ICC President David Morgan wants a resumption of India-Pakistan bilateral cricketing ties.
He feels the on-field rivalry between the two countries is as big as the Ashes.
Morgan said he wants to help revive cricket ties between the two countries which were suspended in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008.
"One of the things I am working on is trying to persuade the BCCI that they should play more bilateral matches against Pakistan as opposed to just in ICC events," Morgan told 'The News'.
"This is because Pakistan versus India is equivalent to the Ashes. It is very important for both countries that they renew their rivalry on the cricket field in Tests. I am very hopefully they will," he added.
Morgan said the way cricket has suffered due to the volatile security situation in Pakistan remains a matter of concern.
"We are concerned with the fact that Pakistan is going through tough times because of the security situation in their country," Morgan said.
"The ICC is determined that Pakistan should be assisted.
"Pakistan is an extremely important cricketing nation, a very important part of the ICC. It is an important part from world cricket's point of view that Pakistan is not isolated," he added.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has been asking the BCCI to get permission from its government to resume bilateral ties in a short one-day or Twenty20 series sometime this year.
"There was this belief in Pakistan that the ICC was trying to isolate them which is not true at all. There was this belief that they were being removed as hosts this was not true as well. We couldn't stage the 14 World Cup matches in Pakistan but the hosting rights remain with them," Morgan said.
Kotla may lose 2011 WC matches The Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi appears to be in real danger of losing the rights to host their share of matches in the 2011 World Cup.
ICC Match Referee Alan Hurst has reportedly classified the pitch "unfit" in his report to the world governing body after Sunday's fisaco that led to the abandondment of the ODI between India and Sri Lanka.
Hurst's classification is the harshest among the six available categories- very good, good, above average, below average, poor and unfit.
Had Hurst even termed the Kotla picth "poor", the DDCA could have got away with a fine. However, with the current turn of events, the capital stands to lose the World Cup matches in.
"This pitch did not meet the requirements for an ODI match," Hurst is quoted by the Hindustan Times as saying in his report. "This meant the players were unsure of what the ball would do. Playing shots was risky because of the unpredictable bounce. However, of more concern was the dangerous bounce that occurred randomly and accounted for batsmen being struck on a number of occasions.
"At the other extreme, bounce was often very low. This pitch did not allow players to play with any confidence and was totally unsuitable for international cricket."
The report has already been forwarded to the BCCI by the ICC. The Indian cricket Board now has 14 days to reply to the charges. The Kotla may well be banned from hosting any international fixture for the next 12 months as punishment.
"India can't stay on top for long" They may be numero uno for now but former Australian captain Ian Chappell says India do not have the bowling strength to stay at the top on a long-term basis.
"I don't think great teams are built on opening batting partnerships. But to me, there is a far more important thing, and this is one reason why I don't rate India as a long-term No.1, " Chappell said.
"I think you have got to have two champion bowlers in your line-up to be a long-term successful cricket team. That is where India is falling down at the moment," he pointed out.
Chappell said Indians do not even have one champion bowler in their line-up.
"When I look at the averages and the strike-rates for India in the last 12 months, I don't see two champion bowlers.
"In fact, I am struggling to find one champion bowler in that line-up.
"They've got some good bowlers. Sure, they have got a very good batting line-up, but the bowling is really not good enough to see them win consistently all around the world," he said.
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Out of the 20 Tests India have played in the past two years, they have won nine and lost three. Three of the wins have come against Australia but Chappell said those triumphs were after the Aussies lost stalwarts like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist.
"I would have thought it was a greater achievement if they had caught up with Australia while Australia was still very much a great side, rather than waiting for Australia to come back to the field," Chappell said.
"That to me has been the disappointing thing. It seems to me that the other teams have almost thrown their hands and said that 'it's hard to beat them, we will just wait for them to fall back and then we will catch them'," he added.
India became world number dislodging Australia after beating Sri Lanka 2-0 in a three-Test home series last month.
ICC President David Morgan wants a resumption of India-Pakistan bilateral cricketing ties.
