Gavaskar says Indians must go back to school

Sunil Gavaskar Interviewed by Reuters on Friday, May 14, 2010

Because India have some serious Test series coming up, we need to go to our National Cricket Academy where there are a lot of young players in camp," said former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar.

India's batsmen should be sent back to the national academy to learn how to deal with short-pitched bowling, former great Sunil Gavaskar said in St Lucia on Friday. India, who lost all three of their Super Eight games and were eliminated from the ICC World Twenty20, struggled in Barbados against the aggressive bowling of Australia and West Indies. "Because India have some serious Test series coming up in the next year and a half... in South Africa, West Indies and Australia, we need to go to our National Cricket Academy where there are a lot of young players in camp," said former captain Gavaskar. "Some of the young fast bowlers could be asked to bowl short stuff from 16 or 18 yards or the batsmen could practice with the bowling machine." Gavaskar, now a television commentator, was known for his ability to play pace bowling and enjoyed an average of 65 against the fearsome West Indian pace attacks of the 1970s and 80s. The former opener said a spell in the academy would drill the right mindset into the modern generation. "It's a matter of preparing yourself mentally and getting physically used to transferring the balance from front foot to back foot, that is what they need to practice," said Gavaskar. "It's not an insurmountable problem, in cricket I don't think there has been a batsman born who has been totally comfortable with the short-pitched ball but it is how you face up to the next ball that is the important thing." "While a lot of people get disconcerted and throw it away, others tend to look to stay at the wicket. Where I think it probably went pear-shaped for India was that instead of looking to bat out the frontline bowlers... that approach was not there and that was a little bit disappointing," he said, noting how many batsmen were out trying to hook or pull. Gavaskar said England and Australia, the two form teams at the tournament, had more options than India and were stronger in the field. "(They have) plenty of options... in terms of batting floaters up and down (the order), options in terms of bowling, that have made both these teams stand out," he said. "I think Australia have the flexibility and both they and England have an outstanding combination in the field and have made it difficult for teams to take easy singles. They put the pressure on that way."

2nd Semi Final Result - New Zealand Women won by 56 runs

GROS ISLET, May 15, 2010 (AFP) - Sara McGlashan saw New Zealand into the final of the ICC Women's World Twenty20 against arch-rivals Australia as her superb innings of 84 set up a 56-run over the West Indies here on Friday.
McGlashan's innings was the cornerstone of the White Ferns' 180 for five, the highest total of this tournament so far.
In reply, the West Indies chaseed gamely but were held to 124 for eight.
Now New Zealand, last year's losing finalists against England at Lord's will face Australia -- a side they've beaten six times in a row -- in Sunday's final at Barbados's Kensington Oval.
The destiny of the match was far from certain when New Zealand were 49 for two but a strand of 93 at nearly 11 an over between McGlashan and Sophie Devine took the game away from the home side.
McGlashan, whose brother Peter has played for the New Zealand men's team, faced just 55 balls with two superb straight sixes and six fours.
The hosts rang the changes with their bowlers but it made little difference and it seemed McGlashan might join West Indies' Deandra Dottin in scoring a century at this tournament until she was run out by Shakera Selman's direct hit from short third man.
West Indies, coached by former Test batsman Sherwin Campbell, made a bold start under the Beausejour floodlightrs with Stafanie Taylor in fine form as she struck two sixes off leg-spinner Erin Bermingham to the delight of home fans.
But Cordel Jack fell when she pulled medium-pacer Nicola Browne to midwicket and Taylor was run out by McGlashan for 40, made at better than a run-a-ball.
The West Indies' collapse continued when teenage sensation Dottin fell for just one, caught by wicketkeeper Rachel Priest off Browne.
That left the home team 76 for four and there was no way back, with Kiwi captain Aimee Watkins benefiting from some desperation shotmaking as the off-spinner finished with figures of three wickets for 26 runs.

