International Cricket Council CEO Dave Richardson hopes to convince Anil Kumble on DRS

Mirpur:  The BCCI might be adamant in its opposition to the Decision Review System but International Cricket Council CEO Dave Richardson says the world body is hopeful of changing the Indian stand by first convincing ICC Cricket Committee chief Anil Kumble about the controversial innovation.

"Can Kumble convince the BCCI? First of all, we must convince Mr. Kumble. I'm more worried about them taking part in the debate rather than just sitting outside refusing to even talk about it," the ICC chief executive said during a media interaction here today.

"At the moment, Anil Kumble chairs the ICC cricket committee. He's a member of a working group set up to specifically review DRS and how technology is going to be used in the future. I don't want to put a time limit on it," he added.

He further added, "India hasn't accepted the DRS. How long would it take to convince BCCI? Your guess is as good as mine. I don't think we should limit ourselves to a certain time. BCCI will make up their mind in due course. All that we need to make sure is that they're at least privy to the latest information so that they understand the quality of the technology that is available."

Richardson is also confident that BCCI will play a more active role in the governance of the parent body, now that N Srinivasan is set to take over as the chairman of the ICC board in June.

"As the CEO of the organisation which he (Srinivasan) chairs, I will be having regular meetings with him. What I like about the position is that for the first time, the BCCI will be very much part of the governance structure, playing a full role in developing the strategy going forward. So I am looking forward to working with the BCCI," he said.

Richardson is happy that BCCI is taking up the leadership role in the development process of the ICC.

"Their (BCCI) approach was always to sit on the outside, not to partake in developing strategy. They left that to the other people. Now for the first time, they have taken the responsibility on their shoulders to lead in developing the strategy," he said.

Richardson will be happy if all the member organisations take full part in the strategy making procedure.

Richardson in a roundabout manner did express his concern about the leadership in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) with a Najam Sethi now back in saddle in place of Zaka Ashraf.

He feels that at times, it becomes difficult if representatives of the member nations don't do their homework.

"The ICC being a members' organisation, it is incumbent on each and every member who sits on the Board to do his best to contribute to the good of the sport -- to understand the issues, to come to meetings having read the papers and to fully participate in the decision-making processes. And that applies to all member countries, not only Pakistan."

Cricket: 'Destructive' Windies eye another World T20 title

The West Indies open the defence of their World Twenty20 title on Sunday confident they posses the requisite firepower to deliver another successful campaign in Bangladesh.
Darren Sammy's men tore apart the form book when they stunned hosts Sri Lanka in the final of the previous edition in Colombo two years ago, giving cricket in the Caribbean a massive lift.
Sammy, speaking ahead of the group two Super-10 clash against India in Dhaka, said a more experienced West Indies boasts of players ideally suited to dominate in the slam-bang format.
"If we play to our full potential, we can be a real destructive force," said the skipper, who leads players like the explosive batsman Chris Gayle and star spinner Sunil Narine.
"We've got a lot of experienced players who play Twenty20 cricket all over the world, like Gayle, Narine and Dwayne Bravo. We have a great balance in the squad."
Sammy said Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Indians, who thumped Pakistan by seven wickets in the Super-10 opener on Friday, were no strangers to his players since they played together in the Indian Premier League.
"We have a general idea of the Indians because guys have been in the same dressing room as them during the IPL," he said. "Anyway in this age, there is footage to be seen everywhere.
"You can watch a player's match and come up with a successful formula to stop him."
Sammy expected a keen contest on Sunday, saying his team were eager to start the tournament on a winning note.
"The good thing in our team is that we don't have to rely on any one person. We have at least five or six potential match-winners," he said.
"But everyone has to contribute. You may have a brilliant team, but it takes a total team effort to win.
"It is not going to be easy to win the tournament again. We have to focus on each team. But tomorrow it is all about India and our energies are focused on them."
Pakistan, Australia and Bangladesh are the other teams in the group, from which two will advance to the semi-finals.

