Wednesday 12 June 2013

ICC CT-2013 NEWS: Aussies, Kiwis split points

First points for controversy-hit Australia as rain leads to abandonment.


Weather had the final say at Edgbaston on Wednesday.



EDGBASTON: When it rains, it pours. In this case, however, inclement weather assured Australia of a crucial point and allowed them to stay alive in the Champions Trophy following a rain-abandoned game against New Zealand on Wednesday.

New Zealand will not mind the solitary point either. They were placed at a decidedly insecure 51/2 in 15 overs, in pursuit of Australia’s 243/8, when the skies opened and curtailed further play.

A target of 193 in 35 overs against Australia's pace-heavy attack in wet conditions was never going to be easy. Thus, the Kiwis would be glad at the addition of point to their tally that takes them to three points overall in Group ‘A’. 

Australia, having lost their opener against England and reeling from David Warner’s recent ‘unprovoked attack’ in a bar on Joe Root, will be happy to finally get on board and stay in contention in the tournament.

Group ‘A’s two other members, England and Sri Lanka, will face off on Thursday to decide how close – or one-sided – the race into the semis from this cluster turns out.

Spin rules

New Zealand earlier tied Australia down after stand-in captain George Bailey elected to bat. The average score was largely due to the restraining orders imposed on the batters by Daniel Vettori, Nathan McCullum and Kane Williamson, who together formed a Kiwi record for the most overs – 30 – bowled by spinners in an ODI.

Vettori, battling his perpetual Achilles tendon injury, gave away as little as 23 in his ten, while Nathan McCullum’s off-spin fetched him the key wickets of Mathew Wade (29) and skipper George Bailey (55).

Bailey and Wade were two major contributors in an innings weaved around Adam Voges’ 71. Australia, in fact, would have settled for 243 after they lost their most experienced ODI batsman in the second over, Shane Watson becoming left-arm seamer Mitchell McClenaghan’s first of four victims. 

Maxwell entertains

Phil Hughes’ run out left the Aussies at 10/2, at which point were initiated a series of partnerships: 64 between Wade and Bailey, 77 between Bailey and Voges, and 44 between Marsh and Voges.

But the batsmen fell at crucial junctures. Bailey took 91 balls for his 55 before he was bowled by Nathan McCullum just before the batting Powerplay. Voges hit a McClenaghan fulltoss straight to short cover.


Glenn Maxwell’s cameo injected the innings with much-needed impetus. The 24-year-old biffed sixes off Williamson as he raced to a 22-ball 29, carrying Australia over to a competitive total in what eventually turned into a damp squib.

SOURCE:HTTPS://CRICKET.YAHOO.COM/

Pakistan's Asif loses match-fixing appeal

M Asif
London: Three Court of Appeal judges in London on Wednesday rejected an appeal by Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif against his conviction for spot-fixing.

In their ruling, the judges said they were "not persuaded that there are any grounds, arguable or otherwise, for attacking the safety of the convictions of this applicant (Asif)".



"The renewed applications are accordingly dismissed," they added.
Fast bowler Asif, 30, was released from jail in May last year after serving half of a 12-month sentence for his part in a plot to bowl deliberate no-balls in a Test match against England at Lord's in 2010.
Former captain Salman Butt was jailed for 30 months, while promising young bowler Mohammad Aamer was detained for six months in a young offenders' institution.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) governing body also banned the trio from cricket for five years.
Asif and Butt both challenged the ICC bans at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but the Lausanne-based body in April rejected their appeals. The spot-fixing plot, which was uncovered by the now-defunct News of the World newspaper, was one of the biggest scandals to hit cricket in years and also led to the conviction of their London-based agent.
The Court of Appeal rejected challenges by Butt and Aamer against their sentences in November 2011.
In his ruling Lord Chief Justice Igor Judge, the head of the judiciary in England and Wales, said the players had "betrayed the country which they had the honour to represent and betrayed the sport that had given them their distinction -- and of course betrayed all the very many followers of the game throughout the world".  


