Graeme Swann is eager to atone for his foul-mouthed rant during England's defeat by Bangladesh when they face the West Indies in a must-win World Cup match in Chennai.
England need to beat the Caribbean side on Thursday if they are to have any chance of reaching the quarter-finals and at the same time hope other results go their way.
Swann was caught swearing on air during England's two-wicket loss to Bangladesh on Friday after he became frustrated at being unable to grip the ball properly while bowling because of the late evening dew.
The defeat was the second time in the tournament that England have lost a match they were expected to win after their shock defeat to non-Test nation Ireland.
But in a roller-coaster tournament, England have also tied with co-hosts India and beaten a highly fancied South Africa side.
"If you're completely taking out of the game a facet such as spin bowling, personally I don't see the point of playing day-night cricket in a dew area," Swann said on Monday as he recalled his Bangladesh outburst.
"It's obviously something that's disappointing, what happened, and I'm a bit ashamed about my own behaviour," said Swann, fined 10 percent of his match fee.
Conditions are likely to be far more suited to Swann's liking at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
"I hope the wicket is similar to the South African one, because I loved bowling on that. If I could roll it up and take it around the world with me, I happily would," said Swann, who took 1-29 against the Proteas.
The 31-year-old was at a loss to explain how the bulk of a side that romped to a 3-1 Ashes Test series win in Australia in January was proving so inconsistent in the 50-over format.
"We're just not managing to put both facets of our game together at the minute. That's something we nailed down pretty well in the Test match arena over the last 18 months.
"In one-dayers, we're still searching for that magical elixir."
Kevin Pietersen, whose World Cup was cut short by a hernia injury, has slammed the team's "ridiculous" schedule, saying England's prospects of winning the trophy for the first time had been hit by their hectic schedule.
However, Swann said England were not alone in having to cope with the demands of a relentless schedule.
"It's just the way it falls. The World Cup is always after the toughest (northern hemisphere) winter for us. But it's no excuse. It certainly isn't the reason we're not playing well, because we're all fit.
"If we win four games now, we win the World Cup, which is the only way we can look at it."
"It's four games, and we could take home the spoils and shut a few people up who've been knocking us back."
Monday, March 14, 2011
Empty feeling as Eden Gardens' Cup gets underway
Kolkata's iconic Eden Gardens, which was embarrassingly stripped of its opening World Cup clash last month, finally joins the party on Tuesday, but the celebrations could turn flat.
The historic venue was scheduled to host four World Cup matches but missed out on the high-profile game between India and England on February 27 due to delays in renovation work with the match shifted to Bangalore.
Eden Gardens now boasts a modern look but with the capacity reduced from 90,000 to 65,000.
"Coming to India, you always hear of Eden Gardens as one of the big grounds, like going to England and playing at Lord's," said Ireland skipper William Porterfield.
But the famous arena will not be full when South Africa clash with Ireland on Tuesday as Indian grounds only tend to fill up when the home side plays.
"There's a lot of history at the ground The lads are looking forward to getting out there. We've got two games here, so it's pretty special," added Porterfield.
Ireland will also face Netherlands at this venue while the third game is between Zimbabwe and Kenya.
South Africa coach Corrie van Zyl, whose team can book a quarter-finals place with a win on Tuesday, was also looking forward to the occasion.
"Eden Gardens is a special place to play cricket. We have played a Test match here and it's good to be back here."
Eden Gardens turned out to be a lucky venue for Australia skipper Allan Border whose side won the 1987 World Cup final against Mike Gatting's Englishmen before a capacity crowd.
The last match at this venue was held in December 2009 between India and Sri Lanka.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Eden will provide the best wicket of World Cup: Curator
The Eden Gardens pitch, which caused much embarrassment to hosts India both on and off the field during the previous World Cup in the subcontinent 15 years ago, would provide the best 22-yard strip in the current edition, says its curator.
"We will provide the best wicket of the World Cup. It will be full of runs. It will be firm and have pace and even bounce," said crurator Prabir Mukherjee, two days before South Africa and Ireland battle it out in a Group B game on Tuesday.
It was a shameful evening for India in another March evening in 1996, when an under-prepared track crumbled fast during India's innings as they lost wickets in a heap in a World Cup semifinal match against Sri Lanka.
The match could not be completed as angry spectators rained bottles and missiles that threatened the security of the players. Finally Sri Lanka was adjudged the winner on account of crowd disturbance.
What could bring smiles to the faces of the likes of South African pace spearhead Dale Steyn is the amount of grass in the strip. And Mukerjee promises that the tinge of green will remain.
"I have never compromised on things like grass. Not even the most formidable of players have been able to browbeat me into making a bald wicket," said Mukherjee.
