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Greg Chappell has criticised Virender Sehwag’s work ethic, calling him one of the great frustrations of his time as India coach

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2012Greg Chappell has criticised Virender Sehwag’s work ethic, calling him one of the great frustrations of his time as India coach. Sehwag’s lackadaisical attitude threatens to squander his great god-given gift, Chappell wrote in the . Chappell coached India from 2005 to 2007, a controversial stint just after which Sehwag was dropped from the national side.Sehwag made a stirring comeback from that low, but is currently in an extended lean patch. His last Test century came in November 2010, but outside the subcontinent that date extends back to January 2008. His fitness and fielding have been a worry for the team management, and he has played only 13 ODIs since the World Cup, with only two innings of note – the double-century and a 96 against Sri Lanka.Sehwag was “rested” for India’s second league game in World Twenty20, one of India’s more complete T20 performances. That has brought Sehwag’s form into focus once again. “To say that Viru was one of the great frustrations of my time with the team is an understatement,” Chappell wrote. “Sadly, he continues to disappoint and is in danger of squandering his God-given talent. The person who is least likely to be fazed by all of this is Virender himself.”What I soon learned about him was that Viru did not want to dedicate himself to taking his talent to its zenith. He was happy to turn up and play and accept what came his way. No amount of cajoling from me could shift him from his insouciant way.”Only lack of runs, according to Chappell, could make Sehwag work hard, but that wouldn’t last. “This often happens to those with the greatest gift,” Chappell wrote. “Because he had never had to work hard at developing such a skill, Viru did not know how to dedicate himself to disciplined training. It was only during periods of relative poor form that he was prepared to spend time getting things back on track. As soon as he made some runs he slipped back into old habits and appeared content to practise in the same old profligate way; until his form evaporated again.”Chappell also spoke of a lack of responsibility and fitness. “The other area of frustration for me was that he did not keep himself in good shape and would often be troubled by a back ailment that restricted him in the field and made him even less likely to want to put time into expanding his ability. Apart from his batting skills, he is a very talented offspin bowler and he should have been the best slip fielder in the team, but he eschewed the responsibility at every opportunity.”Chappell said not much has changed on that front. “Seven years on, nothing much has changed,” he wrote. “He has worked on his fitness and appears to be in better condition, but on the evidence of his training in Australia early this year, he still practises the way he has always done and the results, unsurprisingly, are similar.Chappell also had a dig at Sehwag’s reported captaincy aspirations. “Strangely, for someone who only wants to play the game on his terms, he harbours a desire to captain his country,” he wrote. “I have no doubt that he could do it for he understands the game well, but what he fails to grasp is that with the honour comes responsibility. In fact, the responsibility to show personal leadership has to come before one can earn the higher honour. He wants the prize, but has been unwilling to pay the price.”More damningly, Chappell suggested that his selfish attitude towards batting cost India matches. “The surprising thing was that when Viru got runs in 50-over cricket, India often lost,” Chappell wrote. “For one thing, he seemed more concerned with his strike rate than the bigger picture. He would play shots from the first ball and not stop until he got out, which was often just when the team needed him to go on to a big score.”Usually, if he got a start, he would get away to such a flier it would get everyone at the ground excited, including his team-mates who would then think that they should score 300 plus. Once Virender got out, the good start was often squandered by the loss of multiple wickets as others tried to maintain the frenetic run-rate and generally the game would slip away.”However, like the rest of the world, Chappell admired Sehwag’s talent, and also said that the opposition will only be relieved if he plays no part in the upcoming matches. “Despite my frustrations with him during my tenure as Indian coach, I could not help but love him,” Chappell wrote. “He is, after all, a loveable rogue. And he can bat better than most. In fact, he is the most gifted ball striker that I have seen…”It is unlikely that Sehwag will ever change. It is probably too late now. But if Dhoni and the selectors have decided that enough is enough and that they have a better chance of winning the World Twenty20 without him, I reckon the Australian bowlers will breathe a little easier on Friday.”

