Cricket World Cup 2007

My Blog is on vacation ...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 23:45:00 +0000

with me :) - shall be back in action after September 10th.

BYE BYE

Till then,
Good bye !

Thyaga

The ball tampering controversy - my view Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 17:07:00 +0000

Ok - the controversy is just turning into a soap opera now. I had blogged a post earlier about my views on this controversy. Now the situation has turned completely different:

Inzamam's hearing has been postponed till the end of September - this gives Inzy some time to concentrate on his cricket and also for the lawyers to present the cases (of course, this also means that the axe is still hanging around Inzy's head).
ICC sensationally released the email exchanges between Hair and the ICC chiefs - i think, this is the most unprofessional of the ICC - Hair had clearly sent the email in confidence and i think ICC has betrayed that. According to the email, Hair had offered to quit if ICC were to offer him $500, 000 to compensate him for his future matches, that he would have umpired had he not retired.
Malcom Speed, ICC's chief executive then made a statement that Hair's career may be over now.
Hair then hit back at the ICC saying that his offer of the $500,000 was made at the behest of ICC.

One thing that has come up as a result of this unfolding drama is that the wonderful cricket of cricket has taken a back-seat and matters off the field have taken precedence.

I would rather worry about the "Men in Blue" rather than the "Men in White".

-- Thyaga

World Cup Final Tickets

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 16:51:00 +0000

Did anyone get your tickets for the World Cup Finals? - my application was rejected and i feel a little pissed. I did manage to get 3 Group 2 tickets - these are the tickets that one needs to buy in addition to the World Cup ones - really, this is quite unfortunate.

Let me know if any of you managed to get the tickets and also let me know how u managed to pull off the trick !

-- Thyaga

Hayden back in Aussie 1-day squad

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 17:11:00 +0000

Matthew Hayden and Glenn McGrath will make their one-day international returns after long absences during the mini-tour of Malaysia next month. This is good news for Australia and bad news for the rest of the world. Hayden along with Gilly at the very top can destroy any bowling attack - looks like the Aussies have taken the 1st step towards retaining the World Cup. Read on ...

-- Thyaga

The ball tampering controversy - my view

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 17:10:00 +0000

End of a Test or beginning of a controversy?
[Copyright: Getty Images, Source: http://www.cricket.com]

Over the past few days, the cricketing world has been rocked by a ball-tampering fiasco where umpire Darrel Hair accused the Pakistan team of tampering with the ball. This incident occurred on the 4th day of the 4th test at the Oval Cricket Ground. He awarded 5 penalty runs to England and had the ball changed. After the tea interval, the England batsmen walked out to the middle along with the umpires but the Pakistan players were nowhere to be seen. Hair soon declared that Pakistan had forfeited the game. You can go through the details here ...

My take on this whole episode is this:

(1). Darrel Hair has repeatedly courted controversies and his record with Asian countries has particularly been bad. He was the first to openly no-ball Muralitharan for chucking and that opened a can of worms regarding chucking and recently ICC had to amend its laws for chucking. ICC seriously needs to look into this "anti-Asian" attitude of Hair.

(2). When the incident happened, the person who should have taken charge of the situation was the match refree Mike Proctor - but he did none of that.

(3). Inzamam did the right thing by carrying on play till tea instead of taking a decision in haste and walking out as Ranatunga famously did in Australia. Over tea, Pakistan protested against Hair's decision and I think, they were right in protesting against the decision. There was no substantial proof of ball tampering even though there were 26 Sky TV cameras in operation !

(4). Hair's decision could have been provoked by Duncan Fletcher - he had gone to meet the match refree in the morning to voice his suspicion. The match refree could have informed Hair about it and the result was there to see.

(5). I think Hair's decision reflects more of a policeman attitude rather than of a judge, a view publicly pointed out by Rashid Latif, Imran Khan, Ranatunga etc.

(6). From the looks of it, it seems that Inzy may be banned for 4 Tests and 8 ODIs - if that is the case, then the Pakistan team should show solidarity towards their captain and simply not play the ODIs in England.

(7). Its time ICC looks into the repeated complaints from the Asian block and give them proper respect that they deserve.

-- Thyaga

India - Sri Lanka series cancelled

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 17:12:00 +0000

India and Sri Lanka have cancelled their ODI series. South Africa had initially pulled out owing to security fears. Also, continuous rain made play almost impossible. I really don't understand ICC's planning - it is obvious that it will be raining now in Sri Lanka. Why do they keep doing such mistakes? - it is a blow for the cricketers and also for the fans.

Read on ...