SOURCE:  API




Sunday 9 June 2013

IPL FIXING NEWS: BCCI mulling full-fledged probe on Kundra issue

Kolkata, June 9 -- The Board of Control for Cricket in India could initiate a separate probe against Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra on the betting allegations levelled against him by the Delhi Police. The BCCI was supposed to discuss the allegations in Monday's emergency working committee meeting in New Delhi but might change its mind and launch a full investigation.
Asked if a separate probe was in the offing, BCCI interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya told HT, "We are discussing that in our meetings right now. I can't give you any details. A final decision will be taken after Monday's meeting."
If the BCCI does declare a probe, it will be the second time it will be doing so, after the police had taken the initiative to bring similar charges against Chennai Super Kings team principal, Gurunath Meiyappan.


This raises the question: Why does the BCCI need to rely on police statements despite having an anti-corruption unit that was supposed to keep a close watch on all the matches in the Indian domestic Twenty20 league.
The existing BCCI rules of procedure in such cases however seem cryptic. Article 2.2.1 of 'offences under anti-corruption code' states that 'placing, accepting, laying or otherwise entering into any bet with any other party' amounts to an offence.
But Article 3.1 under 'standard of proof and evidence' says that 'unless otherwise described herein, the burden of proof shall be on the designated anti-corruption official (or his/her designee) and the standard of proof in all cases brought under this anti-corruption code shall be whether the BCCI disciplinary committee is comfortably satisfied, bearing in mind the seriousness of the allegation that is being made, that the alleged offence has been committed.'
However, article 3.2 says, 'The disciplinary committee shall not be bound by judicial rules governing the admissibility of evidence. Instead, facts relating to an offence may be established by any reliable means, including admissions.'


Published by HT Syndication with permission from Hindustan Times.

ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY: SL VS NZ -2013

New Zealand survived a hostile spell from sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga to carve out a tense one-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy on Sunday.

The Black Caps messed up a simple chase of Sri Lanka's 138 all out and were reduced to 122-8, before the last-wicket pair of Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan saw them through in the 37th over.

Left-arm seamer McClenaghan set up the victory with 4-43 after Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat, but Malinga stole the thunder with 4-34 that almost secured his team an improbable victory.

The dramatic win helped New Zealand end a six-match losing streak against the Sri Lankans and claim full points in their first match of the eight-nation tournament.

New Zealand were cruising at 48-1 when Sri Lanka hit back with three wickets for one run in the space of eight deliveries.

Malinga triggered the collapse with a full toss that crashed into Kane Williamson's pads. Umpire Rod Tucker upheld an appeal for leg-before.

Ross Taylor was leg-before to spinner Rangana Herath for zero, before Martin Guptill edged seamer Shaminda Eranga high to Mahela Jayawardene in the slips.

When James Franklin fell leg-before to Tillakaratne Dilshan in the 15th over, New Zealand had lost half their side for 70 runs.

Brothers Brendon and Nathan McCullum put on 35 for the seventh wicket to raise New Zealand's hopes before Malinga removed both batsmen in three balls to make it 122-8 in the 32nd over.

The ninth wicket of Kyle Mills fell when five runs were needed, and even though Malinga conceded just one run in the next over, Dilshan gave away four runs to seal the Black Caps' win.

Sri Lanka, who had won 10 of their last 11 completed 50-over games against New Zealand, let themselves down with a sloppy batting display in the first session.

Veteran Kumar Sangakkara played a lone hand for the Islanders with 68, his 75th one-day half-century, but five of the other six top-order batsmen failed to reach double figures as the team folded in 37.5 overs.

Sri Lanka never recovered after losing Kusal Perera off the first ball of the match when New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum flew to his left at second slip to pick up a brilliant catch off Mills.
NZ scoring winning run
Dilshan hit 20 off 18 balls when he was bowled by McClenaghan to make Sri Lanka 27-2.

It soon became 33-3 as veteran Daniel Vettori, playing his first one-dayer since the World Cup semi-final against the same opponents in Colombo two years ago, struck with his fourth delivery.

