HOBART, Mar 20: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting picked up his domestic cricketer of the year award today, and quickly batted away speculation about a return to the beleaguered Test team for the Ashes.
The 38-year-old Ponting, who retired from international cricket last November, led the Sheffield Shield with 875 runs at an average of 87.50, including an unbeaten 200 in a recent match. Tasmania will host the first-class final beginning Friday against Queensland.
“I haven’t had the phone call yet,” Ponting joked.
“International cricket has long passed me by and I’ve just been really excited about giving back to Tasmanian cricket whatever I could for this season.
“The decision you make to retire, when you do, is a very big one. I know I put a lot of time and thought into making the decision that I made for all the right reasons.”
Ponting signed a two-month contract with English county Surrey and will be in England when Australia builds up for the Ashes series later this year. He will also play for Mumbai in the Twenty20 Indian Premier League this year.
Ponting scored 13,378 runs in 168 tests at an average of 51.85. He is third on the all-time test run-scorers’ list behind Sachin Tendulkar and Raul Dravid.
Meanwhile, Mike Hussey confirmed today that he was happily retired, saying he was flattered by comments from Australia coach Mickey Arthur that he’d welcome him back into the Test team.
Hussey was still at the top of his game when he retired in January after 79 Tests.
“It’s extremely flattering,” Hussey said. “But I’ve moved on and I really don’t want to be back in that pressure-cooker environment, particularly leading into the Ashes. It’s going to be an extremely stressful time for all the boys.”
Both Hussey and Ponting have been mentioned as possible saviors for the Test team, which was rocked by the suspensions of Shane Watson, James Pattinson, Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Johnson for the third test in India and fell behind 3-0 in the four-match series.
The players failed to provide team management with a critique of their performances in the second test in an episode which most critics compared with schoolchildren not completing their homework assignments.
Watson, the team’s vice-captain, returned to Australia for the birth of his first child after the suspension was announced. But he has since flown back to India and is likely to play in the fourth test beginning Friday in New Delhi.
Ponting said he had not watched much of Australia’s struggles in India.
“I loved the game so much and loved representing my country so much that I thought if I sat back and watched a lot of that, I’d miss it even more,” he told Australian Associated Press.
He admitted the results had been disappointing. “I think everyone knew going there that it was going to be a tough tour for Australia,” he said.
“The conditions they’ve been confronted with over there they just don’t see in our country and you just don’t see in most other countries around the world that you play in.” (Agencies)
Pietersen to miss IPL 6 due to knee injury
NEW DELHI, Mar 20: In a big blow to Delhi Daredevils, their star batsman Kevin Pietersen was today ruled out of the upcoming Indian Premier League due to a knee injury which he sustained during the ongoing New Zealand tour.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said Pietersen experienced knee pain while fielding in preparation for the four-day game in Queenstown ahead of the Test series, which has failed to resolve satisfactorily.
“Recent scans confirm an injury to the right knee with bone bruising and possible cartilage damage to the kneecap. The 32-year-old will return to the UK for further investigations and specialist review,” ECB said on its website.
Pietersen will not available for the English side in the third and final Test against New Zealand starting Friday at Auckland.
“The injury is likely to require ongoing assessments and a six-eight week period of rest and rehabilitation. Pietersen has therefore been withdrawn from all cricket including the Indian Premier League,” it added.
Daredevils will take on defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in their opening encounter of the sixth edition of the IPL on April 3 at Eden Gardens.
In 2011, Pietersen had missed the entire season for Deccan Chargers and was sold to Delhi Daredevils in the 2012 season without having played a single game for the Chargers. (PTI)
Govt releases SOP to identify Female Hyperandrogenism
NEW DELHI, Mar 20: The Sports Ministry today released the Standard Operative Procedure (SOP) to identify circumstances of Female Hyperandrogenism under which a particular athlete will not be eligible to participate in competitions in the female category.
The Ministry in a letter to the states and union territories, Sports Authority of India and recognised National Sports Federations has urged them to appoint Nodal officers and alternate nodal officers as per the said guidelines and display their name, designation, address and telephone numbers on their website.