ReplyDeleteHe feels the on-field rivalry between the two countries is as big as the Ashes.
Morgan said he wants to help revive cricket ties between the two countries which were suspended in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008.
"One of the things I am working on is trying to persuade the BCCI that they should play more bilateral matches against Pakistan as opposed to just in ICC events," Morgan told 'The News'.
"This is because Pakistan versus India is equivalent to the Ashes. It is very important for both countries that they renew their rivalry on the cricket field in Tests. I am very hopefully they will," he added.
Morgan said the way cricket has suffered due to the volatile security situation in Pakistan remains a matter of concern.
"We are concerned with the fact that Pakistan is going through tough times because of the security situation in their country," Morgan said.
"The ICC is determined that Pakistan should be assisted.
"Pakistan is an extremely important cricketing nation, a very important part of the ICC. It is an important part from world cricket's point of view that Pakistan is not isolated," he added.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has been asking the BCCI to get permission from its government to resume bilateral ties in a short one-day or Twenty20 series sometime this year.
"There was this belief in Pakistan that the ICC was trying to isolate them which is not true at all. There was this belief that they were being removed as hosts this was not true as well. We couldn't stage the 14 World Cup matches in Pakistan but the hosting rights remain with them," Morgan said.
Kotla may lose 2011 WC matches
ReplyDeleteThe Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi appears to be in real danger of losing the rights to host their share of matches in the 2011 World Cup.
ICC Match Referee Alan Hurst has reportedly classified the pitch "unfit" in his report to the world governing body after Sunday's fisaco that led to the abandondment of the ODI between India and Sri Lanka.
Hurst's classification is the harshest among the six available categories- very good, good, above average, below average, poor and unfit.
Had Hurst even termed the Kotla picth "poor", the DDCA could have got away with a fine. However, with the current turn of events, the capital stands to lose the World Cup matches in.
"This pitch did not meet the requirements for an ODI match," Hurst is quoted by the Hindustan Times as saying in his report. "This meant the players were unsure of what the ball would do. Playing shots was risky because of the unpredictable bounce. However, of more concern was the dangerous bounce that occurred randomly and accounted for batsmen being struck on a number of occasions.
"At the other extreme, bounce was often very low. This pitch did not allow players to play with any confidence and was totally unsuitable for international cricket."
The report has already been forwarded to the BCCI by the ICC. The Indian cricket Board now has 14 days to reply to the charges. The Kotla may well be banned from hosting any international fixture for the next 12 months as punishment.
"India can't stay on top for long"
ReplyDeleteThey may be numero uno for now but former Australian captain Ian Chappell says India do not have the bowling strength to stay at the top on a long-term basis.
"I don't think great teams are built on opening batting partnerships. But to me, there is a far more important thing, and this is one reason why I don't rate India as a long-term No.1, " Chappell said.
"I think you have got to have two champion bowlers in your line-up to be a long-term successful cricket team. That is where India is falling down at the moment," he pointed out.
Chappell said Indians do not even have one champion bowler in their line-up.
"When I look at the averages and the strike-rates for India in the last 12 months, I don't see two champion bowlers.
"In fact, I am struggling to find one champion bowler in that line-up.
"They've got some good bowlers. Sure, they have got a very good batting line-up, but the bowling is really not good enough to see them win consistently all around the world," he said.
Spotted with your favourite sportstar? Share your images with your sporting heroes on fanspeak@espnstar.co.in and we will put them up on the site. Here is your chance to mark your presence.
Out of the 20 Tests India have played in the past two years, they have won nine and lost three. Three of the wins have come against Australia but Chappell said those triumphs were after the Aussies lost stalwarts like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist.
"I would have thought it was a greater achievement if they had caught up with Australia while Australia was still very much a great side, rather than waiting for Australia to come back to the field," Chappell said.
"That to me has been the disappointing thing. It seems to me that the other teams have almost thrown their hands and said that 'it's hard to beat them, we will just wait for them to fall back and then we will catch them'," he added.
India became world number dislodging Australia after beating Sri Lanka 2-0 in a three-Test home series last month.