A slower, flighted ball caught star batsman Jayawardene on the back foot and umpire Bruce Oxenford upheld Vettori's loud appeal for leg-before.

Sangakkara fell in the 37th over, caught at point by Williamson off spinner Nathan McCullum, who finished with two wickets.

New Zealand next play Australia in Birmingham on Wednesday, a day before Sri Lanka clash with hosts England at the Oval in London. 

source: cricket.yahoo.com

ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY:SL VS NZ SCOREBOARD-2013


SL vs NZ  

 

ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY 2013

NZ won by 1 Wicket.

SL : 138/10 Overs: 37.5 R:R: 3.64

Sangakkara 68(87)
Dilshan 20(18)
McClenaghan 43/4

NZ : 172/8 overs: 40.4 R:R : 4.22

McCullum 32(42)
Guptill 25(24)
M.Irfan 32/3
Malinga 34/4
Player of the Match N McCullum


Thursday 6 June 2013

Champions Trophy: SA vs IND 2013


Champions Trophy: SA vs IND

 

SA 

SA won the toss, elected to field.

IND won by 26 runs.

IND innings: 331/7 overs: 50 R:R : 6.62

S Dhawan 114(94)
R Sharma 65(81)
R McLaren 70/3

SA  innings: 305/10 overs: 50 R:R : 6.1

R McLaren 71(61)
A de Villiers (C) 70(71)
R Jadeja 31/2
Player of the Match S.Dhawan



News: Ashes News

Fawad Ahmed moves closer to Ashes dream

By Ian Ransom

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Pakistan-born refugee Fawad Ahmed has moved a step closer to an improbable test debut in the Ashes after being called up to join Australia 'A' on their tour of England.
The 31-year-old leg spinner arrived in Australia in 2010 on a short-term visa before claiming asylum on the grounds of receiving death threats from Islamic extremists for being involved with a Pakistani NGO promoting women's rights.
Although granted asylum and permanent residency last year, Ahmed remains ineligible to play test cricket for Australia but his hopes of securing citizenship and a passport to England were boosted on Wednesday by the passage of draft legislation through the country's lower house of parliament.
The legislation, which would allow for top cricketers to join a select list of elite athletes eligible to have their citizenship applications fast-tracked, is likely to pass through the upper house when it sits later this month.
Without the passage of the bill, the earliest Ahmed could be eligible to play for Australia's test side would be for the fifth and final match of the Ashes series on August 18.
Ahmed's rapid rise from Australia's club cricket leagues to the verge of national selection has captivated the nation, and a large scrum of reporters assembled at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday as the cricketer spoke of a "new journey".
"It's just like a dream. Someone dreaming with open eyes," he said at the MCG's indoor cricket nets.
"I never expected that it would happen like this, after three and a half years (in Australia).
"I just came here for a better life and I was thinking just to survive here and to be like other people that came here as an immigrant. But this is a dream. Even I couldn't imagine this.
"This is something unbelievable for me."
Born in Swabi, a rural district fringed by the Hindu Kush mountains and the Indus river, Ahmed has a modest record of 39 first class wickets at an average of 32.20 since making his debut for Abbottabad in 2005.
SLEEPLESS NIGHTS
But his performance in three matches for Victoria state in Australia's first-class Sheffield Shield competition earlier this year piqued the interest of Australia's test selectors, who have few top-class spinners to choose from.
In between, Ahmed played cricket for a succession of local clubs in New South Wales state and Melbourne while his application for asylum was considered, and suffered sleepless nights after it was initially rejected last year.
He was later granted asylum after appealing directly to the immigration minister with the support of Cricket Australia.
Australia included just one spinner, right-arm orthodox Nathan Lyon, in the squad for the Ashes series, despite chairman of selectors John Inverarity strongly hinting before the team was announced that there would be two.
Australia have lost both Ashes series since leg spinner Shane Warne retired from international cricket in 2007 and the current crop of spinners were given a torrid time during a 4-0 series thrashing by India earlier this year.
Ahmed has been described by several former Australian players as the best leg spinner they had seen since Warne, and has enjoyed special tuition from former test spinner Stuart MacGill and training at Brisbane's Centre of Excellence.
He will join the Australia 'A' team this weekend and would be available for selection for their match against Ireland starting on June 14.
Ahmed said he felt no fear of facing the cream of England's batsmen, who would be eager to crush the player's confidence quickly should he be selected for the first Ashes test at Nottingham's Trent Bridge on July 10.
"I don't think so. I've been through really tough times, and I'm strong enough and I'm feeling really great," Ahmed said.
"I have really good confidence and faith in myself and I'm just waiting for that opportunity." (Additional reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by John O'Brien)

