India's Ravichandran Ashwin speaks at a press conference prior to starting a final training session ahead of the 2015 Cricket World Cup Pool B match between the West Indies and India in Perth on March 5, 2015. AFP PHOTO / Greg WOOD
India's Ravichandran Ashwin speaks at a press conference prior to starting a final training session ahead of the 2015 Cricket World Cup Pool B match between the West Indies and India in Perth on March 5, 2015. AFP PHOTO / Greg WOOD
India's Ravichandran Ashwin speaks at a press conference prior to starting a final training session ahead of the 2015 Cricket World Cup Pool B match between the West Indies and India in Perth on March 5, 2015. AFP PHOTO / Greg WOOD
India's Ravichandran Ashwin speaks at a press conference prior to starting a final training session ahead of the 2015 Cricket World Cup Pool B match between the West Indies and India in Perth on March

Sport

It’s pretty much about boundaries and wickets, and you can restrict the hitting to one side and see if you can get a wicket or two."

Reuters

March 05, 2015

  • English
  • Arabic

PERTH, AUSTRALIA // Restricting scoring to any one side of the wicket could be an effective ploy to tame big-hitting batsmen like Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers at the World Cup, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said on Thursday.

Three 400-plus totals have already been registered in the 14-team tournament and West Indies opener Chris Gayle has struck World Cup’s first double century against Zimbabwe.

Batsmen such as South Africa captain de Villiers and Australian Glenn Maxwell have capitalised on field restrictions and made mockery of field settings with 360-degree strokeplay in a skewed contest between the bat and ball.

Ashwin, however, was looking forward to the challenge of bowling to Gayle in Friday’s Pool B match at Perth.

“You’ve got to restrict hitting to one side of the ground... and try to see how much you can restrict the hitting to that side,” Ashwin told reporters at the WACA.

“It’s pretty much about boundaries and wickets, and you can restrict the hitting to one side and see if you can get a wicket or two,” added India’s most successful bowler in the tournament so far with eight wickets.

West Indies captain Jason Holder would naturally like to see Gayle punish India on Friday but as a bowler he too has suffered at de Villiers’ hand, bleeding 104 runs in his 10 overs in the 257-run defeat last week.

Like Ashwin, Holder too advocated forcing the swasbuckling batsmen into hitting to one side only.

“I think we have to limit batsmen’s scoring on one side. You know, you have to just in a sense narrow down your options just to one or two things and try not to cater to too many things,” Holder said.

“I think the more we actually spend pondering on the actual field and fielding restrictions, it makes life a little more difficult in a sense.”

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli has been censured for his ugly outburst against a travelling Indian journalist in Perth and has been advised to maintain dignity, the country’s cricket board said on Thursday.

Known equally for his silken touch with the bat and a penchant for run-ins with opposition players, test captain Kohli swore at the journalist over a story about his personal life after Tuesday’s net session at the Murdoch Oval.

The 26-year-old subsequently realised it was a case of mistaken identity and apologised through another journalist.

Team media manager R.N. Baba initially issued a statement terming it a “misunderstanding” and denying abusive languages were used.

But Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Anurag Thakur said the team management in Australia has been warned against any such incident in future.

“The player in question has been told to maintain the dignity of the Indian team at all times, and avoid any such behaviour in the future,” Thakur said in statement.

“The BCCI would like to request the concerned parties to move on, and focus on the Indian cricket team’s campaign...”

Kohli, who struck a century in India’s 76-run win against Pakistan in their tournament opener, was fined half of his match fee in 2012 for responding to barracking from the crowd by maling a rude gesture at them during a Sydney test.

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UK's plans to cut net migration

Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.

Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.

But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.

Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.

Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.

The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.

While you're here
Your rights as an employee

The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.

The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.

If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.

Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.

The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.

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