Cricket

What is Spot Fixing?

2010-09-19T21:19:00.001+05:30

Spot fixing reports has engulfed two ODI matches of the England v/s Pakistan Series in the UK. The first ODI at Lords and the 3rd ODI at The Oval are under the scanner. Even the apex cricketing body - ICC - has acknowledged the way the games were played is suspicious and has initiated an investigation.

What is this spot fixing?

John Etheridge - Chief Cricket writer has written in The Sun

...the final result is not the point of spot-fixing. This insidious, twilight activity involves manipulating passages of play such as the number of runs scored in a block of overs.

What's the point of sport if the opposition might not be trying as hard as they can all of the time?

Spot fixing tends to manipulate the smaller moments of the game not its end result. Spot fixing could target specific ball or a specific over or a set of balls / overs of the game. It does not attempt to directly manipulate the result of the game, but certainly does impact the sportsmanship as the players do not deliver their best all the time..
In cricket, it could be as simple as requiring a player to bowl particular number of wide balls in a particular over or something like that - or requiring a bowler to bowl a no-ball at a particular ball in a particular over- or - it may require a batsman to miss a particular ball in a particular over or a series of balls.

Fixing is an illegal activity associated with the betting market. Knowning the outcome of a particular event improves the odds in favour of the fixer. Spot fixing in cricket is popular where bets are placed on every single ball.

The popularity of cricket has increased many fold in the last few years drawing a lot of attention from the betting community.

More Spot Fixing News

2010-09-19T20:36:00.000+05:30

What's happening!! Cricket used to be a noble game. It has always been played with a lot of dignity and pride.

But, its credibility has taken a massive beating over the last month. Earlier reports of 3 Pakistani cricketers being involved in spot rigging during the 1st ODI between England and Pakistan shook the sport and its fans, now ICC accepts that even the 3rd ODI between the same two teams at The Oval is not above suspicion.

In fact, The Sun - an English tabloid - has claimed that is that submitted to the ICC inspectors before the match started information about how the scoring pattern during certain parts of the game would flow and the actual scoring in the match turned out to be very much in its information.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat has said that a full scaled investigation would be carried out into the match and re-iterated the zero-tolerance policy of ICC toward corruption in cricket.

ICC will have to act swiftly and decisively to ensure that such occurrences do not repeat and restore the people's faith in the fairness of the event.

Spot Fixing Scandal - Troubled times for Cricket

2010-09-15T13:21:00.002+05:30

Cricket - the most popular sport of India - is going through a rough time. All the news of spot fixing is compromising the credibility of the sport.

First the news about the alleged financial irregularities against Lalit Modi - the man who single-handedly took Indian Premier League to its dizzy heights of popularity - followed by his suspension as Commissioner of Indian Premier League.

And now, all the media attention on news of spot fixing at the Lord's Test between England and Pakistan.

The names of three international players from Pakistan

Mohammed Amir
Mohammed Asif
Salman Butt

has been doing the rounds regularly in the media for their alleged involvement in spot fixing.

The Chief Executives Committee (CEC) which met in Cape Town has reaffirmed the cricketing body's zero tolerance stance against any form of corruption.

As fans of the game, we can only hope that prompt and strict action is taken against the defaulters.

The action should be such that it sets an example for those who even dare to think of walking down the forbidden paths that damage the reputation of this great sport.

ICC Champions Trophy 2009 in South Africa from 22 Sep 2009

2009-09-21T09:10:00.003+05:30

ICC Champions Trophy 2009 (CT 2009) - a One Day International (ODI) competition is all set to start in Johannesburg from tomorrow (22-Sep-2009) with the inaugural match that will be played South Africa (SA) versus Sri Lanka (SL).

The CT 2009 is a 15 game tournament in which teams of eight countries will play. Two groups A and B have been setup with 4 teams in each group...

Group A - Australia, India, Pakistan, West Indies
Group B - England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka

Each team will 3 games to qualify for the semi-finals, ie. 12 (6 each group) qualifying matches to decide the top 2 teams. These 12 match of the 2 groups in CT 2009 will be played between 22-Sep-2009 to 30-Sep-2009.

The top 4 teams - (2 from each group) will play the semi-finals on 2-Oct-2009 and 3-Oct-2009 and the winner of the semi finals will play the finals on 5-Oct-2009.

2009-08-04T08:16:00.002+05:30

On Sunday, many eyebrows went up when BCCI President Shashank Manohar went public over the out-of-competition testing norms of WADA (World Anti Doping Agency). He had said that the "whereabout" clause was an infringement of the privacy of the players and also posed security risks for the them.