News: Champions Trophy News-2013

ICC sets anti-corruption measures for Champions Trophy
Players will have to surrender their mobile phones when they board the team coach to travel to matches.

Islamabad, June 6 (ANI): The International Cricket Council (ICC) has reportedly taken steps to minimise the risk of corruption during the Champions Trophy, which starts in the United Kingdom on Thursday, in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal surrounding the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
Cricket around the world continues to be under crisis with former Bangladeshi captain Mohammad Ashraful admitting his involvement in match-fixing during a BPL game, the Daily Times reports.
According to the report, players will have to surrender their mobile phones when they board the team coach to travel to matches, with ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) officials monitoring their behaviour around the hotels.
The report further said that six of the eight teams taking part in the tournament, including their support staff, have been given an hour-long presentation by ACSU officials on how to spot danger signs and raise concerns, adding that New Zealand and England will receive their presentation after Thursday's match.
According to the report, Indian cricket has been embroiled in a fixing scandal for weeks, with the arrest of three players, including Test player S.Sreesanth, 11 bookmakers and the resignation of several key figures in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Meanwhile, the global cricket controversy took another turn as former Australian cricketer Tim May quit as head of the international players' union after eight years amid allegations of threats and intimidation, the report added.

News: Champions Trophy 2013

One Last Time
The exit of the Champions Trophy was a long time coming.


Not long ago, the concept of One Day Internationals itself was under threat. The advent of Twenty20 cricket, its marketability and salability, gravitated administrators towards the shortest format like bees are attracted to honey. 

Soon, following India's unexpected win in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup, it dawned upon them that making room for ODIs in a packed calendar would require more than a mere rearrangement of fixtures. 

Test cricket had its fair share of saviors among the high and mighty – stiff purists who swore by the most hallowed principles of the game – but the 50-over format, until India’s fabled 2011 World Cup win at home somewhat restored it to primacy, had few takers during a disturbing phase that saw repeated questions raised on its relevance. 

It can also be held that the heavy revenue of myriad Twenty20 leagues, in a way, liberated administrators. They could now focus on, aside from obligatory bilateral fixtures, a viable plan to have one premier tournament for each format, i.e. the ODI and Twenty20 World Cups and the conceptualized ICC Test Championships. 

Rise of T20

Twenty20 was by far a more succinct and user-friendly introduction to cricket for the uninitiated. In a restructured calendar, the Champions Trophy, once ICC’s vehicle to take the game to emerging markets and milk downtime between World Cups, had only one way to go – out.  

And having endured progressive tweaks of format and identity - the ‘ICC Knock Out’ and ‘Mini World Cup’ come first to mind - the latest tournament in England and Wales will be the last.

It could have been worse and the plug could have been pulled even earlier. The ICC had offered the official broadcaster to replace this year’s edition with qualifiers for the Test Championship, but the TV rights holder wasn’t too keen on a reworked offer. 

As a result of which, we now have the final installment of a tournament nobody wants, that was a moderate success the first two times it was conducted but then devolved into a diluted, unwatchable, badly scheduled and commercialized farce, a scenario that plumbed to its nadir in England 2004 – generally agreed upon by journalists as the most repulsive, slagged-off sports event in recorded history.

Tight format

All of which could have been mended. For, in its latest avatar, the Champions Trophy remains uncluttered by the riff-raff of international cricket. The field comprises the top eight nations, making each match almost a must-win encounter and reducing drastically the duration of the event.