Out of three World Cup matches to be staged here this week, two will be day-night affairs, but Mukherjee said dew would not be a problem. "At this point of the year dew is not a problem here," he said.
He said while seam movement will be there, batsmen would not have to negotiate lateral movement.
"We will provide the best wicket of the World Cup. It will be full of runs. It will be firm and have pace and even bounce," said crurator Prabir Mukherjee, two days before South Africa and Ireland battle it out in a Group B game on Tuesday.
It was a shameful evening for India in another March evening in 1996, when an under-prepared track crumbled fast during India's innings as they lost wickets in a heap in a World Cup semifinal match against Sri Lanka.
The match could not be completed as angry spectators rained bottles and missiles that threatened the security of the players. Finally Sri Lanka was adjudged the winner on account of crowd disturbance.
What could bring smiles to the faces of the likes of South African pace spearhead Dale Steyn is the amount of grass in the strip. And Mukerjee promises that the tinge of green will remain.
"I have never compromised on things like grass. Not even the most formidable of players have been able to browbeat me into making a bald wicket," said Mukherjee.
Out of three World Cup matches to be staged here this week, two will be day-night affairs, but Mukherjee said dew would not be a problem. "At this point of the year dew is not a problem here," he said.
He said while seam movement will be there, batsmen would not have to negotiate lateral movement.
West Indies bank on spinners for a quarterfinal berth
The West Indies, once renowned for their fearsome fast bowlers, are now banking on their spinners to get them through to the quarterfinal stages of the World Cup, but their head coach Ottis Gibson believes that this so-called transformation has more to do with the nature of pitches in the sub-continent.
In fact, the West Indies even opened their bowling attack with left-arm spinner Suleiman Benn who, incidentally, is second in the wicket-takers' list with a haul of 12 in four matches, three of which they won.
Reflecting on this transformation in the West Indies bowling attack, the team's head coach Ottis Gibson said it had as much to do with the spin-friendly sub-continental wickets as the region's failure to produce six-foot plus tall bowlers of genuine pace.
The West Indian cricket's success in the past was built around tall fast bowlers, six feet six inches tall and bowling in tandem. But of late, we have been developing fast bowlers who are five feet six or five feet eight," said Gibson at a media interaction here on Sunday.
The former West Indies fast bowler pointed out that the selectors had picked two specialist spinners in Benn and Nikita Miller to back up Chris Gayle, keeping in mind the nature of pitches.
We knew that spin will play a part in the World Cup and so we selected two specialist spinners. So, now, we have three spinners and three seamers," said Gibson.
Looking ahead to the two Group B fixtures, Gibson said the focus was totally on the game against England on Thursday and certainly not on the India match on March 20.
"England have performed inconsistently in the competition, but we are more concerned about our performance. We want to give England another difficult game," Gibson said.
The West Indies have won three of the four matches and their only loss so far has been against South Africa.
We know we have the talent, but it has not come to the fore. The players are focused and enjoying their stay in the World Cup," he said.
In fact, the West Indies even opened their bowling attack with left-arm spinner Suleiman Benn who, incidentally, is second in the wicket-takers' list with a haul of 12 in four matches, three of which they won.
Reflecting on this transformation in the West Indies bowling attack, the team's head coach Ottis Gibson said it had as much to do with the spin-friendly sub-continental wickets as the region's failure to produce six-foot plus tall bowlers of genuine pace.
The West Indian cricket's success in the past was built around tall fast bowlers, six feet six inches tall and bowling in tandem. But of late, we have been developing fast bowlers who are five feet six or five feet eight," said Gibson at a media interaction here on Sunday.
The former West Indies fast bowler pointed out that the selectors had picked two specialist spinners in Benn and Nikita Miller to back up Chris Gayle, keeping in mind the nature of pitches.
We knew that spin will play a part in the World Cup and so we selected two specialist spinners. So, now, we have three spinners and three seamers," said Gibson.
Looking ahead to the two Group B fixtures, Gibson said the focus was totally on the game against England on Thursday and certainly not on the India match on March 20.
"England have performed inconsistently in the competition, but we are more concerned about our performance. We want to give England another difficult game," Gibson said.
The West Indies have won three of the four matches and their only loss so far has been against South Africa.
We know we have the talent, but it has not come to the fore. The players are focused and enjoying their stay in the World Cup," he said.
India can't win World Cup, Dhoni is dreaming: Dean Jones
Given their weak bowling and unimpressive fielding even the high quality batsmen cannot save India's World Cup campaign, feels former Australian batsman Dean Jones who says winning the coveted trophy will remain just a dream for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men.
