» England Cricket http://myworldcupinfo.com/blog Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:18:17 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Dhoni determined to extend India’s dominance http://myworldcupinfo.com/blog/dhoni-determined-to-extend-indias-dominance/ http://myworldcupinfo.com/blog/dhoni-determined-to-extend-indias-dominance/#comments Tue, 19 Jul 2011 07:01:37 +0000 vcode http://myworldcupinfo.com/blog/?p=428 NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Apart from motorcycles, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s obsession is firearms and the India captain would be thoroughly justified in believing he has enough ammunition to foil any bid to topple his team from the top of the test rankings.
Minutes after sealing India’s 50-over World Cup victory with a six in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, a drained Dhoni was already discussing how to sustain the dominance of the team who have been the number one test side since December 2009.
The biggest hurdle since that crazy, humid April night await them in England in the form of a four-test series starting at Lord’s on Thursday, to be followed by five one-day internationals with a Twenty20 match thrown in.
Dhoni would like to believe that he has ticked most of the boxes.
Sachin Tendulkar is not just back in the squad but he made it a point to reach England early to get accustomed to the conditions, dropping in briefly at Wimbledon to watch Roger Federer.
Such meticulous preparation for someone who has spent 22 years in international cricket does not surprise former India captain Sunil Gavaskar.
“I’m not surprised he’s out there trying to acclimatise and get some practice…also having had a word with Roger Federer, be prepared for the pull shot past mid-on,” Gavaskar said.
Tendulkar’s demanding fans will be expecting more than few nice shots.
At the age of 38, Tendulkar is unlikely to return to England and he has yet to score a century at Lord’s, venue of the firset test starting on Thursday. If he does reach his century he will the first person to score 100 international centuries.
Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid (38) and VVS Laxman (36) share 99 centuries and 35,000 runs in tests and Gavaskar said they would do anything to make their final England tour memorable.
FRINGE PLAYER
Yuvraj Singh is also not short of motivation.
The architect of India’s Twenty20 (2007) and 50 overs (2011) World Cups remains a fringe test player, even after 11 years of international cricket, and this would be one of his few remaining opportunities to cement his place or else watch someone like Suresh Raina slam the door on his face.
“In terms of one-day cricket everything has been good for me but in terms of test cricket I suppose the graph reads a bit up and down,” Yuvraj said before leaving for England.
“Cricket is my game though and I am going to give this test series my level best. I will give my 100 percent,”
Dhoni was criticised for not pressing for a victory in the Dominica test again West Indies where India needed 86 runs from the final 15 overs with seven wickets in hand. He decided instead to settle for a draw and a 1-0 victory in the three-match test series against a West Indian side ranked six places lower.
There, were, however some other positives, including Ishant Sharma’s return to form.
The lanky right-arm pace bowler struck his rhythm and claimed 22 wickets in three tests to signal he has put a bad patch behind him and is ready to share the new ball attack with Zaheer Khan.
Dhoni would also hope to benefit from the battles within the battle.
For instance, Yuvraj has already announced that he was looking forward to renewing his rivalry with Kevin Pietersen who famously called the southpaw a “pie-chucker” and dubbed his brand of spin as “left-arm filth” in 2008.
INSIDER KNOWLEDGE
Being the character he is, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh can also be trusted to give everything in his duel with English counterpart Graeme Swann.
Dhoni will also have access to the insider knowledge of coach Duncan Fletcher.
The eight years he spent coaching the England team gave Fletcher first hand knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the players who form the core of the current squad.
Dhoni’s only worry seems to be the absence of opener Virender Sehwag, who is recovering from a shoulder surgery and is set to miss the first two tests.
“We, as a side, rely on our openers quite a bit. A good start helps our middle-order capitalise on it. As far as Virender Sehwag is concerned, there aren’t many cricketers in the world who can have the impact he can,” Dhoni conceded.
In Sehwag’s absence, Abhinav Mukund, who made his test debut in West Indies last month, would open the innings with Gautam Gambhir.
Gambhir, himself, is back in action after missing the West Indies tour with a shoulder injury and the onus would be on the left-handed pair to see off the new ball and lay the foundation before the seniors take charge.

]]> http://myworldcupinfo.com/blog/dhoni-determined-to-extend-indias-dominance/feed/ 0 Final Quarter final;Sri Lanka Vs England http://myworldcupinfo.com/blog/final-quarter-finalsri-lanka-vs-england/ http://myworldcupinfo.com/blog/final-quarter-finalsri-lanka-vs-england/#comments Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:11:19 +0000 vcode http://myworldcupinfo.com/blog/?p=350 R. PREMADASA STADIUM in Colombo is ready to host the fourth and final quarter final match of the biggest cricket extravaganza of the year, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 between host Sri Lanka and England on Today, March 26.

Between Sri Lanka and England, the winner of the fourth quarter finalist of the ICC Cricket World will play the first semi final of the tournament on March 29 at the same venue from the winner of third quarter final match between South Africa and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, in the ongoing Cricket World Cup 2011, it is confirmed that one Asian country will play in the final on April 2 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. India and Pakistan have already qualified for the second semi final of the tournament.

Sri Lanka, who has played final of the Cricket World Cup twice in 1996 and 2007, has won the trophy once in 1996. England has played three finals of the biggest cricket tournament – in 1979 against West Indies, in 1987 against Australia, and in 1992 against Pakistan – but has never been lucky to lift the trophy.

]]> http://myworldcupinfo.com/blog/final-quarter-finalsri-lanka-vs-england/feed/ 0 Ireland hit England by 3 wickets http://myworldcupinfo.com/blog/ireland-hit-england-by-3-wickets/ http://myworldcupinfo.com/blog/ireland-hit-england-by-3-wickets/#comments Thu, 03 Mar 2011 05:41:29 +0000 vcode http://myworldcupinfo.com/blog/?p=296

In the clash of continental rivals Ireland and England, it’s always the English , who have made a mockery of the Irish attack. Kevin O’Brien recorded the fastest Cricket World Cup century to lead Ireland to a three-wicket victory over England in one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s 35-year history.

Though England scored 327 for 8 wickets,  Ireland won by 3 wickets. Irish bowlers pulled out all their tricks to stop the run flow from England’s batsmen with higher form.

Out of four attempts, Ireland’s first win against England make   Ireland’s position in the International Cricket Council’s one-day rankings lift into 10th place. England remained its point with three out of their hope to get the first World cup title.

England, whose only win so far was against the Netherlands, remains in second place in Group B. Ireland moves up to fifth place after two games. The top four from each of the two groups hire to the quarterfinals after a round-robin competition.

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