Well just a day before the second one day international match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, all words were against Sri lanka, not only for their loss to Pakistan in the first one day international, but also their dismal performance against minnows Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. But, as the game of cricket itself is unpredictable, more predictable is the way the Sri Lankans play their cricket. First, they beat even the strongest of all cricketing nations and later, they are found to succumb even against a mere team. This was the reason as to why their world cup victory in 1996 against Australia at Lahore raised so many eyebrows.
barring Australia, when most of the cricket fans over the world had restricted them to just the super eights. And once again, after the world cup, the Also the way they beat most of the major teams in the ICC world cup 2007 at the CarribeanSri Lankans were back to their old routine of losing. They lost matches to India and Australia in the Common Wealth Bank series 2008, where Sri Lanka didn't even make it to the finals. This was followed by losses to the West Indies as well. Then, suddenly they end up the winners of the Asia cup in Pakistan.
And this time, if one takes a close look at the way they lost the first one day match at the hands of Pakistan, not many people would have ever thought of Sri Lanka winning the second one day match at Karachi. And Sri Lanka did just that. Not only did they win that match, but also the margin of victory was as convincing either. A huge margin of 129 runs, with the Pakistani batsmen being bowled out for a score of less than 200. Amazing!!! This they did against a team that won all the three matches against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi last year.
A team in Pakistan who can boast of being one of the teams to play spin with ease gave MuttiahMuralitharan a reason to party. Not much was expected for the Sri Lankans if not for a decent loss at the hands of the Pakistanis. But, much to our surprise, the Sri Lankans overcame their dismal performance against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe thus stunning the entire world. None of the Pakistani batsmen could really stand up with courage to face the Sri Lankan bowlers and give them even a moment to think. It was as though the Sri Lankans were there to just dictate the Pakistani batsmen with a ball in their hand.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Pakistan Back With A Bang
It looks as though the Pakistanis can never get rid of making blasts. For the wrong blasts that the country has been responsible for since a year or so, which in turn forced the ICC to yield to the security concerns of Australia, England and South Africa later, which ended in the ICC dismissing Pakistan as a venue for the ICC champions trophy 2008 and scheduled in 2009 at the same venue. But, now Pakistan team is found making news for blasts, and just relax for this time it is for the right reasons. Pakistan blasted Sri Lanka in the first one day international at Karachi by 8 wickets.
All Sri Lanka could afford to do was to be a mute spectator on the field, with Salman Butt belting the ball into the boundary. All that the Sri Lankans could afford was just 2 wickets that cane at the fag end of the Pakistan innings, when a Pakistani win was almost hit the headlines of newspapers. It was a real pity to see the aged Sanath Jayasuriya run to the boundary and do the job of a ball boy whenever Salman Butt hit the ball over the ropes. The first wicket fell when the scorecard read 168 from 37.1 overs and the second one at 205 at 43.2 overs.
It was not that Sri Lankans were not in the game since the start. A close look at the start of the game,which saw Sanath Jayasuria and Tilakeratne Dilshan hammer the ball frequently over the ropes was just amazing. It all started with the fall of these two stalwarts, which saw a total batting collapse on the Sri Lankan part. Some rarely known name in Iftikhar Anjum made most of the opportunity to become the leading wicket taker in the match by ending with figures of 4/42. Then another new comer in Khurram Manzoor scored 83 which involved a 168 run opening wicket partnership with Salman Butt.
Well, it was just obvious for, the Sri Lankans had to earn every run and every wicket when they recently played Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. They struggled to win against Zimbabwe and there was also a loss at the hands of the Bangladeshis. This tale was more than enough for the reason as to why the Sri Lankan batting ha such a collapse. It is a wonder as to how come the Sri Lankans managed to take two Pakistani wickets. This was indeed an achievement on the Sri Lankan part. For this, the Sri Lankans should feel ralaxed and should be proud that the Pakistanis did not finish off the game in just 35-40 overs.
All Sri Lanka could afford to do was to be a mute spectator on the field, with Salman Butt belting the ball into the boundary. All that the Sri Lankans could afford was just 2 wickets that cane at the fag end of the Pakistan innings, when a Pakistani win was almost hit the headlines of newspapers. It was a real pity to see the aged Sanath Jayasuriya run to the boundary and do the job of a ball boy whenever Salman Butt hit the ball over the ropes. The first wicket fell when the scorecard read 168 from 37.1 overs and the second one at 205 at 43.2 overs.
It was not that Sri Lankans were not in the game since the start. A close look at the start of the game,which saw Sanath Jayasuria and Tilakeratne Dilshan hammer the ball frequently over the ropes was just amazing. It all started with the fall of these two stalwarts, which saw a total batting collapse on the Sri Lankan part. Some rarely known name in Iftikhar Anjum made most of the opportunity to become the leading wicket taker in the match by ending with figures of 4/42. Then another new comer in Khurram Manzoor scored 83 which involved a 168 run opening wicket partnership with Salman Butt.
Well, it was just obvious for, the Sri Lankans had to earn every run and every wicket when they recently played Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. They struggled to win against Zimbabwe and there was also a loss at the hands of the Bangladeshis. This tale was more than enough for the reason as to why the Sri Lankan batting ha such a collapse. It is a wonder as to how come the Sri Lankans managed to take two Pakistani wickets. This was indeed an achievement on the Sri Lankan part. For this, the Sri Lankans should feel ralaxed and should be proud that the Pakistanis did not finish off the game in just 35-40 overs.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Cricket Flourishing In Bangladesh?
Well the second one day international between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh might not have been able to evoke as much interest among the cricket fans whatsoever. However, if one goes by my opinion, this is one of the ideal one day match that is rarely seen in today's cricketing world. With the current one day matches being either one sided, like it happened in the recently concluded one day series between India and England, where India won all the five one day matches that were played and England had no option than to congratulate the Indians. Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag especially.
scorecard reading 6 runs for the loss of five wickets in their run chase? How many of us thought that This was not the case with the recently concluded tri series involving Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. As expected by most, Sri lanka did win the finals against Bangladesh to lift the trophy. However, how many of us did expect Sri Lanka to keep their fingers crossed in the finals when they were chasing a modest total of 152 and in the process losing 8 wickets, with Sri Lankan scoreboard at one time reading 6 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. How many of us thought that Sri Lanka would lose the match to Bangladesh in the league stages? All these unexpected did happen, when most of us had termed this series to be a bored one and a predictable one.
