Cricket needs entertaining players like Raina & Bairstow: Chappell

Watching the trials and tribulations of Jonny Bairstow as he faced a short-pitched onslaught from the West Indies pace bowlers took my mind back twelve months to when Suresh Raina faced a similar assault by the England attack, writes Ian Chapell in Hindustan Times, adding that any coach fortunate enough to have a young batsman who he thinks is skilled enough to reach international level should automatically have his pupil learn the full repertoire of shots.

“If that mission is accomplished, the player, on reaching international level, will then have the option of deciding which shots he employs on the day, depending on the bowlers and the conditions. If the young batsman isn't fully prepared, then he faces the prospect of trying to survive at the highest level while fighting with one hand tied behind his back,” writes Chappell, adding that Suresh Raina found this out in the series against England; after being constantly badgered by the English quicks, he eventually lashed out at Trent Bridge only to be caught off a top-edge hook.

“Both Bairstow and Raina are talented and have the skill to make big scores in Tests. The game needs young players like them to succeed because they are both extremely entertaining cricketers. If both fall short of expectations, it could be the result of an inadequate preparation for a future at Test level,” writes Chappell in HT.

S Sreesanth was operated upon on Saturday morning at a hospital in Saket. A friend of the cricketer told Delhi Times, “Sree has posted a picture of himself wearing a white mask, lying on a hospital bed. I guess it was a sinus operation, as he was not allowed to speak to anyone.” Sree’s elder brother Dipushanthan said, “Sree is in Delhi in hospital.”

Meanwhile MS Dhoni was appointed ambassador of Nepal cricket at a function in Kathmandu, in a move to help promote Nepal’s tourism. Dhoni was accompanied by wife Sakshi on the twoday Nepal visit. He said, “Cricket is an upcoming sport in Nepal and I want to see Nepali youth forming a famous cricket team in the future."

According to TOI, the controversy surrounding the application of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) in the game of cricket at the international level refuses to die down. England batsman Ian Bell, who after scoring a sublime 126 against the West Indies in the first ODI at Hampshire on Saturday, revealed how he nicked the ball behind when on 23, but UDRS gave him the benefit of the doubt, and allowed him to fire England to One-day glory. Bell helped England to register a 114-run win over the West Indies. Asked if he thought he had hit the ball, Bell said: “Yeah.”

Meanwhile all-rounder Thisara Perera registered a rare hat-trick to lead Sri Lanka to an unlikely 44-run win over Pakistan in the fourth ODI in Colombo on Saturday. The visitors, chasing 244 for victory, were cruising at 166/2 in the 38th over only to collapse to 199 all out as Sri Lanka took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.