"The three main common denominators consistent with all World Cup champion teams are: Your top four batsmen must be of a high quality. They must have the technique to play the new ball, as well as have the power and stroke play during powerplays. Your top four bowlers must be of high quality, able to absorb pressure and bowl defensively in powerplays. If you can't field, don't bother turning up!" Jones said in his column for "The Age". "All this taken into account, I do not believe India will win the World Cup with its current form. Tell Dhoni, he's dreaming," wrote Jones in his article.
Jones said that despite the presence of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in the team, who can rip any bowling attack to shreds, India cannot win the World Cup.
"Everyone here has a huge regard for the Indian team. They have the batsmen, no doubt. Tendulkar and Sehwag can rip any attack to shreds. But that alone doesn't win the World Cup for India. He is dreaming," he said.
The former Aussie cricketer said that Dhoni's bowling combination comprising Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan Singh doesn't match the standards of any of the line-ups of the previous teams.
"Captain MS Dhoni has admitted some of his fieldsmen are very slow. But Dhoni believes he will win the World Cup with this bowling line-up: Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan Singh. Dhoni must turn to history to see that this bowling attack will not win a World Cup."
"The three main common denominators consistent with all World Cup champion teams are: Your top four batsmen must be of a high quality. They must have the technique to play the new ball, as well as have the power and stroke play during powerplays. Your top four bowlers must be of high quality, able to absorb pressure and bowl defensively in powerplays. If you can't field, don't bother turning up!" Jones said in his column for "The Age". "All this taken into account, I do not believe India will win the World Cup with its current form. Tell Dhoni, he's dreaming," wrote Jones in his article.
Jones said that despite the presence of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in the team, who can rip any bowling attack to shreds, India cannot win the World Cup.
"Everyone here has a huge regard for the Indian team. They have the batsmen, no doubt. Tendulkar and Sehwag can rip any attack to shreds. But that alone doesn't win the World Cup for India. He is dreaming," he said.
The former Aussie cricketer said that Dhoni's bowling combination comprising Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan Singh doesn't match the standards of any of the line-ups of the previous teams.
"Captain MS Dhoni has admitted some of his fieldsmen are very slow. But Dhoni believes he will win the World Cup with this bowling line-up: Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan Singh. Dhoni must turn to history to see that this bowling attack will not win a World Cup."
In-form South Africa see easy prey in Ireland
South Africa seem to possess just too many weapons for Tuesday's Group B match against an Irish team which look exhausted after pulling off the first upset of the World Cup.
A win at Kolkata's renovated Eden Gardens will not only assure South Africa a quarter-final slot but also aid their bid to top the group in which they are placed third with six points from four outings.
After suffering a six-run defeat by England, Graeme Smith's men have shown uncharacteristic resilience in the tournament so far, brightening the prospect of putting behind South Africa's three World Cup semi-final heartbreaks.
Under Smith, South Africa have learnt how to cope with pressure, a virtue some of the previous squads lacked.
They finally seemed to have overcome their big stage fright when they pulled off a thrilling three-wicket victory against India in the cauldron that was Nagpur on Saturday.
After India cruised to 267-1 in the 40th over, pace bowler Dale Steyn led a spirited fightback to run through the hosts' famed line-up, bowling them out inside 49 overs by claiming the remaining nine wickets for a meagre 29 runs.
The same stomach for fight was evident when they fumbled in their chase.
Down the order, Faf du Plessis and Robin Peterson showed the belligerence to lead them to a memorable victory that put to rest all speculation about their resilience.
The importance of the win was not lost on Smith.
"For 25 overs up front we took a beating but for the other 75 we came back really hard and showed some real fight," he said.
"The guys showed a lot of composure... to chase down the runs under pressure is great. The confidence you get out of a win like this is huge."
The win was all the more special because South Africa were without their most successful bowler, Imran Tahir, who is nursing a fractured thumb.
No wonder the form book suggests a mis-match when they set their sight on the contest against Ireland.
Clearly the best second-tier team in the fray, Ireland raised expectations with their stunning victory against England and stretched India and West Indies too before going down.
Captain William Porterfield, Ed Joyce and the O'Brien brothers, Kevin and Niall, surely know how to bat but consistency has been their main problem.
The bowling department also consists of military medium pace bowlers and spinners but it does not look strong enough to test the in-form South African batsmen.
A win at Kolkata's renovated Eden Gardens will not only assure South Africa a quarter-final slot but also aid their bid to top the group in which they are placed third with six points from four outings.
After suffering a six-run defeat by England, Graeme Smith's men have shown uncharacteristic resilience in the tournament so far, brightening the prospect of putting behind South Africa's three World Cup semi-final heartbreaks.
Under Smith, South Africa have learnt how to cope with pressure, a virtue some of the previous squads lacked.
They finally seemed to have overcome their big stage fright when they pulled off a thrilling three-wicket victory against India in the cauldron that was Nagpur on Saturday.
