 |
« February 2008 |
| April 2008 »
March 31, 2008
Posted on 03/31/2008 in Indian Cricket
|
|
|
Virender Sehwag was at his aggressive best in Chennai as he went on to score the fastest ever triple-hundred in Tests
© Getty Images
|
| RK Pachauri, the chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (which shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore), and an active cricketer in his spare time, praises Virender Sehwag for his epic 319 in the first Test in Chennai. His opinion piece in the Indian Express has more.
Virender Sehwag’s strength stems from his feeling of self-belief. He obviously has unwavering faith in himself and his brand of cricket. All the while he was going through a drought of runs, several critics called him irresponsible in getting out to extravagant shots. But Sehwag never deviated from his extravagant style and reliance on aggressive stroke play every time he took the crease, irrespective of the situation the team was facing.
He continues…
The Chepauk performance should help rebuild Sehwag’s self-confidence and restore his belief in his own talents. Of all the outstanding batsmen who have performed at the international level with such elan in recent years, he displays the most uncanny coordination between limbs and eyes.
Elsewhere, Graham Gooch talks to the Telegraph about Sehwag's innings, and his own triple-hundred, the 333 against India at Lord's in 1990.
Posted on 03/31/2008 in Indian Premier League
The Independent's Stephen Brenkley expresses his concern over the future of Tests, and holds the financial clout of the Indian board, expressed via the IPL, responsible for the situation.
Money has done a lot of talking. Couldn't be better? Don't believe it. The game is hurtling towards a crossroads and not only might it struggle to know which way to turn, it might also have little choice in the matter. One country, India, is setting the pace and plotting the direction.
Other countries are wondering how to respond. They recognise the new league as a hitherto unseen cash cow but in some cases are casting envious eyes. There are reactions and knees jerking everywhere. New Zealand bowed to the inevitable last week by allowing five of their players to arrive late for the tour of England so that they could earn some of the Indian money. In England, there is mild panic, with talk of the big counties trying to form their own breakaway league.
Test cricket, the blue riband version of the game, is under impending threat. In six of the 10 countries where it is played, it is virtually unwatched most of the time by live audiences, while in a seventh, Zimbabwe, it has not been played for almost three years and may never be again.
Vibrant though the game might be in three countries – England, Australia and India – there are profound concerns that most of the power, influence and, crucially, money will all belong to India. The International Cricket Council are probably worried, but what their officials possess in gumption they lack in influence, especially where India are concerned.
Posted on 03/31/2008 in Indian Premier League
|
|
|
England stars are trapped between obligations to country and untold riches, feel many
© Getty Images
|
|
For the ECB, the emergence of the IPL presents a challenge on two fronts, says Richard Hobson in The Sunday Times. Early evidence suggests a struggle on both, with an unsustainable stance of blocking centrally contracted players who wish to cash in and the most timid of recommendations to the domestic structure.
English caution in Twenty20 has been costly as with IPL the bird has flown to the East and begun to deliver bigger nuggets, says Hobson, who feels that India, galvanised by a “rebel” league, has seized 20-over cricket. When an Indian administrator sneezes, the ECB catches the cold.
In the Sunday Telegraph, Simon Briggs spoke to IS Bindra, one of the IPL co-founders, who defended the competition.
The men running the IPL might be expected to resent these attempts to muscle in on their territory. Bindra, in fact, says he welcomes the expansion of the IPL concept. "We want to work together with other boards to make the official structure of domestic and international cricket as strong as possible," he said. "The ECB is a good example, because the rebels are already looking to expand into grounds in England.
In the same newspaper Richard Sydenham caught up with Dean Headley, ambassador for the Professional Cricketers' Association. Headley warns that the ECB may face "catastrophic" player losses if they do not soften their stance on the participation of England players in the lucrative IPL.
March 29, 2008
Posted on 03/29/2008 in English cricket
|
|
|
Shane Warne in action for his beloved Hampshire
© Getty Images
|
|
Shane Warne, who retired from first-class cricket last week, bids farewell to Hampshire in his latest column for The Times:
After eight years, four of them as captain, I cannot just draw a line under what has been one of the happiest parts of my life. In cricket it is not only the games you play that are important, or even the victories you achieve, but the people you meet along the way. Some of my team-mates will remain friends for life.
Dimi Mascarenhas is one example. He spent a fortnight here in Melbourne recently and I am looking forward to playing alongside him again - and watching his big-hitting - when he comes over to Jaipur. I have also become close to Shaun Udal and John Crawley, guys I knew only as opponents before 2000.
Without getting a lot of silverware, we have become pretty successful on the field. I wanted to help to create a strong environment and to instil the character in the side that would give the young players the best chance of going on to play for England, and then be successful when they take that step upwards.
Posted on 03/29/2008 in Indian Cricket
|
|
|
Test cricket: The real gauge of a cricketer's skill
© Getty Images
|
| Ramachandra Guha, writing in the Telegraph, compares the three different forms of cricket to alcoholic beverages, and makes it amply clear which form he prefers.
In my opinion, Test cricket may be compared to the finest Scotch, 50-overs a side to Indian-made foreign liquor, and Twenty20 to the local hooch. The addict who cannot have the first or the second will make do with the last.
He continues ...
But proper cricket can only be Test cricket. Spread out over five days, the game unfolds as in an epic drama. No restrictions are placed on anyone. The bowler can bowl 40 overs at a stretch; the batsman plays on until he gets out. Even the fielder has greater opportunities to display his wares. He can (as in limited-overs cricket) dive to his left at cover point to stop a boundary; and he can also (unlike in limited-overs cricket) dive to his right to take a low catch at short leg. In this long, leisurely, civilized form of the game, a villain is allowed to redeem himself, a hero to reveal his flaws, a team to show reserves of character one could have scarcely thought it possessed. As with the finest Scotch, one savours every sip; and yet, as with the finest Scotch, the whole is infinitely greater than the parts
Posted on 03/29/2008 in Indian Cricket
|
|
|
Virender Sehwag on his way to an unbeaten 309
© Getty Images
|
| Virender Sehwag's unbeaten 309 is now the fastest triple-hundred ever. His captain, Anil Kumble, while writing in his column in the Hindu, hopes that Sehwag goes beyond Brian Lara's record 400.
It’s a great opportunity to get Test cricket’s highest score, and he knows he can’t really get a better opportunity to do it. We have some special records, but it would be absolutely great to see an Indian on top of that list as well.
I’m glad Sehwag’s back to doing what he does so well. He’s definitely a match-winner for me.
I’m really happy after backing him for the Australia series. I’m also really happy for him, the way he’s come back to the Test squad after a year. He showed a lot of character in Adelaide, even if he was a bit subdued.
By the way, he wanted a bat from me if he scored a double. I don’t know why. So, at the end of the third day, I told him, you get your 400, I’ll give you two. I gladly will.
March 28, 2008
Posted on 03/28/2008 in Miscellaneous
|
|
|
Deal or no deal: Is Shane Warne bluffing?
© Getty Images
|
|
Shane Warne has put his cards on the table and will play professional poker instead of county cricket. Joe Hachem, a world champion at the tables, says in the Daily Telegraph Warne is pretty good at his new pursuit and his face is hard to read.
"Shane has that competitive nature and that's what makes him a champion," Hachem said. "He brings that competitiveness to the poker table. I said to him in the early days that he had what it takes to be a professional.
"He's also got the poker face now. When he first started out I told him he was giving off too much facial expression. But now he is very hard to read."
Posted on 03/28/2008 in ICC
|
|
|
Andre Nel dishes it out to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, but could the day come when he won't be able to do that?
© AFP
|
| Harsha Bhogle, while detailing the ICC's powerlessness to take firm decisions, says the only solution to sledging is to ban it altogether. His column in the Indian Express has more.
And so nobody is happy with the zero tolerance approach to sledging. Well, I am happy to say I am. Some cricketers are saying it will take something away from the game. Of course it will. It will take away a tumour and last I knew taking away a tumour left a person in better health. A glare on a field, a passing comment, a sarcastic remark, yes, that is part of the game because frustration and disappointment are part of the game. But abuse isn’t, and sadly, the people who speak in favour of sledging belittle abuse. It is all very well to say that racial and personal comments should not be allowed. It is a naïve statement because, as we saw in Australia, we can spend hours debating what is racist and what is offensive to a certain culture.
By complaining about a solution and not contributing to an alternate one, we take the easy way out. And if no solution is acceptable, I’m afraid you have to take what you get. And the only alternative, one that cricketers have brought onto themselves, is that there will be no sledging at all. A lot of mighty fine players scored a lot of runs, took a lot of wickets and stood close in without needing to abuse anyone. And if they could do it, everyone else should. Don’t forget too that we are breeding a generation that thinks calling people offensive and rude names is part of cricket. Aren’t we meant to be caretakers of the game? Handing it over to the next generation in a better state than the one we received it in? Well, all those who talk of the spirit of the game need to ask themselves this.
March 27, 2008
Posted on 03/27/2008 in Australian cricket
Simon Katich’s incredible season, which includes a record 1506 Pura Cup runs at 94.12, continues as he pushes to match some of Don Bradman’s records in the Sydney grade competition. Jamie Pandaram, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, looks at Katich’s numbers.
Katich has now tallied 569 runs at an average of 113.80 in grade cricket. If he scores 31 in this weekend's semi-final against Gordon, he will maintain an average of 100. Don Bradman was the last player to post better averages in state and grade cricket in the same season, scoring 1051 runs at 116.77 for NSW, and 549 runs at 109.80 for St George, in 1929-30.
Posted on 03/27/2008 in Indian Cricket
Writing in his blog at Espnstar.com, R Mohan explores the attitude of Indian skippers to home Tests.
Pitch preparation was badly hit by all the rain around. Even so, I got the distinct impression that curator Kannan Parthasarathy was acting under instructions from either Team India or BCCI who were merely passing on the desire of the team.
'Pacha' kept the pitch very dry, which means he simply did not prepare the pitch as he normally would have. He may have been seized by the fear that if he prepared the wicket with regular watering it would be the typically hard Chepauk pitch at the start of play.
There is more than a suggestion in all this that Team India would have been happy to avoid a showdown with Dale Steyn, the South African quick who is making waves with his swing to the extent of becoming the man of the series in three successive series for South Africa. Any moisture in the pitch would have aided lateral movement of the new ball and India simply wished to avoid this.
Posted on 03/27/2008 in English cricket
|
|
|
Ryan Sidebottom was the difference between the two sides
© Getty Images
|
|
While applauding the memorable come-from-behind series victory in New Zealand, the English papers point out several weaknesses in the team that should not be overlooked.
Mike Selvey writes in the Guardian:
This has been an indifferent winter, poor team performances outweighing some fine individual ones. Much thought will be needed before England and New Zealand resume round two in early May. Primarily the top-order batting remains in turmoil …
Alastair Cook needs considerable work outside off-stump, Michael Vaughan had a dreadful time … Strauss struggled until the last innings of the series, when his determination wrenched an innings, while Bell's capacity to squander talent will no doubt still infuriate
Continue reading "A short step in the right direction"
March 26, 2008
Posted on 03/26/2008 in New Zealand cricket
It's headache time for New Zealand's selectors as they look for batsmen who will prosper in England next month, David Leggat writes in the New Zealand Herald. After losing 2-1 to England on Wednesday, New Zealand have some quick decisions to make before the return bout.
