Johannesburg: Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke has been ruled out of Australia first Champions Trophy clash on Saturday against West Indies following recurring back problems that continue to trouble the batsman.

Clarke has been struggling with the back pain for many years and has been managing the injury through the taxing international schedule that the Australians have.

“At the moment he is a day by day proposition for us. He is improving, but with the whole tournament in mind we are taking a conservative approach and he won’t be playing against the West Indies,” The Age quoted Tim Nielsen, Australian coach, as saying.

“Ideally, he will be right to go for the second match of the series,” he added.

Nielsen further said that Australians have been playing cricket regularly, so there won’t be any question of him being out of match practice for Australia’s remaining group games against India on Monday and Pakistan on Wednesday.

“He’s played a lot of cricket in the last three or four months, it’s not like he’s coming off a break, so a couple of bats will probably be enough for him to get back in the swing,” Nielsen said.

“It’s just a matter of getting his back to a stage where he can function normally and we’re not concerned if he does have to dive for a ball that he could injure it and hurt it badly enough that he could miss the remainder of the series,” he added.

Clarke most recently struggled with back problems at the end of the Australian summer, but had recovered in time to play in the first Test against South Africa in February.

The ICC has confirmed the event technical committee of the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 has approved Virat Kohli as a replacement player for Yuvraj Singh in India’s squad for the tournament.

The confirmation was conveyed to the Board of Control for Cricket in India on behalf of the event technical committee today (Wednesday).

Yuvraj fractured a finger in his right hand during India’s training session at Witwatersrand University on Wednesday morning and has been advised six weeks rest.

Kohli, a 20-year-old right-handed batsman, has played in six ODIs with his last being in the final of the tri-series against Sri Lanka earlier this month. So far, he has scored 161 runs at an average of 32.32 runs.

The event technical committee of the ICC Champions Trophy consists of David Richardson (ICC, chairman), Don McIntosh (tournament director), Campbell Jamieson (representative of IDI, the ICC’s commercial arm which runs major ICC events), Mike Gajjar (CSA representative), Sanjay Manjrekar (independent nomination) and Nick Knight (independent nomination).

India plays its first game of the tournament proper on Saturday 26 September against Pakistan at Centurion.

Chandigarh: After being out of action for nearly four months due to a shoulder injury, India opener Virender Sehwag returned to the cricket field but failed to score at a J P Atray tournament match here today.

The Delhi batsman, who is playing for Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance 1 team in the corporate tournament, was dismissed by the BPCL bowler Bhavin Thakur as Sehwag’s side was chasing a 273-run target.

Sehwag was out of action since he sustained an injury during the Indian Premier League tournament held in South Africa in April-May and underwent a shoulder operation.

The dashing cricketer missed the ICC World Twenty20 in England, the ODI series in the West Indies, the triangular series in Sri Lanka and will also miss the ICC Champions Trophy, commencing in South Africa from September 22.

However, Sehwag has been signed up by Ambani’s Reliance Industries for the J P Atray tournament, where he is playing under the leadership of India-discard Parthiv Patel.

Sehwag also has been named captain of the Rest of India squad in the five-day Irani Cup tie against Ranji Trophy champion Mumbai starting in Nagpur on October 1.

Herschelle Gibbs will miss the Proteas’ opening match in the ICC Champions Trophy tournament against Sri Lanka at Centurion but should be fit to take his place in most of the remainder of the programme.

“Herschelle suffered a minor rib and intercostal injury in the warm-up match against the West Indies at Potchefstroom on Friday,” commented team physiotherapist Brandon Jackson. “We will start rehab tomorrow and rest the injury for the next few days.

“We will re-assess his position after Tuesday’s match with the aim of getting him back on the field either for the New Zealand match on Thursday or the one against England next Sunday.”

Gibbs suffered the injury when he took sudden, evasive action to avoid a straight drive by his captain, Graeme Smith, in the opening overs of the West Indies match. He batted on for a while but then pulled up in discomfort after running a sharp two.

The Proteas are in the fortunate position that they have an excellent back-up batsman in Hashim Amla who averaged almost 50 (strike rate of 76) in the away ODI series against Australia as a replacement for Smith including a top score of 97 at Perth.

