Twenty20 World Cup

Defending world champion West Indies announce ICC World T20 squad

Kieron Pollard and Kemar Roach not considered for selection due to continued rehabilitation from injury

Defending world champion West Indies announce ICC World T20 squad - Cricket News West Indies names squad for World Twenty20 2014.

The West Indies Cricket Board advised on Tuesday that its Selection Panel has named a 15-member squad to defend the ICC World Twenty20 title from 16 March to 6 April in Bangladesh. 

Team management unit:
Ottis Gibson (Head Coach)
Richie Richardson (Team Operations Manager)
Stuart Williams (Assistant Coach)
Andre Coley (Assistant Coach)
Saqlain Mushtaq (Assistant Coach)
C.J. Clark (Physiotherapist)
Hector Martinez Charles (Strength & Conditioning Coordinator)
Richard Berridge (Video & Statistical Analyst)
Virgil Browne (Massage Therapist)
Philip Spooner (Media Relations Manager)

Neither Kieron Pollard nor Kemar Roach were considered for selection due to continued rehabilitation from injury.

Pollard continues to recover from a knee injury sustained late last year, and Roach is still trying to get over a shoulder injury that forced him to return home from the tour of India without playing and required surgery.

West Indies, under the leadership of Sammy and the guidance of Gibson, won the ICC World T20 two years ago, when they toppled hosts Sri Lanka by 36 runs in a thrilling Final at the Premadasa Stadium in the Sri Lanka capital of Colombo.

Twenty20 World Cup International Championship

ICC World Twenty20 can be described as the international championship of Twenty20 cricket, which is commonly abridged as T20 cricket. As the name suggests, the game is organized by ICC (International Cricket Council), the governing body of cricket in the world. The inaugural tournament of the ICC T20 World Cup was held in the year 2007, in South Africa.

Twenty20 Cricket World Cup 2007 stretched on from 11th September to 24th September, with India winning the championship, after defeating Pakistan by 5 runs (in Johannesburg). Just like the inaugural event had, all the tournaments of the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup will comprise of 12 teams, which will include all the Test-playing nations. Right now, it is expected that the world cup will held around every two years.

Qualification
Talking about the qualification for playing the ICC Twenty20 World Cup, all the Test-playing nations receive the same automatically. As for the rest of the places in the 12-teams championship, they are filled by ICC associate member nations, also known as qualifiers, on the basis of a qualification tournament. In 2007, there were two qualifiers - Scotland and Kenya. In the 2009 tournament, there are three qualifiers - Ireland, the Netherlands and Scotland.

Hosts
The hosts of ICC T20 Cricket World Cup are decided on the basis of the bids made by the nations interested in holding the championship.


It is the executive committee of International Cricket Council (ICC) that votes on the bids, selecting the host country. It had been decided that the first two tournaments will be held in South Africa and England, since they had opted the T20 format in the earliest stages only. The hosts of ICC Twenty20 World Cup, till 2014, have and will be:
2007 - South Africa
2009 - England
2010 - West Indies
2012 - Sri Lanka
2014 - Bangladesh
2016 - India
Main Twenty20 World Cup Records (Individual & Team)
Batting
Most Runs: Mahela Jayawardene - 858 (25 matches) (2007-2012)
Highest Average: Rohit Sharma - 55.00 (17 matches) (2007-2012)
Highest strike rate: Chris Gayle - 152.29 (18 matches) (2007-2012)
Highest Score: Brendon McCullum v Bangladesh - 123 (58 balls) (2012)
Highest Partnership: Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara v West Indies - 166 (100 balls) (second wicket) (2010)
Most Runs in a Tournament: Tillakaratne Dilshan - 317 (7 matches) (2009)
Most runs in an over: Yuvraj Singh against Stuard Broad - 36 (2007)
Bowling
Most wickets: Lasith Malinga - 33 (25 matches) (2007-2012)
Best Figures: Ajantha Mendis v Zimbabwe - 6/8 (4 overs) (18 Sep 2012)
Most Wickets in a Tournament: Ajantha Mendis - 15 (6 matches) (2012)
Fielding
Most Dismissals (wicket-keeper): by Kamran Akmal - 24 (8 + 16) in 26 matches (2007-2012)
Most Catches (fielder): AB de Villiers 16 (21 matches) (2007-2012)
Team
Highest Score: 260/6, by Sri Lanka vs Kenya (2007)
Lowest Score: 68 all out, by Ireland vs West Indies (2010)

