tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91365993550060043462024-03-05T11:54:49.990-08:00Cricket Is My LifelineEverything under (and over) the umbrella of cricket!Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-85453981778139446262011-11-28T10:30:00.000-08:002011-11-29T00:11:41.031-08:00Bangladesh look to break Pakistan's momentumPakistan begins its first full tour of Bangladesh with a one-off T20 International against the home side at Dhaka on Tuesday. Pakistan are riding high on their impressive win against Sri Lanka across all formats. On the other hand, Bangladesh have shown glimpses of talent but are a side struggling to make a lasting impression, often falling away at crucial times.<br />
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An unusual serenity and calmness surrounded the Pakistan team when it arrived in Dhaka. Usually embroiled in controversies, Misbah’s men have looked a calm and collected unit off late. The fans alike have started believing in the team, even more so after coming out on top of difficult situations in the recent series win against Sri Lanka.<br />
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The team flew directly from UAE, and only injuries have brought changes to the squad. All-rounder Abdul Razzaq and left-arm pacer Junaid Khan will both miss the tour due to injuries. Fast bowler Mohammed Khalil has come in the side. Skipper Misbah has indicated that they will field a full-strength side, rubbishing any impressions that they are taking Bangladesh lightly. The task will not be easy for their opposition, with Pakistan boasting of the three highest wicket-takers in T20 International history. <br />
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Bangladesh have made improvements through leaps and bounds in recent years. At times they take the world by a storm, while at others, even their staunchest supporters are left saving face. The team should use the recent win against West Indies in the T20 as a morale-boosting example and continue to believe that they can, on their given day, overcome even the best sides in the world. And realistically, the T20 format presents their best chance at achieving so.<br />
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In terms of their squad, former captain and experienced batsman Mohammad Ashraful has been axed owing to consistently poor performances. All-rounder Farhad Reza returns to the national side after three years, during which he signed with the breakaway Indian Cricket League and was thus banned by the BCB. Wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim will lead the side, and Shakib al Hassan will pose the greatest threat to the opposition.<br />
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The two sides have met four times in the shortest format of the game, with Pakistan winning each time.Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-70255543269134440632011-11-28T00:04:00.000-08:002011-11-29T00:07:26.330-08:00Young India still favorites against West IndiesIndia, the world champions, enter the one-day series against West Indies as firm favorites and one should expect little surprises, if any, in terms of results. West Indies have only upward to look to as their form in the 50-over format of the game has not been any impressive either.<br />
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India will be led by the explosive Virender Sehwag, with the selectors deciding to rest regular skipper MS Dhoni ahead of the tough Australian tour. For them it is a matter of continuing their winning run as well as testing their bench strength. Sachin Tendulkar has also been rested while Yuvraj Singh is unavailable as he battles lung tumor.<br />
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India have fared reasonably well off late, clean-sweeping England at home to add to the World Cup glory earlier in the year. In addition, they beat West Indies in West Indies as well, winning the first three ODIs before falling away in the last two inconsequential matches. The only glitch in an otherwise perfect year has come in the form of the abysmal tour to England where they lost 3-0.<br />
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West Indies will yet again be looking for answers to their miseries that surround them. Since crashing out in the quarter-final at the World Cup, the team has lost home series against Pakistan and India. While they won the ODI series in Bangladesh, the victory came through the tough route having lost the first match before bouncing back in the following two matches.<br />
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The absence of Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo has proven costly in recent times, and the young side will be looking to silence the critics with impressive performances. Darren Bravo has been a revelation on the tour and his teammates will look to draw inspiration from him. <br />
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Barabati Stadium in Cuttack hosts the day/night encounter. India have lost only two ODIs in two decades at this ground. With the match being played late in November, dew factor could be important and may affect the captain’s decision after winning the toss.Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-28015763542040175042011-11-24T03:30:00.000-08:002011-11-29T00:04:13.714-08:00Sri Lanka look to end tour on a high noteAfter comprehensively outplaying Sri Lanka throughout the tour, Pakistan will look to reign supreme in the shortest format of the game as well when the teams clash in Abu Dhabi for their one-off Twenty20 International. Surprising as it may sound, Pakistan are ranked seventh in ICC T20 rankings – a format they seem best suited for. On the other hand, Sri Lanka are ranked second on the table, and the only notable success they have had since World Cup has come in T20s only.<br />
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Sri Lanka look extremely out of ideas to arrest their woeful slide. While the unpredictable nature of T20 cricket gives them their best chance on tour to rectify it, their chances of doing so look slim against a Pakistan side gaining momentum with each win. Pakistan, on the other hand, are hungry for more wins, not only to put aside their off-field controversies behind them, but also to improve their seventh-placed ICC T20 ranking – something that took Misbah ul Haq by a shock. Of the last 10 T20 matches, Pakistan have won only three, two of them against the minnows Zimbabwe.<br />
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Injuries have depleted both sides with valuable talent, though Sri Lanka’s loss is more damaging on two counts. First, injuries to key players hamper the team’s hopes of change in fortunes. Secondly, their bench strength does not possess the same firepower and abundance in talent as Pakistan’s.<br />
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Mahela Jayawardene, who missed the last ODI as well, will be missed at the top of the order. In addition, skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan will wait on his fitness to decide whether he plays or not. For Pakistan, Abdul Razzaq had already been ruled out. In addition, Junaid Khan also suffered an abdominal tear during the last ODI and has been ruled out for six weeks. Such injuries will allow both sides to blood more youngsters into the side. Sri Lanka are likely to give Kosala Kulasekara and the experienced Ajantha Mendis a go. For Pakistan, Umar Akmal is likely to keep wickets again.<br />
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The match is scheduled for a late evening start on the weekly holiday of Friday. Therefore, a packed house should not be surprising. Interestingly, Pakistan have lost both their previous T20 games at this ground and will be hoping to set that record straight.Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-86549851756673160112011-11-22T23:15:00.000-08:002011-11-22T23:15:41.378-08:00Pakistan favorites against embattled Sri Lanka in dead encounterRallying on their impressive run, Pakistan will be keen to dent Sri Lanka further as the two sides meet in the inconsequential final one-day match at Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Sri Lanka started the series at No. 2 on ICC ODI rankings and have already slipped to number four. Pakistan, on the other hand, edged past England and will be looking to solidify their fifth slot further. <br />
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After back-to-back wins, Pakistan’s confidence is sky high. From the lows of failure to a come-from-behind win in the fourth match, all masterminded by flamboyant Shahid Afridi, the team has continued its unbeaten run in bilateral series this year. And the team knows that to put all the controversies behind them, they need to keep winning irrespective of the series result, and that will keep Pakistan hungry for a win in the final game.<br />
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Pakistan may fiddle around a bit with their line-up, to try different combinations and test their bench strength. Umar Gul has looked out of sorts in the last two matches and may be rested to give Sohail Tanvir another chance. Another surprising omission has been that of Junaid Khan who impressed in the test matches as well. Shoaib Malik who looked out of sorts in the previous game is likely to retain his place as all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has been sent home due to injury.<br />
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For Sri Lanka, their abysmal tour keeps getting worse. Their experienced players have failed to carry the team over the line, and the youngsters have been unsuccessful in translating their immense potential into on-field results. On Sunday the team failed to chase 201, their last seven wickets collapsing for 19 runs. To make matters worse, Sri Lanka have injury concerns that may hamper their performance even further. Skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan is expected to lead the side despite injury. Mahela Jayawardene though has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour and has flown back home.<br />
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Given the unpredictable nature of performances on both sides, another close encounter cannot be ruled out on the slow, low pitches of Abu Dhabi. The match will be crucial not only for the teams’ viewpoints, but also for individual players to stand up and be counted with both teams looking to score psychological points ahead of the Twenty20 international.Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-72610930207930813032011-11-20T11:00:00.000-08:002011-11-22T23:10:23.278-08:00India eager to continue dominating runIndia will be looking to continue their dominating run against the West Indies when the sides face off in the final match of the series, starting from Tuesday at Mumbai. With the series already lost, West Indies will be keen on scoring some positive points ahead of the one-dayers, having shown tremendous courage and grit in the second innings of the second test match. <br />
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Sachin Tendulkar will be the man yet again under the spotlight. Playing at his home ground, and with the series already decided, the script couldn’t be any better for the legendary batsman to finally score his 100th international ton. India have made one change to their squad, axing Yuvraj Singh for Rohit Sharma. Sharma has been impressive in the Ranji trophy and the selectors want to give him a try before Team India’s tour to Down Under next month.<br />
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West Indies will look to draw inspiration from their spirited fightback in the second innings, after being bundled out in the first innings. Darren Bravo proved his mettle with a gritty century and was ably supported by Kirk Edwards and Adrain Barath. The youngsters will look to impress yet again, together with Shivnarine Chanderpaul who is expected to play in spite of a calf injury. The bowling department sums up the misery of the West Indies team ever since their intimidating fast bowlers retired. <br />
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Wankhede Stadium hosts its first match in over five years, when England won by a convincing margin.Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-26472125863619893282011-11-19T13:30:00.000-08:002011-11-22T23:24:42.490-08:00Sri Lanka battle to keep series aliveSri Lanka enter into the fourth ODI facing a grim battle to avoid yet another series defeat following the World Cup. Misbah ul Haq, on the other hand, will be looking to continue his impressive run as skipper and cap a series win against the No. 2 ODI side in the world.<br />
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The third ODI provided a sensational display of hard-fought cricket, with Pakistan’s energy and fighting spirit coupled with some astute captaincy completing their 21-run win.<br />
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Mohammed Hafeez’s Man-of-the-Match performance adds some confidence to the top order, though the middle-order needs to patch up having failed to reach a total of 300+ after being well-set in the third ODI.<br />
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Pakistan’s spinners will look to continue tormenting their opposition, with Saeed Ajmal almost unreadable for the less-experienced Sri Lankan batsmen. The fast bowlers looked less impressive, though Umar Gul ended up with three wickets.<br />
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One department where Pakistan have to improve considerably is their fielding. Pakistan were lucky to come out winners after missing several run-outs and other half-chances, and they will be keen to avoid complacency in the department.<br />
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Sri Lanka’s tendency to keep losing wickets regularly continues to cost them heavily. Tillakaratne Dilshan’s return to form would ideally spark a change in fortunes. Besides looking to build partnerships, their batsmen also need to work on their running between the wickets, as many mix-ups were witnessed on Friday. Mahela Jayawardene, having just reached 10,000 ODI runs, will be hoping to contribute heavily in the coming games to lead a struggling middle-order.<br />
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For the Sri Lankan bowlers, consistency is what their aim must be. Though they made a good comeback in the later overs, they were all over the place to begin with, allowing Pakistani openers a good opening stand.<br />
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<b>Team news</b><br />
Pakistan have no major reasons to spring around changes as Sohail Tanvir may be given an extended run. Sri Lanka could bring in left-arm Chanaka Welegedera, replacing the injured Suranga Lakmal, for underperforming Dilhara Fernando to provide control and variety.<br />
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<b>Ground</b><br />
Cricket returns to Sharjah after a long gap as two-test playing nations will be in action here after eight years. The last such match was the 2000th ODI, played between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in 2003. The pitch is renowned for favoring the batsmen, with many high-scoring day/night thrillers having been played in the 1990s.Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-30986085736511801302011-11-16T04:30:00.000-08:002011-11-17T04:28:52.886-08:00Pakistan wary of resurgent Sri LankaIf there’s something you’re sure of about Pakistan going into every match, it is their unpredictable nature. After a convincing win in the first win, Pakistan gave Sri Lanka a much-needed morale-boosting win to level the series. The teams clash for a third time on Friday, and getting your nose ahead in this game may ultimately prove crucial in the context of the series.<br />
