You are not logged in to Prodigits. Please register or login. You are not logged in to Prodigits. Please register or login.
Subject: Cricket News
Replies: 30 Views: 5816
royal28 12.08.09 - 06:59am
I didnt accuse cricketers of fixing: Qadir
KARACHI: Former chief selector Abdul Qadir has backed down from his earlier comments that some Pakistan players could have contact with suspected Indian bookmakers and said he was only voicing concern about the possibility of match fixing. *
royal28 12.08.09 - 03:19pm
Hayden warns Pietersen to expect long recovery
Matthew Hayden has warned Kevin Pietersen that his comeback from an Achilles injury could be the toughest battle of his career, after it was confirmed the England batsman was admitted to a central London hospital for treatment on an infection in the stitching of his surgically-repaired right ankle.
Pietersen, who underwent the operation two-and-a-half weeks ago after England's victory in the second Test at Lord's, is expected to be discharged on Wednesday after spending two nights in hospital. He has been placed on a course of antibiotics and will be reassessed later in the week before resuming his rehabilitation programme, but Hayden, who also sustained a high-profile Achilles problem during the first season of IPL, said that it was a problem that was unlikely to go away.
Hayden's own Achilles problem did not require surgery, but it nevertheless curtailed his international career. He missed Australia's 2008 tour of the Caribbean and averaged just 23.93 in nine Tests thereafter. Despite harbouring ambitions to play through to the end of the current Ashes series, Hayden announced his retirement from international cricket in January.
Frankly, the hardest thing I ever had to do was come back from that, Hayden told Cricinfo's Switch-Hit podcast. My path was one of very gradual improvement over a long period of time. That was under very strict guidelines and rehabilitation programmes, and it's to a point now thankfully, touch wood, it's brilliant, but it's [an issue] of constant maintenance. What I do know about any kind of tendinopathies, having suffered them right the way through my career, is that they are often a degenerative injury.
It's not like a hamstring where you go out and pull it, and you spend a number of weeks getting back in through rehab. These are degenerative tendons, so ever since Kevin Pietersen has been running around on the plains of Africa, he would have been wearing out his Achilles tendon. Being such a big bloke, as is often the case with very long levers, it tends to increase the degree of injury. He's got a long road to go, there's no question about that.
Pietersen's setback in his road to recovery was confirmed on Tuesday afternoon in a statement from the ECB. He was seen by a wound care specialist yesterday and will receive a course of antibiotics in order to exclude infection, read the statement.
Medical advice is that a complication can occur post surgery and in this case resulted despite Kevin closely following specialist advice on management of the wound. He will be reassessed by the specialist later this week and will return to his planned programme of rehabilitation once the wound has fully healed.
Pietersen's operation was conducted by a leading Swedish specialist, who was flown in at the ECB's behest, and an initial estimate was that he would be out of cricket for six weeks.
That may now have to be revised. The operation, which Pietersen underwent after labouring to twin scores of 32 and 44 in the Lord's Test, involved a small incision and t of the blood vessels and nerves around the inflamed tendon and was considered, in a statement from Nick Peirce, the ECB's chief medical officer, to have been routine.
Kevin will look to undertake a comprehensive rehabilitation programme to ensure there is no risk of recurrence, said Peirce at the time. This is expected to be approximately six weeks but will be taken at an appropriate pace following constant review.
Pietersen was never in contention to be fit for the remainder of the Australia tour, and his initial target was the tour of South Africa which gets underway with the Champions Trophy on September 22.
However, England's national selector, Geoff Miller, admitted to Cricinfo that there were already concerns about his long-term fitness. I'm hopeful he will be fit [for South Africa], said Miller. I wouldn't say I'm confident, but I'm very, very hopeful, because he's an integral part of the side.
In Pietersen's absence, England's middle order has struggled to match his authoritative style of batting, and at Headingley this week, Nos 3, 4 and 5 - Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood - mustered 16 runs for six dismissals, the lowest combined tally in Test history.
I hate missing matches for England and especially during an Ashes summer but now that the decision has been made to undergo surgery I'm confident I can return to the England team injury-free following a course of rehabilitation, said Pietersen at the time of his injury.
