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News for
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Friday, May 09, 2008
Giles may use negative bowling
against Sachin
SOUTHAMPTON, July 19: Batting maestro
Sachin Tendulkar would be mistaken to believe he has left the
frustrating experience of facing spinner Ashley Giles firmly
behind in India as more of it is coming in the four-Test series
against England starting next week. "We are in the business to
entertain but we are also out there to win. Bowling over the
wicket you do cut down your options. People say its a negative
strategy, but it can be used to attack," Giles said in an
interview. Giles, who repeatedly bowled down the leg side to
Tendulkar denying him the chance to play orthodox strokes during
the Test series played in India earlier this year, said the ploy
was successful to some extent as it slowed down the little master.
"I did it to slow him down. He still scored heavily but not as
quickly," Giles confessed. The tactics came in for a lot of
criticism from cricket writers and was even compared to Bodyline
Series of the 1930s when England captain Douglas Jardine asked
fast bowler Harold Larwood to aim at Australian batsmen's ribs and
chest, rather than the stumps, in a bid to curb the genius of late
Sir Donald Bradman. More than 70 per cent of Giles' deliveries to
Tendulkar in India were pitched outside leg stump and it was
extremely controversial in the final Test at Bangalore when only
two of Giles' 204 balls in the first innings were bowled from
around the wicket. "Bowling over the wicket you do cut down your
options by not being able to get him (Tendulkar) out leg before or
bowled and people say it is more of a negative option," Giles
said. "There are men around the bat to catch him. Obviously, you
are trying to wear him down, stop him from scoring and wait for
him to make a mistake." The frustration appeared to get the better
of Tendulkar at least in the final Test when he was stumped for
the first time in his career by wicketkeeper James Foster.
Tendulkar took no less than 198 balls to reach to his 90 in that
innings as England worked out in precision the methods to curb the
genius of the little man - asking Giles to persist with his
run-denying methods and setting the rule for its medium-pacers to
pitch way beyond the off-stump and keep a packed offside field.
The star batsman though couldn't be curbed entirely and he still
scored 307 runs from four Test innings, taking his career
aggregate against England to 1282 runs from 13 Tests with five
centuries at a high average of 80.13 per innings. "The left-arm
spinners bowl over the wicket when there is no turn in the main
part of the pitch so you can pitch it in the rough," Giles
explained. With Tendulkar's patience driven up the wall, India
struggled to post imposing totals in the series and England wore
them down to the extent they came close to losing the Bangalore
Test and squandering their 1-0 lead. England captain Nasser
Hussain used this to get back at his critics and said it was
important for him as a captain to see his side do well rather than
seek the approval of experts. "If I get criticised for restricting
the opposition to 200-plus totals, I would take it any day,"
Hussain had declared defiantly on his tactics in India. Now Giles
is ready to back his theory again even though he is not closing
his options of employing more conventional methods against
Tendulkar and the rest of the Indian batsmen. But the lanky left
arm spinner believes Tendulkar exacted his revenge at
Chester-le-Steet in a day-night NatWest triangular series match
against England earlier this month. Tendulkar, in that masterly
innings of 105, had stepped outside the line of his stumps to give
himself room and hit Giles repeatedly over extra cover or coming
inside and heaving him to the midwicket boundary. Giles has no
doubt Tendulkar's aggression was his way of getting even against
him and exorcise the memory of that final Test in Bangalore. "I'm
sure he got a little bit of criticism and developed some self
doubts when I bowled into the rough in India," said Giles. Giles
got his revenge back quickly enough when he clean bowled Tendulkar
in the final of the NatWest series at Lord's last week as the
maestro once again made room for a slash on the off-side only to
see his stumps in disarray. Giles though is not closing his
options and understands he needs to vary his bowling strategies to
wear down Tendulkar further in the forthcoming Test series. The
England bowler, in order to do so, would review the video footage
of Tendulkar playing the left-arm spin of Zimbabwe's Raymond Price
who, using more conventional methods, dismissed Tendulkar three
times in the two match series in India in February. "It is
important we mix it up because he adapts so quickly," said Giles.
