Australia aims to lift sixth women’s World Cup title

February 16, 2013

Australia_aims

Mumbai, Feb 16: Five-time champions Australia will walk in with the twin aims of revenge and title triumph when they take on a spirited West Indies, a team which has punched above its weight all through, in the summit clash of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in Mumbai on Sunday.

Australia was undefeated in the series until the West Indies beat them by eight runs in their last Super Six match.

The team from Down Under would be keen to take avenge that loss and win the trophy for the sixth time.

But the Aussies have a few issues to sort out ahead of the clash against the Caribbeans, who have made the final for the first time.

The batters have not fired in unison for Australia and openers Meg Lanning and Rachael Haynes haven’t been able to provide a good platform, except the 55-run stand they shared in the game against Sri Lanka.

Lanning, who scored 112 in her team’s victory over New Zealand, hasn’t been able to convert the starts into a meaningful score, while her opening partner Haynes, except for her unbeaten 71 against Sri Lanka, hasn’t contributed much in the series with the bat.

But with a formidable bowling attack, the Jodie-Fields led side would hope to restrict West Indies to a modest score in the final.

Pacer Megan Schutt is one of the leading wicket-takers with 13 scalps, while the 17-year-old Holly Ferling, who made her debut in this World Cup, has been impressive with nine wickets in four matches.

Australia has been without the services of pace spearhead Ellyse Perry in the last three games and they would hope that she recovers from her ankle injury to be fit for Sunday’s crucial encounter.

On the other hand, West Indies will look to rewrite history and get their hands around the coveted trophy for the first time.

The odds might favour Australia, having won three of their four World Cup matches against West Indies, but the Caribbean side will have the psychological advantage of defeating them in the previous game.

After starting as underdogs, West Indies have emerged as the dark horses in the tournament. They stunned Australia to reach the finals and become the table-toppers in the Super Six stage.

The Merissa Aguilleira-led side, who at the group stage looked doubtful to make it through the next round, entered the Super Six stage when hosts India were knocked out due to a 138-run loss against Sri Lanka.

Having lost two games with a heavy margin in the group stage, the Caribbean side bounced back by winning all the three matches in the Super Six stage to enter the final.

The West Indies side has been unpredictable, losing the campaign-opener by 105 runs to India, thumping Sri Lanka by 209 runs, losing to England by six wickets before winning by two wickets against South Africa, shocking New Zealand by 48 runs and pipping Australia by eight runs.

Stafanie Taylor is the player in prime form for the Caribbean side and she has been wielding the bat well to score 309 runs in the series so far. She is expected to come in handy with the ball and pick up a few wickets.

World record holder for the fastest 100 in T20s, Deandra Dottin, who made a 67-ball 60 with 10 fours and a six against Australia, will bolster the middle-order and put the opponents on the back foot.

The new ball sharers -- Shanel Daley and Tremayne Smartt -- have been inconsistent, either picking up wickets in heap or going wicketless.

Spinner Anisa Mohammed with her unusual bowling action will look to trouble the batters and can be useful with the bat to hit the ball out of the park.

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News Network
June 13,2020

Melbourne, Jun 13: Former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist and current opener David Warner have expressed gratitude to two Indian students for helping people in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gilchrist thanked Sharon Varghese, an Indian student who did her Bachelors in Nursing from the University of Wollongong.

Varghese has been was working on the frontline along with other health care workers to look after the residents of aged-care during the global health crisis.

"She gave up her time to work as an aged-care worker throughout that time. Sharon, I want to say congratulations on the selfless act and for wanting to thank people in Australia because you have enjoyed three and a half years living here. And that’s wonderful to hear," Gilchrist said in a video message.

"Just want to let you know, all of Australia, all of India and more importantly, your family will be so very proud of your efforts."

In another short video, Warner thanked Queensland-based Indian student, Shreyas Sheth.

"Namaste. I am here to say thank you to Shreyas Sheth who is doing selfless work to help others during the COVID crisis. Shreyas is doing his Masters in Computer Science at the University of Queensland and he has been part of University’s outreach program, preparing and delivering food packets to students in need right now," Warner said in the video.