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Sri Lanka would be buoyed by the return to form of their key batsmen Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene, both scoring half-centuries. The batting though still has some questions to answer, as a total of 235 seemed disappointing following a breezy start when they reached 50 in 10 overs. Angelo Mathews, playing purely as a batsman, will have to do more to justify his position at No. 6. The bowling, though won them the match, still largely depends on Lasith Malinga and can be seen as a handicap. While Thissara Perera looked threatening, the rest of the bowlers easily allowed Pakistan to come back after being 3-11 inside four overs. Suranga Lakmal missed the second match through injury, and is still uncertain for the third ODI.<br />
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Pakistan must realize that despite outdoing Sri Lanka in all departments of the game overall, the series is still level. It is the key moments that Sri Lanka seized on Monday and Pakistan need to avoid a repeat of those. Umar Akmal’s 91-run knock is a welcome sign, but the 21-year old batsman still has to learn to take his team over the line to consider his job done. Mohammad Hafeez has failed in two outings thus far, but there are no alarms yet over his place in the team. Sloppy running and poor batting let them down on Monday, and the coach Mohsin Khan is expected to have come hard the players to avoid a similar situation. In the bowling, Aizaz Cheema may make way for left-arm pacer Junaid Khan who is also known for his controlled bowling in the death overs. Saeed Ajmal yet again proved expensive in the final overs, bringing back memories of the infamous T20 semi-final against Australia in 2010 when Mike Hussey took Ajmal to cleaners.Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-30506630033929567662011-11-15T01:00:00.000-08:002011-11-17T04:26:16.748-08:00Wounded Australia promise improved showAustralia will not mind having to play over five days as long as they are able to square the two-test series against South Africa. The second test match starts on Thursday at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. After an action-packed first test that saw the game see-saw within hours and wrapped up inside three days, both sides will be wary of avoiding a repeat of their colossal batting collapses.<br />
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Australia have a few changes to make and they will be hoping these changes come good. Back injury to Shaun Marsh has ruled him out of the remaining matches and David Warner has been flown in as replacement. However, Usman Khawaja, the first Muslim to represent Australia, is likely to be take Marsh’s spot in the playing eleven. Another prospective change is to award the baggy green to fast-bowler Pat Cummins, at the expense of either Peter Siddle or the usually-inconsistent Mitchell Johnson, both of whom picked up one wicket apiece in the first test.<br />
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South Africa, despite their batting succumbing miserably in the first innings at Cape Town, are likely to resist making changes. Opener Jacques Rudolph, although failed in both innings, is likely to be given an extended run on his return from exile. Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla stamped their authority with aggressive centuries and the rest of the batting order will hope to take cue from it. Vernon Philander’s impressive show on debut means the bowling unit also looks relatively stable. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel will be keen on extracting the maximum out of the pacer-friendly pitch at the Wanderers.<br />
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The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg is known for its pacer-friendly pitches and both the teams will be looking to make maximum use of it. If Australia need some motivation going into the match, they must remember that they have won their test match at Johannesburg each time on their four previous tours, dating back to 1997. Jacques Kallis has a strong record at the ground, being the only batsman with over 1000 test runs.<br />
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The match may witness frequent rain interruptions with short thundershowers expected through the next seven days.Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-44775068123262732842011-11-12T04:00:00.000-08:002011-11-17T04:15:40.266-08:00Upbeat Pakistan look to extend leadAfter roaring to a convincing victory in the first match, Pakistan will be keen on carrying the winning momentum in the second ODI against Sri Lanka on Monday. Sri Lanka, the World Cup finalists, though have plenty of worries going into the match, having tasted very little success in the past six months.<br />
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Pakistan could not have scripted a better performance than the show they put up on Friday. The fast bowlers started off well, maintained the pressure and eventually the spinners breathed down Sri Lanka’s batting with contained bowling and crucial wickets. Bowling will once again be the key for Pakistan, and the blend of youth and experience is allowing them to adjust into their own roles well. The variety at Misbah ul Haq’s disposal is also something any captain would cherish on the slow, low surfaces of Dubai. The bulk of the batting is yet to be tested, though half-centuries from Imran Farhat and Younis Khan should do their own confidence a lot of good plus silence their critics to some extent. The all-rounders give Pakistan some easy breathing space, with hard-hitting Abdul Razzaq coming in at number eight. But all eyes will once again be on Shahid Afridi, expectations from whom are sky high following his Man-of-the-Match performance on his comeback.<br />
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Sri Lankan dressing room presents a totally opposite scenario to that of Pakistan. Their batting woes fail to go away, and even wholesale changes to the squad from the test series brought little luck, if any. Their batsmen need to get their act right urgently, as too many batsmen threw their wickets away to soft dismissals. Failure to convert the starts into big scores has been a recurring problem for the Tigers. The bowling also looked toothless, though it can be argued that it was a result of trying too hard defending a paltry total of 131. Lasith Malinga looked off-color but such is his threat that he can come good any moment. Suranga Lakmal continues to impress and if Pakistan are complacent against him, the latter can be caught off guard against Lakmal. <br />
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The conditions will be similar to the first match played here, with warm temperatures expected throughout the day/night encounter. The captain winning the toss is likely to favor batting first. Interestingly, the team winning the toss on this ground has won only once out of six attempts.Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-89017886506698704632011-11-08T13:00:00.000-08:002011-11-08T13:00:02.610-08:00Pakistan gear up for Lankan aggression in ODIsAfter winning the three-match test series 1-0, Pakistan face Sri Lanka in the five-match one-day series starting in Dubai from Friday.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLO5JRtDeg9VgH0bazknOYzm1SmRshOjcNkrPprzUeyiJVNyVnEYYTVHaMOIeu9owEo0kpyA6FHogrdPmxuYEGQvghue2SEls9v6IoftxaE1VlNEODjjfh4F61vuwWkcGvnmIhSMT5Wy8u/s400/Shahid-Afridi+%252813%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="233" width="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLO5JRtDeg9VgH0bazknOYzm1SmRshOjcNkrPprzUeyiJVNyVnEYYTVHaMOIeu9owEo0kpyA6FHogrdPmxuYEGQvghue2SEls9v6IoftxaE1VlNEODjjfh4F61vuwWkcGvnmIhSMT5Wy8u/s400/Shahid-Afridi+%252813%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br />
While the tests produced defensive batting reminiscent of the early 90s, the crowds and the audience alike will hope for the one-day series to yield some attacking cricket – something that has been a characteristic of the two sides, specially in the shorter versions of the game.<br />
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<b>Build up</b><br />
It now seems normal to expect Pakistan going into a new series striving to shrug off the controversies that surround them off the pitch. It is hardly surprising to note the fact that Pakistan have not lost a bilateral one-day or test series in the past twelve months has gone unnoticed. In fact, it was exactly a year ago that Pakistan lost its last ODI series, at the same venue against South Africa.<br />
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Sri Lanka enter the series still trying to figure out how to be competitive in the post-Muralitharan era. The comprehensive manner in which they were outclassed at home by Australia is a testimony to that fact. However, an often-ignored but equally worrying aspect is the fragility in the batting department that is not leaving enough room for the bowlers anyway.<br />
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<b>Squad news</b><br />
Pakistan will be boosted by the return of Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq who were out of favor for contrasting reasons. Umar Gul’s return strengthens the bowling even though Wahab Riaz strangely misses out. In batting, Umar Akmal should provide some much-needed aggression. It will be a tough call for Misbah ul Haq to choose between Shoaib Malik (who averaged only 8.00 against Zimbabwe) and Asad Shafiq (who batted inexplicably slowly in the test series).<br />
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Lasith Malinga will be a welcome return to the Sri Lankan side. Upul Tharanga and injury-prone Dilhara Fernando also make their comebacks to lend experience to a side that is otherwise thin on experience. Bulk of the responsibility will still lie with Kumar Sangakkara, and Mahela Jayawardene will be hoping to strike some form.<br />
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<b>Ground</b><br />
With the match being played on the weekly holiday of Friday, one should expect a sell-out crowd at the beautifully-constructed Dubai International Stadium. The pitch traditionally has a tendency to play slow, with spinners coming to good effect.Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-15643657822231062232011-11-07T08:28:00.000-08:002011-11-07T08:58:07.682-08:00South Africa face Australia challenge on return to test cricket<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2010/12/21/1225974/686494-jacques-kallis.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 5px 5px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 135px;" src="http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2010/12/21/1225974/686494-jacques-kallis.jpg" border="0" alt="Jacques Kallis has scored eight centuries at Cape Town" /></a>Once the top two sides in the world, South Africa and Australia head into an unusually-short two-test series starting from Wednesday. Cape Town will present the home side its first test match since the New Year’s test against India. Australia, on the other hand, are gradually picking up under Michael Clarke, with ODI series already in the bag and having shared the T20 series.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Australia have every reason to feel confident going into the series. They won their last series in Sri Lanka, with their batting holding up under testing conditions. In addition, the tour match against South Africa A provided valuable opportunity for their key players to strike form. Most of their top order was amongst the runs. The only worry would be Ricky Ponting who got a start but failed to capitalize. Phil Hughes has good memories of his last tour here and should help his confidence. Amongst the bowlers, Mitchell Johnson, often highly-rated but disappointing, finished with a 9-wkt match haul. Spin continues to be the cause of concern for them as Nathan Lyon failed to impress in the tour game. <br /><br />For South Africa, the short series means they have to strike the right combination immediately. Graeme Smith returns to lead the side, having conceded captaincy in the shorter versions. AB De Villiers returns from his injury. Also back in the squad after five years is Jacques Rudolph. Add to that Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla and South Africa have a formidable batting line-up. The bowling, while strong on paper, will have to be on their toes to be effective. Surprisingly welcome would be the variety in their attack, something not commonly associated with South African bowling. Leg-spinner Imran Tahir gets his first call up while Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel will look to rack up some pace early on.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ground</span><br />South Africa have not lost a test at Cape Town since March 2006 when Australia defeated them. Only Michael Hussey and Ponting survive from that Australian team. Jacques Kallis has scored eight centuries at Newlands.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Weather</span> <br />The match may witness the odd rain interruption, but the weather overall looks good.Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-38320085887456399292010-08-28T17:28:00.000-07:002010-08-28T19:58:05.234-07:00The match-fixing story: More than just meets the eye<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00144/players_144458a.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 361px; height: 182px;" src="http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00144/players_144458a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-text="The match-fixing story: More than meets the eye" data-count="horizontal">Tweet</a><script type="text/javascript" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fcricketismylifeline.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fmatch-fixing-story-more-than-just-meets.html&layout=standard&show_faces=false&width=450&action=recommend&font=tahoma&colorscheme=light&height=35" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:35px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe><br />So the match fixing saga has returned yet again, after one whole decade of the ugly Hansie Cronje and Co. incident. It has been reported that upto seven Pakistan players are involved in match-fixing with pacers Mohammed Aamer and Mohammed Asif named at the forefront for bowling deliberate no-balls at predetermined times. The whole controversy centers around the arrest of an alleged match-fixer Mazhar Majeed who has reportedly been arrested from the team hotel.<br /><br />Now we are not trying to deny any of the facts that have been reported in the media - it may ultimately be true - the manner in which all this has transpired raises quite a few questions.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00144/bowl_280_144457a.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 286px;" src="http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00144/bowl_280_144457a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span>This piece of news that has shaken the cricket world has been broken by News Of The World (NOTW). Their website puts it as the <span style="font-style: italic;">world exclusive</span> while all other media is quoting NOTW in their reports. BBC, Sky Sports and Pakistani news channels flashed the news at about 2130 GMT. But the interesting part is that a Sky Sports reporter, reporting on Sky Sports News' <span style="font-style: italic;">News At Seven</span> </span><span>(1900 GMT onwards)</span><span>, spoke about a lot of things relating to the day's play and English cricket in general. The specific moment where things get interesting is when the reporter, speaking on England's chances in the Ashes, goes on to say that <span style="font-style: italic;">'England will be more disciplined off the field unlike Pakistan who cannot even manage themselves in the hotel'</span>. Without showing any reaction whatsoever on the statement, the news show host quickly changes the topic back to Pakistan's spectacular batting collapse on day three. Clearly the reporters statement made no sense whatsoever to the audience and the host, instead of seeking explanation, quickly moved in to interrupt and change the topic.