Cricket Comments

Winners of Cricinfo Cricket Awards 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 18:44:00 +0000

Cricinfo.com announced its annual awards for best players and wonderful performances in both tests and one day matches. Ajantha Mendis grabbed one day bowling performance and bowler of the year awards. Virender Sehwag is one of the rare players in International cricket who always play one knocks in test cricket. Ajantha Mendis is the new Shane Warne who will save the “Spin” tradition and will inspire youngsters to become spinners.

But readers picked Sachin Tendulkar in both formats for his batting performances. Jury comprised Ian Chappell, Tony Greig, Sanjay Manjrekar, David Lloyd, Ramiz Raja, Daryll Cullinan, and five of Cricinfo's senior editors. This is the second edition of Cricinfo awards and website will continue to give due recognition to the exciting cricketers in the coming years. In 2007, Malinga and Gilchrist won the awards for one day performances while Sangakkara and Zaheer won the awards for test performances.

Cricinfo awards 2008:

1. Test batting performance: Virender Sehwag (201 not out against Sri Lanka)

2. Test bowling performance: Dale Steyn (5 wickets for 67 runs against Australia)

3. One day batting performance: Sanath Jayasuriya (125 against India)

4. One day bowling performance: Ajantha Mendis (6 wickets for 13 runs)

5. Batsman of the year: Shivnarine Chanderpaul

6. Bowler of the year: Ajantha Mendis.

Quote of the day: “Glenn McGrath and Muttiah Muralitharan are the only two bowlers I find most difficult to tackle. I could not hit McGrath for a boundary whenever I wanted because he kept such tight line and length. Same is the case against Murali, you have to wait for a bad ball” – Virender Sehwag.

Please share your opinion on the Cricinfo Cricket awards.

Read my blogs on IPL T20 Cricket and Champions League Cricket.

Sachin is not in all time top 10 cricketers list: ICC

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 06:44:00 +0000

Sachin Tendulkar failed to find a place in the ICC’s top 20 test batsmen list. According to controversial ICC Rankings, Sachin Tendulkar is a 26th best player in test cricket history and 13th best one day player. Current players like Kumara Sangakkara, Kevin Pietersen, Jacques Kallis, Mohammad Yousuf, Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey are much ahead of him in the best test cricketers list.

Best test opener Sunil Gavaskar is at 20th place while Brian Lara at 23rd place in the ICC Test cricket list. Rahul Dravid is at 30th place in the ICC all-time test batsmen list. Adam Gilchrist is at 30th place in the all-time one day batsmen rankings. Rubbish rankings!

Top 10 All-time ICC Test Players:

1. Don Bradman (Australia)

2. Len Hutton (England)

3. Ricky Ponting (Australia)

4. Peter May (England)

5. Clyde Walcott (West Indies), Viv Richards (West Indies), Kumara Sangakkara and Gary Sobers

6. Matthew Hayden and Jacques Kallis.

Top 10 all-time one day cricketers:

1. Viv Richards

2. Zaheer Abbas

3. Greg Chappell

4. David Gower

5. Dean Jones

6. Javed Miandad

7. Brian Lara

8. Desmond Haynes

9. Garry Kirsten

10. Allan Lamb

Please share your comments on ICC rubbish rankings. Not a single Indian cricketer in the top-10 list.

Virender Sehwag: Little Genius of Indian Cricket

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:26:00 +0000

Indian opener Virender Sehwag scored his second triple century in Test Cricket. He scored 309 not out on third day in Chennai against South Africa. On a way triple century, he broke several rare records in test cricket. He is the rare cricketer who can change the game in a matter of single session. South African bowlers failed to stop the run flow as Sehwag determined to silence his critics. He plundered bowlers like Dale Steyn, Ntini and Morkel like club bowlers. It is difficult to forget his stroke play especially in second session. He destroyed egos of several great bowlers through his swashbuckling innings. Test cricket needs entertainers like him to attract audience. If Sachin Tendulkar is “Little Master”, Sehwag is “Little Genius”.

Records of Virender Sehwag in Chennai test:

1. Sehwag scored fastest triple century in the history of test cricket. He broke the record of Mathew Hayden of Australia.

2. He created 2 double century partnerships in single innings (first time in test cricket for India).
3. He equalled his own record of highest run scorer in a single innings for India. He scored 309 against Pakistan on March 28 in Multan. Is it accident or incidence?

4. After Bradman and Lara, he is the third cricketer to score 2 triple centuries in test cricket.

5. He is the only Indian cricketer to score triple centuries in test cricket.

6. In the top 8 fastest double centuries list, three of them belong to Virender Sehwag.

7. He scored third fastest double century in test cricket.

8. He scored highest runs for India in a single innings in India by breaking Laxman's record of 275.

I hope Sehwag will continue his run spree on fourth day and break Lara’s record of highest test runs in a single innings (400). He has time and talent on his side. I am eagerly waiting for next session.

Please share your opinion on Virender Sehwag’s batting.

