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guyanatimesGY.com
tuesday, OCTOber 1, 2013
Brathwaite building Yuvraj back in limitedovers squad blocks back to top Y S
HIMAGO, India – Kraigg Brathwaite topscored in the magnificent victory by the West Indies A team in the first unofficial ‘Test’ match against India A and now the opener is looking to push on in the upcoming second four-day firstclass match. The slim right-hander played two vital knocks as the West Indies outplayed the home side at the Gangothri Glades Cricket Grounds in Mysore. He made 92 – the highest score of the match – in the first innings of 429. He added 172 for the second wicket with skipper Kirk Edwards (91). In his second knock Brathwaite made 34 – and added an opening stand of 112 with left-hander Kieran Powell (68).
"Totally satisfied"
“I felt I played well. I felt I contributed to the team’s win. We played well as a team and in the end we were totally satisfied with the outcome of the match,” Brathwaite said. “It wasn’t easy at first because the pitch wasn’t coming on. You had to work really hard to get in and then things became a lot easier... but you always had to keep playing straight because the pitch tended to keep a little low at times.”
Kraigg Brathwaite
After the win in Mysore the Windies drove to Shimago and have started preparations for the second encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering Ground. Brathwaite said the he was pleased with the work in the nets on Monday. “It’s a good facility. There was some grass on the pitch where we had our nets,” said Brathwaite. “It was overcast and the ball was doing a bit, and that was the kind of preparation that can help going into such a major match. It helps to keep your eyes opened and focussed on what is to come in the match.” Overall, Brathwaite said his aim is to use the ongoing series as a chance to impress the selection panel and work
his way back into the West Indies senior team. “I had the benefit of playing Test cricket here back in 2011 so when I came I knew what to expect...I knew the type of surfaces are normally really good to bat on first days. The key is to play straight and not let the spinners bog you down....be positive,” said the 20-year-old, who has nine Tests behind his name. “I believe this tour is a good opportunity to get some major scores and look to get back to the top. We always anticipated this series would be a very competitive one and once I get some big scores it will help me get back... I’m mainly concentrating on scoring runs and everything will take care of itself.” (WICB Media)
SA players want CSA, BCCI to sort fixtures soon
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outh Africa’s players would like to see an “urgent engagement” between their board, CSA, and its Indian counterpart, the BCCI, to resolve fixtures over this summer’s India series. The national team is due to leave for the UAE this Friday but their home tour against India has no confirmed itinerary after the BCCI objected to CSA’s schedule of three Tests, seven ODIs and two Twenty20s. Tony Irish, the South African Cricketer’s Association (SACA) chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo that the BCCI’s leadership structure has been formalised following yesterday’s AGM and the players are hopeful the series can be discussed as a matter of importance.
Bilateral arrangements
ICC chief executive Dave Richardson also spoke on the issue for the first time when he said they could not intervene in bilateral arrangements. “This is the main tour of the summer and has a massive financial implication on cricket. We are about six weeks away from it and to have it all up in the air is really worrying and frustrating,” Irish said. “The players want to see it sorted out. Until yesterday, CSA did not know who they were dealing with
at the BCCI because they had not had their election but now that that is sorted it, they need to do whatever it takes to get the discussion going.” CSA has confirmed it is awaiting the dates of a meeting with the BCCI, although it was earlier mooted that the presidents of the boards would meet at the ICC board meeting on October 16 and 17. Irish, in the meanwhile, met with all the players as part of his usual pre-season get together and said the issue of the India tour came up among many of them. “The players are stakeholders in the game and will be affected by whatever happens,” he said, explaining the impact is two-fold. “It’s not just a financial thing, it’s also about the opportunity to play in a highprofile Test series and substantial limited-overs competitions.” The South Africa Test team, ranked No. 1 in the world, has not played a match since February. They were due a bumper summer including two Tests against Pakistan and three each against India and Australia in a bid to extend their lead at the top of the rankings. “This is the best Test team we have ever had and it’s a very settled unit. They need to be playing in order to keep that momentum,” Irish said.
While seven ODIs were considered overkill, the financial gains would have benefitted South Africa’s smaller grounds. Should the tour be curtailed, which seems a certainty in light of India’s other series against West Indies and New Zealand, South African cricket could lose up to R200 million (US$20 million).