All eyes were glued to and all minds thinking about the ongoing one day series between Australia and South Africa on the other side of the globe. This should have been the encounter that most of the cricket fans should have watched if at all they were really interested in watching an exciting game of cricket. But, to the best of my knowledge, this was not the case. Well, things might not be the same always. The next or the coming one dayers may be back to the old days of boredom.Even the Zimbabweans, who are found playing cricket once in a bluemoon were found to give the Sri Lankans and the Bangladeshis a run for their money.
A match that was termed as an obvious Sri Lankan apple pie finally had to be grabbed by SriLankans. Probably, the Sri Lankans would have defeated some stronger teams like India, England, West Indies and New Zealand more convincingly than they did against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. It is high time that teams like Bangladesh try and win games against other teams as well and in other counteies as well, so that the world of cricket would be gifted with another major team to watch out. And the sub continent would have four nations which are equally competent. If the current form of the Bangladeshi players is taken, they stand as a better team compared to West Indies and New Zealand. But, still more is expected.
scorecard reading 6 runs for the loss of five wickets in their run chase? How many of us thought that This was not the case with the recently concluded tri series involving Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. As expected by most, Sri lanka did win the finals against Bangladesh to lift the trophy. However, how many of us did expect Sri Lanka to keep their fingers crossed in the finals when they were chasing a modest total of 152 and in the process losing 8 wickets, with Sri Lankan scoreboard at one time reading 6 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. How many of us thought that Sri Lanka would lose the match to Bangladesh in the league stages? All these unexpected did happen, when most of us had termed this series to be a bored one and a predictable one.
All eyes were glued to and all minds thinking about the ongoing one day series between Australia and South Africa on the other side of the globe. This should have been the encounter that most of the cricket fans should have watched if at all they were really interested in watching an exciting game of cricket. But, to the best of my knowledge, this was not the case. Well, things might not be the same always. The next or the coming one dayers may be back to the old days of boredom.Even the Zimbabweans, who are found playing cricket once in a bluemoon were found to give the Sri Lankans and the Bangladeshis a run for their money.
A match that was termed as an obvious Sri Lankan apple pie finally had to be grabbed by SriLankans. Probably, the Sri Lankans would have defeated some stronger teams like India, England, West Indies and New Zealand more convincingly than they did against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. It is high time that teams like Bangladesh try and win games against other teams as well and in other counteies as well, so that the world of cricket would be gifted with another major team to watch out. And the sub continent would have four nations which are equally competent. If the current form of the Bangladeshi players is taken, they stand as a better team compared to West Indies and New Zealand. But, still more is expected.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Proteas Miss Out Yet Again
It was frustrating to see the to be number one team in world fails to chase a mean total of 250, when it can boast of having been the record holder of the highest run chase. Now, one can draw the conclusion that South Africa can come out with surprises only when the stars favour them. They can upset a great nation only when the latter has reduced itself in its standards yet again. If not, how come the team fails to tackle the Australian bowling which did not consist experienced lads like Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Shane Watson? This can very tell us the tale of a South African team which can make hay only when the sun shines. Not otherwise.
Even though they won the first encounter against Australia at Hobart, the South Africa were really gasping for breath in an attempt to chase 271. On the other hand, a total of 271 from a team that were under pressure to perform and for a team that never had or hardly had any frontline batsmen to face the myth of Dale Steyn and Morkel, with the presence of an all rounder in Jaques Kallis was something unexpected from the South Africa. And a close look at the way the Proteas chased down the target would give us a clear picture of where the Proteas stand as far as the number one team is considered. The South African team had to wait for the number 8 batsman in Albie Morkel to end victorious.
This was not all. A newcomer in Shaun Marsh comes out with a brilliant knock of 79 off 103 balls, where he is sent in to face the new ball. Despite a good start, South Africa ends up on the losing side. Is this the professional cricket what South Africa is supposed to play? The South African innings saw a 135 run second wicket partnership between Gibbs and Kallis. Out of this 135 run partnership, Kallis has his own score of 72 and Herscelle Gibbs facing just 37 balls. South Africa just couldn't convert the"close to the target" situation to a victory. This is the problem that the to be number one team is found to face.
South Africa had wickets in hand and so did they have the habit to choke, which they have been doing since they entered ino the international arena. This time also the South Africa were too generous in giving lives to the top rungetters in the match namely Ricky Ponting and Shaun Marsh. The funda of taking the third powerplay by the South Africans in the 45th over was just not acceptable. Just because things went alright for South Africa in the first one dayer at Hobart (where the South Africans took the third power play in the 45th over) how could one think that it would be the same at Melbourne too? Such stupid decisions can ensure a team to be on the top, probably, Bangladesh would have made it to the number one spot whetever.
Even though they won the first encounter against Australia at Hobart, the South Africa were really gasping for breath in an attempt to chase 271. On the other hand, a total of 271 from a team that were under pressure to perform and for a team that never had or hardly had any frontline batsmen to face the myth of Dale Steyn and Morkel, with the presence of an all rounder in Jaques Kallis was something unexpected from the South Africa. And a close look at the way the Proteas chased down the target would give us a clear picture of where the Proteas stand as far as the number one team is considered. The South African team had to wait for the number 8 batsman in Albie Morkel to end victorious.
This was not all. A newcomer in Shaun Marsh comes out with a brilliant knock of 79 off 103 balls, where he is sent in to face the new ball. Despite a good start, South Africa ends up on the losing side. Is this the professional cricket what South Africa is supposed to play? The South African innings saw a 135 run second wicket partnership between Gibbs and Kallis. Out of this 135 run partnership, Kallis has his own score of 72 and Herscelle Gibbs facing just 37 balls. South Africa just couldn't convert the"close to the target" situation to a victory. This is the problem that the to be number one team is found to face.