With love from Cuba, Almaty and Tristan da Cunha

 

On Nieu Island "the fielder, high in a coconut tree, throws the ball to one of his 39 team-mates, at ground level, desperate to prevent his opponent completing the maximum sixth run". The annual Casey Day fixture between Australian scientists and others takes place 2580km from the South Pole on February 12. In Almaty, Kazakhstan, they play on a school playground, and the batsman accrues two runs by hitting the ball into the bushes inside the boundary, and lbw is so disputatious that the mode of dismissal has been banned. In 1961 the South Atlantic island Tristan Da Cunha had to be evacuated because of a volcanic eruption, bringing to a temporary end a long cricketing tradition that was happily revived in 1995, using a rounders ball on a concrete pitch.

These esoteric gems are snatched almost at random from Elk Stopped Play. In 1993, under the stewardship of Matthew Engel, Wisden introduced its "Cricket Round the World" section. Reports of cricket in far-flung corners of the globe had featured previously, but Engel's decision ensured that for the last 30 years readers have been able to enjoy reports of cricket in manifold contexts and locations. A friend told me recently that when he gets his annual Wisden, he goes first to the obituaries, and then to "Cricket Round the World". This marvellous book demonstrates why that's a shrewd move.

Elk Stopped Play is edited by Charlie Connelly, an automatic selection given that he is a cricket nut by proclivity and a travel writer by trade. As he records in his introduction, a family holiday to Holland when he was a boy deprived him of his opportunity to watch his idol Lance Cairns on TV (Charlie, Lance Cairns?) but provided an epiphany as he glimpsed a cricket match through trees from the back seat of the car. They play cricket here? Elk Stopped Play is the product of his subsequent fascination with cricket around the world.

Connelly has surveyed Wisden's bulletins from around the globe and, with a writer's eye, put together an anthology that is engaging and entertaining throughout. His introduction provides ten pages of personal cricketing reflection that justify the book by itself. He selects extracts from Wisden and knits them together with narrative and reflection that place the selections in geographical, cultural and sporting context.

A recurring theme, in the background of this book, is the influence of migration. The British took cricket around the world as they colonised it, and have continued to spread the word. A remarkable figure in Elk Stopped Play is Leona Ford, who, having retired from teaching English at university, revived cricket in Cuba. Australians and Kiwis also insist on exhibiting their expertise as they circumnavigate. More recently, Asian people have taken their compulsive love of the game wherever they go.

Unlike its big Wisden daddy, Elk Stopped Play invites reading from cover to cover, but it also rewards the dipper in and out in search of a diverting tale from abroad for a few minutes.

Taken in isolation, these bulletins from elsewhere are in turn charmingly exotic, funny and banal. Taken as a whole, however, they are testament to the extraordinary global reach of cricket. As Michael Palin, no mean traveller himself, notes at the end of his foreword, "there is barely a corner of God's earth where you can walk without at least some chance of being hit by a cricket ball".

Cricket - England call up Kieswetter to replace injured Wright

Wright, who has been carrying a right side strain since arriving in Bangladesh, was ruled out on Saturday morning - just hours before England's Group 1 opener against New Zealand.

He joins Joe Root (broken thumb) and Ben Stokes (broken wrist) in missing the tournament having been named in the original 15.
Kieswetter, a key part of England's surprise 2010 success in the same competition, is expected to arrive in Chittagong on Monday and should be available for the three remaining Super 10 matches.
Wright had appeared set for a big role in the competition when he enjoyed a prolific spell with Melborne Stars in the Big Bash League, scoring 275 and becoming the only non-Australian to earn a player-of-the-tournament nomination.
But his return to England colours has proved a damp squib, scoring one, nought, nought and seven not out in two one-day and two T20 appearances on the tour of West Indies.
Kieswetter, who made the last of his 25 appearances in the format in September 2012 during the previous World Twenty20, was also involved in the BBL with Brisbane Heat.
Any squad changes must be approved by the International Cricket Council's technical committee, which confirmed: "The ICC has confirmed that the Event Technical Committee of the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 has approved Craig Kieswetter as a replacement player for Luke Wright in the England men's squad for the tournament, which runs until 6 April.
"Wright has a right side strain and, therefore, has been ruled out of the tournament."

A feast of cricket's guilty pleasures

The first few days have established the atmosphere nicely, aided by Bangladesh's sashaying around their own party looking like a million dollars, but the hubbub is about to increase noticeably. The A-listers have arrived, hoovering up the remaining canapés, distracting the snappers and showing off their entourages. Only the bolshevism shown by Ireland looks like preventing the Super 10 stage from resembling a Full Members' club, as notions of equality and opportunity are replaced by the established batting order.

