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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday March 3, 2015, 2015
Changes demanded after England’s latest World Cup flop (REUTERS) - The incoming chairman of England’s cricket board has flagged a review of the team’s approach to the one-day format after a third crushing loss at the World Cup. England slumped to a nine-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka last Sunday, leaving their hopes of making the World Cup’s quarter-finals hanging by a thread. Having beaten only Scotland in their first four pool matches, a loss to lowly Bangladesh or a washout of the match in Adelaide on March 9 would end their tournament. “In ODIs we have underperformed. In Tests we are on the up, we have
some fantastic young players coming through and have got to have some faith in them,” Colin Graves, the incoming chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, told the BBC. “We have to have a strategy and in one-day internationals we have to improve. The main thing is, you look at the World Cup and it’s very aggressive early on, are our players as aggressive as the others? We need to talk about those things.” England have performed poorly at World Cups since their run to the final in 1992 but have appeared especially stodgy and predictable at the current tournament. Having set Sri Lanka
310 to win at Wellington Regional Stadium, their bowlers managed to take just a single wicket as their opponents reeled in the total with overs to spare. Their pace attack, all right-arm seamers, have been treated with contempt by opposing batsmen while number three Gary Ballance has scored a total of 46 runs from his four matches in the tournament. Despite that, selectors have stuck with the same misfiring lineup throughout and their under-fire captain Eoin Morgan dodged questions on whether changes would be made for the Bangladesh game on Monday. Former players have called for a shake-up of
England’s attack and said the team is too hung up on statistics, citing the plodding middle overs of England’s batting innings against Sri Lanka and Morgan’s insistence their total was above par at the Wellington ground. “From what I’ve heard over the last year or two, that culture has been driven by premeditated plans and statistics when it should be gut feeling and instinct,” former captain Nasser Hussain wrote in the Daily Mail. Former England spinner Graeme Swann added: “It was a very self-congratulatory 310, everyone was saying ‘brilliant’. These days that’s about average and not a great score.”
Former ICC boss Dalmiya returns as BCCI chief (REUTERS) - Former International Cricket Council (ICC) chief Jagmohan Dalmiya returned to head the world’s most powerful cricket board yesterday, following his unopposed election as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Dalmiya will succeed ICC chairman N. Srinivasan who was barred from contesting the election by the Supreme Court for possible conflict of interests. Srinivasan’s India Cements company owns the Chennai franchise in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament. Dalmiya, who headed the ICC from 1997 to 2000 and was named BCCI president the following year, is widely credited for turning India into cricket’s financial powerhouse and the most influential member of the sport’s global governing body. He was the consensus candidate between the two
Luis Figo
Luis Figo in favour of live FIFA presidency debate
LUIS FIGO says he would jump at the chance to take part in a live televised debate with Sepp Blatter and the other two candidates running for the FIFA presidency. Sky and the BBC have written to the four hopefuls - current president Blatter, FIFA vice-president Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan, Dutch FA president Michael van Praag and former Portugal international Figo - inviting them to take part in the broadcast debate involving fans from around the world. Figo - along with Prince Ali - had previously stated he would be willing to take part in such a debate and he reiterated his stance yesterday. “Football is loved and cherished around the world and we owe it to the fans to have an open, honest discussion about the future of FIFA as the international
governing body,” the exReal Madrid and Barcelona winger said in a statement. “I fully support the idea of a public debate between the candidates as proposed by the BBC and Sky. For this to work effectively, I believe all four candidates need to participate and I will be writing to the broadcasters to confirm that position. “It is essential that we set FIFA on a new course and the football community, including the public and the fans, deserve to know what all four presidential candidates offer for the future.” FA chairman Greg Dyke has welcomed the idea of a debate and is happy for it to take place at Wembley. He said: “I would love to see a leaders’ debate. I would love to see the four candidates for this election get in a room together and be questioned. We would happily host it at Wembley.” (PA SPORT)
Irish back themselves to deal with de Villiers threat
Jagmohan Dalmiya rival groups headed by Srinivasan and former ICC chief Sharad Pawar, local media reported. Anurag Thakur replaced Sanjay Patel as secretary of the BCCI, the ruling body said in a statement even as the board also elected a joint secretary, treasurer and five vice-presidents at its annual general meeting, in Chennai.
(REUTERS) - Ireland will not be altering the way they play to counter the batting threat of South Africa’s AB de Villiers in today’s Pool B clash in Canberra, skipper William Porterfield said yesterday. de Villiers confirmed his rich vein of form with a devastating 162 from 66 balls against West Indies last Friday, backing up his record 31-ball century against the same opponents in Johannesburg last month. The South Africa captain might be imagined to be licking his lips at the prospect of facing Ireland’s less lively attack on a Manuka Oval track where Chris Gayle smashed 215 for West Indies last week. “It’s no fluke what he’s done. He’s done it a couple of times now over the last six to eight weeks,” Porterfield told a news conference in Canberra.
“(But) you don’t have to reinvent the wheel or change how you play against one player. He obviously has a special talent, but you’ve been doing something yourself. “Each bowler has got their own skills. They’ve done it over a number of years. They’ve got to back themselves and back the field that’s been set and how well they want to get hit, and if he hits that over their heads or down their throats, then so be it.” Ireland, who have started their campaign with wins over West Indies and United Arab Emirates, still boast the scorer of the fastest World Cup century in Kevin O’Brien, whose 50-ball ton against England in 2011 set up a famous upset. “Look, if Kev can go out and repeat what he’s done in the past as well then we’ve got that bit of X-factor ourselves,” Porterfield added. “It’s obviously great to see
in the world game. That’s what people want to see.” Porterfield has become something of spokesman for the campaign to prevent the World Cup field being cut from 14 to 10 teams in 2019, so depriving “associate member” nations of their chance to compete alongside the top tier cricketing countries. The Irish skipper welcomed the support of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni but said the best way for the so-called minnows to press their case was on the field of play. “There have been a lot of influential people that have come out and spoken from the world of cricket. But we’ve got to go out there and plan the performances on the pitch and keep making statements out there, because ultimately that’s what it boils down to,” he said.