Former captain Kevin Pietersen is not expecting England to reach the semi-finals at the World Twenty20 in India. England have reached the final four at the Twenty20 showcase just once and that was back in 2010 when Pietersen helped them claim the trophy in the West Indies. Despite mixed results in Twenty20 internationals of late - England lost a recent series 2-0 to South Africa - a lot is expected of Eoin Morgan's men on the sub-continent as they attempt to make up for their embarrassing early exit at the World Cup in Australia in 2015 when they failed to make the knockout stages of the 50-over tournament after losing their decider against Bangladesh. But Pietersen is unsure whether England will be able to match their exploits from 2010 and has earmarked four other countries as the teams to beat in India. Speaking in a Q&A with the Telegraph newspaper, Pietersen declared India, the West Indies, South Africa and Australia as the top four teams at the World Twenty20. He also said that Morgan would have to fire if England were to go deep into the tournament. "I think England's game changer at the World Cup has to be Eoin Morgan," Pietersen said.
A resurgent Australia leapfrogged to third spot in the latest ICC Test rankings after whitewashing England 5-0 in the Ashes series on Sunday.
International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Shashank Manohar has flayed the imbalance of power within the governing body and criticised last year's revamp which, he believes, allows India, England and Australia to "bully" the organisation.
BCCI president Anurag Thakur and coach Anil Kumble on Wednesday attended a meeting with ICC and Hawk Eye representatives, who made a detailed presentation of the upgraded version of Decision Review System (DRS). There are talks that DRS could be used during the upcoming India-England series, comprising five Tests, or during the series against Australia later. As per initial feedback, the BCCI bigwigs including the president and the coach have felt that there are "some improvements" which meant that some of India's issues have been addressed in the upgraded system.
'I would personally like to see Rahul Gandhi continue as party president.' 'I genuinely believe he has far more to offer to the party still, particularly in leading us in these challenging times that we find ourselves in.'
The online ticket sales for the ICC Cricket World Cup next year has got a phenomenal response, according to the official ticketing partner for the mega-event. If the initial response of India-England at Eden Gardens is any indication, the February 27 match is going to be a sell out, official partner KyaZoonga said.
Data from TAM, the audience measurement agency, show that in the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy, the India matches had average ratings of 6.2, compared to 1.3 for the non-India matches. The average event ratings for India-Australia (6.6), India-England (4.8) or India-Sri Lanka ODIs (4.6) on Neo Sports were higher compared to the average event ratings of IPL-2 (4.17), ICC Champions Trophy (2.3) or Champions League (1.2 for games played between October 8-10).
Favourites India maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament and eked out a fighting 2-1 win over a spirited South Africa in their final Pool D match to book a place in the quarterfinals of the men's Junior Hockey World Cup at the Major Dhyan Astroturf stadium in New Delhi on Monday. India scored both their goals from field efforts through skipper Harjeet Singh (11th minute) and Mandeep Singh (55th), while Kyle Lion-Cachet (28th) found the net for the Africans. India, thus, finished the pool engagements with possible nine points from three wins and will now face second placed team in Pool C, Spain in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) moved quickly on Tuesday to distance itself from a "sons of pigs" reference to India, England and Australia made by former chairman Ijaz Butt.
In February next year, Australia are scheduled to travel to India for a four-Test series and former captain Adam Gilchrist said going by their recent outing the Aussies need to work hard on identifying big moments where they lack consistency. The once formidable Australian team, has recently lost fourth Test on the trot after being overwhelmed by South Africa at home. And Gilchrist feels more often than not the Aussies are letting their opponents bounce back into a game.
Guwahati, deprived of international cricket due to reasons varying from weather to security, is among the seven cities picked by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to host the India-Australia one-day series, scheduled for October-November. Delhi, Mumbai, Mohali, Hyderabad, Nagpur and Jaipur are the other six cities chosen for the series.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Wednesday allayed visiting security expert Reg Dickason's apprehensions and oozed confidence of hosting the first Test match between India and England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Chennai from December 11. Later, Dickason looked satisfied as he said, "We had some security concerns and those have been addressed."
Batting ace Sachin Tendulkar saluted the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, saying the stumper from Jharkhand has a sharp brain and is doing a fantastic job.
'A string of prior losses, preferably humiliating ones, improves the chances of a World Cup win,' says Devangshu Datta.
PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan feels India must fulfill its promise of 'rewarding' Pakistan for its support for the 'Big Three' governance system introduced in the International Cricket Council (ICC) last year.
Statistical highlights of the third One-Day International between India and England at the Green Park, Kanpur, on Thursday.
In a heart-warming gesture, the Cricket Board on Monday donated Rs three crore for the security personnel who either lost life or sustained injuries during last month's terror attacks in Mumbai.
