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Uma Srivastava

@umi82990

Sparkler

+ 3

Posted: 17 years ago

#521

Let players sign in India - May

Cricinfo staff

December 17, 2007

Twenty20 leagues in India such as the Indian Cricket League, which hosted its final on Sunday, could lure players away from international contracts, according to the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations Getty Images

International players should be allowed to retire and take up lucrative contracts with Twenty20 leagues in India, according to Tim May, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations. May said any move by national boards to stop such retirements, or to ban players who join Twenty20 leagues, could be a restraint of trade and might result in court action.

"If a player wants to retire from international cricket because he's had enough and wants to spend more time with his family and he can seek employment elsewhere, to allow him to spend more time with his family, then, like any other employee, he should be allowed to," May told the Australian.

"We will resist that [banning players] with everything we have. That is an unreasonable restraint of trade, which will be up to the players and the courts to test."

But while May said there was the potential for competitions like the Indian Premier League and the Indian Cricket League to lure players away from their international contracts, national boards also have another potential problem. The IPL's franchising system has raised questions over possible sponsorship clashes.

It is feasible that a Cricket Australia-contracted player could sign with a team owned by a company that provides services in competition with Cricket Australia's major sponsors, the Commonwealth Bank and Travelex. "That's a hypothetical question," James Sutherland, Cricket Australia's chief executive said.

"The facts are that we deal with these situations day after day, with players playing county cricket or in other situations. Players will need to work around these situations to be released."

Justin Vaughan, the New Zealand Cricket chief executive, said his board would have to revisit its payment structure to ensure non-IPL players are not easily enticed to a rebel Twenty20 outfit.

"We'll talk to the players' association because they are very mindful of that situation and we certainly don't want these players being lost to international cricket," Vaughan told the New Zealand Herald. "But it's great our players can make a lot of money playing cricket. That's fantastic."

The initial IPL sign-on fees were announced last week, with Shane Warne receiving a US$400,000 deal, Glenn McGrath attracting US$350,000 and Justin Langer signing up for US$175,000. However, those figures are base fees for being part of the player pool and do not include the salaries they will be paid by whichever franchise they join.

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Uma Srivastava

@umi82990

Sparkler

+ 3

Posted: 17 years ago

#522

Cricket-Gilchrist to miss final one-dayer against New Zealand

Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:02am GMT

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SYDNEY, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Australia vice-captain Adam Gilchrist has been ordered to miss Thursday's deciding one-day match against New Zealand in Hobart to save himself for the upcoming test series against India.

Australia need to win or draw the match to regain the Chappell-Hadlee they lost to New Zealand last season but will have to do so without Gilchrist.

The wicketkeeper-batsman will be replaced by New South Wales wicketkeeper Brad Haddin after Australia's selectors decided to give Gilchrist a break in accordance with their controversial rotation policy.

"It was always the selection panel's intention for Adam to play in the Twenty20 International and the opening two matches of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy regardless of results," the chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said in a statement.

"It's important that Adam's workload is suitably managed with four tests and the (limited-overs one-day) series ahead."

Australia were beaten 3-0 by New Zealand in February when they rested several key players ahead of the World Cup but coach Tim Neilsen dismissed concerns they were treating the Kiwis too lightly.

Australia won the first game of their current series while the second game was washed out. Australia can regain the trophy with a win or a draw but a loss will allow New Zealand to retain the trophy.

"I don't think we're being arrogant ... we're trying to look after the workload of our senior players," Neilsen told reporters on Monday.

"It was planned a month ago when we looked at the programme."

(Reporting by Julian Linden; Editing by Ossian Shine)

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Uma Srivastava

@umi82990

Sparkler

+ 3

Posted: 17 years ago

#523

India's batting the key to Border-Gavaskar series

December 17, 2007 - 2:40PM

< ="1.1"> Page 1 of 2 | Single page

Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar will play a big part as the series unfolds.
Photo: AFP

Look through the stars of the last Border-Gavaskar series played in Australia and it reads like the batting line-up any captain would nominate in a dream cricket XI.

Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid, Matthew Hayden, VVS Laxman all averaged over 60 in the 2003-04 series and proved very difficult to dislodge.

But add the name Ajit Agarkar and realise how influential one spell of bowling can be in a series outcome, especially in a contest between two of the world's best batting lists.

Agarkar's haul of 6-41 in Adelaide four years ago turned a Test, gave India a shock 1-0 series lead and eventually went a long way towards the visitors retaining the trophy despite Australia's desperation to give Steve Waugh the perfect send-off.

India's effort in drawing that series 1-1 ranks as one of the best efforts of recent touring teams, as Australia are unbeaten at home since defeat to the West Indies in 1992-93.

