Kolkata says can be ready for World Cup

Updated at: 1602 PST,  Friday, January 28, 2011
NEW DELHI: The bosses of Kolkata's Eden Gardens insisted Friday they could be ready to host next month's India-England World Cup clash after the venue was ruled out because of unfinished renovation work.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) sparked a logistical nightmare for organisers on Thursday by asking for an alternative stadium for the February 27 match because of concerns about unfinished facilities at the famous ground.

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), which runs the stadium, asked the the ICC to reconsider its controversial ruling, which raised further questions about India's ability to host major sporting events.

CAB chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, a former ICC president and himself a construction company owner, wrote to the Indian cricket board on Friday to convince the governing body to stick to the original schedule.

"(The ICC's decision) comes as a shock because when their inspection team was in Kolkata, we were given to understand that they were happy with the progress of the work and had suggested only a few minor modifications," said the letter.

CAB chiefs promised they would hand over a completed Eden Gardens to the ICC on February 7, "provided we are given an extension."

"Finally, we also state that we will address the bulk of the ICC concerns by January 31, 2011 itself and the remaining little, if any, in another seven days," the letter said.

World Cup organisers were struggling to find a different venue and organise travel, ticketing and security.

"It's a challenge for sure, but we are working on solving the issue at the earliest," tournament director Ratnakar Shetty told reporters at the World Cup headquarters in Mumbai.

The ICC was concerned about work in the renovated stands of Eden Gardens, as well as corporate boxes, the media centre and the location of the radio commentary boxes.

The problems echoed similar trouble before the Delhi Commonwealth Games in October that were marred by severe delays in construction work and shoddy finishing.

Tour operators said they hoped the matter would be resolved soon with the tournament looming.

"England v India is the biggest of all the group games," Shirley Rattray of Cricket Logistics, the ICC's official travel partner, told a cricket website.

"It is the most popular because Eden Gardens is such an iconic venue to watch cricket. A match there is regarded as one of the sporting things to do before you die.

"So it's a big shame that the game has had to be moved."

Rattray said tickets needed to be relocated and fresh flights and hotels booked.

"It's never easy when things like this happen, but it will get done. That's the way things work in India, things can be turned around at the last minute very quickly."

Eden Gardens, which hosted the World Cup final in 1987 and a semi-final in 1996, is due to host three other matches. A decision on whether they will go ahead will be taken by the ICC at a later date.

The three games are South Africa v Ireland on March 15, Ireland v the Netherlands on March 18 and Zimbabwe v Kenya on March 20.

The World Cup is being co-hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka from February 19 to April 2.

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Kolkata says can be ready for World Cup

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England beat Australia to avoid series defeat

Updated at: 1245 PST,  Friday, January 28, 2011
ADELAIDE: Inspired by a Jonathan Trott century England secured a 21-run victory over Australia on Wednesday, keeping alive their hopes of winning the one-day series after trailing 3-0.

The tourists needed a win to claw their way back into the seven match series and a fine century by man-of-the-match Trott helped them to 299-8, the first time they have lasted their full complement of overs in this series.

Australia never looked comfortable in reply at the Adelaide Oval and their chances all but evaporated with the wicket of opener Shane Watson for 64, caught behind of Ajmal Shahzad.

Captain Michael Clarke's season-long woes with the bat deepened when he was clean bowled by part-timer Paul Collingwood for just 15 as the home team fell short with just 278 for seven.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, the tourists looked poised for a huge score when they brought up their century for the loss of one wicket in the 15th over.

But the middle order stuttered and the innings lost its way, regaining momentum through a late flourish from Michael Yardy, who hit 39 not out from 27 balls.

Trott (102 from 126 balls), who also picked up two wickets in the Australian innings, set up the win with his second ODI century while opener Matt Prior belted 67 from 58 balls.

The pair set England on course for a bug score, piling on 113 in quick time for the second wicket.

They were helped by poor bowling from Australia's pacemen, with Brett Lee conceding 68 runs from eight overs and Doug Bollinger 55 from nine.

Lee's wayward bowling helped the English get off to flyer, his first delivery resulting in five wides in an opening over that cost 12 runs.

