World Cup 2023 - News Digest

November 9

Croes named Klein's replacement in Netherlands squad

Noah Croes has been approved as a replacement for Ryan Klein in the Netherlands squad. Klein, whose lone World Cup 2023 appearance came against New Zealand in Hyderabad, was ruled out of the competition due to a lower back injury.

The Netherlands, who lost to England, have only one game left in the World Cup and will play against India at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday (November 12) in a bid to keep their Champions Trophy hopes alive.

November 6

Smith battling vertigo, doubtful for Afghanistan game

Steve Smith is not a confirmed starter for Australia's game against Afghanistan on Tuesday (November 7) after revealing that he has been troubled by vertigo. Smith, who practised at the Wankhede Stadium on the eve of the game, said he was "not feeling great at present". He did express hope that he would be fit for the game in a day's time.

"I've had a bit of vertigo stuff the last day or so, so it's just been a bit annoying," Smith said. "So, hopefully I can get through training today and be all good. But, yeah, it's not a nice place to be. Occasionally, I've had a few episodes, so I can tell you it's not the funnest space to be in, but yeah, I'll go out and have a hit and hopefully be okay and we'll see how we go."

The 34-year-old did bat against throwdowns post his press conference and didn't appear to be in any particular discomfort. This is not Smith's first episode with vertigo. He revealed that an incident of vertigo had delayed his return from a concussion suffered while fielding in a T20I game against Sri Lanka in February last year.

The star batter hasn't been in the best of forms in the ongoing World Cup having managed a total of 205 runs from seven innings at an average of 29.28. This has included a solitary 50+ score. He admitted that the performances have been "a little bit disappointing at times."

"Yeah, it's been a little bit disappointing at times," he said. "I've been in the middle of a few partnerships that have helped build a foundation for sure, but yeah, definitely would have liked to have gone on with it a little bit more. I've got in on some tricky surfaces, obviously the first one against India was a tricky one, the South Africa one where I felt like I was batting nicely - questionable sort of lbw and then got a got a good one early I suppose against Sri Lanka.

"I was batting nicely against Netherlands and then was batting reasonably the other day against England. So yeah, a couple of starts where I would have liked to have gone on with it a little bit more, but it wasn't to be. But I still feel like I'm hitting the ball quite well, so hopefully some runs at the back-end of the tournament."

November 4

Extreme pollution levels force Sri Lanka to cancel training session

A day after Bangladesh cancelled their practice sessions owing to the increasing pollution levels in Delhi, Sri Lanka have also opted out of their training session on Saturday (November 4). The two teams are scheduled to clash on Monday (November 6) at the Arun Jaitleu Stadium. It's been a testing couple of days in the city with the Air Quality Index (AQI) shooting past 400. Such has been the severity of conditions that the government had called for closure of educational institutions while also curbing traffic movement across the board. The ICC has been keeping a tab on these developments and put out a statement regarding the same.

"The ICC and our hosts the BCCI take the well-being of all participants seriously and are monitoring the air quality in Delhi," said the ICC in an official statement. "We are taking expert advice to assess the situation."

November 3

Kyle Jamieson replaces Henry in NZ squad

Kyle Jamieson has been drafted into New Zealand's squad for the ongoing World Cup as a replacement for the injured Matt Henry, who has torn his right hamstring. New Zealand Cricket announced the change on Friday, a day ahead of the team's clash against Pakistan.

Henry injured himself while bowling his sixth over against South Africa in New Zealand's previous game. While he didn't bowl any further after facing trouble, he did return to bat later in the day.

Jamieson will join the squad in Bangalore ahead of the crucial clash that could play an important role in deciding the semifinal spot. After having made a strong start in the tournament, New Zealand have been pegged back with three successive losses and a spate of injuries.

Head coach Gary Stead said, "We're gutted for him. Matt's been a crucial part of our One Day side for a long time and to see him ruled out as we reach the business end of this tournament is immensely disappointing.

"He's consistently been ranked inside the ICC top 10 ODI bowlers for the past few years which is testament to his class and skills. Moreover, Matt's a great team man and we're all going to miss his personality and experience."

"We're fortunate to have a player of the class of Kyle waiting in the wings," he said. "His skills and physical attributes always make him a threat with the ball and it's an added bonus he was able to train with us in the first two weeks of the tournament.