South Africa had wickets in hand and so did they have the habit to choke, which they have been doing since they entered ino the international arena. This time also the South Africa were too generous in giving lives to the top rungetters in the match namely Ricky Ponting and Shaun Marsh. The funda of taking the third powerplay by the South Africans in the 45th over was just not acceptable. Just because things went alright for South Africa in the first one dayer at Hobart (where the South Africans took the third power play in the 45th over) how could one think that it would be the same at Melbourne too? Such stupid decisions can ensure a team to be on the top, probably, Bangladesh would have made it to the number one spot whetever.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Australia & South Africa Exchange Gifts At Melbourne
Well if one can give a detailed look at the first one day match between Australia and South Africa, it would be just an exchange of gifts between each other at Melbourne. The match can just be called as the opposite of a tug of war, where at both ends, immense efforts are made to end up as the winner. Whereas here, both the teams do equal mistakes, and finally at the end of the game, as per the rule, there has to be one winner, which in this case turns out to be South Africa. Neither was Australia weak and South Africa strong and not even otherwise for that matter.
Both Australia and South Africa were equally benefited by the mistakes that were performed by their opponents. Starting with Australia, they had entered into the competition with an inexperienced squad, with only the skipper Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke being exceptions. For, they were the only two players who had played well over 100 one day matches in the Australian squad. With such a squad, this Australian team could manage a decent score of 271 at the end of the game. OK..Mike Hussey could be well exempted from this lot, given his temperament with the bat. The rest of them were just there to fill the vacancies.
Imagine how? Not because the Australian team inspite of young players in the squad were hard working or something. This was solely possible because on an average, each Australian was given a life by the South African bowlers that the Australian batsmen made much use of. First of this comes the way Ricky Ponting and David Hussey's run outs were missed by debutant Vaughn van Jaarsveld. Another mis match is the one where the same Vaughn van Jaarsveld dropped two chances off one delivery, wherein he dropped a catch of Ricky Ponting and then misses out on a run out the same delivery.
Other chances for the Australians include Marsh's run out. Then in the South African side, it was nice to see the fall of wickets in their innings, when the score board that at one time read 213/3 at the end of 41st over was found to read 219/6 at the end of 23rd over. A match that South Africa should have won even more convincingly had been won with much hiccups. The South Africans are themselves to blame for this debacle whatsoever. Finally, neither could South Africa make hay out of an inexperienced Australian squad nor could Australia prove to be problems of any sort to the Proteas after a series of missed run outs and drop catches.
Both Australia and South Africa were equally benefited by the mistakes that were performed by their opponents. Starting with Australia, they had entered into the competition with an inexperienced squad, with only the skipper Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke being exceptions. For, they were the only two players who had played well over 100 one day matches in the Australian squad. With such a squad, this Australian team could manage a decent score of 271 at the end of the game. OK..Mike Hussey could be well exempted from this lot, given his temperament with the bat. The rest of them were just there to fill the vacancies.
Imagine how? Not because the Australian team inspite of young players in the squad were hard working or something. This was solely possible because on an average, each Australian was given a life by the South African bowlers that the Australian batsmen made much use of. First of this comes the way Ricky Ponting and David Hussey's run outs were missed by debutant Vaughn van Jaarsveld. Another mis match is the one where the same Vaughn van Jaarsveld dropped two chances off one delivery, wherein he dropped a catch of Ricky Ponting and then misses out on a run out the same delivery.
Other chances for the Australians include Marsh's run out. Then in the South African side, it was nice to see the fall of wickets in their innings, when the score board that at one time read 213/3 at the end of 41st over was found to read 219/6 at the end of 23rd over. A match that South Africa should have won even more convincingly had been won with much hiccups. The South Africans are themselves to blame for this debacle whatsoever. Finally, neither could South Africa make hay out of an inexperienced Australian squad nor could Australia prove to be problems of any sort to the Proteas after a series of missed run outs and drop catches.
Friday, January 16, 2009
What Is Going On In The ECB?
Well it is really interesting at times and somewhat confusing at other times regarding the politics that is found to be going on in the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB). First of those being that the then England skipper Kevin Pietersen was not happy with the selectors excluding the former England captain Michael Vaughan for the one day series against the West Indies. Than comes in the news that Pietersen does not have the patience or has lost patience with the then coach Peter Moores. The reason of the same yet to be disclosed. It was like the Indian team that returned successfully after failing to make it to the super eights of the ICC world cup 2007 in the Caribbean and cites the cause for the same to be the then coach Greg Chappell.
Now, even the present England team is found to do the same. And if the recent newspapers are to be believed, it was said that Kevin Pietersen wanted to resign from the captaincy during the first test against India in Mohali itself. One has to wonder really as to why this took such a long time to come to light. And was Kevin Pietersen aware that the ECB would drop or not include the former captain Michael Vaughan for the tour of the West Indies? If this is true, how great it is. Well, was this the reason as to why the England team failed to win the Chennai test despite putting up a mammoth total of 387 on the board for India to chase on the fifth day, which India did with ease?
And, days later after the exclusion of Vaughan, Kevin Pietersen wants the coach Peter Moores to be sacked. I wonder as to whether Moores is the coach of the England team or a member of ECBs selection panel? What has Peter Moores got to do with the exclusion of Michael Vaughan? May be, who knows! For, some say that it was the then India coach Greg Chappell who was responsible for Sourav Ganguly's sacking for the games against Sri Lanka in 2005. And why shouldn't this be another such issue? It would be interesting to wait and watch out for what all is yet to come out.