In contrast, these are the very issues that plague the 50-over World Cup, which is often criticized for being too long and bloated by an endless number of one-sided games. 

Even 2011’s watershed bonanza, regarded by all an unequivocal success, had an entirely useless first month (enlivened solely by England’s rather entertaining league phase) that led to the identification of the eight obvious quarterfinalists.

But the logistical monstrosities of a World Cup have to be indulged in, which is not the case for a tournament that the ICC themselves have often been loathe to promote.

Last hurrah

In an increasingly mercantile universe, thus, sounding the dirge on the Champions Trophy was a long time coming. This is also the ICC’s way of saying that they cannot henceforth accommodate a 17-day tournament every two years – even when the calendar is apparently capacious enough to hold a seven-match ODI series between India and Australia and several space-consuming engagements between India and their always-ready-to-play neighbours, Sri Lanka.
It is doubtful if the decision will cause any heartburn. Players are only as keen on living out of suitcases and aircraft as fans are on watching them in action with nary a break in between. Expect sighs of mild lamentation only from the South African camp, for whom it remains their only ICC silverware. [CYCSPL]


NOTE: This article was amended to remove a reference hurtful to the Jewish community. Racism in any form is not tolerated by Yahoo, locally or globally.

Champions Trophy: SA vs IND 2013


Champions Trophy: SA vs IND

 

SA 

SA won the toss, elected to field.

IND won by 26 runs.

IND innings: 331/7 overs: 50 R:R : 6.62

S Dhawan 114(94)
R Sharma 65(81)
R McLaren 70/3

SA  innings: 305/10 overs: 50 R:R : 6.1

R McLaren 71(61)
A de Villiers (C) 70(71)
R Jadeja 31/2
Player of the Match S.Dhawan


Tuesday 4 June 2013

ICC Champions Trophy Fixture 2013

Untitled Document
The ICC Champions Trophy schedule 2013
Group A Australia England New Zealand Sri Lanka
Group B Pakistan South Africa West Indies India
Date Day Match Day/Day Night Venue
Thursday 6 June India v South Africa Day Cardiff
Friday 7 June West Indies v Pakistan Day The Oval
Saturday 8 June England v Australia Day Edgbaston
Sunday 9 June Sri Lanka v New Zealand Day Cardiff
Monday 10 June Pakistan v South Africa Day Edgbaston
Tuesday 11 June India v West Indies Day The Oval
Wednesday 12 June Australia v New Zealand Day Edgbaston
Thursday 13 June England v Sri Lanka Day Night The Oval
Friday 14 June West Indies v South Africa Day Cardiff
Saturday 15 June India v Pakistan Day Edgbaston
Sunday 16 June England v New Zealand Day Cardiff
Monday 17 June Sri Lanka v Australia Day Night The Oval
Wednesday 19 June Semi-final
A1 v B2
Day The Oval
Thursday 20 June Semi-final
A2 v B1
Day Cardiff
Sunday 23 June Final Day Edgbaston

ICC Champions Trophy Warm-Up Match: India rub Australia's nose in the dirt

Impressive rearguard batting and incisive fast bowling set up mammoth 243-run win.

CARDIFF: Dinesh Karthik and Umesh Yadav did the star turn in their respective capacities as India humiliated Australia by 243 runs in a practice game ahead of the Champions Trophy, on Tuesday.

This was their second successive win in practice games, following the victory over Sri Lanka in the first match.

Opting to bat, India fought back from 55/5, thanks to a massive 211-run association between Karthik (146*) and skipper MS Dhoni (91), to post a challenging total of 308/6. 

Australia, however, failed to match India’s spine after the pacy Yadav (5/18) left them reeling on 28/5 in the tenth over, and collapsed to 65 all out in just 23.3 overs, despite the provision of packing their line-up with top-end batsmen for the chase.

Yadav was responsible for the first five dismissals. He bowled Mathew Wade (5), Phil Hughes (14) and captain George Bailey (1), his testing speed also inducing catches off the bat of David Warner (0) and Mitchell Marsh (0). 

