Pietersen targets next World Cup

Kevin Pietersen has tried to put to bed talk about his future in one-day cricket by insisting that he wants to play for England until at least the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Pietersen is back in the ODI set-up for the series in India having been rested for the last month of the home season, but is under pressure to perform after a lean two years in the 50-over format.Pietersen is likely to slot back in at No. 4 when the series starts next week following two warm-up matches although in his absence the likes of Ravi Bopara and Jonny Bairstow have staked their claims. Before leaving for the tour Alastair Cook, the one-day captain, spoke about wanting Pietersen involved all the way to the next World Cup but also said that players had to earn their selection with consistent performances. Pietersen hasn't scored an ODI hundred since November 2008 and over the last two years his average has languished in the low 20s."I don't know how many times I need to say it till you stop asking the questions," Pietersen said. "I want to continue playing until the 2015 World Cup, and then we'll reassess. No one's ever guaranteed their place - for their country, for their county, for their club side."There's a lot of different permutations and different things that can happen. It's just a case of enjoying every day, and also realising how fortunate we are. If there's any place you want to come and play one-day international cricket, it's here in India."Pietersen used his break from the game - which included missing the one-dayers against India and the Twenty20s against West Indies - to completely get away from cricket. He moved house in London and spent time with his family, which has become an increasingly important part of his life and the main reason he has admitted to not being a fan of long tours.He has also said that, while retaining the hunger to play all three forms of international cricket, he enjoyed not having a gruelling schedule of training. "I wanted to take a complete break, and get that bug back for training. That's the first break I've had without an injury for England. It was much appreciated"The hardest part of playing all three forms of the game is turning up on training day and doing warm-ups - I think it takes a couple of years off your career. To not have to turn up to training days was an absolute blessing. But you do miss the cricket, participating and competing - because we're all competitors.After he was left out of the one-day squad last month it then emerged that Pietersen had a wrist injury that required some management and he had an injection before leaving for India. "I've got something in my wrist," he said. "I had a cortisone injection a few days ago, and cortisone just before I left. It's just a case of getting through this tour and seeing where we are at the end.Pietersen, though, will need to fight through some minor discomfort because England won't wait for him to rediscover is one-day mojo forever

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Tenure of Ijaz Butt worst in Pakistan cricket, says Moin

KARACHI : Former Pakistan Test captain Moin Khan has said that the tenure of the present Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt is the worst period ever seen by Pakistan cricket. The PCB chief’s three-year term, which started back on October 8, 2008 after then board head Nasim Ashraf resigned, will be completed at the end of this week. In an interview to German Radio Deutsche Welle on Thursday, Moin said Pakistan cricket had been suffering badly under Ijaz and he had not seen such a bad period in his life both as cricket and administration wise. “From spot-fixing scandal to attack on Sri Lankans cricketers were the terrible mistakes made by the PCB and Pakistan had to pay for that. We were deprived of hosting international cricket and the World Cup 2011,” he added.Moin, who was the integral part of Pakistan 1992 World Cup winning squad, said that the PCB’s consistent mistakes had also the affected the fan-following of the game in the country. “Cricket has the biggest fan-following in the country as this game is very close to every Pakistani’s heart. But due to the recent scandals and every day problems peoples tendency of watching cricket has also been decreasing which is not a good sign,” maintained 40 years old Moin.Moin said Pakistan cricket was still not at the point of no return and by making mends Pakistan still could stage a comeback.Yes we have lost three to four years in cricket but the cricketing talent in this country is amazing and Pakistan cricket can bounce back if the job is done with sincerity. Nothing is impossible in this world. We have to make our international relations better in order to bring back international cricket to Pakistan.Moin, who played 69 Tests and 219 ODIs for Pakistan, said that after watching Ijaz’s tenure one can not say that a Test cricketer can be a good administrator. “It all depends on vision and the right man for the right job.” According to Moin, the PCB’s new chairman should be an elected one and the presidential selection is not good for cricket. “When someone is selected by the President House, he is not accountable to anyone else and thus this makes Pakistan cricket a one-man show which is the cause of all problems. We have to go for democracy in cricket board as we live in a democratic country,” Moin concluded.

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Discipline the key in India, says Bresnan