2nd Semi Final - Australia won by 3 wickets

Gros Islet: Michael Hussey's latest rescue mission saw Australia beat defending champions Pakistan by three wickets with just a ball to spare to reach the ICC World Twenty20 final on Friday. Set a huge 192 to win, Australia collapsed to 62 for four.
But, initially through Cameron White, who made 43, and Hussey's unbeaten 60, they recovered and will now face old rivals England in Sunday's final at Barbados's Kensington Oval.
Australia needed 18 to win off the last over, from off-spinner Saeed Ajmal. Mitchell Johnson took a single off the first ball and then Hussey took over. The left-hander pulled Ajmal for six, struck him over long-on for six more, brought the scores level with a four and thumped another six for good measure as Australia finished on 197 for seven in pursuit of 192.
The man-of-the-match faced just 24 balls, but hit six sixes and three fours. Hussey had come in after brother David had fallen to leave Australia 105 for five in the 13th over. But the elder Hussey refused to be cowed and together with Johnson, who made a mere five from three balls, put on an unbroken 53 in just 16 balls. "This game of cricket just keeps amazing me every day," Michael Hussey said. "I can't believe it, it's one of the best feelings of my career."
Cameron White sparked the initial revival, with 43 off 31 balls, including five sixes, and Michael Hussey said: "Cameron has batted really well all tournament, we needed someone to change the momentum and he did that really well."
Elated Australia captain Michael Clarke said: "Michael Hussey is an absolute freak...Once Cameron got out I thought it was going to be really tough but with Hussey in you never know."
Defeated Pakistan captain Shahid Afrid added: "It was a very good (Pakistan) total but the way White and Hussey played, they played mature and good innings. We perhaps lost it in the last over but Ajmal has bowled really well in this tournament."
Opener Kamran Akmal's 50 and younger brother Umar's even more rapid 56 not out came against an Australia side, yet to lose at this tournament, which had thrashed them by 34 runs in a first round group match.
Left-arm quick Mohammad Aamer, who led the attack with three wickets for 35 runs, removed Australia openers David Warner (nought) and Shane Watson (16).
And when wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal completed two neat stumpings off left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman and leg-spinner Afridi to dismiss Brad Haddin and captain Michael Clarke respectively, Australia were 62 for four inside nine overs.
David Hussey and White staged a brief revival before the former was caught and bowled by Rehman. White though kept swinging away but when he drove an Aamer full toss straight to Mohammad Hafeez, Australia were 139 for six in the 17th over. Australia though, thanks to Michael Hussey, kept going to seal a superb come-from-behind win.
Pakistan, sent in by Clarke after rain delayed the start, saw their innings start with a Dirk Nannes maiden. But Kamran Akmal and left-hander Salman Butt (32) shared a first-wicket stand of 82 as Australia's pace trio of Nannes, Shaun Tait and Johnson failed to make an early breakthrough.
Nannes's second over saw the match's first boundaries when Kamran Akmal, stepping away to leg, lofted him high over the covers. Next ball he drove straight down the ground for another four.
Kamran Akmal was severe on Watson, driving the medium-pacer's first ball back for a huge six. Akmal then took two more boundaries off Watson to complete a fine fifty off just 32 balls with two sixes and six fours.
But he was out for 50 after Warner, running round from the extra-cover boundary, took a fine diving catch off Johnson. Umar Akmal smashed Johnson for two enormous sixes, the second a crunching pull over midwicket that saw him to fifty in just 29 balls, with four sixes and two fours.

