Thursday 13 June 2013
Tuesday 11 June 2013
Monday 10 June 2013
Dilshan and Mahela pulled up for excessive appealing
Former Sri Lankan captains Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan have been reprimanded for appealing excessively during Sunday's tense Champions Trophy clash against New Zealand.
The International Cricket Council said the two players had pleaded guilty to a level one breach of that part of the Code of Conduct which relates to "excessive appealing during an international match."
"Dilshan and Jayawardena were charged for excessive and prolonged appealing in a keenly-contested match that New Zealand won by one wicket," the ICC said in a statement.
Sri Lanka, defending a small total of 138, grabbed regular wickets to reduce the Black Caps to 122-8 before the tail rallied to win the match.
ICC match referee Andy Pycroft of Zimbabwe said both players had apologised for their actions.
"Irrespective of the outcome of an umpire's decision, players are not entitled to prolonged appeals as these can be construed as pressuring the umpires," Pycroft said in the ICC statement.
"Both the players accepted their mistake and apologised for their actions."
The charges against Jayawardene and Dilshan were laid by on-field umpires Bruce Oxenford and Rod Tucker, and television umpire Ian Gould.
An official reprimand is the minimum penalty for excessive appealing. A second offence can cost a player 50 percent of his match fees, the ICC said.
Sunday 9 June 2013
MUST WIN FOR BOTH THE TEAMS
Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah-ul-HaqPakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq tried to take the pressure off his side by insisting a 'do or die' Champions Trophy clash against South Africa was nothing new for the team.
Both sides need to win Monday's day/night clash at Edgbaston if they are to have a realistic chance of reaching the semi-finals of a tournament for the world's top eight one-day nations.
Pakistan suffered a two-wicket loss against the West Indies in their low-scoring Group B opener at The Oval on Friday, a day after South Africa went down by 26 runs against India in Cardiff.
Monday's match is also nicely set-up in that the strength of South Africa, set to be without both their injured quicks Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, now appears to be their batting with Pakistan's trump card their bowling attack.
In March, South Africa beat Pakistan 3-2 in a home one-day series but only after Misbah's men levelled at 2-2.
"It's not a new story for us," Misbah told reporters at Edgbaston on Sunday.
"In South Africa, we were in a similar situation like that in the ODI series, when we had to win the fourth ODI and our team did exceptionally well with that.
"The best thing you can do is to take it game by game, and tomorrow is a game and you just need to win that."
Against the West Indies, only Misbah -- with a career-best 96 not out -- and opener Nasir Jamshed (50) made it into double figures.
The 39-year-old Misbah said he did not mind shouldering the burden but was understandably keen for the rest of the top order to get runs.
"This is a trend of passing teams over the years. I think before it was Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf.
"So, as a senior player, you have to take the responsibility, but it's really good if some of the other guys come to the party and do their job."
But the saving grace for Pakistan against the West Indies was the performance of a bowling attack that so nearly pulled what would have been an extraordinary victory given they had so few runs to defend.
The towering Mohammad Irfan (three for 32) and fellow left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz (two for 42) both posed problems, the pair the latest models off Pakistan's now seemingly inexhaustible production line of fast bowlers.
There was a time when Pakistan, in common with the rest of the sub-continent, was regarded as a 'graveyard' for fast bowlers but Misbah said the tough conditions, which led Imran Khan, and later Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, to develop reverse swing, had created a special breed of pacemen
"Maybe genetically people are a bit stronger, maybe the conditions because it's not conducive for seam bowling there
"It's really hard work there in Pakistan. If you want to be a fast bowler, you really need to be hard working, you need a bit of pace there. So maybe that helps people to just bowl a bit quicker than other parts of the world."
DALE STEYN TO MISS PAKISTAN CLASH
South Africa are set to to be without Dale Steyn once again at the Champions Trophy when they face Pakistan at Edgbaston tomorrow.
Steyn, widely regarded as the best fast bowler currently in world cricket, missed the Proteas’ opening 26-run Group B defeat by India in Cardiff on Thursday with a side strain.
And South Africa captain AB de Villiers, speaking to reporters at Edgbaston on Sunday, was pessimistic about Steyn’s chances of facing Pakistan.
“The final decision hasn’t been made yet, but it’s not looking good,” de Villiers said. “The chances are he’ll only be ready for the last one (South Africa’s final group match against the West Indies in Cardiff on June 14).
“We are still hanging on to that last little bit of hope he could wake up tomorrow (Monday) morning and do a bit of a fitness test and look good for the game, but it’s not looking good at all.”
South Africa’s fast bowling resources were further depleted when Morne Morkel, who limped off while bowling his seventh over against India, was ruled out of the tournament with a leg injury.
India capitalised to pile up 331 for seven but South Africa gave them a scare before falling short in a daunting chase.
The Proteas have called up Chris Morris, a 26-year-old seamer who has played two Twenty20 matches for South Africa, but has yet to appear in a one-day international, as Morkel’s replacement.
And de Villiers, having seen the way in which England beat Australia by 48 runs in a Group A encounter at Edgbaston on Sunday, reckoned pace was still the way forward.
“It looked a similar kind of wicket to the one we’ll be playing on. The one spinner for England, (James) Tredwell bowled really well but it was the seamers, who started reversing the ball, who really restricted the batters and made them look like they can’t get it off the square.”
The wicketkeeper-batsman added now was the not the time for the Proteas to change tactics.
“We are not going to change too much. I very well remember the 2007 World Cup (in the West Indies) where we played Australia in the semi-finals and tried to change strategy.
“We tried to take it to them and the next minute we were 20 for five.
“We are going to stick to our game plans. We believe if we play to our full potential, we believe we can beat any team here.”
Monday’s match is effectively a must-win encounter for both sides after Pakistan suffered a two-wicket defeat in a low-scoring clash with the West Indies at The Oval on Friday.
Despite being dismissed for just 170, Pakistan’s bowlers nearly guided their side to an improbable win in south London.
“We are well aware of the Pakistani bowling attack, they are a very good bowling attack.
“We are up against a very good team who can beat any team in this tournament. But we are playing some good cricket and we are confident we can beat them tomorrow,” insisted de Villiers.
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