Kingston, June 23: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has urged his team-mates not to hide injuries, niggles and any other ailments ahead of the one-day series which begins here on Friday.
In what could be a blueprint for Dhoni’s regime as skipper of the Indian team from now on, the wicketkeeper-batsman gave his team members a dressing down in team hotel on Sunday, it’s reliably learnt.
Karachi, June 23: Just how do you stop Shahid Afridi? South Africa certainly couldn’t find an answer to that question in Nottingham on Thursday.
Before Afridi decided to launch against the Proteas, smashing them all over Trent Bridge en route to his career best score of 51, his best effort in this format was a mere 39 – against Bangladesh in the last World T20.
Since then, he has been woeful with the bat and hardly looked like the eventual match-winner he proved in the semifinal. But then, this is how Afridi has always played his cricket.
Islamabad, June 23:Revealing the secret of his sizzling form in the just-concluded Twenty20 World Cup, Pakistan’s flamboyant all rounder Shahid Afridi has said giving respect to bowlers helped him to be among the runs in England.
Afridi said he struggled with the bat in the past because he was not according proper respect to bowlers.
“I thought I could take on any bowler and I showed no respect to them. That is why I was struggling to get runs,” he said in an interview to a private television channel.
London, June 22: Carrying on the good form from the practice rounds, India’s highest ranked tennis player Sania Mirza entered round two of the Wimbledon women’s singles.
Sania thrashed her German opponent Anna Groenefeld 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 in opening round match to start her Wimbledon campaign on a winning note.
Sania will next face the winner of an all Romanina match between Edina Gallovits and Sorana Cirster.
With this win, Sania, ranked 78, has now taken a 3-0 lead over Germany’s Groenfeld, whom she beat in 2004 and 2005.
Kolkata, June 22: Soccer star Bhaichung Bhutia Monday inked a year-long contract with East Bengal, days after being slapped a six-month suspension by his previous club Mohun Bagan.
Bhutia’s move came even as his appeal against the suspension was pending with West Bengal’s soccer governing body Indian Football Association (IFA), and without Bagan giving him a release order.
The national team captain said if he could not turn up for East Bengal due to the tight schedule of the Indian team, the contract will automatically spill over into the next year.
London, June 22: Sania Mirza first picked up a tennis racket aged six but if she had been a boy the Indian would probably have reached for a cricket bat instead.
“I always said maybe if I was a guy I would play cricket,” Mirza told Reuters after a 6-2 2-6 6-2 first-round victory over Anna-Lena Groenefeld at Wimbledon on Monday.
“Cricket is like a religion in the country. Every second person plays cricket no matter what. If any boy is born, he is going to pick up a cricket bat,” she added.
Lord’s, June 22: Ajantha Mendis didn’t take a wicket and Shahid Afridi never hit him for a boundary but the “demystifying” of the Sri Lankan spinner told greatly on his team’s defeat in the finals of the ICC World Twenty20 here on Sunday.
Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara conceded that Pakistan had played his “mystery spinner” too often in recent times and it had played into his opposition’s hands. What he didn’t know was that an Indian had also contributed hugely in Pakistan’s quest to tackle Mendis.
Pretoria, June 22: Brazil sliced Italy apart with three goals in a devastating eight-minute spell to send the world champions crashing out of the Confederations Cup on Sunday.
Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano bagged a brace and Liverpool defender Andrea Dossena scored an own goal as Dunga’s flamboyant troops stunned their arch rivals with the triple blow just before the break.
It was the first time Italy has conceded three goals before half-time since 1957.
London, June 22: No Indian player found a place in the World Twenty20 men’s team while Rumeli Dhar was the only one from the country to feature in the women’s team, announced by a select group of experts chosen by International Cricket Council (ICC) Monday.
Defending champions India had a forgettable outing in the World Twenty20, losing all three matches in the Super Eights. Even the in-form Yuvraj Singh failed to make the cut in the 12-member team, showcasing the best Twenty20 players of the world. Pakistan skipper Younis Khan was named the leader of the side.
London, June 22: His team may have finished runners-up in the T20 World Cup, but Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara still nurtures a soft corner for the longest version of the game.
”I think Twenty20 should enhance Test cricket; Tests should have prime importance,” Sangakkara said after his team suffered an eight wicket-defeat to Pakistan in the final of the World Twenty20 at Lord’s last evening.
London, June 22: Former captain Shoaib Malik has hailed all-rounder Shahid Afridi for his superlative efforts, which saw Pakistan crowned as the new Twenty20 World champions.
Afridi smashed his way to an unbeaten 54 off 40 balls, his second consecutive half-century, while Malik scored an unbeaten 24 as the duo shared a match-winning partnership of 76 runs to help Pakistan thump Sri Lanka by eight wickets.
”It was a pressure match. When I walked out to the wicket I was thinking I have to stay until the 20th over,” an euphoric Shoaib said after the historic triumph yesterday.
