Dott’s banking on experience
FORMER world champion Graeme Dott is hoping his vast experience will help him qualify for this year’s World Championship.
The 2006 winner has to come through two tough qualifying matches to guarantee his place in snooker’s most prestigious tournament.
Dott (right) kicks off his quest to reach the Crucible next Saturday and he knows the pressure is on.
The Scot said: “I’ve won it but I’m still under as much pressure as the guy that’s never been.
“I’m on a long run of winning matches to qualify, so hopefully I can add another two.”
BUBBLE buster Jofra Archer has been fined and given a written warning by England bosses after breaching bio-secure protocols but is free to return in the thirdtest starting on Friday.
The fast bowler faced an internal disciplinary hearing after visiting his Brighton home last Monday on his way from Southampton, where the first Test againstwest Indies was played, to Manchester.
Archer’s fine is believed to be £15,000 – which is his match fee.
He was dropped from the squad for the second Test at
Old Trafford, where the third day was washed out yesterday because of rain, and made to isolate in the team hotel.
The person Archer met at his home has tested negative for Covid-19 as has the England bowler, who will have a second test tomorrow and if that is negative he will join the rest of the squad for training on
Tuesday. A hearing led by England director of cricket Ashley Giles levelled the fine and written warning. Archer’s previous good disciplinary record and the fact he made more of an “error of judgement” rather than a wilful disregard of protocols mitigated the punishment.
Meanwhile, Johnny Grave, chief executive of Cricketwest Indies (CWI), hopes their decision to tour England this summer will result in a rethink over the distribution of cash in the world game.
Thewest Indies and Pakistan – not to mention Ireland – have dug the ECB out of a hole.
Tom Harrison, the chief executive of the ECB, estimated that a summer without cricket would have cost £380million.
But while Jason Holder’s side have achieved parity on the field, off it there’s still a huge discrepancy in bank balances between the haves and havenots of world cricket.
Graves said: “I hope it does lead to a change, but I can’t really say I’m very confident.
“Unfortunately the recent trend has been that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer and it would take a massive transformation for the ICC and bilateral tour economic model to change significantly.
“I know the ECB understand and appreciate that without the West Indies and Pakistan then they would have been in considerable financial difficulty.
“There is great cricket history and rivalry between thewest Indies and England and
Pakistan and England.
“I think that England playing the two other big teams so often and for such long series does get a bit monotonous, and in recent times the results have also been quite predictable.
“It’s more exciting if everyone plays each other in a more equitable league system.
“There has never been more money in cricket but it’s not being shared equally.”