Morgan unfazed
Melbourne: Skipper Eoin Morgan is unfazed about Australia’s apparent one-day dominance over England heading into Saturday’s World Cup opener in Melbourne. England is the outsiders against the hosts before an expected 90,000 crowd at the cavernous Melbourne Cricket Ground on the strength of their poor record of ODIs in Australia. England have just two wins from their last 15 ODI encounters Down Under, but Morgan resolutely talked up his team’s chances on Thursday against the top-ranked Aussies. “This is only in the last year, these (losses) have happened but the majority of us have been in positions where we’ve played series where we’ve beaten Australia 4-0 before,” Morgan told reporters. “We’ve guys with huge amounts of experience who have won consecutive Ashes series ... Again, reinforcing what works is key and emphasising, and producing your skill on the day is ultimately what is important. “Its swings and roundabouts. We’ve been in that position before and our time will come.”
PM Modi wishes Indian team luck
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took to social networking site Twitter to convey his best wishes to the Indian cricket team for the World Cup. "As the 2015 Cricket World Cup begins, my best wishes to the Indian Cricket Team. Khelo dil se, World Cup lao phir se! (play with heart and get the world cup again)." He then followed it up with a series of tweets conveying individual messages for each of the 15 players of the squad.
tribute for India ahead of WC
New Delhi: The makers of film “M.S.Dhoni - The Untold Story” will launch a song titled “Phir se” on Sunday when India takes on Pakistan at the ICC Cricket World Cup in Adelaide. The team of the film, which is a biopic on Indian cricket captain M.S.Dhoni, has dedicated “Phir se” to Indian team. They hope the track infuses the spirit of clinching the glorious cup again. Director Neeraj Pandey, who says he’s an ardent fan of cricket, has also contributed his expertise for the making of the video. He says the song will instantly connect with the frenzy around the sport and become an anthem. “The idea was to sum up the mood and emotion for the entire nation. ‘Phir se’ is an anthem, plea, prayer, dream all rolled in one. And MM Kreem (composer) saab and Manoj Muntashir (lyricist) have done this beautifully,” said the “Baby” filmmaker.
Pak target first WC win vs India
Sydney: If you talk to any Pakistani player ahead of Sunday’s clash against bitter rivals India in Adelaide, the first words to emerge are “we want a win”. Pakistan have not won a World Cup match against India in five attempts since their first clash in the 1992 event, also held in Australia and New Zealand. Captain Misbah-ul Haq said that jinx must end this time. “We will do our best to change history,” Misbah said. “I don’t know why we lost all those games, maybe all those teams failed to handle the pressure in the key game.”
Sunny, VVS criticise WC format
Sydney: legendary players Sunil Gavaskar and VVS laxman on Thursday lambasted the format of the upcoming Cricket World Cup, saying that the inclusion of the ICC Associate members could reduce the intensity of competition. Gavaskar and laxman said making the showpiece event a 14-team affair with the inclusion of the likes of Afghanistan and Scotland would significantly diminish the level of competition in the league stage. They said the format also does not offer competitive games till the quarterfinal stage. Stating that the World Cup should be competed among 10 teams only, Gavaskar said, “The top eight teams according to the ICC rankings should automatically qualify. The last two berths should be fought between the other teams a year before the main event. And then 10 top teams playing against each other is the best way to go about it.” laxman agreed with Gavaskar and said, “10 best teams competing against each other would have made the league stage also interesting.”
embrace pressure: Border to AUs
Melbourne: World Cup-winning captain Allan Border Thursday urged Australia to make the most of the pressure and expectation that comes with hosting the game’s biggest event. Host nations have a poor record in cricket World Cups, with India’s victory in 2011 only the second time in 10 tournaments the host or co-host has emerged victorious. “Everyone’s talking about playing at home — that it’s a very difficult situation, the extra pressure and expectation,” Border was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. “My advice would be to really go out of your way to embrace the fact you’re playing at home in front of your own crowd.”
Clarke won’t play WC opener
Melbourne: Michael Clarke has been ruled out of Australia’s Cricket World Cup opener against England on Saturday. Australia coach Darren lehmann confirmed Thursday that Clarke would not play the highly-anticipated game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, despite impressing on Wednesday, when he showed good movement, top-scored with 64 and bowled two overs in a warm-up match against the United Arab Emirates. lehmann said Clarke remains on track to return for Australia’s second game, against Bangladesh in Brisbane on February 21. Team medical staff had long earmarked the Brisbane match for Clarke’s return, but speculation had been intensifying that the Australian captain would be ready in time for the tournament opener. Agencies