Watson steps down as Australia vice-captain

Posted by kaushik 21 April 2013 0 comments
Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has decided to relinquish vice-captaincy duties in order to "focus" on his game. In a statement released by Cricket Australia, Watson said it was the right time for a change. 

"I think it's the right time for a change for both the team and me." Watson said. "I'll be honest and admit I wrestled with the decision for some time, however once I made up my mind, I informed Cricket Australia so the selectors could consider their options for the Ashes given the squads will be announced soon." 

Watson, who recently captained Australia in the fourth Test against India at Delhi in the absence of Michael Clarke, said his aim now is to be the best Test player for Australia. 

"I want to be the best Test player I can be for Australia and think I can do that by stepping down from the vice-captaincy to focus my attention on scoring runs, taking wickets and doing whatever is necessary to help the team achieve success." 

Watson, who was sacked along with three other players for the third Test against India in Mohali for a breach of team discipline, said he will continue to be a core-contributor in team decisions despite not being vice-captain in title. 

"I won't be the vice-captain in title but I think I can still be a leader and strong contributor around the group." 

Watson, who communicated his decision via telephone to National selector John Inverarity, coach Mickey Arthur and captain Clarke, thanked Cricket Australia for provind him a leadership role for the past two years and said he was looking forward to the next phase. 

"On Friday, I rang John Inverarity, Mickey Arthur and Michael Clarke to advise them of my decision and they respect that decision and agree with me that this is the best outcome for me and the team. 

"I thank Cricket Australia for the leadership opportunity over the past two years and I'm really looking forward to this next phase. In my conversations with Mickey and Michael I reaffirmed my commitment to the team and support for them as we fight to win back the Ashes and get back to being ranked number one in the world," Watson said. 

John Inverarity commended Watson for taking a tough call while saying that the all-rounder will still remain a senior leader in the team. 

"Shane Watson should be commended for making the tough call to step down from the vice-captaincy to focus on playing. Regardless, he will still be an important senior leader within the team. 

"The National Selection Panel (NSP) will now consider and then put a vice-captaincy recommendation to the Cricket Australia Board for its approval." 

Harbhajan refuses to comment on Sreesanth's claims of 'Slapgate'

Posted by kaushik 13 April 2013 0 comments
A slow Friday morning blossomed into a full-fledged word clash when Sresaanth posted a series of tweets on twitter claiming that the 2008 'slapgate' incident was not his fault. Partner in crime, Harbhajan Singh refused to comment on his former India teammate Sreesanth's claims and stayed silent. 

When asked to react on the pacer's controversial tweets, Harbhajan replied, "No comments. I don't want to make any comments." 

Earlier today, Sreesanth was annoyed with the comparison of Gambhir-Kohli spat with the 'slapgate' incident and condoned the media for raking up past incident. He went on tweeting revelations about what actually happened five years ago stating that the real video of the incident was confiscated by Indian T20 League officials. He also accused Harbhajan of being a "backstabbing person". 

".. now I want u All to know the truth. He (Bhajji) never Slapped me. the video will show u all..wt he did. All blamed me for getting emotional ..?? cmon who doesn't get emotional whn u know the person who u worship is a backstabbing person Nd ..," Sreesanth wrote in a series of expletives-laden tweets. 

"I want the world to c it..Whn I went to shake hands afte the match..he had lost it..he had already planned to hit me (elbow me) all his anger" he added. 

Sudhir Nanvati, who had investigated the incident in 2008 corroborated Sreesanth's claims and confirmed that Sreesanth was indeed slapped by Harbhajan without any provocation. 

India to tour South Africa in December

Posted by kaushik 0 comments
The Indian cricket team will be touring South Africa at the end of this year. They are slated to play three Tests, seven One-day Internationals and two T20 matches in December. 

The Indians will be taking on the number one ranked Test team playing the first longer-version game after a long time. This will be India's first Test series after the recent 4-0 whitewash of the Australians at home in March. 

The Indian Cricket Board and Cricket South Africa were contemplating to accommodate one more Test in the schedule. However, things could not materialize as both boards decided to stick to ICC's Futures Tour Programme (FTP). 

South Africa last played Tests in February and will meet Pakistan for two matches in the UAE before hosting India late in December. 

The three possible venues for the Test series are most likely to be Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg or Centurion. Also, there is a possibility that the Boxing Day Test will be hosted in Durban after it was cancelled previous season because Cricket South Africa opted to play three festive T20s instead. 

India had drawn their last Test series in South Africa 1-1 in 2010-11. 

Champions League to take place in India in 2013

Posted by kaushik 12 April 2013 0 comments
The President of the Indian cricket board and the chairman of the Champions T20 League, N Srinivasan announced that the fifth edition of the tournament will be played in India and also revealed the dates and the format for the multi-team event. 

The Champions tournament, which will feature the winners of several T20 leagues from around the world, will be played from September 17 to October 6. The format will be similar to the one followed in the previous two editions with a qualifying round taking place first, followed by the group stage and the knock-outs. A total of 29 matches will be played with a total prize money of USD 6 million. 

Runners-up of the inaugural edition in 2009, Trinidad and Tobago, who played the qualifiers in 2011 and 2012, have earned a direct entry to the group stage this year. Meanwhile, there will be no teams from England in the league in 2013 following a communication from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) about their unavailability. 

The top two of the four teams that will compete in the qualifying stage, will make it to the second round of the tournament. New Zealand's Otago Volts, the fourth ranked team in the Indian T20 League and the winners of the domestic competition in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, will feature in the qualifiers and will take on each other once. 

South African teams Highveld Lions and Nashua Titans have qualified for the group stage of the event as have Australian teams Perth Scorchers and Brisbane Heat. The top three sides in the 2013 edition of the Indian T20 League will also earn spots in the group stage. The group stage will feature a total of 10 teams divided under two groups. The top two sides from each group will make it to the semi-finals followed by the final on October 6. 

"The CLT20 will return to India this year. It will be the third time India will host the tournament in five years, after 2009 and 2011. The competition, which will again feature leading cricketers from across the world and some of the established legends of world cricket, will be watched and followed by equally passionate fans," N Srinivasan, Chairman of the league, said. 

The venues for the Champions T20 league will be announced at the end of the Indian T20 League. 

Teams in the qualifiers: Fourth ranked Indian T20 League team, Otago Volts from New Zealand, Champions from Sri Lanka and Champions from Pakistan. 

Teams in Group A: Champions of the Indian T20 League, Highveld Lions from South Africa, Perth Scorchers from Australia, Third ranked Indian T20 League team and the top team in the qualifier. 

Teams in Group B: The runners-up of the Indian T20 League, Nashua Titans from South Africa, Brisbane Heat from Australia, Trinidad & Tobago and the second placed team in the qualifier. 

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