Top of the priorities will be sorting out a collection of batsmen who can not only survive but succeed in demanding early-season conditions in England. Stephen Fleming won't be there to nursemaid players along. Mathew Sinclair is unlikely to make it after having five tests to cement his place and failing to take it.
Chris Barclay, writing for NZPA, believes Ross Taylor offers a glimmer of hope for the post-Fleming era.
Tim Southee, who smashed 77 not out off 40 balls to end the third Test, is the subject of the Herald’s cartoonist Rod Emmerson.
March 25, 2008
Posted on 03/25/2008 in Australian cricket
Greg Baum, writing in the Age, says the ICC might as well legislate to get rid of bad breath and smelly armpits if it wants to cut sledging from the game.
Its proposal is a bureaucrat's solution to cultural problem. Make a rule, press a button, tick a box, all fixed. But what is fixed? No one has properly established even what constitutes sledging.
Ian Chappell bristles to be called the father of sledging; he maintains his Australian teams were noisy, but never personal. Australia has never been anything less than noisy since. No one wants a foul-mouthed cacophony out there. But nor does anyone expect churchy silence.
Simon Katich tells the Daily Telegraph he would have no problems playing under Ricky Ponting if he was picked in the squad for the West Indies tour and has dismissed a report of a rift with the captain.
Posted on 03/25/2008 in New Zealand cricket
|
|
|
Why is he retiring?
© Getty Images
|
|
A fine farewell didn't mask the fact that Stephen Fleming still has plenty to offer New Zealand, despite retiring from international cricket,says Vic Marks in his blog on the Guardian website.
Why is he retiring? There have been some explanations: he would have preferred to remain as captain of the Test team; the move to Daniel Vettori may have hastened his departure. He has burgeoning business ambitions, a two-year-old daughter, a baby on the way, and a contract with the IPL. Yet he goes leaving us puzzled. He is not past his peak and in this era no Englishman, Aussie or Indian retires before their powers are manifestly in decline.
...
Fleming, Shane Bond, Scott Styris, Lou Vincent have already opted for Twenty20 riches, whether in the approved IPL or the "rogue" ICL, all of whom might have been touring England in May but have chosen not to. There is also the complication of Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills and Ross Taylor going to play in India before the tour of England. An ugly compromise will be hatched between New Zealand's board and their leading cricketers over when they arrive in the UK.
Posted on 03/25/2008 in Indian Cricket
It was exactly ten years ago that Harbhajan Singh made his Test debut against Australia in Bangalore. Harish Kotian spoke to Harbhajan in an interview on Rediff.com.
At the start I was afraid to share a room with a player like [Navjot] Sidhu, whom I always admired. I was thinking of what I would talk him [about], how I would talk to him and all that. When I reached the room and met him, he congratulated me on making it to the international stage. He told me not to be under any pressure and just play as if it were another Ranji Trophy match. 'Just continue bowling the same way; there is no difference in the way one bowls in international matches. Just try and do the best you can, but don't get overawed by the atmosphere in the ground. Once the match starts, you won't realise how the five days of the Test match go,' he said.
Posted on 03/25/2008 in Indian Premier League
"The ICC said that all the countries have to do is not issue a "no objections certificate" to any player they do not want to lose and based on its [the IPL] promise, the IPL will not employ them. While that sounds good, however, that is wishful thinking and it is wishful thinking especially as far as the West Indies are concerned," says Tony Becca in the Jamaica Gleaner.
The West Indies territories are poor, the West Indies board is broke (or almost broke) the people of the West Indies have always backed the players and with the players earning so much money from the ICL and the IPL, the West Indies Cricket Board will never ever attempt to prevent them from earning that amount of money by issuing a 'no objections certificate'. That means, therefore, that as far as the West Indies are concerned, it is up to the players to make a decision. And with, for example, US$800,000 coming from the IPL and US$30,000 coming from the West Indies, the choice seems obvious.
Posted on 03/25/2008 in South African cricket
"Much has been made of us not playing a warm-up match before the series. To be honest, I don’t understand the fuss," writes Jacques Kallis in the Hindu on the eve of the first Test against India.
A couple of days ago I admitted that the selection problems and off-field controversies that have hung around South African cricket for the last month or so had adversely affected the team. I was asked the question and I didn’t see any point in not telling the truth it has been unsettling and emotions have run high at times. But let me be equally honest now: we are fully focussed and by the time we walk on to the field on Wednesday morning, the last thing on our minds will be selectors or administrators.
Posted on 03/25/2008 in Indian Cricket
|
|
|
Iqbal Abdulla
© Getty Images
|
|
The Madrasas of the Muslim-dominated Mau-Azamgarh belt in eastern Uttar Pradesh have traditionally frowned upon cricket, but the recent success of one of their alumni [India under-19 spinner Iqbal Abdulla] has given the sport some legitimacy in the religious schools," Sunita Aron writes in the Hindustan Times.
This rural belt may not have produced any remarkable sportsmen, but its barren fields are dotted with scrawny children wielding the willow and tossing tennis balls. A little known fact is that Mukhtar Ansari, an imprisoned mafia don from Mau, is such a cricket buff that he has converted part of the compound of the Jaunpur jail — where he is lodged — into a makeshift cricket ground, and has taught many inmates how to bat and bowl. But despite the ‘Iqbal effect’ on youngsters in the religious schools, Madni was keen on explaining why his school did not encourage cricket. “We do encourage sports that help boys build their bodies,” he said.
