Opening day of NZ-Eng series washed out
Dunedin: The first day of the opening Test between New Zealand and England was abandoned due to rain without a ball being bowled on Wednesday.
New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl in heavily overcast conditions before umpires Paul Reiffel of Australia and Asad Rauf of Pakistan ruled that the light was not sufficient to allow play to begin on time. Heavy rain then began to fall at the University Oval, forcing ground staff to fully cover the pitch and surrounds. The rain continued throughout the day, preventing play in the first two sessions and causing the umpires to abandon the day 75 minutes before scheduled stumps. Playing hours will be extended on the remaining days to make up for lost time and only 30 overs are likely to be lost if a full day’s play is possible on each of the next four days. New Zealand named opening batsman Hamish Rutherford, son of former captain Ken Rutherford, and left-arm spinner Bruce Martin to make their Test debuts Wednesday. The 32-year-old Martin was first named in a New Zealand Test squad in 1999 but did not play and has had to wait a further 14 years for his Test debut.
BCCI says police charges for IPl very high
Mumbai: Terming the charges levied by police for security during IPl matches played at D Y Patil Stadium in neighbouring Navi Mumbai in 2010 as “excessively high”, the country’s premier cricket body BCCI has urged the Home Secretary of Maharashtra to fix reasonable rates, comparable to those charged by other states. BCCI has said this in a representation to Home Secretary dated March 4, following directive of Bombay High Court. The High Court is presently hearing public interest litigation filed by Santosh Pachlag regarding non-payment of over `5 crore by BCCI to the state police on account of security for IPl matches played at D Y Patil Stadium. In its representation, BCCI has requested that charges should be based on the actual deployment of policemen. BCCI has further said that it is not liable to pay the charges, but agreed in the interest of the sport.
Ashes fears as Swann faces surgery
Dunedin: England off-spinner Graeme Swann faces a race against time to be fit for this year’s Ashes double-header after injury forced him out of the Test series against New Zealand on Wednesday. Swann was a surprise omission from the tourists’ side to face the Black Caps in the opening Test in Dunedin, with officials later confirming a long-standing problem with his right elbow had flared up, requiring surgery. Swann had bone fragments removed from his elbow in 2009 but the surgery was only partially successful and the 33-year-old said he experienced pain in the joint during a warm-up loss to a New Zealand XI last week. In a column for Britain’s Sun newspaper this week, he wrote: “It would be a massive pain in the backside if my wonky elbow forced me to miss any of the Tests against Australia.”
Samaraweera retires after Bangladesh axe
Colombo: Middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera on Wednesday said his omission from the Test squad for the series against Bangladesh forced him to retire from international cricket. The 36-year-old, who played 81 Tests and 53 ODIs, announced his retirement following a meeting with the national selectors. “I was shocked with my omission from the squad against Bangladesh,” he told reporters. Samaraweera was excluded from the 16-man squad after being originally included in the 20-member probable. “They told me that my experience would be needed for the Pakistan tour which is nine months away. There is no point in waiting for nine months.”
Now OPl-II to begin from May 1
Cuttack: The second edition of the Odisha Premier league (OPl-II) cricket tournament will now begin on May 1 instead of next month, it was announced on Wednesday. According to Odisha Cricket Association (OCA), the much-awaited tournament, which was postponed till April 1, has been rescheduled. After the inaugural edition of OPl in 2011, the popular shorter version of the cricket tournament could not be held in the following year due to lack of franchisee and sponsorships.