Giles has played only four of his 15 Tests in England and not
quite successfully as his eight wickets in his own country have
come at a high average of 50.50. As if this is not enough, he is
now up against a batting line up which laps up spin bowling like
nothing else in international cricket. "I'm no Shane Warne or
Muthiah Muralitharan and I will have to be on top of my game,"
said Giles. "My job may be slightly different, there probably
would not be the long spells and probably more of a holding job,"
he said. "The advantage for us on our wickets is that hopefully
they will bounce a bit and seam a bit." Giles realised besides
Tendulkar, he would have to contend with Sourav Ganguly, Rahul
Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag. "Ganguly will punish you
if you give him room so I should mix it up by going over and
around the wicket and tighten him up." "Sehwag is very similar to
Tendulkar but not in his class. He likes the board to be ticking
over so you are always in the game," he said. "Dravid is very
orthodox, a very English type of batsman who uses English options,
so the plan would be similar to what I bowl normally. Laxman likes
to score quickly so you always get a chance."
Waughs not in Australia A side for South
Africa
SYDNEY,
July 19: Steve and Mark Waugh's chances of playing in
next year's cricket World Cup further receded on Friday when they
were left out of the Australia A one-day side to tour South Africa
in September. The Australian Cricket Board announced a 14-man
squad to play seven one-dayers in South Africa with the purpose of
broadening Australia's depth at one-day level ahead of the World
Cup, which will be played in South Africa in February-March next
year. Less than six months ago Steve Waugh was the captain of the
one-day side and now he is not counted among the top 28 players in
the country. Test opener Justin Langer, 31, will captain the side
and is the oldest player in the team. The Waugh twins are 37.
Australia A squad - Justin Langer (captain), Simon Katich, Greg
Blewett, Nathan Bracken, Ryan Campbell, Michael Clarke, Stuart
Clark, Ian Harvey, Mark Higgs, Brad Hogg, Michael Hussey, Andrew
Symonds, Brad Williams, Damien Wright
I am
part of history now, says Yuvraj
MUMBAI, July 19: Everything beautiful
starts with a dream... Dreams are the cornerstones of many
glorious achievements. And there have been few greater
accomplishments in Indian cricket than the momentous and, to use a
term closer home, Lagaan-esque win at Lord’s on the July 13. “If
you don’t dream, you win nothing,” said Yuvraj Singh on his return
from Old Blighty. “You’ve to dream and work towards realising
them,” he added, whose dreams took seed early when his father took
away his skates and tennis racquet, and handed him a cricket kit.
But the road to the realisation of his dreams wasn’t just a
boulevard of roses. It had thorns too. “I learnt early that all of
us will have our good and bad times. And I knew the bad days were
just a passing phase. I worked hard, played domestic cricket,
talked to my seniors and tried to improve.” And today, he is the
toast of a nation and the tomorrow of Indian cricket. Simply put,
as he says, he is part of history. “The win (at the Lord’s final)
was something unbelievable. No one could have imagined we would
win from the situation we did. I think I am part of history,” he
said. He went on. “When Sachin got out, it was a shock for
everyone, including me. But I believed if we (Kaif and he) could
stay till the 45th over, we could achieve the target. And that’s
what I told Kaif. We were positive right through.” And Yuvraj was
effusive in his praise of Kaif, who captained him during the 2000
junior World Cup in Sri Lanka. “We’ve been playing together for
five, six years and know each other’s game. We run well between
the wickets and, most importantly, we trust each other’s
abilities. “So we decided to set ourselves targets for every five
overs, with rebuilding the innings our priority. We ran our
singles and twos hard and once we had put on 50 runs or so, we
started accelerating,” added Yuvraj. If not for the injury, Yuvraj
would have still been in England. “I was looking forward to the
Test series as I wanted to make a mark on the longer version of
the game as well. But I guess I will have to take it in my stride
as injuries are part and parcel of a sportsman’s career,” he said,
adding that the injury would take three weeks to heal. And as he
basks in glory, he doesn’t forget his captain, Sourav Ganguly, who
has battled for him even at times when it seemed a losing cause.
“Sourav has been a great captain. He has always had confidence in
us and would confide in us. I am happy to have repaid his faith in
us,” said Yuvraj. He also defended his captain for his ‘open’ show
of emotion when he took off his jersey, flinging it over his head
as he screamed bare-chested from the Lord’s balcony. “It was just
a spontaneous show of emotion. It was a great moment for us and
each of us reacted in our own way. It (Sourav’s reaction) wasn’t
supposed to offend anyone and that’s how it should be taken. “This
is the way the sport is being played nowadays and I think we
should not look at it in a critical way,” said Yuvraj, adding that
he hoped he could continue his consistent performances. But
winning a Cup final at the Mecca of cricket isn’t the end of his
dreams. “Playing together and performing at the right moments is
what is more important.”