As a protest, Kevin Pietersen resigns from captaincy and even threats to quit from the squad if Vaughan doesn't be included and Peter Moores sacked. In response, the ECB selects Andrew Struass as the new captain for the England team that would tour the West Indies and then for the upcoming Ashes this summer. Finally, the ECB sacks the coach Peter Moores too. But, Kevin Pietersen is still not happy with the ECB. Vaughan is to be back for playing in the Ashes. Still Kevin Pietersen is not convinced! Either the coach should have been retained or, the coach sacked and Pietersen retained as the England captain. How come both happenning? Like KP not satisfied with coach Peter Moores, is the ECB too dissatisfied with Kevin Pietersen as the captain? If his birth place (RSA) and his success as captain goes by, even this cannot be ruled out.
Now, even the present England team is found to do the same. And if the recent newspapers are to be believed, it was said that Kevin Pietersen wanted to resign from the captaincy during the first test against India in Mohali itself. One has to wonder really as to why this took such a long time to come to light. And was Kevin Pietersen aware that the ECB would drop or not include the former captain Michael Vaughan for the tour of the West Indies? If this is true, how great it is. Well, was this the reason as to why the England team failed to win the Chennai test despite putting up a mammoth total of 387 on the board for India to chase on the fifth day, which India did with ease?
And, days later after the exclusion of Vaughan, Kevin Pietersen wants the coach Peter Moores to be sacked. I wonder as to whether Moores is the coach of the England team or a member of ECBs selection panel? What has Peter Moores got to do with the exclusion of Michael Vaughan? May be, who knows! For, some say that it was the then India coach Greg Chappell who was responsible for Sourav Ganguly's sacking for the games against Sri Lanka in 2005. And why shouldn't this be another such issue? It would be interesting to wait and watch out for what all is yet to come out.
As a protest, Kevin Pietersen resigns from captaincy and even threats to quit from the squad if Vaughan doesn't be included and Peter Moores sacked. In response, the ECB selects Andrew Struass as the new captain for the England team that would tour the West Indies and then for the upcoming Ashes this summer. Finally, the ECB sacks the coach Peter Moores too. But, Kevin Pietersen is still not happy with the ECB. Vaughan is to be back for playing in the Ashes. Still Kevin Pietersen is not convinced! Either the coach should have been retained or, the coach sacked and Pietersen retained as the England captain. How come both happenning? Like KP not satisfied with coach Peter Moores, is the ECB too dissatisfied with Kevin Pietersen as the captain? If his birth place (RSA) and his success as captain goes by, even this cannot be ruled out.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Why Is Dravid Being Made The Scapegoat?
The picture is right in front of us, after the first inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League. Royal Challengers Bangalore finished last but one, only ahead of Deccan Chargers. This would obviously hurt, irritate and even make the sponsorer go mad, after investing the second highest amount in the tournament/league. For, Vijay Mallya invested a huge 442 crores for Royal Challengers team, that was just one crore less than that invested for the Mumbai Indians which was 443 crores. Well, that is not the discussion of the hour. All that Vijay Mallya could do was to sack the team manager Charu Sharma. Not a bad move, though not a good one.
And the recent news was that Rahul Dravid would no more be leading the side. In other words, Rahul Dravid's credibility in taking his team forward is being questioned by the owner. And more over, its been a buzz that Rahul Dravid has even been put up for sale. No idea regarding how true the story is. However, this is not good news and not fair on the part of Vijay Mallya. For, it was only because of Dravid that Royal Challengers ended a place above the Deccan Chargers. Else, the team would have been placed at the last position. No doubt that Dravid's style of play is more suited for the test cricket and not for T20 game which is the one concerned.
But, if Dravid can adapt himself to this format of the game, which is not considered his cup of tea, it really deserves much applause for it. I think it is still in the memories of Vijay Mallya the way Rahul Dravid snatched victory against the runners up of the tournament- Chennai Superkings, when all would have thought otherwise. And the way he belted an unbeaten 75 off just 35 balls against the champions- Rajasthan Royals is something noteworthy. All these with the above mentioned fact that he is a test player basically. Still if Vijay Mallya thinks of axing Dravid and even tries to get rid of him by auctioning him, I feelt that Mallya's cricketing knowledge has to be reconsidered.
If Dravid has to be axed, if Vijay Mallya is to be believed, so should be Wassim Jaffer and Sunil Joshi. And god knows as to what made Vijay Mallya think of having Zaheer Khan sacked inspite of him being among the leading wicket takers in that edition? And how successsful was Robin Uttappa in the Mumbai Indians' side? Why doesn't Vijay Mallya curse himself for bidding money on players like Sunil Joshi, Virat Kohli and Wassim Jaffer who don't even have the ability to stand for a long time like in test matches, forget about a T20 bash? If this is the way someone like Vijay Mallya thinks, I wish even the IPL chaiman Lalit Modi should consider sacking Mallya as a sponsorer who does not know to pick the right players for the game. But, money makes many things.
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And the recent news was that Rahul Dravid would no more be leading the side. In other words, Rahul Dravid's credibility in taking his team forward is being questioned by the owner. And more over, its been a buzz that Rahul Dravid has even been put up for sale. No idea regarding how true the story is. However, this is not good news and not fair on the part of Vijay Mallya. For, it was only because of Dravid that Royal Challengers ended a place above the Deccan Chargers. Else, the team would have been placed at the last position. No doubt that Dravid's style of play is more suited for the test cricket and not for T20 game which is the one concerned.
But, if Dravid can adapt himself to this format of the game, which is not considered his cup of tea, it really deserves much applause for it. I think it is still in the memories of Vijay Mallya the way Rahul Dravid snatched victory against the runners up of the tournament- Chennai Superkings, when all would have thought otherwise. And the way he belted an unbeaten 75 off just 35 balls against the champions- Rajasthan Royals is something noteworthy. All these with the above mentioned fact that he is a test player basically. Still if Vijay Mallya thinks of axing Dravid and even tries to get rid of him by auctioning him, I feelt that Mallya's cricketing knowledge has to be reconsidered.
