We just saw the ugly side of cricket: Dhoni

“We just saw the ugly side of cricket. Whichever team has the upper hand, doesn't want to play. Whichever team is not on winning side, will stick around and even play football. That's what people do and that's what both sides did.”
LONDON: Embattled Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has termed England’s fourth ODI and subsequent series win as the “ugly side of cricket” where the side with the “upperhand didn’t want to play.”
Sunday’s tie, courtesy of the D/L method, gave England the five-match series after the first game was washed out and the hosts won the next two.
India had set England a formidable target of 281 before rain interruptions forced a tie with the hosts at the Duckworth-Lewis par score of 270 for eight.
“We just saw the ugly side of cricket. Whichever team has the upper hand, doesn’t want to play. Whichever team is not on winning side, will stick around and even play football. That’s what people do and that’s what both sides did,” Dhoni said after the match.
“If you have a day game, you need different guidelines and principles to follow. If you put it under lights, it doesn’t look nice,” he said.
Dhoni said some of the Indian players were confused about the result.
“Some of the guys were confused. Some thought we had won it. Most of us thought it was a passing shower and we would be able to get back on the field,” said Dhoni.
“Once inside the dressing room, we saw the final sheet of paper. After looking at it, it was apparent it was a tie and none of the side had won the game,” he added.
Expressing his frustration with the interruptions, which robbed his side of a win in the series, Dhoni said, “This is not the first time. We were close to winning the first game also. But as I said, you can’t control the weather.”

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Dhoni, Bindra granted honorary Lt.Colonel rank in Territorial Army

New Delhi, Sep. 13  : President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has granted the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the territorial army to Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and ace shooter Abhinav Bindra.
The honour has been bestowed on Dhoni and Bindra for their outstanding contribution in the field of cricket and shooting respectively, and to their commitment to the army on various occasions.

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Dhoni wins ICC Spirit of Cricket Award for recalling Bell

London, Sep 13 : Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni Monday won the Spirit of Cricket Award 2011 at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Awards here for allowing England batsman Ian Bell to continue batting after he was run out in controversial circumstances during the Trent Bridge Test in July.
On what was the last ball before tea on the third day, Bell hit the ball towards the boundary. He mistakenly thought it had gone for four, left his crease and headed towards the pavilion assuming the session was over and the ball was dead. Meanwhile the ball, which had not reached the rope and, therefore, was still in play, was returned to the middle, the bails removed and Bell was correctly given run out.
Upon reflection during the tea interval and following a request from the England team, Dhoni withdrew the appeal and recalled Bell, thus turning boos into cheers from the appreciative Nottingham crowd.
"While the initial appeal and umpire's decision were correct to the letter of the law, the decision by Mahendra and his team to withdraw the appeal shows great maturity. To see players and officials uphold the Great Spirit of cricket, which has underpinned the game for more than a century, is very special," said ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat.
The award is voted by the members of the Elite Panels of ICC Match Referees and Umpires. Dhoni's gesture was voted as the winner ahead of that of South Africa's Jacques Kallis, who twice demonstrated such spirit during the 2011 World Cup by walking once he had clarified with opposition fielders directly that they had caught the ball cleanly rather than waiting for the umpires to decide.
The ICC Awards ceremony is now in its eighth year. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006), Johannesburg (2007 and 2009), Dubai (2008) and Bangalore (2010).

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Dhoni, Yuvraj, Sehwag and Zaheer named in ICC ODI Team of the Year

London, Sep 12 : Indian cricketers M. S. Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan were today named in the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI Team of the Year.
The team, which was chosen by a specially appointed selection panel chaired by West Indian legend Clive Lloyd, was announced at a special function ahead of today's ICC Awards ceremony at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.
Six countries are represented in the 12-man line-up and just one player - Dhoni - four years in a row.
The World Cup winning captain keeps wicket and leads the side.
ICC ODI Team of the Year (in batting order): Tillakaratne Dilshan, Virender Sehwag, Kumar Sangakkara, AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Yuvraj Singh, M. S. Dhoni (wicketkeeper/captain), Graeme Swann, Umar Gul, Dale Steyn, Zaheer Khan and 12th man - Lasith Malinga.
Chairman of the ICC Awards selection panel, Lloyd said: "The ODI team of the year reflects the success of India with four players selected - Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, M. S. Dhoni and Zaheer Khan. Yuvraj was, of course, the player of the tournament and MS Dhoni, the man of the match in the final, whilst fellow finalists Sri Lanka has three players in the side."
Lloyd was joined on the panel by former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas, former England captain Mike Gatting, former New Zealand bowler Danny Morrison and former South African bowler Paul Adams.
The ICC ODI Team of the Year was one of two teams selected by the ICC selection panel along with the Test line-up which was announced last month.

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