March 13, 2009
"I think the reason why
Pietersen is among five
Pietersen was the
"
"It's important for our players to learn how to hit fours and sixes. You can do that in Twenty20 cricket and you can practise it. You must practise it in order to play it. In the middle, when you try to play like that you have to know you've practised it, and Twenty20 is a boundary fest. I'm afraid to say it but they have taken the game to a new level because of the IPL and I think the players recognise that."
Alex Brown
March 13, 2009
Brett Lee expects to be immediately reinstated to the role of Australian pace spearhead, and believes his new-ball combination with the vastly improved Mitchell Johnson will cause "carnage" among opposition batsmen throughout the Ashes and beyond. Fitter and stronger after his recovery from foot stress fractures, Lee was in a bullish mood when assessing his chances of returning to an attack that has won three consecutive Tests against
"I'm not embarrassed to say that I expect to lead the pace attack and take that brand new ball again for
Lee, 32, revealed for the first time he was carrying two separate foot stress fractures towards the latter stages of the Australian summer. He required as many as eight painkilling injections to complete 10 second-innings overs at the MCG, with surgery later revealing he had not only broken the fourth metatarsal in his left foot, as suspected, but also a bone in the back of his foot as well.
Lee has employed the services of a six-day-a-week personal trainer since the operation, and has added 10kg of lean muscle mass to a frame that had suffered from the effects of the giardia bug. The illness hampered him throughout
"The hardest thing was that I had no momentum behind the ball," he said. "I had nothing to drive myself through the crease with and I just wasn't able to consistently bowl fast, no matter how much I wanted to. It wasn't a great feeling.
"I am back up around 92-93kg now, and I'm feeling much stronger and energetic. My strength is up, my skin folds are down and I'm feeling much better for it. I am viewing the time off as a positive, as much as I can. It has helped me get my foot, ankle and general health back, and when you've built a great base like this, it can only create longevity."
Despite security issues stemming from the recent terror attacks on
"The best way to answer that is to say that we do get guidance every single day as to what is recommended from a safety point of view," he said. "There are several places where that information comes from, and it gives you the basis to make an informed decision about certain places. But I am looking forward to going to
The ICC chief executives committee recommendation will go before its executive board for a final decision on Monday, the ruling body said in a statement on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka Cricket told the meeting it could not guarantee clear weather in
"The CEC agreed the need to do everything possible to ensure this year's Champions Trophy is a successful event," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.
"On that basis it was felt that it would be too great a risk to stage the tournament in
"This was especially relevant given the length of this year's Champions Trophy has been reduced to 12 days, part of our desire to make it a short, sharp event, as on that basis there would be no room for reserve days.
"
Security concerns have increased in South Asia after gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in
The ICC panel also recommended dates for next year's World Twenty20 in
Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:36 GMT
The former vice captain will have spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan as his deputy, Gamini Lokuge said.
Sangakkara, a stylish left-hand batsman and wicket-keeper, was the front-runner to succeed Mahela Jayawardene.
Jayawardene stepped down as skipper after the two-Test
Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:29 GMT
Mahendra Singh Dhoni said after
"It was a difficult chase with the rain interruptions. The way Viru and Gautam batted, it looked easy but it was never easy," Dhoni said after
"The wind was very strong all through. Overall, we got a good start and capitalised on it later on," Dhoni said.
Dhoni said the team no longer relied on individuals to do the job as every member "chips in".
"We are not relying on individuals. For instance, we were without Sachin (Tendulkar) on Wednesday but still performed well. That's the plus point that we are not relying too heavily on individuals," he said.
Man of the Match Sehwag, gave away 500 dollars out of the 1000 from his prize money to the local Hamilton Star Wars Cricket Club.
WHEN Ricky Ponting arrived in
Asked to front more press conferences at
The ICC even sent one of their media men to do shopping-centre promotions in
Local journalists joked that Cricket South Africa was clearing a special space in their trophy cabinet for the 90cm mace, which was valued at STG30,000 ($A64,000) in 2001.
Australia have held the trophy since 2003 and after winning the first two Tests of their three-match series in South Africa, Ponting's men are hanging onto it thanks very much.
Although the ICC Test Championship table is only updated at the end of each series, the Proteas needed to win the series to overtakeAustralia before the annual cut-off date of April 1.
"
Ponting insisted it had not been his side's main goal and it shouldn't have been
"If they have been focusing on that for the last couple of weeks, it might be the reason why they haven't performed as well as they would have expected," Ponting said.
"I haven't mentioned the trophy once around this whole group because it's not the reason we play.
"We play to win games of cricket for
"Whatever happens as a result of that, happens.
"If silverware comes your way then great. But that's not the reason that we play the game."
