Connect with us
हिंदी اردو
Monday,23-December-2024
Breaking News

International

With tricky Sharjah wicket to negotiate, New Zealand to take Namibia seriously

Published

3 years ago

on

New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner conceded Namibia would be “dangerous” on a tricky Sharjah wicket during their clash later on Friday, following their gritty display in a losing cause against Pakistan and a four-wicket win against Scotland in their opening ‘Super 12’ game at the ICC T20 World Cup here.

Despite being the underdogs, Namibia have had fruitful outings at the T20 World Cup and the Black Caps wouldn’t want to take any risks with the side by underestimating their potential, given that the Kane Williamson-led side has one foot in the semifinals.

“They are (dangerous} for sure. Especially in T20 cricket. There’s an upset just around the corner. We’ve got to be ready… We’ve seen the wicket at Sharjah can be tricky, and it brings both teams back into it, said Santner ahead of the afternoon game on Friday.

“Namibia have played some good cricket. And so we’ve just got to be ready for that, ready for what the pitch is going to bring, (and ready for) a day game is obviously something new again in Sharjah.”

After two wins in three games, New Zealand are third on the ‘Super 12’ Group 2 table. If they win their final two matches, they will jump ahead of Afghanistan to claim the second position, which will confirm a spot in the semifinals. Pakistan have already secured a last-4 berth with four-of-four wins in ‘Super 12’.

The first of those two must-win matches is against Namibia in Sharjah. Scotland gave New Zealand a good fight in their previous game, so the Black Caps will be wary of underestimating the threat posed by the Associate Nation.

New Zealand have been clinical in their performances so far, keeping it simple and doing well to win the crunch moments against India and Scotland. Against Pakistan, they were in the game for long periods of time until Asif Ali’s late six-hitting took the game away.

Their biggest challenge is the quick turnaround and the change in conditions to Sharjah. “It’s pretty full on. All day games as well. So it takes a lot of out of you,” said Santner, New Zealand’s left-arm spinner, adding that the team was focused on rest and recovery when they could.

“The biggest adjustment (we need to make) – obviously there’s a bit of difference playing in Sharjah versus outside the other two grounds. In New Zealand you’re looking for a bit of bounce, trying to bowl hard length into the wicket, get a bit of bounce, and you don’t really get that at Sharjah, where it actually sits up,” he told icc-cricket.com.

“The guys that have done well at Sharjah are the guys that are skiddier out in the front and keeping it low. That’s probably the biggest adjustment for me and Ish [Sodhi] where in the past you look for that over-spin and bounce, it’s a little less effective in Sharjah.”

Namibia, too, mathematically still have a chance to qualify for the semifinal, but they will be taking one match at a time, keen to first put in performances that ensure they are constantly competing with the higher-ranked sides.

New Zealand have worked like a swell-oiled machine, with several players doing their bit in defined roles. Martin Guptill’s 93 against Scotland was perhaps the first big example of individual brilliance from them.

Namibia could bring back Bernard Scholtz, the left-arm spinner, especially if the Sharjah surface has something for spin. They have tweaked their opening combination for a few games, but might stick to the Stephan Baard-Michael van Lingen one for another game. There are injury concerns over their captain Gerhard Erasmus, who has been managing a long-standing finger injury with injections.

“We know New Zealand are a tough opposition. They’ve got world-class players there. And we’re again being seen as the underdogs in the game, but we’ve played the games at Sharjah before, we’ve had a bit of success at Sharjah, and we think it’s a wicket that could suit our type of bowling. So we’ve done our prep,” said Namibia all-rounder David Wiese.

Probable XI: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (capt), Devon Conway (wk), Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi.

Probable XI: Stephan Baard, Michael van Lingen, Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus (capt), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Zane Green (wk), Jan Frylinck, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz.

Post Views: 20
Related Tags:

International

CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources

Published

4 days ago

on

December 19, 2024

By

New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”

“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.

Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.

Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.

Post Views: 50,025
Continue Reading

International

It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027

Published

4 days ago

on

December 19, 2024

By

India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.

The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.

This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).

It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.

Post Views: 50,135
Continue Reading

International

‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global

Published

7 days ago

on

December 16, 2024

By

New Delhi, Dec 16: Coach Sumit Bhatia is all pumped up for the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-19, 2025. Bhatia, who holds a distinct record of being the only head coach to have won the Asian Championship twice, believes that this historical step is an indication of the realisation of the dream to take the sport to the international level and help it gain global recognition.

Having been honoured with the best coach award by the Delhi government, Bhatia has been a part of various Indian teams’ success, including the 2016 and 2023 Asian Kho Kho Championship victories, and has trained players like Nasreen Shaikh and Sarika Sudhakar Kale. Both of them have been Arjuna Awardees.

Nasreen, who is also a part of the World Cup camp, is the only player who has played in two Asian Championships and won the gold. The coach-student duo is now gearing up for the global event.

Sharing how the journey of Kho Kho World Cup’s inception, the coach said, “We organised an international camp here before COVID happened, in 2020. Coaches and players from 16 countries came here and we gave them training. Now they will be coming here for the World Cup but this campaign started in that camp”.

He further said, “Around 30-35 countries were willing to play the tournament but we picked the best 20 teams for both men and women. Some countries have single teams while some have double teams but a total of 24 countries will be participating in the tournament. It was our dream to take Kho Kho to the international level and now we can see that our dream is getting fulfilled.”

He also lauded the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League and shared how the franchise-based model has helped the players and coaches gain recognition, while also bringing forward grassroot talent.

“When the Ultimate Kho Kho league started, I also joined Telegu Yodhas as their head coach and we also played the final. Players have gotten exposure through the league and it’s not just financial. Earlier we used to hesitate while admitting being a Kho Kho coach but today our players introduce us as their coach,” said Bhatia.

He added, “The league got so much coverage that wherever we go, the players are approached for autographs. So the platform of the league started a new world for both coaches and players and now not just India but the entire world knows us. Earlier we used to tell people about our game but now they know what is Kho Kho and Ultimate Kho Kho league and are also waiting for the third season.”

Bhatia also discussed the impact of sports science on Kho Kho and lauded the newly introduced technology and said, “We have benefitted a lot from it. Sometimes we don’t understand why a player is not performing well. But with the introduction of sports science, we now know about the details of the problem.

“For example, a player might be facing issues with his left leg while sitting and so, it gives us an opportunity to work on that weakness… Sports science has helped us in identifying the accuracy and weakness of a player. So it’s very beneficial for us.”

Post Views: 45,768
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending