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Wednesday May 09, 2018
Kaieteur News
Rahane to lead against Kiwis Ronchi, McClenaghan complete line-up for hurricane relief match Afghanistan, Rohit left out
Both Chris Gayle (right) and New Zealander Luke Ronchi will be participating in the Hurricane Relief T20 at Lord’s. LONDON, CMC – New Zealanders Luke Ronchi and Mitchell McClenaghan have been named to complete the ICC World XI for the fundraising Twenty20 International against West Indies at Lord’s later this month. The pair will join the side skippered by England whiteball captain Eoin Morgan and which includes the likes of international stars Pakistani Shoaib Malik, Bangladesh’s Shakib-al-Hasan and exciting Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan. Funds from the fixture will be in aid of stadia in the Caribbean damaged by the passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria last September. Ronchi, a wicketkeeper/ batsman who played the last of his internationals almost a year ago, said he felt the need to get involved in the game because of the cause. “It is all for a worthy cause and it feels really good to see so many cricketers from different countries come together for such a reason,” he said.“To be playing a match which will see some of the very best in action together is a matter of great pride for me. I’m looking forward to seeing a packed house at Lord’s, supporting the relief effort, and an
exciting game of cricket.” McClenagan, meanwhile, has not turned out for his national side in more than two years but is a regular campaigner on the international T20 circuit, and is currently playing for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. “’It will be an absolute pleasure to contribute towards a fantastic cause and to help restore damaged stadiums after the devastation caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria,” said the left-arm seamer. “This will be a fantastic spectacle and I’m looking forward to participating with a great bunch of guys and look forward to doing those who will benefit from this match proud.” The match, scheduled for May 31, will also feature the likes of Indians Dinesk Karthik and Hardik Pandya, along with Tamim Iqbal of Bangladesh, Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi and Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera. West Indies will boast a strong side including Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis and Andre Russell, and Morgan said he was expecting “an engrossing contest.” “It’s a great honour to be leading a side which has a se-
lection of players from a number of nations, and I can’t wait to get on to the field for what promises to be an engrossing contest,” he said. “The build-up to the event … has been very exciting with new additions announced on a regular basis, and the anticipation has been growing daily. I’m sure all the players, including those of the Windies side, are eager to play at Lord’s. “It’s a fantastic feeling that we will be all getting together for a good cause. The cricket fraternity should be very proud that the funds raised from the match will help rebuild the stadia in the Caribbean and also contribute to the growth of the game.” Test venues the Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua and Windsor Park in Dominica are among the stadia set to benefit. SQUAD – Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik (India), Mitchell McClenaghan (New Zealand), Hardik Pandya (India), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Luke Ronchi (New Zealand), Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), Shoaib Malik (Pakistan), Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh).
ESPNcricinfo - Rohit Sharma has been left out of India’s squad for Afghanistan’s inaugural Test while Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been rested. Virat Kohliwill miss the Test as he gears up for the England tour with a county stint with Surrey, which gave Ajinkya Rahane a second Test as India’s captain. All four players absent from the squad were part of the newly created A+ category in the BCCI’s contracts list. However, the selectors found Rohit’s performance in South Africa “less than satisfactory”, a BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo. Rohit was chosen ahead of vice-captain Rahane in the first two Tests in which he scored 78 runs. It was arguably Rohit’s selection in the Tests in South Africa that got him an A+ contract in the first place. The bowling loads of Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar are being managed carefully, which left Shikhar Dhawan as the only A+ player in this Test squad. Nonetheless, most of India’s other Test regulars found a place in the squad, allaying fears that Afghanistan would come up against a severely depleted squad in their historic debut Test, which will be played in Bengaluru from June 14 to 18. It will be the first Test match played in India in the month of June, in peak summer, but Bengaluru is cooler than most other Test venues in the country. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma, who are currently playing county cricket for Yorkshire and Sussex, were both part of the India squad, with neither of their teams in action in the week of the Test match. All three regular o p e n e r s - M Vi j a y, K L Rahul and Dhawan - featured in the squad, as well as spinners R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. There had been reports Ashwin and Jadeja might both be rested but it
emerged a day before the selection that Ashwin had not pursued his talks with Worcestershire because he had committed to playing this Test. Had Ashwin been rested, he would have gone to England with little redball cricket behind him: Worcestershire have already signed up Travis Head instead. In the absence of Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah, Ishant, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami returned to the familiar role of India’s first-choice quicks in home conditions. They were backed up by allrounder Hardik Pandya and M u m b a i s e a m e r Shardul Thakur, who is yet to make his Test debut but has played three ODIs and seven T20Is. Karun Nair took the sixth specialist batsman’s slot in Rohit’s absence, while Wriddhiman Saha was set to resume wicketkeeping duties after missing the second and third Tests in South Africa with a hamstring injury. Neither Parthiv Patel, the back-up keeper on that tour, nor Dinesh Karthik, who flew in as Saha’s replacement, have found a place in the squad.
The chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad, said this was an ideal opportunity to give Nair a chance, incidentally whose last Test was in Kohli’s absence, in Dharamsala against Australia. “This was the best opportunity for us to give Karun a chance, because h e ’s b e e n d o i n g w e l l , ” Prasad said. “It would have been too much of a risk to try him straight in England.” Afghanistan were granted Test status in June 2017, when they and Ireland were made Full Members by the ICC. They will be the fourth team to play their maiden Test against India, after Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. India squad for Test against Afghanistan: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, M Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar P u j a r a , K a r u n N a i r, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, K u l d e e p Ya d a v, U m e s h Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Shardul Thakur. In: Karun Nair, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur Out: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik
Cleveland Cavaliers beat Ajinkya Rahane during the IPL 2018. ©BCCI Toronto Raptors to reach Eastern Conference finals FIFA fines Russia over racist BBC Sport - LeBron James scored 29 points as Cleveland Cavaliers secured a 4-0 series win over Toronto Raptors and ensure their place in the NBA Eastern Conference finals.Cleveland beat the number one seeds 128-93 to set up a meeting with either Boston or Philadelphia. It is the third consecutive
year that Cleveland have beaten Toronto in the playoffs. “We had a lot of challenges, but we had a great game plan,” James said. Toronto coach Dwane Casey described his team as “emotionally drunk after game one and game three”. “I thought we could
bounce back, but we didn’t,” he added. Cleveland will play either Boston Celtics or Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference finals. Boston could have completed a 4-0 series win over Philadelphia, but the 76ers registered a 103-92 win to set up a fifth game today.
chants at France friendly MOSCOW (Reuters) FIFA said yesterday it had fined the Russian Football Union 30,000 Swiss francs ($30,000) for racist abuse directed at French players by Russian fans during a preWorld Cup friendly.
A Reuters photographer at pitch level for France’s 3-1 win against Russia in March in St Petersburg heard monkey chants directed at French players on several occasions, including when N’Golo Kante came to the sideline for a
throw-in.Russia has pledged to crack down on racism as the country faces increased scrutiny ahead of this year’s World Cup, which it will host from June 14 to July 15 in 11 cities including Moscow, St Petersburg and Sochi.