Accept DRS or suffer: former players
New Delhi: With close decisions going against India of late, current and former cricketers feel it is high time the BCCI give its nod to the contentious Decision Review System as refusal to accept technology is hurting the team badly. India were at the receiving end of at least five contentious umpiring decisions in the lost first two Tests against Australia, prompting skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to say that the tourists are being more hard done. But he continued to hold the view that having DRS would not help the side’s cause too much. However, senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels that it’s time that India accepted DRS in its current form as it would only help the team during close Test matches.“I believe it’s time that we accepted the DRS as it will only benefit our cause. If you look, in both Test matches, India were very competitive but there were key moments when our boys got a raw deal,“ Harbhajan said.“I can recall four decisions. Shikhar’s (Dhawan) caught behind in the second innings of the first Test in Adelaide. (Cheteshwar) Pujara’s caught behind in the first innings of second Test followed by Rohit (Sharma) and Ashwin’s decision in the second innings.
McCullum to bat in middle order
WEllINGTON: Captain Brendon McCullum will return to the middle order in the New Zealand cricket team which will play Sri lanka in the first of two test matches at Christchurch from Friday. McCullum opened the batting in New Zealand’s recent series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, scoring a double century in the third test. But selection manager Bruce Edgar indicated on Sunday, with the announcement of New Zealand’s 13-man squad for the test at Hagley Oval, that McCullum will rejoin a strong middle order.“This is another series in different conditions and against a completely different opponent. In these circumstances, we feel Brendon’s better suited to, and offers more value, down the order,“ Edgar said.McCullum will likely bat at No. 5 behind Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. Tom latham will open with either Hamish Rutherford or Dean Brownlie, who has been recalled.
Holder replaces Bravo as captain
ST. JOHN’S (Antigua): Jason Holder replaced Dwayne Bravo as captain of the West Indies one-day international side on Saturday, less than two months out from the Cricket World Cup. Holder, who turned 23 last month, was named to lead the squad in the five ODIs in South Africa starting on Jan. 16, after the three tests and three Twenty20s. Holder, a fast-bowling allrounder, has played 21 ODIs since his debut in February 2013 in Australia. His last ODI was the fourth in India in October, after which the West Indies quit the tour in a contract dispute with the national board and players' union. Bravo captained that team, and was the figurehead in the players' strike in India. He also was involved in resolving the dispute back in the Caribbean. Dwayne Bravo, Pollard and Sammy have been playing in the T20 leagues in South Africa and Australia, and are in the West Indies T20 side, with Sammy as captain. Those games against South Africa start on Jan. 9. ODI squad: Jason Holder (captain), Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Narsingh Deonarine, leon Johnson, Chris Gayle, Denesh Ramdin, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor. One more to be added.
‘Pietersen’s England exile ludicrous’
london: Former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden has batted for Kevin Pietersen and described England’s decision to continually overlook the star batsman as “ludicrous“. Pietersen’s central contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was terminated in February, reports bbc.co.uk. “It’s ludicrous Kevin Pietersen is not in the England squad. It’s just crazy. World Cups are won on innovative batting,“ Hayden, who scored 8,625 runs in 103 Test matches, said Sunday. The 43-year-old Hayden’s criticism follows England’s decision to drop Alastair Cook and appoint Eoin Morgan as the captain for the 2015 World Cup starting Feb 14 in Australia and New Zealand. Pietersen tweeted his approval of the move, saying: “Great news that @Eoin16 is new England 1-day captain. Top player, leader and bloke. Hope I get to play for him.“ England, though, have not selected him since last winter’s 0-5 Ashes whitewash. Pietersen is currently playing for Melbourne Stars in the Australian Big Bash Twenty20 competition, and hit 66 off 46 balls in their opening defeat to Adelaide Strikers.
Afridi to quit ODIs after 2015 Wc
Karachi: In a bid to concentrate on his T20 career, Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi on Sunday announced that he will retire from one-day internationals after the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.“I always wanted to retire from ODIs with self-respect, grace and on a high and I think this is the best time to now focus only on T20 matches,“ Afridi said in a press conference here. “I am just happy that I have had the courage to take this decision at the right time. Because in the past I have seen bigger players than me not being able to decide when it was the right time for them to go,“ he said.“The T20 World Cup is in India and it is my desire our team wins the title there. I will be playing a lot of T20 cricket after the World Cup and try to build up a strong team for the 2016 event,“ he said. “I am the first Pakistan player to be able to announce his retirement properly and this is good enough for me because I have already achieved a lot ,“ he said.
Morgan missed selector’s calls
london: Middle-order batsman Eoin Morgan has said he had “20 missed calls“ on his phone from national selector James Whitaker, who was trying to offer him the role of England One-Day International (ODI) captain. The 28-year-old was appointed as Alastair Cook’s replacement Saturday, following England’s recent 2-5 series defeat against Sri lanka, reports bbc.co.uk.“I thought I better give him a ring and he said 'we’d like to offer you the captaincy'. I was delighted to be asked. Being offered the captaincy is awesome," Morgan said on Sunday. "It’s a huge honour to lead an extremely talented group of guys during a really exciting period." The left-hander averages 71.16 with the bat as captain and has led his side to three victories and four defeats. England will begin their 2015 World Cup campaign against Australia Feb 14 at the MCG.