After India cruised to 267-1 in the 40th over, pace bowler Dale Steyn led a spirited fightback to run through the hosts' famed line-up, bowling them out inside 49 overs by claiming the remaining nine wickets for a meagre 29 runs.
The same stomach for fight was evident when they fumbled in their chase.
Down the order, Faf du Plessis and Robin Peterson showed the belligerence to lead them to a memorable victory that put to rest all speculation about their resilience.
The importance of the win was not lost on Smith.
"For 25 overs up front we took a beating but for the other 75 we came back really hard and showed some real fight," he said.
"The guys showed a lot of composure... to chase down the runs under pressure is great. The confidence you get out of a win like this is huge."
The win was all the more special because South Africa were without their most successful bowler, Imran Tahir, who is nursing a fractured thumb.
No wonder the form book suggests a mis-match when they set their sight on the contest against Ireland.
Clearly the best second-tier team in the fray, Ireland raised expectations with their stunning victory against England and stretched India and West Indies too before going down.
Captain William Porterfield, Ed Joyce and the O'Brien brothers, Kevin and Niall, surely know how to bat but consistency has been their main problem.
The bowling department also consists of military medium pace bowlers and spinners but it does not look strong enough to test the in-form South African batsmen.
New Zealand sweat over Mills injury
New Zealand team management said it was too early to draw firm conclusions about the injury to paceman Kyle Mills, who limped off while bowling in Sunday's match against Canada.
Mills, who opened the bowling in his team's 97-run win, left the field after only 2.4 overs of his spell, in which time he took 2-2.
New Zealand media manager Ellery Tappin said no firm conclusions could yet be drawn.
"It was a strain in the quadriceps of his left leg. He will be kept under 48-hour observation," he said.
Captain Daniel Vettori missed Sunday's match due to a knee injury but is expected to return to the side for Friday's game against Sri Lanka.
Sunday's win gave New Zealand a place in the quarter-finals.
Mills, who opened the bowling in his team's 97-run win, left the field after only 2.4 overs of his spell, in which time he took 2-2.
New Zealand media manager Ellery Tappin said no firm conclusions could yet be drawn.
"It was a strain in the quadriceps of his left leg. He will be kept under 48-hour observation," he said.
Captain Daniel Vettori missed Sunday's match due to a knee injury but is expected to return to the side for Friday's game against Sri Lanka.
Sunday's win gave New Zealand a place in the quarter-finals.
Pakistan seek confidence boost against Zimbabwe
Smarting from their comprehensive drubbing by New Zealand, Pakistan will want to restore their self-confidence with a big win against Zimbabwe in Monday's World Cup Group A match in Kandy.
Pakistan showed uncharacteristic consistency in the tournament, winning their first three matches before Ross Taylor's sensational century snapped their winning streak.
Kamran Akmal's woeful form behind the wicket remains a major worry for the team even though the management has backed the beleaguered stumper to come good.
Umar Akmal's finger injury is also a concern for the side, which otherwise could have asked him to keep wicket instead.
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, are wary of a Pakistan backlash and while their spinners are capable of restricting most line-ups, their batsmen would face a tough task against a Pakistani attack that includes Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi.
Both teams will also be concerned with the dark clouds that have hovered above the Pallekele ground all weekend and with rain forecast for Monday, the players might not be able to play out 100 overs.
In Chittagong, a bullish Bangladesh will take on a winless Dutch side in a Group B encounter.
On a high after pulling off an upset against England, Shakib Al Hasan's men are on the hunt for another win that would brighten their quarter-final prospects.
For the Netherlands, their last two group stage matches, against Bangladesh and Ireland (March 18), provide them with their best chance of finishing the tournament with at least one victory.
Pakistan showed uncharacteristic consistency in the tournament, winning their first three matches before Ross Taylor's sensational century snapped their winning streak.
Kamran Akmal's woeful form behind the wicket remains a major worry for the team even though the management has backed the beleaguered stumper to come good.
Umar Akmal's finger injury is also a concern for the side, which otherwise could have asked him to keep wicket instead.
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, are wary of a Pakistan backlash and while their spinners are capable of restricting most line-ups, their batsmen would face a tough task against a Pakistani attack that includes Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi.
Both teams will also be concerned with the dark clouds that have hovered above the Pallekele ground all weekend and with rain forecast for Monday, the players might not be able to play out 100 overs.
In Chittagong, a bullish Bangladesh will take on a winless Dutch side in a Group B encounter.
On a high after pulling off an upset against England, Shakib Al Hasan's men are on the hunt for another win that would brighten their quarter-final prospects.
For the Netherlands, their last two group stage matches, against Bangladesh and Ireland (March 18), provide them with their best chance of finishing the tournament with at least one victory.
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