Kaif bails India
'A' out of trouble
ARUNDEL, July 18: Mohammad Kaif once
again played saviour as he pulled Indians out of trouble with a
fine innings of 77 against West Indies 'A' on the final day of the
three-day match here on Thursday. Kaif, India's hero in the
NatWest trophy final last week, played a matured innings as
Indians in their second innings were all out for 255 by tea, a
lead of 242 runs after they had conceded a 13-run lead in the
first innings. Kaif was the last man out when he hoisted Jermaine
Lawson to long on after hitting eight fours and a six in his
127-ball knock that lasted 158 minutes. For West Indies 'A' Lawson
was the most successful bowler claiming six wickets for 76 runs
while Reong King bagged a couple. To clinch an upset victory the
West Indies 'A' require to make 243 from 40 overs in the final
session. India had declared at 253 for seven in their first
innings yesterday and the Caribbeans replied scoring 266. Earlier,
resuming at their overnight 87 for three in their second knock
Indians had slumped to 163 for six at lunch today. Kaif not out on
24 at lunch, perked up the innings which was in shambles at 149
for six, put on 85 runs for the seventh wicket with Dinesh Mongia
(27) to sail Indians to a safe score. But he lacked support as
Mongia (27) wasted a good base. Ajit Agarkar departed next leg
before off the first ball he faced and Harbhajan Singh (5) snicked
one to the 'keeper to hasten the end of the Indian innings.
Scoreboard: Indians 1st innings: 253-7 decl. West Indies 'A' 1st
innings: 266 Indians 2nd innings: S S Das c Hibbert b King 0 W
Jaffer c Hinds b Lawson 52 S Bangar lbw b Lawson 27 A Ratra c sub
b Hinds 8 P Patel c Simmons b Lawson 20 V V S Laxman c Simmons b
Black 17 M Kaif c Ganga b Lawson 77 D Mongia c Black b Lawson 27 A
Agarkar lbw b Lawson 0 Harbhajan Singh c Simmons b King 5 T
Yohannan not out 0 Extras (b-8, lb-5, w-2, nb-7) 22 Total (all
out, 77.4 overs) 255 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-63, 3-86, 4-115,
5-130, 6-149, 7-234, 8-234, 9-253. Bowling: King 18-2-62-2, Black
16-3-56-1, Lawson 22.4-4-76-6, Ryan Hinds 19-4-42-1, Gayle
2-0-6-0.
Yuvraj disappointed at missing
Test series
MUMBAI,
July 18: Yuvraj Singh, who scripted India's sensational
victory against England at the Lords, said that he was
disappointed to miss the forthcoming four-match Test series
against England due to injury. Speaking to reporters soon after
his arrival here late Wednesday night, the dashing middle order
batsman from Punjab said, "I was looking forward to the Test
series as I wanted to make a mark on the longer version of the
game as well, but when I chipped a bone in the little finger
during the final, I was really disappointed". Yuvraj Singh,
originally picked up for the triangular series only, came close to
selection for the Test series following his stupendous performance
with the bat. But he was forced to return home after sustaining
the injury. However, he said "I guess I will have to take it in my
stride as injuries are part and parcel of a sportsman's career".
Speaking about the final which India won by two wickets last
Saturday, he said "we got a jolt when Sachin got out and were
reduced to 146 for five. However, Mohammed Kaif and I were
positive that we could get the target if we played sensibly. "Our
main task was to rebuild the innings". "We ran our singles and
twos pretty hard and once we had put on 50 runs, we could
accelerate quite comfortably", Yuvraj Singh said. "Of course I
felt very bad not to have played till the end but at the same time
I had to go for my shots as the run-rate required was seven plus",
he said. When asked about the reaction in the dressing room, he
said "skipper Sourav Ganguly, was very happy. In fact it felt very
good to be appreciated by senior members like Sachin Tendulkar,
Rahul Dravid and Sourav because the faith they had on us (the
youngsters) paid off at last". About his future plans, the 20-year
old said "It will take two to three weeks to recover completely
and I would like to be fit for the champions trophy in Sri Lanka
in the second week of September".