Once Shane Watson played on against Ishant Sharma, it was only a matter of time and the margin of victory, an outcome that had looked distinctly improbable when India struggled to move on after sending themselves in. 

Sorry story

If bowling jitters had pushed them to an indifferent start against Sri Lanka in the first practice match, it was rank silly batting that did India in versus the Aussies.
Murali Vijay was sent on his way by a bad leg-before decision; Shikhar Dhawan (17) made a mess of the pull; and Virat Kohli was intent as he chased a wide down the legside and to the wicketkeeper.

Rohit Sharma looked nothing like the IPL star he is; late to evasive action, he played on to a delivery that would have otherwise missed the stumps. Suresh Raina’s reputation preceded him – at least in his own head. The southpaw’s anticipation for the short ball – from Clint McKay – fooled him into backfoot play, as a good-length delivery crashed into middle and leg.

Rescue act

Karthik was sluggish at the outset, but looked untroubled advancing or staying back in the crease. He reached 50 in 81 balls and needed just 31 more for his second consecutive hundred of the preparatory phase, one that included 17 hits to the fence. 

Dhoni’s momentum was proportional to the time he spent at the crease. He drilled Shane Watson for six and picked Mitchell Marsh straight over his head for maximums. 

Mitchell Johnson was unceremoniously and casually dumped for another six and Dhoni appeared to be on course for yet another back-to-the-wall century when he struck James Faulkner to long-off. But his wicket came far too late for Australia.

IPL Spot-Fixing News: Ratnakar Shetty banned for 5 years

Ratnakar Shetty

The Mumbai Cricket Association Tuesday slapped a five-year ban on its member Ratnakar Shetty for alleging that some of its ice-bearers were involved in black-marketing of India-Pakistan T20 match tickets at Ahmedabad last year.

The MCA managing committee took the stern action against Shetty, who has served the association for many years in various capacities, including secretary, treasurer and vice president, for his comments at the March 22 annual general meeting (AGM).

Shetty said during the AGM that MCA office-bearers indulged in "black-marketing of T20 Ahmedabad match (between India and Pakistan) tickets on Dec 22, 2012", said the MCA letter served on Shetty Tuesday.

The letter, signed by MCA joint secretaries P.V. Shetty and Nitin Dalal, accused Ratnakar Shetty of bringing the association and the office-bearers to "disrepute" by making "false and baseless allegations" which has "tarnished" its image

"It is unanimously decided to debar you for a period of five years, from June 3, 2013 to June 2, 2018, from participating in any matters pertaining to the activities of the MCA.

"Further, you shall not be permitted to represent any member club of the association, any tournament committee, any sponsor, franchisee, contractor, or any person who has any relation with the MCA, contractual or otherwise, during the said period of five years," the letter added.

Describing the decision as "undemocratic", Shetty said it was a "personal vendetta by people who want to make sure that I do not contest the next elections". He also vowed to fight the decision both within the association and legally.

source: http://cricket.yahoo.com/

Monday 3 June 2013

PAK vs RSA Practice Match-2013

Pakistan humble South Africa
Fast bowlers set up Pakistan's six-wicket win in a practice match.

They first restricted South Africa to 202/9 and chased down the target with more than four overs to spare.
The Asian powerhouse elected to field and their battery of fast bowlers reduced South Africa to 83 for seven in the 22nd over.

The batting side rallied through JP Duminy (43) and Ryan McLaren (55), who added 94 for the eighth wicket to stem the slide. 
The spoils were split amongst Pakistan’s tearaways. Left-arm quick Wahab Riyaz and Asad Ali picked up three scalps each, while Junaid Khan claimed two.
South Africa, however, resisted and lasted out their quotaof 50 overs, with one wicket remaining.
At no point were Pakistan troubled in the chase. Opener Imran Farhat (56) and No.3 batsman Mohammad Hafeez (54) ensured the pursuit was concluded successfully with 4.3 overs to spare.
Hafeez, in fact, retired himself out after plotting his team on the right course to give other batsmen a hit. Pakistan have been clubbed with India, West Indies and South Africa in Group ‘B’ of the Champions Trophy.

