Raju refutes Kambli's claims, says fielding was a collective decision

Hyderbad: A day after former Indian cricketer Vinod Kambli claimed that 1996 World Cup semifinal between India and Sri Lanka may have been fixed, former Indian spinner Venkatapathy Raju termed it as surprising. Raju said before the match they had a team meeting where they all decided to field first. He added that Navjot Singh Sidhu was the only person who said they should bat first since the wicket looked dry.It was not just the captain's decision but the entire team's decision to put Sri Lankans to bat first", Raju said.Raju also added that in the 1996 World Cup Sri Lankans were very good in chasing. Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana had planned to score 120-150 in first 15 overs. After that they had experience players who could have added good score."If we look back at the particular match, we got two early wickets, but I think Aravinda de Silva played brilliantly. But it is surprising that Vinod Kambli is claiming this after such a long time," Raju said."In the 90s there were so many reports of match-fixing that if we look back at any match of that time it looks as if it was fixed," he added.Jagmohan Dalmiya, who was the then ICC president, said why Vinod Kambli kept quiet for 15 long years.Colin Gibson, ICC's head of media and communications, declined to comment on Vinod Kambli's claims and said, "We won't be commenting.Ex-cricketers Manoj Prabhakar, Nayan Mongia and Navjot Sidhu also refused to comment on the entire matter. Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar also tweeted, "1996 world cup semi final - The decision to field first may have turned out to be a wrong decision but it was an honest cricketing decision.Wadekar rubbishes claims Ajit Wadekar, the then team manager, rubbished the allegations and said fielding first was a collective decision.Wadekar termed Kambli's accusation as incorrect and said the team had decided to field first. When STAR News asked him for his version, Wadekar said, "In the team meeting before the match it was decided that India would field in the event of winning the toss. The decision was taken after consultation with the entire team.According to Wadekar, "The entire team felt that the Sri Lankan players are good chasers. Hence, the team felt that if India fielded first, the Lankans could be easily defeated." Wadekar added that even though he and Sandeep Patil were of the opinion that the wicket would turn, still the team decided to field keeping in mind the chasing prowess of the Sri Lankans.

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An expected outcome: Ganguly on Eden Test

Kolkata: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly said he was not at all surprised with India winning the second Test against West Indies easily by an innings and 15 runs, at the Eden, on Thursday.It was an expected win.They played really well and, at the end, it was a good win,Sourav said on the sidelines of Bengal's ongoing Ranji Trophy match against MP.Sourav also believed that it is a good sign for Indian cricket that many youngsters are performing well. "It is good that many new faces are performing... Youngsters like Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin have proved themselves at the top level," Sourav said.The former India captain also said pitched in for Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary and said that he deserves a chance in the Indian team.On being reminded that it was India's 75th Test win on home soil, Sourav said: "It's a nice feeling, a proud moment.

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I hope to be a specialist one day, says Dhoni

Kolkata : Mahendra Singh Dhoni is satisfied with India's "improvements" since the England tour. At a press conference, the Team India captain also said that there was still a long way to go.The following are excerpts:Whether he is eyeing a whitewash We will  try our best. It's difficult to predict in cricket. We will have to see what kind of wicket we get in Mumbai. The West Indies are a good side. Their bowling line-up is quite good. It's not that they can't bat. As you have seen in the second innings here, their batsmen are talented. We are expecting a tough third Test. We have shown some improvement in this Test compared to the first Test. Hopefully, we will continue improving. We are not thinking about the results. We will try to do well.The 144 at the Eden Overall, a good innings. Initially, I tried to play the big shots. But it didn't pay off. Then I gave myself a bit more time and once I was set, we decided on the need to accelerate a bit. Bishoo was bowling a negative line from around the wicket with Samuels at the other end. We felt this is the time to capitalise and get as many runs as possible. We thought it would not be as easy to bat on in the fourth innings.His assessment of the bowlers Our bowling looks very balanced. The fast bowlers look very fresh which means they can bowl a lot of overs in a Test match. The spinners are also bowling the same way. Ojha has played in a couple of formats. Even in the Tests, he is in and out of the playing XI and Ashwin is new to the longer version. That means all of them are fairly fresh and raring to go with a bit more energy on the field. They back themselves, which is very important in Tests.
In this Test, especially in the second innings, there was not much turn, so they had to rely on flight and variations. I am quite happy with their performance. Umesh again is someone who can bowl really quick. But we will have to use him in the best possible manner so that we don't overuse him and he gets injured. We have a pool of fast bowlers who can bowl quick. But it's important to sustain at the top level.Whether Yuvraj will be under pressure to keep his place We don't comment on selections. Getting hit on the body, I don't think has anything to do with his performance here. Most of the big batsmen have got hit. At the end of the day, it's about scoring runs. Yes, he is going through a tough phase but it's important to show confidence in him.We all know he is talented. He has played really well against all the big bowlers especially in the ODI format, which means he has talent to do well in Tests as well. One more reason is that he has been in and out of the side. Hopefully he will recover and do well.Whether Varun Aaron will be making his Test debut in Mumbai.We have been thinking about it, but it's too early. We will see what needs to be done. We don't want to overuse the bowlers. We will think and do what's best for the side. Let's hope everything goes well. It's not about experimentation. We will see what's the best possible XI and decide accordingly.The victories after the England tour.The most important thing was to do well. England was a bad tour for us. There were several reasons why we did not do well there. It is always good to be on the winning side. It's the process that's more important than the results. Still it's a long way to go.If he was considering taking a break.Well I won't take rest for the next game, that's for sure. Let's see after that.Jeff Dujon saying he's an excellent package (in an interview to The Telegraph) It's a big compliment for me. As I say, I am more of a package than a specialist (laughs). I'm neither an extraordinary batsman nor a specialist keeper. It's all about doing the right things. It does not matter how you catch the ball, take the edges and do the stumpings. It's important to score at that point of time as it's really good for the side. I'm really happy for the compliments. It's a constant process. I hope to keep doing well. I hope to be a specialist one day.If Test cricket's popularity is on the wane It was very tough for the bowlers to bowl on this wicket. If we had not dismissed them cheaply in the first innings, then the match would not have ended this way. It was a very flat track. There was nothing really for the pacers or spinners especially after the second day's morning session. I don't think it really pushes the popularity of the game.The lack of spectators at the Eden You should look into that and take proper steps. We cannot take additional pressure of playing on the field and ensuring that there is a full house (laughs).