However, the loss of Prior in the 23rd over slowed the innings.

Prior, who was coming off successive ducks, brought up his 50 with a six off Lee, but fell to Steve Smith in the spinner's second over, top-edging an attempted cut.

The English middle order struggled with Kevin Pietersen making just 12 and Ian Bell going for duck, the pair both falling within three balls in one Smith (3-33) over.

Eoin Morgan's indifferent form continued when he fell to part-time spinner David Hussey attempting a reverse sweep for 24.

Hussey bowled just four overs, but picked up 4-21, also removing centurion Trott, who dragged a ball onto his stumps, Paul Collingwood (27) and Ajmal Shahzad (4).

England were forced to leave out spinner Graeme Swann and all-rounder Tim Bresnan, both sent home early because of injury in a bid to have them fit for next month's World Cup.

Swing bowler James Anderson returned for his first game of the series at the expense of youngster Chris Woakes, while Pietersen was recalled for Luke Wright.

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Sri Lanka tour will be good World Cup preparation: Gibson

Updated at: 1605 PST,  Thursday, January 27, 2011
The West Indies team's upcoming tour of Sri Lanka is being seen as "good preparation" for next month's ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Speaking before the team departed from the Caribbean, Head Coach Ottis Gibson said the three matches in Sri Lanka will give the team a chance to get acclimatized to the conditions, where the mega event will also be played.

"It is a good opportunity to put some of the plans in place that we are going to take into the World Cup. When we went for the Test series we did really well as a team and we made progress. We also had a chance to get used to the conditions. Now we are heading back to Sri Lanka for these three One-Day Internationals and we will be looking to put in place the plans that we will be taking into the World Cup. The players are fresh out of the Caribbean Twenty20 and all the players are ready for what we have coming up," Gibson said.

The West Indies played to a 0-0 result in the three-match Test Series last December. The ODI Series was to be played in December but was rescheduled due to bad weather. Gibson said the ultimate goal on tour was to win the World Cup. The Windies have been drawn in Group B alongside South Africa, Netherlands, India, Bangladesh, England and Ireland in the 14 team event.

"I think we have a team that can win the World Cup. We will go there with the expectation of doing very well and putting ourselves in a position that we can reach the semi-finals, which is a very realistic possibility. We would love to win and we will try to win. The aim is to reach the semi finals and put ourselves in a position to capitalise from there," Gibson said.

"The Cricket World Cup is one of the biggest stages in international sport and we want to make sure we feature during the tournament. We are not listed among the favourites and that could work in our favour," Gibson concluded.

Team: Darren Sammy (captain), Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle, Nikita Miller, Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith.

Team Management Unit: Ottis Gibson (Head Coach), Richie Richardson (Team Manager), David Williams (Assistant Coach), C.J Clark (Physiotherapist), Hector Martinez Charles (Strength and Conditioning Co-ordinator), Richard Berridge (Video and Statistical Analyst), Philip Spooner (Media Manager), Virgil Browne (Massage Therapist).

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Clarke turns to his Indian mentor for change of fortune

Updated at: 1605 PST,  Thursday, January 27, 2011
Struggling Australia stand-in skipper Michael Clarke has turned to his childhood mentor and Indian-origin coach Neil D'Costa in a bid to revive his batting form ahead of the upcoming World Cup in the sub-continent.

The move comes a day after national selector Greg Chappell publicly backed the batsman to return to his best.
Emphasising on the three successive victories in the ongoing series against England, D'Costa has told his protege to relax and start focusing on his game as Australia seems to be back on track.

"A lot of captains, at different times... they don't put their gas mask on first," the Indian origin coach said. "They're running around trying to fit everybody else's gas mask. I feel as though, with the team back winning, he can get a little bit of oxygen in his lungs and settle back in his innings and we can see some runs," D'Costa told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Clarke has scored just 193 runs at an average of 21.44 during the recent Ashes loss to England and hardly showed any signs of revival during the first three ODI's of the ongoing series. D'Costa however disagreed that captaincy had distracted Clarke saying, "I don't think it's the captaincy weighing him down. It's a matter of prioritising. He cannot stand the team losing. He just hates it. That's how most captains are around the world. What happens with captains is they're searching for what can make his team go in the right direction," D'Costa added.