<br /><br />The point is, how did this piece of suggestive information reach Sky Sports before 2130 GMT. We all very clearly know how NOTW functions and breaks the news with a bang to the whole world simultaneously. Yet Sky Sports had an inkling at least 90 minutes prior to when the news became public. This poses serious doubts as to whether the story might have been cooked up. As it is, the alleged person Mazhar Majeed was not arrested from the hotel until that time and therefore, there were no signs that <span style="font-style: italic;">Pakistan cannot even manage themselves in the hotel</span>. The reporter seems to have gone too far in saying this in anticipation really. The news show was available to viewers worldwide via free streaming links provided on <a href="http://www.crictime.com/" target="_blank">CricTime.com</a><br /><br />Secondly, the video released by NOTW shows </span>£150,000 recovered from the middleman during secretly taped video conversation with NOTW reporter. The money was not recovered from the players' rooms. While some news channels reported that the money was found from players' rooms, Sky Sports quickly stepped in to correct saying that money was not found from the players' rooms. The interesting part is that Sky Sports knew that cash was not recovered from the players rooms well before the video became public. Script gone all too wrong too quickly? Or is NOTW sharing its much-famed intelligence and reporting with Sky Sports?<br /><br />Thirdly, and interestingly enough, the middleman has been arrested from the team hotel. The match-fixer and/or the middleman must be really inexperienced or insane to be coming to the hotel to make the payment. Simple logic says if parties are involved in a transaction with such an ulterior motive, they try to do it as secretively as possible. Yet we see a man coming to the official team hotel allegedly to make payments to the players who made Mazhar Majeed a fortune and a half with those no-balls. And that too in a green track suit, striking increasing resemblance with the Pakistan team colors. Defies logic?<br /><br />And then there seems to be confusion over the amount made by the fixer Majeed and the amount allegedly to be transferred to the players. Did Majeed make £150,000 or were the players supposed to be paid £150,000? If they recovered £150,000 from the middleman arrested from the hotel, it surely must be the money he came with to transfer to the players. But then NOTW headline says '<span style="font-style: italic;">Match-fixer pockets £150k as he rigs England test at Lord's</span>'. So that should mean the match-fixer made £150,000 by winning bets on the timing of no-balls (among other possible incidents if any). But if Majeed made £150,000, the transfer amount to the player(s) would surely be less than that. But have a look at the caption of the following photo reproduced from NOTW's website.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00144/cam1_516_144344a.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 516px; height: 283px;" src="http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00144/cam1_516_144344a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">CAUGHT: Fixer Majeed beckons to our man to begin the £150,000 handover</span></span><br /><br />The caption suggests that Majeed has given the green signal to his middleman to initiate the handover to players of an amount of £150,000. So that means the players were supposed to receive £150,000? The only possibility that the two amounts (i.e. the sum made by Majeed and the total to be paid to players) can be the same is that Majeed was not working for profit or to make any money out of it. Not-for-profit fixer? Sounds like a fancy term. New concept maybe? There is an obviously direct conflict between the various parts of the reporting done by NOTW. Script of the report also going wrong? Hmm.<br /><br />Finally, since Scotland Yard is studying every detail of the story, we thought we could give it a shot too. But even before we started our probe into it, something kept irritating us. News flash everywhere mentions the word <span style="font-style: italic;">match-fixing</span> umpteenth times. However, even with our limited cricket knowledge, we like to question this. If Majeed made £150,000 by betting on the timing of the no-balls, does this amount to match-fixing? This is actually spot fixing. Quoting Cricinfo's definition on spot-fixing:<br /><b></b><blockquote><b>What is spot-fixing?</b> Spot fixing is about getting players/officials to act in a specified predefined manner at a particular time or during a particular session of a match, with or without adversely affecting the overall outcome of the game. It is also known as micro-fixing or fancy-fixing.</blockquote><br />As you can clearly see, those three no-balls would have no bearing on the outcome of the match since nothing extraordinary like a wicket falling happened on those deliveries nor is this match going down the wire that each run matters. To call it match-fixing is outrageous then as match-fixing involves deliberate efforts to achieve a predetermined result. Did NOTW not know the difference? Hard to believe so since they specialize to a greater degree in uncovering sports scandals. The title on their website also highlights 'Sports Exclusives' as their key strength. Moreover, the head NOTW reporter Mazher Mahmood specializes in unearthing sports scandals and is reportedly paid a whopping £120,000 per year salary. Then for him to call this match-fixing and not spot-fixing is really baffling.<br /><br />And as a concluding thought, again using common sense, who would want to fix matches and pay Pakistan players for losing the match when in all likelihood they are going to lose anyway? Lets make no mistake about. In the six test matches this summer, Pakistan's batting has been miserable and even the two test matches they have won have gone down to the wire courtesy of their mental weakness in chasing down low targets. So having seen Pakistan's performance over the five test matches, you could be fairly sure that they are going to lose. Or even if you had your doubts following The Oval win, £150,000 for <span style="font-style: italic;">three no-balls to fix the match</span> sounds illogical.<br /><br />Scripted? Or unearthed? Decide.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">(More to follow...)</span><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-text="The match-fixing story: More than meets the eye" data-count="horizontal">Tweet</a><script type="text/javascript" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fcricketismylifeline.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fmatch-fixing-story-more-than-just-meets.html&layout=standard&show_faces=true&width=450&action=recommend&font=tahoma&colorscheme=light&height=80" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:80px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-12153973930491694272010-01-29T04:36:00.000-08:002010-01-29T05:27:23.268-08:00You-su-full of StubbornnessNow you might be getting bored reading post after post on the beloved captain Mohammad Yousuf. But then, if there's one thing Yousuf has learnt from Shoaib Akhtar it has to be how to remain in the limelight. Unfortunately though, he is also in the news more for all the wrong reasons than right ones. So since Mr. Captain considers himself so worthy of all the attention which he was denied while he was not appointed captain in 2007 or when he went away to ICL, we have decided to give him his due share.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKO_PQGXm8zZGgawlLML5oqjvYqTABpqrIws-lU25khsE_ZrFrsjIx1nHW0XhoCf0uzwRo_oDA-TLCChvkSBmGvIjPfCEFm9t7QY_TlCPK11h2zpJclsmj_7eIlyu9heQPKuM8K6P6t01R/s1600-h/mohammad_yousuf.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 5px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 117px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKO_PQGXm8zZGgawlLML5oqjvYqTABpqrIws-lU25khsE_ZrFrsjIx1nHW0XhoCf0uzwRo_oDA-TLCChvkSBmGvIjPfCEFm9t7QY_TlCPK11h2zpJclsmj_7eIlyu9heQPKuM8K6P6t01R/s200/mohammad_yousuf.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432152046492252434" /></a>On the eve of the fourth ODI in Perth, Mohammad Yousuf makes some very interesting comments in an interview. For the sake of Yousuf, lets not be too critical and lets try to find out (read: dig deep) the 'positive' aspects of his statements. So here we go:<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><blockquote>Team was nowhere before I took over.</blockquote></span><br />Well said Mr. Captain. He's correct. The team was 'nowhere'. Look it up in the dictionary, 'nowhere' is used to refer to an unimportant or uninteresting place. Indeed, so was the case. The team was in Pakistan and UAE (which is as good as home) and so rightly counts as 'nowhere'. Yousuf has taken the team 'everywhere' - to great places, namely Australia and New Zealand. Valid point Mr. Captain.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><blockquote>This is a new team and when the Pakistan Cricket Board gave me the team as a captain [it was] nowhere.</blockquote></span><br />Lets not be too harsh on the captain. So what if Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan, and Yousuf himself have played over a hundred ODIs and a good number of Tests as well. Yousuf is a cricketer, not a statistician. He is not supposed to remember how experienced his players are. And he also finds the team new because he has only recently returned from ICL. Its been only six months. So if he insists, lets accept that it is a new team.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><blockquote>I have tried to make the whole team gel. In New Zealand in difficult conditions we drew the series [which was a] good achievement for me and my team.</blockquote></span><br />That is also correct. The team has gelled together so well that they did not want to drop Kamran Akmal from the final test despite his pathetic performance in the Sydney test. So united the team is. And of course, in hindsight, drawing a series always seems an achievement in comparison to a 3-0 whitewash.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><blockquote>We play very good Test cricket in Australia … they did not win [in Sydney], we gave them that match. We did not take pressure because we are young and inexperienced.</blockquote></span><br />Again, please excuse Yousuf for the lack of knowledge regarding statistics. We admitted earlier that the team is new and inexperienced. No need to plead to us Mr. Captain. We believe you. As for the Sydney test, see, he is so honest he credits the right reason for the reason. And also highlights another quality of his team that he has taken 'everywhere' - the opposition does not have to win against us, we gift them the match too. You must give credit to him for being so honest and appreciative of the qualities of his team.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><blockquote>A lot of teams from Pakistan that have come here have not played like this, and [those teams] have had great players.</blockquote></span><br />So true. What he is trying to emphasize on is that none of the earlier teams have played like this. Better or worse is a different matter. None could get Australia's eight wickets down for a lead of 80 runs. Living in the past isn't always good, so we will also forget how Pakistan were robbed of a victory by the Australian umpires in 1997 at Hobart as Australia chased a mammoth 367. And yes great players those teams had and hence they didn't perform the way the team is performing this time. That is why Wasim Akram-led Pakistan won the triangular series in 1997 while the current team is 0-3 down when Yousuf made this statement. But then Yousuf didn't say better or worse. He just said it is a never-seen-before performance. We are stumped again!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><blockquote>And as a batsman I feel my form is excellent, better than the whole team. But unfortunately I did not make runs. I am hitting them right in the middle, but have not made any runs.</blockquote></span><br />Oh of course. That huge thing in the ground called a scoreboard is useless. Runs don't matter. And given Yousuf's obliviousness regarding statistics, he surely doesn't care about scoring one more run than the opposition. What matters is that the ball should hit the middle of the bat. That sweet sound, aahh totally love it! Did somebody say the captain has got out edging behind the stumps half the innings on tour? Don't get him wrong here. He was just checking whether the edge of the bat also produces that same sound or not. Next time, he'll play a cover drive right from the edge of the bat.<br /><br />So then, Mr. Captain has left us stumped on so many counts now. Now our voices should be completely shut. He says everything for a reason, and the reasons we just explored. Convinced, aren't we?<br /><br />P.S: Mohammad Yousuf, how about you hire us as your lawyer/spokesperson whatever? :PCricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-9309452085641433932010-01-19T11:20:00.000-08:002010-03-13T05:34:49.516-08:00Why Pakistani players should not be a part of IPLBy now everyone knows that the much-awaited auction for the third edition of Indian Premier League has happened amid a lot of controversy. From the final shortlist of 66 players, none of the 11 Pakistani players were bid for. It has caused a stir in the discussion circles, and a lot of furore has been noticed in Pakistan. But <span style="font-style:italic;">CricketIsMyLifeline</span> will show you a different view - a view that everyone should consider. We will tell you why Pakistani players were not selected.<br /><br />So starting off, lets begin with what our topic is. There is nothing wrong in being patriotic. Its the Indian Premier League. As the name implies, its supposed to be 'Indian'. Its not like the World Series Cricket in 1970s that had representation from around the world. Its 'Indian Premier League' so give Indians a chance to showcase their talent. And why do we say so? Simply because on the international front, Team India does not get a chance to do so.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Lets be honest and fair. India certainly don't like playing international T20. They failed miserably in the ICC World Twenty20 in England. They have also lost more than 60% of their T20 Internationals in the last two years. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rzdevLti1G-ty4vwXpdpdkhPJBB3g1na1W0XFDKAqgd7VCSwA0gk1dfIp8eqbZksgPkeHKlm2rqH1UgSywIr5AC4h98v9KlTq03IAY42vPs3qhO9mq2VbpxRCBWzeWHRgBn4iQydWiSh/s1600-h/Manpreet+Gony.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 156px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rzdevLti1G-ty4vwXpdpdkhPJBB3g1na1W0XFDKAqgd7VCSwA0gk1dfIp8eqbZksgPkeHKlm2rqH1UgSywIr5AC4h98v9KlTq03IAY42vPs3qhO9mq2VbpxRCBWzeWHRgBn4iQydWiSh/s200/Manpreet+Gony.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428557652433895506" /></a>But the Indian players always do well in the IPL, make no mistake about it. Yuvraj Singh even has TWO hat-tricks! Then, while Pakistan unleashes a youngster like Mohammed Aamer at ICC World Twenty20, the IPL also produces 'talented' cricketers. Players like Manpreet Gony who rock the tournament with impressive performances, yet fail miserably at the international scene and are soon forgotten. Yusuf Pathan another case in point. <span style="font-style:italic;">(<span style="font-weight:bold;">Added 13th March 2010:</span> See, we were so right. Yusuf Pathan just smashed a 37-ball century in his first IPL match this season!)