Posted on 03/25/2008 in Indian Cricket
"It’s been quite amazing how India have shaped up under [Anil] Kumble, a man many believed would be a stopgap measure till [Mahendra Singh ]Dhoni was handed over the reins of the Test captaincy too, more sooner than later, writes Kadambari Murali in the Hindustan Times.
He [Kumble] just smiles when asked how it feels to suddenly be dubbed the best thing to have happened to Indian cricket in the eventide of an illustrious career. The irony wasn’t lost on him. “I’ve always done things the way I thought they should’ve been done, accepted whatever’s come my way. I never went after the captaincy but when it did come, it was an honour. I’ve always believed that life should be taken as it comes, you need to plan and do the things you can as best as possible, not worry about things you cannot control.”
Posted on 03/25/2008 in Bangladesh cricket
"A lot was expected when the present set up of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) took over eight months ago with a promise of a better future for the country's number one sport," writes Bishwajit Roy in the Daily Star. Unfortunately, nothing has transpired till today in translating that dream into reality.
March 24, 2008
Posted on 03/24/2008 in Australian cricket
Australia have been searching for a new spinner and in the Sydney Morning Herald, Alex Brown suggests Beau Casson, the left-arm wrist-spinner, should be picked for the tour of the West Indies.
Bryce McGain would not seem to fit the job description as set out by Andrew Hilditch's panel. A solid performer for Victoria this summer with 38 first-class wickets, McGain will nonetheless be 36 by the time Australia arrive in the Caribbean. At best, he represents a band-aid solution to Australia's spinning problem.
Casson, on the other hand, has shown rapid improvement this year. After failing to make an impression in his first season-and-a-half with NSW, the 25-year-old was among the Blues' best bowlers in the past two months, claiming 21 wickets at 26.43 in his past four matches.
Posted on 03/24/2008 in English cricket
In The Daily Telegraph Derek Pringle casts a sympathetic eye over Marcus Trescothick’s decision to retire from international cricket.
It will seem unthinkable to most sport lovers how playing cricket for your country can cripple a man so, especially one of the finest batsmen of his generation. But modern cricket entails a life lived on the road, one less acceptable now that families are no longer content to subjugate themselves to the employment needs of the paterfamilias.
Now, he will see out his cricketing dotage playing for Somerset, a modest stage for his exceptional talent but indisputably the right one for a healthier state of mind.
March 23, 2008
Posted on 03/23/2008 in New Zealand cricket
|
|
|
It is his elegance and grace with the bat that should, hopefully, be long remembered with extreme fondness
© Getty Images
|
|
Stephen Fleming could leave the ball with more style than most batsmen muster with a strike, says Chris Rattue in the New Zealand Herald. He's particularly unimpressed by the buzz surrounding Fleming's quest to average over 40 in Test cricket.
It's been obvious for years that Fleming's career would fall short of expectations if it needed to be judged by numbers, that his above-average talent would not be reflected in the averages column.
The last batsman to go out with so much emphasis on his average was Don Bradman, and that WAS important. In contrast, 40 is virtually a non-event as a benchmark in world cricket, even if Fleming's departure has seen it drummed up as mildly significant here.
Fleming's game was about far more than numbers or even captaincy, over which he is lauded by some and politely clapped by others.
It is his elegance and grace with the bat that should, hopefully, be long remembered with extreme fondness. It might be a long time before we produce another player to relish watching on this score.
Posted on 03/23/2008 in West Indies cricket
|
|
|
Not many were watching as West Indies played their first Test at home this year
© AFP
|
|
Media promotion of the Test series between West Indies and Sri Lanka has been visibly lacking, reports Haydn Gill in the Nation.
However, series sponsors Digicel say a very "strategic marketing campaign" has been implemented. Quoting Digicel's head of sponsorship:
"We don't want to saturate the market too early – because there are so many games in more markets than before and because we were going across nine markets rather than six in previous years.
"The tour is quite lengthy . . . until July. When we go, we go with a big bang. The campaign has started. It has been going for weeks now."
Posted on 03/23/2008 in Indian Cricket
In the Independent Online, Iqbal Khan interviews Gary Kirsten, the former South African opener, and discusses his new role as India's coach.
India's new cricket coach is chauffeur-driven each day to where he wants to go and is quickly getting used to simple things like when the department stores open and being mobbed by people who want his autograph.
Kirsten says he will manage fine during the upcoming series against South Africa.
"I'll feel a bit weird being in the opposite camp when we face South Africa in my first hurdle as coach. But I suppose I'll get over it. I won't let emotions get in my way."
Posted on 03/23/2008 in Twenty20
|
|
|
Allen Stanford pictured with a spectator
© Stanford 20/20
|
| The Observer's Kevin Mitchell feels that the Stanford 20/20 is a tournament that the ICC can learn from.
Tucked away from the tumult and discord in Dubai was the Stanford 20/20 in the West Indies. It was, by all accounts, a thrilling, packed tournament - a template the ICC could profitably borrow. Prices were reasonable, interest compacted and intense. Of course the founder, Allen Stanford, wanted to make money. 'He might have broken even, this time, maybe not,' said a source, 'but it's long-term, America, huge market there.'
It's what those Madison Avenue guys call 'the vision thing'. The Indians have it. Stanford has it. I'm not so sure the ICC have even heard of it.
But he is also worried about the effect that the opposing Twenty20 leagues would have on the game.
Intoxicated by the prospect of quite extraordinary wealth, the people running cricket in India are convenient villains. And there can be no doubt they are driven almost solely by self-interest. But India has a right to be the epicentre of the game. The frenzied love of the people ensures it.
The concern is that the speculators reshaping the game, while sounding calm and conciliatory now, might not be so accommodating of the views of the rest of cricket once their power is near absolute. It is then that anarchy will be unleashed.
Posted on 03/23/2008 in English cricket
Mike Atherton, writing in the Telegraph, looks back the career of Marcus Trescothick.
At his first Test at Old Trafford in 2001, we hurried down the pavilion steps together for the first time as England openers. I had asked him if he wanted to face first ball or not, as I usually did with my new opening partners. He shrugged his shoulders and said he wasn't bothered, as if he had not a care in the world. Things must have seemed so simple for him then.Seven years and a thousand hotel rooms, plane journeys and practice sessions later the world is a more complicated place.
Stephen Brenkley shares his memories of Trescothick in the Independent.
The stress-related illness that was diagnosed has relented but never disappeared. A few days ago, he reached the airport in order to travel on Somerset's pre-season tour to Dubai. The old sensations invaded his thoughts again. He went home.
Posted on 03/23/2008 in English cricket
"Out of position and out of form, Andrew Strauss cuts a forlorn figure at the moment. Batting is a lonely business at the best of times". Read the article by Mike Atherton in the Telegraph. Strauss was unbeaten on 42 at the end of the day 2 in the Napier Test.
Having brought Strauss back, with what to some was unseemly haste, it is unlikely that, if the axe does fall, the selectors will act with the same swift kindness again. A spell in the wilderness awaits. All this adds up to a lot of pressure second time around in Napier. Strauss may not be playing for his career, but he probably feels he is, which amounts to just about the same thing.
March 22, 2008
Posted on 03/22/2008 in New Zealand cricket
|
|
|
Stephen Fleming: A giant imprint on New Zealand cricket?
© Getty Images
|
|
Stephen Fleming wasn't a prolific compiler of big scores, he wasn't a great converter of starts, he wasn't able to thrust himself from the ranks of very good batsmen to the greats, but has any other New Zealand player left a greater legacy? For answers, read Dylan Cleaver's article in the Herald on Sunday.
Fleming's imprint on cricket in this country has been massive. Forget the fact he has been New Zealand's best, if under-achieving, batsman for a decade and think bigger picture. He took on the captaincy of a team at 23, a team rife with cliques, factions and ordinary cricketers.
In the same newspaper, Mark Richardson is excited after watching Tim Southee bowl on day one of the Napier Test.
Don Cameron pays tribute to Merv Wallace, who died aged 91 on Friday.
Posted on 03/22/2008 in Australian cricket
|
|
|
Adults admire him and kids want to be him
© AFP
|
|
Ricky Ponting may have sold for less than expected during the Indian Premier League auction, but he's making the big bucks elsewhere, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Adults admire him and kids want to be him - and that's adding up to a winning financial wicket for the Australian cricket captain.
Industry experts estimate the Tasmanian-born skipper, who ranked as the most marketable sports star last year, is making about $2 million from his Australian endorsement deals alone.
Taking into account his earnings from cricket, the man nicknamed "Punter" is said to be worth $4 million per year. This includes an almost million-dollar base salary from Cricket Australia.
Posted on 03/22/2008 in Indian Cricket
Writing in the Indian Express, GS Vivek says the Ranji Trophy replica handed out to winning teams is bit of a joke.
... At no place did it mention either the name of the winning team, the season, or even the tournament. All it had in terms of legend was the manufacturers’ nameplate. And, just so you don’t forget, the word ‘Silver’ was engraved at the base like a hologram of authenticity. But to top it all, the quality of craftsmanship was such that the figure of the bearded man taking a batting stance — Ranjitsinhji, after whom the tournament is named — that wobbled at the time of presentation has already fallen off.
Posted on 03/22/2008 in English cricket
|
|
|
Plunkett has a life-altering decision to make
© Getty Images
|
|
Liam Plunkett says he would be willing to sacrifice his England career if he meant he could donate one of his kidneys to his father. Alan Plunkett has suffered with polycystic kidney disease since his twenties and Liam is the only member of his family with a suitable kidney.
“So far he’s turned it down because he doesn’t want me to sacrifice my England career for him but if it comes to the crunch, then I will definitely do it. Playing for England is a fantastic honour,” said Liam. “But if I had to give it up tomorrow, it wouldn’t even be a scratch compared to helping out my dad.”
Read the full interview at gazettelive.co.uk
Posted on 03/22/2008 in Zimbabwe cricket
Peter Chingoka, the Zimbabwe Cricket chairman, has given an interview to Alex Brown in the Sydney Morning Herald, accompanied by some scathing editorial.
Chingoka is not the easiest person to interview; part obstinate, part evasive, part combative. Then again, if you were being asked to account for millions of dollars in missing funds - as well as a recent independent audit that allegedly uncovered "serious financial irregularities" within your organisation - you might be a little tetchy, too.
[He] is alleged to have siphoned money earmarked for grassroots cricket in Zimbabwe and, along with aide Ozias Bvute, feathered his own nest. While the country's cricketers are forced to play on unprepared wickets, with no scorers to maintain proper first-class records, Chingoka has stood impervious, safe in the knowledge that he still maintains full voting privileges on the International Cricket Council - the same as India, England and Australia - and therefore remains a sought-after ally. To sport-loving Zimbabweans, black and white, he is the Grinch who stole cricket.
March 21, 2008
Posted on 03/21/2008 in Miscellaneous
Even by the game's customary standards, it has been a traumatic week, writes Peter Roebuck in the Sydney Morning Herald. Three senior West Indian players putting lucrative club cricket in India before the national team, doomed attempts to suppress the unofficial ICL, a KPMG report into Zimbabwe, the return of Darrell Hair, Charl Langeveldt's pulling out of South Africa's tour of India.