India's modus operandi should again be similar this summer, when the sides play four Tests, starting with the traditional Boxing Day blockbuster at the MCG.

In short, the plan will likely be bat big, bowl lots.

Although Australia's bowlers had the measure of India's batsmen in 2004-05, when Adam Gilchrist led his country to its first series win in India in over 30 years, that remains the last time the great bowling unit of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz performed at its combined best.

Brett Lee and his colleagues have taken the reins admirably since McGrath and Warne retired, but if Australia's attack is blunted the same way it was four years ago, then it will be advantage India.

The opposing coaches from last time, John Buchanan and John Wright, both believe India's batting is the key to this series.

"The success of (India's) tour will really hinge around how they bat for the first four hours, and if they can get through that period one or two wickets down, they've got a very good middle order that can put any pace attack under pressure," said Wright, who coached India from 2000-05 and now works with New Zealand Cricket.

Buchanan expects India to try to post big scores which will put them in unbeatable positions and allow their spinners, captain Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, to trouble Ponting's side.

"Like they did last time, they really used their batting to try to put themselves into positions to either draw games or win games and I can't see it being too much different this time," said Buchanan, who retired last year after eight years with the Australian team.

Edited by *Fiza* - 17 years ago

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Ayesha

@-Chicha-

Dazzler

+ 2

Posted: 17 years ago

#524

Some former Pakistan captains have advised Shoaib Malik to concentrate on cementing his place in the team by taking full advantage of the reprieve he got despite the recent series defeats.

Malik's captaincy and form have been widely criticised and former captain Imran Khan has lashed out at the board for retaining him as captain even after the miserable performance of the team against India.

Former skippers Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Rashid Latif and Mushtaq Mohammad thought that Malik was lucky not to lose his captaincy following the series defeats against South Africa and India.

Miandad said Malik should know his responsibilities and concentrate on his own performance.

"There is always a great responsibility on the shoulders of the captain and if he can't perform or look after his fitness then the team always faces problems like it did in India," Miandad said.

"I don't blame Malik for anything as he didn't ask for the captaincy. But at the same time he must now start realising he has to learn to take the pressure and fulfill his dual role properly."

"When I was the captain I always assessed my own form and when Imran was available I used to make way for him as captain and concentrate on my batting and own form," he said.

Miandad said Malik should become his own judge as far as his form and captaincy were concerned.

"Nothing comes before the national interest and the board must also realise that captaincy is not the only issue in the team. There are other problems which also need to be looked into," he added.

Zaheer Abbas said that a captain's performance and form reflected in the team's overall showing.

"When the board has decided to retain Malik as captain we must back him completely. We have the example of South African captain Graeme Smith before us. He also failed initially but his board kept on supporting him constantly. We must also support Malik and encourage him.

"But he also needs to concentrate on his form and fitness and set an example for others with his own performances," he said.

Latif felt there was a need for the board to think about having separate captains for Tests and one-dayers as both forms required different tactics and attitude.

"The captain must be a positive and aggressive person and lead the way with his own attitude. We need to start playing with more conviction and self-belief."

Mushtaq Mohammad said the players must learn from the Indian tour and start preparing for the forthcoming series against Australia.

"I think nowadays how you perform against the world champions is the only criteria to judge a team's form and if we plan well, we have the players to beat Australia. But consistent selection is also required," he said.

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6508

Suspended

Posted: 17 years ago

#525

England Lions close in on final

Duleep Trophy, Vadodara: England (155 & 297-5) beat Central Zone (270 & 180) by five wickets

Michael Carberry's century helped steer England home (Getty)

Match scorecard

England Lions are within range of the Duleep Trophy final after a five-wicket win over Central Zone in India. England chased down a target of 296 to win, with 112 from Hampshire's Michael Carberry, 57 from Sussex's Michael Yardy and 54 from Middlesex's Ed Joyce. Captain Yardy said: "We had two bad sessions. Apart from that we played some really good cricket as a team. "What we did in the chase was show if you get in and spend time in the middle it gets easier." The Lions side recovered well after being bowled out for 155 in their first innings, a 115-run deficit, and had it all to do in their second innings. Carberry said: "It was a dogfight from ball one; I certainly wouldn't put it down as my most fluent innings; to get runs out here you have to fight and look ugly at times. "I was delighted to get a hundred in that situation as well. They're the sort of situations you dream of coming through as a first-class cricketer. "Those innings help massively from a personal perspective but over the four days a lot of credit has to go to the team."

A draw or better in the final match with West Zone will take England through to the final.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/7230861.stm