A new angle over the "whereabout" clause of the WADA agreement has been presented by Sports Minister M. S. Gill.

In the latest development our own Sports Minister M. S. Gill has spoken in the matter.

He has dismissed the claim by BCCI chief and asked the cricketers to fall in line without cribbing. He was surprised at the stand of the cricketers especially after the fact that most sportspersons across the world have already signed it.

Gill said that the world is concerned about doping and we should support WADA in its cause.

New Zealand stops Dhoni's Men

2009-02-27T16:00:00.002+05:30

After a streak of wins in the Twenty20 (T20) games, New Zealand has finally brought the Indian winning spree to a grinding halt - 2 consecutive matches lost. Much to the disappointment of the cricket fans from India, there favourite team India has lost 2 games in succession to the New Zealand team.

Yeah! Yeah! I know! No team can go on winning all the games they play, but one cannot stop expectations from building up when we see our countrymen winning game after game, match after match. This time, too, the team had left for New Zealand after a successful tour of Sri Lanka.

Quite naturally, expectations from the team are at a long time high.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the team's captain, has demonstrated praiseworthy leadership. He has received a lot of recognition for being able to maintain his cool even in the toughest of times and this particular trait of his has been attributed to be the main reason behind team's improved performance in the last few series.

But then, I believe it is good for the team to lose a match or two once in a while. It reminds everyone that they are not unbeatable and must keep up the practice and hard work at all times.

I would only like to say to the team - "Don't get disheartened by a couple of lost matches, there are many more to come where you can prove that you have it in you. You must go out and prove that we are the best."

Is this financial clout?

2008-05-07T18:00:00.003+05:30

BCCI seems to have done it again. It has once again used its clout to affect the judgement of one more disciplinary action in the international cricketing circles.

This time it has used its clout to have the suspension of Shoaib Akhtar suitably suspended so that he could play for Shahrukh Khan's team - Kolkata Knight Riders. The day the judgement against Shoaib had been announced Lalit Modi had gone public saying that he would ensure that Shoaib plays in the Indian Premier League.

He has moved subtlely but surely and done what he had promised.

I am not against Shoaib Akhtar playing in the IPL matches. He is a good player and it would be a pleasure to watch him in action. However, it surely surprises me how the Indian cricket board is using its clout to influence the way the game is governed internationally.

On one hand it has initiated proceedings against Harbhajan Singh and suspended for striking fellow player Shreesanth and at the same time it has apparently coaxed and influenced another country's cricket board, that too in a very similar case where the judgement had been passed against Shoaib for entering into a brawl with his fellow teammate.

The board had used its clout only recently when Harbhajan Singh had been suspended by the match referee in Australia for the alleged racist comments passed by him during an arguement with Andrew Symonds.

IPL Season starts soon - monetizing of cricket

2008-04-09T10:58:00.005+05:30

That's it folks - its time to see the real show!

A lot has been said and promised by the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) and its Indian Premier League (IPL). We have witnessed a string of auctions and bidding processes in the media for a sporting event that is expected to revolutionize the way we look at sports in the country.

India's richest sport - CRICKET - is all set to launch the first tournament of its much glamorized Indian Premier League (IPL).

Starting 18 April 2008 at Bangalore with the first match that will be played between Vijay Mallya's Royal Challengers and Shahrukh Khan's Knight Riders. The tournament will culminate at Mumbai on 1 June 2008.

It is time to see, on the ground, the actual sport of the event that has hogged so much media space, for more than the last couple of months, for its sensational auctions and high value bids. I am waiting to see whether the event is able to meet the expectations of its organizers. Whether it is able to gain the level of popularity and kind of viewership that its sponsors are dreaming for.

A lot of money has already been put in and a lot is at stake in the tournament. Several thousands of crores of rupees have been pumped in at various stages by the franchise owners and sponsor partners.

I don't think anyone is spending so much money for charity. Each and every one of those involved has made an investment and is out to make money. One can expect these parties to utilize every gimmick possible to motivate cricket fans to loosen their purse strings and shell out money. Considering the amount of investment done it is obvious that they are looking forward to making a lot of money.

Could the Indian Premier League be the trigger that the national economy is looking for? Presently, grapling with inflation and facing a industrial slowdown coupled with an global financial turmoil the economy is desparately seeking a stimulus to put it back on the growth track.

Indian Premier League - the business of cricket

2008-02-23T09:47:00.005+05:30

The recent auctions by Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has transformed cricket from a sport to a commercial venture.

If my calculations are correct, I believe already the gross bidding may have exceeded Rs. 6000 crores (US$ 1.5 billion) including franchises, players and the television rights bought by Sony Entertainment for more than 3000 crore.

