England may risk giving one-day debuts to four players in international against Ireland

Jamie Overton could become the youngest England player since Brian Close in 1949 if he is chosen in a side which will almost certainly feature batsmen Michael Carberry and Gary Ballance and Irish fast bowler Boyd Rankin for the first time in one-day cricket.

Rankin has played Twenty20 for England this summer and Carberry has one Test cap from a 2010 tour to Bangladesh but this will be their first serious test as they begin challenges for berths on this winter’s Ashes tour.

They will meet an Ireland side full of experience with eight survivors from that win in Bangalore in 2011 plus Tim Murtagh, of Middlesex, one of the most consistent bowlers in county cricket who qualified for Ireland last year through his grandparents.

Overton is a physically strong 19-year-old quick bowler who looks like a rugby player in whites. Overton is also part of the squad to play Australia and when picked he will be the first teenager to play for England since Ben Hollioake in 1997.

“I wouldn’t ever take Ireland for granted and say a weakened side would make it any more level,” said Eoin Morgan, who will captain England for the rest of the summer.

“I think we’ve brought a strong side, a young and very talented side that given opportunities hopefully will show they are world beaters.

“It’s very exciting for us to come across here and give these guys opportunities to hopefully flourish, particularly in a game like this. But we’re certainly not taking Ireland for granted.”

The defeat in the World Cup, when Kevin O’Brien scored 113, reaching three figures off only 50 balls, changed the course of Irish cricket and they are now credible opponents. Ireland tied a match with Pakistan in Dublin in May and narrowly lost the second by two wickets.

“I think all teams in world cricket know that when they play us they are going to get a very tough game so gone are the days when teams turn up in Dublin or Belfast and are here for a jolly,” O’Brien said.

Life has changed for O’Brien, who 10 days ago was playing for Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel in the Caribbean Premier League Twenty20.

“On the field life has changed a lot but it [World Cup innings] was a long time ago now, it was 2½ years ago and I can’t really be living off it for the rest of my life, so I need to keep improving. If I can get another innings that is as half as good tomorrow then it will be very special.”

England (possible): M A Carberry, J W A Taylor, E J G Morgan (capt), G S Ballance, R S Bopara, B A Stokes, J C Buttler, J Overton, J C Tredwell, S T Finn, W B Rankin.

Ireland (possible): W T S Porterfield (capt), P R Stirling, E C Joyce, N? J ?O’Brien, G C Wilson, K??J O’Brien, A R White, M C Sorensen, D T Johnston, T J Murtagh, G H Dockrell.

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Players cannot have a share in the Indian Premier League Teams

After receiving a great response from Industrialists and film actors for owning the teams in Indian Premier League
, BCCI confirmed that no currently playing cricketers can have a stake with the franchises.

No player can have stake with the teams. These statements were BCCI after the rumors that Sachin is planning to have a stake with Future group to own the Mumbai team. BCCI after listing to the rumors stated that he is a presently playing cricketer and there is no point in him having a stake in a team.

Apart from these BCCI has framed some rules for the players participating in Indian Premier League
. They have to satisfy all the rules for their participation in "Indian Premier League".

Visit arly's blog for more Information on Indian Premier League .

View the original article here

Ashes 2013: England players say sorry for their post-match Oval party that went too far

The incident was witnessed by Australian journalists who were still working at the Oval while England players went into the middle to celebrate their 3-0 series victory.

The apology was issued in a statement on the England and Wales Cricket Board website and although it neither confirmed nor denied that players urinated on the pitch it apologised for any offence caused.

“The England cricket team would like to state that during our celebrations after winning the Ashes at no time was there any intention to disrespect Surrey CCC, the Oval or anyone else involved in the game we love,” the statement said.

“As a team we pride ourselves on respecting all things cricket including the opposition and the grounds we play at. We got carried away amongst the euphoria of winning such a prestigious series and accept that some of our behaviour was inappropriate.

“If that has caused any offence to anyone we apologise for that and want to reassure people that it was a simple error of judgment more than anything else.”

England’s apology was accepted by Surrey chief executive Richard Gould who had described the players’ behaviour as “irresponsible”. Gould also confirmed that no damage has been caused to the turf at the Oval.

England’s Twenty20 captain, Stuart Broad, declined to comment on the watery celebrations or the players’ apology when he attended a press conference in Southampton on Wednesday ahead of the first of two Twenty20 international matches against Australia on Thursday.

Broad was more forthcoming, however, on the lukewarm praise England had received for retaining the Ashes in some sections of the media.

