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Journalism of Courage
Tweets banned
New Delhi: Players and officials have been barred from using social networking site Twitter during World Cup matches as a precautionary measure against possible corruption,the International Cricket Council ICC said. The move to bar team managers,along with players and coaches,from tweeting follows a suggestion from the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit of the governing body. During matches,team managers are not permitted to use twitter on their phone,the spokesman said by phone from Bangalore on Wednesday. The players can8217;t use Twitter on phone anyway because they don8217;t have phones during matches. It8217;s just the team manager8217;s phone,nothing else.It is only during the matches that they cannot tweet. Before or after the matches are fine. It8217;s being done only as a precaution.
Room for improvement
Colombo: Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara feels that there is still room for improvement for his bowlers as far as bowling in the first 15 overs is concerned. Sri Lanka won both their warm-up matches against West Indies and the Netherlands. 8220;It8217;s good to have won both the warm-up matches. I think there is still a lot of work to be done,mainly in the first 15 overs. There were worries and they were not good enough for World Cup cricket. I think we should have chased it down with one or two wickets less than we did against West Indies, he said.
Swanns appeal to ICC
London: England off-spinner Graeme Swann has urged officials 8220;not to take the world out of the World Cup,8221; amidst fears the tournament could become a 8216;closed shop8217; for cricket8217;s elite nations. The ICC is trying to slim down the existing 14-team tournament,which this year in the sub-continent will stretch to a stamina-sapping six weeks,to a 10-team contest in 2015. But as there are 10 Test playing countries,the associates or second-tier sides believe they will be frozen out as none of the 8216;big boys8217; will accept a change to a system where they all now qualify as of right for the World Cup. And England off-spinner Swann,in an interview with the Wisden Cricketer magazine,8221; said: 8220;Of course the emerging nations should stay in it.8221;
DRS to make debut
Mumbai: Fourteen captains will lead their teams into the World Cup with the governing body8217;s assurance that they are more protected against umpiring howlers than any of their predecessors. The DRS makes its World Cup debut even though the Indian board reckons the technology is far from foolproof,a view shared by cricketers such as Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting. The ICC believes it is good enough for the technology8217;s use in a stage as big as the World Cup. 8220;It was quite clear among the vast majority of the ICC that we should use the DRS in the World Cup to avoid a clear error8221; ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.
SLC to get act together
Colombo: International cricket chiefs on Wednesday demanded that stadium bosses in Colombo make changes to ensure there is no repeat of chaotic scenes during a World Cup warm-up match. Sri Lanka Cricket came under fire after fans struggled to get hold of tickets and officials and reporters were blocked from entering the R. Premadasa Stadium for Tuesday8217;s match between the home side and the West Indies. 8220;We need to ensure that,in future,those arrangements are worked through thoroughly and also communicated to the relevant stakeholders,8221; the ICC said in a statement.
8216;Half-fit Akhtar8217;s handful8217;
Karachi: Pakistan team manager Intikhab Alam has his doubts over the fitness of speedster Shoib Akhtar but believes that even a half-fit Akhtar would be a handful for opponents during the World Cup. The former skipper,under whose guidance Pakistan triumphed in the 1992 World Cup,said,8221;Shoaib is not 100 per cent fit,but even a half-fit Akhtar can lift Pakistan to glory. He needs to be utilised carefully to get the best out of him. A lot could depend on the weather,heat,humidity as to how Shoaib is utilised by the skipper,8221;
Alam said.