"Kyle's had to work really hard to return from two separate back injuries and I know he's really excited about being involved in his first ODI World Cup."

November 2

Jamieson called in as cover

Kyle Jamieson, the New Zealand all-rounder, has been called in as cover to join the squad in India as the team awaits Matt Henry's scan results. Henry had injured his hamstring while bowling against South Africa. Jamison, who was so far a cover for Tim Southee who was recovering from his injury, will arrive in Bengaluru late on Thursday ahead of Saturday's game against Pakistan.

Gary Stead, the head coach, said, "The severity of Matt's injury, combined with a short turnaround to Pakistan, meant we couldn't risk being a bowler down for Saturday. Matt's been a world class performer for us in ODI cricket for the past two World Cup cycles so we've got our fingers crossed for the scan results later today."

"Kyle's on his way over as we speak and we look forward to welcoming him back into the group. He'll likely train with us on Friday with a mind to being available for Saturday's game.

"Kyle was able to train for two full weeks with us earlier in the tournament and has since played a Plunket Shield match - so we're confident he'll be able to hit the ground running."

Mitchell Marsh indefinitely ruled out

Mitchell Marsh, the Australian all-rounder, has returned home for 'personal reasons'. He has been ruled out of the World Cup indefinitely. He will be the second player, after Glenn Maxwell - who suffered a concussion while playing golf on Monday - to be unavailable for Australia's upcoming clash against England.

India-NZ pips India-Pak in viewership

Is the India-Pakistan game losing its appeal? True or not, the broadcasters of the World Cup are surely not minding. They recorded a new peak for an India game that didn't come in the game one would have expected it to.

Traditionally an India-Pakistan game is considered the biggest draw in the cricket world. But not this time around, a staggering 80 million concurrent viewers tuned in on TV to watch Virat Kohli's match-winning knock of 95 against New Zealand in Dharamsala on October 22 on Disney Star Sports. India won that close game by four wickets.

This is the highest peak concurrency recorded for the 2023 edition of the World Cup, with the India-Pakistan match in Ahmedabad on October 14 coming second (so far) with 75.5 million concurrent viewers.

Besides these numbers, the data released by the broadcaster, the tournament has garnered a total of 182 billion minutes* of watch-time (viewership), a remarkable 2 per cent growth compared to the 2019 edition.

The total viewership for live broadcast of the World Cup also crossed 400 million viewers in the first 26 matches.

November 1

Hamstrung Matt Henry adds to NZ's injury woes

New Zealand have been forced to deal with yet another injury problem after fast bowler Matt Henry hobbled off the field with hamstring soreness midway through his sixth over during the team's clash against South Africa in Pune. The team's physio attempted to treat and strap the affected area but the fast bowler was unable to continue and his over had to be completed by James Neesham.

New Zealand's team management confirmed that Henry wouldn't bowl in the remainder of the game.

The news of Henry's injury is another blow to the team, who already have Kane Williamson (fractured finger), Mark Chapman (calf injury) and Lockie Ferguson (Achilles injury) currently on the treatment table leaving them with only 11 fit squad members.

Litton Das returns home temporarily for personal reasons

Bangladesh Cricket Board official said on Wednesday that opener Litton Kumar Das returned to Dhaka to be with his wife, who is expecting a child. Cricbuzz understands that he will return in time for the game against Sri Lanka on November 3.

Bangladesh will go into the game against Sri Lanka on the back of six successive defeats, that washed away their hope of reaching beyond the group stage. It has also put their participation in the forthcoming Champions Trophy at serious risk as the only the top-seven teams after the group stage of ICC World Cup will have direct entry in the Champions Trophy along with hosts Pakistan.

October 30

Shastri, Manjrekar laud Rohit after England win

Rohit Sharma's match-winning performance against England on Sunday (October 29) night has garnered widespread acclaim, from Ravi Shastri to Sanjay Manjrekar. The Indian captain, himself, said it was an important win for the side, which brought a lot of character in the side and our experience stood out.

"This was the game, a lot of character in the squad. When the times were tough, all our experienced players stood up at the right time and got the game for us. Looking at how the tournament has gone for us, batting second in the first five games, we had to come and bat here. We were challenged upfront, they bowled pretty well upfront. For us to get to a total on a pitch that had something in it, we just wanted to get to a total where we could play with it," Rohit said after the match.

