CAPE TOWN: South Africa’s worrisome injury-list has been lengthened after wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock was ruled out for up to four weeks with a wrist injury, officials said on Monday. De Kock joins stalwarts Faf du Plessis, Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers on the sidelines, though the latter is expected to resume training in the next few days. De Kock was injured during South Africa’s heavy nine-wicket loss to India in the second match of their six-game series in Pretoria on Sunday which the hosts lost to go down 2-0 ahead of the third fixture in Cape Town on Wednesday.
“Quinton suffered an extreme blow to the left wrist while batting in the second ODI on Sunday and felt severe pain and discomfort,” team manager Mohammed Moosajee said in a media release from Cricket South Africa. ”Further investigation revealed severe bony bruising to the area, with associated swelling around the tendon in the wrist. “This type of injury will require between 2-4 weeks to heal, which subsequently rules him out of the remainder of the ODI and T20 series against India.” South Africa already have uncapped wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen in their squad. Du Plessis (finger), Steyn (heel) and De Kock will now face a race against time to be fit for the first of four home tests against Australia that start on Mar. 1.
CAPE TOWN : South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has been ruled out of the remainder of the one-day and Twenty20 series against India due to a fractured finger. The injury could also sideline the 33-year-old from the first two tests against Australia next month. It is another injury blow for the Proteas, who have already lost AB de Villiers due to a finger injury for the first three matches of the 50-over series against India.
Du Plessis fractured his right index finger in the six wicket loss to India in the opening ODI in Durban on Thursday, a match in which he scored a 120 runs to anchor the home innings. He will be out of action for between three and six weeks, Cricket South Africa said in a statement on Friday, leaving him in a race against time to be fit for the first of four tests against Australia that start on March 1. Farhaan Behardien has been called into the limited overs squad as a replacement, while the Proteas have also added uncapped Heinrich Klaasen as a reserve wicketkeeper-batsman. There are five more ODIs in the series against India followed by three Twenty20 internationals. source: news agency
Johannesburg :Former Test captains Sunil Gavaskar and Shaun Pollock today criticised the wicket on offer for the ongoing the third and final cricket Test between India and South Africa, terming it a "completely bowler- friendly pitch". Gavaskar was of the view that Test match pitches needed to be of sporting nature. "You can get a very flat surface which is totally in favour of batsmen. This is a pitch which is totally in favour of bowlers," Gavaskar said while commenting on the pitch for SuperSport television.
Pollock went a level higher and termed the surface as a bad one. "If you've got deliveries behaving like this on day two of a Test match it can't be judged a good surface," he said. Pollock compared the Wanderers pitch with the Nagpur wicket of 2015 which was rated "poor" by the ICC when South Africa toured India. "You go to India and get a surface like Nagpur where it turned too much. This can't be judged a good surface because as a batsman you are never in," he said.
Chennai:FC Pune City got four points from their last two matches while coach Ranko Popovic was serving a four-match ban. However the visitors will now have to overcome the absence of not just their coach at the touchline but also their talisman Marcelinho for a crucial Hero Indian Super League encounter against Chennaiyin FC at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai, on Saturday. The Brazilian is Pune City’s leading goal scorer with six strikes, including a hat-trick, and has four assists to boot. He will, however, remain suspended for the next clash after accumulating four bookings. He has missed a match before – against Bengaluru FC – when he was not fully fit and was left on the bench, and it showed as Bengaluru FC walked away with full points. “Marcelinho is one of the best player in the league. We will miss him surely but I know our team has quality. If a team cannot play without one player, it’s no team. We know his importance, he is a strong player but we know how (good) is our team,” Pune City Assistant Coach Vladica Grujic said during the pre-match media interaction. With 16 points from nine matches, Pune City are placed third, just below Chennaiyin FC who have an extra point. This puts them in a good position to push for a play-off place, though the assistant coach warned that they still have plenty to do. “We have achieved nothing yet because you can be first, fourth or last. Now, it’s time to try to win points to come as close as possible to first four. This is our aim to come in the first four teams,” he said. Chennaiyin FC are among the more impressive teams in this edition of ISL and are second only to Bengaluru FC. The home team, however, must shake off the absence of their coach John Gregory, who curiously also remains suspended, just like their rivals. “Both of them are really good coaches and they are working here for the betterment of the game. I hope to see both of them back in the dugout soon,” said Grujic. Gregory’s absence should not impact Chennaiyin FC on the field and they should be encouraged with the return of their captain Henrique Soreno who completed serving a one-match suspension of his own. “We know Pune is strong in attack. They look threatening. We know they are a good attacking side and will come hard at us. We are lucky that our best player, captain (Soreno) is behind. It will be a good contest,” said Assistant Coach Syed Sabir Pasha. Chennaiyin FC have conceded goals at the death in their last two matches at home against Delhi Dynamos (2-2) and Kerala Blasters (1-1). That has cost them dearly and Pasha called for focus till the final whistle. “It hurts us, hurts the players. It’s just lack of focus. We have to play as a team in those last moments. Players also understand I think. It will not happen in the matches to come,” assures Pasha.