Clearly they [Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shiv Chanderpaul] represent the worst of West Indian cricket, the greed, vanity and vapidity that has ruined a great tradition. Sack the lot and find some youngsters eager to serve. West indies cricket can hardly get any worse. Already the team belongs on the second rank. Money does not talk, it swears.
Posted on 03/21/2008 in Indian Cricket
In a free wheeling chat with Hindustan Times' Subhash Rajta, IS Bindra talks about his role as Principal Advisor to the new ICC President.
On BCCI's alleged domination: We have never had any intention to rule to international cricket. In fact we have fought hard to bring in democratic polity in the ICC. Earlier, a president of the MCC, a club, used to be the president of the ICC and Australia and England had the veto powers. We fought for equality and managed to bring in democratic polity when Colin Cowdrey became the first elected ICC president in 1994. In that light, BCCI just can't be party to any domination, including it's own. But we will certainly use our financial clout to promote and popularise the game. We want to be the engine of growth for the game and that's exactly what we are doing through IPL.
Posted on 03/21/2008 in English cricket
The tunnels beneath Lord's, two of which used to carry tube trains, could be converted into indoor nets or used as walkways to cope with pedestrian congestion which is expected to increase dramatically in the next ten years.
David Batts, the MCC deputy chief executive, said: "It would be great to turn them into something useful.One of the main planks of our masterplan for Lord's is to create a cricket academy. We need new indoor nets and there is no reason why they shouldn't be underground like the ones at the Oval.
advertisement
"There are alternatives: the tunnels could become a storage facility, a car park, or a health club. We are receiving proposals from architects and we will come up with a shortlist over the next couple of weeks."
The tunnels used to house trains on the Metropolitan and Jubilee lines. A third tunnel still functions, carrying trains from Marylebone to Birmingham.
Read the full story in today's Daily Telegraph.
Posted on 03/21/2008 in English cricket
The dearth of accommodation in the immediate vicinity of Durham's Riverside might be a distant memory in a few years, with the news that Mike Roseberry, the former Middlesex and Durham batsman, is to build a large hotel.
Having secured planning permission for the venture, about 10 minutes’ drive from the Chester-le-Street Riverside ground – home of Durham County Cricket Club – the former Durham captain is in talks with developers.
This is the latest venture for Roseberry Leisure, which boasts a turnover of £8m from its 12 pubs, three workingmen’s clubs, hotel, 3,000-seat event arena, 120-acre equestrian centre and building firm.
“This is an excellent location. It will prove popular with the business traveller, being next to one of the region’s premier business parks. It could also prove to be a popular venue for cricket teams and cricket fans.”
It will be competing with upmarket hotels in Durham and Chester-le-Street. The England team has used Ramside Hall, Durham, when playing at Chester-le-Street in the past.
nebusiness has the full story.
Posted on 03/21/2008 in English cricket
|
|
|
It is not just the way Stuart Broad bowls that is striking, it is the manner in which he conducts himself both on and off the pitch
© Getty Images
|
|
"There are players who put on their England kit for the very first time and, for whatever reason, it just looks right. It is hard to describe why but the sweater, shirt and cap seem to fit. They appear at home. Stuart Broad is one of them," writes Angus Fraser in the Independent.
He [Broad] enjoys goading an opponent and taking them on because he backs himself to get the better of the contest. There have been times when such an approach has not come off, like when he was smacked for six sixes in an over by India's Yuvraj Singh in last year's Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. Such a mauling would have broken quite a few bowlers but Broad just dusted himself down and went off to the next game. In the one-day series that followed, only two weeks after Singh's fireworks, he showed his character. In five matches Broad took 11 wickets against Sri Lanka at an average of 17.5, conceding just over four runs an over.
Posted on 03/21/2008 in Indian Cricket
Irfan Pathan talks to K Shriniwas Rao of the Indian Express about his time away the national squad and the lessons learnt from the experience.
A lot of things [changed]. I’ve come out stronger from everything that happened. Even at the worst of times, at the back of my mind I knew that things would change for the better. I felt I would soon make a good comeback, and that’s what happened eventually. But I’ve learnt a lot about myself in the process. Time can teach you a lot of things — be it cricket or your personal life. You come to know who your friends are and, interestingly, this is the phase when you realise that you don’t have too many friends.
Posted on 03/21/2008 in Pakistan cricket
|
|
|
Abdur Rauf is intent on becoming a regular in the Pakistan team
© PCB
|
| The cricket forum, pakpassion.net, has conducted a detailed interview with Pakistan seamer Abdur Rauf, who reveals that he rejected an offer from the ICL.
Of course it was [to turn down the offer]. Imagine you or your members turning down the equivalent rise in your own salaries. Could you do it? I had to say no because the only reason I started playing cricket was to represent Pakistan. It's been my lifelong dream to wear our national colours and help Pakistan to win matches. I don't think you can put a price on that. I'll see how it goes over the next few years, I don't want to give up on my dream of playing for Pakistan but if at some point in the future it becomes clear that there's no place for me in the Pakistan team then I'll have to re-evaluate where I stand. I hope that day never comes because every wicket I've ever taken, I've seen as another step in my journey towards playing for the national team.
Rauf also talks about the change in his action and his decision to shorten his run-up.
It's true that I did slow my pace down by altering my run-up and action but it wasn't something I was made to do. It was my own choice, nobody told me to do it. What you have to understand is that it's senseless to continue with such a demanding action for years and years at domestic level. If as a fast bowler you don't get into the national team at an early age, then your chances for making it into the team become very limited. You never stop trying but you need to be honest with yourself about what sort of beating your body can keep taking everyday. You have to economize with your run-up and your action and concentrate on out thinking batsmen rather than just blasting them out.