Rohit played a stellar knock of 87, the highest score of the match with no other batsman reaching half century on a difficult pitch. "We were not great with the bat today. Losing three wickets isn't the ideal situation. All I was thinking was to be positive, the balls in my area I want to put it away, that's how you put pressure back on the bowlers and the opposition as well. When you look at the overall picture, I thought we were 30 runs short," he added.

Ravi Shastri, later, said Rohit's captaincy stood out as did his batting. "In this tournament, Rohit has appeared to be in his element; he has been calm and composed. Even today (on Sunday), when we consider the bowling changes, where the bowlers aren't given long spells, Rohit changes the spells without any fear. He utilised Mohammad Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah so that the batsmen do not settle into a rhythm. He keeps the batsmen guessing about what's next," the former India coach said.

Manjrekar was even more forthcoming. "It feels like such a proud moment. So far, we have won World Cups, and our teams have performed brilliantly, but there is something very special about this team. According to me it is India's greatest win at this tournament. They have already proved their mettle by winning against a strong team like Australia (in ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023), but today's win was against the odds," Manjrekar told Disney Hotstar.

He added, "Right now, 7-8 players out of the playing 11 in the team are at their peak like never before. This is a blessing for captain Rohit, who has these players at his disposal, and they are bringing their career best on the field."

October 29

Chameera replaces injured Kumara in Sri Lanka squad

Dushmantha Chameera has been named as a replacement for Lahiru Kumara in Sri Lanka's squad in the ongoing World Cup. Kumara sustained an injury on his left thigh muscle while training in Pune. He played in two games in the ongoing tournament and was the pick of the bowlers in Sri Lanka's win over England, with returns of 3 for 35.

Chameera has played 44 ODIs and picked up 50 wickets at an average of 33.16. He is now the third player - after Chamika Karunaratne and Angelo Matthews - to have made it to the squad in the tournament so far.

October 27

Usama Mir replaces concussed Shadab Khan in SA game

Pakistan were forced to name a concussion substitute for Shadab Khan in the game against South Africa in Chennai after the legspinner appeared to hurt his head while fielding. Usama Mir, was adjudged to be a a like-for-like replacement.

Shadab hurt himself on the second ball of South Africa's chase when he ran to field a ball at mid-on and lost balance after a shy at the bowler's end. After spending a considerable time on the ground, he walked off the field. He returned to the field later but was replaced in the 15th over.

As per the rules, Mir would be allowed to bowl the full quota of 10 overs and he struck early to dismiss Rassie van der Dussen.

October 25

Shakib returns home to fine-tune batting

Bangladesh ODI skipper Shakib al Hasan returned home on Tuesday to have an extended training session with his childhood mentor Nazmul Abedin.

The skipper has not had the best time with the bat at the ongoing World Cup, producing scores of 14, 1, 40 and 1 in the four matches he has played so far in the tournament. He had also missed the match against India due to a thigh injury.

Cricbuzz understand that Shakib will head back to India on October 27 ahead of their game against Netherlands at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on October 28.

October 17

Gurbaz reprimanded for breach of Code of Conduct

Afghanistan's keeper-bat Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been handed an official reprimand for a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct following the game against England in Delhi.

Gurbaz was handed one demerit point for falling foul of Article 2.2 of the code which relates to "abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an International Match."

The 21-year-old, who made 80 in the team's historic win, slammed his bat on the boundary rope and a chair following his dismissal in the 19th over. He accepted the sanction levied on him by Referee Jeff Crowe.

October 16

Litton Das apologies to journalists

Bangladesh opener Litton Das on Monday apologized to journalists of his country after an unsavoury incident in the team hotel, when he had asked the security to escort the media-men out. The incident took place at Conrad Hotel on Sunday (October 15) when Bangladeshi journalists arrived at team hotel.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board had earlier stated that there will be no media interactions for two days as the team management decided to give total rest to the cricketers before beginning their training session at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on October 17.

Several cricketers went outside the team hotel in separate cars to try some local cuisine and visit different places of Pune. While they greeted the journalists, Litton wasn't pleased seeing them in the lobby and outside the gate clicking his pictures and taking videos.

BCB officials were surprised by Litton's response and assured the journalists that they are looking into the matter. The cricketer later issued an apology through a post on Facebook.

"I am extremely sorry for the unexpected event that took place in the team hotel. Basically I did not understand that there were so many journalists and I am sorry for the sudden reaction. I always respect the media and they have a big role in taking forward Bangladesh cricket," Litton wrote.

Litton has had issues with journalists on quite a few occasions in the past.

October 10

Bangladesh fined for slow over-rate

Bangladesh have been fined 5 percent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against England in Dharamsala. On-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Paul Wilson, third umpire Adrian Holdstock and fourth umpire Kumar Dharmasena leveled the charge.

"Javagal Srinath of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after Shakib Al Hasan's side was ruled to be 1 over short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration," the ICC said in a release.

"Shakib Al Hasan pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing."

October 8

Sri Lanka fined for slow-over rate in Delhi

Sri Lanka have been fined 10 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against South Africa in their 2023 World Cup opener in Delhi.

Match referee Javagal Srinath imposed the sanction after Dasun Shanaka's side was ruled to be two overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration. Shanaka pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

Ferguson, Southee likely to return for Netherlands match

In some positive news for New Zealand, head coach Gary Stead indicated that Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee, who missed the opening game against England, are likely to be available for the match against the Netherlands. Ferguson missed the opener in Ahmedabad due to a back niggle while Southee was still recovering a fracture to his thumb which kept him out of the clash against England.

"Lockie Ferguson got through the training (on Saturday evening) really well. So providing he's scrubbed up okay this morning, he will be available for this next game," said Stead. "Tim Southee also got through the training really well. It was great to see him back at the bowling crease and also doing a little bit of fielding as well. He will just get a final X ray done this morning and then we will make a call after that, but it's all looking good for selection from now on and into the rest of the tournament as well."

Kane Williamson, meanwhile, won't be available for the Netherlands match, but the New Zealand coach is confident of his return to the team from their third match, against Bangladesh in Chennai on October 13.

"Kane Williamson has also been progressing very well. I think the fielding is still the element for him that he's just got to get a little bit higher and get a little bit more trust in his body. But he's progressing really well and we are pretty confident that he will be playing with third match for us. We've got another training to get through today so we'll finalize the team once we've gone through that training. But at this stage with Kane we are looking like third game is when he will start the tournament."

October 4

Stokes has a hip niggle; Call on his participation tomorrow to be taken after practice today

Talismanic England all-rounder Ben Stokes is battling a hip niggle, captain Jos Buttler revealed on the eve of the World Cup opener. Stokes' participation in the team's first game, a repeat of the 2019 final against New Zealand, will be subject to how he pulls up during and after practice.

"We'll make the right call. If he's not fit to play, he's not fit to play. If he is, we can make that decision," Buttler said on the eve of the game. "It's not the time to take big risks on someone at the start of the tournament. Nearer the end, maybe you do take more of a risk with people's injuries, but it's going to be a long tournament."

Should Stokes sit the game out, England are likely to bring in Harry Brook into the XI for the clash. "We all know what a fantastic player he is," Buttler said of Brook. "He's at the start of an international career that's been outstanding in T20 cricket and the Test format. He's not played loads of ODI cricket, but it's a format that should suit him perfectly.

"It'll allow him to bat for a long time and make big runs, and that's something he enjoys doing. He's got all the shots, and we know from Test cricket that he can play big innings. It's a format that should suit him really well."

BCCI intervenes, Pakistan journalists set to get visas

Journalists from Pakistan will soon be arriving in India. Despite a visa issue causing a delay for the country's media contingent across the border, Cricbuzz has learnt that there has been some intervention, and visas will be granted to them shortly.

It is understood that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has liaised with the Ministry of External Affairs, and travel documents for the media contingent will be processed within a day or two. Pakistan will play their first match on Friday (October 6), against the Netherlands in Hyderabad, and it's likely that most journalists will have received their visas by then.

There is a possibility that the visas could be granted in two batches, with the first batch expected within a day or two and the second batch by next week. This arrangement aims to ensure that touring journalists can arrive in India before the crucial match against India in Ahmedabad on October 14.

Approximately 60 reporters and photographers are believed to be hoping to travel to India and they could be arriving here in two batches. There is currently no immediate information available regarding Pakistan fans wishing to travel to India.