If Dravid has to be axed, if Vijay Mallya is to be believed, so should be Wassim Jaffer and Sunil Joshi. And god knows as to what made Vijay Mallya think of having Zaheer Khan sacked inspite of him being among the leading wicket takers in that edition? And how successsful was Robin Uttappa in the Mumbai Indians' side? Why doesn't Vijay Mallya curse himself for bidding money on players like Sunil Joshi, Virat Kohli and Wassim Jaffer who don't even have the ability to stand for a long time like in test matches, forget about a T20 bash? If this is the way someone like Vijay Mallya thinks, I wish even the IPL chaiman Lalit Modi should consider sacking Mallya as a sponsorer who does not know to pick the right players for the game. But, money makes many things.
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009
An Incomplete Tour Comes To An End
Well at last, the West Indies' tour of New Zealand comes to an end. A winner at the end of an incomplete tour turns out to be New Zealand who were very fortunate to have had that taste in such a boring encounter whatsoever. Else, who does bother as to who wins or who loses at the end of the day. All would be looking forward as to when would such a series come to an end. And not only that. All would be praying that such a series never takes off anywhere in the world. Let alone in New Zealand. I think this is the first time I have ever come across such a series, where only one match turns out not to be truncated.
This was the case since the test series began. Both the tests not only ended in a draw, but also were truncated and compromised with rain gods. Then, the first T20 game happens to be a tie, wherein the super over had to come into the scene in order to decide as to who the official winner was. However, the next T20 game was played full fledged, with New Zealand winning the same. Then, the one day matches come into picture, to disappoint the fans. Not even one single one day match went on as per scheduled. Since the first one day match, either the matches have been truncated or have been cancelled.
The scheduled five one day series was eventually played as a three match one day series. Thanks to the rain gods for making this series a memorable one for different reasons. While, the remaining three one day encounters were truncated, with the West Indies winning one and New Zealand two. This was something like a lucky dip, where New Zealand won the lot. Well, until the four one day matches, it was all disappointment. However, the fifth one day match was expected to take off as per schedule. Yes it did! How long? Until West Indies put up a massive total of 293 and New Zealand started playing hide n seek before once again rain gods did their duty.
Adding to this was the caliber of the teams battling it out there. Rather than considering West Indies to be one spot above New Zealand, better say the New Zealand are placed one position below the West Indies at number 8. This would be the ideal statement. There is no point in disputing the Duckworth-Lewis method, for none of us can come out with a better idea. Neither can one stop the showers, like making it to rain when there are no rains by rain seeding. Technology needs to be improved. Thank god that the West Indies-New Zealand series is over.
This was the case since the test series began. Both the tests not only ended in a draw, but also were truncated and compromised with rain gods. Then, the first T20 game happens to be a tie, wherein the super over had to come into the scene in order to decide as to who the official winner was. However, the next T20 game was played full fledged, with New Zealand winning the same. Then, the one day matches come into picture, to disappoint the fans. Not even one single one day match went on as per scheduled. Since the first one day match, either the matches have been truncated or have been cancelled.
The scheduled five one day series was eventually played as a three match one day series. Thanks to the rain gods for making this series a memorable one for different reasons. While, the remaining three one day encounters were truncated, with the West Indies winning one and New Zealand two. This was something like a lucky dip, where New Zealand won the lot. Well, until the four one day matches, it was all disappointment. However, the fifth one day match was expected to take off as per schedule. Yes it did! How long? Until West Indies put up a massive total of 293 and New Zealand started playing hide n seek before once again rain gods did their duty.
Adding to this was the caliber of the teams battling it out there. Rather than considering West Indies to be one spot above New Zealand, better say the New Zealand are placed one position below the West Indies at number 8. This would be the ideal statement. There is no point in disputing the Duckworth-Lewis method, for none of us can come out with a better idea. Neither can one stop the showers, like making it to rain when there are no rains by rain seeding. Technology needs to be improved. Thank god that the West Indies-New Zealand series is over.
Monday, January 12, 2009
India, South Africa & England!
Well the post title might not give you a clear idea as to what does one mean by the title. But, people, please have some patience, for more thrill is yet to come. Hmm..keeping all those guess works apart, the three teams that have been named in the post title are the ones that have defeated the Australian team when it was topping ICC test ratings. This has been from the day India beat Australia in the Border Gavaskar trophy 2008 and it went deeper in my minds when even South Africa beat them (Aussies) in their own backyard. And one more team that beat Australia off late is England way back in 2005, in the Ashes that yer by a margin 2-1. It is only these three teams who have enjoyed the distinction of having beaten Australia between 2003 till date.
My doubt is which one holds a better place in the minds of the cricket fans? For, none of these victories are mean achievements. First, let us take the Ashes victory of England against.....no need to mention. Positives being that England beat the Australian team that was in full swing in 2005. At that time England had even whitewashed other teams like New Zealand(3-0), West Indies (4-0 & 3-0), Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. So, that is enough to show that even England was in full swing as was Australia. And another aspect being that, the then Australian team had Shane Warne in his glorious form. However, Glenn McGrath was fortunately absent for both the matches that England won. And England won both the matches by a whisker. The second match by 2 runs, and the fourth one by 3 wickets (with the target being just 130). And as a matter of fact, Australia won the first match by 239 runs. However, the third and the fifth tests were dominated by England, when they had a first innings lead in both the games.
Next on the list comes team India, who have defeated Australia more than anyone else (between 2003-till date). India have beaten Australia five times as compared to two each by England and South Africa. In 2003, India displayed a team effort, with all the batsmen in Sehwag,Laxman, Sachin,Ganguly and Dravid were equally excellent, and with the spin combo of Anil & Harbhajan to support them. India, in that series, had also almost pulled off a win at Sydney too. However, things were cool for India, for Glenn McGrath never featured in that series. Shane Warne however was of little worry for the Indian batsmen. Then, when India won the fourth test at Nagpur, India had already lost the series in 2004 (when Oz visited India in Oct 2004), and the margin of victory was very small (13 runs). Though India had an upper hand in the second test at Chennai, which was drawn owing to rains on the fifth day, when India needed 239 runs to win with 10 wickets in hand. One thing that is to be thought about is "Would have Australia lost the fourth test, had it lost the second one at Chennai?"The factor is still not clear.