Prior to that he had made his maiden ODI century against Bangladesh at Willowmoore Park where he played in Gibbs’ place.

Sachin Tendulkar is hoping he can mark his 20 years in international cricket by leading India to become the world’s top ranked One-day team.

The premier batsman made his India debut as a 16-year-old against Pakistan in November 1989, since setting many batting records, including test and One-day aggregates and hundreds.

India enter the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa starting next week as strong contenders after staying unbeaten in One-day series over the past one year.

They are third in the ODI rankings, just one rating point behind world champions Australia and South Africa going into the premier eight-team event starting on Tuesday.

“We definitely have the ability, the spirit, the desire, the hunger to get there (number one team),” the 36-year-old former skipper said on Friday.

“Playing cricket for India means the world to me. I grew up dreaming about playing cricket for India. I am living my dream.”

Tendulkar underlined his continued desire to excel, scoring his 44th One-day hundred last week to set up a tri-series final win over hosts Sri Lanka in Colombo.

“It is going to be a challenging season, a lot of cricket,” he said. “I wish we had more test cricket, we only have three Test matches this season.”

India’s best performance in the Champions Trophy was finishing as joint winners in 2002 alongside hosts Sri Lanka.

“We have to see to it that we live up to the expectations of the entire nation and get to where we as a team have targeted,” he said. “We want to be there at the top, just go out and give our best.

“We’ve been working towards it,” he said. “If you look at our performances in the last couple of years, it has been terrific. A couple of hiccups here and there are always going to be there,” he said. “It is never going to be a smooth journey. That is what keeps us together.”

Karachi: Confident that the conditions in South Africa will favour Pakistan, senior batsman Misbah-ul Haq today said his team is all geared up to clinch the Champions Trophy, a title which has so far eluded it.

“I believe the conditions in South Africa will favor us and I believe we have the combination to win the tournament,” Misbah told reporters during a training session at the National stadium.

“Because the conditions in South Africa are good for us we are confident of doing well in the tournament this time. The fact that we have never won the Champions Trophy is also at the back of the minds of the players who want to do well and win the competition this time,” Misbah said.

The stylish batsman, who was replaced as vice-captain by Shahid Afridi for the Champions trophy scheduled September from 22, said Pakistan has developed a winning combination.

“At this level you can only remain in the team if you perform. They are no favors given or asked for. Whether you are a senior player or junior player there is always pressure on you to perform,” Misbah added.

Misbah also praised the contribution of former captain and batting consultant Javed Miandad. “Miandad is a very experienced and sharp cricketer and his tips have been very helpful to us in the camp. He has given us tips on how to come out of a pressure situation and how to handle pressure which is very important for any batsman,” he stated.

Colombo: Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar feels the Indian team has never had as many match winners as it has right now and the side’s fast-improving overseas record is a result of their consistent performance.

“I think we definitely have more match winners. There were good players earlier as well. But I think in this lot we have got match winners and more big hitters as such and you know the guys have delivered at the crunch moment,” Tendulkar told reporters here last night after India beat Sri Lanka by 46 runs to win an ODI tri-series.

“It could be with bat or bowl. But they have been delivering pretty consistently and you know they are all talented guys, extremely talented guys. You need match winners to win consistently. That is what this team is about,” he added.

“There might be a couple of hiccups here and there but on the whole if you see the guys have really done well.” Part of the Indian team for the past two decades, Tendulkar declared the current one led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni as one of the best.

“I have been fortunate to be part of Indian cricket team from 1989. There have been so many great names. I would not want to run anyone down by making comparisons about teams,” he said.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, opener Gautam Gambhir, England skipper Andrew Strauss and Australian speedster Mitchell Johnson have been nominated in two categories for this year’s International Cricket Council (ICC) awards.

The quartet are all contenders for cricketer of the year while Gambhir, Strauss and Johnson are also in contention for test cricketer of the year.

Dhoni is on the shortlist for the one-day cricketer of the year award he won last year.