Indian test team for South Africa series

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:21:00 +0000

Indian selectors picked a 14-man squad for the first two tests of 3-match series against South Africa. India will play first test in Chennai on March 26 and second test in Ahmedabad on April 3. Dhoni and Harbhajan need to undergo fitness test on March 21. Murali Karthik was selected as third spinner for his good performance in the one day series at home. Yuvraj Singh was also picked despite his poor run in the test series against Australia. Murali Karthik needs to prove his fitness after his injury in the domestic tournament. Team for the third test match which will be played in Kanpur will be announced at a later date.

Indian Test team:

Coach: Gary Kirsten.

Captain: Anil Kumble.

Top Order:

1. Wasim Jaffer.
2. Virender Sehwag.
3. Rahul Dravid.

Middle order:

1. Sachin Tendulkar.
2. Sourav Ganguly.
3. V.V.S. Laxman.
4. Yuvraj Singh.

Wicket-keeper: Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

All-Rounder: Irfan Pathan.

Bowlers:

1. Harbhajan Singh.
2. Murali Karthik.
3. S. Sreesanth.
4. R.P. Singh

Standby: Piyush Chawla and Dinesh Karthik.

Players not selected due to injuries: Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan.

Please share your opinion on the Indian prospects due to unavailability of Ishant Sharma.

Analysis: Indian cricket team for tri series

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:52:00 +0000

Indian selectors at last took a wonderful decision by not taking seniors into the one day team for tri-series in Australia. They have not picked senior players like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S.Laxman for the one day and 20-20 matches in Australia. India will play one 20-20 cricket match against Australia, followed by the triangular series which includes Australia and Sri Lanka.

Selectors at last put faith on youngsters like Suresh Raina, Robin Sharma and Praveen Kumar.
Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan kept their places due to their performance in Perth test while Dinesh Karthik retained despite indifferent form.

Indian squad for tri-series in Australia:

Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Vice-Captain: Yuvraj Singh.

Batsmen: Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir.

Wicket Keeper: Dinesh Karthik.

Fast Bowlers: R.P.Singh, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Irfan Pathan, S.Sreesanth.

Spinners: Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla.

Standbye: Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan and Munaf Patel.

Please share your opinion on Indian team selection.

Indian Cricket team for Australia series

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:22:00 +0000

Indian cricket selectors once again surprised cricket lovers with their odd selection criterion. Dashing opener, Virender Sehwag, who was not even in the 24 probables list selected for the final team for the crucial Australia series. Selectors may have selected Sehwag due to lack of options for opening slot. His past records may come in handy in selecting him. Gautam Gambhir sidelined due to shoulder injury.

Rajasthan fast bowler, Pankaj Singh, was selected due to fitness problems of Munaf Patel. Dinesh Karthik luckily regained his slot due to Captain Kumble’s faith on him. Ishant Sharma was selected based on his 5-wicket haul in Bangalore.

Irfan Pathan and Virender Sehwag had wonderful performances in the last Australia tour. India matched Steve Waugh’s Australia and narrowly failed to win the series. Indian middle order dominated Australia bowlers and Kumble gave lot of trouble to Aussies in that series. Missing of Sreesanth due to injury is a big blow to Indian chances who played crucial role in the South African tour.

We have to see can India show similar performance in the upcoming tour.

Indian cricket team:

Captain: Anil Kumble.

Openers:

1. Wasim Jaffer
2. Virender Sehwag.
3. Dinesh Karthik.

Middle order:

1. Rahul Dravid.
2. Sachin Tendulkar.
3. Sourav Ganguly.
4. VVS Laxman
5. Yuvraj Singh.

Wicket Keeper:

1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Fast Bowlers:

1. Zaheer Khan.
2. R.P.Singh.
3. Ishant Sharma.
4. Irfan Pathan.
5. Pankaj Singh.

Spinner:

1. Harbhajan Singh.

Please share your opinion on Indian selectors.

Sourav Ganguly profile

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:23:00 +0000

Sourav Ganguly once again regained his magic touch and silenced his critics with a crucial double century against Pakistan in Bangalore. He once again exhibited “Never say die spirit” in this crucial series which is his trademark character from his early days. He exhibited strong character in facing selection troubles throughout his career. He will be remembered as one of the greatest batsmen especially on offside. Ganguly likes and dislikes:

Name: Sourav Ganguly.
Native place: Kolkata.
Favourite car: Mercedes Benz.

Favourite Movie: Sholay.
Favourite director: Satyazit Ray.
Favourite Actress: Aishwarya Rai.
Favourite actors: Amitab, Sharukh and Abhishek.

Favourite food: Biryani.

Favourite cricketers: Sachin and Dravid.
Favourite Sport: Football and Cricket.
Favourite soccer star: Pele.

Favourite holiday spots: London and Darjeeling.

Memorable things: Hat used in the first test and bat used in the first one day international.

Recent happy moment: Making century at Eden gardens (home ground) in the second test against Pakistan.

Strength: My family.
Weakness: Getting angry even for small things.
Success secret: Learning from others.
Philosophy: Live an honest life.

He spends his precious free time at home with his daughter and pet dogs.

Source: Eenadu.