The ECB has toughened its qualifications rules for England cricketers by extending the maximum residential qualification period from four to seven years with immediate effect for players over 18

David Hopps01-May-2012The ECB has toughened its qualification rules for England cricketers by extending the minimum residential qualification period from four to seven years with immediate effect. The new stipulation, which has been voted in by the ECB board at Lord’s, will apply to players who arrive in England and Wales after their 18th birthday.The tighter regulations aim to put more emphasis on England players being developed through the England system, although overseas players settling in England before their 18th birthday will still only need to complete a residential qualification of four years.The purpose of this two-tier policy is to reduce allegiances of convenience as overseas players win opportunities in county cricket and, as a result, decide to seek England qualification. But it could also conceivably force many young players approaching their 18th birthday into a premature decision about where their future lies – with South Africa bound to be particularly affected.The ECB has long abandoned the notion of birthright, which is increasingly viewed as unsuitable to an age of global mobility, but it aims to prove a sense of belonging by the fact that players have come through the system, whether in schools, universities or cricketing academies.As so often, ECB regulations are not as simple as they first appear. There is a rider in the case of non ICC full-member countries, where qualification can still be reduced to four years at the ECB’s discretion. Cricket Ireland will be particularly disappointed by that, with its players now potentially more vulnerable to approaches than players in full-member countries.The new rules do not apply to women cricketers.The key provisions are as follows:(i) All players who are already qualified for England will remain so – provided they continue to meet the existing regulations.(ii) All players who begin residence in England or Wales before their 18th birthday will need to complete a residence period of four consecutive years.(iii) Players who begin residence in England or Wales after their 18th birthday will need to complete a residence period of seven consecutive years. *Full regulations

Shaun Marsh has been “tentative” in his first two Test appearances at home and needs to rediscover the decisive footwork and wise judgement of which balls to leave, Australia’s head coach Mickey Arthur has said

Daniel Brettig07-Jan-2012Shaun Marsh has been “tentative” in his first two Test appearances at home and needs to rediscover the decisive footwork and wise judgement of which balls to leave that made him look so accomplished overseas, Australia’s head coach Mickey Arthur has said.During his first three Tests in Sri Lanka and South Africa, Marsh appeared the most organised of Australia’s batsmen, but convalescence due to a back problem and lack of first-class match preparation on recovery left him hesitant during three brief innings so far against India.Each time Marsh’s feet have not quite reached the place they needed to be to cover the line, length and movement of the bowling, and Arthur said that he and the batting coach Justin Langer would be putting “plenty of work” into Marsh ahead of the Perth match.”The thing with Shaun is, when he’s playing well, he leaves very well,” Arthur said. “And I’m not talking behind his back because these are conversations we’ve had with him. He’s probably been a little tentative, and that’s natural when you come back into international cricket [after injury].”It only takes one shot, one innings, batting for 25 minutes, getting through those first 20 balls that we are so pedantic about in our dressing-room for him to rediscover that touch and form, and get that confidence back. I’m not worried. Shaun is a fantastic player who is going to score a lot of runs for Australia.”In contrast to the cachet Michael Clarke has won as captain and batsman with his 329 not out in Sydney, Marsh’s innings of 0, 3 and 0 in front of his home audience has caused many to doubt his capability in the No. 3 spot. His innings in Sri Lanka were not seen by nearly as many observers, and do not carry quite the same weight with the public or even the current selection panel who, aside from Clarke, were not in place at that time.However Arthur said Marsh was a man who had been earmarked for a lengthy spell in the Australian top order, and would be persevered with.Arthur’s eye view of Clarke

As South Africa’s coach, Mickey Arthur searched for weaknesses in Michael Clarke. Having watched Clarke enrapture the SCG with his 329 not out, Arthur said the best indicator of whether or not Australia’s captain is at his best can be seen in how late he plays the ball.
“He worked extremely hard, especially in the lead-up to the Melbourne Test match, to technically get everything working again,” Arthur said. “I think we saw the signs of all the work he put in escalated in this [SCG] Test. When Michael Clarke’s hitting the ball late and hitting the ball under his eyes, he’s playing exceptionally well.
“I think there were so many graphics of him during this innings [that show he] hits the ball under his eyes and hits the ball late, which was fantastic. The minute he pokes out in front of his front pad, that’s when he gets himself into a little bit of trouble. He’s not doing that now, he looks the complete package, and he’s also the complete captaincy package as well. Truly, he’s inspirational within the dressing-room.”

