Cricket: January 2017

Tuesday, 17 January 2017

Onus on Hazlewood to lift injury-hit Australia

http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/90183/onus-on-josh-hazlewood-to-lift-injury-hit-australia-cricket-team-in-3rd-odi-against-pakistan

Unexpectedly, Australia finds themselves in a dogfight against Pakistan with the five-match One-Day International series levelled at 1-1 heading into a crux contest at the WACA on Thursday (January 19).

After suffering a shock six-wicket loss in game two at the MCG on Sunday (January 15), Australia's first defeat across the formats in two months ending an eight-match winning streak, momentum has suddenly shifted towards the visitors, who can sense a memorable series upset brewing.

Suddenly, Australia appears vulnerable due to injuries to hard-hitting batsman Chris Lynn and Mitch Marsh, the Western Australia allrounder who misses a chance to play on his home deck. Mitchell Starc, Australia's spearhead, will be rested for the match in Perth meaning much onus rests on partner in crime Josh Hazlewood.

The 26-year-old sat out the opening match of the series in Brisbane after an arduous workload throughout the summer, where he became the team's most reliable bowler through his unnerving accuracy and consistency.

Resting players has always been a thorny issue in Australian cricket but Hazlewood said he had benefited from having a week off. "I'm feeling pretty good," he told reporters in Perth on Tuesday (January 17). "I obviously got a bit of work in in the gym and strengthened up a bit. It was a little bit of a shock to the system again bowling in the game the other night, but I'm sure I'll benefit from the week off."

There was some speculation that Hazlewood or Starc may be rested for the third Test against Pakistan in Sydney, which was a dead rubber, but both lined up meaning the pacemen played in all six Tests during a taxing two-month period. They were also part of Australia's three-match Chappell-Hadlee series whitewash, which was sandwiched between the Test series.

Not retiring from Test cricket; unavailable for New Zealand series: AB de Villiers

http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/90181/ab-de-villiers-south-africa-cricket-player-not-retiring-from-test-cricketdays, it's tough to play all formats" - AB de Villiers © Getty

AB de Villiers will not be retiring from Test cricket, but South Africa's one-day captain will sit out the upcoming series against New Zealand as he figures out the best way to manage his workload ahead of the 2019 World Cup. De Villiers has spent the past six months on the sidelines with an elbow injury, but is due to make his international comeback in the third Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka at Newlands on January 25.

Asked when he would be returning to the Test side, de Villiers said on Tuesday (January 17): "Not yet. I'm not there yet. The reason being that I just need to settle things in my head. Over the last few years something has come to mind, which is the fact that we haven't won a World Cup yet. And for me to make it to the 2019 World Cup, I can't really be serious in every format.

"So I've made myself unavailable for the New Zealand Test series. I will be there for the ODIs, and I'm definitely not retiring from Test cricket because I have plans to come back at some stage. For me, for now the most important thing is the 2019 World Cup. I want to make sure we get there, I want to make sure we lift that trophy. That's the first goal for me."

Amla, Rabada become top-ranked Test players for South Africa

http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/90185/icc-test-rankings-hashim-amla-kagiso-rabada-become-top-ranked-players-for-south-Hashim Amla, the South Africa batsman, has jumped four places in the International Cricket Council Test Rankings for batsmen after stroking 134 in his 100th Test, played against Sri Lanka in Johannesburg.

He wasn't the only South African batsman to be rewarded for scoring a match-winning century. Man of the Match JP Duminy, who struck 155 and added a 292-run stand with Amla in the third Test, gained places to reach the 33rd spot on the list. Meanwhile, South African skipper Faf du Plessis and Dean Elgar are jointly placed at the 21st position in the latest rankings.

For Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan's 217 - the highest individual score by a Bangladesh batsman in Tests - helped him jump eight positions and achieve the career-best position of 23. Mushfiqur Rahim, who struck 159 and was involved in a record 359-run stand with Shakib, also jumped 10 positions and achieved the 35th position.

africa-cricket

Sunday, 15 January 2017

Virat scores Another Hundred To get India the Victory

Virat Kohli’s innings of 122, in the incredible chase against England in the first ODI on Sunday, has shattered records and earned praise from across the cricketing world. The biggest testament to Kohli’s stature and performance as a player and skipper is when the praise comes from the opposition camp. After his innings in the India vs England 1st ODI in Pune, former and current England players applauded Kohli, with a former England skipper even calling him the Cristiano Ronaldo of cricket.

Chasing England’s 351 for victory, India stuttered at the start and were reduced to 63/4. Enter Virat Kohli, playing his first match as full-time captain of the India national cricket team across all formats after taking over the ODI captaincy from Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Kohli’s innings was class and aggression personified as he slammed yet another century, his 27th overall, while at the same time guided a young Kedar Jadhav, who smashed his second century.

Kohli and Jadhav’s 200-run partnership helped India chase down a total of 350-plus for the third time, all in the last three years in ODIs, and all in India. He also surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 14 centuries in successful chases.

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain compared Kohli to Real Madrid and Portugal football star Cristiano Ronaldo while giving his analysis on Sky Sports.

“I think what Kohli is trying to do is push the boundary and raise the bar of everything he does,” said Hussain. No-one says to him ‘being captain in three forms is too much for you’, no one says ‘you can chase 300 but can you chase 350 from 63-4?’

“I read out here that he prefers [Cristiano] Ronaldo to [Lionel] Messi. Messi was given a lot of natural ability but he prefers Ronaldo, who has made himself the footballer that he is and pushed himself on and off football pitch -- and that is what Kohli has done in cricketing terms,” added Hussain.

Another former England skipper, Michael Vaughan, felt Kohli is from another planet, tweeting out his excitement while watching a sublime Indian skipper in full flight, even though it was against his country.

England skipper Eoin Morgan said after the match that Kohli is “fantastic” and that it was proven yet again in Pune.

“There is always something you can do even when he’s (Kohli is) in and at times the plans weren’t too far from working,” he said. “There was a ball that just went over (Alex) Halesy’s head... on another day that goes to hand, they’re five down and we’re into them. But he’s a fantastic player and he’s proved that over a long period of time.”