Review: Indian One-day team against Pakistan

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:15:00 +0000

Indian selectors announced 15-member squad for the first two one-day matches against Pakistan. Rahul Dravid and Dinesh Karthik were dropped from the squad while Virender Sehwag was recalled. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the Indian Captain for this crucial home series. India will play first two one-dayers with Pakistan at Guwahati and Mohali on November 5 and 8. Indian selectors gave due recognition for domestic performances by including Uttar Pradesh all-rounder Praveen Kumar but S. Badrinath lost his place to Gautam Gambhir. Praveen Kumar is in scintillating form in the challenger series but Badrinath, Suresh Raina and Manoj Tiwary missed the team boat due to lack of places despite superb performances in the challenger series.
I can’t understand why selectors used the term “Rest” when they actually dropped him. Are they trying to deceive whom? Even though most of the selectors wanted to drop Ganguly, Vengsarkar insisted on Dravid, according to Times Now channel.

Indian Cricket team:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain)
Openers: Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Gautam Gambhir.
Middle-order: Yuvraj Singh (Vice Captain), Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa and Robin Sharma.
All-Rounders: Irfan Pathan and Praveen Kumar.
Fast bowlers: Zaheer Khan, R.P. Singh and S. Sreesanth.
Spinners: Harbhajan Singh and Murali Karthik.

Indian selectors missed another chance to test young batsmen by giving “rest” to other senior cricketers on home surface.

Review: Castrol Indian cricket awards

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:03:00 +0000

Sourav Ganguly was selected as best Indian captain in 75 years of test cricket at the 10th Castrol awards in Kochi. But in my opinion, Pataudi is an outstanding captain when compared to Sourav Ganguly. Mohammad Azharuddin (most successful captain), Anil Kumble (most successful test bowler) found no mention at these awards! Had any other cricketer played so much crucial role as Kumble in Indian test wins in these 75 years.

Image courtesy: Cricket next.

Best Indian Cricketers of the six eras:

1. C.K. Naidu (1932-47).
2. Vinoo Mankad (1947-61).
3. M.A.K. Pataudi (1961-71).
4. Sunil Gavaskar (1971-1981).
5. Kapil Dev (1981-1997).
6. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid (1997-2007).

Outstanding team: Twenty20 world cup winning team.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is conspicuous by his absence at this prestigious ceremony.

My view:

1. Best Batsman: Sunil Gavaskar.
2. Best Bowler: Anil Kumble.
3. Best Captain: Pataudi.
4. Best All-rounder: Vinoo Mankad/Kapil Dev.
5. Best Fielder: Solkar.
6. Best Team: 1971 test team.
7. Best Wicket keeper: Farookh Engineer.

Please share your opinion.

Review: Indian cricket team for Australia series

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 08:53:00 +0000

Indian cricket selectors announced 15-member team for upcoming one-day series against Australia. 20-20 team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named as captain for these crucial matches. Selectors picked this team for the first three matches against Australia. All-Rounder Irfan Pathan and Spinner Harbhajan Singh returned to the team while Virender Sehwag, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel and Rohit Sharma missed the team bus. Yuvraj will remain as vice-captain. Indian Cricket team for first 3-one day matches against Australia:

Captain: M S Dhoni.
Vice-captain: Yuvraj Singh.
Openers: Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa.
Middle order: Rahul Dravid, Dinesh Karthik.
All-rounder: Irfan Pathan.
Spinners: Romesh Pawar, Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan Singh.
Pace attack: R P Singh, Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth.

Munaf Patel missed selection due to fitness and attitude problems while Sehwag may have missed due to lack of opening slots. Selection of Irfan Pathan in the place of Ajit Agarkar may relieve some problems for the Indian cricket team.

I can’t understand why Rohit Sharma was dropped without giving many chances. This is not the way to groom young talented players. They may gradually lose confidence in their abilities. 3 Mumbai players were dropped from the team despite powerful lobby.

Dhoni’s progress to the top rank is not surprising considering his uncontroversial nature coupled with sharp cricket brain and matured personality despite enormous popularity. It is rare to see such a level minded youngster among young cricketers. His middle class upbringing helped him in this aspect like Sachin Tendulkar.

Please share your opinion on Indian selectors.

Review: ICC Cricket awards

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 10:37:00 +0000

Australians once again dominated ICC Cricket awards by bagging 5 of the 8 awards. Ricky Ponting bagged cricketer of the year and Captain of the year. Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait was the emerging player of the year award. Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan secured prestigious test player of the year. Simon Taufel took umpire the year award for the 4th successive year. ICC award ceremony was held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Image courtesy: ABC, Australia.

What about Indian cricket?

Indian pride was restored by Fast bowler Jhulan Goswami by securing Women’s cricketer of the year award. Sachin Tendulkar was selected for the ODI team of the year while Zaheer Khan was the 12th man for the test team of the year.

Ricky Ponting, Mathew Hayden, Kevin Pietersen, Michael Hussey and Muttiah Muralidharan are selected for both one day and test teams. Australia, Sri Lanka and South African cricketers dominated the test and one day teams.