England
delay naming squad for first Test
LONDON, July 18: England have delayed
naming their squad for next week's first Test against India
because of injury problems, the England and Wales Cricket Board
said. The 13-man squad was due to be announced on Thursday but
selectors want more time following injuries to opener Marcus
Trescothick and paceman Andrew Caddick. Trescothick fractured his
thumb playing for his county Somerset in a limited overs match on
Wednesday, while county team mate Caddick is still troubled by a
side strain. Alex Tudor is struggling with shin splints and fellow
paceman Darren Gough has only just returned to action after knee
surgery. The ECB said they would shortly issue a revised timetable
for the squad announcement. The first Test begins at Lords on July
25.
Trescothick to miss series, Caddick
1st Test
LONDON,
July 18: England’s star opening batsman Marcus
Trescothick looks like missing the whole Test series with India
after he cracked his left thumb on Wednesday. To add more misery
to England’s preparations Trescothick’s Somerset teammate and
leading paceman Andy Caddick was also ruled out of the first Test
because of a rib injury. The England vice-captain, who was named
player of the recent one day triangular series, suffered the
injury during the Trophy limited overs quarter-final between
Somerset and Worcestershire. Trescothick left the field clutching
his hand when he stopped a fierce cover drive from former England
batsman Graeme Hick. “Hick should be charged with treason for
damaging one of England’s finest!” joked Somerset chief executive
Peter Anderson to Sky Sports. “He is having the bone pinned at the
moment and we expect him to be out for between six to 10 weeks.
He’s distressed as one can imagine but that sadly is part and
parcel of professional sport,” he added. Likely candidates to
replace the cavalier batsman are veterans Mark Ramprakash and John
Crawley, the latter having played in the opening series against
Sri Lanka. Ian Bell could also come into consideration.
Trescothick’s injury came on the same day that Caddick was left
out of the side as he continued to struggle with the rib injury.
England paceman Caddick sustained a side strain during the third
Test victory over Sri Lanka at Old Trafford last month and failed
a fitness test, definitely ruling him out of next week’s series
opener against India. “He had a fitness test and didn’t come
through it too well,” said Somerset coach Kevin Shine. “He still
has a couple of weeks of rehab to do. There are four Tests left
and maybe he can get in a couple at the end,” Shine added. “You
cannot afford to come back too early from a rib injury — if you do
then you could be in real trouble,” said Shine, himself a former
county pace bowler.
Fiery Agarkar scalps
four
ARUNDEL (England),
July 18: A rollicking century stand for the fifth wicket
between Ryan Hinds and Dwayne Bravo lifted West Indies ‘A’ to 236
for 7 at tea on the second day of their three-day match against
Indians here on Wednesday. Rescuing West Indies from 109 for 4, on
a wicket that offered swing to the Indian medium pacers, Hinds
(62) and Bravo (55) completely transformed the innings with some
savage batting which produced 148 runs in the post lunch session.
The duo added 101 runs in quick time. At lunch, West Indies ‘A’
were 88 for 3. Bravo was particularly severe on off-spinner
Harbhajan Singh, introduced into the attack in the 33rd over with
the total reading 123 for four, who conceded 62 runs from his 10
overs. In the end the bowler had his revenge, trapping Bravo leg
before wicket for 55. Smith (69) was run out, at the start of the
second session ending an entertaining innings. Smith cut Bangar
hard to gully where Jaffer spilled the uppish chance but flicked
the ball to Harbhajan at point who missed a throw at the
non-striker’s end. Agarkar backing up from mid-on still managed to
run out Simth with an accurate throw. Agarkar, who rocked the West
Indies ‘A’ in the morning with a two wicket burst, picked up his
third when he won a leg before shout against Chris Gayle (0).
Hinds became Agarkar’s fourth victim when on 62 edging the ball to
wicket-keeper Ajay Ratra. Scoreboard: India, 1st inngs: 253-7 decl
West Indies ‘A’, 1st inngs: D. Ganga c Ratra b Agarkar 4, D Smith
run out 69, D Pagan lbw b Agarkar 0, L Simmons c Ratra b Yohannan
4, R Hinds c Ratra b Agarkar 62, D Bravo lbw b Harbhajan 55, C
Gayle lbw b Agarkar 0, K Hibbert batting 17, Extras (b-7, lb-5,
w-9, nb-4) 25, Total (for 7 wkts, 52.1 overs) 236, Fall of wkts:
1-22, 2-25, 3-64, 4-109, 5-210, 6-211, 7-236, Bowling: Agarkar
15.1-3-54-4, Yohannan 13-2-63-1, Bangar 13-1-38-0, Harbhajan
10-1-62-1, D Mongia 1-0-7-0.
