Pietersen’s World Cup dreams shattered
Morgan replaces injured England batsman.
CHENNAI:
England batsman Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out of the World Cup due to his hernia problem, which has also shattered his lucrative Indian Premier League plans.
The 30-year-old will head home to undergo an operation which Pietersen had hoped to postpone until after the World Cup. Eoin Morgan has been requested as a replacement. The right-hander said he was distraught at the development and was “sad to leave India”.
“Out of the WC & IPL. Absolutely devastated,” Pietersen wrote on his twitter account.
The operation was brought forward after Pietersen was troubled during England’s narrow win over South Africa.
England coach Andy Flower said he had hoped the star batsman could “bite the bullet” but he had found the pain “too debilitating”.
“We hoped that he would take pain-killers when needed. Unfortunately he says he can’t go on like that,” said Flower.
Pietersen’s injury was diagnosed following England’s 6-1 One-Day International (ODI) series loss in Australia in February. He is expected to be fit for the home series against Sri Lanka in May.
‘DRS has improved correct decision by 7 per cent’
The controversial Decision Review System (DRS) has improved correct umpiring verdicts by more than seven per cent in the World Cup, announced the International Cricket Council (ICC).
It has not been an easy debut for DRS in the showpiece event as Indian cricket officials, infuriated by Ian Bell’s apparent let-off for lbw in the tied India-England match, wrote an angry letter to the ICC pointing out the inadequacy it perceives in the system.
The statistics revealed that correct decisions in the World Cup have risen from an average of 90.18 per cent to 97.82 per cent due to the DRS. ICC General Manager David Richardson said the number of appealed decisions in the event is above the normal average for ODIs.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 8th, 2011.
England batsman Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out of the World Cup due to his hernia problem, which has also shattered his lucrative Indian Premier League plans.
The 30-year-old will head home to undergo an operation which Pietersen had hoped to postpone until after the World Cup. Eoin Morgan has been requested as a replacement. The right-hander said he was distraught at the development and was “sad to leave India”.
“Out of the WC & IPL. Absolutely devastated,” Pietersen wrote on his twitter account.
The operation was brought forward after Pietersen was troubled during England’s narrow win over South Africa.
England coach Andy Flower said he had hoped the star batsman could “bite the bullet” but he had found the pain “too debilitating”.
“We hoped that he would take pain-killers when needed. Unfortunately he says he can’t go on like that,” said Flower.
Pietersen’s injury was diagnosed following England’s 6-1 One-Day International (ODI) series loss in Australia in February. He is expected to be fit for the home series against Sri Lanka in May.
‘DRS has improved correct decision by 7 per cent’
The controversial Decision Review System (DRS) has improved correct umpiring verdicts by more than seven per cent in the World Cup, announced the International Cricket Council (ICC).
It has not been an easy debut for DRS in the showpiece event as Indian cricket officials, infuriated by Ian Bell’s apparent let-off for lbw in the tied India-England match, wrote an angry letter to the ICC pointing out the inadequacy it perceives in the system.
The statistics revealed that correct decisions in the World Cup have risen from an average of 90.18 per cent to 97.82 per cent due to the DRS. ICC General Manager David Richardson said the number of appealed decisions in the event is above the normal average for ODIs.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 8th, 2011.