Posted on 03/21/2008 in Indian Cricket
Harsha Bhogle writes in the Indian Express about his concern for the future of Indian spin after Anil Kumble, and whether the hype and glamour of the celebrities associated with the IPL will detract from the cricket.
Meanwhile, I am starting to get a little concerned, for the first time, about the IPL. Everyday there is a new report about a film star being signed up to do something and everybody seems to be worried about the entertainment around the IPL games. I must be seeing it wrong because I thought the Twenty20 format itself was entertainment. The one thing that the ICC World T-20 taught me was that nothing, absolutely nothing, could compete with the thrill of the cricketing contest. Now I get the feeling that people are trying to stage a variety entertainment show where the cricket match is but one of the components.
Posted on 03/21/2008 in South African cricket
|
|
|
Charl Langeveldt in happier times
© Getty Images
|
| Rodney Hartman, in the Star, gives his take on Charl Langelveldt's decision to withdraw himself from South Africa's side for the Test series against India after he was upset over the controversy surrounding the selection of the squad.
Langeveldt's reaction has caught everyone on the wrong foot. He has pulled out of the team, not so much in sympathy with Nel but in protest at the system as a whole.
Indeed, he becomes the first black sportsman to withdraw from a national team because he believes he has been picked for the wrong reasons.
In so doing, Charl Langeveldt has made a statement far more eloquent than anything that has spewed from the mouths of those officials and politicians who would use proud and sensitive players as their own little pawns.
Hartman's view is shared by the Mercury's Mike Greenaway, who feels Langevedlt deserves "our respect for reacting to racial discrimination in our sport and our sympathy for the humiliation he suffered at the hands of social engineers who use players as pawns."
Gary Lemke, the Cape Argus' sports editor, praises Langeveldt's decision.
He did the hardest thing imaginable and turned down the opportunity to play Test cricket for his country. Had he been born 30 years before, Langeveldt would have been denied the chance to represent South Africa because he is black. Now he was selected, because he is black. What irony.
So Langeveldt withdrew. He didn't want to be a quota player.
They should erect a statue in his honour outside the gates of Newlands, and every other cricket ground in the country.
It should remind officials and politicians that quotas in sport is a damaging system that's been abused by officials.
March 20, 2008
Posted on 03/20/2008 in Indian Premier League
|
|
|
"Cricket is the perfect platform for our brands to engage with young India," reveals Vijay Mallya, whose company owns the IPL's Bangalore franchise
© AFP
|
|
The Indian Premier League seems to have caught the attention of Knowledge@Wharton, the Wharton School's online business journal.
Some excerpts from the article:
The franchisees are working overtime to ensure that the new format works. In Hyderabad, Deccan Chronicle is talking about hiring special trains to bring in fans from the hinterland. The train ride will be an experience in itself, with marketing men salivating at the thought of such a focused and captive audience, which also has time on its hands during the journey. In Kolkata, Shah Rukh Khan is planning a special women's stand, while he makes the occasional guest appearance. Meanwhile, the Delhi team has hired an Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad) alumnus, a 45-year-old former colonel in the Indian Army, as assistant vice-president (operations). Corporatization and professionalization are clearly the watchwords of the day.
...
The franchisees are confident that they have a winner on their hands. "Cricket is the perfect platform for our brands to engage with young India," Mallya said, while launching his IPL team and logo. "The equity that our brands gain from this association is the real potential for us. We have tied up with Reebok for sporting gear and Louis Philippe for the formals. (Fashion designer) Manoviraj Khosla has designed special uniforms for the cheerleaders. Sale of merchandise and on-ground activities will be used to reach out to the Royal Challengers fan following. We are talking to several partners in the online space to tap young fans, create virtual clubs, explore mobile space and leverage the new media potential."
...
Critics wonder if some companies have been bowled over by the glamour. India Cements vice-chairman and CEO N. Srinivasan had to spend most of an analysts' conference justifying the company's investment. "A misconception is that we are going to invest $90 million," he said. "We have committed ourselves to $9 million a year for the next 10 years for the franchise." By his calculation, there will be "not one rupee going out of my pocket". He added, "It is a win-win situation for India Cements. We should be applauded." But these calculations could be undone if television viewers don't tune in to watch the matches -- at least in the numbers that the sponsors expect.
Posted on 03/20/2008 in English cricket
|
|
|
Matthew Hoggard claimed a solitary wicket while conceding 151 runs during the Hamilton Test, after which he was dropped
© Getty Images
|
| Matthew Hoggard, in his column in the Times, says being left out the England team for the Wellington Test came out of the blue, adding that it was a "harsh decision."
The last time I wrote one of these columns I spoke of how much I was looking forward to playing in the second Test in Wellington. A few hours later I was dropped, which goes to show that you can never take anything for granted. So I have got to make sure that I am physically and mentally prepared to step straight back in for the deciding Test, if required. If not, I will have to make sure that I perform my duties as twelfth man and drinks waiter to the best of my abilities.
I was chuffed that the lads squared the series in Wellington, but I will not pretend that it was easy looking on from the sidelines. It is bad enough watching when you are injured, but worse still when you have been left out. You do not know where to put yourself in the dressing-room. It hurt like hell to be dropped. Playing for England is the biggest honour in the game, something I am aware of every time I pull on the shirt, and I will be doing everything I can to get back in the team as soon as possible.
He continues…
The ones I feel really sorry for are my family, who had flown for 26 hours to watch me play in Wellington. I could not help but feel that I had let them down.
Meanwhile the Sun's John Etheridge reveals Owais Shah's frustration at being continually left out of England's playing XI.