New Delhi: Sprinter Dutee Chand will be part of the 13-strong Indian team for the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, while reigning Asian champion distance runner G Lakshmanan has been selected in the 36-member contingent for the Asian Games test event competition. The 21-year-old Dutee Chand, who won a bronze each in the 100m and the 4x100m events at the Asian Championship last year, will carry India's hopes in the eighth edition of the tournament to be held in Tehran, Iran from February 1 to 3. Dutee Chand was banned by the Athletics Federation of India in 2014 under the Hyperandrogenism policy but she fought her back in 2015 after challenging the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne. Lakhsmanan, who won double gold in 5,000m and 10,000m at the Asian Athletic Championships, will lead Indian challenge in the Asian Games test event slated from February 11 to 14 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The team also comprises Davinder Singh Kang, who became the first Indian to qualify for the final round in javelin throw in World Championship last year. Shot putter Om Prakash Singh, who competed at the 2012 London Olympics, has been picked for the Asian Indoor championship but his selection to the Asian Games test event will depend on his performance in Iran. Jakarta will host the 18th Asian Games later this year from August 18 to September 2. The teams were selected under the chairmanship of G S Randhawa, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) selection committee chairman. After the meeting at AFI headquarter here on Wednesday, CK Valson, Secretary AFI said, "The athletes were selected on the basis of their performances in the International and National Championships including National Junior Championships held in 2017 and confirming their present fitness levels. "The team is short as we have excluded certain events due to inexperience of our athletes on a 200m track." Meanwhile, Indian cross country athletes will participate in the 14th Asian Cross Country Championships to be held at Guiyang, China on March 15. The team will be selected based on performance at the 52nd National Cross Country Championships to be held on Sunday in Goa. Team for 8th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships (Tehran, Iran): Men: Muhammed Sadath & Elakkya Dasan (60m), Samsheer SE & Shree Shankar (long jump), Arpinder Singh & Kamal Raj (triple jump), Tajinder Singh Toor & Om Prakash Singh (shot put); Women: Dutee Chand (60m), Sanjeevini Jadhav (3000m), Nayana James & Neena Varakil (long jump), Sheena NV (triple jump). Team for Asian Games test event competition (Jakarta, Indonesia): Men: Muhammed Sadath, Elakkaya Dasan, Vidya Sagar, Anuroop John, Satnaam Singh, CH Sudhakar (4x100m relay), Kunhu Muhammed, Jithu Baby, Jeevan KS, Sumit Kumar (4x400m relay), Santosh Kumar T, Jabir MP (400m, 4x400m relay), Jinson Johnson (800m), Ajay Kumar Saroj (1500m), G Lakshmanan (5000m), Davinder Singh Kang & Sahil Silwal (Javelin Throw), Tajinder Singh Toor & Om Prakash Singh (shot put, subject to the performance at Asian Indoors), Samsheer SE & Shree Shankar (long jump), Arpinder Singh & Kamal Raj (triple jump). Women: Jisna Mathew & Soniya Baishiya (400m & 4x400m relay), Debashree Majumdar, Sarita Gaikwad, Nitya Shree (4x400m relay), Hima Das (200m, 4x400m relay), Chitra PU (1500m), Suriya L & Sanjivani Jadhav (5000m), Sarita P Singh (hammer throw), Nayana James & Neena Varakil (long jump), Sheena NV (triple jump). Source: News Agency