The World T20, in all its unpredictable, telegenic, effervescent glory, has established itself as a tournament that gives with both hands: the games come thick and fast, high in calorie content and E-numbers, but the weight is quickly shed. With a few vigorous blows a batsman is back in form, while bowlers can "leave it all on the field" during a maximum of four overs, safe in the knowledge that they are expected to get tonked anyway. Supporters gorge themselves on boundaries and ambient pop (sic), then go home, move on.

Neither is it just a warm-up for the forthcoming IPL. International rivalry has always been cricket's strongest conduit of support and the near certainty that the hosts will qualify for the Super 10 stage sets up Dhaka as the jumping-est joint in the country. Group 2, while forbiddingly tough, will allow Bangladesh the opportunity to have a fresh crack at snooty neighbours India and Pakistan, who will resume their own argument over the garden hedge in a hotly anticipated opening to the second round on Friday evening.

The port city of Chittagong, once known for its Portuguese settlements, will welcome hopefuls from Europe, Africa and Australia, though Sri Lanka's local knowledge will be expected to help them chart a course through Group 1. At around the same time, an expanded women's tournament will also begin in the more genteel surroundings of the new Sylhet stadium, located in a tea garden.

Bangladesh and Ireland will be making their maiden appearances at the Women's World T20, with ten teams contesting 27 matches over 15 days. Two-time defending champions Australia are in the opposite pot to England, winners of the inaugural competition in 2009, with West Indies, New Zealand and India likely to also come into contention. The semi-finals and finals will again take place as double-headers with the men's events, though in a country with a female prime minister and where crowds in the thousands turned out to watch games at the women's World Cup Qualifier in 2011, healthy attendances will be hoped for throughout.

In the men's competition, it is simpler to suggest who probably won't win it than who will. In four previous tournaments, there have been four different winners, which is indicative of T20's capacity for mischief. The specialist planning and bespoke technique teams come up with for the format has made it something akin to hit 'n goggle but good old-fashioned confidence and momentum will play a key role in whoever carries off the title this time.

Of the eight sides entering at the second round, England and South Africa look the most peaky, especially given the conditions. India's recent results have also been poor and they have only played one T20 international since December 2012. A few weeks ago, West Indies, the defending champions, would have also been bracketed with the long-shots, having suffered a fifth T20 defeat in a row, against Ireland, but the signs in the warm-ups games suggest that they are rousing themselves at the perfect time once again.

Sri Lanka, ranked No. 1 in the world, certainly have form. They have an unenviable record of failing in recent finals - including at the last World T20 at home - but will gain confidence from putting away mercurial geniuses Pakistan in the Asia Cup earlier this month. Will the impending retirements of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene inspire a dash to victory or could the emotion cause Sri Lanka to choke up again?

Pakistan have been the best team in the World T20's short history, never failing to make the semi-finals. The charge against them is that they bowl with brio but bat like brioche (soft, light and easy to tear apart). The latter tendency came to the fore again on Wednesday, dismissed for 71 by South Africa in Fatullah. Best get them out of the way beforehand, eh?

According to the bookmakers, the mantle of favourites apparently lies with Australia, perhaps draped especially around the broad shoulders of Aaron Finch, one of the few men who can rival Chris Gayle in a destruction derby. The loss of Mitchell Johnson to injury will deny them a valuable weapon on slower pitches, however, and exacting questions will be asked of their spin options, which include 43-year-old Brad Hogg (international debut: 1996) and 20-year-old James Muirhead (international debut: January 2014). Then there is New Zealand, who a wise man never discounts.

The Commonwealth Games are known as the "friendly games" and so far Bangladesh has united in a display of colour and confraternity to put on the "friendly T20". There are likely to be some flashes of enmity on the field but T20's spirit of hedonism should quickly subsume all other emotions. The first five days of the tournament served something of a noble purpose; now, at least until the knockout stages begin, it is time for guilty pleasures.

Ind-Pak cricket awaits a new chapter

Pakistani jaws drop as Anil Kumble takes his 10^th wicket.
Javed Miandad sprints back to the dressing room like a maniac after hitting that last-ball six off Chetan Sharma.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s hands rest on his head as Shahid Afridi mis's hits six over long-on.
Misbah ul Haq sinks to his knees, the two prime ministers clap in the VIP box after India ease into the 2011 World Cup final.