ICC awards-2007:

1. Cricketer of the year: Ricky Ponting (Australia)
2. Test player of the year: Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan)
3. ODI player of the year: Matthew Hayden (Australia)
4. Captain of the year: Ricky Ponting (Australia)
5. Emerging player of the year: Shaun Tait (Australia)
6. Umpire of the year: Simon Taufel (Australia)
7. Women's cricketer of the year: Jhulan Goswami (India).
8. Associate ODI player of the year: Thomas Odoyo (Kenya)
9. Spirit of cricket award: Sri Lanka. This award was presented by Johnty Rhodes.

Test team of the year: Matthew Hayden (Aus), Michael Vaughan (Eng), Ricky Ponting (Aus, captain), Mohammad Yousuf (Pak), Kevin Pietersen (Eng), Michael Hussey (Aus), Kumar Sangakkara (SL), Stuart Clark (Aus), Muttiah Muralitharan (SL), Mahkaya Ntini (SA), Mohammad Asif (Pak), Zaheer Khan (India) (12th man).

ODI team of the year: Matthew Hayden (Aus), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Ricky Ponting (Aus, captain), Kevin Pietersen (Eng), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies), Jacques Kallis (SA), Mark Boucher (SA), Chaminda Vaas (SL), Shane Bond (NZ), Muttiah Muralitharan (SL), Glenn McGrath (Aus), Michael Hussey (Aus) (12th man).

Ricky Ponting was named as captain for both teams. I can’t understand why Michael Vaughan was selected for test team.

Review: ICC Cricket 2007 Award nominations

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 17:39:00 +0000

No Indian male cricketer is nominated for this year’s ICC cricket awards, Oscars of cricket. 4 players are short listed for each category. The short-lists have been compiled from long-lists of nominations after votes were submitted by members of the 56-member ICC Academy. The ICC awards ceremony will be presented at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa on September 10. First 20-20 world cup will start from September 11. It is still doubtful whether Ricky Ponting is fit enough to play in the tournament.

Highlights of ICC award nominations:

1. Australia captain Ricky Ponting is nominated in all the 3 categories – Cricketer of the year and one day and test player awards. Ricky Ponting is also nominated for captain of the year award.

2. 3 Australian cricketers are in the final 4 one day players due to their wonderful performance in 2007 cricket world cup. Kallis is the other player. Australian cricketers once again dominated the list.

3. Jhulan Goswami (Women’s cricketer) is the only Indian in the list highlighting poor performance of Indian male cricket team. This is the third straight year no Indian male cricketer was nominated for these prestigious awards.

ICC Award nominations:

1. Cricketer of the Year: Sir Garfield Sobers trophy will be awarded to the winner.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI)
Kevin Pietersen (Eng)
Ricky Ponting (Aus) - My Choice.
Mohammed Yousuf (Pak).

2. Test Player:

Muttiah Muralitharan (SL)
Kevin Pietersen (Eng)
Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Mohammad Yousuf (Pak) - My Choice. Superb performance throughout the year.

3. ODI Player:

Matthew Hayden (Aus)
Jacques Kallis (SA)
Glenn McGrath (Aus) - My Choice. He defied age and silenced critics with sperlative performance.
Ricky Ponting (Aus)

4. Emerging Player:

Ravinder Bopara (Eng)
Shakib Al Hasan (Bang)
Shaun Tait (Aus) - My Choice.
Ross Taylor (NZ)

5. Captain of the Year:

Mahela Jayawardene (SL) - My Choice. He inspired Sri Lankan team in 2007 world cup.
Ricky Ponting (Aus)

6. Associate ODI Player of the Year:

Ashish Bagai (Can)
Thomas Odoyo (Ken)
Ryan ten Doeschate (Neth)
Steve Tikolo (Ken)

7. Umpire of the Year: 2006-07 is the worst season for the umpires. They made some many mistakes.

Mark Benson
Steve Bucknor
Simon Taufel.

8. Women's Cricketer of the Year:

Jhulan Goswami (Ind) - My Choice. She is the only Indian in the list and wonderful fast bowler.
Lisa Sthalekar (Aus)
Claire Taylor (Eng).

Please share your opinion on these nominations.

Review: India repeated another NatWest performance at Oval

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:54:00 +0000

Strong Indian batting line-up repeated another sensational performance to win the crucial match to level the series against England. They successfully chased another 300+ target at Oval to clinch the thriller which brought the memories of NatWest final at Lords. Young Robin Uthappa held nerves and exhibited steely resolve to win this match in the final over. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly gave solid start and Yuvraj, Dhoni and Gambhir held in the middle overs and Uthappa gave final push up. Unlike NatWest final, where Yuvraj and Md.Kaif achieved improbable victory, this win is the result of collective performance and character of the team. Despite small hiccups in the middle overs, India was in complete control of the match.
They wonderfully bounced back and registered first victory in the series while batting second. Can they win this series or lose due to overconfidence?