ICC World Twenty20 Trophy 2014 Pictures

South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis plays a shot during T20 World Cup 2014 match

South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis plays a shot during the ICC World Twenty20 match between South Africa and New Zealand at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium in Chittagong on March 24, 2014

© AFP/File Prakash Singh

WT20: Pakistan vs New Zealand Warmup T20 in Pictures

Pakistan’s captain Mohammad Hafeez congratulates teammate Kamran Akmal (L) after he scored a half century against New Zealand during their warm-up match of ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

Pakistan’s captain Mohammad Hafeez celebrates after scoring a half century against New Zealand during their warm-up match of ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal celebrates after scoring a half century against New Zealand during their warm-up match of ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

Pakistan’s captain Mohammad Hafeez plays a ball as New Zealand’s Luke Ronchi (R) watches during their warm-up match of ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

Pakistan’s captain Mohammad Hafeez plays a ball against New Zealand during their warm-up match of ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

WT20: Pakistan vs New Zealand Warmup T20 in Pictures

New Zealand’s Ronnie Hira plays a ball against Pakistan during their warm-up match of ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

New Zealand’s Kane Williamson (L) and Martin Guptill run between the wickets during their warm-up match against Pakistan during the ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

New Zealand’s captain Brendon McCullum plays a ball against Pakistan during their warm-up match of ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

WT20: India vs Sri Lanka Warmup T20 in Pictures

Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal tries to play a ball as India’s captain and wicketkeeper MS Dhoni breaks the wicket to dismiss him successfully during their warm-up match of ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera plays a ball against India during their warm-up match of ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

Sri Lanka’s fielders congratulate Lasith Malinga (2nd R) as he dismissed India’s Virat Kohli successfully during their warm-up match of ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga bowls against India during their warm-up match of ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

India’s Ravindra Jadeja (2nd L) leaves the field as Sri Lanka’s fielders celebrate his dismissal during their warm-up match of ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara is bowled out as India’s captain MS Dhoni (R) watches during their warm-up match of ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

India’s Virat Kohli is bowled out against Sri Lanka during their warm-up match of ICC Twenty20 World Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

WT20: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan 1st T20 in Pictures

Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan (C) congratulates bowler Abdur Razzak as he dismissed Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi successfully during their ICC Twenty20 World Cup match at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan (R) congratulates bowler Abdur Razzak as he dismissed Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi successfully during their ICC Twenty20 World Cup match at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

Bangladesh’s Nasir Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan (R) congratulate bowler Abdur Razzak after he dismissed Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi successfully during their ICC Twenty20 World Cup match at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad leaves the field as Bangladesh’s Nasir Hossain (L) celebrates his dismissal during their ICC Twenty20 World Cup group A match at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

Afghanistan’s Gulbadin Naib plays a ball against Bangladesh during their ICC Twenty20 World Cup match at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

Afghanistan’s captain Mohammad Nabi plays a ball as Bangladesh’s captain and wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim (R) watches during their ICC Twenty20 World Cup match at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka

ICC World T20 2014 in Bangladesh

World T20 : AB de Villiers onslaught powers South Africa

AB de Villiers smashed his way to an unbeaten 28-ball 69 to help South Africa post a massive 197-run target for England in their last Group 1 league match of the ICC World T20 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong.