After the terror attacks in Mumbai, it is the Chennai weather that is now threatening to impact the first India-England Test starting on Thursday. Intermittent heavy rain since early morning has left the outfield at the Chidambaram Stadium slushy, delaying Indian team's morning practice.
No player has been arm-twisted to play in the Test series and it was a completely unanimous decision by the team to tour India, England's talismanic all-rounder Andrew Flintoff said in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Down 0-2 in the five-Test series against India, England captain Alastair Cook feels his team needs to go back to the first match at Rajkot and pick a few pointers from that match.
With the last two matches of the India-England ODI series cancelled following the Mumbai terror attacks, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is now busy honing his shooting skills at home. Flush with India's 5-0 drubbing of England in the limited overs series, the relaxed Dhoni took turns with relatives and friends to hit the target with his air gun.
The last two first phase ties of the ONGC I-League, to be played at Mumbai's Cooperage football ground in South Mumbai on November 29 and 30, also have been cancelled, according to the All India Football Federation.
International Cricket Council elite panel umpires Simon Taufel of Australia and New Zealand's Gary Baxter will officiate in the final of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament to be played at Chennai's M Chidambaram Stadium on December 10. India's S Venkatraghavan has been named as the match referee for the three matches to be held at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium on December 3, 4 and 5.
How does Yuzvendra Chahal's 6/25 stand up against other fine T20I performances? Fascinating figures from Rajneesh Gupta.
The International Cricket Council inspection team foresees "no roadblock" in Eden Gardens hosting the ICC World Twenty20 final, even as it is learnt that they want two more dressing rooms at the venue.
English county teams will be barred from this year's multi-million dollar Twenty20 Champions League if they contain players from the unofficial Indian Cricket League, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said on Sunday. The competition, which follows the launch of the Indian Premier League this year, was to originally feature two teams each from India, England, Australia and South Africa.
The last two matches of the India-England seven-match one-day series have been called off over safety fears following a series of terrorist attacks in south Mumbai on Wednesday night in which around 100 people have been killed and more than 300 injured. An England Cricket Board (ECB) statement said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had agreed to its request to postpone the remaining two one-dayers.
Undefeated India, England, Pakistan and host Bangladesh will start as favourites when the Super League quarter-finals of the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup 2016 are played from 5 to 8 February in Mirpur and Fatullah. These four teams topped their respective groups in the preliminary league with an all-win record, displaying all-round strengths good enough to take any one of them all the way to the title. Sri Lanka and the West Indies, the other two Test nations in the last eight, will also fancy their chances even as qualifiers Namibia and Nepal look to make a mark against the bigger teams. There is a strong possibility of arch-rivals India and Pakistan facing-off in the semi-final (On February 11), if both the teams win their respective quarterfinal matches. India meets minnows Namibia in Fatullah on Saturday, while Pakistan faces a comparatively difficult task against the West Indies on Monday at the same venue.
Eoin Morgan vowed not to make too many changes from Alastair Cook's tenure as captain.
A Twenty20 Champions League involving eight teams playing 15 matches will be staged this year either in India or the Middle East, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Saturday.
Sri Lanka Cricket has finally decided to back the controversial ICC revamp plan proposed by India, England and Australia, saying it is satisfied with the revised resolutions tabled at the Board meeting of the world body earlier this month.
The Pakistan government dismissed the country's cricket board on Monday and appointed an ad-hoc committee to run the sport. Following an order from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, an 11-member committee will run cricket in the country, replacing the Zaka Ashraf-led Pakistan Cricket Board, of which Sharif is the chief patron.
Australian captain Michael Clarke has reportedly become the country's highest paid sports star with almost six million dollars, thanks to a half-billion dollar deal television deal finalised between Cricket Australia (CA) Channels Nine and Ten.
Reader Mahesh Kaka sent us these pictures from London.
Having enjoyed two successful stints with Australian cricket, American fielding guru Mike Young, who has also had a stint with India in December last year, is set to join the Kangaroos once again ahead of the ODI tri-series against India and England.
The broadcaster had already signed up with cable operators, including Incable and Siticable and DTH service providers Tata Sky and Dish TV.
England captain Michael Vaughan does not believe the memory of his most prolific home series, against India in 2002, will have any bearing when the teams open their three-Test series at Lord's on Thursday.
'We are thankful to BCCI for awarding this match to us. Criterion was Eden Gardens. It's historical. We are one of the best grounds in the world and it's looking outstanding'
Former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe joined the chorus calling for the withdrawal of the controversial proposal to revamp the ICC piloted by India, England and Australia, despite his country's Board's support to the plan.
Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra are spotted in the grandstands.
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