“Praise from the media is not something the team is particularly concerned about,” he said. “At the end of the day the hard facts are that we won an Ashes series 3-0 and that was a tough fight and an emotional roller-coaster.

“Certain games could have been won and lost in half-an-hour spaces and it was fantastic cricket to watch. To have won that 3-0 and to have had an unbelievable chance of winning 4-0 and becoming the first England team to do that was a very special achievement and the guys in the changing room know that.

“Many of the fans know and believe that. The response from people we know and have seen has been fantastic. It’s part and parcel in an Ashes series that you get little things written about and talked about that get taken out of proportion but at the end of the day fans will certainly remember that we won that series 3-0 and played some fantastic and exciting cricket.”

Although England have two Twenty20 internationals and five one-dayers to come against Australia before the end of this season, Broad said thoughts have already turned to the prospect of completing a fourth successive Ashes series win this winter.

“The England changing room are just focused on England beating Australia. My whole childhood was taken up with England getting pumped by Australia so there’s just such a hunger in the dressing room to keep on ­beating Australia,” Broad said.

“Even since we won the Ashes on Sunday night there’s been talk between the guys of how much we want to work hard to win the next one and we can hit Australia hard in Brisbane.

“We know it will be a different game out there and we know how hard our home crowd have helped us here. So we’ve got to expect their crowd to help them there. Australia in their conditions will be hard to beat and we will have to play better than we’ve done here to beat them.”

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England's Ashes winners rested for one-day series against Australia as five uncapped players named in squad

Before his back problems, Jordan looked as if he might become the next Andrew Flintoff – his bowling being both quick and aggressive and his batting delightfully uncomplicated.

If that ambition has been tempered he certainly has it in him to be the next Tim Bresnan, if not a cricketer of his own design.

He qualifies for England through a grandmother and for West Indies through birth.

Indeed, West Indies had been interested in securing his services but perhaps forgot to make another approach once it became likely that his back problem would not compromise him.

Given the same choice back in the early 1970s, Gordon Greenidge chose (wisely as it happened) to play for West Indies and became one of the greats.

But if Jordan delivers on his early promise it will be a coup for England.

Jordan is one of 10 players in England’s one-day squad who represented England Lions against Bangladesh recently, registering two wins and a loss.

With the selectors deciding to rest Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad (though he will captain England’s T20 side this week), Graeme Swann and James Anderson after the Ashes, it always made sense to blood talented youngsters in the hope they might be fully formed by the next World Cup in 2015.

That learning process is why Kevin Pietersen has been retained and not rested alongside his Ashes team mates despite having a sore knee.

As he showed on the final day at the Kia Oval, few can match his batting versatility when the mood takes him and tyros such as Ben Stokes will assimilate a lot about one-day batting just by watching him and Eoin Morgan, England’s acting captain in Cook’s absence.

Pietersen is rested from the T20s and the squad to play Ireland, for which his place has been taken by Yorkshire’s Gary Ballance.

“Following a very intense period of cricket this summer we have decided to rest a number of senior players,” Geoff Miller, the national selector, said.

“This creates an excellent opportunity for players who have impressed in county cricket and for England Lions recently to test themselves at international level as we continue to build a squad ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup, which is less than 18 months away.”

After his surprise selection in the final Test, the absence of Chris Woakes from the one-day squad seems something of a puzzle, as does, given the experimental nature of the squad, the absence of Jonny Bairstow.

According to Miller, both have been given ample opportunity in England’s one-day sides before and the pair have been returned to their counties, Woakes to rediscover his swing and Bairstow to do some wicketkeeping.

“Players just don’t get given caps, they have to earn the opportunity through good performances with their counties,” Miller said.

“Once they have done that they will be considered for the next step, which is to introduce them to the international environment to see how they fare.”

One player eager to prove himself after a small taste of Test cricket three years ago is Michael Carberry.

Picked for a Test tour of Bangladesh, on the back of being an organised opening batsman, Carberry has revealed his inner animal for Hampshire this season to gain selection to both England’s T20 and one-day squads.

Like Jordan, he has endured a period out of the game, following complications from blood clots, but seems at the peak of his form now, ready to target Australia and the World Cup there in 18 months’ time.

England ODI squad v Ireland: E Morgan (Middlesex, capt), G Ballance (Yorkshire), R Bopara (Essex), D Briggs (Hampshire), J Buttler (Somerset), M Carberry (Hampshire), S Finn (Middlesex), C Jordan (Sussex), J Overton (Somerset), B Rankin (Warwickshire), B Stokes (Durham), J Taylor (Nottinghamshire), J Tredwell (Kent), L Wright (Sussex).