The third one, ie the Perth test victory was somewhat better, for it was in Australia and India were under pressure after the Sydney test episode. Still, that was the beginning of the end of Aussie dominance. Then, in the recent B-G trophy, in addition to Australia's decline and the absence of Glenn McGrath & Shane Warne, India were playing Oz at home, which is an added advantage. With these factors, India should have won the series 4-0. Anyway, good that India never lost a test match. Then comes the third team South Africa, who have beaten the Aussies at their own backyard. But still, this was also against a declining Australian team, with the aforementioned match winners absent, and the remaining batsmen out of form. It is confusing to say. Is it Australia who lost or, was it South Africa who won? For, when Australia were in their winning days, all that South Africa could afford to was to grab a draw in the first test in Nov 2005. Then, SA lost 5 out of 6 tests to Oz. And, now, when things have cooled down, SA are making every opportunity count, to make history.
At the end, keeping the advantages and drawbacks that the teams had,according to me, it is not able to differentiate which team's victory against Australia was the best. Can U???
My doubt is which one holds a better place in the minds of the cricket fans? For, none of these victories are mean achievements. First, let us take the Ashes victory of England against.....no need to mention. Positives being that England beat the Australian team that was in full swing in 2005. At that time England had even whitewashed other teams like New Zealand(3-0), West Indies (4-0 & 3-0), Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. So, that is enough to show that even England was in full swing as was Australia. And another aspect being that, the then Australian team had Shane Warne in his glorious form. However, Glenn McGrath was fortunately absent for both the matches that England won. And England won both the matches by a whisker. The second match by 2 runs, and the fourth one by 3 wickets (with the target being just 130). And as a matter of fact, Australia won the first match by 239 runs. However, the third and the fifth tests were dominated by England, when they had a first innings lead in both the games.
Next on the list comes team India, who have defeated Australia more than anyone else (between 2003-till date). India have beaten Australia five times as compared to two each by England and South Africa. In 2003, India displayed a team effort, with all the batsmen in Sehwag,Laxman, Sachin,Ganguly and Dravid were equally excellent, and with the spin combo of Anil & Harbhajan to support them. India, in that series, had also almost pulled off a win at Sydney too. However, things were cool for India, for Glenn McGrath never featured in that series. Shane Warne however was of little worry for the Indian batsmen. Then, when India won the fourth test at Nagpur, India had already lost the series in 2004 (when Oz visited India in Oct 2004), and the margin of victory was very small (13 runs). Though India had an upper hand in the second test at Chennai, which was drawn owing to rains on the fifth day, when India needed 239 runs to win with 10 wickets in hand. One thing that is to be thought about is "Would have Australia lost the fourth test, had it lost the second one at Chennai?"The factor is still not clear.
The third one, ie the Perth test victory was somewhat better, for it was in Australia and India were under pressure after the Sydney test episode. Still, that was the beginning of the end of Aussie dominance. Then, in the recent B-G trophy, in addition to Australia's decline and the absence of Glenn McGrath & Shane Warne, India were playing Oz at home, which is an added advantage. With these factors, India should have won the series 4-0. Anyway, good that India never lost a test match. Then comes the third team South Africa, who have beaten the Aussies at their own backyard. But still, this was also against a declining Australian team, with the aforementioned match winners absent, and the remaining batsmen out of form. It is confusing to say. Is it Australia who lost or, was it South Africa who won? For, when Australia were in their winning days, all that South Africa could afford to was to grab a draw in the first test in Nov 2005. Then, SA lost 5 out of 6 tests to Oz. And, now, when things have cooled down, SA are making every opportunity count, to make history.
At the end, keeping the advantages and drawbacks that the teams had,according to me, it is not able to differentiate which team's victory against Australia was the best. Can U???
Sunday, January 11, 2009
What Does The ICC Gain By Such Schedules?
Well, these days the jobless ICC is looking each and every method possible to make the game of cricket as boring as it can be. If not, how can one bring up and further implement the idea of having a tri series wherein, the three nations involved play just one match against each other, before advancing to the finals of the same. On one hand, the ICC has made a triangular series rare, by converting the even the periodic tri nation tournaments such as the Commonwealth Bank series (that used to be played in Australia in December every year) and the Nat West series (that is played in England every year) into bi lateral series and whenever it thinks of having a tri series, in addition to having teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe participating, the teams out there play each other just once-as I mentioned earlier.
This is not the first instance wherein the ICC has had such boring and inconsequential tournaments. Last year, just before the Asia cup, there was a tri series involving India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, where the teams played each other just once. Months later, a series between Bermuda, Canada and West Indies was also scheduled in the same manner. In 2004, a tri series at Holland was held, wherin, exactly, the three teams-India, Australia and Pakistan played each other just once, with two out of the three round robin games being washed out due to rain and the remaining one (India vs Pakistan) was cut short to 32 overs a side.
And that saw the Australian team enter the finals of the same without even bowling a single delivery. This is not all. One more thing is that the ICC schedules events, wherein two of the participating teams would be under-rated ones and are coupled with a strong team that is bound to win the tri series. In this case, two weak teams in Bangladesh & Zimbabwe are grouped with Sri Lanka. In the earlier case, Canada & Bermuda were teamed up with the West Indies. A situation where the result is a certainty rather than a toss. And also the venues that hosts these series are just funny. Someone like Holland & Malaysia have hosted such tournaments.
I wonder as to what the ICC gains by conducting such events, that are held just for the sake of it? Is the ICC trying to include such tri series' just to fill in the time gaps before the teams involved are ready for another competition. Else, what would one watch out for in a bi-lateral series, where the two teams play each other four teams, like it happened just before the world cup 2007, where India played a bi lateral series involving four matches against the West Indies and Sri Lanka? With a 2-2 result much likely! This is of course allowed in tests, where draw is always on the cards. But not in one dayers or T20 games. Some concession could be well given in case the teams battling it out are strong. But, whats the use when that is not the case?This shows that there is no one to question the ICC when it takes such foolish and illogical decisions repeatedly.