Concerns
Irish and the players are not the only people who want to see the issue sorted out. South Africa’s provincial affiliates are anxious to know who will host matches and even Richardson expressed concern. “The ICC does not like the fact that two of its strongest members are in dispute. Historically, South Africa and India have been the strongest of allies. The game needs both,” he told South Africa’s Sunday Times. But Richardson explained why the ICC cannot intervene in bilateral arrangements. “Constitutionally we are a members’ organisation. The ICC only has as much authority over the members as the members are prepared to give it. The ICC currently does not have the authority to determine the FTP. The FTP schedule was determined by agreement between the full members.” (Cricinfo)
uvraj Singh has made a comeback to India’s limited-overs squad for the Twenty20 and first three ODIs of the home series against Australia. There were four changes made to India’s last firstchoice ODI squad, the one that won the Champions Trophy in England. Yuvraj replaced opener M Vijay, Dinesh Karthik lost out to his Mumbai Indians teammate Ambati Rayudu, the injured Irfan Pathan made way for Mohammed Shami, and Jaydev Unadkat’s left-arm seam was preferred to Umesh Yadav’s erratic-at-times pace. Yuvraj’s last ODI was against England in Dharamsala in January 2013. He was dropped from the squad for the Champions Trophy and did not feature in the Zimbabwe series either, when India had rested several first-choice players.
Fitness programme
However, following a fitness programme in France, he has shown a return to top form in List A cricket. He was the leading run-getter for India A in the limitedovers series against the touring West Indies A, with 224 runs from three matches, including one hundred and a fifty at an average of 74.66. He also scored a half-century for India Blue in the Challenger Trophy, a domestic 50-overs tournament. A fit Yuvraj is seen as a bigger asset than Karthik. Karthik had a decent run in England and in Zimbabwe, but he failed to reach 50 in the tri-series in the West Indies. In effect, Karthik
Yuvraj Singh
has lost out to Rayudu, who scored 101 runs off 163 balls at an average of 50.5 against Zimbabwe. Two other changes from the Champions Trophy squad mostly explain themselves. Vijay struggled in West Indies, and Irfan is injured. Yadav, though, remains a curious case. He cannot have been considered unfit because he played the Challenger Trophy last week. He cannot have been rested because he is just coming out of a break. The selectors have either begun to look at him as a Test-only prospect or it was his performance in the Champions Trophy that has got him the axe: four wickets and an economy rate of 5.55 in a mostly low-scoring tournament. His economy rate in the West Indies tri-series hov-
ered around the same mark. His career economy rate also stands at over six, and an average of 41.58 doesn’t do him any favours. The seam-bowling replacements, Shami and Unadkat, played all the five ODIs in Zimbabwe, and have been retained. Mohit, who played two of them and was Man of the Match in the first of them, was expected to replace Vinay Kumar, but the Karnataka quick has retained his place. Vinay went at 6.03 in the recently concluded Challenger Trophy, although he did pick up eight wickets in three matches. Batsmen Karthik, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, seamer Mohit and spinner Parvez Rasool missed out from the team that played Zimbabwe.
(Cricinfo)
Azarenka beaten at China Open by Andrea Petkovic
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ictoria Azarenka’s defence of her China Open title lasted just one match as she was surprisingly beaten by German world number 43 Andrea Petkovic. The Belarusian world number two, 24, was beaten 6-4 2-6 6-4 in a match lasting two hours 22 minutes. Azarenka served 15 double faults and made 44 unforced errors, while Petkovic took a medical time-out in the second set after appearing to feel dizzy. It follows Azarenka’s second-round loss to Venus Williams in Tokyo last week. After taking the opening set, 26-year-old Petkovic looked in discomfort during the second and lost seven straight games as the second seed forced the decider. The players traded breaks in reaching 4-4 in the third set but Azarenka’s 15th double fault on break point left her opponent to serve out the match. “It was an awful match and very bad performance from me, so not much to say,”
Victoria Azarenka
said Azarenka, who was beaten by Serena Williams in the US Open final earlier this month. “It happens once, twice a year to every player, and happened to me today (Monday). “If I’m going to be doing it again, I probably should have taken a longer break (between tournaments) and just prepared myself. I don’t feel like I was ready to play. “It’s just my mistake for not paying much attention after the US Open how I managed my time and how I
managed my health.” Petkovic said: “I’m very happy with my performance. I was happy with my movement and my serve for the most part, and I managed to get a lot of balls back very deep and very strong. “Parts of the match were a really, really good level some parts I lost a bit of energy, but overall I’m very happy.” Meanwhile, fifth seed Sara Errani of Italy reached round three with a 6-3 6-2 win over Misaki Doi of Japan. Eighth seed Jelena Jankovic beat Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 1-6 6-4 6-0 to progress to the second round along with fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic, the 14th seed beating Flavia Pennetta of Italy 7-6 (9-7) 6-1. Williams and Britain’s Laura Robson play their second-round matches today, when Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic begin a week that will see them vying for the world number one spot. (BBC Sport)