Kapil hails
Ganguly’s captaincy
KOLKATA, July 18: The emergence of at
least six match-winners is a heartening but it’s too early to read
into Indian prospects for the World Cup, feels Kapil Dev. He was
in the city on a promotional tour for a TV channel as its brand
ambassador. Applauding Sourav Ganguly & Co. for their
stupendous win at the Lord’s, Kapil said alongwith the big three —
Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid — Kaif, Yuvraj and Sehwag have shown
their ability to win matches. “It’s winning which is important,
not the individuals who are setting it up. The team has been
peaking early as there is still a lot of cricket to come before
the Cup, but to keep on losing would have been bad for the
morale,” he said.
Kapil hails Ganguly’s
captaincy
KOLKATA, July
18: The emergence of at least six match-winners is a
heartening but it’s too early to read into Indian prospects for
the World Cup, feels Kapil Dev. He was in the city on a
promotional tour for a TV channel as its brand ambassador.
Applauding Sourav Ganguly & Co. for their stupendous win at
the Lord’s, Kapil said alongwith the big three — Tendulkar,
Ganguly and Dravid — Kaif, Yuvraj and Sehwag have shown their
ability to win matches. “It’s winning which is important, not the
individuals who are setting it up. The team has been peaking early
as there is still a lot of cricket to come before the Cup, but to
keep on losing would have been bad for the morale,” he said.
Captains should show
restraint: Kapil
KOLKATA, July 17: Cricketing legend Kapil Dev
today took exception to skipper Sourav Ganguly's act of stripping
off his shirt after the incredible victory against England in the
NatWest series final, saying captains should learn to keep their
emotions under control. "A captain getting carried away is quite
normal, but then he should also know how to show his emotions,"
Kapil told a press conference here. "I was taken aback when he
took off his shirt, though I know it was an emotional outburst,"
he said. Kapil, who led India to the World Cup title at the same
venue in 1983, said his reaction had nothing to do with the
'sanctity' of Lord's. "Had such an act been done by a youngster, I
wouldn't have minded. But Ganguly is after all the skipper".
Kapil, however, hastened to add that cricket had changed a lot
since his playing days. "May be, twenty years from now nobody
would bother about such things". Ganguly's act of taking off his
shirt and waving it to the crowd from the balcony of the dressing
room after the two-wicket win last Saturday has come in for
criticism from some quarters. However, Cricket Board President
Jagmohan Dalmiya yesterday strongly defended Ganguly's action,
saying it was only an emotional outpouring after an unbelievable
victory.
ICC puts best leg
forward over umpires
mistakes
LONDON, July 16:
Cricket's governing body the International Cricket
Council (ICC) revealed here Monday umpires would be able to use TV
replays over leg before wicket decisions at September's Champions
Trophy in Sri Lanka. ICC cricket manager Dave Richardson said lbw
provoked most errors among umpires and needed to be addressed.
"LBW will be one of the areas where umpires can consult, but only
in certain areas such as whether the ball pitched outside
leg-stump or took the inside edge," the former South Africa
wicket-keeper said. "LBW is one of those areas where umpires are
making mistakes time and time again," he added.TV replays have up
to now been used for run outs and catches.
I like Sourav’s attitude as captain: Lillee
SINGAPORE, July 16:
During his glittering career, Dennis Lillee was always a winner.
He simply hated losing. No matter who was at the opposite end,
with a cricket ball in his hand, Lillee always backed himself to
take wickets. More often than not his skills with the ball would
be enough to wreck the opposition ranks, but at times when his
team faced stiff resistance, he would soften up troublesome
batsmen with a fair mixture of verbal volleys and lethal bouncers
before knocking them over. Lillee has been watching Indian cricket
from close quarters for the last few years and his eyes light up
at the very mention of Indian cricket. And he sees a winner there,
at long last. “For far too long Indian cricket was too soft. What
you are seeing now is the stiffening of the side,” opined Lillee,
who was in Singapore on Sunday to watch his horse Air Chief
challenge for the Emirates Singapore Derby. “And your captain
Sourav Ganguly has much to do with it. I like his attitude. He is
a tough, uncompromising bloke who plays the game hard. He backs
his players to the hilt, but also demands they give him 110 per
cent on the field.’’ “He is the kind of captain I would have
enjoyed playing under,’’ said Lillee, paying Sourav the ultimate
compliment. Importantly, Lillee’s opinion was not coloured by
India’s historic two-wicket win over England in the tri-series
final at Lord’s on Saturday. Having flown out of Chennai on
Saturday after yet another stint at the MRF Pace Foundation to
check on the progress of his wards, Lillee was still not aware of
India’s historic win over England at Lord’s when he sat down for
the interview. On being briefed about the thriller at the end of
which Ganguly was seen celebrating like Rivaldo, Lillee nodded in
appreciation. “The fact that India managed to successfully chase
such a big score without a major contribution from Sachin
Tendulkar reflects the depth in the side. The juniors are doing
very well with the bat and I can take some credit on behalf of the
Pace Foundation for the success of the left-arm seamers — Nehra
and Zaheer. The future looks good.” Both Nehra and Zaheer have
spent time at the MRF academy in the past year to get back in the
groove after injury-related layoffs. And Lillee, widely regarded
as the most complete fast bowler in the game’s history, was full
of praise for the pace duo. “We all know that any bowler who can
swing the ball can be a handful. If he happens to be a left-armer,
he can be real tricky. That is because it is extremely difficult
for a right hand batsman to pick the angle of delivery from a
left-arm pacer especially when the ball leaves the bat.’’
