Jaipur, Apr 27: For former Australia captain Mark Taylor, the IPL is a major worry for Australian cricket, a distraction even. But according to Shane Watson, the Indian franchise-based league is a unique offering for the game's current crop of cricketers, who can use this platform to rub shoulders with the legends of the game.
"The game of cricket has evolved and the environment has changed now. With Test, one dayers and T20s around, you have to make adjustments in your mindset too. We need a month long preparation for adapting to Indian conditions and Chennai like wickets but just after one practice match we have to play a Test match," Watson argued. "IPL gave me a great opportunity, working as a catalyst and I could blossom as a cricketer as well as a person. There may be difference in opinion but the IPL have positives too," he said.
This reaction was brought about after Watson was asked about Taylor's IPL comments, saying that the money on offer for playing in the tournament is a huge distraction for blossoming Australian cricketers as they stop taking their national services seriously. Why, Taylor had said, would someone bother about Test cricket when they can become millionaires by playing two months of non-serious IPL cricket?
"We can't change the times. Nothing can be ensured," said Watson. "The West Indian team during the 70s and 80s used to be very strong with a plethora of batting and bowling talent. Australians were strong in 90s and early 2000s. This is part of the cycle. The past few years have been difficult for us and it is true that we don't have the kind of batting depth we want but we have to choose the best from the available talent. But youngsters like Glenn Maxwell do get an opportunity to play along the likes of Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh. He can gain invaluable experience not only for cricket but also about life. Learning about each other's culture in this amalgam of cricketers of different countries is wonderful," he said.
Zimbabwe 158-4 after Bangladesh posts 391
HARARE: Zimbabwe were 158-4 and 233 runs behind Bangladesh's first-innings score of 391 at stumps on day two of the second Test at Harare Sports Club on Friday. Bangladesh dismissed Brendan Taylor for 36 late in the final session for an important breakthrough after the Zimbabwe skipper made two centuries in his team's strong win in the first Test. Zimbabwe was 34 short of the follow-on by the end of play, with Malcolm Waller 30 not out and Elton Chigumbura unbeaten after a rapid 45 off 49 balls with five fours.
The tourists have still fought back strongly over the first two days of the final Test after a heavy 335-run defeat last weekend. After posting a good total, Bangladesh removed Zimbabwe openers Regis Chakabva and Vusi Sibanda inside 13 overs and Taylor holed out to midwicket off Sohag Gazi after a typically watchful 104-ball innings.
Bangladesh earlier added 91 to its overnight score, with Nasir Hossain eventually out for 77. He was helped by lower-order contributions from Sohag Gazi, who made 21, and No. 11 Robiul Islam, who was 24 not out.
Hossain and Gazi put on 51 for the eighth wicket to push Bangladesh close to 400 after earlier half-centuries by Shakib Al Hasan and captain Mushfiqur Rahim on Thursday. Hossain clattered 11 boundaries in a belligerent 77 from 103 balls before legspinner Graeme Cremer bowled him round his legs.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 391 all out in 113.2 overs (Shakib Al-Hasan 81, Mushfiqur Rehman 60, Elton Chigumbura 3 for 75, Keegan Meth 2 for 41) vs Zimbabwe 158 for four in 62 overs (Brendan Taylor 36, E Chigumbura 45*, Robibul Islam 2 for 34)
ECB dismisses Kaneria appeal against ban
LONDON: Former Pakistan legspinner Danish Kaneria lost his appeal against a lifetime ban by the ECB for his role in a corruption scandal, ruining his hopes of a return to international cricket. Kaneria was banned by the ECB last year for pressuring former Essex teammate Mervyn Westfield into spot-fixing in an English county one-day game in 2009. Pakistan Cricket Board reacted by also suspending him until the case was resolved. The ECB released a statement Friday saying an appeals panel of the Cricket Discipline Commission dismissed Kaneria's request following a week-long hearing.
The appeal of Westfield, who served two months of a four-month jail sentence for deliberately conceding a set number of runs in an over, will be heard at a later date. He is midway through a five-year ban issued by the ECB. During a criminal trial, Westfield named Kaneria as the person who pressured him into accepting $9,400 from a bookmaker to underperform in a Pro40 match in 2009.
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