Forget Srinivasan, here's why Dhoni should resign

The India captain profits from the incomes of Raina, Ojha, Jadeja -- players managed by a firm he owns.



In 2011, we pointed out that something’s rotten in India’s team selections. 
Many cricketers such as Dhoni and Harbhajan have business interests in talent spotting and management companies. As for Dhoni, he has a clear commercial interest in picking players backed by Rhiti Sports — Harbhajan, RP Singh and Suresh Raina.
Could this explain why Harbhajan was given a long rope despite his horrifically bad form and how RP is back when he wasn’t even part of India’s plans all this while?
Despite the wonderful things that Dhoni has done as captain, it is worrying that some of his selections may have not been influenced by cold, hard cricketing reason. If so, it betrays a cricket-loving public that believes these men represent them, the republic of India, the tri-colour, and not a management firm.
And here’s confirmation that the fears were not unfounded. Economic Times reports:
Is there a conflict of interest between MS Dhoni the businessman and MS Dhoni the Indian cricket team captain? ET investigations reveal that a 15% stake bought by Dhoni earlier this year in the sports marketing firm that manages him has spawned a tangled web of business associations, raising issues of propriety and conflict of interest in at least two situations.
The first situation is in his position as the captain of the Indian cricket team in all three formats of the game. This sports marketing firm - Rhiti Sports Management, set up by Arun Pandey, a close friend and business associate of Dhoni - also manages four other current cricketers: Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha and RP Singh.
This puts Dhoni in the conflicting position where he has a 15% share of the profits earned by Rhiti Sports from managing these four players, even as he opines or votes on them in team selection meetings as the Indian captain. "There is definitely a conflict of interest in this case," says former cricketer Kirti Azad, who was also a selector in 2002-03.
RP Singh tweeted today saying he has moved on. Harbhajan Singh is the other Indian player no longer managed by Rhiti. ET's story also mentions that Rhiti may have been set up with the exclusive intention of managing Dhoni's commercial interests. That is another way of saying that without Dhoni, there would have been no Rhiti. He is the reason the company was set up. 
This is how player agencies work. 
An agent's job is to get his client -- the cricketer -- sponsorships and publicity. He manages his endorsements, arranges public appearances, fixes media interactions and lets the player focus on what he does best: playing cricket. For his help, the manager gets a 'cut' out of the cricketer's income. 
Now, naturally, a cricketer can maximise his income by playing for the country -- that is where all the fame and money is. Current Indian cricketers with graded contracts get a base salary between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 1 crore. This is on top of the additional fee of Rs 7 lakh per Test match, Rs 4 lakh per ODI and Rs 2 lakh for per T20I each player gets. And then there are the endorsements which run into seven, eight and even nine-figure sums.  
So it is in the interest of the cricketer to play his best so that he keeps getting selected for the Indian team. But this is where the picture gets muddy. 
If Dhoni is a part-owner of Rhiti, it is naturally in his interest to push for the selection of players managed by Rhiti. And Dhoni obviously has a say in who makes the team and who warms the bench. The more these players represent India, the higher their incomes become. By extension, Rhiti's income get higher, and since Dhoni owns Rhiti, his income also increases. 
If so, it explains many things. 
It explains why an unfit, out-of-form RP Singh was pulled out of his vacation in the US to report to the Indian team at the Oval where he proceeded to bowl what Ian Botham called the worst over in the history of Test cricket. 
It explains why Dhoni continued to defend Harbhajan's shambolic performances over the last few years and kept him in the Indian team while several deserving young spinners toiled away without getting an India cap.
It explains why Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina got into the Test squad despite their visible lack of skill or technique for that level. 
And all these conflicting interests may even explain why Dhoni keeps quiet at press conferences where he is quizzed about the involvement of a Chennai Super Kings team owner in illegal gambling. 
He is not only the captain of that team, he is also the vice president of India Cements, the company that owns the team. He is therefore an employee of N. Srinivasan, who owns India Cements. 
So who is Dhoni accountable to? To the fans of the country who want to know whether the cricketers they worship as heroes are clean? Or to his boss at whose instructions he will keep quiet, because speaking out in the interest of Indian cricket is not in the best interest of India Cements.
Dhoni has failed to make full disclosure of the fact that his commercial interests impair his judgement as the captain of the Indian national team. He has put his self-interest above the team's interests. And for this, he should step down.