</span><br /><br />What good would it have served having Pakistani players in IPL? They are the world champions. They would have again kicked Indian players in the backside. So they did the right thing by keeping Pakistan players aside. Nobody likes getting spanked in their own backyard after all. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA2xJcrxoFVpyX8JH3eDBTSisLJC-mnv2s92qaEh0T4HPdGGQ4tv9xm3zfwmRVJ39fxAanwcchlx843fwCqu3aXfzguXglLZZ3xeWL-SiAToedt0nAJJ6vSY1zGRcK3QW0GiIZN5Bsache/s1600-h/AfridiKamran.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA2xJcrxoFVpyX8JH3eDBTSisLJC-mnv2s92qaEh0T4HPdGGQ4tv9xm3zfwmRVJ39fxAanwcchlx843fwCqu3aXfzguXglLZZ3xeWL-SiAToedt0nAJJ6vSY1zGRcK3QW0GiIZN5Bsache/s320/AfridiKamran.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428557938078085106" /></a>Even players like Gony and Yusuf Pathan have a heart, even they love attention. So why not let them get some? Had Pakistani players been allowed, we'd have had to see what we saw in the World T20. Kamran Akmal's record four stumpings. Or Shahid Afridi's dominance and arms aloft in celebration after hitting the winning runs. We wouldn't then get the opportunity to see someone like Shikhar Dhawan plundering the opposition for runs.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQx4Vqay7XTRbbaAyc6uTaehJjPpDRi18XuQHxq61zD1ex2RX0iiDHLxVoL3Y9ukuvyKTy26oEcvoS9fIOu1Gvh2HEXu96tBiX3Y3qEEJvC7R1StCWF6tVpKL7YJ5uly4SzQxgR9eVrsAY/s1600-h/Preity-zinta-ipl.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQx4Vqay7XTRbbaAyc6uTaehJjPpDRi18XuQHxq61zD1ex2RX0iiDHLxVoL3Y9ukuvyKTy26oEcvoS9fIOu1Gvh2HEXu96tBiX3Y3qEEJvC7R1StCWF6tVpKL7YJ5uly4SzQxgR9eVrsAY/s200/Preity-zinta-ipl.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428558199421782386" /></a>Bollywood happens to be another reason why Pakistan players were rightfully not picked up. Had Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul and Imran Nazir been there, who would have cared about Preity Zinta, Shilpa Shetty, Katrina Kaif and Juhi Chawla? Everyone would have lined up to get an autograph from the world champions! See, such caring people these IPL managers are. They care about the feelings of the poor filmstars who survive on fan following.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNj1B99CIHl_fsDquILmA8V7mFg5-_vAelMNsZxT33nXrenb5iC2_DTP7RMkdWCujagVpFQptiex9G7JFa-CAll_tmroaLWqh4q0H0Eb1oGBB28N2_zRGcxofULmHWPGvr1p_mGypBh3xb/s1600-h/modilalit.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 206px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNj1B99CIHl_fsDquILmA8V7mFg5-_vAelMNsZxT33nXrenb5iC2_DTP7RMkdWCujagVpFQptiex9G7JFa-CAll_tmroaLWqh4q0H0Eb1oGBB28N2_zRGcxofULmHWPGvr1p_mGypBh3xb/s320/modilalit.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428558645926053074" /></a>Then, Lalit Modi isn't wrong at all in saying there was no pressure on franchises to not select the Pakistani players. Yes Mr. Modi. We believe you. So what if the Indian daily Midday revealed two days before the auction that franchises have been instructed by IPL bosses to stay away from bidding for Pakistan players? We tell you. Its all a conspiracy. Midday is an agent of the ISI. Lalit Modi would never do such a thing. There is nothing wrong in being patriotic. Lalit Modi loves his people. His people love him too. The people show their love for him in a different way though - he has lost his state election twice in less than a year!<br /><br />Finally, what is T20 cricket all about? Its 'fun' cricket. Younis Khan said the same at ICC World T20. But while Indian players were literally having fun (remember Yuvraj Singh bhangra dancing in the dressing room?), Pakistani players took away all the cake, pastry, biscuits, and everything else which was on offer. Indian players want to have some real fun this time. T20 really is fun cricket. But lets make it fun for everyone. Add Indian pitches. Add 'ordinary' (as Virender Sehwag would say) players. Add cheerleaders. Minus the Pakistan players. There you have it. From Gony to Gambhir. Dhawan to Dhoni - everyone will have fun. That's more like it. Now McDonald's can safely advertise throughout the IPL with their tagline <span style="font-style:italic;">"I'm lovin' it"</span>. The Indians will surely keep loving it over the tiresome duration of 57 matches.<br /><br />By now you should be convinced why it was beneficial not to have Pakistani players in the IPL. If you're not, we are sure that you're planning a conspiracy against us!Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-66549337748854321132010-01-07T21:28:00.000-08:002010-01-07T22:17:52.481-08:00Forget 3 Idiots when you have THE Idiot!We have so often heard the famous quote: <span style="font-style:italic;">'Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt'</span>. Mohammad Yousuf perhaps needs to be taught this in Urdu since he clearly does not understand the meaning of it currently. Lets have a closer look:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhKNIs9Riy6KQZ9PxYBkRdLEsx84EHOMtlyv2mOZ0mOMbJicVUiBD3LOssaiYQ1YTxUC4xRfqvvz1Sx58Mn8rYxBF0w4Eqeb7cWJ1xXOcezggpLvHmnB1GTkYG0n9JsOVFrp-9nUC7Mhtq/s1600-h/1-idiot.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:2px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 238px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhKNIs9Riy6KQZ9PxYBkRdLEsx84EHOMtlyv2mOZ0mOMbJicVUiBD3LOssaiYQ1YTxUC4xRfqvvz1Sx58Mn8rYxBF0w4Eqeb7cWJ1xXOcezggpLvHmnB1GTkYG0n9JsOVFrp-9nUC7Mhtq/s400/1-idiot.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424243845391871506" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">'Ricky Ponting erred by batting first.'</span><br />Captains worldwide do play mind games. But one has to be mindful of the fact that it doesn't come and hit you in your face. Too bad Mohammad Yousuf had to jump to conclusion without realizing his own fate. Aptly, Ricky Ponting replied after the match with: <span style="font-weight:bold;">'I wonder what was Yousuf thinking with all those defensive fields'</span>.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">'There should be a batting coach. You have a fielding coach, bowling coach, all are there so why not a batting coach?'</span><br />Fielding coach. Bowling coach. Now a batting coach! And what wonders does Yousuf expect from the magical creature to turn around the 36-year old Misbah ul Haq, 34-year old Yousuf, and all the others with over six years of international experience? Umar Akmal is the only exception to this 'experienced and aging' line up. And with his current form, he is better off without a batting coach.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcFyMdF64pjg5NfAi6h9aDfaFwRghFLl9yd-_7nuqBgDrdBKRPnzdME1mMbc8wGupuZv-oulWGS27YbzPs5utNNpLKXWZTGlFnd8ulRB2mgNP159hAo6wgbM2-2EXouJwREbY7YD6fiZr/s1600-h/Mohammad+yousuf_06112008.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcFyMdF64pjg5NfAi6h9aDfaFwRghFLl9yd-_7nuqBgDrdBKRPnzdME1mMbc8wGupuZv-oulWGS27YbzPs5utNNpLKXWZTGlFnd8ulRB2mgNP159hAo6wgbM2-2EXouJwREbY7YD6fiZr/s320/Mohammad+yousuf_06112008.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424241678071237650" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">'What I can see is that we need batsmen, we really need batsmen with temperament.'</span><br />Mr. Captain, you're saying this moments after throwing your wicket away due to impatience? Just by accepting blame for the 'pathetic' stroke does not rid you of responsibility. So you have no right to point fingers at others when you yourself are not leading by example.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">'Shahid Afridi is needed in the test team. But one day he says I'll play and the next day he turns away'</span><br />One day Mohammad Yousuf claims the current team has the capability of beating any side in the world and another day he says this is one of the weakest teams to tour Australia. And why drag Shahid Afridi needlessly into this?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJHKdZUfMOIuvuwm7gvYksP9llsaX_3-ZLmCsYudzpaDXUqg4H8oixlfez_wSrnxLS2hD82CcIkbdC6AhuAOa9K95Ll01g9Aub8OBrUGNmqmqO5mOsHEaJ5JeW9LL3QyRO7PmLN7C-D7x/s1600-h/idiot.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJHKdZUfMOIuvuwm7gvYksP9llsaX_3-ZLmCsYudzpaDXUqg4H8oixlfez_wSrnxLS2hD82CcIkbdC6AhuAOa9K95Ll01g9Aub8OBrUGNmqmqO5mOsHEaJ5JeW9LL3QyRO7PmLN7C-D7x/s320/idiot.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424241081194644290" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">'T20 will finish Pakistan cricket'</span> followed by <span style="font-weight:bold;">'We need to have separate players for T20 and tests'</span><br />Hmm. Separate teams? Yousuf himself, Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Misbah ul Haq, Faisal Iqbal -- all have not appeared in the recent T20 matches for Pakistan. And the likes of Shoaib Malik, Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi and Imran Nazir are not a part of the current test line-up. Only Umar Akmal is playing all three forms, and excelling at them too. So the argument for 'separate' teams is diversionary than anything else.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">'Kamran is always trying his best. You tell me, how can we afford to give him a rest? He is such a good batsman. He scored well in New Zealand and we need him here. We don't have an option either.'</span><br />So there you go. Kamran's glove-work may be a problem. But his batting exploits are SO great that we cannot leave him out. And where exactly are the batting heroics? 67 runs in four innings? Impressive! The problem remains the same - Kamran has always been a 'trier' at 'keeping. He has never learnt anything about it in the last eight years. And you don't have an option? As pointed out by CricketIsMyLifeline in its post, <a href="http://cricketismylifeline.blogspot.com/2009/12/captain-confused.html"><b>Captain Confused</b></a>, Sarfaraz Ahmed was dropped on Yousuf's insistence only. For the short New Zealand tour, you had an understudy. For the tough tour, you have none.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">'Look at Ricky Ponting. He is getting support from every quarter even when he is not scoring many runs or on the toss decision'</span><br />Comparing Ricky Ponting with Kamran Akmal should invite defamation lawsuit from the Australian captain. The Australian captain doesn't prove counterproductive for his side. Kamran, on the other hand, is on Danish Kaneria's hit list right now courtesy of his eight-pack performance.<br /><br />So now don't flock to the cinemas to watch 3 idiots. Just sit back and relax and switch your TV sets on. For once, even Amir Khan feels threatened!Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-84470229965783778412010-01-07T09:15:00.000-08:002010-01-08T08:07:36.977-08:00Post Mortem of a Suicide DeathWhat happened at Sydney leaves everyone speechless. If you're a Pakistani fan, you'd be scratching your hair out in disbelief. And if you're an Australian fan, you'd be marveling at what can be termed one of the best come-from-behind victories in history.<br /><br />So how to get started with the post mortem when you know it was a suicide. Clearly, as a neutral, you wouldn't call it an Australian win. Instead, Pakistan lost themselves. Their biggest opposition as has so often been said is themselves. And it proved so yet again. A handful of individuals excelled in leading the self-imposed opposition through sheer defiance of logic, extreme denial of talentlessness and a superior degree of stubbornness to stay firm despite obvious flaws.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6FzLw_4uq0AfKhv7hpvjYWnXFJo3PElhKLrOSHnW1N62QyRohSZqwu1MzuZjk5zyomXpbbIrhVaJ0oNHnprSo2M3dWgdadLMdOzJDViIDFfBQqzhFTeT4HmxJgX9QYkudNN51YEJ7Y5U/s1600-h/112394.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 131px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6FzLw_4uq0AfKhv7hpvjYWnXFJo3PElhKLrOSHnW1N62QyRohSZqwu1MzuZjk5zyomXpbbIrhVaJ0oNHnprSo2M3dWgdadLMdOzJDViIDFfBQqzhFTeT4HmxJgX9QYkudNN51YEJ7Y5U/s400/112394.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424233271474598338" /></a>Kamran Akmal. The lesser said the better. This was not the first time Kamran has been ordinary behind the stmups. For years, Kamran Akmal's buttery glovework has proved costly, in all forms of the game. His performance in this match is perhaps the Oscar award winner of all pathetic performances. Or maybe not. Knowing Kamran Akmal, the worst may just be yet to come. His eight-pack performance (eight-pack = five dropped catches + one missed run-out + two batting failures) is a stark comparison to Brad Haddin's nine catches, including the spectacular blinder to remove Salman Butt. The argument for Kamran's inclusion is his batting. How conveniently has everyone forgotten that he is supposed to be a wicketkeeper-batsman, and not a batsman-who-can-keep-wickets.<br /><br />And what batting record are they talking about? Kamran averages 14 in Australia, 16 in England, 21 in South Africa, 19 in West Indies and 23 in Sri Lanka. Against quality opposition in testing conditions, his technique is hugely exposed. It isn't surprising that he has scored nearly 1500 of his 2550 runs in the 22 test matches played in Pakistan and India. The rest of the 26 matches have yielded just over 1000 runs at an average of 23. What an impressive batting record indeed!<br /><br />He was dropped for Asia Cup 2008 after poor 'keeping in the preceding tri-nation tournament in Bangladesh. Sarfaraz Ahmed, his replacement, did nothing wrong behind the stumps while getting limited opportunities with the bat. Yet he was silently shown the door for the following series. A batsman-who-can-keep is the option that Pakistan seem to be following, even after years of disappointments. And if that has to be policy in the going future, Kamran still has competition. Forget Younis Khan the captain, forget Younis Khan the batsman. Younis Khan has kept wickets for Pakistan previously. Given Kamran's consistent failures, even Younis Khan can do a better job than this. After all, the entire purpose is only to 'stop' the ball like an average goalkeeper instead of catching it.<br /><br />And what of Mohammad Yousuf. After whining in the media about how he deserved to be the captain at the time Shoaib Malik was appointed in 2007, Yousuf has done nothing to prove his worth as a leader. Day four of a test match. Opposition effectively on 80 for eight. A regular batsman in Michael Hussey - low on confidence due to a series of low scores, and also the fact that he was still batting thanks to three spilled chances. Yet what Yousuf does is spread the field like stars in the sky. Although Yousuf accepts blame for the defeat, he points out the incorrect point as the cause of defeat. Terming his shot pathetic that changed the game, Yousuf would have been much better off accepting that he was simply stupid in not attacking the Australian batsmen early morning. And if his statement that 'Ricky Ponting erred by batting first' was a slap in the face of his Australian counterpart, Ricky Ponting brutally knocks him down by saying 'I wonder what was Yousuf thinking with all those defensive fields'.<br /><br />A target of 176 was never supposed to happen had it not been for Mohammad Yousuf and Kamran Akmal. So the fact remains - that a 13-man (or a 14-man with the inclusion of Misbah ul Haq) Australian team beat Pakistan's handicapped side by 36 runs to lift the series. Maybe ICC should intervene and do something about these 'handicap' matches!Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-2127605028828860652009-12-31T05:22:00.000-08:002010-01-01T02:51:56.686-08:00The Hots & The Nots of 2009Its been yet another eventful year of cricket. Thrilling finishes to performance excellences on the field; and awards and honours to controversies off the field. Here's a look at ten of the 'Hot' and the 'Not' events of the year.<br /><br /><b><center><big><span style="font-weight:bold;">No. 1</span></big></center></b><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HOT - Akmal Brothers</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAHBVQlJ28nlb5NFMlKry1GyVTaqK6geIM6OaEzUh_2Cfw8-Wa9EjB-hHQ0U7ZCP_j6jV4V5QGNb_zc66WtFt2UuWqxRWjWn3v05K1ZIMc0SkeZZl47_vwCI0Ua1F_9-Qm-dFzjUbhcExz/s1600-h/UmarAkmal.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAHBVQlJ28nlb5NFMlKry1GyVTaqK6geIM6OaEzUh_2Cfw8-Wa9EjB-hHQ0U7ZCP_j6jV4V5QGNb_zc66WtFt2UuWqxRWjWn3v05K1ZIMc0SkeZZl47_vwCI0Ua1F_9-Qm-dFzjUbhcExz/s200/UmarAkmal.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421460253892097826" /></a>The duo from Pakistan combined to put in the rare glimpses of excellence from Pakistan this year. Umar burst on to the scene with a bang, scoring a whirlwind century in Sri Lanka. He also ended as the top run-getter in his debut test series against New Zealand. Kamran also played a pivotal role in Pakistan's triumphant T20 campaign besides putting in consistent performances in the ODI format. The two brothers leased life and energy into the Pakistan team.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">NOT - Hussey Brothers</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQbXKT4wJ53y5emLbMn00dSuq6MPgvaXd8wBhzop7QZQG36_2rPcka5_pFJTodN0BH2FxnH1nCl8tqdK95ps7qftZGAvyDkS95dganHQuZGvUWLwxpydsa7ixlPD2Qwaffa4p0YSGo0i3/s1600-h/Hussey-brothers.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQbXKT4wJ53y5emLbMn00dSuq6MPgvaXd8wBhzop7QZQG36_2rPcka5_pFJTodN0BH2FxnH1nCl8tqdK95ps7qftZGAvyDkS95dganHQuZGvUWLwxpydsa7ixlPD2Qwaffa4p0YSGo0i3/s200/Hussey-brothers.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421714821441401986" /></a>After starting the year strongly with impressive performances, the Hussey brothers faded away. David fell away so much so that it cost him his place in the team while Mr. Cricket aka Michael Hussey's graph kept tailing downwards with pressure ringing on him from the experts calling for fresh blood.<br /><br /><br /><b><center><big><span style="font-weight:bold;">No. 2</span></big></center></b><a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HOT - Team Pakistan at ICC tournaments</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNn78For630lQAJpZ8hreII4ZvGPjR8DATI9Hqed05_smVldCu04uPkaLrzK-UbxrkJ4JxqpIrONl1m9eywYaVMPgLC4MaBvoDutNNJGS6gTyBkMuVgWe5Zizzg8meAjGKDoyjqozxoDTx/s1600-h/T20.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 148px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNn78For630lQAJpZ8hreII4ZvGPjR8DATI9Hqed05_smVldCu04uPkaLrzK-UbxrkJ4JxqpIrONl1m9eywYaVMPgLC4MaBvoDutNNJGS6gTyBkMuVgWe5Zizzg8meAjGKDoyjqozxoDTx/s200/T20.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421459983821175682" /></a>Maintaining their unpredictability tag, Pakistan, performed unbelievably well out of nowhere at the two ICC events this year. After a disastrous start to World Twenty20 including heavy defeats in the warm-ups and the opening match, Pakistan twice turned the tide from the verge of exiting before putting in inspired team performances to lift the trophy against all odds, beating favorites Sri Lanka in the final. Then at the ICC Champions Trophy, shifted to South Africa from Pakistan due to security concerns, Team Pakistan impressed all and sundry with a magical win over arch-rivals India before stretching Australia to the last ball. An unfortunate turnaround in the semi-final meant the end of the road as they lost to New Zealand.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">NOT - Team India at ICC tournaments</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQ5NEtegeCXiJtKoQfKHVR0MsvD99HTzhbLjXMbLgoSavxkLMtvyR98ONpYs-_vuqOECDa8GfXZ_Qa_EQI3mW910EuX4nd6yt5zhUPfL3exlrvRA4PJVE6zHVMVZhYA-zcc5YWdGzPB4P/s1600-h/India-disappoint.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQ5NEtegeCXiJtKoQfKHVR0MsvD99HTzhbLjXMbLgoSavxkLMtvyR98ONpYs-_vuqOECDa8GfXZ_Qa_EQI3mW910EuX4nd6yt5zhUPfL3exlrvRA4PJVE6zHVMVZhYA-zcc5YWdGzPB4P/s200/India-disappoint.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421716250508548034" /></a>An abysmal year for India at the ICC events. Starting off as favorites, the defending champions progressed through the first round of World T20 easily, thumping minnows Bangladesh and Ireland. But at the Super Eights, they fell apart as they packed their bags having lost all three games. At the Champions Trophy, a defeat against Pakistan proved costly. For perhaps the only time in history, the billion-strong Indian population then wanted Pakistan to win against Australia so that Team India could qualify. However, Pakistan suffered an agonizing last-ball defeat against Australia to kick India out. At both the tournaments, India's weakness to short-pitched bowling was majorly exposed as the young blood repeated their mistakes.<br /><br /><br /><b><center><big><span style="font-weight:bold;">No. 3</span></big></center></b><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HOT - Indian Premier League (IPL)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiD90UtT8n0jXk_wlLZ33TRk1pruTAZjjHpBcHCpCSqH0xoKv3H4UAnGVngcVxgSOtPo8JQN1BnpC5VoMc-K7IuwQogcpoD73Wx0FOIq0k4AvHgV_twaR4Opyw7HHz9EwvhEtyT2aKBKG0/s1600-h/IPL.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 148px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiD90UtT8n0jXk_wlLZ33TRk1pruTAZjjHpBcHCpCSqH0xoKv3H4UAnGVngcVxgSOtPo8JQN1BnpC5VoMc-K7IuwQogcpoD73Wx0FOIq0k4AvHgV_twaR4Opyw7HHz9EwvhEtyT2aKBKG0/s200/IPL.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421717274761997250" /></a>The second edition of IPL was moved to South Africa after security concerns due to national elections in India. Despite controversies regarding grounds and sponsors, the change in venue proved to be a hit with South African audiences welcoming teams with open arms. Some mis-hit concepts such as the 'strategic time out' were also tried. But the month-long extravaganza provided some thrilling cricket as Adam Gilchrist's Deccan Chargers deservedly lifted the title.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">NOT - Indian Cricket League (ICL)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmqWRCNLzpJ8RhhNValV81bqRl894ljN-R_-7wz1MOjyzcsTyKcjK5bS6ZvOYgacAagVeDA0hxP_IIerRwOTLuvtLBNh168a0_ITw6BQoWxvvA45-QiW62qlYtj4ks-jjs0dHnJqZ9-25/s1600-h/icl-logo.PNG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 161px; height: 141px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmqWRCNLzpJ8RhhNValV81bqRl894ljN-R_-7wz1MOjyzcsTyKcjK5bS6ZvOYgacAagVeDA0hxP_IIerRwOTLuvtLBNh168a0_ITw6BQoWxvvA45-QiW62qlYtj4ks-jjs0dHnJqZ9-25/s200/icl-logo.PNG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421717141178488322" /></a>What started off as a breakaway concept soon became to be known as the 'rebel' league. ICL, it can be safely assumed, has breathed its last. The league was denied ICC recognition. The talks between ICL and IPL also remained fruitless. The spring edition was postponed after the Mumbai attacks, but the league officials vowed to be back in November. However, with BCCI offering amnesty to players resigning from ICL, and also international players seeking release from contracts, the ICL soon ran out of gas. Much was made about ICL suing ICC for 'restraint of trade', little came of it as financial troubles left little choice for the league officials. Many players claimed their dues still remain uncleared as most of them returned to national ranks.<br /><br /><br /><b><center><big><span style="font-weight:bold;">No. 4</span></big></center></b><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HOT - Dropped catches</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNurmXQS_lGzEgcvdCS5-Dl9G-5ZQWskmO3U5RGkyfdLGu4-FxzGUd1xwPCPUt9S7yQU8VjAGlBQA5Ucqg3wlMf6GDoIxtYW59Tle8O62xCpsNHZgAG8bjaA1KCXT6j0GQIHIX6XyTQUk0/s320/ButtDrop.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNurmXQS_lGzEgcvdCS5-Dl9G-5ZQWskmO3U5RGkyfdLGu4-FxzGUd1xwPCPUt9S7yQU8VjAGlBQA5Ucqg3wlMf6GDoIxtYW59Tle8O62xCpsNHZgAG8bjaA1KCXT6j0GQIHIX6XyTQUk0/s320/ButtDrop.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The number of dropped catches seemed to be getting cheaper by the dozen. Pakistan dropped no less than 26 catches in four tests in November-December. India remained ordinary too. Even Australia dropped some notable ones. And Makhaya Ntini wouldn't forget AB De Villiers' simple drop in Ntini's 100th test as Proteas wondered where did the Jonty Rhodes spirit go.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">NOT - Catches win matches</span><br />Catching seemed to be a lost art as many would-have-been-awesome catches were missed. The unbelievable catches that win matches were simply not on show this year. Wonder what the fielding coaches are doing these days!<br /><br /><br /><b><center><big><span style="font-weight:bold;">No. 5</span></big></center></b><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HOT - The all-in-one Daniel Vettori</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH82v7fO5izGJyUb26w4xCKMbK5HS4Rzo_eoLQDKd4u-M9_JQgKNOGxA8v50tWOHXWS7uciKIRH7k826oMZQNIcxLBb-i2fnStXx-Fyib6yMylhhuhzH5KPHW2JK3qiWRYFzBm_GTbrZeN/s1600-h/danielvettori.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 164px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH82v7fO5izGJyUb26w4xCKMbK5HS4Rzo_eoLQDKd4u-M9_JQgKNOGxA8v50tWOHXWS7uciKIRH7k826oMZQNIcxLBb-i2fnStXx-Fyib6yMylhhuhzH5KPHW2JK3qiWRYFzBm_GTbrZeN/s200/danielvettori.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421460497322376946" /></a>New Zealand Cricket seems to be running on one man - Daniel Vettori. Once started off as a bowler, Vettori is now an accomplished all-round batsmen as well. In addition, he shoulders the captaincy, coach, and selection responsibilities as well. And the results have been positive too - New Zealand reached the final of Champions Trophy before drawing with Pakistan 1-1 at home after dismal performances in the previous years.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">NOT - The 'handicapped' all-rounders</span><br />With injuries coming thick and fast, the all-rounders were forced to choose between duties. Jacques Kallis played purely as a batsman for some time. Andrew Flintoff focused solely on his bowling, dropping to number seven in the batting order during the Ashes. Even Shane Watson's injury transformed him into an accomplished opener, although he has now returned with the ball as well.<br /><br /><br /><b><center><big><span style="font-weight:bold;">No. 6</span></big></center></b><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HOT - Ajmal & Afridi</span><br />Pakistan's spinners were the key to Pakistan's success in the shorter forms of the game. With cumulative 50 wickets at a miserly rate of 4.2 runs per over, the two troubled all the teams, specially Australia. In the T20s, the two formed a formidable partnership as Pakistan dried out the runs in the middle overs. 37 wickets at an economy of 5.5 per over would leave any captain drooling. The pair played an integral role in Pakistan's ability of defend low scores in the World T20.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">NOT - Mendis & Murali</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDO5JtykMuqVWbF4HRU9kpyUVb6imE4uwygrssSZAM0s3jky1smh2p9NFgpjTRCLK2iZl7BF5twg90pZ1jQI32ELaPf_EtQkMRL09SX2W5izK0dPqMIFTAtx1wLiceJuIF_YMphBrxFyRS/s1600-h/Muttiah-Muralitharan.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 197px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDO5JtykMuqVWbF4HRU9kpyUVb6imE4uwygrssSZAM0s3jky1smh2p9NFgpjTRCLK2iZl7BF5twg90pZ1jQI32ELaPf_EtQkMRL09SX2W5izK0dPqMIFTAtx1wLiceJuIF_YMphBrxFyRS/s320/Muttiah-Muralitharan.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421461150199145538" /></a>Sri Lanka's menacing pair of Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan flopped badly through the year. Troubled by injuries and exhausting schedules, the two were no longer the threat they once used to be. No four-wicket hauls in ODIs or T20s says much about their troubles. Conceding at nearly five an over in ODIs at an average over 30 isn't threatening. Even in the T20s, the two combined to pick up only 23 wickets at a higher average and economy rate than Ajmal and Afridi. A dismal year in test matches as well, costing over 45 runs per wicket.<br /><br /><br /><b><center><big><span style="font-weight:bold;">No. 7</span></big></center></b><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HOT - Dilscoop</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3XO72wfDUmArmpq-j8_6gBFhVYg5IqhY_mvJmB3KDYJg4axZzp-XT-AnLs5tPbv2l6TLSd7UDTx5MXXpGN9HXtAurJpf2oPD7_kY2AbGYVCRRe5J4J5yYboUKzwivtMIbwCNcirqVNJ_/s1600-h/dilscoop.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 103px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3XO72wfDUmArmpq-j8_6gBFhVYg5IqhY_mvJmB3KDYJg4axZzp-XT-AnLs5tPbv2l6TLSd7UDTx5MXXpGN9HXtAurJpf2oPD7_kY2AbGYVCRRe5J4J5yYboUKzwivtMIbwCNcirqVNJ_/s200/dilscoop.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421459296832088770" /></a>By far the 'invention' of the year. Tillakaratne Dilshan's paddle shot getting down on one knee and hitting over the wicketkeeper's head quickly became famous as Dilscoop. As much as it frustrated the bowlers, the shot became the commentators and viewers' ultimate delight.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">NOT - Reverse sweep</span><br />An annoying sign for a spinner - the reverse sweep - was no longer as effective. The master exponents of the stroke failed to apply it properly at crucial times. Younis Khan got out reverse sweeping several times. Similarly, Kevin Pietersen avoided the stroke as Australia continued to bowl flat at him. Consequently, the shot once perfected by Javed Miandad went missing this year.<br /><br /><br /><b><center><big><span style="font-weight:bold;">No. 8</span></big></center></b><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HOT - Tony Greig</span><br />After the demise of ICL where he served as the Executive Board member, Tony Greig returned to mainstream, international commentary. In his usual, fluent, energetic and vibrant style, Tony Greig was welcomed with delight by his fans. Cricket commentary came to life once again as Greig served as commentator during matches involving Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">NOT - Danny Morrison</span><br />Once an intimidating fast bowler, Danny Morrison's transition into the commentary box was unfortunately not welcomed by many. Co-representing New Zealand in ESPN-Star's commentary team for ICC World T20 in England, Morrison often failed to live up to the expectations of the fans. His accent often seemed difficult to comprehend and his efforts of creating energy often fell flat on the face. Not surprisingly, Simon Doull was left as the sole Kiwi commentator at ICC Champions Trophy.<br /><br /><br /><b><center><big><span style="font-weight:bold;">No. 9</span></big></center></b><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HOT - Concert performances</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHLZUcFrYqCATLtVhwp5vjgVGhBpjdUDAkr3DxNycyeug7IrhKVIRQ-zicz3lSleEV1gDQ6KRLiB_ipPv_cJaoJNYn1CZ7UnFQzU4nJSUlBEd0cTAzYF0PKkVEyj2kP__VfRTkJXQGX6f/s1600-h/strings.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHLZUcFrYqCATLtVhwp5vjgVGhBpjdUDAkr3DxNycyeug7IrhKVIRQ-zicz3lSleEV1gDQ6KRLiB_ipPv_cJaoJNYn1CZ7UnFQzU4nJSUlBEd0cTAzYF0PKkVEyj2kP__VfRTkJXQGX6f/s320/strings.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421460964412160738" /></a>A welcome change this year was the return of concert performances at cricket matches. Strings and Abrar ul Haq entertained audiences in Dubai during the Pakistan-New Zealand T20 series. Akon graced the IPL in South Africa before the opening match. Audiences in South Africa and Australia were also treated to performances by Dirty Harry, Coldplay and Rogue Traders.