*
royal28 12.08.09 - 07:27pm
Pakistan beat Srilanka by 52 runs in t20 *
royal28 13.08.09 - 10:43am
Younus said that as skipper, he accepted responsibility for the dismal showing. I accept the responsibility of defeat, but will not apologise to anyone nor will I resign as captain because it's part of the game to lose and win, he was quoted as saying. Younus, 31, is not part of the team playing the only Twenty20 match against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday, having resigned from the newest form of the game after guiding Pakistan to the World T20 title in England in June. Younus rounded on the campaign to oust him as captain. I am trying my level best to lead the team and achieve the best results but some people want me to relinquish the captaincy, which I won't. Am I not a good captain, or do I lack leadership qualities? he said. Former Pakistan players have launched a scathing attack on Younus, also demanding the head of coach Intikhab Alam, manager Yawar Saeed and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials. Pakistan, needing 97 runs with eight wickets intact, lost the first Test at Galle by 50 runs. They were also well set at 285-1 in the second innings of the second Test in Colombo, before losing the match by seven wickets. Resignations should come from top to bottom after the humiliating defeats, former chief selector and international spinner Abdul Qadir said. Younus told Jang that the team's success in the last two one-day matches showed it was able to win in Sri Lanka. We won the last two one-day matches by huge margins, and it proved that the team had the capacity and the talent to win the Tests and one-day matches. But due to the batsmen's inconsistency, we failed to finish properly, he said. Younus defended team unity after criticism from former players and the media. There were no differences in the team. In fact I can say that the team was never as united as it was during the Sri Lanka tour, Younus said, rejecting match-fixing allegations levelled against the team. Baseless allegations are affecting the team's performances, he said, after reports emerged of bookmakers trying to contact Pakistani players in their Colombo hotel during the Tests last month. No one should doubt my integrity. I can never resort to any wrongdoing. *
royal28 13.08.09 - 10:46am
Pakistan pace bowler Saeed Ajmal has been fined 15% of his match fee in the Twenty20 international in Colombo.
Ajmal was charged under Level 1.6 of the ICC's code of conduct after pointing to the pavilion and exchanging words with Sangakkara following the home captain's dismissal.
The incident was reported by on-field umpires Asoka de Silva and Tyron Wijewardene as well as third umpire Gamini Silva and fourth official Gamini Dissanayake.
Elite panel match referee Alan Hurst said of the incident: In coming to my decision I took into account the fact the player immediately recognised his error of judgement and apologised to both umpires. He also did so to Kumar Sangakkara after the game.
The player had no previous instances of this type of behaviour but it was pointed out to him during the hearing that his actions were a clear breach of the ICC Code of Conduct and something seen not only on the replay screen at the ground but also by the many millions of people watching on television around the world.
This type of action cannot be tolerated as it does not promote the playing of the game in the expected positive spirit. *
royal28 15.08.09 - 09:17am
Gul, who picked up the back strain in Sri Lanka during training, said he would recover in time for next month's Champions Trophy in South Africa.
The doctors have told me to take complete rest for 15 days and then resume light training. I am confident that I will be 100 per cent fit for the Champions trophy, Gul told reporters at the National Stadium here.
Gul said he had overcome fitness problems earlier in his career including a career threatening back stress fracture.
I know what to do and how to recover from this injury so I am not concerned or worried that I might not be fit in time for the Champions trophy, said Gul, who was Pakistan's star performer in their Twenty20 World Cup victory.
He said his 15-day rest could be a blessing in disguise as he would get a complete break from cricket for two weeks.
It would allow us to go into the Champions Trophy fresh.
Because in a big tournament like this you need to be in your best shape in every match as one bad day or spell can cost you a shot at the title, he said.
Gul and other members of the Pakistan's T20 World Cup winning squad took part in a friendly Twenty20 match last night in Karachi to celebrate the country's Independence Day although he didn't bowl. Younus made it clear that he had no issues with the senior players in the team and would give them a fair chance even if they were struggling.
Whether it is Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf I don't believe in dropping them just on the basis of few bad performances, he said.
I believe if a player is to be dropped or rested he must be given a fair chance to prove himself, said Younus who will be leaving for England on a charity drive for the displaced people of Swat. *
royal28 15.08.09 - 09:28am
I was asked to take back retirement decision: Younus
KARACHI : Captain Younus Khan revealed turning down a request from the cricket board Chairman Ejaz b*tt to lead the team in the Twenty20 International in Sri Lanka.
Younus, who announced his retirement from Twenty20 cricket after winning the World Cup in England in June, confirmed during a talk show in private channel that b*tt had spoken to him about the captaincy issue when he visited Colombo.
b*tt told me I should lead the team in the Twenty20 match as well and take back my decision to retire, Younus said.
But I told the Chairman that if I take back my retirement decision, people will laugh at me. I don't fancy such a situation and my decision not to play Twenty20 cricket is final, he said.
Eventually the board named Shahid Afridi to lead Pakistan in the one off Twenty20 match in Sri Lanka which Pakistan won comfortably and Afridi is now tipped to continue as captain until the next World Twenty20 in the West Indies in mid 2010.
Younus also maintained there were no difference within the team but if any player had any problem with him, he was willing to sit down and talk over things. *
thekings (8)