"So I just want to say ‘good on ya’. I am sure your mum and dad and India are proud of you. Keep up the great work."

The videos were shared by Austrade India official twitter account, which have hit almost 10 thousand views in last one week.

Apart from the two cricketers, another Social Media Influencer Amy Aela also sent her thank you note to Liya, an Indian student from Griffith university for her work in providing mental health support to communities in Australia during the pandemic.

"Liya I just want to thank you...we definately need more people like you...just remember that Australia is so so proud of you, India is proud of you..please keep up the good work," Aela said.

Former Australian footballer Craig Foster also sent his thank you message to another Indian origin nurse Arushi from Deakin University. More than 100,000 Indian students are studying in Australia, currently making them one of the biggest cohorts of international students in the country.

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News Network
March 30,2020

Lausanne, Mar 30: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday announced that the Tokyo Olympics 2020 will be 'celebrated' from July 23 to August 8 next year while the Paralympics Games will be held from August 24 to September 5, 2021.
"The International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympics Committee (IPC), the Tokyo 2020 organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Government of Japan today agreed on new dates for the games of the XXXII Olympiad, in 2021. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be celebrated from 23 July to 8 August 2021. They also agreed on new dates for the Paralympic Games, which will be celebrated from 24 August until 5 September 2021," the IOC said in a statement.
Earlier, the Tokyo Olympic Games were slated to be held from July 24 to August 9, while the Paralympic Games were scheduled to be held from August 25 to September 6. However, the coronavirus pandemic forced the postponement of the event.
IOC said the new dates are 'exactly one year' after those originally planned, giving the health authorities and all involved in the organisation of the games maximum time to deal with the constantly changing landscape caused by the coronavirus.
"These new dates give the health authorities and all involved in the organisation of the Games the maximum time to deal with the constantly changing landscape and the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," the statement read.
"The new dates, exactly one year after those originally planned for 2020 (Olympic Games: 24 July to 9 August 2020 and Paralympic Games: 25 August to 6 September 2020), also have the added benefit that any disruption that the postponement will cause to the international sports calendar can be kept to a minimum, in the interests of the athletes and the IFs. Additionally, they will provide sufficient time to finish the qualification process. The same heat mitigation measures as planned for 2020 will be implemented," it added.
The IOC president Thomas Bach thanked all the International Federations (IF) for their support.
"I want to thank the International Federations for their unanimous support and the Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees for the great partnership and their support in the consultation process over the last few days. I would also like to thank the IOC Athletes' Commission, with whom we have been in constant contact," Bach said in a statement.
"With this announcement, I am confident that, working together with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government, and all our stakeholders, we can master this unprecedented challenge. Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel," he added.
IPC president Andrew Parsons said the new dates will provide certainty to the athletes.
"It is fantastic news that we could find new dates so quickly for the Tokyo 2020 Games. The new dates provide certainty for the athletes, reassurance for the stakeholders and something to look forward to for the whole world. When the Paralympic Games do take place in Tokyo next year, they will be an extra-special display of humanity uniting as one, a global celebration of human resilience and a sensational showcase of sport," Parsons said.
"With the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games 512 days away, the priority for all those involved in the Paralympic Movement must be to focus on staying safe with their friends and family during this unprecedented and difficult time," he added.

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday extended wishes to the "most prolific batsman of all time" Sachin Tendulkar on his 47th birthday.

ICC took to Twitter and wrote: "Happy birthday to Sachin Tendulkar, the most prolific batsman of all time! To celebrate, we will give you the opportunity to vote for his top ODI innings in a bracket challenge! Stay tuned to join the celebrations."

The Maharashtra-born player had an illustrious career in the game, creating several records.
Tendulkar made his debut in Test cricket on November 15, 1989. In the same year on December 18, he played his first ODI match.

The legendary cricketer has the most number of runs in the longest format of the game, amassing 15,921 runs. Along the way, Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, most by any player.

Things are no different in ODI cricket as Tendulkar atop the list of most runs in this format as well. He has accumulated 18,426 runs in ODI which includes 49 tons.

Tendulkar represented the country in six World Cups during his career that lasted for 24 years. He was the part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad.

This year, Master Blaster decided not to celebrate his birthday due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country.

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