IPL ideal preparation for Twenty20 World Cup: Jayawardene

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said on Monday that the forthcoming Indian Premier League would be "an ideal opportunity" for international cricketers to prepare for the International Cricket Council's Twenty20 World Cup in June.

Addressing the media at the launch of the Twenty20 trophy, Jayawardene said: "IPL has benefited players a lot and has provided opportunities to play as a team with international players who come out with different tactics."

"The IPL series would be ideal preparation for most of our guys before going for the Twenty20 World Cup tournament a few weeks later."

The World Cup trophy is now being taken to all the ICC member countries and will be on display at the Premadasa Stadium during the Twenty20 international between India and Sri Lanka.

Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma said that it was important for India to defend the World Cup title and the team was looking forward to do it once again.

Asked how difficult it was to bowl in a Twenty20 match, Sharma said: "The whole Twenty20 looks like bowling in a batting power play. It is certainly not easy for the bowlers. But we cannot be thinking about it too much. We have to bowl in the right area."

Jayawardene said that Twenty20 has "created a whole new concept" in modern day cricket and that the Indians were "much more experienced" than Sri Lankans in the shortest form of the game.

"During the last IPL tournament we saw a lot of talent all around India in Twenty20 cricket. But no country plays similar kind of cricket and everybody comes out with different tactics and techniques. Those who are consistent with their tactics at the end of the day prevail, winning tournaments," said Jayawardena, who plays for the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL.

"The batsmen have to be more innovative and the bowlers have to adopt different options at the same time in this form of the game. I think that the skill-level of the international cricketers have been proved through the Twenty20 form. It is much more aggressive. It has influenced One-day matches and a target of 300 or 400 is often reached of late by various teams. It is definitely being beneficial to the game of cricket while creating much more buzz around the world," he said.

Source: http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/IPL_ideal_preparation_for_T20_World_Cup/articleshow/4098482.cms

Afghanistan eye step closer to World Cup

Players from war-torn Afghanistan hope to take another step closer to the 2011 World Cup when they tackle five other contenders in the latest qualifying round which starts here on Saturday. Afghanistan will compete against Hong Kong, Jersey, Fiji, Italy and hosts Tanzania for the top two places in the ICC World Cricket League Division Four which will ensure spots in Division Three. The top two sides there will progress to the World Cup Qualifier in April 2009, with the top four sides from that making it to Asia in 2011. "It's our dream to qualify for the 2011 World Cup," said Afghanistan fast bowler Hamid Hassan. "I couldn't explain the feelings of happiness and joy if we get to achieve that. It will be a matter of pride for us to be watched live by the whole world on TV while representing Afghanistan." Afghanistan, who won promotion from the fifth division earlier this year, have a new coach in former Pakistan international Kabir Khan. Despite Afghanistan's optimism, it will be Hong Kong, coached by former England batsman Aftab Habib, who will start as favourites but Italy and Jersey, coached by former South Africa Test batsman Peter Kirsten, are also strong. Fiji will be hopeful of qualification despite missing injured all-rounder Neil Maxwell, a former Australia A player.

Source: www.cricinfo.com

New selection chief embarks on World Cup mission

India's newly-appointed chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth said on Monday he has set his sights on building a winning team for the 2011 World Cup. "We will develop a team towards the World Cup 2011," the former opening batsman, who played a key role in India's only World Cup triumph in 1983, told reporters. "It is a slow process. But every Indian's dream has been to win the World Cup again after 1983. "We have the ability to win the World Cup, but we need to be focused for that." Srikkanth, 48, was appointed chairman of India's first ever paid selection panel on Saturday. Other members of the panel are Narendra Hirwani, Raja Venkat, Yashpal Sharma and Surendra Bhave. Srikkanth's first task as chairman will come on Wednesday when the selectors pick the Indian squad for the first two Tests of the four-match series against Australia starting in Bangalore on October 9. Srikkanth, a free-stroking batsman, needs to rebuild the Indian team after it crashed to a 2-1 defeat on the recent tour of Sri Lanka. Srikkanth, however, refused to join the debate on whether veterans like Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Venkatsai Laxman should call time on their careers. "Younger players like Subramaniam Badrinath, Rohit Sharma and a few others have the talent, but it is not ability alone that makes a player tick at the highest level," he said. "Mental strength is critical and cannot be taught, it has to come from within, and the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid and Kumble have shown the way over a good period of time. "An eye for the future is equally important. Hard decisions might have to be taken in the future. But the current Test team is one of the best India has ever had and it will not be easy replacing them." Srikkanth, who captained the Indian team on the tour of Pakistan in 1989 but was later sacked for demanding better payments for his teammates, said he favoured different teams for the various formats of the game. "Different skill sets are needed to excel in each form," he said. "With Twenty20 also coming into the mix, it is crucial to identify talent for each form and nurture them. "The team has had some good results in the recent past and it's important to keep the good work going." Srikkanth played 43 Tests, scoring 2,062 runs at an average of 29.88. In 146 one-day internationals, he made 4,091 runs at 29.01.