It was really surprising to see the amount of commercial interest displayed by some of the top business houses and Bollywood personalities in bidding first for the franchises and then for the players.

With so much publicity around the financials at stake around the favourite Indian sport, it remains to be seen how the common man reacts to the issue. After all, it is the common man who is not only expected to meet the entire cost, he is expected to deliver a handsome profit for the bidders who have already invested so much.

With eight local (Indian) teams with players from all over the world, surely the national loyality issue is out of the picture. It would be interesting to see how much support these games could get what different venues of generating revenue are adopted. Obviously, the most popular route will be advertising and ticket sales.

If the anticipated advertisement revenue is generated and if all the advertising transforms into additional business for the advertisers it could mean a massive spurt in growth in the overall national economy.

Things beyond the game of cricket

2008-01-16T19:29:00.000+05:30

A lot has happened in the international cricket scenario, especially with relevance to India, since I lasted posted on this blog. First the Indo-Pak series in India and then 2 test matches in the current Indian tour of Australia.

After the second test match at Sydney fans of this gentleman's game witnessed happenings that many would have wished never happened. Something that did no good for the great game. At one stage the turn of events indicated that the Indian team might abandon the Australia tour in between and return home. Fortunately, that did not happen. Management of both teams were quick to dismiss all such speculation as rumour.

Sydney Test Match was marred by controversy over the quality of umpiring and the suspension of Harbhajan Singh without conclusive evidence over racial abuse charges. Television clearly played and replayed several times the occasions where bad umpiring was evidently evident.

For once, the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) showed some spine put its foot down over the controversy and insisted that Harbhajan's suspension be revoked, at least until ICC takes the final decision is taken. It also protested over the quality of umpiring. To show its seriousness over the matter BCCI had instructed its team to stay put in Sydney until the matter was resolved.

I found Sachin Tendulkar's stand in the matter very impressive. He had communicated to BCCI chief Sharad Pawar that Harbhajan was not guilty and that the Board should support Harbhajan in the matter. It is believed that it was his suggestion to stay put in Sydney until the suspension is revoked.

Also noteworthy was the support the Indians received from the international media in the matter. Even the media in Australia spoke strongly over the sportsmanship displayed by the Australian side. Some went to the extent of demanding Captain Ricky Ponting's resignation.

The tour was resumed only after ICC suspended the suspension order until it passed a final order in the matter. The controversial umpire too has been replaced for the 3rd test match at Perth.

One can only wish that such events do not repeat.

India proved supremacy in Twenty20

2007-10-21T12:33:00.000+05:30

The Indian side looked strong from the word go in the first Twenty20 ever played on Indian soil.

The best thing that I liked about the game was that the entire team appeared united and every player was actively involved in a positive spirit.

The Australian bowlers just did not stand a chance. In fact there was a stage when I felt that the Australian side was looking helpless. They just could not understand what went wrong overnight.

The same Australian team dominated the entire ODI series of 7 games, but in this one Twenty20 match the tables looked turned about.

The strength displayed by the Indian team was just too great. Even Sehwag's early dismissal was unable to spoil the sentiment even of a moment. Gambhir, Uthappa, Yuvraj, Dhoni were on top.

In the game at Brabourne Statium in Mumbai, Dhoni's Devils proved that they are worth of the World Championship Title that they won at South Africa in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2007 less than a couple of months ago.

There is no place for racism in life

2007-10-18T09:47:00.000+05:30

An excellent tour of Australia in India for 7 ODI games has come to an end.

The tour will go down in the annals of Indian cricket with a black spot where a talented member of the guest team was subjected to racist comments by the Indian audiences at more than one venue.

After the Vadodara game Andrew Symonds had reported against racist abuse from the audience. The matter was viewed seriously by the ICC, the Indian board and the Australian board. Sharad Pawar and Creagh O'Connor presidents of BCCI and Cricket Australia respectively even issued a joint statement that there was no place for racism in cricket just before the match at Mumbai.

Unfortunately, the incident was repeated at Mumbai on 17th October during the last ODI of the series. A photographer captured certain spectators enacting monkey chants on camera.

I agree with Ricky Ponting that there are many people in the country who find the incident embarassing. It is shameful that such behaviour has been witnessed in India, a country that takes pride for its secularism.

I can only hope and pray that such incidents are not repeated. Not only on the cricket ground but nowhere. There is no place for racism in life.

Andrew Symonds shines at Nagpur

2007-10-15T10:37:00.000+05:30

Australian middle order batsman and all-rounder - Andew Symonds - was the man of the day at Nagpur in the 6th ODI against India on 14 October 2007, Sunday.