Highlights of the 6th Oneday match:

Sachin Tendulkar heroic performance:

Indian batsmen despatched England bowlers to the all parts of the ground. Sachin Tendulkar brought back the memories of golden days with scintillating shots and only cramps ended his superb innings. He once again missed century in this series but placed India in safe position. He gave answer to critics with this performance. I can’t understand why Sachin wants to quit one day matches within 6-8 months. He should stay till 2011 world cup to guide youngsters. We may never find another Sachin Tendulkar (talent+ character). Shane Warne picked this master blaster as the No.1 batsman in his career ahead of Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting.

Robin Uthappa:

Rahul Dravid should give more chances to this Karnataka batsman who is a perfect one day and 20-20 batsman. Uthappa send strong signals with this performance ahead of 20-20 world cup in South Africa. With his big hitting, India will immensely benefit in the upcoming world cup.

Celebration of Yuvraj Singh with Robin Uthappa after victory:

England Sentiment:

England seems to be a lucky ground for Indian batsman.

1. Indian won its only world cup victory on England soil. Who can forget Kapil Dev's 175?

2. Sachin scored his first one day century in Manchester.

3. In 1996 series, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly emerged as future stars with their wonderful performance on fast pitches against quality attack.

4. NatWest final unearthed the talents of two young cricketers – Yuvraj Singh and Kaif.

5. Story will continue.

Man of the match: Sachin Tendulkar.

Cricket Videos –Sensational sixers

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:59:00 +0000

Sixers are always crazy. Hitting a sixer will lift the batsman confidence while it is a dent in bowler pride. Here are videos of famous sixers. Sanath Jayasuriya and Afridi are neck and neck in hitting maximum sixers in their careers.

Mascarenhas (England)– 5 sixers in last 5 balls:

Mascarenhas stole the show with 5 sixers in the last 5 balls of England innings against India at Oval. Yuvraj Singh is the bowler suffered from Mascarenhas onslaught. His timing is impeccable and all the shots are classic ones. England emerged as hot favourite in the 20-20 and one day formats due to these new hot players like Broad, Mascarenhas, Wright and Bopara. These sixers are not as significant when compared to following 3 incidents.

Top 3 sensational sixer events:

1. Gary Sobers (West Indies) - 6 Sixers in 6 balls:

Cricket’s greatest all-rounder stunned the cricket world with 6 sixers in six balls when test cricket is ruling the world. He failed to repeat his success in one day format.

2. Herschelle Gibbs (South Africa) - 6 Sixers in 6 balls:

He scored these sixers in an insignificant match against Holland in the league match of 2007 Cricket world cup.

3. Javed Miandad (Pakistan) – Sixer in the last ball:

This sixer will be remembered in cricket annals forever. He scored this sixer against India in the last ball of last over of young Chetan Sharma in Sharjah to lift Australasia cup. I may not forget this sixer in my lifetime. It was a severe blow to our (Indians) pride at that time. I hope some Indian cricketer may repeat history against Pakistan in future.

With Cricket is gradually becoming a batsmen game, we may see more such events involving superb sixers.

Review: Shane Warne’s top 50 cricketers

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 04:46:00 +0000

Wisden top 5 cricketer of the century and greatest spinner, Shane Warne listed his top 50 favourite cricketers fuelling a debate on the pros and cons. Shane Warne is famous for his sharp cricket brain and versatile personality. He failed to appreciate the talents of his team mates and captaincy competitors like Steve Waugh and Adam Gilchrist. After all he is an ordinary human being.

Why I like this list?

1. For recognising Sachin Tendulkar as the greatest cricketer. Thank you Shane for remembering past bitter memories.

2. For placing my favourite bowlers Glenn McGrath and Curtly Ambrose in the top 5.

3. For recognising Wasim Akram and especially Muralitharan.

4. For praising Brain Lara in superlative terms.

Why I hate this list?

1. Great warrior Steve Waugh at No. 26 – Is Shane Warne a bit jealous of his captain?
2. For placing Waqar Younis at No. 45 – What is his rank if he were a white cricketer?
3. 20 Australians in top 50 – overloaded?
4. Greatest wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist at No. 20- vice captain competition?
5. Is it not foolish to place Mark Waugh ahead of Rahul Dravid, Aravinda De Silva and Anil Kumble?
6. Is Merv Hughes greater than Kapil Dev and Waqar Younis?
7. Darren Lehman is at No. 25 ahead of Steve Waugh, Kallis, Md. Yousuf and Saeed Anwar. Are you surprised?

Warne comments on his top 50 list:

1. Sachin Tendulkar and Brain Lara are not only great cricketers but also great men.
2. Curtly Ambrose is a marginally better bowler than Glen McGrath.
3. Steve Waugh is a match saver but not match winner.
4. Adam Gilchrist is a good batsman-keeper but not other way around.
5. Anil Kumble is a real warrior on the field and a good gentle man off the field.
6. Rahul Dravid is the batsman who will make minimum mistakes.
7. Mark Waugh is a treat to watch while batting or fielding.
8. Is Merv Hughes greater than Kapil Dev.
9. Allan border is my favourite Australian cricketer while Stephen Fleming is the great captain.
10. It is very difficult to play against Wasim Akram.
11. No cricketer in the cricket world faced the pressure as much as Sachin Tendulkar.
12. Andrew Flintoff is the best all-rounder in the world.
13. Michael Clarke and Kevin Pietersen will rank higher if I will do this list after 5 years. No Doubt about it.