AB de Villiers smashed his way to an unbeaten 28-ball 69 to help South Africa post a massive 197-run target for England in their last Group 1 league match of the ICC World T20 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong.

De Villiers was in his elements as he smacked nine fours and three huge sixes to leave England bowlers clueless.

England staged a fightback against South Africa as they removed Quinton de Kock and JP Duminy in quick succession.

England got the first breakthrough when skipper Stuart Broad struck to dismiss Hashim Amla.

Amla, who put up a solid 90-run opening wicket stand with De Kock, came out all guns blazing to give South Africa blistering start and continued to hammer England bowlers all over the park and took Proteas past 50 runs in the sixth over.

Amla led from the front as he notched up 30-ball fifty to put South Africa on top. He smashed six boundaries and two sixes during his swashbuckling knock.

Soon after, ​Quinton de Kock (29) too returned back to the pavilion when he was stumped by England keeper Jos Buttler off the bowling of James Tredwell.

South Africa suffered another blow in the form of JP Duminy.  Play was disrupted because of floodlight failure forcing the players to walk off the field.

The lights were out for ten minutes before the players came back out and play continued.  Earlier, England skipper Stuart Broad won the toss and decided to field against South Africa.

With regular captain Faf Du Plessis serving a one-match ban for slow over rates, AB de Villiers leads South Africa.

Farhaan Behardien replaced Du Plessis while Wayne Parnell came in for Lonwabo Tsotsobe. England started with a loss against New Zealand, courtesy rain that robbed them of a chance to defend their total of 172/6, but the Broad-captained side brought its campaign back on track with a six-wicket victory over table-toppers Sri Lanka.

With back-to-back victories, South Africa have put themselves in contention for a semifinal berth and they will look to seal the berth.  South Africa had started their campaign on a sour note, losing to Sri Lanka by five runs, but Proteas notched up successive wins against New Zealand and the Netherlands in the next two games to stay in the hunt.

Teams:

England: Michael Lumb, Alex Hales, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Chris Jordan, Stuart Broad (capt), James Tredwell, Jade Dernbach

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wkt), Hashim Alma, AB de Villiers (capt), JP Duminy, Farhaan Behardien, David Miller, Albie Morkel, Dale Steyn, Beuran Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Wayne Parnell

Why Ashwin feels wearing full sleeves helps offies

India's top off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday made an innocuous media conference interesting when he said his 'Sunil Narine-like action' during Asia Cup was prompted by a thought as to whether "he can do a little bit with his elbow" wearing a "full-sleeve" jersey.

Ashwin did not take any names but his statement raised a question mark on whether some of the off-break bowlers in the international circuit are getting unfair advantage or not.

"I wanted to do something different (on his Narine-like action). Unless you try, you won't find out what can work or not. I had never bowled in full-sleeves before. So I wanted to see how it would feel. That's point number one," he said.

"And I just wanted to see if you can get more revs (revolution) on the ball if you can do a little bit with your elbow, as much as that is. You can get a lot of advantage with these things -- so why should I lag behind if someone else is getting a competitive edge," Ashwin said in remarks which may raise a few eyebrows.

Ashwin's 11-minute media interaction ahead of India's World Twenty20 match against Australia on Sunday had all sorts of elements in it. A bit of swagger when he answered the question on his winning man-of-the-match award against Bangladesh, some quotable quotes like "swim a tsunami" when quizzed on batting first and a seminar-like term "industrial average" when asked about India's death bowling.

Asked if India would like to challenge themselves and bat first on winning toss, Ashwin said, "I would not want to swim a tsunami! I would not want to challenge conditions. If we win the toss, we'll again bowl first if that is what is required. You will be fighting against a wall if you are fighting against conditions."

On his man-of-the match award against Bangladesh on Friday, Ashwin said, "I have been living with it for the last three-four years, so I'm used to it right now. For a batsman, who has not got runs for five-six games to actually get runs and get a man of the match award -- it's going to really boost his confidence.

