To me attacking someone over religion is pathetic: Kohli slams 'spineless' online trolls

Ntini ran to stadiums from team hotels, because he felt unwelcomed in team bus: Holding

Former West Indies fast bowler and currently a Test commentator, Michael Holding said that he believes that the quota system put in place in selecting players of colour for the South African cricket team is actually working as an unnecessary burden for players. To magnify his point, Holding gave the example of South Africa’s most successful cricketer of colour, Makhaya Ntini and how he faced all sorts of differentiations within his team. "The quota system - I have heard that used on so many occasions when referring to South African cricketers of colour, that they are only there because the regulations say they have to be there," Holding was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. "They are never given full credit for their abilities. When you pick someone just because you think you have to have certain boxes ticked, whether they are good or not. They are carrying an extra burden because there will always be people who say they are only there because regulations say they have to be there,” he added before going on to explain the same with the case of Ntini, whom he spoke with regarding his book ‘Why we kneel how we rise’. "From the early stages of his career, he proved his worth and that he belonged there but kept on carrying that burden of being pointed out as being there only because regulations said he should be there,” said the West Indian about Ntini. Holding then went on to explain how stories about Ntini running to the ground from the hotel instead of taking a bus are not something to be proud of, rather something that as a society and team South Africans should repent about. Apart from this Holding also opened about many other experiences of South Africa’s third most successful South African Test bowler with 390 wickets, just behind Dale Steyn and Shaun Pollock. "We all know the stories of him running to the ground. A lot of people thought it was part of his training regime. When he spoke to me, he explained to me the reason that he ran to the ground and did not take the bus. Because when he went on the bus, he felt as though he did not belong because he was treated as though he did not belong. "He would go for breakfast in the morning, he would sit at a table and his teammates would come in and sit at another table and leave him by himself at his table. Other teammates would come in and go and join their other teammates and leave him at his table,” said Holding, who himself has on a number of occasions said how he was treated differently during his county cricket days. “I played cricket. I know about committees that are formed within teams, I know about senior members within teams. There were committees formed within the team, supposedly senior members of the team to discuss things, and he was never called to be a part of that committee. People who joined the team long after him, automatically became seniors because of the colour of their skin,” Holding further explained before saying that he would like to see people recognise Ntini’s efforts and if not apologise, at least learn from the mistakes they made. "I am thankful to him [Ntini] to bear it out and still be so successful. That shows the strength of character of the man. Hopefully, those who did things like that and perhaps did not recognise the hurt and the harm they were doing and the attitude that they had wasn't right, hopefully, they will all learn and recognise their faults and their mistakes and they will be willing to learn and willing to change,” said Holding.

First to take 10 wickets and score 100 runs in a Test, Aussie legend Alan Davidson passes away

Legendary Australian allrounder Alan Davidson passed away at the age of 92 on Saturday morning, October 30th. Known for his ability to bowl and bat with equal measures, Davidson ended off with the second-best Test average among bowlers with more than 150 scalps in Test cricket’s history. Only SF Barnes of England has a better average than the New South Wales player. In his career which began in 1953 and ended in the summer of 1963-64, Davidson represented the Aussies in 44 Tests. In these Tests, he took 186 wickets and scored 1328 runs with 80 being his highest score. His best bowling figures in an innings were 7/93. He was not only great with bat and ball but was a great catcher of the leather ball as well. His accuracy with catching was high that he was nicknamed 'The Claw'. The most famous Test for Davidson was the one against a touring West Indies side in the summer of 1960-61. The left-arm batter entered the match with a broken finger and finished it with the honour of becoming the first to take 10 wickets and score 100 runs in a Test. With the ball he grabbed 5-135 and 6-87; with the bat, he posted 44 and 80, the second-innings contribution keeping the locals in the game which eventually ended in a tie. The passing of Davidson has now meant that in less than 24 hours Australia lost two of its very famous Test cricketers as former Test off-spinner Ashley Mallett died on Friday at the age of 76. "On behalf of Cricket Australia, and all those who benefitted from Alan's vast contribution across Australian cricket, I offer my deepest condolences to the Davidson family as well Alan's many close friends, colleagues and former teammates,” Cricket Australia chair Richard Freudenstein said in a statement.

T20 World Cup | Mohammad Nabi slams Pak journalist for asking Taliban related questions

Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi slammed a Pakistani journalist who tried to get him to answer related Taliban take over of the Afghan government and relations with Pakistan after the team’s clash against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. Nabi at first asked him politely to ask questions related only to cricket and the Afghanistan team, but the journalist still tried to play smart and asked the same question in a different tone. The Journalist, Mohammad Idris, asked, “Nabi, do you have any kind of pressure or fears that the new regime might ask you difficult questions when you go back home and the second one, in the new era of the Afghan regime, relations are better with Pakistan now, so can we expect that Afghan cricket would benefit from that?” Nabi, seemingly not pleased with the effort from the Pakistani scribe said in chaste Urdu, “Our team has prepared very well for this World Cup and is here to participate in it and win matches. Let other issues stay where they are and please ask me questions related to my team’s performances and preparations.” As far as the game was concerned, the Afghan team remained in it till the 18th over and almost had the upper edge with 24 required from two overs and two new batters in Shadab Khan and Asif Ali at the crease. However, Asif had other ideas and he muscled four sixes in one over, the 19th, bowled by Karim Janat to take his team to the third straight win of this World Cup.

Ticketless fans forcefully enter Dubai Stadium during PAK-AFG clash, ICC seeks thorough investigation

An amazing display of cricketing skills by the players of Pakistan and Afghanistan was marred by the incidents related to hooliganism and forceful entries by the ticketless fans, most of Afghanistan cricket as their skipper Mohammad Nabi even asked during his post-match press conference for them to not repeat it in other games. The International Cricket Council has taken note of the incident which was probably the first of its kind after the building of new stadiums in the United Arab Emirates. Issuing a statement, the world body said that it has asked Emirates Cricket Board, the body of cricket governance in UAE to investigate the matter thoroughly. “More than 16,000 tickets had been issued for tonight’s game between Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, thousands of ticketless fans travelled to the venue and then attempted to force entry into the stadium,” the ICC said in a statement. “Dubai Police and security staff secured the stadium to ensure the safety of everyone inside. At approximately 7 pm, Dubai Police directed that all gates should remain closed and no further entry was permitted to maintain a safe and controlled environment inside the venue. “The ICC has asked the ECB to undertake a thorough investigation into tonight’s events to learn any lessons and will work closely with authorities to ensure there is no repeat of this situation in the future,” it added. The ICC further apologised to fans who couldn’t attend the game even after having valid rockets because of the incident.