Source: cricbuzz.com

New selection chief embarks on World Cup mission

India's newly-appointed chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth said on Monday he has set his sights on building a winning team for the 2011 World Cup. "We will develop a team towards the World Cup 2011," the former opening batsman, who played a key role in India's only World Cup triumph in 1983, told reporters. "It is a slow process. But every Indian's dream has been to win the World Cup again after 1983. "We have the ability to win the World Cup, but we need to be focused for that." Srikkanth, 48, was appointed chairman of India's first ever paid selection panel on Saturday. Other members of the panel are Narendra Hirwani, Raja Venkat, Yashpal Sharma and Surendra Bhave. Srikkanth's first task as chairman will come on Wednesday when the selectors pick the Indian squad for the first two Tests of the four-match series against Australia starting in Bangalore on October 9. Srikkanth, a free-stroking batsman, needs to rebuild the Indian team after it crashed to a 2-1 defeat on the recent tour of Sri Lanka. Srikkanth, however, refused to join the debate on whether veterans like Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Venkatsai Laxman should call time on their careers. "Younger players like Subramaniam Badrinath, Rohit Sharma and a few others have the talent, but it is not ability alone that makes a player tick at the highest level," he said. "Mental strength is critical and cannot be taught, it has to come from within, and the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid and Kumble have shown the way over a good period of time. "An eye for the future is equally important. Hard decisions might have to be taken in the future. But the current Test team is one of the best India has ever had and it will not be easy replacing them." Srikkanth, who captained the Indian team on the tour of Pakistan in 1989 but was later sacked for demanding better payments for his teammates, said he favoured different teams for the various formats of the game. "Different skill sets are needed to excel in each form," he said. "With Twenty20 also coming into the mix, it is crucial to identify talent for each form and nurture them. "The team has had some good results in the recent past and it's important to keep the good work going." Srikkanth played 43 Tests, scoring 2,062 runs at an average of 29.88. In 146 one-day internationals, he made 4,091 runs at 29.01.

Source: cricbuzz.com

Zimbabwe pull out of World Twenty20

July 4, 2008, Zimbabwe have agreed to pull out of next year's Twenty20 World Cup in England, clearing the roadblocks for the competition to be staged there, but will retain their status as Full Member of the ICC and receive funding as usual. They will also receive their full participation fee for the tournament.
"We have decided to pull out in the larger interests of the game," Peter Chingoka, the chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, told Cricinfo. "We have been informed that the British government may not grant visas to our players, and that situation may prevail during the Twenty20 World Cup. We don't want to be gatecrashers."
"It was a collective decision and I was a part of that decision," Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, told Cricinfo.
"The full membership of Zimbabwe is currently not in doubt," ICC president David Morgan said. "There was not even a discussion on the issue of Zimbabwe's membership."
The decision, Chingoka said, pertained only to the tournament in England. "We are now looking forward to more tours and international cricket with our Asian friends, especially India."
The Zimbabwe issue had occupied a large part of the discussions during the ICC executive board meeting, which carried over to an unscheduled third day on Friday after a failure to reach a consensus.
Some countries, led by England and South Africa, had been pushing for Zimbabwe to be stripped of Full Member status but that move had been opposed by India.
Ray Mali, the former ICC president, has recommended the setting up of a sub-committee to "advise the ICC board on all matters relating to Zimbabwe cricket including its return to full participation in the international game. The specific terms of reference for the sub-committee will be finalised in due course." The sub-committee, if approved, will chaired by Julian Hunte, the head of the West Indies board, and include Arjuna Ranatunga and another official (who hasn't been confirmed).
Source: www.circinfo.com