"It's the same for a bowler. Unless you apprise the bowler with something like that, you will never find good bowlers coming through. As much as a batsman is important, a bowler's confidence is also important. In that regard, yes it's a big boost."

Asked about India's death bowling, he came up with a new term "industrial average".

"I have not looked at the stats but the 'industrial average' has been like that. It's not like Australia concedes less than what India does or Pakistan does. Probably Pakistan might (concede less) but if you see the overall stats, they're going at nine runs an over," he said.

"We're also doing the same if not picking a few more wickets on the way. We need to view it from a perspective of what's the world doing and what are we doing. If you take it that way, we're doing a pretty good job."

Asked if the preparation differs between bowling the first over and at the death, he spoke about "swallowing" one's ego by trading accuracy for wickets.

"When you're starting off, you tend to look to bowl as good balls as possible in the areas you want. The disadvantage with that is that a good ball can be hit for four with less amount of risk as fielders are insider the circle," he said.

"Whereas in the death, you have to be -- this is my take on it, not that this is how it has to be -- swallowing your ego and trying to make sure you're not giving runs away. Because there are people around who want to pick wickets at that time. For me, it's about swallowing your ego and making sure you've done the situation bit pretty well."

Ashwin also gave a curt reply when asked about any conscious ploy to bowl round-the-wicket to right-handed batsmen.

"As such, I've not thought about anything like that. It's a common phenomenon, isn't it? You see off-spinners coming around the stumps straight away these days. I cannot explain why we do it. It's just what you feel right. If it's worked, you want to stick on to it. A batsman makes runs with a bat, he sticks to the same bat! Something like that."

He also praised Amit Mishra but did not forget to mention that the leggie was used in situations where the batsmen were having a go at him.

"As a combination, every bowling unit benefits from each other's success and bowling strengths. Amit has been one of our potent forces in this tournament. We've been using him in all the situations where they actually have to go for it. He does not give you a lot of pace so when the batsmen are going after him, it's a big chance. Because, then he's going to slow it down even more."

Ashwin himself is also trying to vary his pace a lot. "There's been a conscious effort to vary the pace, not just slow it down. I've been bowling at different paces -- 100 kmph to 80 to 75. That's what I've been looking at and trying to use the crease much more -- whatever cues I took from the Asia Cup," he said.

Ashwin said that it won't be a problem that some of the Indian batsmen have not yet got a hit out there in the middle.

"Dhoni never batted until yesterday but look at the way he struck the ball. That's probably a positive. We never really came into this tournament as favourites. We would not want to have that tag of favourites. We'll go into the semi-final, play yet another game and see if we can find ourselves in the final again," said Ashwin.

The Tamil Nadu tweaker did not give indications about whether there will be any experiments with the team combinations now that India have qualified for the semifinals.

"Not so sure about that because it's pretty much like how we played the Champions Trophy. We take one game at a time. What suits us to win that particular game will be what we'll look to do," he said.

Ashwin conceded that the wicket at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium was quite slow which required a bowler to vary his pace.

"It's a bit of variation in pace more than anything else. That's what I've been looking to do -- vary the length and vary the pace. You slow it down, you can get a bit of purchase. There were a few occasions when I slowed it down and the ball actually spun the other way yesterday.

"So I don't know what it is. The wicket is quite slow. But if you're prepared to slow it down and take pace off the ball, you're in with a chance here," Ashwin said.

Asked if the current situation in Indian cricket was somewhat similar to their Champions Trophy campaign (in 2013 after the IPL fixing scandal broke out), Ashwin gave an answer completely divergent from the question.

"There are lots but there are smaller things which obviously nobody hears of. Those are all smaller things, superstitions that we carry. But there's a lot that's similar to the CT. We're enjoying ourselves. For once we're not looking at results. We're not looking at what we need to achieve. If we're lucky enough, we'll be here until the 6th (April). That's how we look at it.

2014 Best Forex Broker Reviews

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