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guyanatimesGY.com
monday, april 7, 2014
Gibson turns attention to ODI World Cup W est Indies coach Ottis Gibson has already trained his sights on next year’s 50over World Cup, in the wake of his side’s failed campaign at the World Twenty20 Championship. Speaking as West Indies prepared to return to the Caribbean following their exit from the tournament here, Gibson said he was already putting plans in place so the Caribbean side could compete strongly for another global title. The ICC World Cup is set to run from February 14 to March 29, in Australia. Gibson said that with series against New Zealand, Bangladesh, India and South Africa preceding the World Cup, West Indies had the ideal chance to groom a core of players well in advance. “I’ve been speaking to Richard Pybus (Director of Cricket) about getting together a core group of players to target the 50-over World Cup, getting some fitness done and making sure those guys are at the peak of their fitness,” Gibson explained. “All those [series] are opportunities to start to formulate a team or a squad of players that will then become the basis of the team
Ottis Gibson
that is likely to play in the World Cup, and get those guys playing together as often as possible. “It would give captain (Dwayne) Bravo an opportunity to work with this group of players and get a brand of cricket that he wants to play developed and strong, so that by the time we get to the World Cup next year, the guys are ready to peak again and have a real good go at winning a world title.” Gibson said it was important that a strategic approach be taken, in order to select the best squad for the Australia trip. He pointed out that though a 30-man squad would likely be cho-
sen, it was crucial that players who were ideally suited for the conditions Down Under be identified and groomed. “You have to look at where we are going and then you look at the people that we have in the Caribbean that are likely to succeed in those conditions and give them the opportunity to play,” Gibson explained. “You will have a World Cup 30-man squad but by now there will be a core group of 15, 20 players that you will be looking to choose from and give opportunities to, and whittle it down to get to a 15-man squad as
soon as possible. [You have to] get that 15-man squad playing as much cricket together as possible and start to develop some cohesiveness.” West Indies have emerged as a formidable side in the game’s shortest format, winning the 2012 Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, and reaching the semi-finals here last week in the defence of that title. However, their 50-over form has lagged behind, and West Indies have not won the World Cup since the first two tournaments were held back in 1975 and 1979. They bowed out at the quarter-final stage in India three years ago, reach the Super Eights in the Caribbean back in 2007 and could not get out of the first round in South Africa in 2003. However, Gibson said the T20 World Cup triumph had created a hunger inside the team. “I think the taste of winning a world title in Sri Lanka has given everybody a fantastic appetite for it (winning titles). We know what it takes, we know it’s going to take a lot of hard work and commitment to the cause and that’s what we are starting to see now.”
(Windiescricket)
Sri Lanka executed yorkers really well – Dhoni
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fter a slow start, India had recovered to 93 for 2 in 14 overs, and with an in-form Virat Kohli looking good, they were set for a final flourish. That flourish never arrived as Yuvraj Singh struggled to a painful 21-ball 11, starving Kohli of the strike. It resulted in only 19 runs coming off the final four overs. “I think in the middle overs,” MS Dhoni said when asked when the game slipped away. “Our batsmen tried their best to get going but it was one of those days when we couldn’t convert our starts. Virat was the only one out there who looked fluent. India ended on 130, a total Dhoni felt was a touch light. “I think we could have got another 10-15 runs. T20 cricket is always about that extra 15 runs.” He also felt that the showers just before the start of the game made the ball stop early on when coming off the pitch, which hampered run-scoring. While asking for more from his batsmen, Dhoni
Virat Kohli looked in superb touch,but was starved of the strike towards the end of the innings (ICC photo)
also praised Sri Lanka’s pinpoint bowling at the death. “The last four overs is a place where we really want to score as many as you can and that was an area where we couldn’t capitalise. At the same time you have to give credit to the Sri Lankan bowlers. I think they executed their plans brilliantly. They were looking for wide yorkers and all the balls were perfect wide yorkers. I think they only bowled one wide or something. Other than that they were right on the mark, which made it further more difficult for our batsmen to score freely.” India have been one of the better teams when it comes to dealing with the unorthodox threat of Lasith Malinga, but Dhoni said Malinga troubled his batsmen in the final. “Malinga has that slingy action, not coming from a great height, [it] becomes very difficult to get underneath the ball. It was a perfect game for the Sri Lankan team, they bowled yorkers to both right-handers and left-handers.” (Cricinfo)
Davis Cup: Roger Federer win seals Swiss comeback
Roger Federer
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oger Federer sealed Switzerland’s place in the Davis Cup semi-finals as they avoided an upset by beating Kazakhstan 3-2 in Geneva. The hosts had trailed 2-1 after doubles defeat for Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka, but Federer beat Andrey Golubev 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 6-3 after his teammate overcame Mikhail Kukushkin. The Swiss face Italy in the last four after the
Italians beat Great Britain. Elsewhere, France came back from 2-1 down to beat Germany 3-2. France’s top singles player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overcame world number 96 Tobias Kamke in straight sets, before Gael Monfils won in similarly swift style against Peter Gojowczyk. The Czech Republic will be their next opposition after they completed a 5-0 whitewash of Japan in Tokyo. (BBC Sport)
Liverpool return to top of league
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Steven Gerrard
teven Gerrard scored two penalties as Liverpool regained the Premier League leadership with an incident-packed victory at West Ham. The club captain put his team in front after James Tomkins handled. But Guy Demel tapped in from three yards in first-half stoppage time as Liverpool appealed that Andy Carroll had fouled keeper Simon Mignolet. Steven Gerrard’s two penalties have taken his Reds goal tally to 173 - putting him sixth in the club’s
all-time scoring list, one ahead of Kenny Dalglish Carroll hit the bar with a second-half header, before Gerrard struck again after Adrian brought down Jon Flanagan. Luis Suarez struck the bar twice for Liverpool, who move two points ahead of second-placed Chelsea with a ninth successive league victory. Suarez, who is the Premier League’s leading scorer, was unable to add to his season’s tally of 29, although he went close twice in the opening 20 minutes.
(BBC Sport)