Karachi, June 22: Mohammad Yousuf has returned to the Pakistan Test team barely a month after cutting ties with the unofficial ICL, and Abdul Razzaq has also been included in a 15-man squad for the tour to Sri Lanka which starts later this month.
Melbourne, June 22: Dumped by Cricket Australia from the national squad and its central contract, Andrew Symonds swapped the green and gold jersey of Australia for the green and red colours of Brisbane-based rugby side Wynnum-Manly in an exhibition match.
Symonds, whose CA contract has been ripped up for breaking team rules prior to the Twenty20 World Cup in England, made a surprise appearance at Kougari Oval, near Brisbane, against a Men Of League All Stars team.
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” said Symonds, who gave a crowd of several hundred fans some glimpses of his potential.
Islamabad, June 22: Former Pakistan players hailed the side’s Twenty20 World Cup win and hoped the victory can go some way towards unifying the troubled nation and restore its position on the international cricket map.
Pakistan crushed Sri Lanka by eight wickets at Lord’s on Sunday, the final win providing a vital lift to a country that has seen the side starved of action following a series of violent attacks that led visiting nations to cancel tours.
London, June 22: Shahid Afridi underwent a surprise dope test by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after the all-rounder guided Pakistan to the World Twenty20 title here at Lord’s.
Afridi, who was instrumental in Pakistan’s eight-wicket win against Sri Lanka in the final of the World Twenty20 yesterday, was called for a dope test by the ICC officials after the match.
The test is a part of ICC’s routine practice and a player could be picked randomly for the test.
Afridi had an ankle injury and will return home after treatment.
London, June 22: Kumar Sangakkara’s tenure as Sri Lanka captain is just seven Twenty20 matches old, but has already contained a lifetime’s worth of heartache and drama.
London, June 22: Following Pakistan’s eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the ICC World Twenty20 final at Lord’s, former national captains praised the side as thousands of fans took to the streets across the country.
Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq paid tribute to the spirit of the side while Ramiz Raja said this win was even better than Pakistan’s World Cup success in 1992.
London, June 22: If there was a fear before the final that Pakistan’s meek alter ego was due an untimely return, then Mohammad Aamer dispelled that in the space of five furiously hostile deliveries.
London, June 22: Former England captain Michael Vaughan is set to discover if he is in line for a Test recall against Australia when the selectors name an extended squad for an Ashes training camp.
Vaughan has not played for England since resigning as captain following last year’s third Test against South Africa at Edgbaston, although he has often stressed how he he wants to play in the upcoming Ashes.
England is due to announce Monday a 16-man squad for an Ashes training camp and the three-day warm-up match against Warwickshire.
New Delhi, June 22: Boxers are being hailed as the new sporting heroes in the country and India as seen as the powerhouse on the Asian continent. The spark was noticed at the Beijing Olympics and in 10 months the Indians are out scaling greater heights.
London, June 22: After leading Pakistan to World Twenty20 title Sunday, Younis Khan dropped a bombshell when he announced his retirement from the shortest version of the game.
“I am already 34 and probably too old for this kind of cricket,” said the senior batsman who was Pakistan’s most prolific run-getter in the tournament.
“Today I have decided to retire from Twenty20 cricket,” said the Pakistan captain, adding that he would like to focus on Test and ODI cricket.
Younis had said before the tournament that he might quit Twenty20 cricket.
Melbourne, June 21: Steve Waugh’s work for humanity has spread far and wide, but the former Australia captain traces its roots to India, a country which he says has changed his outlook towards life.
“India has given me some life changing moments right from 1986 when I played my first match on Indian soil,” says Waugh.
“I have memories of some unforgettable matches in India and meeting Mother Teresa here was a mesmerising experience which changed my outlook about a lot of things,” Waugh told PTI.
London, June 21: Pakistan’s star all-rounder Shahid Afridi wants to lead his country in international cricket before retiring from the game.
Afridi, the chief architect of Pakistan’s impressive World Twenty20 campaign here in England, Sunday said it is his greatest wish to captain Pakistan before saying goodbye to international cricket.
The flamboyant Afridi is one of the senior players in the Pakistan team but is not considered as a future captain amidst the presence of current skipper Younis Khan and vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq.
Johannesburg, June 21: A war of words erupted between the Egyptian football team and authorities in South Africa Sunday over the circumstances in which members of the Egyptian team were robbed, following their Confederations Cup win over Italy. On Friday, members of the Egyptian announced they had been returned to their hotel rooms after their historic 1-0 win over Italy at Ellis Park in Johannesburg to find thieves had made off with 2,400 dollars of their cash.
London, June 21: Women tennis players have reacted with fury after a leading sports commentator and former Wimbledon champion accused them of “selling sex”.
Michael Stich, an expert commentator with BBC Radio 5 Live and the 1991 Wimbledon champion, said the role of female tennis stars is as much about “selling sex” on court as it is about their sporting prowess.
The Mail on Sunday newspaper said Stich made the comment Saturday night during an argument over the loud grunting of many of the game’s top women.