Injured Pietersen out of Champions Trophy

LONDON

LONDON: Injury prone all-rounder Andrew Flintoff faces a taxing schedule after being named in all three of England's One-day squads on Monday, each one missing injured batsman Kevin Pietersen.

Flintoff, who is set to make his farewell to Test cricket in this week's Ashes decider at the Oval despite still struggling with a knee problem, has made it clear he wants to remain a force in One-Day Internationals.

And the England selectors appear to have taken the 31-year-old at his word.

He was included in the 15-man party from which England will pick their side for the seven home ODIs against Australia that follow hard on the heels of the Ashes finale before that squad heads to South Africa for the Champions Trophy where England will bid to win their first major One-day title.

Test captain Andrew Strauss will lead a squad featuring just one uncapped player in Kent batsman Joe Denly.

But before that, and with star batsman Pietersen recovering from an Achilles injury, Flintoff will be a member of the 14-man squad that travels to Belfast for a match against Ireland that takes places just three days after the scheduled end of the decisive fifth Ashes Test.

That team will be captained by Paul Collingwood, in the rested Strauss' absence, as will the 15 man-squad chosen to face Australia in two Twenty20 internationals at Old Trafford, Flintoff's Lancashire home ground.

As well as Flintoff, Denly, leg-spinner Adil Rashid, wicket-keeper Matt Prior, Owais Shah and Ashes discard Ravi Bopara are in all three squads.

Jonathan Trott, Bopara's replacement at the Oval, only makes it into the Twenty20 squad as a batting stand-in for the absent Strauss.

But Alastair Cook, keeper James Foster, Test fast bowler Stephen Harmison, Ian Bell, Rob Key and all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas have all failed to make the cut for the Champions Trophy squad after being included in the provisional 30 and do not feature in England's other One-day parties either.

"We have kept faith with the bulk of the squad which was successful in the NatWest Series against West Indies earlier this summer and also included two players, Luke Wright and Adil Rashid, who were part of our squad for the ICC World T20," said England national selector Geoff Miller.

"Joe Denly has impressed the selectors for a while with some excellent performances in One-day cricket, and with Kevin Pietersen unavailable through injury, this is an excellent opportunity for Joe to step up to the next level and show what he is capable of."

Strauss ruled himself out of England's Twenty20 plans earlier this year but remains available for the 50-over format.

However, Miller said: "Andrew Strauss has led the side extremely well in both forms of cricket this summer."

"But the selectors felt it would be beneficial for him to have a short break from international cricket following the conclusion of the Ashes Test series, and Paul Collingwood will lead the side in Ireland and in the T20s."

Squads

For the ODIS against Australia and the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa:

Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Joe Denly, Andrew Flintoff, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wkt), Adil Rashid, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright.

England squad for ODI v Ireland in Belfast on August 27:

Paul Collingwood (capt), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Joe Denly, Andrew Flintoff, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wkt), Rashid Shah, Graeme Swann, Ryan Sidebottom, Luke Wright.

England squad for the T20 internationals against Australia on August 30 and September 1

Paul Collingwood (capt), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Joe Denly, Andrew Flintoff, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wkt), Rashid Shah, Graeme Swann, Ryan Sidebottom, Luke Wright, Ian Trott.

TOI

West Indies snubs Gayle, Sarwan for Champions Trophy

BRIDGETOWN (

BRIDGETOWN (Barbados): West Indies will be without its leading players for the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa next month.


The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) on Monday again left out the players who chose to strike during the Test, One-day and Twenty20 series against Bangladesh in July in the Caribbean.

Former skipper Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo and Jerome Taylor are the main stars absent.

The side will again be led by 37-year-old Floyd Reifer and includes two uncapped players in all-rounder Royston Crandon and wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton.

Walton, a Jamaican who represents the Combined Colleges & Campuses, appeared in both Tests against Bangladesh but did not appear in the limited overs matches.

Crandon, 26, is a hard-hitting right-hander and off-spinner from Guyana.

West Indies has also recalled fast bowlers Tino Best and Daren Powell.

Best also played in the tests against Bangladesh but has not appeared in One-dayers since May 2006.

Powell, who declared his unavailability for the Bangladesh series, returns for the first time since last March against England in the Caribbean.

Fellow fast bowler Fidel Edwards, the most experienced bowler in the previously chosen 30-man provisional squad, missed out with a persistent back injury.

David Williams, the assistant coach, will be at the helm following last week firing of head coach John Dyson.

Squad: Floyd Reifer (captain), Darren Sammy (vice-captain), David Bernard Jr., Tino Best, Royston Crandon, Travis Dowlin, Andre Fletcher, Nikita Miller, Daren Powell, Kieran Powell, Dale Richards, Kemar Roach, Devon Smith, Gavin Tonge, Chadwick Walton

TOI

Jankovic downs Safina to win Cincinnati title

CINCINNATI (Ohio), Aug 17: Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic boosted her US Open hopes with a brisk 6-4, 6-2 victory over world number one Dinara Safina on Sunday in the final of the two million-dollar WTA Cincinnati Open.
“My smile is back and I’m having fun playing the matches,” said Jankovic, who started the year atop the world rankings but has seen her status slip with a series of lackluster results. “This is what I missed. I missed this for maybe seven months this year.” Jankovic bounced back from a tough semi-final victory on Saturday night to claim her second title of 2009, after a victory in a claycourt tournament in Marbella in April.

Sehwag wants to quit; just a tactic, says DDCA

New Delhi, Aug 17: Indian opener Virender Sehwag has threatened to quit the Delhi Ranji team, alleging interference in selection matters by the DDCA Sports Committee members.
Sehwag, who is currently in Bangalore undergoing rehabilitation for his injured shoulder, has been told to put his decision on hold till he meets the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) President Arun Jaitley. The meeting is likely to take place on August 27 or 28 to discuss the matter. The explosive right-hander has threatened to leave the team for Haryana, saying that he is frustrated with the interference in selection matters. The DDCA’s Sports Secretary Sunil Dev said he has not received any communication from Sehwag nor has he approached him for a No Objection Certificate to play for some other state. But a top DDCA source said Sehwag’s threat to quit was just a “pressure tactic” to bring in a couple of his players in the Ranji squad. “He wants to bring Mayank Tehlan and Pradeep Sangwan into the team. But since the Delhi team is well set, it is not possible. That is the reason why he is making such threats,” the source told. Sehwag has claimed that some selectors group together to force a player of their choice into the side, leaving the captain and selection committee chairman powerless. He has also alleged manipulation in the selection of Delhi under-16 and under-19 teams. The Delhi team, which won the 2007-08 Ranji title, failed to even make the knock-out stage last season. Sehwag did not play a single match last season because of his engagements with the national team. (PTI)