Warne advice for visiting teams

Jaipur: Instead of cribbing about the turning tracks in India, visiting teams should learn to play on them as there is nothing wrong in the host side’s insistence on having wickets that work to their advantage, feels Australian spin legend Shane Warne. Here to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Rajasthan Royals, Warne said visiting teams should come prepared for turners. “I see nothing wrong. Every team visiting India expects such kind of wickets. Don’t the Indians have to play on hard and bouncy wickets in Australia or South Africa? That is the whole fun in cricket. You have to play on different kind of surfaces and have to prove yourself on them. It is a great challenge,” he added.

World XI in final

Calcutta: ICL World XI booked their place in the final of the ICL 20s World Series by beating ICL Pakistani by six wickets at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium here on Monday, according to a press release. The Chris Cairns-led world team will now face ICL India in Tuesday’s title clash.

BRIEF SCORES

ICL Pakistani 113 in 19.4 ovs (Elliott 3/17, Hall 3/22). ICL World XI 117/4 17.2 ovs (Harvey52*; Afridi 4/16). ICL World XI won by 6 wkts.

Ryder rewarded

Brisbane: New Zealand rewarded opener Jesse Ryder for his good form in the one-day series against England by naming him among their 20 contracted players on Monday.

THE CONTRACTED PLAYERS

Daniel Flynn, James Franklin, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Gareth Hopkins, Jamie How, James Marshall, Chris Martin, Michael Mason, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Iain ’Brien, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Aaron Redmond, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori.

Asif selected

Karachi: Pakistan’s pace spearhead Mohammed Asif was on Monday drafted into the national squad for the fourth ODI against Bangladesh after spending six months on the sidelines due to a chronic elbow problem. The national selection committee included him in a 16-member squad announced for the one-dayer to be played on Wednesday in Multan. The selectors have also included young pacers Kamran Hussain and Wahab Riaz in the squad.

No rift: Malik

Karachi: Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has rejected suggestions that senior batsman Younis Khan leaving the side midway through the one-day series against Bangladesh was indicative of an internal rift in the team. “Younis had some personal engagements and he took leave after informing me, the team manager and the board. There is nothing else to his being released from the squad,” Malik said.

PCB gag

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has turned a blind eye to ICC’s standard procedures by refusing to allow the team’s leading performer of the day in the ODI series against Bangladesh to take media queries. A PCB spokesman said the players are not being allowed for the post match press conferences because the board wants to avoid controversies.