Wimbledon’s seedings system not a good thing, says Nadal

BANGLADESH all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan’s consistency with the bat and ball at the Cricket World Cup is down to his fitness regimen and his presence in the squad has driven them to new heights, the team’s spin coach Sunil Joshi has said.

Shakib, made 51 in Monday’s 62-run victory over Afghanistan to reclaim his position as the tournament’s leading run scorer (476 runs) and also logged the best bowling figures of 5/29 to take his tally to 10 wickets. The 32-year-old brushed aside suggestions Bangladesh were a oneman team but his third man-of-thematch performance has moved them one step closer to the semi-finals, the side sitting in fifth place.

“It is a source of great pride that we have a player like that in the Bangladesh side,” Joshi told reporters.

“He is Mr. Consistent for us – be it with the bat, the ball or in the field. He has really focused on his fitness and lost between five and seven kilos recently.

“You can see how that has paid off with his running between the wickets, you can see the hunger in his cricket. His presence is really helping us to take our whole game forward.”

Bangladesh have a break until they play India next Tuesday and Joshi, who played 69 one-day internationals for the twice champions between 1996 and 2001, is expecting a battle of the spinners on a slow pitch at Edgbaston.

“We all know they play spin well but so do we,” Joshi said.

“We have shown in the white-ball formats here and before this that we are a good side. We won in Ireland, we have beaten West Indies home and away and come close to beating India three times in the past three years.

“I have seen India very closely when we have played them. We know where to bowl to them.” SPANIARD Rafael Nadal has criticised Wimbledon’s unique seedings formula, which could hinder his chances of a third title when the tournament starts on Monday.

Unlike the three other grand slam tournaments, Wimbledon does not stick rigidly to the ATP and WTA rankings, meaning players can be bumped up the order to reflect their previous form on the grass.

Wimbledon will announce the seedings today when it is likely world number two Nadal could find himself seeded third behind defending champion Novak Djokovic and eighttime champion Roger Federer, who is currently third in the world rankings.

“Wimbledon is the only tournament of the year that doesn’t follow the ranking,” the 33-year-old Nadal,

told Spanish TV station #Vamos yesterday.

“It’s their choice. Either way, being second or third seed, I have to play at the best level to aspire to the things I aspire to. It is better to be second than third, but if they consider that I have to be third I will accept.

“I don’t think it’s a good thing that Wimbledon is the only one with its own seeding formula.”

Nadal lost a semi-final epic to Djokovic last year, but in his previous five appearances he never got past round four.

If the 12-time French Open champion is dropped to third it means he could potentially have to beat both Djokovic and Federer to claim his first All England club title since 2010.

The top 32 players on the ATP ranking list, who are present at Wimbledon, will take the seeded places, but a formula using results on grass for the past 24 months can change the order.

“The only thing that doesn’t seem right to me is that it’s just Wimbledon that does it. If everyone did it, I think it would be appropriate or correct,” Nadal told #Vamos.

The women’s seedings follow the WTA ranking list, but can be tweaked to produce “a balanced draw”.

Serena Williams was ranked 183rd ahead of last year’s tournament, but was handed a seeding of 25.