GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday August 25, 2014
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Big names missing in final U.S. roster for Spain (REUTERS) - The United States team will travel to Spain without some of the sport’s biggest names to defend their title at the Basketball World Cup after a selection process described as one of the “most difficult” in recent years. With marquee players LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Kevin Love opting out of selection and All-Star Paul George hurt, the U.S. will be led by the
New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23)
emerging talents such as Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving at the August 30 - September 14 tournament. “Since taking over the USA Basketball men’s national team programme in 2005, this was without doubt the most difficult selection process we’ve gone through,” USA Basketball chief Jerry Colangelo said after the 12man team was finalised. “In the end it was about assembling the best team,
selecting guys who we felt would be able to best play the kind of style we envision this team playing.” In recent weeks, Durant, Love, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge and NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard removed themselves from the selection process for various reasons and All Star forward George was ruled out after suffering a horror leg injury while playing in a Team USA practice game in Las Vegas.
The 12-man roster for the Basketball World Cup was announced after the U.S. beat Puerto Rico 112-86 in an exhibition game played at Madison Square Garden in New York. “We are very pleased with the overall effort of every player who was a part of the process,” USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement. “To select 12 was difficult, because our pool is so good. As we go forward, we
Bangladesh’s Gazi reported for suspect action
Sohag Gazi
SOHAG GAZI, the Bangladesh off-spinner, has been reported for a suspect bowling action following the second ODI against West Indies in St George’s. The match officials’ report, according to an ICC release, “cited concerns regarding Gazi’s bowling action for all deliveries”. He
will need to undergo testing within 21 days, as per ICC regulations. The BCB is currently looking at options for ICC-accredited testing facilities as the team is in the West Indies, which doesn’t have one. The board is trying to manage his appearances in the current series, which has an ODI, a T20
Hales to open batting against India LONDON, England (Reuters) - England captain Alastair Cook has confirmed Alex Hales will make his one-day debut and open the batting for England in the upcoming five-match series against India. Hales, 25, is a regular in the England Twenty20 side but now has the chance to stake his claim for a place in England’s squad for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in February. “Alex Hales will open the batting with me,” Cook told a news conference yesterday ahead of today’s opening game in Bristol. Cook believes the explosive, in-form Nottinghamshire opener will bring something different to the England batting line-up. “What’s been pleasing about Alex over the last month is he has scored four hundreds for Nottinghamshire, and at a good rate,” he said. “He’s a different batter to the other guys. He hits the ball incredibly hard and he hits it in different areas which is what seems to work really well for him.
Alex “He’s done really well in Twenty20 cricket and now he’s got the chance in five games to show what he can do in 50-over cricket.” The imposing Hales has been ranked the best Twenty20 batsmen in the world and India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni thinks his bold approach and versatility will
Hales benefit England. “The last few times he’s played Twenty20, he’s shown he’s definitely a fantastic batsman,” Dhoni said. “He’s a tall guy with excellent reach and he also plays the spinners well. It will be a good acquisition for the English side.”
and two Tests remaining. Gazi, who has played ten Test matches, 19 ODIs and nine T20s since his international debut in 2012, was reported once, two years ago, by an umpire in a tournament in Bangalore where he was playing for Bangladesh A. Gazi is the fifth bowler
- and the fifth off-spinner - to have been reported for a suspect action over the past few months. Zimbabwe’s Prosper Utseya, Sri Lanka’s Sachithra Senanayake, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal are the others. (ESPN Cricinfo)
not only go forward as 12, we go forward as a pool for USA Basketball. As a staff we want to thank the players who are not going forward. “I’m excited about the 12 players selected and feel we have excellent versatility and the makings of a really good defensive team.” The U.S. will be aiming to become only the third team after Brazil (1959 and 1963) and Yugoslavia (1998 and 2002) to win back-to-back world titles. The U.S. team: DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans), DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors), Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons), Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets), Rudy Gay (Sacramento Kings), James Harden (Houston Rockets), Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers), Mason Plumlee (Brooklyn Nets), Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls) and Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors).