#CWC15 Diary: Warne and Waugh at odds, Younis under pressure & O'Brien celebrates

#CWC15 Diary: Warne and Waugh at odds, Younis under pressure & O'Brien celebrates

Before leaving for Pakistan, Chief Selector Moin Khan issued a personal statement regarding his visit to the casino in Christchurch that led to him being recalled by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

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Khan said: “I had gone to a casino in Christchurch with friends and family to have dinner. On hindsight, the choice of venue for dinner was indeed inappropriate, which has, and rightly so, offended Pakistan public as well as cricket fans.

“I have already explained my position to the PCB Chairman and have apologised to him. He has asked me to return home to further clarify my position in person, which I have readily accepted.

“Through this statement, I also apologise to the Pakistan public for my insensitivity in the choice of venue for dinner.”

Waugh weighs in on Warne
Australia legend and the man under whom Shane Warne played some of his best cricket, has said the leg spinner's recent negative comments towards Darren Lehmann’s coaching is “unsettling” for the team.

Waugh, under whom Australia won the 1999 World Cup, was reacting to Warne questioning Lehmann’s level of influence on the side, saying the coach should “be careful” not to overplay his hand.

Warne later clarified his comments on Twitter, but Waugh felt he should be more careful.

“It’s definitely unsettling for the team,” Waugh said. “I think they’ve gone beyond the chuckle point for this one.

“There’s a lot of comments and then retraction of comments. At the end of the day, it’s something the team doesn’t need.”

The future of Younis Khan
After Shoaib Akhtar’s outburst on Pakistan TV about the future of Younis Khan, during which he called Khan coach Waqar Younis’s 40-year-old son and pleaded with him to pull out of the World Cup, the pressure on Khan has been further amplified with former star and TV commentator Rameez Raja issuing a scathing criticism.

In an interview with a Pakistan news channel, Raja said: “I beg of Younis. Thank you for your services to Pakistan cricket but please leave this ODI side now.

“I think Younis should tell the management he should be rested.”

Khan made six against India while opening the batting, and was out for a duck against the West Indies.

O’Brien is a massive hit
During their match against the UAE, Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien was fined 30 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct when he was clearly annoyed by Shaiman Anwar’s tactics of moving on the batting crease before a ball was delivered.

O’Brien questioned the umpire after a ball was declared wide, and kept arguing for a long time.

But the ICC should also award him the ‘Best Reaction to a Dismissal’ award. That came when O’Brien caught Krishna Karate in the slips, and then went on to strike the famous crane pose from the movie ‘Karate Kid’.


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