This is not the first instance wherein the ICC has had such boring and inconsequential tournaments. Last year, just before the Asia cup, there was a tri series involving India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, where the teams played each other just once. Months later, a series between Bermuda, Canada and West Indies was also scheduled in the same manner. In 2004, a tri series at Holland was held, wherin, exactly, the three teams-India, Australia and Pakistan played each other just once, with two out of the three round robin games being washed out due to rain and the remaining one (India vs Pakistan) was cut short to 32 overs a side.
And that saw the Australian team enter the finals of the same without even bowling a single delivery. This is not all. One more thing is that the ICC schedules events, wherein two of the participating teams would be under-rated ones and are coupled with a strong team that is bound to win the tri series. In this case, two weak teams in Bangladesh & Zimbabwe are grouped with Sri Lanka. In the earlier case, Canada & Bermuda were teamed up with the West Indies. A situation where the result is a certainty rather than a toss. And also the venues that hosts these series are just funny. Someone like Holland & Malaysia have hosted such tournaments.
I wonder as to what the ICC gains by conducting such events, that are held just for the sake of it? Is the ICC trying to include such tri series' just to fill in the time gaps before the teams involved are ready for another competition. Else, what would one watch out for in a bi-lateral series, where the two teams play each other four teams, like it happened just before the world cup 2007, where India played a bi lateral series involving four matches against the West Indies and Sri Lanka? With a 2-2 result much likely! This is of course allowed in tests, where draw is always on the cards. But not in one dayers or T20 games. Some concession could be well given in case the teams battling it out are strong. But, whats the use when that is not the case?This shows that there is no one to question the ICC when it takes such foolish and illogical decisions repeatedly.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Tail Enders Are Front Runners
Well, since the teams over the world resumed cricketing ties after a couple of months went off without any cricketing action, owing to the cancellation of the ICC champions trophy that was to be held in Pakistan, the game of cricket has somewhat changed with respect to tests. This is what as a cricket enthusiast I felt. It has been the tail end batsmen, who have been walking away with the honors of the game, after the known batsmen were found to make a mess of their batting. This was the thing that was observed since the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2008 that was held in India-needless to be said.
In the first test at Bangalore, it was tail enders in Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan who held the scoreboard ticking, by scoring 54 and 57* respectively, after Australia put up 460 runs on the board. In the third test which was drawn, it was Craig White who scored 43 despite coming in at no 8. Coming to the first test between India and England, it was Matt Prior, a no 8 batsmen who scored an unbeaten 53 that halped England take a first innings lead, and for India, Harbhajan Singh's 40 aided in India's mammoth run chase. Then, in the first test between West Indies and New Zealand, it was Jerome Taylor for Windies who scored 106 to help them close in on New Zealand's 365 by ending at 340.
The way the Bangladeshi batsman Mushfiqur Rahim posed problems for Sri Lanka in the second innings is still afresh in the minds of the cricketing buffs. Until Rahim was there on the crease, Bangladesh had every chance of making history in the game of test cricket. And Rahim being a no 8 batsman is a delight. In the second test at Chittagong, it was another tail ender in Mushrafe Mortaza who displayed his delight with the bat by scoring 63. And, at last we have the recent South Africa-Australia series, where it was the work of tail enders who have seen their team through when everyone had called it as "all over".
Jason Kreza's 30* & 32 in the first test, that was followed by Dayle Steyn's 76 in the second test- which involved a 185 run partnership that saw South Africa register their first ever test victory on the Australian soil. And in the third, all credit should go to the Australian tail ender Mitchell Johnson who scored a handy 64 with another tail ender Nathan Hauritz who scored 40. This laid the foundation to Australia's victory in the third test. In the very same match, Albie Morkel scored 40 for South Africa, and the match ended with South African tail enders Dale Steyn and Ntini scoring 28, which is a rather good score as far as their batting caliber is concerned. So, it would not be wrong if the tail enders be considered as front runners, who in addition to bowling (which is why they are ther in the team) could also bat.
In the first test at Bangalore, it was tail enders in Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan who held the scoreboard ticking, by scoring 54 and 57* respectively, after Australia put up 460 runs on the board. In the third test which was drawn, it was Craig White who scored 43 despite coming in at no 8. Coming to the first test between India and England, it was Matt Prior, a no 8 batsmen who scored an unbeaten 53 that halped England take a first innings lead, and for India, Harbhajan Singh's 40 aided in India's mammoth run chase. Then, in the first test between West Indies and New Zealand, it was Jerome Taylor for Windies who scored 106 to help them close in on New Zealand's 365 by ending at 340.
The way the Bangladeshi batsman Mushfiqur Rahim posed problems for Sri Lanka in the second innings is still afresh in the minds of the cricketing buffs. Until Rahim was there on the crease, Bangladesh had every chance of making history in the game of test cricket. And Rahim being a no 8 batsman is a delight. In the second test at Chittagong, it was another tail ender in Mushrafe Mortaza who displayed his delight with the bat by scoring 63. And, at last we have the recent South Africa-Australia series, where it was the work of tail enders who have seen their team through when everyone had called it as "all over".
Jason Kreza's 30* & 32 in the first test, that was followed by Dayle Steyn's 76 in the second test- which involved a 185 run partnership that saw South Africa register their first ever test victory on the Australian soil. And in the third, all credit should go to the Australian tail ender Mitchell Johnson who scored a handy 64 with another tail ender Nathan Hauritz who scored 40. This laid the foundation to Australia's victory in the third test. In the very same match, Albie Morkel scored 40 for South Africa, and the match ended with South African tail enders Dale Steyn and Ntini scoring 28, which is a rather good score as far as their batting caliber is concerned. So, it would not be wrong if the tail enders be considered as front runners, who in addition to bowling (which is why they are ther in the team) could also bat.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Captaincy- A Batsman's Right?