The coach, however, reiterated that since the Kangaroos are back to winning, Clarke will soon return to form. "The team's started to win and, as a captain, that will make him feel that other guys are starting to be a bit more confident in their game. They seem to be a bit more confident. There seems to be more guys contributing.

"The fielding seems to have improved quite a lot, their catching has improved quite a lot in a short space of time. So some confidence has started coming back to the side and with that we'll start to see the captain starting to make some runs as well," the coach insisted.

Endorsing David Hussey's view that the captain was trying too hard, D'Costa said, "He's looking for runs rather than letting the runs come. As a player you're desperate to score runs. Right now he's trying too hard when he bats. Things go wrong when you try too hard. If you just let it flow, things start to fall into place," D'Costa added.

D'Costa also supported Clarke's view that his problems were not technical. "Everyone seems to keep attacking his technical features.It's not always technical, it's an extremely mental game."

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Swann hoping to be fit in time for CWC 2011

Updated at: 1605 PST,  Thursday, January 27, 2011
Injured England off-spinner, Graeme Swann has revealed that he has battled for long with the back problem but insisted that he will be fit for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup in the sub-continent.

Swann flew back to his home from Australia in the middle of the ongoing bilateral one-day series after he was ruled out of the rest of the tour following a severe back spasm.

The spinner is also nursing a knee injury which had kept him out of action since January 16.

Swann, who is currently number two in the Reliance ICC Test Ranking for bowlers said, "I've had a bad back for years and, every now and again, it gives me problems. But I know from previous experience that I'll definitely be fine for the World Cup from the start.

"It happened when I was getting changed in Hobart. I bent down and felt a twinge, there was nothing more to it than that.

"It's improved already but would not be 100 per cent right to play in any of the remaining one-dayers," Swann told The Sun.

The bowler will join his wife, Sarah, and will remain at home to attend the birth of their first child before flying to India on February 22, two days before England's World Cup opener against Holland in Nagpur.

Swann, who is set to miss England's warm-up matches, though pointed out, "Once I'm fit again, I'll join in with Notts' winter training.

"It's been a long tour away and it's taking its toll on a number of players. I'm not worried about the back. The first time it happened in my career, I was frantic. But it doesn't feel as bad as it did then."

The bowler, however, was satisfied with his performance Down Under and said, "...I have some great memories - winning the Ashes will stay with me forever."

England have been left with spate of injuries as they look ahead to vie for an elusive World Cup trophy.

Fast bowler Tim Bresnan, who made his mark with the ball during the team's successful Ashes campaign, starts off as a big doubt as he has a torn calf muscle.

Stuart Broad, who tore a stomach muscle during the second Test is back with the team but is unlikely to play in any of the remaining ODI's.

Emphasising on the team's expanding injury list ahead of the mega event coach Andy Flower said, "Not only do we play high intensity international cricket but we also train at high intensity.

"There are serious demands on these guys. We're almost three months into this tour and it's not surprising there are injuries," Flower added.

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Campbell satisfied with performance in India

Updated at: 1605 PST,  Thursday, January 27, 2011
Head coach of the West Indies women's team Sherwin Campbell has expressed satisfaction with the development and commitment demonstrated by the team on the recent tour of India.

The team returned home late Tuesday after three weeks on the sub-continent. They lost the five-match ODI Series 2-3, after taking a 2-1 lead, and lost the three-match T20 Series 1-2, after drawing level in the second match.

"Many teams, both men and women, go to India and get blown away so I was pleased with the fact that we were very competitive against the Indian girls and we played some fantastic cricket on tour," Campbell said.

"The Indians are ranked above us and are more experienced than us but the way we played showed that we have a talented team here in the West Indies, and the ladies are committed to getting better.

"We toured South Africa and Sri Lanka and managed to do very well. We played against England in St Kitts and we beat them. We also reached the semis in the World T20. Now with the performance in India, it shows that the team is making more steps forward," Campbell said.

"It is never easy away from home. To go out there in foreign conditions and record victories in tough conditions, again proved we are getting better as individuals and as a team. I believe we should have won the ODIs. We outplayed India in the first match, and on two occasions we lost by just 10 runs," Campbell recapped.