“We’ve got to back that we’ve put our faith in, the right personnel,” Arthur said. “Shaun’s certainly a guy that we have got a lot of faith in. He’s shown when he’s played that he can do exceptionally well. He has been a little out of touch but form’s temporary, class is permanent and Shaun certainly has a lot of class and is one that is definitely worth persevering with.”We’re comfortable that we’ve got the best top six available to us right at the minute. We’ll get a lot more work into that top six before Perth.”Less certain of his place is Shane Watson, who was not considered for Perth due to his continuing leg muscle problems, and may yet miss the Adelaide Test also. Arthur said Watson needed more time to get his body right, and to have confidence in its ability to do the job.”He’s not yet fit … we feel we’ve got to get a little bit more time into Shane. Hopefully it’s Adelaide, maybe it’s the one-day series. We’ll just have to see how he progresses,” Arthur said. “We like to think we’ve got eight real quality batters at the moment. Eight doesn’t go into six, so we’re always going to have two missing out. We feel we’re developing a core, we’re developing depth in each department, which is really exciting.”That depth extends to Australia’s bowling options, which has allowed Ryan Harris to prepare carefully for a recall in Perth. Arthur said the extra week of training during the Sydney Test had been valuable for Harris, and gave the selectors extra assurance about choosing him.”The value [of Harris’ extended preparation] is we’ve got a proven Test quick bowler waiting in the wings, ready to go,” Arthur said. “We’ve put a lot of work into Ryan over the last two weeks. He was close to getting a game here [in Sydney]. We felt he hadn’t had enough work. We’ve put that work into him and we’re satisfied that, if selected, he’s ready to go in Perth.”

Given the way England have dominated this series it wouldn’t be unreasonable to suggest that the only thing that will stop them completing a whitewash is the weather

The Report by Andrew McGlashan18-Aug-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAndrew Strauss and Alastair Cook batted throughout the morning session before rain arrived•Getty ImagesGiven the way England have dominated this series it wouldn’t be unreasonable to suggest that the only thing that will stop them completing a whitewash is the weather. Rain wiped out play after lunch on the opening day at The Oval, but during the two hours possible Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook formed a solid platform against a very disappointing India attack as England reached 75 without loss.This was as poorly as India had bowled all series as they wasted whatever help was on offer under overcast skies. There was barely a chance created during the session and the whole attitude portrayed by the visitors was of a team low on confidence and waiting for the series to finish. Defeat here will leave them third in the world rankings but it’s difficult to see them limiting England’s in-form batting line-up with a better forecast for Friday.RP Singh, on his return to the Test team after a three-year absence for the injured Praveen Kumar, didn’t set a good tone with his opening over. The first ball was sprayed down the leg side and the batsmen were offered some gentle leg-stump deliveries to open their accounts. He was also about the same pace as Praveen, but with less swing, which wasn’t entirely surprising considering he hadn’t played first-class cricket since January.Although a couple of early boundaries came to third man they were played with soft hands by Strauss and Cook. There was an alarming lack of intensity from India, both with the ball and in the field, as they failed to make any use of the overcast conditions. Sreesanth’s first spell was poor with too many deliveries on leg stump which ensured the scoreboard kept ticking over with Cook, for the time being at least, taking his average over 50.India showed slightly more energy during the second hour – although everything is relative – and Strauss had his most uncomfortable moment when he was struck on the helmet by an Ishant Sharma bouncer that took a chunk out of the lid. From that moment Strauss was more reluctant to get forward, but was still able to play a beautiful off drive against Sreesanth.Ishant remained the pick of the three quicks, probing away outside off and finding a touch of troubling bounce, but there were few alarms for the openers. Even with two left-handers at the crease it was a surprise when Suresh Raina’s part-time offspin was used ahead of Amit Mishra who removed Strauss at Edgbaston.Earlier, James Anderson had been passed fit to take his place in the England side as they remained unchanged. A thigh niggle had created doubts about his fitness, but he came through a net on Wednesday so Graham Onions or Steven Finn, who left to play for Middlesex against Kent, were not required. On the evidence of the first session, and with the impact of the weather, Anderson might not be needed until well into the weekend.

