opener Jason Roy with a torn hamstring.

"Obviously we would love him in the side, he's a huge strength at the top of the order," said Morgan.

"But that's not why we lost the game. We bat all the way down. Every single one is quite significant because every single one could establish a partnership that could win you the game."

England's next match against Australia, who are currently top of the World Cup standings, at Lord's on Tuesday was always going to be a high-profile encounter.

But the stakes for England have been raised by a fourth successive loss to Sri Lanka in as many World Cups.

Morgan, however, insisted: "The message is quite simple: we need to do the basics along with the way that we play as well.

"When we get beaten we tend to come back quite strong. We tend to resort to aggressive, smart, positive cricket. Let's hope that's the case on Tuesday."

England may have risen to the top of the ODI rankings since a first-round exit at the 2015 World Cup by playing an aggressive brand of cricket that revolves around dynamic batsmen seeing the team to large totals.

But Friday's reverse will reinforce doubts over England's ability to adapt their game to the demands of low scoring affairs in high-pressure situations -- a problem that emerged during a 2017 Champions Trophy semi-final loss to Pakistan.

The way Moeen Ali hit off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva for six only to hole out off the very next ball trying to repeat the shot was an especially worrying sign given the England all-rounder was appearing in his 100th match at this level.

"England have not played with any smartness," said former captain Michael Vaughan, commentating for BBC Radio.

"The game was won when Moeen Ali hit a six and he tried to hit another. I hope we are not in an era where in the dressing room you can't say that is not good enough."

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra firmly believes that the BCCI has a plan for women's cricket but she wants the Board to communicate its ideas more specifically.

Speaking to news agency, Chopra, who is now a successful broadcaster, said the BCCI is thinking in earnest about the progress of women's cricket.

"It's not that the BCCI is not thinking about women's cricket. I only think they need to be more specific in communication about women's cricket," Chopra said.

"I firmly believe that they must be thinking about women's cricket but the communication all this while has been very specific to men's cricket."

The latest trigger for criticism of BCCI was India's withdrawal from a tour of England in September owing to logistical issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopra concedes it was "not nice" but Indian players' participation in the women's IPL, in November, will still be useful preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

"It is heartening to see women's cricket making headlines. They should have been a part of that England tour and it did not feel nice initially but the women's IPL, irrespective of the format, will be helpful for World Cup preparations. Any form of cricket is good preparation," Chopra said.

"Missing out on a tournament is not nice, but logistically there may have been issues. And you can't send an under-prepared team."

"If you see in isolation we may have missed out on an opportunity to play in England. The more the girls play the better it is, before playing a tournament of the stature of World Cup. The assurance from the president is a very good thing."

Chopra welcomed the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI's decision to hold the women's event in the UAE alongside the IPL, which will run from September 19 to November 10. The women's IPL will coincide with the business end of the men's league.

"I am definitely happy, it's always nice to be part of any cricket anywhere across the world.

"They should have been nearing the final stages of the preparation for the World Cup by now, but because of the pandemic things did not go as planned," she added.

Chopra had a successful international career spanning over 17 years, during which she represented India in a record six World Cups and became the first woman cricketer to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She also felt that the pandemic would not have much impact on the women's game that has gained momentum in recent times.

"...Cricket was on pause button...Once cricket resumes and players are back on the park, everything is going to get picked up. It might take some time to get started as everything starts from zero...

"The awareness the women's game has created, I hope it stays. They will just restart, not start after the pandemic."

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News Network
March 29,2020

Sydney, Mar 29: Steve Smith's two-year leadership ban ended quietly Sunday, leaving him eligible again to captain Australia at a time of uncertainty over when international cricket will resume.

Smith was stripped of the captaincy and banned from leading Australia for two years over his involvement in the 2018 ball tampering scandal in South Africa. His sentence ended Sunday and he can again captain Australia if called upon.

Australian players were due this week to conclude a series of matches in New Zealand and, for some, to join the Indian Premier League. But it wasn't clear Sunday if the IPL will take place this year and when international matches will resume. Australia's scheduled mid-year tours to England and Bangladesh are in doubt.

Smith told Channel Nine television's Sports Sunday he is doing his best to stay mentally and physically fit, training in his home gym, going on 10 kilometer (6 mile) runs and practising the guitar.

"It's obviously not looking likely (the IPL will go ahead) at the moment," Smith said. "I think there might be some meetings over the next few days to discuss what the go is with it all.

"I'm just trying to stay physically and mentally fit and fresh and, if it goes ahead at some point, then great. And if not, there's plenty going on in the world at the moment. So just play it day by day."

It seems unlikely Smith will return to the captaincy when cricket resumes. Tim Paine is firmly established as Australia's test captain and at 35 is not immediately considering retirement. Aaron Finch has captained Australia successfully in white ball cricket.

The conclusion of Smith's ban ends the period of upheaval in Australian cricket that followed the ball tampering incident in the second test at Cape Town in 2018 when Cameron Bancroft, with the knowledge of Smith and his vice-captain David Warner, used sandpaper to change the condition of the ball.

Smith and Warner received one-year bans from international and most domestic cricket and Bancroft was banned for nine months. The scandal also resulted in the resignation of coach Darren Lehmann and the departure of Cricket Australia's chief executive, James Sutherland.

Warner remains under a career-long leadership ban.

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Agencies
May 25,2020

Chandigarh, May 25: Legendary former hockey player Balbir Singh Senior died in a private hospital on Monday, his family said.

He was 96 years old. His condition was critical for nearly a fortnight.

He was undergoing treatment at Fortis Mohali and was in a "semi-comatose condition".

He was hospitalised on May 8 with high fever and breathing trouble. His COVID-19 test came negative.

Balbir was part of the Indian teams that won gold at the 1948 London Olympics, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956. His record for most individual goals scored in an Olympic men's hockey final remains unbeaten.

Balbir had set this record when he scored five goals in India's 6-1 win over Netherlands in the gold medal match of the 1952 Games.

He was the head coach of the Indian team for the 1975 men's World Cup, which India won and the 1971 men's World Cup, where India earned a bronze medal. He was also conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri in 1957.

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