Australia not taking Pakistan lightly in semi-final

Gros Islet: Australian captain Michael Clarke can't resist the temptation of facing England in the ICC World Twenty20 final, but for now he is not thinking beyond Friday's semi-final against holders Pakistan.
On the eve of the semi-final, Clarke was candid in admitting that he is looking forward to face England in the final and set the tone for the summer's Ashes series in Australia.
"I'd look forward to that, yeah. If we beat Pakistan and meet England in the final, it would be a good start to what is going to be a very good and interesting summer back in Australia as with the Ashes," Clarke said.
"For me, right now I've got both eyes on Pakistan and I'll worry about everything else after that."
Clarke is wary of a Pakistan side, who have peaked at the right time, having been well beaten by 34 runs by Australia in a first round group match at Beausejour.
"This game Friday is a huge game for us. It's going to be tough. Pakistan have a lot of spinners and they have a lot of class," Clarke said. "Beating them a week ago is irrelevant. If we beat them, it doesn't bother me who we play in the final. We'll keep our fingers crossed. We'd love the trophy."
Australia haven't won the two previous ICC World Twenty20s, but this time they look like a motivated lot with fast bowling trio Dirk Nannes, Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait in the wickets and dynamic opener David Warner leading a powerful batting line-up.
"No doubt it has motivated every player, not just throughout this tournament but throughout the last 12 months. We weren't performing as well as we would have liked in this form of the game. We've certainly improved over the last 12 months. We've had to work very hard to get to the position we're in. Even in this tournament there have been no easy games," said Clarke.

2nd Semi Final

Pakistan vs Australia

• T20 match at Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet - St Lucia, Fri 14 May 09:00 PM IST.

New Zealand Women vs West Indies Women

• T20 match at Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet - St Lucia, Sat 15 May 01:30 AM IST.

We're to blame, says Sangakkara after Sri Lanka's exit

Gros Islet: Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said the team had no-one else to blame but themselves after a seven-wicket ICC World Twenty20 semi-final loss to England on Thursday.
Last year's losing finalists were all but out of the game after being restricted to 128 for six, having lost their first three wickets inside five overs after Sangakkara won the toss at the Beausejour Stadium.
England then completed a comprehensive victory with four overs to spare as Kevin Pietersen, showing no sign of jet lag after flying back from London following the birth of his son, finished on 42 not out.
Only Angelo Mathews, with 58, made more than 16 and the collective failure of their top order cost Sri Lanka dear. "In the first six overs if we'd got 40 runs with wickets in hand we could have accelerated through the middle but we lost three wickets early," Sangakkara, who himself only made 16, said.
"Angelo Mathews played very well but we didn't bat smartly today."
Sri Lanka were particularly perplexed by the England seamers' use of the slow, looping bouncer. "Everyone has those sorts of deliveries these days but it's how you use them that counts and I thought England did that very well," Sangakkara said.
Veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya made just one on Thursday to complete a poor tournament for the left-hander, who finished the World Twenty20 with just 15 runs from six innings. But Sangakkara refused to say whether the 40-year-old, the oldest player at this event, had represented Sri Lanka for the last time.
"Unfortunately he didn't have a great run but to his credit he stuck with the team through a difficult period and the team stuck with him," Sangakkara said.
"He showed a lot of support and we made sure he felt wanted, unfortunately he didn't deliver but we still had more than enough quality to do better than we did today (Thursday)."
Sri Lanka, the 1996 World Cup winners, have punched above their weight in international competition. They reached the 2007 World Cup final in Barbados, losing to Australia and in last year's World Twenty20 in England were unbeaten until coming up against eventual champions Pakistan at Lord's.
"In the last World Twenty we had one bad game. It's a question of not getting too far ahead of yourself and sticking to your basics," Sangakkara said.
"We bat very well and we defend very well but to defend we need better scores. We've got no one else to blame and we need to take responsibility, both for individual performances and as a team."