David Warner is confident he is much better prepared for one-day international cricket than he was when he last played for Australia more than two years ago

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2011David Warner is confident he is much better prepared for one-day international cricket than he was when he last played for Australia more than two years ago. Warner has been picked in the ODI squad to take on South Africa in October and he could be auditioning for a long-term role in the side as they embark on the lengthy path to the 2015 World Cup, while he also hopes it could be a stepping stone towards Test cricket.He last played ODI cricket in a one-off match against Scotland in August 2009, after making six other appearances earlier that year during the home summer. Warner didn’t grasp his one-day opportunities, and by his own admission struggled to adjust from Twenty20 to the 50-over format, but he has now developed so much that he was a standby player in the Test squad during the recent series in Sri Lanka.”I’m definitely more mature this time around,” Warner said after learning of his call-up while in India playing for New South Wales in the Champions League. “I know what I’ve got to do and I know what to expect. I know the opposition that we’re coming up against and I know exactly what I could be up against with Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn. I’ve just got to go out there and play the way I play and hopefully I can score some runs.”Back then [in 2009] … I thought I had to go out there and play the way I did in the Twenty20, like I did in my debut. It all just went so quickly. Now I’ve realised what one-day cricket is all about: setting the tone from the start and trying to make your way to the latter part of the overs. I’ve learnt a lot in the last couple of years, speaking to the likes of Michael Clarke and Shane Watson about one-day cricket has helped me a lot.”Warner’s recent form was described by the outgoing chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch as “irresistible” and it’s hard to disagree. After finishing the Sheffield Shield season with a century in Perth, he headed to Zimbabwe with Australia A and made 152 in a practice match, 120 in a one-day game and 211 in a first-class match.”It was a thrill for me to get picked for Australia A in the four-day stuff as well, and to put runs on the board there was a fantastic opportunity for me to show the selectors what I can do and show everyone else that I’m not just a T20 specialist. I’m thoroughly going to take this opportunity into the one-dayers and the Twenty20s and score more runs, and hopefully get a Test spot in the near future.”The Australians head to South Africa in early October, ahead of two Twenty20s and three one-day internationals. The squad for the two Tests that follow in November will be announced in the coming weeks.

The cash-strapped Sri Lanka Cricket has handed over three international stadiums to the military

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2011Three of Sri Lanka’s international venues, including the newly built stadiums in Pallekele and Hambantota, have been handed over to the military indefinitely. The move comes as Sri Lanka Cricket is battling costs on several fronts.The R Premadasa stadium in Colombo – redeveloped for the World Cup earlier this year – is being taken by the air force. The navy has taken over the Pallekele Stadium, near Kandy, while the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota has gone to the army.The grounds in Hambantota and Pallekele, built at a combined cost of nearly US$ 11.79m, were finished just before the World Cup, which Sri Lanka co-hosted with India and Bangladesh. The R Premadasa Stadium was renovated at a cost of nearly US$8m. The country hosted 12 matches in the tournament.The World Cup had left Sri Lanka Cricket in debt to the tune of $23 million thanks to cost overruns and heavy expenses incurred in building the stadiums, and the board had to ask for a grant from the Sri Lanka government. The board has not paid some of its players since the tournament.