A consistent and reliable player - Andrew - played true to his reputation.

His unbeaten century (107 in 88 balls) paved the wave for a huge total of 317 that the Australian side compiled when they batted first after winning the toss. As a bowler he proved himself to be the most economical - 10 overs 39 runs.

All in all - he stood out as the single name that played an important role in Australia's 18 run win against India.

Vadodara game brought India to its knees

2007-10-13T19:44:00.000+05:30

The Indian cricket team which was up to now basking in the rays of the Twenty20 victory has been humbled by the Australian side.

Neither the Indian batsmen nor bowlers were able to cope up to the Australian attack. Loosing all wickets for a meagre 148 left scope for lot of criticism from all types of cricket loving audiences.

The Australians on the other hand have played consistent cricket. A steady game - consistent batting and bowling performances. They were on top during the 5th ODI palyed at Vadodara right from the word go.

It brought back memories of the ICC World Cup 2007 played in West Indies in March-April 2007, how the Indian cricket team was not able to even make it to Super 8 Series.

Phew! India and its close finish victories

2007-10-09T11:12:00.000+05:30

It seems that the Indian cricket side has made it an habit of close finish / nail biting victories.

Since the start of the Twenty20 games, all the victories that the country's cricket team has managed to claim all have been close finishes. All games were open right to the last over with scales tipping from one side to the other like a wild pendulum.

This was also the case in the yesterday's 4 ODI match against Australia that was played at Chandigarh. After loosing 2 games and 1 draw (washout) the Indian team fought back hard to bring itself back into the series.

Right into the last over the game was wide open with the opponents standing a better chance to win Dhoni's Devils fought and fought good. They managed to win the match and tame the Australian Kangaroos who have been on a winning spree all around the global arena.

The Indian team needs to buck up and put a little more into the game so that the audiences have a comfortable time watching their team win, instead of the present high tension scenario that sends the viewers' blood pressure shooting through the roof.

The pressure on seniors is very high

2007-10-02T11:16:00.000+05:30

Post Twenty20 the pressure on the senior players who have rejoined the team has increased many fold.

Known as stalwarts of the Indian side - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly - face the extra pressure during the series against Australia that is being played in India this season.

Dhoni and his team played excellent cricket and showed team work in South Africa to win the hearts of the Indian masses. The team had to be re-aligned to accommodate the seniors of Indian Cricket.

If their performance is not up to the mark they are definitely in for a lashing from the cricket fans. The first game saw Sachin dump his wicket in the very third over at Bangalore. Luckily, rain washed out the game and stopped any adverse reaction to the miserable display was suppressed.

Had India lost, these senior players would have definitely not have heard the last of it.

Twenty20 team receives a hero's welcome

2007-09-27T09:57:00.000+05:30

After conquering the world in the Twenty20 tournament just concluded at South Africa, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his boys have reached India on 26 September 2007.

They were awarded a hero's welcome.

From the airport the team went taken to Wankade Stadium for a felicitation ceremony organized in their honour. They travelled the route in an open bus, waving out to the thousands of fans who lined the streets to greet them.

Traffic jams and rains failed to douse any of the enthusiasm of either the fans or the cricketers.

At the stadium, however, the politicians tried to hog the show. BCCI big guns and Maharashtra politicos sat in the front row on the stage. Captain Dhoni was the only one to get a seat in the front row.

The politicians were immediately taken by the press for trying to shine in the light of the cricketers achievements.

The team prepares for the forthcoming games against the Australians which will be played in India.

Dhoni and his boys lift 1st Twenty20 World Cup

2007-09-25T09:32:00.001+05:30

India has done it.

The young men of Dhoni have done what the seniors were unable to do at West Indies earlier this year. They have restored the faith of the nation on India's cricketing strength.

Dhoni and his team has lifted the First Twenty20 World Cup at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa on 24th September 2007.

It was a nail biting finish. Traditional arch rivals India and Pakistan fought hard for the trophy.

Pakistani bowlers put the breaks on the Indian batsmen. They successfully restricted the Indian batting order to a score of 157 at the loss of 5 wickets in 20 overs - a big score by conventional cricketing standards but quite small in the Twenty20 format.

When it was their turn, the Indian bowlers were not to be left behind. RP Singh and Irfan Pathan took 3-3 wickets each, while Sreesanth got 1. JP Sharma got 2 wickets, including the last wicket which got Misbah-ul-Haq. The sweep from Misbah-ul-Haq misfired and landed in the hands of Sreesanth.

All the best to the MS Dhoni and his boys on a splendid performance and congratulations everybody.

For more on the last match - see what the official web site has to say.