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">NOT - Cheerleaders</span><br />Introduced during the ICC World Twenty20 2007, the cheerleaders were a definite not this year. The cricket fans returned to prefer watching cricket for cricketing reasons rather than glamorous ones. Perhaps the broadcasters' penchant for higher ratings ticked off too many people as the cheerleaders phenomenon moved towards being 'a bit too much' before the broadcasters finally realized.<br /><br /><b><center><big><span style="font-weight:bold;">No. 10</span></big></center></b><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HOT - Resilient tailenders</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHiENrcXZSHybRSDfvcFQfH35hW5o5s8a3EhuG29rWHEkdnxcdHdi3yNabr-F0MwZPxnpEa6smlXNLqYISpFLqO7WZ9V5n83SRmc5C4gAHHah-P4fa4zToObTwdJkCYoEWJtW0_oDOwi4O/s1600-h/MontyJames.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 154px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHiENrcXZSHybRSDfvcFQfH35hW5o5s8a3EhuG29rWHEkdnxcdHdi3yNabr-F0MwZPxnpEa6smlXNLqYISpFLqO7WZ9V5n83SRmc5C4gAHHah-P4fa4zToObTwdJkCYoEWJtW0_oDOwi4O/s200/MontyJames.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421718525457440162" /></a>This was the year of close finishes - some heartbreaking moments, and some unbelievable resilience and courage. James Anderson and Monty Panesar dug out over 11 overs to deny Australia a win in the first Ashes test. It proved so crucial that England went on to win the Ashes. Mohammed Aamer and Saeed Ajmal nearly did the unthinkable against New Zealand by putting together a century stand. And Graham Onions provided excellent support to Paul Collingwood to deny South Africa a win in the first test. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">NOT - Failing openers</span><br />The Kiwi openers became Pakistan's bunnies in the test series. In four innings, the highest opening partnership was 5 runs! Pakistan did no better either. Imran Farhat and Salman Butt continued to struggle. And Jayasuriya's woes at the top saw him demoted to number four. In short, opening seemed like a lost art.Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-41791596368450889352009-12-19T23:15:00.000-08:002009-12-20T01:03:14.376-08:00Captain ConfusedWith the end of yet another happening year drawing close, you can be forgiven for complaining of suffering from migraine. Yes, you read it right - migraine. The most baffling of decisions have happened over the past few weeks, leaving no option but to look for those prized tablets of aspirin.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnRVjwPWJgI8ExchJjyyBKnaNbnUK_yCwBByuujeQeiS6AQOuK61MwfofCXcfr9nPPdga7PeqdV9szR2G1Hz-0wVgd_rkp28Pd1oKeI3ZKe40Hk2BwxOvKV0bpKt1smNYpzC42IG8IdYk/s1600-h/Mohammed-Yousuf.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 182px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnRVjwPWJgI8ExchJjyyBKnaNbnUK_yCwBByuujeQeiS6AQOuK61MwfofCXcfr9nPPdga7PeqdV9szR2G1Hz-0wVgd_rkp28Pd1oKeI3ZKe40Hk2BwxOvKV0bpKt1smNYpzC42IG8IdYk/s320/Mohammed-Yousuf.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417227309601852194" /></a>Mohammed Yousuf, despite his laidback attitude, seems to be in the news all the time, making Pakistan cricket one of the most talked-about topics in Pakistan as well as on the international circuit. The last two weeks have been no different either. First, lets start with the team announcement for Australian tour. Even before the PCB confirmed Yousuf as captain, he made several statements regarding Australian tour and team composition which hinted he had assumed himself as the captain already. But that's a natural thing for a captain - to look forward. So let's not be critical on that front.<br /><br />But the squad composition for the Australian tour is highly debatable.<a name='more'></a> With the squad to be trimmed to 15 for the tour Down Under, it was always going to be a tough call considering that no less than 18 players were in New Zealand. With Sarfaraz Ahmed and Yasir Arafat easy to leave out, the count was down to 16. And that is where the spice started. The captain favored inclusion of Shoaib Malik who had scored 46 runs in four outings in New Zealand. Iqbal Qasim, the chief selector, was in favor of Fawad Alam citing that Malik has already had enough chances and has failed to live up to them. After hours of argument, the chairman intervened and decided to include both the players to keep both the parties happy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiON9TDknQb6082IIVlyrSunOk_ZqU-wur6imnguPK6qUnGBKcf_jFGa7lmUXL-dvXInlxn5n_IAn39D-zk_ABivf5f5McCYhItXlKQ32tJMHGz81w_ccREBeQWmqCxvLKTaX3CvoSBE6B6/s1600-h/Shoaib-Malik.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiON9TDknQb6082IIVlyrSunOk_ZqU-wur6imnguPK6qUnGBKcf_jFGa7lmUXL-dvXInlxn5n_IAn39D-zk_ABivf5f5McCYhItXlKQ32tJMHGz81w_ccREBeQWmqCxvLKTaX3CvoSBE6B6/s320/Shoaib-Malik.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417227407499812850" /></a>What followed was extremely baffling. Malik was dropped from the third test match. Not only that, he is also not playing in the ongoing warm-up match against Tasmania. Its shocking how Yousuf wants to persist with Malik and still not give him a chance to recover his form. Its a one-man short team then. Should we expect him to be in the playing XI on the Boxing Day? Who knows, with Yousuf in charge, you might as well not bet your money against that happening. And what about Fawad Alam who has performed considerably better and has shown a lot better commitment than Malik. According to Yousuf, Fawad Alam deserves to be shown the door after failing in the only test he played in New Zealand while Malik, the ex-captain, deserves to continue despite repeated failures in UAE and New Zealand.<br /><br />The second decision that shook everyone off the ground came two days later. Mohammed Sami, out of nowhere, was inducted in the team as the 17th player. The reason for this was that Yousuf had asked for reinforcements as he felt a four-man pace attack would be overworked on the tough tour of Australia.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UsQUYrrEW8gg_N-DXBQ2KR1Bm4nK3lifrryt7zqQFlHToWTxNn4B6JHbO5ffoIIYFOlP84Sq0LnL-9JN2VApvliYCfrL8XVGXaeUcM7LK5Mt2Dybfb4PUQLXdun1Rs-yWgxXGnvy6LRe/s1600-h/Mohammed-Sami.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 170px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UsQUYrrEW8gg_N-DXBQ2KR1Bm4nK3lifrryt7zqQFlHToWTxNn4B6JHbO5ffoIIYFOlP84Sq0LnL-9JN2VApvliYCfrL8XVGXaeUcM7LK5Mt2Dybfb4PUQLXdun1Rs-yWgxXGnvy6LRe/s320/Mohammed-Sami.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417227470532086002" /></a>So then what became of the 15-man-squad policy that PCB had adopted to ensure its already-aggrieved finances don't have to bear the cost of extra players? And who exactly is a part of the four-man pace attack? Aamer, Asif and Gul. That's fairly easy to recall. Remembering the fourth one though is as big as winning a grand lottery. A certain Abdur Rauf. What exactly is he doing with the team anyway? He played the warm up match in New Zealand, got injured, still stayed with the team, didn't play any tests, and got the flight to Australia! And excuse me for my lack of knowledge, but what exactly has Mohammed Sami done to warrant a comeback? An average of 51 would make any test batsman proud. Unfortunately though, that's his bowling average. And with just 30 wickets in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam trophy, he is nowhere near the top bowlers this season. The reason for Sami's selection ahead of other bowlers, the media is told, was his experience of playing Down Under. Two tests. Five wickets at an average of 57 and 4.2 runs per over. Impressive experience I must admit. Even the injury-prone Shoaib Akhtar has a better record in Australia!<br /><br />The headache does not end there. If an extra fast bowler was needed to share the workload, what about the poor Kamran Akmal? For the New Zealand tour consisting of one warm up match and three tests, there was a reserve 'keeper in Sarfaraz Ahmed. For the Australian tour which also extends to five ODIs and a T20 in addition to the three tests and a warm-up game, there is just one Kamran Akmal. Don't be surprised if Pakistan beat their record of 17 dropped catches on Kiwi soil here in Australia. An average keeper at best, Kamran would have all the more reasons to drop a few more due to exhaustion.<br /><br />Talking of sharing the workload, lets not even get to the openers. Yousuf was so much in the mood to dump young Khurram Manzoor. Just two openers for the tough tour? Either Yousuf is really bold to have confidence in Salman Butt and Imran Farhat, or very stupid to rely on the talented yet extremely inconsistent duo. You choose.<br /><br />So with a 17-man squad in Australia, its recommended that you should not expend your energy predicting Pakistan's starting XI for the Boxing Day test. 'Cause if you do, you might as well sign an agreement this Christmas with your chemist for a regular supply of painkillers.Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-34469851375057871312009-12-10T02:26:00.000-08:002009-12-10T03:15:09.439-08:00ICC kisses BCCI's feet, once again<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1lgMm-sW17HbYranhaiIUZDGOzOeHHQGGnKmCSDWD8n2r1L8H6d5L4Ind5TW0Q76fpsuhiBnw1dSGwxqySJbZM4Jr4VOTJ92xwvb9ANZdBkQGh_WM15B4DCUwuVECK_JPYjy_xI6vO-TN/s1600-h/DavidMorgan-ICC-President.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 206px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1lgMm-sW17HbYranhaiIUZDGOzOeHHQGGnKmCSDWD8n2r1L8H6d5L4Ind5TW0Q76fpsuhiBnw1dSGwxqySJbZM4Jr4VOTJ92xwvb9ANZdBkQGh_WM15B4DCUwuVECK_JPYjy_xI6vO-TN/s320/DavidMorgan-ICC-President.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413564101990698274" /></a>The International Cricket Council (ICC), the governing body of cricket, has once again proved its inability in stamping its own authority and instead bowing down to the pressures of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). This latest development surrounds ICC's Future Tours Programme (FTP) post 2012. ICC president David Morgan has suggested that the home-and-way component of the current FTP could be done away with. This would mean teams no longer have to play two minimum bilateral series every six years, once at home and the other on away soil.<br /><br />The suggestion should ring alarm bells on two counts.<a name='more'></a> Firstly, the BCCI's ever-growing influence continues to grow even stronger with this. Despite the home-and-away requirement in the current FTP, India has still not hosted minnows Bangladesh for a test series on its own soil.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqhy4yycqgmkFgqT-kXL9dxh4qj6aZmPu6-M7OQVo0fqexLxnQNXo5p9GmoHFJJnqzkb7FkOi3fwHWNklaqLV6niwz_Ji0RW5cAz-T8dmg1OaeBF0GpqFtxQ2hUjfHiNKlSKfrhyphenhyphen-YmJr/s1600-h/shakib-al-hasan.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 5px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 252px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqhy4yycqgmkFgqT-kXL9dxh4qj6aZmPu6-M7OQVo0fqexLxnQNXo5p9GmoHFJJnqzkb7FkOi3fwHWNklaqLV6niwz_Ji0RW5cAz-T8dmg1OaeBF0GpqFtxQ2hUjfHiNKlSKfrhyphenhyphen-YmJr/s320/shakib-al-hasan.jpg" border="0" alt="Shakib Al Hasan might never get to play a test match on Indian soil" /></a> The obvious reason for this is the financial non-feasibility of such a series in which the sponsors, broadcasters and the public would not take much interest. With this new FTP suggestion, more of such cases would start happening. Bangladesh could then be left playing only at home as no one (barring West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) would be willing to host them. Even West Indies would struggle to find tours to Australia and England after the controversy surrounding their tours this year. BCCI, being the financial powerhouse, would then start dictating how frequently it plays against each opposition. It wouldn't be surprising if India, newly crowned No. 1 Test team, remained on top for a long period simply by hosting more series and exploiting home advantage against teams like Sri Lanka, England, Pakistan, Bangladesh etc. while avoiding tours to New Zealand, Australia and England where they have generally struggled. Another reason for this suggestion is obviously to make more room for Twenty20 cricket and its no secret which cricket board is most obsessed about T20s. Sharad Pawar is all set to take over as the ICC president next year so the Indian hold on cricket just keeps getting stronger. The ICC has since long been a puppet body. The future suggests that even the puppet's face may not be needed as the BCCI bluntly takes charge.<br /><br />The second fallout of the post-2012 FTP should raise even more concerns. This suggestion, if implemented in the new FTP, would lead to isolation of Pakistan as a host nation. As it is, teams are already reluctant to tour Pakistan. It was only out of obligation that teams like Australia and New Zealand played Pakistan at neutral venues. With the home-and-away component being phased out,<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBO9ItwbQL783QnPoEJB8Mg2xEUG7ok8U5Q2sLQDb-SEKunlwo-37eNK2xTtuLGePmQf7kqc_6xxYFoo6gNt_TyDD1AjUqgManTYUhQFtE7bvZQF2PKKp7jGPx6g6ja73q2pExte5BCkzZ/s1600-h/Pakistan-crowd-may-never-see-cricket-at-home.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 7px 5px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBO9ItwbQL783QnPoEJB8Mg2xEUG7ok8U5Q2sLQDb-SEKunlwo-37eNK2xTtuLGePmQf7kqc_6xxYFoo6gNt_TyDD1AjUqgManTYUhQFtE7bvZQF2PKKp7jGPx6g6ja73q2pExte5BCkzZ/s320/Pakistan-crowd-may-never-see-cricket-at-home.jpg" border="0" alt="Pakistani grounds might never experience such full-house crowds again" /></a>Pakistan is most likely to be alienated in the world of cricket. The financially-stricken PCB would lose out even more due to the TV rights deal with Ten Sports falling flat. Also, since PCB would not be organizing any matches as home series, the potential income from sponsorships and gate money would also evaporate in thin air. It is a pity that a nation which is crazy about cricket might not see talent such as Mohammed Aamer playing in front of the home crowd.<br /><br />It is rather sad that the traditional form of cricket, instead of being promoted, is being killed by the financial muscle of the BCCI and its greed for an even bigger pie. Moreover, ICC's efforts of globalizing the game would certainly take a hit as no test cricket would eventually lead to cricket being followed less in countries such as Pakistan. As a result, instead of expanding to newer countries, even the current teams might start falling apart due to lack of depth in the coming years. This polarized version of test cricket would eventually lead to the death of the purist form of the game. Alas!Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-61939986225879949422009-12-06T00:11:00.000-08:002009-12-07T08:43:31.891-08:00All's not well that ends wellPakistan have made an astounding comeback to level the series, after a series of inspiring performances coupled with the string of disappointing ones. But before anyone starts celebrating that everything's perfect since Pakistan won, they better think again.