Please share your opinion on TOP 50 Cricketers of Shane Warne.

Top 10 cricketers in the next decade

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Thu, 24 May 2007 10:59:00 +0000

Wisden magazine columnist Lawrence Booth selected 10 best young cricketers as future superstars in the next decade. With Shane Warne, Glen McGrath and Brian Lara announced retirements and Sachin, Gilchrist on the verge of retirements; it is right time to search for new superstars.
Suresh Raina of India is selected to this elite list even though he failed to get a place in the Indian one day side. Former Indian coach Greg Chappell first identified the enormous talent in this Uttarpradesh cricketer. Sachin Tendulkar is also a big fan of this young cricketer. He is also a livewire in fielding. He lost place in the Indian One-day team due to inconsistent batting.

Kevin Pietersen and Mohammad Asif are already superstars. If all goes well, Pietersen may score 8,000 test runs while Asif can easily take 400 test wickets.

Future star cricketers in the next decade:

1. Kevin Pietersen (England)
2. Michael Clarke (Australia)
3. Shane Watson (Australia)
4. Shaun Tait (Australia)
5. Dwayne Bravo (West Indies)
6. Suresh Raina (India)
7. Mohammad Asif (Pakistan)
8. Lalith Malinga (Sri Lanka)
9. Ross Taylor (New Zealand)
10. Md. Ashraful (Bangladesh)
I have some doubts over some of these selections. I will have to see whether Suresh Raina, Lalith Malinga, Bravo, Malinga and Taylor can able to live up to their expectations.

Some other future stars to watch out for:

1. Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
2. Ambati Rayudu (Hyderabad, India)
3. Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh)
4. Chamara Silva (Sri Lanka)
5. Manoj Tiwary (India)
6. Ian Bell (England)
7. Piyush Chawla (India)

Please share your opinion on Wisden selection.

Flash news: Shoaib Akthar was replaced by Bangladesh speedster Mashrafe Mortaza for Afro-Asian Cup.

Cricket Videos- Highest runs in a single over

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Sun, 20 May 2007 17:41:00 +0000

Only 2 batsmen scored more than 30 runs in a single over in International cricket history. Watch the videos of those 2 overs.

1. South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs scored 36 runs (6 sixers) in a single over against Holland in a 2007 cricket world cup league match.

Watch the video of Gibbs 36 runs in a single over:

2. Pakistan Pathan Shahid Afridi scored 32 runs in a single over of Malinga Bandara. He decimated Sri Lankan attack with a stunning display of attacking batting. He scored 4, 4, 4, 4, 6 and 6 in six balls of Bandara.

Watch the video of Shahid Afridi’s 32 runs in a single over:

Dashing cricketers like Shahid Afridi, Gibbs, Sanath Jayasuriya, Adam Gilchrist and Dhoni are nightmare to bowlers. Cricket needs these fearsome batsmen to add some spice to the game.

Please share your opinion on these 2 big hitters.

Shane Bond is the New Zealand cricketer of the year

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Thu, 17 May 2007 15:01:00 +0000

New Zealand cricketer Shane Bond won the player of the year award at the National cricket awards ceremony in Auckland. He also won one-day bowler of the year award. He is recently selected as the second best sexy cricketer in the world.

Shane Bond is a genuine fast bowler with classic action and lots of variation. I still remember his performance against Australia in 2003 cricket world cup. Bowlers like Bond are assets to cricket. We need more Bonds.

Shane Bond achievements this year:

1. He took 13 wickets at 16.38 with an economy rate of 3.05 in 2007 cricket world cup.
2. He took 10 wickets from 2 test matches against Sri-Lanka.
3. He has taken 38 One-day international wickets in this season.
4. He is the rare bowler to take hat-trick against Australia.

Shane Bond career statistics:

1. He has taken 74 test wickets in an injury plagued career at an average of 22.10.
2. He has taken 125 One day wickets at a stunning average of 19.32.
3. If injuries were not there, He might have taken more than 200 test wickets and 300 one day wickets.
4. He is the pace bowler whom the mighty Australians are fearful.
5. He consistently has taken the wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting.

Watch the Shane Bond bowling skills:

In My opinion, he is the best real fast bowler in the world. May God save the cricket by preventing injuries to this wonderful cricketer!

Please share your opinion on Shane Bond.

Review: Asian teams for Afro-Asia Cup 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Sat, 12 May 2007 13:23:00 +0000

The Asian cricket council selectors announced One Day team and 20-20 team for the 2007 Afro-Asia cup. This is a 3-match one day series between Africa and Asian teams that will be held from June 6-9&10 in Bangalore and Chennai.

Analysis on One Day Team:

Captain: Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – Automatic choice.

1. Openers:
Virender Sehwag, Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga.
Lack of alternatives paved the way for Sehwag.

2. Middle Order:
Mahela Jayawardene, Mohammad Yousuf, Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh
My choice is Chamara Silva in place of Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid in place of Sachin Tendulkar.