England will need to put in a disciplined bowling performance on India's low, slow pitches to overcome the hosts in the one-day series, fast bowler Tim Bresnan said on Thursday.England thrashed India in both Test and one-day series at home recently, but Bresnan said bowling in India was a huge challenge as the conditions did not favour pace bowling as much as in England."It's obviously different bowling in England than in India," the 26-year-old seamer said. "In England, you may gather some seam when the ball is new. With wickets playing different in India, I view it as a challenge.""We have to bowl very tightly with the new ball. We have to bowl very accurately and very straight. Otherwise, you will be hit for runs.Bresnan said England had the depth in bowling to maintain pressure on the hosts despite the absence of fast bowlers James Anderson (rested) and Stuart Broad (injured)Steven Finn, Jade Dernbach, uncapped Stuart Meaker and Chris Woakes are the other pacemen in the squad."We have young bowlers who have a lot of talent. If we bowl well, we can pick up early wickets," said Bresnan, who has bagged 63 wickets in 52 one-day internationals."It's a fresh start and a new challenge for us. We are going into this series with exactly the same mentality with which we won in England. We are still looking to improve and looking forward to the challenge.England will play two warm-up games before the five-match series starts in Hyderabad on October 14 and then play a one-off Twenty20 international.India named a depleted squad for the first two games as some of their key players had not recovered from injuries suffered during the England tour, but Bresnan said it was a still a challenge to beat India in their own backyard."It does not matter who we are playing. The challenge for us is that we need to overcome the opposition," said Bresnan, who is also a useful lower-order batsman."We have got top-class batters and we are looking forward to the challenge of chasing down (totals). I have something to contribute when it comes to my batting."The Indian squad has just four survivors from the side that defeated Sri Lanka in the World Cup final in Mumbai on April 2.Missing are batting stars Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, and frontline seamers Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel.Seamer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh were not selected.

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UAE gain total control on Day 3

United Arab Emirates (UAE) gained total control of the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Afghanistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.At the end of the third day's play, UAE had gained an overall lead of 346 runs. With just one day left in the contest, a draw looks the most possible result. But even that would fine for UAE as it will walk away with maximum honours from the match.After resuming the third day's play at its overnight score of 242 for three. Afghanistan lost wickets at regular intervals as its tail did not wag. Unlike in the case of UAE, where the tail added crucial runs, in Afghanistan's innings there was no resistance.Overnight batsman Mohammad Shahzad (42) and Mohammad Nabi (117: 195b, 11x4, 5x6) fell fairly early. Apart from Asghar Stanikzai's 41, there was no other worthwhile contribution from the lower order as Afghanistan was bowled out for 328 in 112.4 overs.The best bowler on view for the UAE side was Arshad Ali who ended with figures of 6-45 as he ran through the Afghan middle and lower order.Armed with a lead of 134 runs, UAE began its second innings. Bakthiyar Palekar (61: 58b, 7x4, 1x6) once again led the charge for UAE after the side slipped to 21 for two.Swapnil Patil (74 not out: 121b, 5x4, 2x6) and Palekar added 75 runs for the third wicket to revive the innings. Despite the fall of Palekar, Patil held one end together.Patil added 91 runs for the fourth wicket with skipper Khurram Khan (39). Towards the end of the day's play, UAE had quietly progressed to 212 for five in 55 overs to gain total control.For Afghanistan, Dawlat Zadran (2-27) and Mohammad Nabi (2-54) shared the wickets around.An Afghanistan win looks improbable at the moment, as the lead for UAE is mounting all the time. It would require a miracle for Afghanistan to pull things back.

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No umpire review for India-England ODIs

COLOMBO : The Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) will not be used for the upcoming one-day series between India and England, the sport's governing body said on Friday.The International Cricket Council (ICC) said the system will not be in place because the developers and suppliers of "Hot Spot" technology decided "not to make their infra-red cameras available."Teams are allowed two television reviews per innings if they feel the on-field umpires have not given the correct decision.India initially opposed the introduction of review technolgy in Tests and one-dayers but in July softened its stance to allow the hot spot in games to determine edges off the bat. But it has vetoed the additional ball-tracker for leg-before decisions in its matches.The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reverted to its original opposition to the entire system after hot spot failed to accurately show edges off the bat on several occasions during India's recent dismal tour of England.Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit out against the UDRS during the tour after star batsman Rahul Dravid fell victim to at least three controversial decisions.England beat India 4-0 in the Tests to to take over as the world's number one side from Dhoni's men and also won the one-dayers 3-0 The five-match one-day series between India and England opens in Hyderabad on October 14

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ICC warns Sri Lanka over Galle's 'poor' pitch

COLOMBO :  Sri Lanka's cricket board (SLC) has been officially warned for the "poor" quality of the pitch at Galle, which hosted the first Test in their recent series against Australia, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday. The SLC was in line for a sanction after the pitch was criticised as "too dry" by both teams after Australia won the test by 125 runs last month. It was clear that the amount of turn, especially early in the match, was excessive and there were occasions where the ball went through the surface of the pitch, bouncing unusually steeply from a good length, ICC general manager Dave Richardson was quoted as saying in a statement.taking into account that it was the first time that a pitch at Galle has been rated as 'poor', and given the intention of the curator to prepare a pitch that provided a fair balance between bat and ball, we have decided to impose a warning as the sanction." The world governing body of the game also directed pitch consultant Andy Atkinson to inspect the ground at the end of this month and recommend necessary corrective measures. SLC will have to submit a report to the ICC confirming that the corrective actions had been implemented before the staging of the next international match at the venue.(Reuters)

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