England not far off Australia: Collingwood

Gros Islet: Australia may have been the team to beat at the ICC World Twenty20 but England captain Paul Collingwood is confident his side can stay with them should their old rivals reach the final.
England swept into Sunday's tournament finale at the Kensington Oval in Barbados with a dominating seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka, last year's losing finalists, at the Beausejour Stadium on Thursday. They now await the winners of Friday's second semi-final, between Australia and defending champions Pakistan.
Australia, with pace bowlers Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson leading the way and with a deep batting line-up, are unbeaten at the tournament so far. The Kensington pitch, quicker in pace than the one at Beausejour, should suit Australia's fast men.
But the England seamers, who reduced Sri Lanka to 26 for three inside five overs, will relish the extra bounce too. Asked if England were playing a similar brand of cricket to Australia, Collingwood replied: "We are not far off, they are a very powerful side themselves and obviously have a lot of pace in their attack.
"It's going to be a proper head to head that one on Sunday - if we were to play Australia. I think everybody on the outside would want to see an England-Australia game but you've got to be careful, Pakistan are still a very dangerous side, you've got to show them a lot of respect. They are the world champions so no matter who we come up against we are going to have to continue to play the way we have played and hopefully that will be good enough. We are just happy to be in the final but we haven't won anything yet and I am going to keep drilling that into the guys."
Turning to the Kensington pitch, Collingwood added: "We probably put in our best performance of the tournament in against South Africa in Barbados (a 39-run win) and we played four games there, two warm-up games and two in the competition.
"I think the batters do like the ball coming on and obviously the bowlers do like the pace coming through but again we are going to have to look at who we play against."
England have never won a major one-day international trophy -- Sunday's match will be their first final since they lost in the 2004 Champions Trophy to the West Indies at the Oval - and in Twenty20 in particular they have struggled to find a reliable opening partnership.
But it seems it may be a case of 17th time lucky - the number of opening pairs they've used in Twenty20 - in Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb. The duo's selection was not without controversy.
Both men were born and raised in South Africa, with Kieswetter a former South Africa Under-19 international although Lumb's father, Richard, opened the batting for Yorkshire alongside England great Geoffrey Boycott.
However, there is no denying their worth to the side which was proved again on Thursday by a rapid stand of 68 in just more than eight overs which ended any lingering hopes Sri Lanka had of victory.
Neither man had played a Twenty20 international before this tournament but Collingwood said: "Sometimes they are the finishing pieces of a jigsaw. We had some very good players but this is what we needed, a spark at the top of the order. Everybody saw it as a bit of a gamble, but we selected them on potential and we knew exactly what they could do. They've batted fantastically well and really helped the middle order to overcome totals."

Blackwell leads Australia into women's final

Gros Islet: Australia captain Alex Blackwell led from the front as her side advanced into the Women's World Twenty20 final with a seven-wicket win over India on Thursday.
Blackwell's 61 - her maiden fifty at this level - was the centrepiece of Australia's successful pursuit of a target of 120. Her innings was all the more impressive as Blackwell, only leading the side because wicketkeeper/batsman Jodie Fields withdrew before the tournament with a hamstring injury, came in with the score one for one.
But together with left-handed opener Shelley Nitschke (22), she shared a second-wicket stand of 74 that ended Indian hopes. By the time Blackwell was stumped by Sulakshana Naik off leg-spinner Priyanka Roy, Australia were 101 for three and in sight of victory. Blackwell faced 49 balls, including eight fours.
Leah Poulton, unbeaten on 30, ended the match with seven balls to spare with a boundary. Australia, who lost in last year's semi-final to eventual champions England, will face the winners of Friday's match between the West Indies and New Zealand in Sunday's final at Barbados's Kensington Oval.
Their victory also kept alive hopes of an Australian 'double', with the men's side facing defending champions Pakistan in Friday's semi-final.
Australia's reply get off to a stuttering start, when Elyse Villani was bowled off an under-edge for nought to leave her side one for one. But Nitschke, twice pierced the cover field as she drove left-arm spinner Gouhar Sultana for four.
Blackwell was soon into her stride, with three fours in as many balls from Roy as she took advantage of a trio of full tosses. Australia, thanks to tight bowling and fine fielding, restricted India to 199 for five.
Opener Poonam Raut made 44 off 51 balls, with three boundaries, before she became one of three wickets that fell in the 17th over. Raut put on 57 with Harmanpreet Kaur, the best stand of the innings, before she was run out by bowler Ellyse Perry's quick thinking flick onto the stumps after backing up too far.
That same over also saw Goswami run out for nought by opposing skipper Blackwell's direct hit and next ball Raut was caught by Jess Cameron, running in from long-on.
Amita Sharma, who hit a straight six in the final over to the delight of Indian fans in the crowd, chipped in with 17 runs off 11 balls. Earlier India star's batsman Mithali Raj was drawn out of her crease by experienced Australia spinner Lisa Sthalekar and stumped by Alyssa Healy - the niece of former Australia wicketkeeper Ian.