3. Wicket Keeper: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
My choice is Kumara Sangakkara

4. Bowling Attack:
Fast Bowling: Chaminda Vaas, Mohammad Asif, Lalith Malinga and Shoiab Akthar.
Dusty pitches in sub continent do really need so many pace bowlers. I will select extra spinner in place of fast bowler.

5. Spinners: Harbhajan Singh and Mohammad Rafique.
Coach: Roger Binny.

Final comments: Weak spin attack due to the absence of Muttaih Muralidharan and unstable batting lineup due to poor selection. Selectors preferred stars in place of players in form. As long as advertisers are playing vital role in selection matters, these things will continue to happen in sub-continent.

Asia 20-20 team:

Captain: Shoaib Malik.

Openers: Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh), Imran Nazir (Pakistan)

Middle Order:Mohammad Ashraful (Bangladesh), Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka), Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)

Wicket-Keeper: Kamran Akmal (Pakistan)

Bowlers: Abdur Razzak (Bangladesh), Farveez Maharoof (Sri Lanka), Mashrafe Mortaza (Bangladesh), Munaf Patel (India).

Coach: Rumesh Ratnayake.

South African team will be captained by Graeme Smith.

Can these teams have a chance against African teams? Absense of Rahul Dravid and Muralidharam may spoil the hopes of Asian teams.

Sexiest Cricketers in the World

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Wed, 02 May 2007 05:54:00 +0000

Barbados magazine conducted a survey to select the sexiest cricketers of 2007 Cricket world cup. Lalith Malinga was selected as the sexiest cricketer in the poll. He attracted the views with his looks, different action and wonderful performance. He is the first cricketer to take 4 wickets in 4 balls.

Top Sexy Cricketers:

1. Lalith Malinga (Sri Lanka) – surprise star of 2007 world cup.
2. Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) - His smile is the major reason.
3. Shane Bond (New Zealand) - He is the sexiest cricketer in my opinion.
4. Kevin Pietersen (England) – Only hope for England.
5. Chris Gayle (West Indies) - At least got a place in this list.
6. Shaun Tait (Australia) – Young and charming fast bowler.

Special mention:

Brian Lara and Makhaya Ntini – Talent sometimes counts.

No Indian and Pakistan cricketer has featured in the list. Poor performance may have decreased their glamour quotient. Brett Lee missed the selection due to non –participation. Mahendra Singh Dhoni of India and Andrew Flintoff of England failed to get a place due to their worst performance in the world cup.

Please share your ratings.

Brian Lara- Greatest test cricketer of this era

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 14:24:00 +0000

West Indies genius and greatest cricketer of this generation Brian Lara retired from International cricket. The West Indies super 8 match against England was the last one in which he unfortunately ran out. He is the best test cricketer after Don Bradman. He played in 299 One day Internationals and 131 tests. If he prolonged his career for another test match, he may have completed 12,000 runs.

He was born on May 2, 1969 in Cantaro, Santa Cruz, Trinidad and Tobago. His ascending career was coincided with the decline in West Indies cricket. His 17 year cricket career is a mix of achievements and controversies.

Video of Brian Lara retirement announcement:

Greatest achievements of Lara:

1. He scored the most test runs (11,953).
2. Lara scored highest individual test score (400) against England in 2004.
3. Brian Lara scored highest individual first class score (501) for Warwickshire in 1994.
4. He scored the most runs (28) in an over of a test match against South African spinner Robin Pietersen in 2003.

5. He scored 688 runs in 3 Test matches against Sri Lanka. He completely dominated spin wizard Muralidharan in that series.
6. His test batting average is 52.88 with 34 centuries.
7. He scored 10,406 one day runs in 299 matches.
8. Winning the 2004 Champions trophy with a weak West Indies is a high-light in his career.
9. He single handily drew the series against mighty Australians in 1999. His innings of 153 at Barbados was considered as second-best test innings by Wisden.
10. He scored 375 against England in 1994 beating Sober’ 365 which was thought to be unbreakable. 1994 was a golden year in the career of Brian lara.

Brian Lara 400 innings against England:

Lara’s failures in his career:

1. He is somewhat a flawed genius. He was never dominated by any bowler but only by Frickle mind.
2. Like Sachin Tendulkar of India, he was unsuccessful as a skipper of the West Indies cricket team.
3. His indiscipline and quarrels with management took some shine away from this great man.

In my opinion, Lara, Tendulkar, Ponting, Hayden and Kallis are the great players of this generation.

Please share your opinion.

Cricket included in 2010 China Asain games

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 03:57:00 +0000

Cricket will be included for the first time in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. Asian cricket council announced about this decision on its website. This decision to include cricket in Asian games was taken in the general assembly of Olympic council of Asia in Kuwait. Guangzhou Asian Games will be played Nov 12-27 in 2010.

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are the major cricket teams in Asia. United Arab Emirates and Malaysia are the other major teams. Sri Lanka even reached semi finals in the ongoing cricket world cup in West Indies. Bangladesh surprised cricket world by reaching super 8 in the world cup. India and Pakistan are the heave weights in cricket world for the last 30 years.

