Iki Biasa Bae: March 2011

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Chokers tag will stay with team: Cricket South Africa chief

Graeme smith

South Africa Team

Graeme smith

JOHANNESBURG: Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive Gerald Majola on Monday admitted that the team will have to live with the chokers tag following their shock ouster from the World Cup.

South Africa lost to New Zealand in the quarterfinals after topping the group. Citing the defeat, Majola said the South Africa have allowed the chokers tag to stick to them.

"We have always had this chokers tag with us; unfortunately we have allowed it to stick," Majola was quoted as saying by Sport 24 website.

"We haven't applied ourselves. We have to accept the problem and then deal with it."

Majola was expecting the team to reach the final after faring well in the group stage.

"When I looked at the draw, I thought we would play either India or Pakistan in the final. But we failed ourselves. The match was basically a replica of the England game. We needed calm heads."

Majola was in Dhaka where the team was bowled out for 172, chasing New Zealand's 222. He recalled the dark moment for South African cricket and said he had not seen outgoing captain Graeme Smith in a worse mood than that.

"I have known Graeme since he was 18 years old in 1998, when I was a selector, and I have never seen him so distraught."

Coach Corrie van Zyl will also step down with the skipper and Majola said the process of finding the replacements has already begun.

"We have a shortlist of six names that we will announce after the tournament," Majola said.

Van Zyl had on Sunday said requested the fans not to call the team chokers as it puts pressure on the players.

Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters - WTA Miami 2011 matches

Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters are both on the Order of Play for Tuesday, March 29th at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open.

Clijsters will face Ana Ivanovic in a battle of former world number ones and the head to head series is one that has been dominated by Clijsters, although they have not met many times. Heading into tomorrow's match, Clijsters is 3-0 against the Serbian and that history includes a fairly recent match from the 2010 US Open.

Maria Sharapova appears to have an easier opponent as she faces Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru. Dulgheru is improving on tour and she is just 21 years old still but heading into Tuesday's match, Dulgheru is ranked just 28th.

The two players have never met before but you have to like Sharapova's chances of advancing and she does tower over Dulgheru by a full six inches.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Umar Gul hopes Shoaib Akhtar can ease pace burden

Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar

Mohali—Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul hopes Shoaib Akhtar is given one last chance to show what he can do against India in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final.

Akhtar, who will retire from international cricket after the World Cup, has featured in just three matches during Pakistan’s run to the semi-finals.

And it seemed his last outing at this level would be a wretched return of one for 70 in a 110-run group stage thrashing by New Zealand in Pallekelle three weeks ago.

However, Akhtar’s return—and the result itself—might have been decidely different had not erratic wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal dropped the simplest of catches off the express quick when New Zealand’s Ross Taylor, who made a match-winning century, was still in single figures.

A clearly irate Akhtar never recovered his composure and a tournament return of three wickets at more than 40 apiece tells its own story.

Nevertheless Gul, who has taken 14 wickets at an impressive average of 14.50 at this World Cup, said Monday he would welcome the return of the 35-year-old Akhtar for the winner-takes-all clash.

“Shoaib Akhtar is an experienced bowler who has performed well against India. If he plays, it will take some of the pressure off me. When he was not there, there was a lot of pressure on me.”

And he insisted Akhtar had not been sidelined.

“The team management is not angry with Shoaib Akhtar. He has been rested for a few games to find fitness and form but has been practising now for two to three days.”

However, the 26-year-old Gul—one of the world’s best reverse- swing bowlers—said he’d been getting used to open the bowling at the urging of Pakistan coach Waqar Younis, himself once an outstanding fast bowler.

“For the last two to three years, Waqar Younis has been telling me to get prepared to use the new ball in the World Cup. I have returned to my best form by bowling with the new ball again,” Gul explained.

Gul could well have been the ‘third seamer’ if Pakistan had come into the World Cup with the new-ball duo of Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer.

But the pair, along with former Test captain Salman Butt, were banned for their roles in last year’s ‘spot-fixing’ scandal in England.—APP

Ana Ivanovic Picture

Williams Sisters dominated

Pakistan should recall Shoaib Akhtar - Umar Gul

Shoaib Akhtar

Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul said Shoaib Akhtar should be recalled for the World Cup semi-final against India.

Paceman Shoaib was dropped after going for 70 runs in the loss to New Zealand and did not feature in the wins over Zimbabwe, Australia and West Indies.

"Shoaib Akhtar is an experienced bowler who has performed well against India," said Gul. "If he plays [on Wednesday] it will take some pressure off me."

Shoaib, 35, announced last week that he would retire after the World Cup.

Although Pakistan have been victorious since Shoaib was left out, his replacement Wahab Riaz has struggled to make an impact on the tournament.

Gul's call for Shoaib's return follows a similar plea from former captain Imran Khan, who said Shoaib's pace and aggression could trouble India's star-studded batting order.

Shoaib has taken 41 wickets in 28 one-day matches against India at an average of 26.78 and is three wickets short of the 250 mark overall.

In announcing his retirement on 17 March, he said he hoped his final game for Pakistan would be the World Cup final on 2 April.

To reach that match, Pakistan will have to beat their arch-rivals in Mohali.

It will be Pakistan's first cricket match in India since before the November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, in which 166 people died - an atrocity which has been blamed on Pakistan-based extremists.

Gul, who has 14 wickets at an average of 14.50 at the tournament, said: "In both countries people want to see the teams play each other.

"Relations will be better if the teams play each other more often. Fans can't stand defeat but we have won six of seven matches so far and hope to play our best cricket against India."