DD to air World Cup, ICC
Knockout
NEW DELHI,
July15: Doordarshan is close to signing up a deal with
WSG Nimbus for terrestrial telecast of the ICC World Cup cricket
2003 and the ICC Knockout in September 2002. The deal includes
live telecast of all matches in which India features, the
semi-finals and the final, apart from highlights of other matches.
WSG Nimbus, which has the terrestrial telecast rights for ICC
World Cup cricket, will offer Doordarshan minimum assurance money
for each match, apart from a share of revenue from sale of
advertisement. The matches would be on air on Doordarshan
National. Senior Prasar Bharati officials, who have been involved
in talks with WSG Nimbus, told TNN that the deal has been
structured in such a way that there would not be any "outflow" of
money from Doordarshan's coffers. Nimbus would be responsible for
marketing the property. After missing out on live telecast rights
for the Fifa World Cup and Wimbledon to satellite channels, Prasar
Bharati has been under pressure to sew up a deal for terrestrial
rights of cricket. Live action from the Fifa World Cup was shown
exclusively on Ten Sports, while Star Sports had the rights for
Wimbledon. Though DD officials were not forthcoming with details
of the deal with WSG Nimbus, going by past precedence, it is
estimated that each India match is expected to generate
advertising revenue of around Rs 1 crore. However, what might
query the pitch against Doordarshan is that Sony Entertainment has
already aggressively started its marketing pitch for the two
coming World Cups and ICC knockout tournaments, offering
prospective advertisers long-term deals spanning between two to
five years. Sony is also expected to make money through rise in
subscription revenue. The network has set up a joint venture with
Discovery to distribute six channels and is scouting for more
channels to join its bouquet. Doordarshan being terrestrial will
have the advantage of reaching nearly 80 million households, as
against cable and satellite universe of 40 million. However, being
terrestrial free-to-air, advertising would be the sole revenue
stream for the public broadcaster. With four broadcasters
(ESPN-Star, DD, Sony and Ten Sports) in the fray for catching
viewers' and advertisers' attention, the battle outside the
sporting arena is expected to become as keener in the coming
months.
Yuvraj injury
rules out Test chance
LONDON,
July 15: Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh will be out of
action for a minimum of three weeks after chipping a bone in his
right hand suring Saturday’s triangular series final victory over
England at Lord’s. “Yuvraj sustained the injury while fielding in
the final and then batted without realising what had happened,”
India tour spokesman Amrit Mathur said. “But yesterday he was in
pain and we took him to an expert. He will be out for a minimum of
three weeks. A decision on whether he stays in England for the
rest of the tour or goes home to India will be made on Tuesday,”
Mathur added. Yuvraj, 20, was one of the stars of India’s
breathtaking win, the left-handed batsman making 69 in a
match-turning stand of 121 with Md Kaif. Their sixth-wicket
partnership rescued India from the depths of 146 for five and
eventually Sourav Ganguly’s men overhauled England’s imposing 325
for five with three balls to spare for a dramatic two-wicket win.
Before their one-day heroics in the triangular series neither
Yuvraj or Kaif was in the India squad for the four Test series in
England that starts at Lord’s on July 25. But that situation was
being reviewed by Indian officials in the wake of Saturday’s
final. India begin their preparations for the Test series with a
three-day match against West Indies A at Arundel, southern
England, on Wednesday.
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