England ODI squad v Australia: E Morgan (Middlesex, capt), R Bopara (Essex), J Buttler (Somerset), M Carberry (Hampshire), S Finn (Middlesex), C Jordan (Sussex), J Overton (Somerset), K Pietersen (Surrey), B Rankin (Warwickshire), J Root (Yorkshire), B Stokes (Durham), J Tredwell (Kent), J Trott (Warwickshire), L Wright (Sussex).

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Players cannot have a share in the Indian Premier League Teams

After receiving a great response from Industrialists and film actors for owning the teams in Indian Premier League
, BCCI confirmed that no currently playing cricketers can have a stake with the franchises.

No player can have stake with the teams. These statements were BCCI after the rumors that Sachin is planning to have a stake with Future group to own the Mumbai team. BCCI after listing to the rumors stated that he is a presently playing cricketer and there is no point in him having a stake in a team.

Apart from these BCCI has framed some rules for the players participating in Indian Premier League
. They have to satisfy all the rules for their participation in "Indian Premier League".

Visit arly's blog for more Information on Indian Premier League .

View the original article here

Ashes 2013: how the England players rated on their way to defeating Australia to win summer Test series

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Kevin Pietersen
Tests 5 Runs 326 Average 36.22 Catches 4
Has curbed his impatience admirably to adapt to the slow pitches in the team’s cause. England could have lost at Trent Bridge and Old Trafford without his contributions. 8/10

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Ian Bell
Tests 5 Runs 529 Average 75.57 Catches 2
Man of the series. Could he have batted out the last day at Old Trafford if rain had not wiped out the last two sessions? He turned every other game England’s way, batting near perfectly, without straining for technical perfection as he used to. Now he has a family he may be switching off for the first time, making him all the sharper when he switches on. 10/10

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Jonny Bairstow
Tests 4 Runs 203 Average 29.00 Catches 1
His 28 at the Riverside was his last and best innings because it was also the most positive. Back at No?6 this winter as a specialist batsman — or could he keep wicket and succeed Prior? 5/10

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Matt Prior
Runs 86 Average 14.33 Catches 16
Comprehensively out-played by Brad Haddin as batsman and keeper, after beating him in 2009 and drawing in 2010-11. Such a hard worker, he will surely be back this winter. 5/10

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Tim Bresnan
Tests 3 Runs 103 Average 25.75 Wickets 10 Average 29.60 Catches 0
Steady Eddie was back to his former pace and acted as a nightwatchman-plus with the bat. But is he sufficiently different from Anderson and Broad to be a third seamer in Australia? 7/10

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Stuart Broad
Tests 5 Runs 170 Average 28.33 Wickets 18 Average 31.16 Catches 1
Resurrected his batting in the first Test and his bowling in the fourth. And he did not nick it to slip at Trent Bridge - Darren Lehmann, please note - but via the keeper to slip. 8/10

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Graeme Swann
Tests 5 Runs 92 Average 23.00 Wickets 25 Average 28.64 Catches 4
The oldest player at 34, and might be past his peak at second slip, but not as a spinner. Dispatched 16 left-handers, including Rogers six times, and kept control throughout. 9/10

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James Anderson
Tests 5 Runs 32 Average 8.00 Wickets 21 Average 29.71 Catches 3
Bookended the series with superlative swing-and-seam bowling at Trent Bridge and the Oval. An all-time great bowler if he can do it in three Ashes series in a row. 9/10

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Steven Finn
Tests 1 Runs 2 Average 2.00 Wickets 2 Average 58.50 Catches 0
After two wickets in his opening spell, he proved the biggest disappointment of England’s bowlers, but he is only 24. Must sort out his run-up and bowl flat out — and go to Australia. 3/10

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Simon Kerrigan
Tests 1 Runs - Average - Wickets 0 Average - Catches 0
Oh dear. It may take a long time for him to recover from his chastening experience at the Oval. But if he does, and energises his run-up, he will be stronger and may succeed Panesar. 1/10

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Chris Woakes
Tests 1 Runs 15 Average - Wickets 1 Average 96.00 Catches 0
He could become a fourth seamer for a Test in England, but greater potential in his batting. One front and one back-foot drive were high class. 3/10

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NFL players union tentatively agrees to HGH testing

The NFL Players Association "tentatively agreed" to let the league take 40 blood samples for HGH tests each week during the season, with a positive result drawing a four-game suspension, according to a memo the union sent players.