Strauss led England from the front to a memorable home Ashes series win over Australia while Gambhir and Johnson were prolific during the year from August last year, the period considered for the prizes, an ICC release said on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka batsman Thilan Samaraweera, who maintained his form on return from injury sustained when the team bus was ambushed by gunmen in Lahore in March, will also vie for the test player’s award.

The one-day player shortlist features India’s Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh and Caribbean batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul head the list for Twenty20 performances after steering the team to the World Cup in England this year.

Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan, whose innovative shots lit up the tournament, and West Indies skipper Chris Gayle have also been nominated for their performances in the event.

Awards will also be given for emerging player, women’s cricketer and umpire of the year in Johannesburg on Oct. 1.

The test and one-day teams of the year will also be selected and an award given to the team who have adhered most to the spirit of cricket.

Lahore, Sep 15(ANI): A new name has cropped up in Pakistan cricket, Usman Qadir, the 16 year old son of the leg spinning legend Abdul Qadir, is an amazing talent himself.

Usman, a leg spinner, has been selected in the Pakistan under-19 team for the Zimbabwe tour following a 5-wicket haul in a trial match recently.

The 16-year-old is yet to play first class cricket, but the selectors have shown a keen interest in him.

“He has immense ability and talent for his age. He’s been doing very well in domestic Under 19 cricket and he was selected for the Zimbabwe tour after taking five wickets in a trial match recently,” Pak Passion quoted a proud Abdul Qadir, as saying.

“Usman also performed very well in the Lahore versus Karachi Under 19 match, where he was representing Lahore. PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt and selector Ijaz Ahmed have been impressed by what they have seen,” Qadir added.

The manager of the Pakistan under-19 tour to Zimbabwe, Sabih Azhar, said that Usman was a very bright prospect.

“Not only must you look at his bowling, but he is also a very good batsman. In my opinion, give this boy a couple of years and he’ll be ready to play for Pakistan. He is a very hard working lad who is an immense and exciting talent,” Azhar added. (ANI)

London, September 12 (ANI): He was born blind and has never seen a single match in his life, but has proved that all one requires to become a great cricket commentator is a mix of erudite descriptions of action, comprehensive knowledge of great players, faultless recall of statistics, and needle-sharp sense of timing and judgment.

Needless to say, Zimbabwean-born Dean du Plessis, 32, possesses all these attributes, and has been delivering commentaries on matches for nine years.

He has shared the commentary box in Tests, one-day, and Twenty20 tournaments involving all the Test-playing nations in worldwide radio broadcasts.

The commentators he has worked with include Tony Cozier, Geoffrey Boycott, Ravi Shastri, and Australia’s former spin bowler Bruce Yardley, who himself lost an eye.

In 2004, du Plessis and Yardley made the first ever team to deliver a commentary with a single eye between them.

It is du Plessis’s accentuated sense of hearing that makes up for being sightless.

He relies upon sounds heard via the stump microphones to tell who is bowling from the footfalls and grunts, a medium or fast delivery by the length of time between the bowler’s foot coming down, and the impact of the ball on the pitch.

He can tell whether a delivery was a yorker from the sound of the bat ramming down on the ball, whether a ball is on the off or on-side, and when it’s hit a pad rather than bat.

When the wicketkeeper’s voice goes flat, du Plessis tells him a draw is in the offing.

Though he can’t play the role in the commentary box of the anchor, du Plessis can tell from the crowd noise whether a ball has been gathered in a fielder’s hands or spilled.

“I have to work with the anchor. I am the guy who supplies, well, the colour,” Times Online quoted him as saying.

Andy Pycroft, the Zimbabwean opening batsman from 1979 to 2001, said: “The thing about Dean is the intuition. The public love to listen to him. If he has the right person at anchor to support him he is brilliant.”

Du Plessis hated the “blind cricket” he was taught to play with a plastic-wrapped volleyball at the blind school he attended.

At 14, while feeling bored one day, du Plessis tuned the radio in to a station devoted to ball-by-ball commentaries, and that was what was to change his life.

“There was a phenomenal noise in the background, 80,000 people in a stadium in India, people roaring. I realised it was cricket. I was fascinated,” du Plessis said.

He pushed his way into the commentary box at Harare Sports Club in 2001, and was allowed to try out with the microphone.

He never looked back. (ANI)