Oh well ...
--T

The tale of 2 cricketers ...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 17:44:00 +0000

2 years ago, when India toured Pakistan, India had unearthed a star - Irfan Pathan. He wrecked the Pakistan batting line-up with relentless ease. One of the players who struggled repeatedly against him was a player known as Yousuf Youhana, one of the very few "non-Muslims" at that time to play the game. Come 2005 and Yousuf Youhana embraced Islam and become Mohammad Yousuf. Ever since that, his performances have gone up the roof.

Currently, Yousuf is touring England and has 3 Test Centuries on the trot. On the other hand, Irfan Pathan is struggling to make it to the Indian Test Team now and in fact, was dropped for most of the Caribbean Test Series. As they say, cricket is after all a confidence game. Of course, for Yousuf, it might seem that there are reasons more than confidence as well. All said and done, Yousuf is in the form of his life right now.

-- Thyaga

SGStream Alternatives

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 19:17:00 +0000

The triangular series between India, Sri Lanka and South Africa has started and I am still trying to figure out some alternatives for SGStream. An anonymous post on my Blog pointed me to http://www.cricketspot.com

I would appreciate if I could get more choices so that I can make my decision.

-- T

Srinath on Pathan

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 18:29:00 +0000

Pathan: Hair cut might prove lucky?
[Photo Copyright: Getty Images]

Srinath, India's ex fast bowler thinks that Pathan will come good soon and that the current loss of form is just temporary. Pathan, who had risen to become India's numero uno fast bowler, has undergone an amazing lack of form. His confidence is obviously not there and it showed in his performances in the Caribbean. As one of India's biggest hope in the World Cup, it is important that he strikes form fast and hits the ground running.

Go Pathan !

-- Thyaga

Dada in the 30 member probable's list

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 20:56:00 +0000

Dada: False Lifeline?

Yesterday the Indian 30 probables for the Champions Trophy was announced and well, 3 well-known figures from the past - Saurav Ganguly, Zaheer Khan, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble find themselves in the list. Though VVS and Kumble still feature in India's test teams, Dada and Zaheer have been out from both forms of the game.

This is indeed an interesting team selection but knowing the Indian selectors too well, this could be a false lifeline.

-- Thyaga

Dino calls Amla a terrorist

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 18:47:00 +0000

Hashim Amla

[Photo Copyright: http://www.cricket.org]

It was one of the hottest topics of the Football World Cup in Germany in June, 2006. Now, it looks like cricket is getting a small taste of this disease. Dean Jones, in his exuberance labelled Amla as a terrorist. Needless to say, he was sacked from his ongoing commentary job. Of course, Dino has since apologised for making such a stupid statement but the fact remains that his views were heard on live TV all over the world from Sri Lanka to South Africa. That ain't good for cricket - or should be say, "That is not cricket, Dino".

- T

Indian cricket controversies

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 18:37:00 +0000

We didn't start the fire!

Indian cricket is currently going through 2 major storms (Tsunami, if you may). One is the reaction of the media over Sanjay Manjrekar's comments on Sachin. The second is regarding the book that John Wright has written (John Wright's Indian Summers) about his time being the coach of the Indian cricket team and the selection biases that take place in India. I always felt that this was just a way for the media to keep printing some sensational stuff since there is no "live" cricket going on nowadays. Here is Sambit Bal, the editor of Cricinfo, on his take on this issue - it is indeed a smoke without fire!

-- T

Off field cricket action

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 21:13:00 +0000

It is no secret that India is a huge market for cricket sponsors. The various sponsors are slowly going to unveil their promotional campaigns starting in August and going on till the World Cup Sponsors such as LG, Hutch, Pepsi, Hero Honda all have million $ budgets for the World Cup. Consumers will be peppered with commercials that will mostly have cricket as their theme. So, while there is a lot of action going on ON the field, be ready for some OFF the field as well.

-- T

President Musharraf keen to see the World Cup

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 18:16:00 +0000

It looks like the President of Pakistan, General Musharraf is very keen to see the World Cup semi finals and finals at the Caribbean. Of course, i am sure this will be contingent on whether Pakistan make it or not to these stages :)

-- T

Security Plans for World Cup revealed

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 18:15:00 +0000

It looks like the security plans for the World Cup are going to be as high as it was after the 9/11 attacks. Amongst the measures are plans for visitors to complete Americanstyle travel manifestos before passengers land in a country. That would take effect between mid- January and mid-May 2007. Read on ...