A copy of the NFLPA's email, written in a question-and-answer format, was obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.

The memo says "a computer program will randomly select" five players apiece from eight teams each week to take the blood tests.

First, though, every player participating in NFL training camps this year will provide a blood sample and information about "height, weight, age, and race/ethnicity" for a "population study" to determine what level of HGH will result in penalties, the union wrote.

The NFLPA's letter says that if more than 5 percent of all training camp samples are above that threshold, players who fail will have "reasonable cause" testing during the next two seasons — meaning they'll be subject to additional testing.

View the original article here

Players cannot have a share in the Indian Premier League Teams

After receiving a great response from Industrialists and film actors for owning the teams in Indian Premier League
, BCCI confirmed that no currently playing cricketers can have a stake with the franchises.

No player can have stake with the teams. These statements were BCCI after the rumors that Sachin is planning to have a stake with Future group to own the Mumbai team. BCCI after listing to the rumors stated that he is a presently playing cricketer and there is no point in him having a stake in a team.

Apart from these BCCI has framed some rules for the players participating in Indian Premier League
. They have to satisfy all the rules for their participation in "Indian Premier League".

Visit arly's blog for more Information on Indian Premier League .

View the original article here

Ashes 2013: Australia may have to discard players haunted by England failures

This Australian side is scarred. The captain has played against England on four occasions and lost three Ashes series, winning the whitewash when he was surrounded by the greats. He is going to lose another series in a couple of weeks’ time, making it four out of five. But he is the leader of the team trying to inspire the rest of the players to beat this England side.

England know how to beat them too. Anderson and Swann, in particular, realise that if they turn up and bowl dot, dot dot, the fragility in the Australian techniques will get them a wicket.

Watson is still making the same mistakes in 2013 that he made in 2009. For four years he has planted that front foot over to off stump and played across the front pad. England are delighted to see him continue to play in that fashion.

Compare him with Joe Root. Two or three weeks ago he realised he would be opening the batting and knew Australia were going to bowl full balls at him. He went away and worked hard on coming forward. He did not have an on-drive three weeks ago but now he has added that shot to his game because he has realised you have to learn where the opposition are going to bowl to you.

I do not understand why someone like Watson has not learnt that the England bowlers are going to bowl a channel outside off stump and then get the ball to nip back on to the off stump where they know he will play across the line and be out lbw.

He keeps falling into the trap. Why he has not changed his game? It is down to individuals analysing their own performance and working out exactly how they are going to score against good attacks. These England bowlers are very good. They are clever at spotting weaknesses and you know they are not going to bowl badly for a prolonged period, so as a batsman you have to be strong technically and mentally.

But I do not believe you can be mentally strong and confident to bat for long periods against a good attack when you have the technical deficiencies of Watson, Hughes and Steve Smith. England have too many areas where they can attack them.

To survive it starts with your technique. Will it get you out of trouble if you make a misjudgment in line and length? If you go back to a ball that you should have gone forward to, will your bat come down straight and head be over the line of the ball to compensate for the mistake and help you out of trouble? In Joe’s case yes it did. He went back to a lot of full balls at Lord’s but he his technique was good enough for him to adjust and survive.

I look at the Australian batsmen and believe they have to play perfectly to every ball. If they misjudge the length of a delivery or the line, I do not think their technique is going to protect them.

As a player if you know that your technique is not going to look after you in difficult times, it drains you mentally. You bat with less confidence because you think one mistake and it is all over.

I fear for Australian cricket. How are they going to get out of this hole?

The only way to get anything out of this tour is to stick with the current players for the remainder of the series, minus the injured James Pattinson. The Ashes have gone. They have zero chance of winning the series now. But they might as well use the last three games to find out once and for all about these batsmen. Can they cut it at Test match level? Can they overcome failure and disappointment?

By the time the series is due to end on Aug 25 Australia will know whether or not Hughes, Smith, Usman Khawaja, Brad Haddin and Chris Rogers are Test players.

Once and for all they will be able to draw a line under this crop of players and decide whether it is time to bring in fresh blood.

If that happens it will be hard for the new players starting off against England this winter but you are better off with fresh minds than old baggage.

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VIDEO: Will the Ashes inspire young players?

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VIDEO: Will the Ashes inspire young players?

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.

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VIDEO: Will the Ashes inspire young players?

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.

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