Can these teams send their best teams for the Asian games?

It is almost impossible. Except Bangladesh, all the other teams are busy with home series against various teams as per ICC schedule. India will play against New Zealand for three Tests and five One-day Internationals.

Pakistan will be hosting South Africa for three Tests and five ODIs and Sri Lanka will play against the West Indies during the Asian games.
Asian games are a multi sport event which includes 42 sports while Olympics have only 28 events.

Cricket was included in the Asian games at the right time in the wrong place (China) because Cricket is not a popular game in China. But, Cricket is very popular in Sub continent and Arab countries.

Success of cricket in Asian games will be depended on the cricket boards of Major teams. Will they change their schedule to send the main teams? Wait and watch!

Analysis of Indian Cricket teams for Bangladesh Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 10:25:00 +0000

Indian selectors announced separate teams for one days and test matches against Bangladesh. Selectors dared to drop (rest!) stars and seniors like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag. It is a warning sign for other 'mafia' members like Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh.

Indian Cricket team for One day matches:

Rahul Dravid (captain) – Best choice.

Openers: Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa and Virender Sehwag. Sehwag should not be selected.

Middle order: Dinesh Karthick, M S Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Manoj Tewary. Dinesh Karthick should get more chances. He is the most solid middle order batsman in the Indian batting lineup after Rahul Dravid. Manoj Tewary should utilize this valuable opportunity.

Bowling department: Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla, R P Singh, and Ramesh Powar. Selectors at last dared to remove tried and tested Ajit Agarkar and Irfan Patan.
Team management should utilise Ramesh Powar as all rounder. Bengal’s pace sensation Bose missed the bus due to zonal politics.

Indian Cricket team for Test matches:

Rajesh Powar is the surprise choice. Finally, performances in the Ranji Trophy are getting selector’s recognition. It is a good sign for young aspirants. It is the most balanced outfit who can easily outplay Bangladesh.

Rahul Dravid (captain), Wasim Jaffer, Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, M S Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthick, Sreesanth, Zaheer Khan, V R V Singh, Munaf Patel, Anil Kumble, Ramesh Powar, Rajesh Powar.

I hope selectors may induct more young players in the future tournaments.

Bangladesh Cricket – Future is bright

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 14:32:00 +0000

Cricket World Cup 2007 will remain as a turning point in Bangladesh Cricket history. Bangladesh cricketers with an average age of 23 have shown tremendous maturity against top teams in this world cup. They defeated New Zealand in a warm up match of this world cup. Bangladesh created sensation by trouncing India in the group match. Now, they defeated World No.1 team South Africa in a one sided match.

What surprises everyone is that Bangladesh defeated South Africa and India in a professional and convincing manner. With age on their side, they will definitely win more matches against top teams. Success of Bangladesh will no more create ripples among cricket circles.

Positives from this world cup:

1. Age: Among super 8 teams, Bangladesh cricketers have lowest average age, 23.
2. They defeated 3 top teams within a span of 3 months.
3. Mohammad Ashraful (Tendulkar of Bangladesh) proved his talent.
4. Tamim Iqbal is the new rising star.
5. Javed Omar is playing consistently against quality attack.
6. Defeating top teams is a major boost to their confidence levels.
7. These young men truly believe in themselves.
8. Mashrafe Mortaza is gradually becoming world class bowler who is consistently troubling top batsmen.

Scope for improvement:

1. They should overcome their inconsistency.
2. Bangladesh should immediately find 2-3 world class bowlers.
3. Ashraful should do justice to his talent by playing consistently.
4. They should continuously play against top teams.
5. Winning should become an opportunity but not a rarity.
6. They should continue Dave Whatmore as their coach.

With Indian board is going to send Young team for the upcoming Bangladesh series, it will be another opportunity for these young Bangladesh cricketers to prove their mettle.

Sack Greg Chappell and Seniors Mafia and save Indian Cricket

noreply@blogger.com (Krishna) — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 05:40:00 +0000

Indian cricket is in complete shambles. World cup debacle took back seat with recent unwanted incidents. Chappell’s accusations against senior players sent tremors in the Cricket fraternity. I don’t think BCCI management can able to take any stern action against players. Politics play vital role in the affairs of BCCI.

Some points:

1. Greg Chappell questioned the attitude of some of the senior players. I believe in his words because he didn’t criticise the most dedicated player, Anil Kumble.

2. If Sourav Ganguly were captain of India, could he play that shot against Sri Lanka?

3. Why did Dinesh Karthik fail to get a place in the final eleven despite his consistence performances before world cup?
4. Dinesh Karthik omitted from the final eleven just to include ‘Mafia’ favourite Virender
Sehwag. Is it not true?

5. World Cup Debacle is a total failure of Coach and Team.

Save Indian Cricket by sacking irresponsible coach and the ‘Seniors Mafia”. Rahul Dravid should play the role of Australian Legend Allan Border’s role. In 80’s, Border resurrected Australian Cricket with the help of talented youngsters like Waugh brothers.

Please share your opinion.