-- T

ICC launches World Cup logo, mascot and schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 17:41:00 +0000

[Copyright: http://www.cricket.org]

ICC has officially launched the World Cup logo, mascot, World Cup trophy

The ICC has officially launched the World Cup logo, mascot, World Cup trophy and also the schedule. This was done in New Delhi yesterday by officials of the ICC and the members of the Organizing committee. The fact that it was done in New Delhi goes to show how important India is as a market for the success of the World Cup. Read on ....

World Cup ticket bookings close on Monday - July 31st

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 20:42:00 +0000

The first phase of ticket bookings for the World Cup will be over on Monday, July 31st. If you have not yet applied for it, then this is the best chance for you to do so. Details on how to purchase tickets can be found here.

-- T

Kensington Oval will be ready by Jan, 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 20:35:00 +0000

[Copyright: http://www.cricket.org]

Kensington Oval - Ready by January, 2007

Construction work at the venue for the final of the 2007 Cricket World Cup — Kensington Oval at Bridgetown, Barbados — is scheduled to finish just two months before the biggest ever one-day tournament commences, but officials are confident of things falling in place.

Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council today officially launched the 2007 cricket World Cup logo, mascot and tournament schedule in India. Read on ...

-- T

World Cup security meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 20:56:00 +0000

With the increasing concerns over security, the World Cup organizing committee is sending the right feelers about the security arrangements that they have undertaken. I had blogged about how they had sent their top brass to attend the security arrangements during the World Cup Football tournament in Germany. To further confirm their committment to security, the International Support and Advisory Group (ISAG) had its first meeting in Barbados to talk about the security issues.

-- T

Brian Lara Cricket game to release in 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 20:49:00 +0000

World Cup action will not be seen live on television in March, 2007 - you can also play it on your video console at home at the same time :). The Brian Lara Cricket game is scheduled to release in March, 2007 and no points for guessing this - the promotions have already started.

Another one that was recently released is the game with Ricky Ponting ...

-- T

Sachin & Mongia return to the Indian team

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 18:09:00 +0000

Sachin and Mongia

[Copyright: Getty Images and http://www.cricket.org]

Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Mongia return to the Indian National team for the triangular tournament in Sri Lanka. While the former's selection was a mere formality, Mongia has been rewarded for some consistent performance in the County circuit. India has been desperately looking for an all-rounder to balance its 1-day team but it is yet to have someone who can do that job on a consistent basis. Mongia might be the answer that India is looking for - he bats well, has been taking wickets regularly in the County circuit and is an excellent fielder. Although he has got his chances in the past, he has not taken full advantage of those. So, this is yet another golden chance for him to cement his place in the side.

The team (from):
Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel, Rudra Pratap Singh, Dinesh Mongia

Cheers,
Thyaga

BCCI, Twenty 20 and Sidhuism

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 20:19:00 +0000

Will tournaments such as these become common fixtures now?

[Copyright: Sussex Cricket ]

Recently, India agreed to participate in the Twenty 20 World Cup to be played in South Africa next year. India was not ready to join this tournament but then there is the pressure of the media, ICC and the rest and India had to succumb to it. I don't know how much change this is going to bring about in India but Sidhu, as usual, had something to say about it:

===

"If one-day cricket was pyjama cricket, then Twenty20 is underwear cricket."

"This cricket is like a burger, you can have it once a week but for a whole meal, you need to return to Test cricket. More than once a week, and it will give you a tummy ache"

===

Cheers,
Thyaga

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 20:15:00 +0000

[Copyright: Getty Images]

Sachin Tendulkar will return to the International arena after his injury layoff - he was initially supposed to undergo a fitness test but this was decided not required in the current circumstances. This is indeed great news for India because during the 1-day series, it was definitely missing his services - not only with the bat but also with the ball and also his valuable tips in the field.

Hope he returns successfully !

Cheers,
Thyaga

Delhi to host 2011 World Cup Final

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:31:00 +0000

So, the World Cup is coming to India in 2011 - Bangladesh will host the opening ceremony, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will host the 2 semi-finals and finally India will host the finals. Initially, when i got to know about this, the first reaction was that Mumbai would host the finals because of Mr. Pawar's pull and regional bias syndrome. But it looks like Delhi will get its share of World Cup action - the finals will be played in a new stadium to be built by the BCCI exclusively for the World Cup.

Cheers,
Thyaga

Micro$oft comes to Indian Umpires' rescue

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 14:37:00 +0000

The lack of any Indian umpire in the Elite panel has finally brought some sense of urgency in the Indian cricket think tank - obviously, something wrong is going on somewhere - the faster that they can find that out and rectify it, the better it is for India.

Enter Micro$oft - the big daddy of software. It is going to provide software for exactly that purpose - now, whether the BCCI decides to use that effectively is another matter, of course.

-- Thyaga