Delhi Daredevils finished at the bottom of the pile after a heavy downpour forced the game to be abandoned after Delhi struggled through to reach 56 for 3 from 10.1 overs

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera21-May-2011Match abandoned
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Rain stopped the dead rubber after 10.1 overs•Associated PressAnd so it’s Delhi Daredevils who finish at the bottom of the pile. A heavy downpour forced the game to be abandoned after Delhi struggled to reach 56 for 3 after 10.1 overs against Pune Warriors.Delhi just lurched along aimlessly before the rain saved them from further embarrassment. David Warner offered brief respite to the Delhi fans with a pulled six off Alfonso Thomas and a six over long-on against IPL debutant James Faulkner. That was it, and Pune controlled the rest of the game. Pune, in their first IPL season, finished ninth in the league, ahead of Delhi on net run-rate.Faulkner had a good night bowling his left arm seamers. He delivered a lovely slower yorker – released from back of the hand – to knock out Warner and bowled a couple of jaffas that kicked up from a length at Matthew Wade. Another IPL debutant Shrikant Mundhe struck in his first over to end the misery of Naman Ojha, who had missed more than he connected. Mitchell Marsh produced a yorker to terminate Wade’s limp innings. Then the clouds opened up. Game over.

Sunderland reportedly now risk losing Ross Stewart in the summer, as per journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Play-off hero

Stewart bagged the only goal of the game as Alex Neil’s team won 1-0 in the first leg of their play-off semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday at the Stadium of Light on Friday night.

The striker put in a very impressive performance, winning a joint player-high 13 of his duels and making three key passes, while he also recorded one successful dribble, clearance, interception and tackle (SofaScore).

The Latest: Rangers interest

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, O’Rourke has shared that Glasgow Rangers are now ‘keeping tabs’ on Stewart ahead of a potential love this summer, and it would be ‘hard’ for him to reject their advances:

“It looks like he’s obviously on their wanted list, Ross Stewart. It’s been talked about now for quite a few weeks that Rangers are keeping tabs on him.

“If Rangers do come calling, it’s going to be hard for somebody like Ross Stewart – a Scottish player – to turn down their advances.”

The Verdict: Worrying

It is certainly worrying for the Wearside club and its supporters that the Gers could come calling for Stewart.

He has been nothing short of ‘incredible‘ this season, as Black Cats legend Kevin Phillips points out, and so would be very difficult to replace.

Given the size of Rangers, and the fact that they have reached the UEFA Europa League final, with a spot in the Champions League up for grabs for the winner, it is hard to see Stewart turning them down if an offer came in, and so the board must do everything in their power to try and keep him.

In other news, find out what big dilemma SAFC now face here!

Tasmania’s squad has had a significant overhaul ahead of next season as they aim to defend the Sheffield Shield title with a new-look group

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jun-2011Tasmania’s squad has had a significant overhaul ahead of next season as they aim to defend the Sheffield Shield title with a new-look group. Nine players are gone from last year’s contract list, including the fast bowlers Brett Geeves, Adam Griffith and Gerard Denton, who have all retired, and Tim Macdonald, who has been delisted.Also cut from the squad were the opening batsmen Jon Wells and Rhett Lockyear, the wicketkeeper Brady Jones and the rookie bowler Hamish Kingston, while the batsman Travis Birt has headed to Western Australia. The Victorian allrounder Evan Gulbis has joined the Tigers, along with Matt Johnston from Western Australia and Jackson Bird from New South Wales.The gloveman Tom Triffitt has been upgraded from a rookie deal to a full contract, effectively making him the backup to Tim Paine, while Nick Kruger and Matthew Day have also been named in the squad. Sandy Rogers, from New South Wales, has been given a rookie deal, as have the Tasmanian duo of Sam Rainbird and Marc Simonds.”I am really comfortable with our new signings and the list that we have put together for 2011-12,” the coach Tim Coyle said. “We have obviously cut some players from the squad, lost some to retirement at the end of 2010-11 and have also recruited from interstate, but we are also backing our outstanding local talent to keep the Tasmanian Tigers at the top of Australian domestic cricket.”We have some experienced players on the list who will play big roles for us, but we must not forget that we have an exciting bunch of young cricketers as well, and we are committed to seeing these young players get opportunities to play at the highest level throughout the upcoming season. I feel that we have got our list right with a mix that will set us up for years to come, and with five Tasmanians with Cricket Australia contracts I think the current strength of Tasmanian cricket is evident.”Tasmania squad George Bailey, Jackson Bird, Luke Butterworth, Steven Cazzulino, Mark Cosgrove, Ed Cowan, Matthew Day, Xavier Doherty (Cricket Australia contract), Alex Doolan, Brendan Drew, James Faulkner, Evan Gulbis, Ben Hilfenhaus (CA), Matt Johnston, Jason Krejza (CA), Nick Kruger, Adam Maher, Tim Paine (CA), Ricky Ponting (CA), Tom Triffitt.Rookies Ashton May, Sam Rainbird, Sandy Rogers, Jeremy Smith, Marc Simonds.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy said that batting till the final over of the innings, despite the clutch of early wickets, made the difference for his team in the fourth ODI in Mirpur

