‘No change in ICC code of conduct’
Chennai: ICC chairman N Srinivasan on Friday made it clear that the apex cricket body was “not considering” a complete overhaul in the ‘Code of Conduct’ for players, which has become a subject of debate following the infamous James Anderson-Ravindra Jadeja ‘Pushgate’ incident. “We are not considering to revamp ICC Code of conduct for players,” Srinivasan, a former BCCI president, told reporters. Srinivasan’s response comes a day after BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel pushed for a complete revamp in the ICC players code of conduct. “As I see it, the ICC Code of Conduct needs to be revamped or rehauled, whatever you may call it. Currently the BCCI could not have asked for an appeal against the decision of the judicial commissioner (Gordon lewis who let off Anderson). The appellant in this case could have been only the ICC. It’s a big flaw (in the process),” Patel had said on Thursday. Former India skipper Rahul Dravid, too, slammed the ‘not guilty’ verdict given to Anderson in the ‘pushgate’ incident and said the administrators of the game have sent out a “wrong message” by letting off the England pacer without any punishment. “The message we’ve given out at the moment, the game has given out, is that it’s okay to do this stuff (abuse), which I think is wrong. I think there needed to be some sort of action taken,” Dravid had said.
‘It’s a learning experience for Pujara’
New Delhi: Cheteshwar Pujara may not have got a big score in the ongoing Test series against England but his father and coach Arvind Pujara believes that this “learning experience” will only make his son a better player in the coming days. “This England series is a learning experience for Cheteshwar. The pitches, the condition and the quality of attack are all from the top drawer. Any batsmen would find these conditions challenging but he would learn a lot of things from this tour,” Pujara senior said on Friday. Having coached his son since he had held a cricket bat in hand, the former Saurashtra Ranji Trophy player knows his game like the back of his hand but he feels that with Duncan Fletcher aroud, he need not worry about any technical problem. “Duncan Fletcher is a superb coach. He is the best person to guide Cheteshwar at the moment. It will not be fair on my part to say what kind of tehnical discussions both have had,” the father said. But having played the game and coached Cheteshwar, does he find any problem with his batting, and Pujara senior replied, “I wouldn’t say problem but Cheteshwar needs to work hard on countering sharp swinging deliveries. Swinging deliveries are not always a problem but do we regularly play in these conditions where there is so much of bounce as well sharp swing. look, how much swing a seasoned bowler like Anderson is getting. One needs to play the ball late and eyes should always be on bowler’s release. You need to pick up the direction of the swing early,” said the former wicketkeeper.
Ranji Trophy starts from Dec 7
New Delhi: The BCCI tournament committee has decided to kick start the current domestic season with the Duleep Trophy starting October 15 while the prestigious Ranji Trophy will start from December 7 and continue till March 12. The Duleep Trophy will be a three-week affair from October 15 to November 3. With 50-over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand slated in February-March next year, the BCCI will conduct the National One Day Championship from November 7-25. The zonal phase will be held from November 7-14 while the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the knock-out phase will be held from November 19-25. The Deodhar Trophy inter-zonal one dayers will be held between November 29 and December 3. The Ranji Trophy’s group league fixtures will be held between December 7-February 8 followed by the quarter-finals between February 15-19. The two semi-finals will be held between February 25-March 1 while final will be held from March 8-12. The Ranni Trophy will be followed by Irani Cup from March 17-21 while the zonal leg of the National T20 Championship for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will be held between March 25-28. The final leg will be played from April 1-7. Ranji Trophy groupings: Group A: Karnataka, Bengal, Mumbai, Railways, Uttar Pradesh, Baroda, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh; Group B: Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Saurashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi, Vidarbha, Haryana, Odisha; Group C: Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Hyderabad, Andhra, Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand, Services.
SA pledge no mercy on Zimbabwe
Harare: Freshly re-installed as the top-ranked Test team in the world, South Africa appear disinclined to take any mercy on their struggling neighbours Zimbabwe when the two teams engage in a rare Test starting on Saturday. Given Zimbabwe’s lowly ranking and the myriad problems infecting its cricket, the Proteas could have been forgiven for resting key players in the one-off Test but have instead stuck with the 15-man squad that recently clinched a series victory in Sri lanka. That means that a Zimbabwe side who have not played a Test in almost a year are set to come up against the best and most feared bowler in the world in Dale Steyn, as well as top-ranked batsman AB de Villiers and top-ranked all-rounder Vernon Philander. “Whether you’re playing Australia or Zimbabwe, the pressure is always there. We are here to play our best brand of cricket,” South Africa captain Hashim Amla promised on arrival in Harare. “My firm belief is that you don’t take anything for granted. I’ve come here to play Test cricket as intensely as we played even in Sri lanka.” The expectation, therefore, is that the Proteas will inflict a similar defeat to the ones Zimbabwe suffered back in 2005 — the last time that the sides encountered each other in Test cricket. Not only did Zimbabwe lose both Tests by an innings, but the first match ended inside two days and the second lasted just three.
PNS/Agencies