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John Harnden announced as ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 CEO

The Chairman of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Local Organising Committee, James Strong, has announced that John Harnden has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Local Organising Committee for the event.The 2015 Cricket World Cup will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand.Mr Harnden is currently chief executive of the South Australian Cricket Association. He was formerly chief executive of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, chief executive of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and chief executive of Village Roadshow International Theme Parks.Mr Harnden has an honours degree in Engineering from the University of Adelaide and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2007 and has served as a director on a number of boards, including the 2010 UCI World Road Cycling Championships. He is currently Deputy Chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.Mr Strong said Mr Harnden had built a reputation over many years for delivering large scale international events and projects on time, on budget and to world’s best standard. “Coupled with his current role in cricket administration, this made John the perfect candidate for the job of chief executive,” Mr Strong said.“John is known and admired around the world for his strategic thinking, the personal commitment he brings to every task, his ability to build and lead outstanding teams and his willingness to work collaboratively with everyone involved in a project.”Mr Harnden said he was looking forward to starting work on the tournament. “Cricket is a passion for me from a personal and a professional perspective. I am delighted to be a part of the 2015 Cricket World Cup and look forward to working with James Strong and the rest of the Board as well as everyone at New Zealand Cricket and Cricket Australia. We will make this a real partnership across the Tasman.

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Imran revives South Africa's hopes

Imran Tahir broke a menacing partnership between Ricky Ponting and Usman Khawaja with what turned out to be the second last ball of the day at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on Sunday to leave the second Sunfoil Test balanced on a knife edge.The Pakistan-born spinner dismissed the Pakistan-born batsman with a perfectly pitched googly that found the outside edge of the left-hander's bat and gave Jacques Kallis his second slip catch of the innings.It brought to an end a third-wicket partnership of 122 runs in 34 overs with Khawaja'scontribution being 65 off 110 balls with 10 fours and a six. It was his maiden half-century in Test cricket and could not have come at a better time for his side.It followed a double breakthrough by Vernon Philander who dismissed both the Australian opening batsmen in his new ball spell.Ricky Ponting finished the day unbeaten on 54 (104 balls, 6 fours) with the Australians needing a further 168 runs on Monday's final day.It is impossible to say which team is on top at the moment. The Proteas will feel they are no more than a couple of wickets away from a major breakthrough into the tail while the Australians know that another century partnership will finish the job for them.Imran is probably going to be the key bowler as even Ponting failed to pick his googly on one occasion.The Australians had earlier dismissed the Proteas' Castle Lager squad for 339 to leave themselves with the victory target of 310 to square the two-Test series. New Cap Patrick Cummins completed an outstanding debut with innings figures of 6/79. At one stage he was on a hat trick immediately after lunch when he dismissed Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel with the first two balls of the afternoon session.Hashim Amla completed his 14th Test century - this puts him joint fourth on the South African all-time list along with Daryll Cullinan and Herschelle Gibbs - early in the day but the Proteas were set back by the quick dismissal of AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince (unnecessarily run out), and Amla in quick succession.It needed a 48-run stand between Philander and Dale Steyn to stabilise the innings and take the target beyond 300. In the end Steyn made the third highest score of the innings of 41

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Pakistan win toss, bat against Sri Lanka

SHARJAH : Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and elected to bat first against Sri Lanka in the fourth Oneday International being played here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.There are two changes in the Pakistan team. Shoaib Malik and Aizaz Cheema replaced Abdul Razzaq and Sohail Tanvir while Sri Lanka are unchanged.Pakistan lead the series 2-1, winning the first match by eight wickets and the third by 21 runs in Dubai while Sri Lanka won the second by 25 runs at the same venue

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