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur07-Dec-2012West Indies captain Darren Sammy said that batting till the final over of the innings, despite the clutch of early wickets, made the difference for his team in the fourth ODI in Mirpur. They fought their way to 211 for 9 after losing half their side by the 24th over, and that total eventually proved to be too big for a Bangladesh line-up that looked all at sea against quality pace bowling.”Looking at the way the game was unfolding, I always told myself that if we bat till the end we stand the chance of scoring 190-plus,” Sammy said. “It is about applying yourself in the middle. My partnership with [Darren] Bravo was crucial. We just said ‘let us try to bat deep’.”We wanted to have a go in the last four overs. We kept losing wickets, so we had to push [launching the final surge] back. But it proved today that 212 runs was a lot [to chase] on that wicket.”Sammy’s all-round performance was, ultimately, the difference between the two sides. He held firm with the bat after West Indies had fallen to 102 for 6 in the 32nd over from the relative comfort of 71 for 1 just an hour before. He took stock of the situation and batted calmly with Darren Bravo, the pair adding 43 runs for the seventh wicket. Bravo was caught and bowled by offspinner Sohag Gazi, one of several poorly-timed dismissals for West Indies, in the 43rd over.Sammy then had the likes of Veerasammy Permaul and Sunil Narine for company but, even now, rather risking hitting out and allowing his team to be bowled out, he kept his head. He only launched in the last three overs of the innings, taking 35 valuable runs. He did have a life, being dropped at deep-square leg on 30 when West Indies were 168 for 8, and he made it count for his team.”Last game it was Marlon [Samuels], today it is me. It is about players putting their hands up and doing what matters for the team,” Sammy said. “As a leader, you always try to lead from the front. It gives you a good feeling inside. It won’t happen all the time because it is a team sport but when you do it, it feels good.”Sammy also made a major contribution with the ball, removing Anamul Haque and Naeem Islam off successive balls in his first over before accounting for Mominul Haque in his third over. He took advantage of the Bangladesh batsmen’s impatience. With Kemar Roach, his opening partner, he had reduced Bangladesh to 13 for 5 by the sixth over, and the series-levelling win was all but confirmed.West Indies thrived by attacking with pace and short pitched bowling up front and, today, the spinners did the other half of the job. The bowling unit’s showing pleased Sammy: “Our pacers have been taking the wickets throughout the Test series. In this game the ball was carrying nicely, maybe because of the dew. We all know Kemar bowls 90-plus miles per hour. Even [Dwayne] Smith did a good job. Sunny [Narine] and [Veerasammy] Permaul got some spin. All the bowlers put their hands up.”Saturday’s game now, for all intents and purposes, is a final, and West Indies are in the ascendancy. The pressure was on them when they returned to Dhaka from Khulna 2-0 down, and they have turned their form around as they would have liked. “It was a must-win game for us, I’m just happy that the team did what they had to do to win,” Sammy said. “We have had good days in the Test series, the last [one-day] match … We did what we had to do today, which is level the series. It sets up a big final tomorrow.”