India v Pakistan head-to-head

	Pakistan	India	D/T/NR
Tests	12	9	38
ODIs	72	50	4
Twenty20s	1	3	1
TOTAL	85	62	43

The high, high-fives (courtesy tall Indians) and wide smiles are witnessed as Pakistan are tamed in the 1996 World Cup quarter-finals.
These are just some of the significant chapters in the history of India-Pakistan cricket rivalry.
Relations at government level are dented, nations are divided by history but it’s that same history – together with culture and tradition – that keeps them together. Records and memories are created each time India takes on Pakistan on a cricket field. It adds a new chapter in the nations’ history, one that is scripted by a white ball.
Excitement, from start to end
The matches have explosive starts – Sachin Tendulkar in Durban, Irfan Pathan in Karachi and Saeed Anwar in Chennai. Some shattered stumps are often seen – Shoaib Akhtar at Eden Gardens and Wahab Riaz in Mohali. Rear-guard action by MS Dhoni, turning the game on its head courtesy Ajay Jadeja and asserting one's authority in the form of Virat Kohli’s 183 becomes the most significant act of the match.

It’s a game of nerves without a doubt, you can’t even sleep for several nights before an India-Pakistan game Wahab Riaz, Pakistan fast-bowler

The endings have been varied – Misbah’s paddle down leg, Harbhajan Singh’s squat over midwicket in addition to the Miandad heroic and the Afridi magic.
But what an India-Pakistan clash delivers without fail is excitement, anticipation and plenty of nerves – even before the flip of the coin.
“It’s a game of nerves without a doubt, you can’t even sleep for several nights before an India-Pakistan game,” Wahab Riaz, who took five wickets in the 2011 World Cup semi-final against India, told Al Jazeera.
“The pressure is immense, more than a normal game. You want to do well in every match you play – take wickets, hold on to catches, score runs if you’re needed to and basically contribute to your team’s success.
"Against India, you strive extra hard to achieve all that. So you start planning days in advance and although there are nerves floating about, there is also a lot of excitement leading into an India-Pakistan match.”
Riaz was preferred over retiring fast-bowler Shoaib Akhtar for the crunch knockout match as mind prevailed over heart for the team management. Riaz failed to disappoint, on a stage and against opposition where failure is not an option, and was aptly applauded by the Mohali crowd.
Get the crowd in
Getting intimidated by a partisan crowd remains the visiting teams’ worry, especially if its Pakistan on Indian soil, but Riaz knows how to play that to one’s benefit too.
“You need to play with the crowd, not against it. You have to enjoy what they do and if you do that, it helps you relax. It won’t affect your performance one bit. There are so many people out there, you drop a catch or get dismissed, it creates pressure.”
For both sides – and for the tournament – the marquee clash might have come too soon as it takes place on the opening day of the main event. Despite the warm-up matches, there is no time to acclimitise to conditions and opposition in a testing environment.
Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez, though, is happy with the timing of this match, hoping success early in the tournament – and in such an important match – will bear glad tidings for the remainder of the event.
"You enjoy playing such pressure matches,” Hafeez said. “As a captain I am delighted that the first match is against India and if we do well, the other games will appear easier."
India favourites?
History certainly favours India. Pakistan have won only one of their five Twenty20 matches against their archrivals and have yet to beat them in an ICC World Cup or the World Twenty20s.
India will know, going into the match, that records will not help them on the field, especially after a dismal run-in to the World Twenty20 which has seen them lost to New Zealand away and perform poorly in the Asia Cup.
"We never look at that record and neither do we look at that game as a big one,” Virat Kohli, who stepped in for the injured captain MS Dhoni in the Asia Cup, said.
“It is just hyped up by all the people around it. We will not go out there to keep that record intact. We will go and play good cricket and try not to get too desperate."
Regardless of the result, it isn’t just the losing side facing the heat. Things get worse for some, including those 66 Kashmiri students who were expelled from their university and briefly threatened with sedition charges after they cheered for Pakistan in the recently concluded Asia Cup.
Just another game, then? It's nearly time for the anthems.

PEPSI IPL 2014 SCHEDULE FOR UAE

The first session of IPL-2014 will be held in UAE from 16th April,2014. And there will be played 20 matches among 8 teams.