World Cup Monitor
Tendulkar undergoes MRI scan on knee
Sachin Tendulkar has reportedly undergone an MRI scan on his knee at the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, and has been cleared of any injury
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
Sachin Tendulkar has reportedly undergone an MRI scan on his knee at the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, and has been cleared of any injury. “The MRI scan is clear. There is no problem,” a spokesman from the hospital was quoted as saying by PTI. India’s next game in the World Cup is against England in Bangalore on February 27. They began the tournament with a comprehensive win against Bangladesh.
Full postKnockout-round tickets up for grabs
Tickets for the semi-finals and the final of the World Cup are going to go online for sale on Monday, 1pm IST (0730 GMT) on the tournament's official ticketing website www.kyazoonga.com
Sharda Ugra
25-Feb-2013
Tickets for the semi-finals and the final of the World Cup are going to go online for sale on Monday, 1pm IST (0730 GMT) on the tournament's official ticketing website www.kyazoonga.com. While both the quarter-finals in Mirpur have already been sold out, there is a possibility that a section of the tickets for the other two quarter-finals in Ahmedabad and Colombo, ones that had been set aside as an 'option to buy' for the boards, the ICC and sponsors, may also become available within a few days to be set up for sale online. Ticket sales in all three countries have been varied, with Bangladesh being sold out and most of India's attention focussed around India's five group games at home.
Full postLeaving out Vaas and Jayasuriya was emotional, says de Silva
Aravinda de Silva, now Sri Lanka's chief selector, has admitted it was a tough and emotional decision to leave out his former team-mates Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas from the squad for the World Cup
Dustin Silgardo
25-Feb-2013
Aravinda de Silva, now Sri Lanka's chief selector, has admitted it was a tough and emotional decision to leave out his former team-mates Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas from the squad for the World Cup. The two experienced hands had been included in the 30 probables for the tournament but were left out from the final fifteen.
"It was a very difficult decision and a very emotional moment for me when it was decided that Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas have to be left out from the World Cup squad," de Silva wrote in the Times of India. "They've been my team-mates for such a long time and they are such fabulous players with great records."
de Silva played alongside both Vaas and Jayasuriya in Sri Lanka's successful World Cup campaign in 1996, but in his new role as selector, said he had to do what was best for the team. "At the end of the day, as a selector, I have to do the right thing. I have to pick 15 of the best available players on current form. Taking that into account, I don't think it would have been possible to include them."
Full postSri Lanka camp hit by family deaths
Sri Lanka’s preparations have been affected by the deaths on Thursday of Chamara Silva’s sister Nelum and team manager Anura Tennakoon's father, PB Tennakoon
Abhishek Purohit
25-Feb-2013
Sri Lanka’s preparations have been affected by the deaths on Thursday of Chamara Silva’s sister Nelum and team manager Anura Tennakoon's father, PB Tennakoon. Silva left the team hotel in Colombo early on Thursday while Tennakoon is currently in Dhaka attending the opening ceremony of the World Cup and will return to Sri Lanka on Friday.
"These are difficult times, for the boys. They are one family, and feel sorry for the loss of their team-mate's sister and manager's father," Brian Thomas, the Sri Lanka media manager, told AFP. "Despite the bereavement, the team remains focused on the World Cup and preparing for their first match on Sunday.” Sri Lanka face Canada in their first match in Hambantota.
Thomas said it was immediately unclear if Silva will feature in the first game, as his sister's funeral arrangements have been tentatively fixed for the weekend.
Full postShoaib fined for being late, also undergoes dope test
Pakistan seamers Shoaib Akhtar and Wahab Riaz have been fined 3000 Bangladeshi taka (US$ 42) each for returning to the team hotel late after a private dinner on Wednesday night
Nitin Sundar
25-Feb-2013
Pakistan seamers Shoaib Akhtar and Wahab Riaz have been fined 3000 Bangladeshi taka (US$ 42) each for returning to the team hotel late after a private dinner on Wednesday night. "We want players to follow team rules," team manager Intikhab Alam said. "The two have been warned not to keep late nights in future."
Earlier in the day, Shoaib, along with Kamran Akmal and Umar Gul, was made to undergo a random dope test by the ICC’s drug inspectors. Shoaib had tested positive for the banned substance nandrolone in 2006.
Pakistan play England tomorrow in Fatullah in their second and final warm-up match. Shoaib missed the first match due to fitness issues, and Pakistan coach Waqar Younis admitted that he was “not in touch”.
Full postEnemy of your (auld) enemy is your friend
In the Super Eights, in one of the most closely-contested matches of the tournament, Sri Lanka had defeated England by two runs, putting paid to their hopes of making it to the semis
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
In the Super Eights, in one of the most closely-contested matches of the
tournament, Sri Lanka had defeated England by two runs, putting paid to
their hopes of making it to the semis. One might have thought that would
be an issue of sour grapes but seeing the traditional enemy, Australia,
ousted seems to have exerted a greater pull on Englishmen. Most of them
are expected to root for the Sri Lankans in Saturday’s final against the
Aussies.
