Yuvraj defends stand against WADA

Hitting back at sportspersons criticising cricketers for not signing an anti-doping clause, Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh today said playing to a cramped calendar makes it necessary for cricketers to guard their privacy in a brief off-season.

Several Olympians, including Beijing gold medal-winning shooter Abhinav Bindra have ridiculed the cricketers' privacy and security apprehensions with regards to the 'Whereabouts Clause' of the WADA anti-doping code which requires athletes to furnish their location three months in advance for out of competition tests.

Yuvraj said while the athletes from other sports were entitled to their opinions, the cricketers' concerns were not without basis either.

"I feel we are travelling more. We are playing a lot of time in a year and we should be given more space with due respect to other sports," Yuvraj told a news channel.

"After nine months of playing, we come home for just 10 days. We don't want somebody to intrude our privacy for dope tests during that small period. We have put out our points in front of the BCCI and they will speak to the ICC," he added.

The feisty left-hander said athletes from other sports don't have to travel abroad as much as the cricketers have to.

"Their sports and our sport is different. We play more and we get very little time with our families. They have their opinions but we have our concerns and we have conveyed them," he said.

Source by: Cricketnext.in.com

Ashes defeat will see Australia drop to No. 4

Australia must win against England at both Headingley and the Oval to retain their No. 1 Test ranking, as an Ashes series defeat would precipitate a stunning fall from grace which would relegate Ricky Ponting's side to fourth place on the ICC Test ladder behind South Africa, Sri Lanka and India.

A drawn series will place them second after Graeme Smith's men. Either rain or England could seal Australia's demise in the coming weeks.

The tourists require victory at both Headingley and the Oval to retain their No. 1 Test ranking, but a bleak weather forecast for Yorkshire could greatly reduce their chances of forcing a result in the fourth Test.

Australia have won just five of their past 14 Tests, three of which were against the South Africans, and their inability to register a victory in the first three Tests of the Ashes series has drawn Smith's side to within two points of the top ranking.
Mickey Arthur, who so very nearly engineered Australia's overthrow earlier this year, was adamant his side was worthy of recognition as the world's premier Test side, even if rain proves the deciding factor.

"I have been following the rankings a little bit, and I don't think we would be out of place at all (with the No. 1 ranking) if that was to happen," the Dawn quoted Arthur as saying.

"We have played some very solid cricket over the past 18 months. We defeated England, Australia and Pakistan away, and we are certainly proud of that. But whatever happens, I think what is clear is that there is very little now between us, Australia, India and even England. That's healthy for the game."

Arthur has been under whelmed by Australia's performances over the course of the Ashes, having previously predicted them to comfortably account for England.

Like Andrew Strauss, Arthur feels the Australians have lost their aura, but warned England against underestimating them in the final two Tests of the Ashes series.

Tendulkar rates Chennai Test ton as his best

The century hit by master blaster Sachin Tendulkar against England just after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks gave him more satisfaction in comparison to his other tons in all varieties of the game, as it brought back smiles on the faces of terror hit Indians.

Tendulkar was a 14-year-old schoolboy, when Dilip Vengsarkar, then the Indian captain, judged him ready to play first-class cricket and he went on to hit 208 centuries in all forms of the game.

"I think the one against England in Chennai last year," he says, without hesitation when asked about his most important innings played so far for India.

"After what happened in Mumbai (the terrorist attacks), the mood of the entire nation was low. Something was needed to put smiles on people’s faces.

"I am by no means suggesting that the people who lost near and dear ones could forget their terrible loss, but if we as a team were able to make them smile for just a couple of seconds, that was an achievement," The Independent quoted Tendulkar, as saying.

"And thanks to the England cricket team who came back very graciously and played against us. You know, cricket in India brings the entire nation together, from the poorest child to a billionaire. We are in a position to make everyone happy, which is very special for me and the whole cricketing fraternity," he said.

He pointed other innings which he considered important were played during his school days.

"I would say that there were a couple in my schooldays that changed my life. In the semi-final of an Under-17s tournament I scored 326 not out, which is when everyone in Mumbai took notice of me. I then scored 346 not out in the final, with Dilip Vengsarkar and Sunil Gavaskar watching."

"I was only 14 at the time, but Vengsarkar wanted me to join the Mumbai first-class team, which contained nine Test players. He had to be sure I was ready. So he invited me to play in the India nets.

"The Indian team had a camp in Mumbai, and he made Kapil Dev and all these guys bowl at me in the nets. After that session he gave a green signal to the selectors," he said in the interview.

The master blaster said that in his first domestic season he scored the highest number of runs for the team.

"There are three trophies in India, and in all three I scored a century on my debut, so my performances were very good, but also the timing was perfect," he said.

Source by: Cricketnext.in.com

Sachin Tendulkar eyes 15000 Test runs, World Cup

It's been nearly four months since Sachin Tendulkar has taken the field. But his ambitions have not diminished.

In an interview with Wisden Tendulkar has said that he has set his sight on amassing 15,000 runs in Test cricket.

Tendulkar has also spoken about his dream of India winning the 2011 World Cup. India is one of the host nations from the sub-continent.

In the interview Tendulkar also talks about John Buchanan's comments on some Indian players in his new book including himself.

"It is only his opinion; John Buchanan doesn't have to be right all the time. If I couldn't handle short deliveries, then I wouldn't still be scoring runs," he said.

"Maybe he needs to change his opinion. There must be something very wrong with all the bowlers around the world that they have allowed me to score so many runs."
And he has again put to rest any questions on retiring from the game.

"I am not pleased yet with what I have done," he said. "Sunil Gavaskar has told me that I have to get to 15,000 runs. He said he would be angry with me and would come and catch me if I didn't. I admire him so much and to score that many would be a terrific achievement, but that is not the only aim."

Tendulkar also spoke about how he has been consistently playing with pain.
"I always play in pain, all the time. I played with a broken finger for the last three months, but you know when pain is manageable or not, and most of the time I can do it," he said.

"I can still do what I did when I was 25 but the body is changing, so your thought process has to change too. I have had to change how I think, which is about taking less risk," he added.

Don Bradman had said Tendulkar reminded him of himself and the Indian batsman was the only modern player in Bradman''s all-time XI.

Does Tendulkar think the same way about anyone? "I would say Virender Sehwag comes closest to my style."

Tendulkar said he was not thinking about retirement yet but he would know when to quit cricket.

"I will know when it is the right time, I won't have to be dragged away. I am the person who will make the decision and I will know whether I still belong."

He admitted life after cricket wouldn't be easy. "It's a scary thought. It has been there for my whole adult life, it will be difficult, I have been around for a long time, I can imagine when I finish I will long to face just 10 more balls but you have to move."

Source by: Cricketnext.in.com