Mohit reveals India’s fielding secret

Paceman Mohit Sharma confirmed on Monday what many have suspected for years India have rarely prioritised fielding.
India have shocked the cricket world with
their tenacious fielding at the Cricket World
Cup as they have stormed to the top of Pool B with four wins from as many matches in New Zealand and Australia.

Javed targeting upset against Pakistan

Amjad Javed believes the United Arab
Emirates can spring a major shock when they
take on Pakistan at the Cricket World Cup.
The United Arab Emirates’ Amjad Javed
believes he and his team-mates can surprise a stuttering Pakistan at the Cricket World Cup
on Wednesday.
Only taking part in the finals for a second
time, the UAE have lost all three of their Pool B encounters so far, suffering narrow defeats to Zimbabwe and Ireland before a nine-wicket thrashing at the hands of reigning champions India.

Amla smashes Ireland as Proteas secure 201 -run win

Hashim Amla’s highest one-day international
score helped guide South Africa to a 201-run
victory over Ireland at the Cricket World Cup.
South Africa amassed the second highest total in Cricket World Cup history on Tuesday as they beat Ireland by 201 runs in Canberra.
Having scored 408 in their previous Pool B
match against West Indies, the Proteas went
three better this time around as they finished 411-4 – two short of India’s record total in tournament, set in 2007.

Lakmal fined by ICC

Sri Lanka’s Suranga Lakmal has been fined by
the International Cricket Council (ICC) for
dangerous bowling against England.

Sri Lanka seamer Suranga Lakmal has been
fined 30 per cent of his match fee by the
International Cricket Council (ICC) for bowling
beamers during Sunday’s World Cup clash with England.

Rooney:Di Maria will come good

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has backed struggling team-mate Angel Di Maria to return to good form.
Wayne Rooney believes Angel Di Maria has a
big part to play as Manchester United bid to
qualify for the UEFA Champions League,
despite the Argentina international’s poor run of form.

New Zealand nervously edge past Australia

Australia almost pulled off a stunning win
over New Zealand at the Cricket World Cup
before the Kiwis claimed a one-wicket victory.

New Zealand claimed a nervy one-wicket win
over Australia at the Cricket World Cup in
Auckland on Saturday.

Zimbabwe’s Chatara reprimanded for dangerous bowling

Zimbabwe fast bowler Tendai Chatara is free
to play Pakistan after receiving a reprimand
from the ICC for dangerous bowling.
The International Cricket Council (ICC)
revealed on Wednesday that Zimbabwe fast
bowler Tendai Chatara has been reprimanded
for “conduct contrary to the spirit of the
game”.

New Zealand IPL stars to miss start of England tour

The Indian Premier League schedule means
five high-profile New Zealand players could
miss the start of their tour to England.
Five high-profile New Zealand players will miss the start of the country’s tour to England due to their Indian Premier League (IPL) commitments.

Captain Brendon McCullum, Kane Williamson,
Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Corey Anderson were among the New Zealanders snapped up at last week’s IPL auction.

Icc World Cup 2015:Afghanistan deserve more opportunities

Afghanistan deserve more
opportunities, says Jayawardene

Sri Lanka will benefit from being tested at the World Cup by an Afghanistan side deserving of more opportunities, says Mahela Jayawardene.
Mahela Jayawardene has reiterated his
disagreement with the decision to reduce the
number of teams competing at the next ICC
World Cup, after Associate nation Afghanistan
gave Sri Lanka a scare in Dunedin on Sunday.
Jayawardene’s 19th one-day international
hundred ultimately proved crucial as Sri Lanka recovered from a dismal start to their chase, which saw both openers depart for golden ducks, to chase down 233 for the loss of six wickets.

Afghanistan’s pacemen were particularly
impressive, while Asghar Stanikzai top-scored
with 54 for the underdogs as they set a
competitive target.

However, with only 10 teams set to feature in the 2019 World Cup – as opposed to 14 this
year – Afghanistan face a stiff challenge to
qualify for the next edition of the showpiece.
Sri Lanka did not have Test status when they
were given the chance to participate in the
inaugural World Cup in 1975 and Jayawardene
– a veteran of 647 international appearances.  – feels Associate nations should be given more opportunities to impress.
Asked if he backed the International Cricket
Council’s decision to stage a 10-team World
Cup, Jayawardene said: “When I was asked
that question a couple of years ago I said no
to that, because I think Sri Lanka got that
same opportunity in ’75 as an Associate
member.

“If we hadn’t had that opportunity, we
probably wouldn’t have been here so I think
it’s important that we nurture and we look
after these Associate members.

“They are playing some good cricket, give
them the opportunity they deserve. The more cricket those guys play, the more international cricket, I think they will develop as a team – not only Afghanistan, but a lot of the other Associate teams.”
Jayawardene acknowledged that Sri Lanka were pushed all the way by Afghanistan,
and welcomed the challenge.

“I think for us to play a tough match like that
is probably a good thing in this tournament,”
added the 37-year-old. “There are areas which we need to improve and hopefully we can make sure that we improve those areas going forward.

“They’re a very good team. We can’t take any
team lightly. It’s a tough competition. It’s
important that we keep improving.
“It’ll be good for us going into the
tournament. We know if we are in a similar
situation how we need to handle that.”

Milner Struck By knee injury

A knee injury could see James Milner miss
Manchester City’s UEFA Champions League
clash with Barcelona on Tuesday.
James Milner will miss Manchester City’s
Premier League match against Newcastle
United on Saturday after suffering a knee
injury, making him a doubt for Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League showdown with Barcelona. The England international has been a key player for City this season, featuring in a variety of positions and popping with crucial goals to keep them in the title race.