A statement from the Sports Ministry further said that appointed nodal officers are required to take necessary action as per the Standard Operating Procedure. (PTI)
ICC rejects PCB’s DRS reservations during SA series
KARACHI, Mar 20: The ICC has rejected the Pakistan Cricket Board’s reservations about some umpiring decisions and the way the Decision Review System was used in the team’s Test series in South Africa.
According to sources in the board, the ICC has put down the umpiring blunders to human errors and mistakes and nothing more.
“The ICC has said that none of the umpiring mistakes were intentional and were part of the game. It has also said the UDRS system is working well and producing productive results,” one source said.
The PCB had, on the request of its team management in South Africa after the first Test in Johannesburg, written to the ICC raising concerns over some of the decisions and the performance of umpire Steve Davis.
The PCB had also expressed reservations over the effectiveness of the hot spot technology used by umpires in the DRS system.
“The ICC has now sent its reply to the PCB and said that none of the umpiring errors were intentional and were just human errors,” the source stated.
“The ICC also said the technology used in the DRS had helped reduce the number of umpiring mistakes and the correct umpiring decisions percentage had risen from 92 to 96 percent,” he added.
He said in case of Davis, the ICC had reminded the PCB that it had a proper system in place to assess the performance of an umpire.
“The ICC has said that umpires whose performance was under review were given only one year contracts and if they didn’t improve they were released from the panel,” he said.
The PCB had asked the ICC to not post Davis in the remaining two Tests of the series that South Africa won by 3-0. (PTI)
Gambhir likely to miss opening few IPL matches
NEW DELHI, Mar 20: Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders might miss the services of their captain Gautam Gambhir as the senior opener is down with jaundice.
Gambhir, who was in contention to replace an injured Shikhar Dhawan in the fourth Test against Australia, underwent a few blood tests and jaundice was detected ruling him out of the match starting on Friday.
As of now, he might require rest for a period of three weeks in order to get back in action.
There is a possibility that South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis or New Zealand’s wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum might lead KKR in Gambhir’s absence.
McCullum has already had an experience of leading KKR during the disastrous second edition in South Africa where they finished at the bottom of the heap.
But Kallis, if fit and available, will be the seniormost player and someone who is respected in the KKR ranks.
So, Kallis seems to be the favourite to lead the side if Gambhir misses the first few matches of the IPL.
Gambhir last played a competitive match against Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Tournament where he made an unbeaten 68 in 54 balls to leave a successful chase.
The possibility of KKR having an overseas skipper is due to the fact that there aren’t too many Indian players of stature who can replace Gambhir. (PTI)
Bhutia appointed AIFF technical committee chief
NEW DELHI, Mar 20: Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia has been appointed chairman of the All India Football Federation’s technical committee, marking the Sikkimese sniper’s foray into administration.
Bhutia, who retired from international football in 2011 following the national team’s dismal showing in the Asian Cup in Doha, where it failed to win a single match, was the torchbearer of Indian football during a career spanning 16 years.
“He is becoming chairman of the technical committee. The decision was taken by president Praful Patel. Normally, any committee or head of it is formed with the concurrence of the president,” AIFF vice-president Subrata Dutta told here.
It was learnt that the 36-year-old’s appointment had been finalised at the last executive committee meeting of the All India Football Federation.
Bhutia’s appointment means former India international Mohammad Habib would be removed as head of the technical committee.
Besides Habib, the current committee consists of former international players such as Habib, Inder Singh and Pradip Chowdhury.
Habib had last year accused the AIFF of making its much-hyped technical committee defunct.
Bhutia has scored an Indian record 42 goals from 107 appearances in the national jersey, but is on the verge of being overtaken by current skipper Sunil Chhetri, who is just two strikes behind his former captain.
Under his captaincy, India won the Nehru Cup twice, LG Cup, SAFF Championship three times and the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008, which helped the team qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup after 24 years. (PTI)
Bangladesh women team to tour India next month
NEW DELHI, Mar 20: The Bangladesh women cricket team will play three Twenty20 internationals and three One-dayers during their upcoming tour of India, the BCCI announced today.
The visitors will open their tour with a Twenty20 international in Baroda on April 2.
All the three T20s will be played in Baroda while the ODIs are scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad. (PTI)
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