<br /><br />Firstly, the captain Mohammed Yousuf proved his inability to assert himself as captain yet again with the undue changes. No less than three changes were made, only one of which paid off to an extent. Yousuf took the easy route - dropping the fresh blood. When the case was perfectly ready for Imran Farhat or Shoaib Malik to face the axe, luck ran out for the poor Khurram Manzoor and Fawad Alam. Imran Farhat's technique has been so badly exposed over all these years, no less in the first test either. Yet he continues to stick around, just because his father-in-law is a selector. Khurram Manzooor, although not technically perfect, is still better. Then there's Shoaib Malik. A tendency to take things casually is deep-rooted in his blood. That was extremely evident from the mode of his dismissals in the first test. Yet he managed to stick around as Yousuf decided to take the safe path and avoid criticism by dropping the so-called 'experienced' players. This is what happened before the match started. The quality that was so synonymous of Younis Khan's days - promoting young talent - disappeared in no time. Should the trend continue, we might not see another Mohammed Aamer-like talent in the near future.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNurmXQS_lGzEgcvdCS5-Dl9G-5ZQWskmO3U5RGkyfdLGu4-FxzGUd1xwPCPUt9S7yQU8VjAGlBQA5Ucqg3wlMf6GDoIxtYW59Tle8O62xCpsNHZgAG8bjaA1KCXT6j0GQIHIX6XyTQUk0/s1600-h/ButtDrop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNurmXQS_lGzEgcvdCS5-Dl9G-5ZQWskmO3U5RGkyfdLGu4-FxzGUd1xwPCPUt9S7yQU8VjAGlBQA5Ucqg3wlMf6GDoIxtYW59Tle8O62xCpsNHZgAG8bjaA1KCXT6j0GQIHIX6XyTQUk0/s320/ButtDrop.jpg" alt="Pakistan's fielding did not improve a great deal from the first test" border="0" /></a>Let's now look at what happened during the match. If the fielding was the cause of Pakistan's narrow 32-run defeat in the first test as Yousuf puts it, you would think it was an altogether different side that managed to clinch a 141-run victory. Not really. No less than eight catches were dropped, most of which were easier than what came Pakistan's way in the first test. So that really proves the point I made in the previous post - that Pakistan's fielding has always been inconsistent, it is the exploits in batting and bowling that enable these victories. And Wellington proved that again. It will be interesting to see which department Mohammed Yousuf attributes this win to.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_2dyFUIR6mTpWyKtEWyHit8wSTNC295Ztb4W3ITGWSMi-8gWbAT7zareuchFZd67QlKSRX5e-obxEHFAGS5ggUUkAn_fRIXIxHlvDogr3tKDNewrwsdyfMNWjYvwBmCm9FR91q9EKrMo/s1600-h/UmarAkmalContinuesToImpress.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 154px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_2dyFUIR6mTpWyKtEWyHit8wSTNC295Ztb4W3ITGWSMi-8gWbAT7zareuchFZd67QlKSRX5e-obxEHFAGS5ggUUkAn_fRIXIxHlvDogr3tKDNewrwsdyfMNWjYvwBmCm9FR91q9EKrMo/s200/UmarAkmalContinuesToImpress.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412045656132648914" border="0" /></a>Talking more about the match, the batting failed yet again. Apart from the individual brilliance of Yousuf and Umar Akmal, the batting performance was still shoddy. Shoaib Malik's incessant throwing-away-wickets continued. Even Umar Akmal threw away his wicket, but you can excuse him and not Shoaib Malik on two counts. Umar is young and inexperienced - playing his second test at 19 - and will learn with time. Malik is 27 and playing his 28th test so the 'learning phase' for him is well over. Second, Umar still made 46 and 52 despite looking uncomfortable in the conditions, specially in the first innings when he was sent in at three. He threw away his wicket twice, but still scored his runs before doing so. Malik on the other hand didn't even reach double figures in either innings. Therefore, it is beyond comprehension why Shoaib Malik is being persisted with ahead of young talent like Fawad Alam. Fawad might also struggle and throw away his wicket, but atleast his young age should help him learn quickly and become a better play than Malik is at 27! By the way, Malik, for the record, dropped two dolly catches in two balls simply because his mind was somewhere else!<br /><br />Moving on to the dramatic comeback into the team by Misbah ul Haq. After a string of repeated failures for more than a year, Misbah was shown the door, only to return as Younis Khan stayed away. Misbah's inclusion in the playing XI was very much expected, and his below-par performance even more unsurprising. Laziness seems to be the only suitable word to describe him. His laziness in the first innings saw Pakistan lose their way in the first innings as he started running out of partners. And in the second innings, that very feature led to his dismissal. Late, extremely late rather, in trying to glide the ball down towards third man, Misbah clipped one to the keeper. What is shocking is Misbah's faith in successfully nudging the ball in that area in the presence of three slips! Again, makes a strong case for letting youngsters in and make such mistakes rather than letting the repeated failures to do so.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh14IPP1F5PYCjamOwBDZpeVbemqiflEL94syDQZwjHkZKstdPU7uHl2j19f14EddIZUxOtOcHsK07jhVAofh6fWX7Ir9_Yfv7CiPaUywX4qYTPqSl98v36K27zLvHzEMiy4ehc6oO15qRi/s1600-h/MohammedAsif.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh14IPP1F5PYCjamOwBDZpeVbemqiflEL94syDQZwjHkZKstdPU7uHl2j19f14EddIZUxOtOcHsK07jhVAofh6fWX7Ir9_Yfv7CiPaUywX4qYTPqSl98v36K27zLvHzEMiy4ehc6oO15qRi/s320/MohammedAsif.jpg" alt="Mohammed Asif was on song, picking up 9 wickets" border="0" /></a>If so much went wrong, how did Pakistan eventually win? Bowling. And what an amazing bowling display it was. Mohammed Asif seems to have reincarnated himself from the drugs controversies that have plagued his career. Mohammed Aamer is another relentless performer. The duo have made a mockery out of New Zealand openers, so much so that even Pakistan's openers would win on comparison! Umar Gul proved once again why he is not a spent force in test cricket. Despite his brilliance in T20s and ODIs, Umar Gul had to prove at the highest level of test cricket that he hasn't lost the hunger. And the delivery that Ross Taylor shouldered only to see his stumps uprooted was a pure example of a bowler's dream delivery. And finally Danish Kaneria. It has been a long time that Kaneria bowled a reasonably impressive spell. It was freshening to see him do so instead of spraying the ball around. Brought ahead of Ajmal who bowled flatter in the first test, Kaneria showed Kiwis' vulnerability to quality wrist spin.<br /><br />So with the series level at one apiece, it should be all to play for in the final test. Given Pakistan's unpredictability, you could be treated to one hell of a match or might witness an abject surrender. Although the skipper believes in all's well that end's well, which would mean a largely unchanged side for the final test, it should be noted that Shoaib Malik, Imran Farhat and Misbah ul Haq do not credit a place in the starting XI at the moment. A call to include Fawad Alam or Khurram Manzoor remains a far shot though - at least this much is predictable about Pakistan cricket (when they have won a match)!Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-86462375622093259202009-11-28T06:25:00.000-08:002009-12-07T08:44:41.171-08:00Look who's talking!After losing the opening test by 32 runs, you'd have expected Pakistani batsmen to cop the blame. Falling short chasing down a modest target of 251 in ample number of overs, it does not take any rocket science to figure out where things went wrong, specially given the fact that the pitch wasn't showing any signs of monstrous behavior. Yet when Mohammad Yousuf was asked the reason why Pakistan fell short, he conveniently singled out fielding as the cause of defeat.<br /><br />Following Pakistan cricket is a thankless job anyway. And players like Mohammad Yousuf, and their such statements, don't make the job any easier. Mohammad Yousuf should be the last person criticizing the team's fielding, given his apathy towards his own fielding. Its the same guy (read: old man) who, after being dropped for the World Twenty20 squad in 2007, said fielding is a useless thing in Twenty20 cricket. <blockquote>T20 mein fielding kahan karni hoti hai, ball ya tou haath mein aati hai ya chaukka jata hai</blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">(You don't need fielding skiils in T20. The ball either comes straight to you or it goes for a boundary)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4GP5iPWFHVBbPZownikRHj6vNF8PaaOzsWJjZgs2_ipQSYRO4X5SSTIv9mDUUcT0RJ2ahcGvkEYHMe-Wo1SZhvqqW416O0x_godmMDlfS7sgVzw9jP1y-JKwRtcpSXBaFPfdu_y5m0GQD/s1600/PakistanFielding.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 5px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 227px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4GP5iPWFHVBbPZownikRHj6vNF8PaaOzsWJjZgs2_ipQSYRO4X5SSTIv9mDUUcT0RJ2ahcGvkEYHMe-Wo1SZhvqqW416O0x_godmMDlfS7sgVzw9jP1y-JKwRtcpSXBaFPfdu_y5m0GQD/s320/PakistanFielding.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409173236241856930" /></a>If such is the mindset of a player, how can he suddenly give fielding its due importance in the other forms of the game? Had Younis Khan criticized the team's fielding, it would have been understandable. He is one person who sets himself such high standards that he expects the same from others. But Mohammad Yousuf? Its the same Yousuf who, despite being critical of criticism over his fielding, recently admitted that he has had knee troubles since the past 4-5 years. And the troubles are indeed very apparent in his appalling running between the wickets as well. How can such a player who, despite all his class as a batsman, remains a mediocre fielder at best point fingers at it being the cause of defeat?<br /><a name='more'></a><br />And more importantly, why is he pointing fingers now? Hasn't he been in the team for long enough now to realize Pakistan's fielding has always been like this? Be it tour to England, Australia or South Africa, Pakistan has always struggled as a fielding unit. That does not mean Pakistan hasn't had any success. The fielding mishaps have always been overcome by excellence in batting and bowling.<br /><br />And why is he becoming vocal about the fielding now, calling for marked improvements? Just because he is the captain, he knows the blame will fall on him for any lackluster performance. Instead of taking the bullet in his chest by admitting that the batsmen including himself failed, he has conveniently diverted the attention towards fielding.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXYUjs5uUNvpsVnCkTbqGv5MuJCf_tTjZ07e3etlFKhN8IzLQ9RMO5yvwVk0cSOfXVtWMJ3N3vPjQUyZ7ifzcHL-CylBjBtSa8u9axX6R8KF_lYDKGBgXTX_ZS2CyjYLVy3woBK4Mli920/s1600/UmarAkmalReachesCenutryOnDebut.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 5px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXYUjs5uUNvpsVnCkTbqGv5MuJCf_tTjZ07e3etlFKhN8IzLQ9RMO5yvwVk0cSOfXVtWMJ3N3vPjQUyZ7ifzcHL-CylBjBtSa8u9axX6R8KF_lYDKGBgXTX_ZS2CyjYLVy3woBK4Mli920/s200/UmarAkmalReachesCenutryOnDebut.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409175398832265010" /></a>Can Yousuf not see the more apparent batting troubles? It is rather embarrassing for the entire team to see a 19-year old debutant, Umar Akmal, bludgeon over 200 runs while the rest of the batsmen failed to even get going. The way Shoaib Malik irresponsibly threw his wicket away in both the innings, and how the tried and failed Imran Farhat keeps falling to the slips every time - is that not a cause of concern?<br /><br />With all due respect Mr. Captain, you have absolutely no right to criticize the team's fielding when you have not set high standards for yourself. The same goes for your non-innovative captaincy and team selection. And finally, diverting attention away from the core issue of repeated batting failures is only an attempt to escape from responsibility. Be a man - own up! And take brave decisions. On your insistence, Misbah ul Haq is finally in New Zealand. Can you be gutsy enough to drop Malik and replace with Misbah? Or even Faisal Iqbal for that matter? Lets wait till Wellington. In the meantime, have fun with the fielding drills :)Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-19266361392386173852009-11-26T11:33:00.000-08:002009-11-27T02:29:46.928-08:00What's the opener's job anyway?There was once a time when the job description for an opening batsman in test matches required the ability to start cautiously, see off the new ball, and then build on a strong start. This week's cricket gives the impression that those days, it seems, are a thing of the past. With three test matches going on in scattered places of the world, you'd have expected a traditionalist to sit back and enjoy some trademark test cricket. Fortunately or unfortunately, this was not to happen.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UKYXtSRTP-HDUzzM7ue_c_SsarXcIiwRzg5l6duZE9WafBORkrbzBHCI0n9IvbXX-vDyI09o-zICG4UWocYAo9_NXfGMcgC4YDgNfaWj_JMNMEes1QvoeFDVbO5IRpNhHwzxyluYf6U2/s1600/mcintosh.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 201px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UKYXtSRTP-HDUzzM7ue_c_SsarXcIiwRzg5l6duZE9WafBORkrbzBHCI0n9IvbXX-vDyI09o-zICG4UWocYAo9_NXfGMcgC4YDgNfaWj_JMNMEes1QvoeFDVbO5IRpNhHwzxyluYf6U2/s320/mcintosh.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408512300278009474" /></a>As I write, all three matches are still in progress. India are assured winners against Sri Lanka with two days to play unless the heavens come down pouring, the chances of which are remote at best. At Dunedin, New Zealand hold the upper hand against the unpredictable Pakistanis. And Australia are firmly placed against West Indies on day one. One interesting thing to note in all these matches is the performance of the openers. If you're new to cricket, you'd think what difference do the words 'openers' or 'tailenders' have at all? Three ducks in three different matches - is that the new 'in thing' for an opener? First of the three happened on Tuesday. New Zealand's Tim McIntosh bowled by an Aamer yorker first ball of the match. Clearly late on the ball and playing down the wrong line with feet jammed in the crease, McIntosh got New Zealand started on the wrong foot. Next up on Wednesday, Sri Lanka's latest wonder-boy Tillakaratne Dilshan. After toiling in the field for over ten hours, Sri Lanka needed a good start to reply to the mammoth 642 put up by India. Instead, it was Dilshan needlessly going early at a Zaheer Khan delivery outside leg stump. The result: simple catch at mid on, and India get a bonus wicket, first ball. And then come Thursday, Shane Watson conveniently left a Jerome Taylor delivery in hope of length. Easy decision, LBW for a duck. This one lasted seven balls though.<br /><br />And so it seems like scoring the first run has become some sort of a milestone. That precisely seems to be the mindset with some openers. Lets look at Pakistan's case - Khurram Manzoor and Imran Farhat. I doubt if there has ever been such a long phase that a team is unable to find a stable pair of openers. Decade of opener-lessness is all set to be celebrated. They did get off the mark, but still failed to make a mark. Sri Lanka's Tharanga Paranavitana is another case in point. Getting in and not carrying on.<br /><br />Is this the new job description for an opener? Even James Anderson would do a better job than this (he holds the record for most number of consecutive innings without a duck). Thankfully though, the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Martin Guptill and Simon Katich save the day (and the art too)!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Added today:</span></span><br />As if three ducks in three days weren't enough, Martin Guptill fell for a fourth-ball duck today! Inside edging Mohammed Aamer, and New Zealand off to a disastrous start in the second innings bringing Pakistan right back into the game. Change the batting order I'm telling you, CHANGE IT!Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-40134956761605200412009-11-15T09:21:00.000-08:002009-11-15T10:44:12.889-08:00Lets play what India wants to playIf you've been following cricket closely for quite some time, you would have noticed that there has been a growing Indian influence on the game. The Steves, Michaels, Daves have been replaced with the Dalmiyas, Pawars, Modis etc. And that is precisely the reason why there is such a huge debate over the future of cricket in terms of what formats should stay and which ones should go.