Gooch’s voice of reason

BANGALORE: Amidst the English countryside murmurs of money tainting cricketers, especially in the wake of Adam Stanford’s financial irregularities as well as Kevin Pietersen’s and Andrew Flintoff’s lucrative deals in the Indian Premier League, Graham Gooch offered a voice of reason.

In town as part of an Essex County Council business delegation scouting for investment partners from India, the former England captain said: “Players have short careers and they need to make their money. In England, football, golf and tennis players make a lot of money but no one makes a fuss about that.

“The IPL, besides the money, has also enhanced skill-sets and in England we are planning an English Premier League Twenty20 next year and we hope to rope in Indian sponsors and players.”

As a player, Gooch himself struggled with the ‘Money vs Nation’ argument.

“In 1982, I went to South Africa. I thought there was nothing wrong in going to South Africa as I was just plying my trade as a sportsman and in no way was I supporting apartheid but we were banned for three years.

“I took it in my stride and came back,” Gooch said.

Gooch said that the dilemma over Andrew Flintoff’s injuries and the IPL should be resolved soon. “Flintoff is a key player for England and he has signed up for the Chennai Super Kings. It is up to him and the concerned doctors and physios to decide whether he can fulfil both his IPL as well as England commitments.

“He has had a history of injuries but I don’t think the latest one (hip injury) will pull him back much. I just hope this is sorted out soon amicably,” Gooch said while adding that the Stanford scam came as a shock.

“The ECB authorities did due diligence and the papers were in order. It has come as a shock. In life you never know,” Gooch said.

Gooch expressed surprise over England’s below-par show so far in the West Indies.

“England is a better side and they should be beating West Indies. The team also needs a stable environment after the Pietersen-Peter Moores fallout and it is up to Andrew Strauss to ensure that the team is pulling in the right direction,” Gooch said.

Gooch also effusively praised Indian cricket’s progress.

“M.S. Dhoni has a presence and India is a form team at the moment and I would be surprised if they don’t fancy their chances of becoming the number one,” Gooch said before leaving for the business summit that also hopes to draw in investors to upgrade his home ground at Chelmsford.

Source: hindu.com

Complacency, not Pakistan, India's main threat in final

R Eswar

Dhaka, Jun 13 (PTI) Rampaging form and beleaguered opponents tilt the scale pretty much in India's favour but complacency, and not Pakistan, pose the most serious threat to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team in the final of the cricket tri-series here tomorrow.With runs flowing from the top order blades and the bowling attack mowing down rival line-ups with regularity, Dhoni hardly had a reason to worry as his team bulldozed Bangladesh and pounded Pakistan with characteristic ruthlessness in two lop-sided league contests to storm into the final.In contrast, a depleted Pakistan reached the summit showdown not before India had inflicted on them their worst defeat against the arch-rivals.The 140-run thumping in fact had a ripple effect with a livid Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Nasim Ashraf shooting off a stinging e-mail to team manager Talat Ali seeking immediate explanation and questioning the team's ability, along with that of coach Geoff Lawson and the captain Shoaib Malik.And with Ashraf set to attend tomorrow's final, Malik and his teammates would surely feel the heat.In contrast, Dhoni's team has hardly put a foot wrong since their arrival here and the India captain said he was expecting the openers and new ball bowlers to give the side a good start tomorrow."I am really happy about the team performance. We have played two matches and in both ties, we had good starts both in batting and bowling. I wish the same kind of performance continues in the final against Pakistan also," Dhoni said. PTI

Dhoni's men hope to make it unlucky 13th

Dhaka: With the euphoria of Indian Premier League all but settled, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his team will have to quickly get back into the One-day mode to snap Pakistan's 12-match winning streak when the traditional rivals face off in the cricket tri-series here on Tuesday.

Pakistan routed Bangladesh by 70 runs in the tri-series opener on Sunday night to extend their unbeaten streak to 12 matches and it would be a tough task for Dhoni's young Indian side to halt the arch-rivals.

Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has already sounded the war bugle when he said that his wards would look to thump India by a bigger margin to make it 13 wins in a row.

India, severely under-strength because of pre-tournament injury woes, would be in for further trouble as opener Virender Sehwag is a doubtful starter due to high fever. Besides, the team is still awaiting the arrival of pacer S Sreesanth's replacement Manpreet Singh Gony.

With seniors like Sachin Tendulkar, recovering from a groin injury, and Harbhajan Singh, serving a ban for slapping Sreesanth during the IPL, not in the ranks, it would be anything but easy for Dhoni's young brigade against Pakistan.

The team had a feel of the ground and the conditions on Sunday and put in three hours at the indoor nets after rain prevented any outdoor practice session.

The short tri-series, being seen as a warm-up for the Asia Cup late this month in Pakistan, is crucial for the Indians as it provides an opportunity for players like all-rounder Yusuf Pathan, spinner Piyush Chawla and Gony to show their worth in absence of the seniors.

With the pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium likely to assist the batsmen, India's new-look bowling attack, to be spearheaded by Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma, will be severely tested.
No doubt, the Indian team has the batting strength to score heavily on a strip like this but it remains to be seen how their bowlers contain hard hitters like Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Muhammad Yousuf.

The much-anticipated contest meanwhile faces a major threat from the weather gods. The opener itself was truncated because of intermittent drizzle and this match too could see rain interruptions.

As for the Pakistani attack, the medium-pacers, particularly young talent Wahab Riaz, were impressive in last night's win over Bangladesh. But with Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif missing from the attack, it remains to be seen how Sohail Tanvir and his bowling colleagues fare against India's star-studded line-up.

In the batting department, though Butt, Yousuf and Misbah looked in good nick, Pakistan's line-up still sports a vulnerable look and even Bangladesh, with their limited options in the bowling department, shot them out in 39.3 overs.

Source: http://www.cricketnext.com/news/dhonis-men-hope-to-make-it-unlucky-13th/32060-13.html