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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday December 22, 2014
No point sledging Aussies: Gavaskar ..Test legend cautions compatriots against getting into ‘verbal spats’ with Smith’s side
THEY fired up David Warner in Adelaide and motivated Mitchell Johnson in Brisbane, now former captain Sunil Gavaskar has implored India to stop the sledging. Warner was recalled after being bowled off a noball in the first Test, then swapped barbs with the tourists en route to his second century in the match. Johnson was given a loud welcome to the crease by Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the second Test, but the fielders were more subdued after he clubbed 88 off 93 balls.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan also exchanged sharp words with Warner and Shane Watson when the teams walked off at lunch on day four. India captain MS Dhoni was happy with his chirpy teammates. “Because you want a bit of aggression in the game ... it brings a bit more entertainment for the spectators,” Dhoni said. But Gavaskar, whose name jointly adorns the trophy the two sides are playing for, disagreed. The former opener, who scored 10,122 Test runs,
suggested his old side reassess their verbal approach after going down 2-0 in the four-Test series. “The Indians should not get into verbal spats with the Australians ... giving it back to Australians wasn’t such a smart idea,” Gavaskar told NDTV. “We in India, even in club level, are not used to chirping. “But the Australians, from the very beginning, are getting into these situations regularly. “It’s really water off a duck’s back to an Australian
if you have verbal spats with him.” Gavaskar added that such run-ins would only serve as distractions for India. “It will always stay in your mind, even if you are dishing it out,” he said. “If it is staying at the back of your mind then it is counter-productive. “I know we have talked about being aggressive but that is about aggressive intent.” Gavaskar paid tribute to the way Australia “tempered the verbal spats in this series”. “Especially after the
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar.
unfortunate Phil Hughes incident. I think there are trying to turn over a new leaf, and that’s how cricket should be played,” he said. Gavaskar also critiqued Dhoni’s claim that
Kohli was not ready to bat on day four, when Dhawan retired hurt after being hit in the nets. “Let’s not make that as an excuse,” he said. (AAP)_
No way back for Pietersen despite Cook sacking
(REUTERS) – ENGLAND cricket chiefs have moved quickly to make it clear that Alastair Cook’s dismissal as one-day captain has not opened the door for a return to international cricket for batsman Kevin Pietersen. The South African-born maverick’s undermining of Cook was one of the reasons Pietersen was cast aside by England in January after England’s 5-0 defeat in the last Ashes series in Australia. The swashbuckling stroke-maker has a much better relationship with
Kevin Pietersen middle-order batsman replaced Cook as captain Eoin Morgan, who has for the World Cup in Aus-
tralia and New Zealand early next year. The 34-year-old batsman said earlier this month that he still had hopes of a recall but England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) managing director Paul Downton moved to quell any hopes of a comeback. “We parted company with Kevin in January because throughout the ECB management, from the dressing room up to the board, it was felt that it was the right decision to go in a slightly different direction,” he told Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
“If anything more bridges have been burnt by Kevin’s book. There is no interest from our point of view in going backwards. “We’ve got an exciting group of young players and Eoin’s excited to be working with those guys. He wants to fulfil that team’s potential.” Pietersen, a former ICC ODI player of the year, released a book in October which contained attacks on the national cricket board and several of his former team mates. Head selector James Whitaker was even blunter.
“The ECB management made this decision in January and it is the same decision now,” he told the paper. “There is no way that Kevin Pietersen will ever get back into an England team.” Pietersen, who is in Australia playing Twenty20 cricket in the domestic Big Bash league, might draw some comfort from the fact that Whitaker backed Cook’s captaincy in September and Downton gave him another vote of confidence last week. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by John O’Brien)
Rossouw gets South Africa Test call-up
Rilee Rossouw
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa have called left-handed batsman Rilee Rossouw into their squad for the remaining two Tests against West Indies after wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock was ruled out through injury. It means AB de Villiers will keep the gloves for the rest of the series, with the selectors having to decide
whether to play seven batsmen or an extra bowler for the second test. The 25-year-old Rossouw, who has been battling with a finger injury for the last 10 days, has played nine one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches, but is yet to represent his country in Tests. He would vie with un-
capped Temba Bavuma for a place in the top seven if the Proteas decide to replace De Kock with a batsman, otherwise the less likely option is for left-arm spinner Robin Peterson to get the nod. “The fact that he has recently represented the Proteas in both the limited overs formats means that he will integrate easily into the Proteas squad
system,” Cricket South Africa selection convener Andrew Hudson said in a media release yesterday. South Africa won the first test in Pretoria by an innings and 220 runs. The second match starts on Friday in Port Elizabeth, with the final game in Cape Town from Jan. 2. (Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Pritha Sarkar)