"We need to learn from these experiences so that the next time we get in winning positions we can convert them to victories," the former West Indies Vice Captain said.

Windies star all rounder Stafanie Taylor dominated the ODIs, making the most runs and taking the most wickets. Off-spinner Anisa Mohammed got the second most wickets. Both made major jumps on the Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings.

Left-hander Shanel Daley also batted well in her new position at Number 3 and recorded career-best scores in the both formats. Seamer Tremayne Smartt was also a stand-out with her bowling in the Twenty20 Internationals.

Campbell commented: "I have been with the team for close to three years now and I can see the overall improvement, the overall effort, the desire to get better. We are moving forward. We have players who give 100 percent every time. Once you get that kind of effort the team will do well. We would love to play more against teams ranked higher so we can get competitive and improve even more."

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Morkel, Tstosobe make rapid strides

Updated at: 1605 PST,  Thursday, January 27, 2011
South Africa's victory in the five-match ODI series against India on Sunday has coincided with its key performers making rapid progress in the Reliance ICC ODI Rankings.

Man of the Series fast bowler Morne Morkel, who ended with 12 wickets, moved up by 10 places to secure the second spot behind New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori in the Reliance ICC ODI Rankings for bowlers. With 704 points, Morkel has earned his best placing so far on the table in his ODI career. Among the others to move up in the rankings is left-arm fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe who moved a whopping 38 places to the eleventh spot, his best to date. Tsotsobe was the highest wicket-taker in the series with 13 scalps from five games.

For India, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh moved up three places to the 19th and spearhead Zaheer Khan moved to 22nd from the 27th spot.

In the Reliance ICC ODI Rankings for batsmen, Hashim Amla retained his position on the top of the charts after his match-winning hundred in the final match of the series on Sunday.

India's Virat Kohli moved up three places to finish at joint second position with South Africa's AB de Villiers for his best-ever placing.

Perhaps the biggest mover among the batsmen was Yusuf Pathan who broke into the top 50 for the first time in his career. He moved from 82nd to the 48th following his knocks in the last three games

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ICC Inspection team rules out Kolkata for 27 February India v England fixture

Updated at: 1605 PST,  Thursday, January 27, 2011
A venue inspection team which included the Tournament Director, members of the Central Organising Committe (COC) and the ICC, have today reported on the readiness of five outstanding venues scheduled to host matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

Following the inspection tour, the three Sri Lanka venues - Colombo, Hambantota and Pallekele - as well as Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai have been approved subject to minor finishing work being completed within specified time frames not exceeding 14 days. The expert report, however, determined that Eden Gardens in Kolkata would not be ready within an acceptable time frame to host the India v England ICC Cricket World Cup match on 27 February.

Of particular concern was the fact that host venue obligations in relation to cricket operations, media, broadcast and sponsorship facilities were not finalized and/or confirmed by the venue.

The ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) of the decision and, as host, the BCCI will now consider an alternate venue for approval by the ICC.

Mr Lorgat said: "All venues had ample time in which to prepare for world cup matches. We had been understanding and had provided extensions to the deadline dates but unfortunately we are now at a point where we must carefully manage our risks.

"The COC had provided venues with a deadline of 30 November 2010 to complete all construction work and then to be match-ready by 31 December 2010. An extension was granted by the ICC for five venues, which were again inspected over the past week. Sadly, Eden Gardens in Kolkata was unable to meet the final deadline date of 25 January 2011.

"Regrettably, Eden Gardens has not made sufficient progress to justify the level of confidence required to confirm that the venue would be ready in good time. This was no easy decision to take and while it is most unfortunate, it is absolutely necessary," said Lorgat.

The inspection team drew on the knowledge and experience of some of the leading experts in the field of stadium and ground preparation and the view was that Eden Gardens would not be ready by the 27 February.

The ICC has also recognised the challenge of relocating a scheduled match.

Tournament Director Prof. Ratnakar Shetty said: "We will work with the new venue, the tour operators and the ticket distributors to manage the logistical challenges that will surely arise."

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