England crush Sri Lanka to reach final

Gros Islet: England cruised into the ICC World Twenty20 final with a seven-wicket thrashing of Sri Lanka at the Beausejour Stadium on Thursday. Set just 129 to win, after tight bowling restricted Sri Lanka - last year's losing finalists - to 128 for six, England finished on 132 for three as they won with four overs to spare.
Kevin Pietersen, on his return to the side after he attended the birth of his son in London, finished on 42 not out and ended the match in style with a six and a four in successive balls off fast bowler Lasith Malinga.
England, who have never won a major One-Day International tournament, are now through to their first final since hosting the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy. They will face the winners of Friday's second semi-final at Beausejour between defending champions Pakistan and Australia in Sunday's final at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
Sri Lanka collapsed to 26 for three in just the fifth over and were unable to recover from that poor start. Only Angelo Mathews, with 58, offered much resistance against England's bowlers before he was run out off the penultimate ball. Sri Lanka's next best score was 16, achieved by both captain Kumar Sangakkara, who won the toss, and Chamara Kapugedera.
"I'm going to sound like a broken record here but full credit to our bowlers again," England captain Paul Collingwood said at the presentation ceremony. "We put them under pressure and I'm delighted with how they performed. The two guys at the top of the order, (Craig) Kieswetter and (Michael) Lumb, are still going at the bowlers and again got us into a good position."
Sangakkara added: "Unfortunately we didn't start too well, losing three wickets in the first six (overs). We didn't make the most of our opportunities - 150 would have been a good total."
Man-of-the-match Stuart Broad led the attack with two wickets for 21 runs off his four permitted overs. Both Ryan Sidebottom and fellow seamer Broad took a wicket first ball during Sri Lanka's top-order collapse. Spinners Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy then ensured runs remained hard to come by with a combined eight overs that cost just 41.
At the start of their run chase, England were confronted by a trio of spinners as Sri Lanka looked to exploit their supposed vulnerability against slow bowling on a pitch offering some turn. But Kieswetter, driving strongly, and left-hander Lumb settled any lingering nerves with an opening stand of 68.
However, that partnership should have ended on 40 when Kieswetter cut the ball to backward point and Lumb set off for a non-existent single. Lumb was almost at the other end of the pitch before he was sent back but Ajantha Mendis fumbled the return to the bowler's end stumps, with Lumb yards out, and the chance had gone.
Kieswetter was eventually yorked by Malinga for 39 and Lumb bowled for 33, walking across his stumps, by seamer Thissara Perera. But the damage had already been done.
Sri Lanka were seven for one at the start of the second over when left-arm quick Sidebottom removed Sanath Jayasuriya for just one after the veteran fended outside off stump and edged straight to Collingwood at second slip. New batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan on nine then miscued a hook off Tim Bresnan and was well caught by a diving Luke Wright, running in from deep backward square leg, to leave Sri Lanka 20 for two at the end of the third over.
Sri Lanka's collapse continued when Broad, as Sidebottom had done, took a wicket first ball. Mahela Jayawardene, the tournament's leading scorer with 302 runs, including a century against Zimbabwe, fell for just 10 when he edged a well pitched up ball outside off stump and was caught by wicketkeeper Kieswetter. Swann and Yardy kept the pressure on and Sri Lanka couldn't break free.