Posted on 03/20/2008 in ICC
The Telegraph's Michael Henderson criticises the ICC's functioning in light of its decision to offer the chief executive's position to Imtiaz Patel, who is presently the CEO of a South African sports broadcaster, and the reinstatement of Darrell Hair in the Elite panel of umpires.
The International Cricket Council do not have a tune to call their own but if they did it would probably come from the Sondheim songbook: Every Day A Little Death. The game is changing at a mind-boggling rate. From week to week there are developments in what politicians like to call the "narrative", and it is clear that cricket's governing body are hopelessly ill-equipped to provide anything that resembles leadership.
Meeting this week in Dubai, the ICC could not be sure that the chief executive-elect, Imtiaz Patel of South Africa, even wanted the job. As things stand he is mulling it over and has suggested that his present job, as chief executive of SuperSport, the sports broadcaster, provides the fulfillment he needs.
Why would anybody want to run a broken-backed organisation like the ICC? In a sporting world littered with weak leaders, cricket is perhaps the worst of all. As the game is fragmenting before our eyes, those entrusted with its maintenance cannot be trusted with a straightforward change of office.
Posted on 03/20/2008 in South African cricket
|
|
|
"Langeveldt's stand will start the long and weary process of helping the politicians to understand that sport and sportsmen, like politicians, want to be the best."
© Getty Images
|
|
Charl Langeveldt's understandably distressed, if emotional withdrawal from South Africa's Test tour of India was a serious accident waiting to happen in the republic's sports system, writes Trevor Chesterfield in the Cricketnext.com.
Sources tell of how Langeveldt and Nel were in tears in the room of the team's captain - Graeme Smith, after the squad to tour India was announced. It left a decent man such as Langeveldt embarrassed. The controversy, fired by additional unthinking media reportage, left the Cape Cobras bowler with a sense of humiliation. It is quite understandable while those in Asia view such selection policy as abhorrent as it cuts across race lines, the South African media have already indulged in the contemptible callow error of categorising such as Langeveldt and Nel by colour.
Neil Manthorp looks back at an incident that occured three years ago in South African cricket which he believes was the turning point. Read it at Supercricket.co.za.
Gauteng ... had travelled to Sedgars Park in Potchefstroom with a squad of 13 for the match and had met their transformation target of four black players with Garnett Kruger, Enoch Nkwe, Eugene Moleon and Ashraf Mall.
During a knockabout game of six-a-side soccer half an hour before the match started, Mall was hit in the face by the ball which broke his sun glasses ... With barely 25 minutes to go before the start, Lions coach Shukri Conrad faced the stark reality that one of either Gerrie de Bruin or Juan le Roux, the 12th and 13th men, both right-handed allrounders and both white, would have to play. And yet, the possible political ramifications of making such a decision were so intimidating that not even as forthright a man as Conrad was able to make that call.
Just then, the cricketing gods sent a messenger - his name was Thando Bula. A promising prospect with the North West province, Bula had brought some mates to watch the game and thought he'd try his luck with Conrad for a few free tickets. "Never mind the bloody tickets," was the gist of Conrad's reply, "what's your bloody shirt size?!"
Posted on 03/20/2008 in Indian Cricket
Whether IPL is a boon or bane to Indian cricket remains to be seen when it begins, but one thing is absolutely certain that young Indian cricketers will manipulate all possible loopholes in the system to make it to the under-19 or the under-22 , writes Makarand Waingankar in the Mumbai Mirror.
March 19, 2008
Posted on 03/19/2008 in Australian cricket
In the Daily Telegraph, Chico Harlan gives an outsider's interpretation of the one-sided Pura Cup decider between New South Wales and Victoria.
With the Pura Cup final four-fifths done, the Bushrangers had already sustained enough damage to recognise what would happen in the worst-case scenario (they'd lose), and what would happen with a last-day inspired effort (they'd lose), and what would happen with the intervention of a minor miracle (they'd lose).
Cricket, at least to this American outsider's eyes, delivers a reliable supply of oddities, but it saved the best for last, turning its grand final into a grand anticlimax. At least briefly, sport meant inevitability. NSW defeated Victoria like boiling water defeats lobster.
Michael Horan writes in the Herald Sun that reaching five of a possible six domestic finals in the past two years has brought little joy for Victoria.
Posted on 03/19/2008 in ICC
Malcolm Conn has been an outspoken critic of the ICC's handling of Zimbabwe, among other issues, for a long time, so it is not surprising that he writes in the Australian the ICC "endorsed corruption and racism at its board meeting in Dubai this week".
Despite a KPMG audit finding "serious financial irregularities" with Zimbabwe, no action was taken against the country or its dubious cricket administrators. Nor was the ICC's cricket committee chairman, Sunil Gavaskar, sanctioned for claiming in a newspaper column during the Harbhajan Singh racial abuse fiasco that white South African match referee Mike Procter was biased against Indian players because of the colour of their skin. The ICC made no mention of Gavaskar in its official comment yesterday and failed to release full findings of the Zimbabwe audit.
Posted on 03/19/2008 in Zimbabwe cricket
As expected, the Zimbabwe media have seized on the ICC’s decision not to take any action against Zimbabwe Cricket to attack critics of the regime, most notably the British government.
The Zimbabwe Guardian , which claimed that the independent forensic audit by KPMG had found only “minor improprieties” said that the outcome would be “an embarrassment to British PM Gordon Brown and those politicians in Westminster who expected a different result”
It also quoted an unnamed member of the national side as saying:
“They did not expect to get this result. They wanted Zimbabwe to be found guilty of irregularities. This disappoints the British government who were considering banning Zimbabweans from sporting activities in the UK. Chingoka had always maintained his innocence. This news will not be good news to people like Gordon Brown and Henry Olonga who have strongly criticised Zimbabwe Cricket.”
|