Sunday 2 June 2013

NZ vs ENG 2nd ODI Score Board-2013


NZ vs ENG 2nd ODI

 

 

NZ won the toss, elected to bat.

NZ won by 86 runs.

NZ innings: 359/3 overs: 50 R:R : 7 .18

M Guptill 189*(155)
R.Taylor 60(54)
J.Anderson 65/2

ENG  innings: 273/10 overs: 44.1 R:R : 6.18

J. Trott 109*(104)
A.Cook 34(31)
G.Swann 42/4
M McClenaghan 34/3
Player of the Match M Guptill
NZ Leads 3 Match ODI Series by 2-0

Guptill's Super Innings vs ENG-2013

Record-breaking Guptill gives Kiwis series win
New Zealand crush England by 86 runs in the second ODI at Southampton.

Martin Guptill in action
SOUTHAMPTON: Opener Martin Guptill struck the highest ODI score by a New Zealander and helped his side take an unassailable 2-0 lead over England in their three-match ODI series, following a massive 86-run victory over the hosts on Sunday.

Guptill’s unbeaten, 155-ball 189 propelled the Kiwis to 359/3 – the fifth-highest ODI total ever and one that England were never in the hunt for chasing down. It would have been the second-highest successful pursuit in history had England managed to pull it off, but they collapsed to defeat on 273 all-out in the 45th over. 
Needing to beat their previous record ODI winning chase of 306 for five against Pakistan in Karachi in 2000, the hosts buckled under the relentless pressure of a north-headed required rate. Jonathan Trott played the lone hand with his fourth ODI hundred, an unconquered 109, but the Kiwis made regular inroads to leave the chase in tatters.

Left-arm quick Mitchell McClenaghan was hte pick of New Zealand's bowlers, finishing with three wickets and conceding just 35 in 8.1 overs. The third and final ODI will be played at Nottingham on June 5, a day before the Champions Trophy is set to kick off. This makes the series win a much-needed shot of inspiration for New Zealand ahead of the eight-nation event.
Guptil reprieved

Earlier, England again paid the price for dropping Guptill, who went on to surpass Lou Vincent's previous New Zealand record of 172 against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 2005, and was the equal fourth highest in history.The 26-year-old Guptill's 103 not out at Lord's on Friday had powered New Zealand to a five-wicket win in the first ODI.

But, as happened at Lord's, Guptill was again dropped on 13 with Chris Woakes once more the unlucky bowler. The seamer's first over at Lord's had seen Guptill's top-edged pull dropped by Tim Bresnan at long leg. And Woakes's first over on Sunday saw a Guptill pull go straight through Jonathan Trott's hands at mid-wicket.

That was the only chance Guptill gave in a 155-ball innings featuring two sixes and 19 fours that equalled West Indies' great Viv Richards 189 not out at Manchester in 1984, in a 55-over match, as the highest individual ODI score against England.

Good toss

Together with Kane Williamson (55) and Ross Taylor (60) he shared partnerships of 120 and 109 respectively following the early loss of Luke Ronchi. New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who won the toss on a typically good Southampton pitch, was 40 not out after adding an unbroken 118 in a mere 50 balls for the fourth wicket with Guptill.

James Anderson took two for 65 as he equalled Darren Gough's England record haul of 234 one-day international wickets, but it was all about New Zealand's batting today. Jade Dernbach 87 runs in his ten overs, as Guptill raced to his fourth century in 71 ODIs off just 111 balls with a pulled six off Woake and seven fours. 

New Zealand massacred 79 in their last five overs, taking the match away from England as McCullum and Guptill united for 118 in just 8.2 overs. The rest was a mere formality.