Securing visas for the Pakistan contingent has posed a challenge, and the BCCI had to make significant efforts to prepare the necessary paperwork for the Babar Azam-led team, which arrived in India on September 27.

October 3

Sachin Tendulkar is ICC's Global Ambassador for the 2023 ODI World Cup

Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has been chosen by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the Global Ambassador for the upcoming ODI Men's World Cup 2023 that starts on Thursday (October 5). Tendulkar, who represented India in five 50-over World Cups, will walk out with the World Cup trophy before the tournament opener between England and New Zealand in Ahmedabad to declare the marquee event open. Reacting on the development, the 50-year-old expressed his jubilation on the honour.

"From being a ball boy in 1987 to representing the country in six editions, World Cups have always held a special place in my heart. Winning the World Cup in 2011 is the proudest moment of my cricketing journey," said Tendulkar.

"With so many special teams and players set to compete hard in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 here in India, I am excitedly looking forward to this fantastic tournament.

"Marquee events like the World Cup seed dreams in young minds, I hope this edition too inspires young girls and boys to pick up sports and represent their countries at the highest level."

October 2

Ajay Jadeja to mentor Afghanistan at the World Cup

Former India batter Ajay Jadeja will serve as mentor to the Afghanistan side during the World Cup, ACB announced on Monday (October 2). Jadeja represented India in three World Cups (1992, 1996, 1999) and played 196 One Day Internationals (ODIs) during his career, having scored 5359 runs at 37.47 with 6 hundreds and 30 fifties to his name in the format.

He will be tasked with helping the talented team better it's winless World Cup campaign from four years ago. Afghanistan open their World Cup with a clash against Bangladesh in Dharamsala on October 7.

September 29

Star Sports, ICC unveil high profile commentary panels

Star Sports, the broadcaster, and the International Cricket Council (ICC), the organizer of the World Cup, have unveiled a high-profile star cast for the showpiece event. The broadcaster's panel includes both Indian and global names for the event taking place from October 5 to November 19.

Indian broadcasters include Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, K Srikkanth, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, and S Sreesanth, who will be joined by MSK Prasad, Sandeep Patil, and Sunil Joshi.

On the international side, experts joining the broadcaster include Eoin Morgan, Shane Watson, Aaron Finch, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Waqar Younis, Dale Steyn, Shane Bond, Shaun Pollock, Kevin Pietersen, Faf du Plessis, and Imran Tahir. They will be joined by Dinesh Karthik, Mohammed Kaif, Anjum Chopra, and Mithali Raj.

Commentators in the regional language among others are S Badrinath, Murali Vijay, Yomahesh Vijayakumar, Russel Arnold, Hemang Badani, S Ramesh (Tamil), Venugopal Rao, T Suman, Ashish Reddy, Kalyan Krishna (Telugu), Vinay Kumar, Gundappa Viswanath, Vijay Bharadwaj, Bharath Chipli, Pavan Deshpande, Akhil Balachandra (Kannada), Nayan Mongia, Manan Desai, Akash Trivedi, Deep Vaidya (Gujarati) Amol Muzumdar, Lalchand Rajput, Pravin Tambe (Marathi), Tinu Yohannan, Raiphi Gomez (Malayalam, A Jhunjhunwala, and Ashoke Dinda (Bengali).

The ICC panel, which will be part of the global feed, includes Ian Smith, Ricky Ponting, Eoin Morgan, Shane Watson, Lisa Sthalekar, Ramiz Raja, Ravi Shastri, Aaron Finch, Sunil Gavaskar, and Matthew Hayden. Also, Nasser Hussain, Ian Bishop, Waqar Younis, Shaun Pollock, Anjum Chopra, Michael Atherton, Simon Doull, Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Sanjay Manjrekar, Katey Martin, Dinesh Karthik, Dirk Nannes, Samuel Badree, Athar Ali Khan, Russel Arnold, Harsha Bhogle, Kass Naidoo, Mark Nicholas, Natalie Germanos, Mark Howard, and Ian Ward.

September 28

Temba Bavuma to miss warm-up games

Temba Bavuma will miss the South Africa's warm-up games against Afghanistan (September 29) and NZ (October 2) in Thiruvananthapuram. The South Africa captain is traveling home for family reasons, CSA said. Aiden Markram will captain the side in his absence.