<br /><br />Two Indian journalists write on a renowned cricket website that the recently-concluded ODI series between Australia and India attracted record audiences and TV ratings. All six matches were sold out, while TV ratings were several times higher than the two preceding ICC events (World Twenty20 and Champions Trophy).<br />Digging deeper into the article, we come across an interesting comparison. The average TRP (mesaure of TV ratings) for the 27 matches of ICC World Twenty20 was 2.11. The TRP for India's matches was considerably higher at 3.98. Then the Champions Trophy. India's matches fetched a TRP of 3.16 but the tournament had an average TRP of a mere 1.11. On the other hand, the six India vs Australia games accorded a record TRP of 5.52.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtEWLJLB5Nngw0EIvJZI-01fGbX6Xa1umTcBvglx_i7-5ekILs_orbMlLsmee1ksbiozkyKh8Wh-tDAPYshCcMwluhI7mIhNC9TTn-z-lwSSJ616pknVe9FrlBSvsBxabkCubgtZWhoCx9/s1600-h/ipl3.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtEWLJLB5Nngw0EIvJZI-01fGbX6Xa1umTcBvglx_i7-5ekILs_orbMlLsmee1ksbiozkyKh8Wh-tDAPYshCcMwluhI7mIhNC9TTn-z-lwSSJ616pknVe9FrlBSvsBxabkCubgtZWhoCx9/s320/ipl3.jpg" border="0" alt="Lets play what India wants to play. How about six IPLs a year?" /></a>The formula is simple: If you want higher TV ratings, just play what India wants to play. And that is why we hear it too often that tournaments like Indian Premier League and Champions League have 'breathed new life' into the game of cricket. Of course Indian players do well in the IPL. Why wouldn't they? If they wouldn't, how would you ever come to know about Subramaniam Badrinath or Manpreet Gony? (You're excused if you still don't know them). Did Lalit Modi mention two IPLs every year from 2012? I say make it six a year. The more Indian players are in action, the more TV ratings you get. The more Badrinaths and Gonys you will see instead of the Michael Clarkes, Umar Guls, Shane Bonds etc. Who cares about the quality of cricket? What is more important is that golden number called TRP.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNNCzy-_LVB6JWvjR1lsbPmfHTBS4qjGDEdOUmxaRnMxo7WT74EDEYJ7Es7yvVWMITRCAdN3y_UryzQcHjQJ2zcSVewcfq-yNGdbmuDhCECE87xUwgjnCn0gQs88IXWr7J4dEauJjxhYe/s1600-h/dravid.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 136px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNNCzy-_LVB6JWvjR1lsbPmfHTBS4qjGDEdOUmxaRnMxo7WT74EDEYJ7Es7yvVWMITRCAdN3y_UryzQcHjQJ2zcSVewcfq-yNGdbmuDhCECE87xUwgjnCn0gQs88IXWr7J4dEauJjxhYe/s200/dravid.jpg" border="0" alt="Why play Champions Trophy when India can't do well in it?" /></a>For a change, if you still want some international cricket, lets play that too. But hey, don't forget the rule: play what India wants to play. Why play World Twenty20 or Champions Trophy when India can't do well in it? World T20 - a tournament India's bitterest rival Pakistan ended up winning - is useless. After all, a 2.11 rating is nothing compared to 5.52. Champions Trophy - a tournament in which India were again agonizingly knocked out by none other than Pakistan - has a rating of 1.11. Even Star Plus soaps would attract a better rating! So what India's absence from the bulk of these tournaments affects TV ratings? The Indian theory is simple: We're billion-strong, and you can't do anything about it. So if you want international cricket, let India play what and where they can play well. Away tours should be done away with. ICC tournaments are unnecessary, do away with them too. And one day, trust me ONE DAY, cricket will surely match the TRPs of football matches! But for that you'll also have to do away with the unimportant, annoyingly close encounters between South Africa and England or Pakistan and New Zealand. Do that and see the magic.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TK-xEtJ6nXfAxwjq0UcZ-AfdThHpd8iror5dzW71dJQd949l6wwzsixBqm1-VfNZ9QS6achLC2ugTA_ornC3XH26aJo2uhCUM55aKaeRM0aDpQubhWgEDEUmZ4MKF4Ux0cfCsNls53E9/s1600-h/ravindra.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 174px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9TK-xEtJ6nXfAxwjq0UcZ-AfdThHpd8iror5dzW71dJQd949l6wwzsixBqm1-VfNZ9QS6achLC2ugTA_ornC3XH26aJo2uhCUM55aKaeRM0aDpQubhWgEDEUmZ4MKF4Ux0cfCsNls53E9/s320/ravindra.jpg" border="0" alt="Ravindra Jadeja scored a splendid fifty. But who was watching?" /></a>Do the figures really mean Champions Trophy was a flop compared to India-Australia ODIs? A 5.52 TRP for India vs Australia. Five times as popular as Champions Trophy? Maybe yes. But hey, NO! Did you forget there are more Indians in this world than the rest of the major cricketing nations' population combined? My friend in Toronto doesn't know who Munaf Patel is. But he surely remembers Ricky Ponting lifting the trophy in Johannesburg. Or what about a 12-year old kid who paid £300 to watch the World T20 final at Lord's? He'll remember Shahid Afridi standing with his arms aloft in celebration of victory for a lifetime. Does he really know how a moment of madness from Ravindra Jadeja cost India the match? I don't think so.<br /><br />But the bottom line remains - let's play what India wants to play!Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-65388593141833167352009-11-11T05:22:00.000-08:002009-11-11T09:07:10.823-08:00Stupidity, of the highest order<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXw9PdwxduZQeBWg4xde-cJsu2860iTNcdP4ovAf4Bu6Gdhg3M2w16iF_87E8WnOiDd4HJwGvZ6iY-j0E5bj49mHWOED5Y7dxoQuSwSgwJlQ3_w072WsAtym6js970bAe1ehe9CVcM7zZ/s1600-h/younis.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXw9PdwxduZQeBWg4xde-cJsu2860iTNcdP4ovAf4Bu6Gdhg3M2w16iF_87E8WnOiDd4HJwGvZ6iY-j0E5bj49mHWOED5Y7dxoQuSwSgwJlQ3_w072WsAtym6js970bAe1ehe9CVcM7zZ/s320/younis.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402884002426571202" border="0" /></a>Within the last few hours, we've had news coming in that Younis Khan has asked for a break from cricket and, therefore, Mohammed Yousuf has been appointed captain for the test series against New Zealand. The decision not only signals yet another period of turmoil in Pakistan cricket, but is also marked by stupid and senseless decisions all-round.<br /><br />Firstly, the media has been told that Younis Khan has sought a break from cricket. If that is really the case, why? What made Younis take a break from test cricket - the only form of cricket he has consistently been good at? Had a one-day tour been coming up, it would have been understandable. Not only understandable, but also beneficial to the team (given Younis' poor form in Abu Dhabi). But after such a power struggle with Younis dictating his terms and conditions to resume captaincy after the Champions Trophy fiasco, all it required was a little sensibility from his side. Yet here he comes up with his new desire - wanting to go on a break. And what about Younis' statements of putting country first? Is he really putting the country first by withdrawing from the series? Pakistan have been the weakest in test cricket. With Shahid Afridi already skipping test matches, and Misbah axed, Younis was the much-needed backbone of Pakistan's middle-order. And now he goes away leaving behind a fragile middle-order. Other than Yousuf, there aren't many options to bank on. Shoaib Malik has always been a start-stop performer in test matches. And the last test assignment in Sri Lanka was no different. Umar Akmal is yet to debut, while Fawad Alam debuted in Sri Lanka with one real innings of note. With the sort of batting collapses witnessed in Sri Lanka, things look much worse for New Zealand.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6uRSyiPtYifvNpRkr3W-OW2C6KcVgDeVg4gT4WZcRw4-PhpsE0Rnk_6q70IS1xmeDqXqZ-lnE4NkMoiFCz0hOFWGQJe-HExxmEtoVKuUer6aXoRVFrTdVLxzV6aGz_tRbIuj4ybHlKOW/s1600-h/03-281108ijaz-butt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6uRSyiPtYifvNpRkr3W-OW2C6KcVgDeVg4gT4WZcRw4-PhpsE0Rnk_6q70IS1xmeDqXqZ-lnE4NkMoiFCz0hOFWGQJe-HExxmEtoVKuUer6aXoRVFrTdVLxzV6aGz_tRbIuj4ybHlKOW/s320/03-281108ijaz-butt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402884779864935330" border="0" /></a>Now to the PCB. Another ultimate show of not having any direction - Ijaz Butt. The aged chairman strongly rejected Younis' resignation after the Champions Trophy and promised to talk him out of the decision. And so it happened. Amid huge public pressure, Younis' terms were accepted and Younis was reinstated as captain. What happened now? Within a matter of two weeks the loyalties changed? Why did Ijaz Butt easily accept Younis' request for a break? He should have rather (once again) convinced Younis Khan to continue, even more forcefully than before as this was a test series and not a one-day assignment. But Ijaz Butt's silent acceptance says more about his lack of assertiveness than anything else.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOP1W0CP9Zd1vcx2n90Si4ywr2wwb0XjD__Fopd_2RpasyH1LeRvH1iGnc7staNJjjcC9gpvKqTN_9rwfg3773HZJJ4xbYWgCFdQS77iDsDl7etl_th2i7FRQdSDoFfJuTAHJ0cfGDugF/s1600-h/yousuf.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOP1W0CP9Zd1vcx2n90Si4ywr2wwb0XjD__Fopd_2RpasyH1LeRvH1iGnc7staNJjjcC9gpvKqTN_9rwfg3773HZJJ4xbYWgCFdQS77iDsDl7etl_th2i7FRQdSDoFfJuTAHJ0cfGDugF/s320/yousuf.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402889627475228546" /></a>And then the replacement - Mohammad Yousuf. Out of nowhere, Yousuf has been appointed captain. Does the PCB not have an idea about the risks of the decision they have taken? Yousuf has shown several times in his career that he is surely not the captaincy material. The man whose world record number of run outs is not because of slow running, but rather out of indecisiveness - how can such a person be good enough to lead a team and make good and quick tactical decisions? Such laid-back is his attitude that when he stood in for Inzamam ul Haq in an ODI during the home series against South Africa in 2003, he didn't know the allotted time to bowl 50 overs! As a result, the match ended in farcical circumstances with Duckworth/Lewis rule being applied as bad light deemed play impossible. With five overs remaining and South Africa needing 23 runs with four wickets in hand, it was anybody's game. Although Pakistan won under the D/L rule, the incident brought disrepute to the country for having such ignorant and oblivious captains. Graeme Smith, himself no lenient a skipper, took this ignorance to task and was visibly furious at the press conference. More importantly, Yousuf's unfriendly and undiplomatic behavior in front of the media has complicated matters in the past - the much-publicized spat between Malik and him is an example - and it is likely to haunt Pakistan cricket once again.<br /><br />The only argument in favor of Yousuf's appointment can be: if not Yousuf, then who? Afridi doesn't play test matches. Malik fell from grace as skipper. That's the whole point - the team has no capable captain other than Younis! If one had thought about THIS dilemma before taking other decisions, things would have been much better. Younis should have realized, the PCB should have realized. That it is logically illogical for Younis to be absent from the series. Had Younis thought about it, he wouldn't have gone on a break. Had the PCB realized, Ijaz Butt wouldn't have silently accepted the request. Nor would he have appointed Yousuf as skipper.<br /><br />Being an ardent Pakistani fan and supporter, I hope I am proven wrong. That all my negativity is negated. That Yousuf turns out to be a good captain, and the team does well in New Zealand. The only shortcoming though is that wishes rarely translate or influence results. I'd still like to indulge in wishful thinking. Who knows, Pakistan won the Twenty20 World Cup against all odds. So anything's possible!Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9136599355006004346.post-90787780948802495912009-10-25T06:39:00.000-07:002009-10-25T07:13:05.880-07:00The Champion-less Lalit Modi ShowThe first edition of Champions League came to an end after 16 days of cricket - some polar mismatches while others producing nail-biting finishes. The tournament, with all its flavor and happenings, seems certain to stay. Despite the positives, the tournament fell short on two accounts. First, the overbearing presence of the mastermind of Champions League - Lalit Modi and, second, the absence of a Pakistani team.<br /><br />First coming to Lalit Modi, or Mr. Lalit Modi should I say? As we saw in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the broadcasters seemed more like slaves of Lalit Modi than a media firm which has rightfully paid and brought the TV rights for an exorbitant amount. Constantly flashing Lalit Modi's face with a wide smile stamped on his face as if he's auditioning for a toothpaste advert left the viewers at home bitter, specially the audiences in England and West Indies where IPL was not followed as keenly due to the absence of their players for a major chunk of the tournament. And as if Lalit Modi's speech at the closing ceremony of IPL Season 2 wasn't embarrassing enough for the Indians (he was thanking his wife and children for supporting as if he had won an Oscar!), he made a mockery of himself once again - this time by being present at the post-match ceremony of the final and claiming that he wants to make Champions League even bigger than UEFA Champions League. Good joke Modi. Firstly, UEFA Champions League is football - the most followed sport of the world. Cricket enjoys only a fraction of its following. Secondly, UEFA runs Champions League as a system, not as a one-man show. You don't see Michael Platini unnecessarily on the screen, and he also does not make boastful and misplaced speeches at the ceremonies.<br /><br />Another interesting observation about the tournament was the absence of a Pakistani team. A team which deserved to be a part of the Champions League more than anyone else was Sialkot Stallions. Out of the five domestic T20 competitions that have been held in Pakistan, Stallions have won every time except the first one. The decision to eliminate a Pakistani team was taken way back in January, much out of shortsightedness. Lalit Modi assumed, in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, that Pakistani players will not be allowed to travel to India by the Pakistani government. Mr. Modi, how did Yasir Arafat then travel with Sussex Sharks to India, and that too on a Pakistani passport? If one person can travel to India, so can 15 others. The financial greed surely reflected in Modi's statement when he said that that they cannot risk to invite a Pakistani team to such a high-profile tournament when their government might not allow them to travel at the last moment. Therefore, he took the safe option - eliminated Pakistan, inducted a third Indian team in Delhi Daredevils, and made the sponsors, broadcasters and home associations happier as all of them were sure to earn more revenues with the presence of a third Indian team.<br /><br />So, was this really 'Champions League', with its tagline 'Only the Champions'? Not really. Even the runners-up were playing. In fact, even third-placed finishers were included. Home advantage, no? Was the tournament as successful as the Champions Trophy? I doubt. Audiences in England were least bothered. Moreover, its the media that plays an integral part in building the hype of a tournament. With stringent checks over media coverage requiring news agencies to pay high sums of money to cover the event, there was hardly any coverage by AFP or Reuters. Even Cricinfo has only one photo per match. The same happened with IPL. And the same happened with Champions League. Mr. Modi, perhaps you have something to think about now instead of preparing speeches!Cricket Is My Lifelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16790976781578318826noreply@blogger.com0