Saturday 26 July 2014

Battle continues between Anderson and Jadeja

The fallout continues after the confrontation between Ravindra Jadeja and James Anderson as they left the field for lunch on day two of the first test at Trent Bridge. Anderson faces a hearing on Aug. 1 for allegedly pushing and abusing Jadeja, which could lead to him being banned for up to four test matches. The Indian all-rounder, meanwhile, was fined 50 percent of his match fee for his part in the incident. The acrimony between the two has made for a riveting duel on the pitch. In the second test at Lord’s, Anderson was caught out trying to reverse-sweep Jadeja in England’s first innings. Jadeja then blasted 68 from 57 balls in a game-changing knock in India’s second innings before running Anderson out with a direct hit to win the test match.

Releted Cricket news

Veterans are lacking in performance against India

After a 1-0 series defeat to Sri Lanka in June and two underwhelming performances against India, England coach Peter Moores is also under scrutiny, just four months after taking the job for the second time. At Lord’s, he said the form of his veteran players was a major concern. In addition to the struggles of Prior and Cook, Ian Bell only managed 42 runs overall against India and bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad couldn’t stop India from batting through day one at Lord’s. “They will be desperate to make a big contribution going forward,” Moores said. “The senior players have got to look at their own games and decide how they can come back and play to the level needed to be in a successful England team.”

Buttler in playing XI

England made just one change to its 13-man squad for the third test, with the uncapped Jos Buttler in for injured wicketkeeper Matt Prior. Prior announced after the loss to India he was taking an indefinite break from the game to regain his fitness after struggling with Achilles, thigh and hand injuries. This paved the way for Buttler, England’s one day keeper, to enter the test team. Buttler, an aggressive batsman when not behind the stumps, says he will not be intimidated by making his debut for a team under intense pressure to end its winless streak. “I’m an England fan, as well, but I’m not coming in expecting to be the one person who can fix English cricket,” Buttler said. “I’m coming in determined to be authentic, to be myself and to enjoy the occasion helping England.”

Cook under the dock

After England’s last-day batting collapse against India in the second test at Lord’s, the pressure and scrutiny on captain Alastair Cook seems to be reaching its peak. England slumped from 198-5 to 225 all out as India won its first test away from home in three years, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-test series. The squads drew the first test at Trent Bridge. England’s captain is without a century in 14 months and his team has lost seven of its last nine tests. Immediately after England’s collapse against India, Cook said this run of poor form has been his “darkest time” as an England cricketer. He refused to step down as skipper after the embarrassing 95-run loss at Lord’s, though, saying he wants to “stay until my position becomes untenable.” One glimmer of hope for the opening batsmen is that while he only made 10 and 22 in each of his innings at Lord’s, his footwork was noticeably better and he hit the ball much straighter.

Jadeja fined for incident

The India cricket board wasn’t satisfied with a guilty verdict against Ravindra Jadeja for an incident with England bowler James Anderson, and still believed its all-rounder was not to blame. The International Cricket Council released the decision, after a hearing the previous night involving both players. Jadeja was found guilty of “conduct contrary to the spirit of the game” for a confrontation at lunch on day two of the first test at Trent Bridge, on July 10. ICC match referee David Boon found Jadeja not guilty of the original level two charge, but guilty of a lesser level one offence, and fined him a maximum 50 percent of his match fee. “I was in no doubt that confrontation did occur, and that such conduct was not in the spirit of the game and should not have taken place,” Boon said in an ICC release. A first level one offence cannot be appealed, although the Board of Control for Cricket in India said it reserved that right.

“The BCCI wishes to make it clear that it is not satisfied with the verdict,” honorary secretary Sanjay Patel said in a statement. “The BCCI believes that Jadeja was not at fault, and supports him fully.” Anderson, facing a level three charge and a possible four-test ban, has a disciplinary hearing on Aug. 1. The third test starts in Southampton on Sunday.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is India’s star performer

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been a revelation for India with both the bat and ball in the series. He managed figures of 5-82 on a lifeless Trent Bridge wicket, and followed it up with a career best 6-82 in England’s first innings at Lord’s. With the bat, he has made 209 runs from ninth in the order, including three half centuries. He did not win man of the match in either test, but has arguably been the player of the series so far.

Misbah hopes players quickly reach test speed

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq hopes his players will quickly find their test match groove when they play the first match of a two-game series against Sri Lanka at Galle on Aug. 6. Pakistan hasn’t played a test since drawing the series 1-1 against Sri Lanka in January at Sharjah, where it sensationally chased down 302 runs in 57.3 overs on the last evening. In the meantime, Sri Lanka has won a first test series in England, and was trying to save the home series against South Africa. The Pakistan Cricket Board has overhauled the coaching staff, with Waqar Younis back as head coach, and Zimbabwe’s Grant Flower taking over as batting coach. The new coaches have been leading training for nine days at Lahore, where the players have been trying to reproduce match scenarios. Pakistan has not won a test series since beating England 3-0 in the United Arab Emirates in 2012.

SOurce-http://www.crictoday.com/

No comments:

Post a Comment