Cricket WorldCup ‘19: Breed doesn't matter in dog fight: Classic 'Kane Williamson' to British media
London, Jul 14: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was at his wittiest best when he said it is the fight that matters rather than "breed of the dog" as his side geared up to take on favourites England in the summit clash of the World Cup here Sunday.
Williamson's comments was in reference to the hostile British media's constant queries on how it feels to go into the finale as "underdogs".
The members of the 'Fleet Street' asked him same questions in various manners mostly pertaining to dealing with defeats and how he plans to do that.
"A lot of people say that on a number of occasions which is great and I think England rightly so deserve to be favourites," the Black Caps skipper said on the even of the match at the iconic Lord's.
"But whatever dog we are, it's just important that we focus on the cricket that we want to play. We have seen over the years that anybody can beat anybody regardless of the breed of dog," Williamson said with a killer smile.
The follow-up question was bit more offensive as a local reporter asked how would it feel to become party poopers, pre-empting that big party is on the cards.
"Party-poopers? You talking about dogs again, hey? (Smiling) Underdogs? Look, we are really looking forward to the occasion and, like I say, the end point and the result, there's a lot of time between now and that point," said Williamson in a more serious tone.
"You have to deal with a number of different things, whether it's different moments of pressure, whether it's different moments of momentum and we have to be prepared to deal with all of those again."
The next question was a bit weird as a British journalist asked whether he loves winning more or does he hate losing, Williamson curtly replied: "I prefer winning than losing (smiling). That is probably the best way to say it.
"Any experience that you have is an opportunity to learn and sometimes tough experiences, being on the wrong side of results, can sometimes slap you in the face and give you a glaring lesson and if you ignore that, I don't think that is a positive thing."
Williamson said New Zealand would look to put up a fighting performance to give them the best possible opportunity to come out on top of England.
"Whether having had experience in a final or not is a good thing. But at the same time as we know in this game nothing promises, so it does come down to putting a performance on the board that gives us the best opportunity to win," he said.
He further said for all those kids back in New Zealand, their performance on Sunday will epitomize the fighting qualities and all hard work that has gone in over the years.
"I guess anything's possible (smiling). I guess when you take yourself back to that point in time, it feels like a long way away and you make a few small steps forward and you work pretty hard together as a group and next thing you might find yourself here, Williamson said.
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Allahabad HC pulls up UP govt for not filing response in a case related to Bahraich demolition
Lucknow, Oct 23: The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday pulled up the Uttar Pradesh government on why it has not filed a detailed response till date despite clear directions in a case of issuing notices of demolition in Bahraich district.
A Lucknow bench expressed annoyance as to whether the spirit of the order could not be understood by the state authorities.
The bench was of the view that it had specifically asked Chief Standing Counsel Shailendra Singh to obtain complete instructions in the matter regarding category and norms applicable about the road in question but the only objection was being raised about maintainability of the PIL yet again.
The bench, however, asked Singh to file the objection on maintainability of the PIL in the registry of the court, deferring the hearing till November 4.
A bench of justices AR Masoodi and Subhash Vidyarthi passed the order on a PIL filed by Association for Protection of Civil Rights.
Hearing the PIL on Sunday after constituting a special bench, the court had extended the time enabling the affected dwellers to file their response to notices within 15 days instead of three days as granted by the PWD.
This had thwarted the preparations of the district authorities for removing the alleged illegal constructions made by the dwellers who had been slapped short notice. In course of hearing on Wednesday, the state counsel sought to file objection against maintainability of the PIL.
At this, the bench reacted strongly as to whether the spirit of the previous order passed on Sunday was not understood by the state authorities.
In the previous order, the bench had asked the chief standing counsel to complete his instructions regarding category and norms applicable on the road in question. The bench had stressed that besides maintainability, it would consider all aspects of the matter.
Hearing the PIL on Sunday, the bench had said that the concerned persons may file their response to the notices within 15 days and also directed the state authorities to consider these replies and pass speaking and reasoned order on the reply.
Filing the PIL, it had been argued that the state has issued the demolition notice in illegal manner and its action to initiate demolition drive is in violation of the Supreme Court's recent directives, banning bulldozer action except in certain cases.
On behalf of the state government, the chief standing counsel had raised the objection about maintainability of the PIL and he yet again pointed out this on Wednesday as well.
Ram Gopal Mishra (22) of Rehua Mansoor village died of a gunshot wound he suffered on October 13 during a communal face-off in a village in Bahraich district over music being played during a procession.
Notices were served to 23 establishments, including 20 belonging to Muslims, in the area by the public works department (PWD).
The PWD had carried out inspections in the Maharajganj area last Friday and took measurements of 20-25 houses, including that of Abdul Hamid, one of the accused in Mishra's killing.
The notices were served under the Road Control Act, 1964.
