Pietersen impressed by Yuvraj, Gayle's drumming skill

London, June 4 (ANI): England's star batsman Kevin Pietersen is impressed by the hitting prowess of Yuvraj Singh and Chris Gayle, whom he has selected as some of his most feared opponents.

Pietersen reckons Windier captain Gayle is one of the most unsafe Twenty20 stars in the world, and adds Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee to that list, as well as fast bowlers Fidel Edwards and Dale Steyn.

Pietersen, speaking in the official World Twenty20 programmed, exposed: "There are a number of players taking T20 to the next level. I think all-rounder have the most to offer in T20 cricket."
"I'm impressed by the likes of Yuvraj Singh of India, Andrew Symonds and other guys who can hit sixes, take wickets and generally field well," The Sun quoted Symonds, as saying.
"I also rate Chris Gayle very highly - quite simply because his batting can tear apart even the best bowling. When he is in the groove, he is practically unstoppable. It's scary to watch him in full flight.
"The likes of Lee, Edwards and Steyn are probably the toughest bowlers. They are world-class pace bowlers and are difficult to face across all forms of the game and certainly no easier in T20," he added.
Pietersen also has a high regard for his England teammates: "I think Stuart Broad and Ravi Bopara could really come to the fore in this tournament. They're very exciting players on the rise in world cricket."
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Indian Ex-stars : India is the team to beat at T20 WC

Bangalore: Despite an early set-back against the Kiwis in the warm-up tie, former Indian stars, including Sandeep Patil and Ajit Wadekar, feel the reigning champions have a very good chance of retaining the Twenty20 World Cup in England as they have the best balanced side.



One of the best coaches in the world and a dashing middle order batsman during his time, Patil also backed Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s early experimentation by saying there was nothing wrong in trying out new tactics before the tournament but not during the tournament.

"Though I don’t like to predict the outcome of any Twenty20 tournament, including the World Cup, I certainly feel that India is the best balanced outfit in the entire tournament. They have a solid batting line-up with all of them proving to be match-winners in the past backed up by the best set of swing bowlers and perhaps two outstanding spinners in Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha," Patil told Cricketnext.com on Wednesday.

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John Blain replace to boost Scotland Cricket for T20 World Cup

The Scotland cricket team have been allowed to replace John Blain in the squad preparing for World Twenty20 after the experienced fast bowler walked out on the team following a training ground bust-up with Gavin Hamilton, the team captain, and Peter Steindl, the coach.
“John Blain decided he didn't want to be part of the squad,” Roddy Smith, the Cricket Scotland chief executive, said yesterday. “He is a grown man so we respect his decision and will move on to prepare for the tournament without him. It is entirely his decision.”

Calum MacLeod, the Warwickshire bowler who had been one of the controversial omissions from the original squad, joined the rest of the party yesterday as the replacement and could feature in today's warm-up game against England at Trent Bridge.

As far as Blain is concerned, it appears that matters came to a head after the match on Saturday against Bangladesh, when Scotland dropped catches during a sloppy fielding performance and lost with more than an over to go. Captain and coach, who have been demanding improvements from the players since their near-humiliation in South Africa earlier this year, were deeply unhappy with the performance in the field and made no secret of their anger in the post-match briefing.

Blain was among the worst culprits, his four overs disappearing for 43 runs, but he appears to have reacted badly to being one of those singled out for criticism after that performance. What is unclear - Blain could not be contacted yesterday - was whether he has retired permanently or may reconsider when Scotland's international programme resumes in the autumn.


This is the latest of a series of problems to hit the Scotland squad, who have gone backwards in status and results since 2005, when they were the best of the associate nations. While Ireland enjoyed a remarkable World Cup in 2007, Scotland failed to win a game and they have struggled since then on the county circuit. Earlier this year they capped it all by failing to qualify for the next World Cup and coming perilously close to dropping out of the international tier altogether.

In that period, they have gone through four coaches and last month Ryan Watson resigned as captain after a wretched run of personal form. Hamilton replaced him and has been quick to make his mark, demanding a more professional, hard-working approach and an end to the sloppy habits that had crept in. “The team don't need bringing together, they have never been apart,” Smith said. “They are working hard to improve and nobody else has got upset by any criticism.” The big task for Hamilton and Steindl is not to let this get in the way of preparations for today's game against England. They need a strong performance to boost confidence before their matches against New Zealand and South Africa at the weekend.

Source : Timesonline.co.uk Read more