'No batsman has figured me out' by Alex Brown

Three months to the day after he was discharged from a Colombo hospital, head swathed in bandages, Ajantha Mendis claimed 3 for 9 and Man-of-the-Match honours in the World Twenty20 Super Eights match against New Zealand. The wounds from the Lahore terror attack may have left physical scars, but they have done nothing to diminish his spin-bowling wizardry.

Mendis' story is the most remarkable of these World Twenty20 championships. After undergoing two rounds of surgery to remove shrapnel from his scalp and back in March - procedures that required 17 stitches - Mendis has returned to international cricket as if nothing has been amiss. The headaches he suffered in the weeks after the shootout have now been transferred to opposing batsmen, who have struggled to reconcile with his pace, flight and variations throughout the tournament. The nightmares of the Gadaffi Stadium are giving way to a dream-run in England.

To read complete interview CLICK HERE.

 Source: www.cricinfo.com, Jun 18, 2009

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 'Teams fear us' by Alex Brown

Through two Tests, three one-day internationals and a Twenty20 practice match, West Indies had played the role of Peter McNeeley to England's Mike Tyson. Each crushing bodyblow took with it confidence and reputation, and if John Dyson had at his disposal a white towel, it would presumably have sailed over the ropes sometime around the third ODI.

Then came the shot at redemption. Already million-dollar babies after their Stanford payday, West Indies positioned themselves for a shot at a recognised belt with impressive World Twenty20 victories over tournament heavyweights India and Australia, and stoic defeats to title contenders Sri Lanka and South Africa. Standing in their way were the bruisers of England. Rocky films should pine for such a plot.

To read complete interview CLICK HERE.

 Source: www.cricinfo.com, Jun 15, 2009

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 'Stop embarrassing Pakistan' by Andrew Miller and George Binoy

Pakistan's captain, Younis Khan, has expressed his exasperation at the allegations of ball-tampering that marred his team's crushing victory over New Zealand at Lord's on Saturday, and has called upon his critics to produce TV evidence of any alleged misdemeanours, rather than resort to innuendo.

Speaking in the aftermath of the 39-run victory over Ireland at The Oval that sealed Pakistan's progression to the semi-finals, Younis defended his star bowler, Umar Gul, who followed up his figures of 5 for 6 at Lord's with another superb spell of 2 for 19, and hit back at the comments made by New Zealand's captain, Daniel Vettori, who claimed after the Lord's defeat that he had never seen any bowler achieve reverse-swing as early as the 12th over of an international fixture.

To read complete interview CLICK HERE.

 Source: www.cricinfo.com, Jun 15, 2009

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 'Age does not worry me' by Sa'adi Thawfeeq

He's nearing 40, but Sanath Jayasuriya, who says age does not worry him, seems to be enjoying the shortest version of cricket. Today, he dominated Trent Bridge, smacking 81 off 47 balls to lead Sri Lanka to a 15-run win over West Indies.

The win ensured a 100% record for Sri Lanka in Group C, the 'group of death', and though it came in an inconsequential match, will help Sri Lanka - who fielded an unchanged side from their previous win against Australia - continue the momentum into the Super Eights.

Jayasuriya, along with Tillakaratne Dilshan - whom he compared to Romesh Kaluwitharana, his comrade in arms in the World Cup-winning team of 1996 - launched Sri Lanka's innings in imposing fashion with an opening partnership of 124. His confident strokeplay ensured the run-rate never dropped below ten. "When I drove through extra cover in the second over, I knew it was a perfect shot and that I was hitting the ball really well," Jayasuriya said. "I needed to continue so I just watched the ball and if it was pitched in my zone, I always hit it hard. Everything was working well for me today. As long as I am playing well and performing that's the only thing that I worry about, age does not worry me."

To read complete interview CLICK HERE.

 Source: www.cricinfo.com, Jun 10, 2009

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 'It's like another start' by Osman Samiuddin

Abdul Razzaq feels as "thrilled and excited" at the prospect of being able to resume his international career as he did when he made his debut. Razzaq, who was out in the cold nearly two years ago when he decided to join the ICL, will be on his way to bolster Pakistan's squad for the ICC World Twenty20, having been named as a replacement for Yasir Arafat, who is out of the tournament after pulling a hamstring in Pakistan's opening match.

"I am thrilled. I've always wanted to play for Pakistan because it is the biggest honour as a player," Razzaq told Cricinfo. "I've always wanted that and now that the ICL stuff has been sorted out and the NOC approved, I'm glad this is out of the way. It is like another start and I am very excited."

To read complete interview CLICK HERE.

 Source: www.cricinfo.com, Jun 10, 2009

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 'No animosity with Pietersen' by Andrew McGlashan

The ICC World Twenty20 hasn't been short of intrigue during the group stage and eye-catching match-ups will continue when the Super Eights begin at Trent Bridge on Thursday. The second game of the day has England taking on South Africa and no contest between the two sides is complete without a mention of the Kevin Pietersen factor.

When the two sides met in the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa during 2007, Pietersen was controversially run out at Cape Town after a collision with Shaun Pollock. It was at a stage when there was still a strong undercurrent of tension between Pietersen and Graeme Smith, but after a more harmonious contest in this country last year the South Africa captain believes any issues are now in the past.

"I don't think there's animosity there. There will always be the competitiveness between players. He's a world-class batter," he said. "There's no doubt he'll be up for the game on Thursday and tactically we will look at a few things.

To read complete interview CLICK HERE.

