Messages of support have been pouring in for famed Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh who is currently undergoing treatment after it was recently announced that he has been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Singh was diagnosed with a non-malignant tumour of the lung in 2011 but further tests have revealed he has cancer and is now undergoing chemotherapy in the United States. His physiotherapist, Jatin Chaudhary has said that the cancer was curable and that ”It is a rare tumour and is cancerous but it has been detected in stage one.” So, it seems there is hope for the world cup winning cricketer who is expected to end treatment in April and be ready to play from May.

Messages of support have been pouring in from team mates, politicians and fans. Indian Sports Minister Ajay Maken wrote on Twitter that we ”Wish Yuvraj a speedy recovery! Asking officials to find the quantum and nature of help required. Government should and will help him.”

Team mate Harbhajan Singh also tweeted that ”He is a born fighter. I request media to respect Yuvraj’s privacy and allow him to concentrate on his recovery. He will be back with a bang.”

“Shocked to learn Yuvraj Singh [is] down with cancer. Yuvraj if you read this, know that we all pray for you… All shall and will be well,” tweeted Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan.

Yuvraj’s health first deteriorated during the World Cup last year, in which he was the man of the tournament, helping his country win the trophy for the first time since 1983.

Source: BBC News

During a match in the New Zealand domestic HRV Twenty20 competition, team mates Bevan Small, a substitute fielder, and Michael Mason of Central Stags made what the international media are calling one of the greatest cricket catches ever.

After batsman Brad Wilson of the Northern Knights hit the ball for what looked like a six, substitute fielder Bevan Small leapt into the air at the boundary and before he could hit the ground, threw the ball to team mate Michael Mason who dived to take the catch in what was perfect timing and a display of extraordinary skill and coordination.

Before calling Wilson out, umpires turned to a re-play to confirm the final ruling.

Watch the incredible catch in the video below:

Upon my hurried return upon collecting my daughter from day-care, I somehow magically stumbled into my house and managed to switch my TV on just as Imran Tahir was pleading with umpire Billy Bowden to send Aussie tail-ender, Pat Cummins to the showers. The desperate appeal was duly rejected, however it was an extremely close-call as the third umpire took his time to judge exactly how many millimeters of the ball was missing Cummins’ leg-stump.

This heart-breaking close-call was poetic as it summed up not only the test, but the entire test series as well as the preceding one-day internationals during the Australians’ short, successful visit to our beautiful shores. The first day-night encounter saw the Proteas being humiliated by Michael Clark and his Wombat warriors, only for our boys to totally redeem themselves through the brave batting effort of Juan “Rusty” Theron during the second one-day international. The whole of the SA cricket fraternity breathed a collective sigh of relief at the prospect of teaching the Aussies a long-overdue lesson during the third, last and decisive pajama match-up. But as if being dragged kicking and screaming to a horror movie you’ve seen too many times to remember, the shockingly familiar scenes unfold one by one. The spectacularly overrated opening batsmen fail to cement a decent platform up front; the stupendously experienced, world-class, all-rounder plays his most amateurish shot onto his own stumps and the pressure on the lower-middle order becomes too much to bare.

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After drawing 1-1 in their two-match series against Australia, the Proteas have slipped one place to third in the ICC Test rankings.

England remain in the top spot in the rankings, while India climbed to second and Australia narrowed the gap in fourth place.

Captain Graeme Smith, who made an unbeaten century in the first match  dropped five positions to 11th in the Test rankings for batsmen. Hashim Amla, the top run-scorer from either side, contributing 239 runs, climbed one place to sixth, and AB de Villiers, who made 145 runs climbed two positions to 12th.

source: sport24

Agent Mazhar Majeed

Three Pakistan cricket players were imprisoned today after being sentenced to serve jail time for match fixing. Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and their agent Mazhar Majeed were all jailed today for a fixing conspiracy that the judge said threatened the image and integrity of the game of cricket.

The men, who were handed down sentences between six months and over two and half years, have become the first sportsmen to be jailed for on-field corruption in the UK in 50 years. They were arrested after the fourth Test between Pakistan and England in August 2010.

While many in the cricket world were shocked by the harsh outcome, Indian World Cup winning captain Mahendra Singh has said that “It’s the worst thing you can do while representing your country.” It may be a distressing day for these men, but for the cricket world it is positive, sending a clear warning to all players and management of the severity and seriousness of match fixing.

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Protea’s cricket player JP Duminy has said that Gary Kirsten, who has only just taken on the job of Protea’s coach, has made it very clear to the players that it is up to them to win matches. Kirsten, who had immense success with the Indian cricket team who won the 2011 Cricket World Cup, has had a bumpy start to his coaching position. The Proteas have gone on to have two wins and two losses in two Twenty20 matches and two one-day internationals (ODIs).

Duminy explained that “Gary pointed out, when we got together earlier in the year, that he doesn’t have a silver bullet to help us win games. It is all about us as a team, as individuals, putting in performances. He can only guide us so much and it’s all up to us.”

South Africa have the chance to claim their first series win under the coaching guidance of Kirsten when they face Autralia in the third and final ODI in Durban on Friday.

Despite the importance of Friday’s game, Duminy has commented that South Africa will not be changing their preparation for the match.

source: supersport

Let me just put this out here right now at the beginning of our international cricket season: I don’t like T20 cricket. I can barely muster up the energy to get emotional about 50-over cricket at the best of times, but when it comes to T20 I can honestly say that I usually regard the result as completely meaningless.

Take note that I type these words right at the start of this particular game, so I’m not being a sore loser – if, in fact, South Africa are destined to lose this game – but realistically, there’s just so much of this slap-and-giggle T20 stuff on our screens that it’s just not that special anymore.

Me, I blame the IPL. Just like I blame SANZAR for ruining the uniqueness of test rugby by attempting to force feed us giant oversized helpings of international contests via extended versions of the New-And-Improved™ Super XV and the New-And-Improved™ Tri-Nations/Four Nations (or whatever the hell it’s going to be called next year). Too much of a good thing is, well, just too much.

Don’t get me wrong, I get it – T20 is a massive money-spinner for all concerned: players, franchises, advertisers, broadcasters and so on, but as an avid cricket fan I hold the fiery cauldron of test cricket above all other formats of the game as a true measure of an individual’s nerve and ability, where pressure is measured in hours and the dramas within the matches take weeks to unfold across 2 months’ worth of test matches in a series.

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