Here's an interesting heading... Wow! What a game. 1st Twenty20 World Cup goes to India

Yuvraj Singh - Just wow!

2007-09-20T09:47:00.000+05:30

Yuvraj Singh - Indian middle order batsman - just drove his fans crazy on 19 September 2007.

In the match Twenty20 game, India vs England, at Durban he drove each and every delivery off Stuard Broad over the boundary for sixes. Each hit was a good stroke - no fluke or blind strokes.

6 sixes in 6 balls - wow! He created history.

He scored 50 in just 12 balls - that too has gone down in history as the fastest ever in Twenty20 cricket by any batsman. In 16 balls he scores 58 runs.

His big innings was all that made the difference in the match which England lost by 18 runs.

MS Dhoni is captain of Indian ODI team

2007-09-19T13:02:00.000+05:30

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, first arrived on the One-Day international cricket scene in Dec 2004 at Chittagong against Bangladesh. He made is Test Match debut almost a year later in Dec 2005 in Chennai against Sri Lanka.

Within 3 years, he has been selected as the Captain of the One Day International team of India. He shall lead the ODI team on the forth coming Australian tour.

The captain's berth had been recently vacated by Rahul Dravid when he put in his papers after the returning home from the England series.

The quest to finalize the captain for the Test Match teams is still on. Sachin Tendulkar has, reportedly, turned down the offer for the position.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is also the captain of the Indian Twenty20 team that is playing in ICC World Twenty20 - South Africa 2007.

India vs Pakistan - An Electrifying Finish

2007-09-15T10:14:00.000+05:30

The Twenty20 games witnessed a tie last night in a very interesting match that was played India v/s Pakistan.

Fears of a wash out loomed large as rains disrupted the beginning of the . The previous days game between India and Scotland had been lost to rains. But the game started shortly without any change in the number of overs to be played.

Tension could be felt in the air as Pakistan matched India's total of 141 in the last over. In the last ball, Pakistan needed only 1 run to win.

Wow! the pressure. I considered it more probable that Mashib-ul-Haq would get that run. But, still the Indian side was not willing to let go. Sreesanth's last delivery, Mashib tried to hit, but could not hit hard enough, stil he ran only to be run-out by Sreesanth at the bowler's end.

Then came the bowl out. Indian bowlers scored on each of the 3 balls bowled, but none of the Pakistani bowlers were able to strike the stumps.

Impressive start to the Twenty20 games in South Africa

2007-09-12T11:12:00.000+05:30

It was powerplay all throughout.

A combined total of 413 runs in 40 overs by the two sides in a playtime of about 3 hours.

South Africa won the toss and elected to field first.

The West Indies amassed 205 runs, as what would appear to be a massive total by One Day International standards, in the allotted 20 overs. South Africa delivered an equally fast game by scoring 208 runs to achieve that target in 2nd ball of the 18th over.

The game today saw a shower of boundaries. There were 54 occasions in the course of the match when the balls travelled across the boundary for a 4 or 6 during the game. The impressive knock of 117 runs in 57 balls with 7 fours and 10 sixes earned him his man of the match.

The series certainly promises to be entertaining from the perspecitve of an audience.

ICC World Twenty20 starts today at South Africa

2007-09-11T12:06:00.000+05:30

ICC World Twenty20 - South Africa 2007 starts today at South Africa. The first game of the World Cup tournament will be played between South Africa and West Indies at Johannesburg.

The Twenty20 tournament at South Africa is set to usher a new era in the life of the game of Cricket. Each match in this tournament is expected to last about 3 hours, during which each side will face one inning each of maximum of 20 overs.

Some of the major differences in the rules from convention cricket are as follows...

Each no ball will cost the bowler 2 runs and the next ball shall be a free hit ball. The rules for a no-ball will apply for this ball, ie The batsman can be dismissed only by a run-out, hitting the ball twice, obstructing the field or handling the ball.

Each bowler gets maximum 4 overs.

Umpires can penalize either side with 5-run penalties for wasting time.

At the most there can be 5 fielders on the leg side at any time.

Maximum 2 fielders outside the 30 yard circle for the first 6 overs.

Maximum 5 fielders outside the 30 yard circle after the first 6 overs.

20th over must start by the 75th minute. 6 penalty runs per over will be added to the score for the overs bowled after the 75th minute.

In case of a tie there will be a bowl-out to decide the winner.

The popularity of the present tournament will decide the fate of the Twenty20 format. The first international game in this format was first played on 13 June 2005 between England and Australia in Hampshire.

CRIC-GAME - Interesting Cricket Issues

2007-09-11T12:04:00.000+05:30

I am starting this new blog today to focus on interesting cricket related issues.