 Source: www.cricinfo.com, Jun 10, 2009

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 'We thought we had a good chance' by Andrew McGlashan

There was no second fairytale for Netherlands as their dreams of a Super Eights berth were shattered as quickly as Shahid Afridi ran through their batting line-up. It was the gulf in class that everyone had expected to see last Friday when, for a night at least, the cricket world was turned upside down and went a shade of orange.

This time an 82-run defeat went with the pre-tournament script, but there was no inequality in commitment and pride, from the way Netherlands fielders dived to save every run to the way they went down swinging. "It was a privilege to be here," said captain Jeroen Smits, "but maybe we are better under lights."

The Netherlands players had become celebrities overnight after the England win, the event caught the imagination back home and there were some bosses nervously checking if they'd need cover when their staff didn't show up for an extra week. Those with full-time jobs will be back at their desks in a few days time, but will have memories to last forever even after this heavy defeat.

To read complete interview CLICK HERE.

 Source: www.cricinfo.com, Jun 9, 2009

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 'IPL gave me confidence for international debut'

The first Indian bowler to take a four-wicket haul in a Twenty20 international, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has attributed his dream debut at the ICC World Championships to a successful stint in the Indian Premier League.

Ojha's four wickets for 21 runs earned him the Man Of The Match award after India beat Bangladesh by 25 runs in their lung-opener of the World Twenty20 Championships last night.

Delighted at getting the honour in his very first Twenty20 appearance for India, Ojha said he only responded to the "responsibility" of representing the national team.

"It's not easy to make it to the national team and once you do it, there is a certain responsibility which comes with it. I am happy I was able to handle this responsibility well today," claimed Ojha.

To read complete interview CLICK HERE.

 Source: www.indiatimes.com, Jun 7, 2009

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 'Beating India can propel us in World Twenty20'

Bangladesh have had two consecutive defeats in their warm-up matches but captain Mohammad Ashraful believes a good start in the World Twenty20 could take them beyond the Super Eights stage. Bangladesh are grouped with India and Ireland, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the Super Eights stage, and Ashraful is confident of his team's chances. "Our first goal is the Super Eights, but if we have a good start against India [at Trent Bridge on Saturday], it will give us the confidence of going far in the tournament," Ashraful said.

Bangladesh lost to Australia by 38 runs on Monday and to Sri Lanka by six wickets on Tuesday, but Ashraful did not seem too perturbed. "It's been a good workout for us," he said after Tuesday's game. "This is a format in which any side can beat the other. It's not a lottery but everything depends on how a team plays on that particular day."

To read complete interview CLICK HERE.

 Source: www.cricinfo.com, Jun 3, 2009

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 'Slip-up in death overs cost India'

MS Dhoni blamed India's defeat in their first warm-up game at Lord's on their performance at the death in the New Zealand innings, where 31 runs were conceded in the last two overs.

Ishant Sharma was India's stand-out performer with the ball, taking 4 for 25, and while the experiment of using him in the middle overs paid off, the tactic of holding back the length in the last few overs didn't. The penultimate over of the New Zealand innings, bowled by Irfan Pathan, was taken for 15, and RP Singh was clattered for two fours and a six by James Franklin in the final over as New Zealand put up a match-winning score.

"Instead of yorkers, we wanted to bowl back of the length deliveries in the final three overs," Dhoni was quoted as saying by PTI. "We have seen other teams do it regularly so we wanted to use this opportunity of warm-up game to try it out. Unfortunately, it didn't work today. If we have to go to the basics of bowling yorkers, we would do so.

To read complete interview CLICK HERE.

 Source: www.cricinfo.com, Jun 2, 2009

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 'We are back on track'

The Lahore terror attack might have left an indelible scar on their mind but Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara says they have left the incident behind and are looking forward to the challenges in World Twenty20 Championship commencing on June 5.v

"Returning to cricket is the sign of normalcy for us, getting back to our normal lives. We remember the Lahore attack. There is a lot of emotion tied up with it, but we’ve got to move on. Life moves on, cricket goes on. The guys have realised that and they are prepared mentally now," Sangakkara said.

The World Championship is going to be the first major tournament for the Sri Lanka team after they survived the March 3 Lahore Terror attack, which left six Lankan cricketers injured. "The guys have moved on very well from Lahore. It is great to be back playing cricket and hope we can make a challenge in the World Twenty20. The side is really looking forward to doing well," Sangakkara told a cricket website.

To read complete interview CLICK HERE.

 Source: www.indiatimes.com, Jun 1, 2009

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 Lack of cricket won't harm Pakistan's chances by Osman Samiuddin

Shahid Afridi believes Pakistan's recent lack of international cricket will not hamper their chances at the World Twenty20 in England next month. Since January 2007, no team has played as little as Pakistan's ten Tests and 50 ODIs. Even Bangladesh, the weakest Test-playing nation, have played 15 Tests and 55 ODIs and teams such as Australia and India have played nearly three times as much cricket in that time.

The lack of Pakistani participation in the IPL has also not helped, but Afridi, fresh from a successful battle with the Australians, believes Pakistan are strong enough to overcome the dearth. "I don't feel our lack of cricket will make much of a difference because we are still a strong Twenty20 side," Afridi told Cricinfo. "We have a pretty similar team to last time with only a few changes and we have Younis [Khan] as captain now. He has done well and taken the team along with him so far and he will be vital come England."

To read complete interview CLICK HERE.

 Source: www.cricinfo.com, May 12, 2009

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