Dominick Chilcott, the British high commissioner in Colombo, is certainly one. According to AFP, shedding any pretence of diplomatic neutrality the British envoy led the high commission staff in signing greetings to Mahela Jayawardene and his team-mates ahead of Saturday's game in Barbados.
“The British High Commission wish the Sri Lankan cricket team the best of luck in Saturday's cricket World Cup final," the mission said in a statement signed by all its staff."We're hoping for a repeat of the 1996 World Cup final result. Come on you Sri Lankan Lions. Let's hear you roar,” the message said. Chilcott, dressed in the Sri Lankan team's blue and yellow T-shirt, and 52 staff members were seen gesturing animatedly in support of the Sri Lankan team.
Full postCommunication gap or getting under Ponting's skin?
Fuel was added to the pre-match tension between the World Cup finalists sides when Australian captain Ricky Ponting was kept waiting for more than an hour by his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahela Jayawardene for a promotional photoshoot on the beach
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Fuel was added to the pre-match tension between the World Cup finalists sides when Australian captain Ricky Ponting was kept waiting for more than an hour by his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahela Jayawardene for a promotional photoshoot on the beach at St Lucia. Ponting had to delay his departure from St Lucia to Barbados to make the shoot possible, and was watched by the media, his displeasure quite obvious. The Sydney Morning Herald reported the subsequent meeting of the captains, and Ponting made his displeasure known when he asked Jayawardene, " a bit late are you?". Jayawardene blamed a communication gap for the delay. The rival captains were all smiles in the eventual photoshoot, holding the trophy together.
This incident is bound to motivate the Australians even further, the relationship between the two sides not being very friendly. The resting of veterans Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan for an inconsequential Super Eights match on April 16 was met with strong disapproval from the Australian camp with Ponting saying that the move could go against them in the final. But this was met with a strong response from Sri Lanka coach and Ponting's former team mate Tom Moody saying that the composition of his team was not the concern of Australia. He also pointed out that Australia had done the same, resting some of its main players for the Chappell- Hadlee series in New Zealand held in February.
Australia will be looking to make sure that there is no repeat of the World Cup in 1996, which Sri Lanka won convincingly. This being strike bowler Glenn McGrath's last World Cup, his team is keen to give him and out-going coach John Buchanan a parting gift. On the Sri Lankan side too there are a few - notably Sanath Jayasuriya - for whom this would their final World Cup and the side will be determined to see them off an a fitting note. Overall, it promises to be one humdinger of a contest.
Full postJayasuriya's family head for the final
Sanath Jayasuriya’s family is set to join him in Bridgetown for Saturday's final with Australia
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
Sanath Jayasuriya’s family is set to join him in Bridgetown for Saturday's final with Australia. Jayasuriya's wife Sandra and three young children were due to leave for London en route to Barbados, a family friend told AFP.
Jayasuriya, who played a stellar role in Sri Lanka’s World Cup triumph in 1996, failed in the semi-final win over New Zealand. One of the world's most destructive batsmen on his day, Jayasuriya has hit centuries against Bangladesh and host West Indies in the current tournament.
Mahinda Rajapakse, Sri Lanka's President, also made a previously unscheduled visit to Barbados on Thursday to witness his country play Australia in the finals.
Full postAnd now... news from the land like no other
Sri Lanka's tourism authorities are using the World Cup to attract visitors to the country
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Sri Lanka's tourism authorities are using the World Cup to attract visitors to the country. They are using 30 students at Caribbean venues to hold placards, traditional masks and balloons to catch the attention of television cameras.
Advertising is strictly limited to official ICC sponsors but tourism officials have found ways to circumvent the restrictions. "The placards carry various slogans all centered around our promotional theme 'Sri Lanka, a land like no other'," Sri Lanka Tourism Chairman Renton de Alwis told AFP. A placard showing Lasith Malinga's bleached-blond hairdo with the legend "a lad like no other" is being placed next to Sri Lankan masks and it is hoped that spectators or TV viewers reading the placard will associate it with the Sri Lanka tourism tag line.
"The exposure we have had during the World Cup is simply priceless for the country's image. The team's success has generated enormous awareness about the country. It's a shot in the arm for us," said Alwis. "Hopefully, our cheer squads and creative visual material will attract more cricket fans to Sri Lanka when England tours the island in October."
Full postThe unlikely amazement of Howard
Australian Prime Minister John Howard will be an amazed man if Australia don't win the World Cup
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Australian Prime Minister John Howard will be an amazed man if Australia don't win the World Cup.
"This is an incredibly consistent and strong Australian team and the ease in which we defeated South Africa a few hours ago is a very good omen," Howard told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Howard is known to be a huge fan of the game and can be seen more often than not at the Sydney Cricket Ground for Australia's home Tests. He said that Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, was sure to tell his players not to be complacent. "That's one of the reasons why he keeps winning: he never takes things for granted and nobody should do that in sport or indeed in anything else," he said with a fearful finality.
Full postMost Read
Writers