The last night's decision by the ECB to appoint Andrew Strauss as the captain for the upcoming series against the West Indies raised some questions as to whether captaincy is the job of the batsmen and rarely do bowlers are offered the job?This not only being the case regarding England team. But, a little bit of glance would reveal that if not for the New Zealand team, every other cricketing nation has elected a batsman as its skipper. The reason regarding the same is yet to be disclosed. Does anyone out thre know the funda of a batsman-captain relationship? If so, please tell me.
For, it has not been able for me to know as to what makes the selectors go in for batsmen when it come to selecting a captain for its side. For a team India, the present captain in M S Dhoni bats in addition to keeping wickets. And before Dhoni, it was handled by batsmen like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Mohd Azharuddin. Very rarely has there been a captain who is a bowler rather than a batsman. The rare exception being that of Anil Kumble, who was made India's test captain at the fag end of his cricketing career. Neither was Javagal Srinath nor Venkatesh Prasad were given the job despite being at the top of the bowling in their playing days.
And, for the West Indies, after Courtney Walsh retired after the 1999 world cup, the captains have been Jimmy Adams, Carl Hooper, Brian Lara and Chris Gayle off late. For Australia, fellow legends- Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath were never offerred the job whatsoever. The predecessors for Ponting have been batsmen in Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Allan Border, with Adam Gilchrist & Ian Healy doing the job in their absense. For Pakistan, the last five captains have been Shoaib mailk (present), Inzamam Ul Haq, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram. In this case, the two of them being bowlers.
For Sri Lanka, match winners in Mutiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vass were never ever offerred the job. Its been Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Attapattu, Mahela Jayawardane who took over the team's responsibility after another batsman Arjuna Ranatunga called it a day. The last bowler to captain England was, I guess was Dominic Cork, with no idea as to how long he continued. Then, it was Alec Stewart, Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan and now Andrew Strauss. At present the only bowler who is found captaining his side is Daniel Vettori, who took over from fellow batsmen Stephen Fleming, Adam Parore and Lee Germon (1996).
Last but not the least we have South Africa, who have elected a batsmen in Greame Smith, after Pollock failed to move to the super sixes of the ICC world cup in 2003. Before that it was Hansie Cronje, who was precedeed by Kepler Wessels and Peter Kirsten. Never mind that the aforementioned players have done justice to their role, but, miking bowlers take on their side would surely persuade youngsters to take up the job of bowling, which is ever diminishing day to day, with ICC bringing new rules every now and then to make batsmen's life easy.
For, it has not been able for me to know as to what makes the selectors go in for batsmen when it come to selecting a captain for its side. For a team India, the present captain in M S Dhoni bats in addition to keeping wickets. And before Dhoni, it was handled by batsmen like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Mohd Azharuddin. Very rarely has there been a captain who is a bowler rather than a batsman. The rare exception being that of Anil Kumble, who was made India's test captain at the fag end of his cricketing career. Neither was Javagal Srinath nor Venkatesh Prasad were given the job despite being at the top of the bowling in their playing days.
And, for the West Indies, after Courtney Walsh retired after the 1999 world cup, the captains have been Jimmy Adams, Carl Hooper, Brian Lara and Chris Gayle off late. For Australia, fellow legends- Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath were never offerred the job whatsoever. The predecessors for Ponting have been batsmen in Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Allan Border, with Adam Gilchrist & Ian Healy doing the job in their absense. For Pakistan, the last five captains have been Shoaib mailk (present), Inzamam Ul Haq, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram. In this case, the two of them being bowlers.
For Sri Lanka, match winners in Mutiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vass were never ever offerred the job. Its been Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Attapattu, Mahela Jayawardane who took over the team's responsibility after another batsman Arjuna Ranatunga called it a day. The last bowler to captain England was, I guess was Dominic Cork, with no idea as to how long he continued. Then, it was Alec Stewart, Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan and now Andrew Strauss. At present the only bowler who is found captaining his side is Daniel Vettori, who took over from fellow batsmen Stephen Fleming, Adam Parore and Lee Germon (1996).
Last but not the least we have South Africa, who have elected a batsmen in Greame Smith, after Pollock failed to move to the super sixes of the ICC world cup in 2003. Before that it was Hansie Cronje, who was precedeed by Kepler Wessels and Peter Kirsten. Never mind that the aforementioned players have done justice to their role, but, miking bowlers take on their side would surely persuade youngsters to take up the job of bowling, which is ever diminishing day to day, with ICC bringing new rules every now and then to make batsmen's life easy.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
A Positive Move By The Australian Selectors
Finally, the frontier falls. A news broke out that Australian opener Matthew Hayden has been dropped from the one day squad that will be facing South Africa on 11th of January for a T20 game to begin with. A decision that the Australian selectors' panel should have taken some six months ago has been taken now. Good that the selectors have put their foot forward regarding the regaining the lost glory of Australian cricket by dropping a player who has been out of form since a year or so. This is what each and every selection panel would be found doing, in case a team's performance is not satisfactory. And Australia is no different. Instead, for a decade or so, the world has been doing what the ACB does.
Even the Pakistan team, way back in 2003, had dropped 8 of its players after they failed to make it to the second stage of the same. And Pakistan bounced back, beating teams like Sri Lanka and New Zealand the same year. And team India, which now stands tall in all three forms of the game couldn't even make it to the super eights of the world cup in 2007. A strict action of their respective cricket boards saw one team lift the inaugural T20 world cup, while the other team ended as the runners up. So, such harsh actions by the cricket boards at times are welcome.
Else, each team would be a replica of the present West Indies or an England team. It is a fact that the selectors did a Ganguly on Matthew Hayden, but, as all of us aware of, team interests overcome personal ones. Forget it! And even now if the Australian selectors do not take chances, they will be responsible for Australia in becoming another West Indies. No doubt that the decision on Hayden was harsh, but, Hayden did deserve it. Not only Hayden, but, even Ricky Ponting should be stripped of his captaincy for a certain period of time. Making Clarke the skipper would be a good option. And so should be Brett Lee from the bowling department.
Probably. like Shaun Tait, even Matthew Hayden should have taken off from the squad, without giving the selectors a tough time. This would have even inspired a lot of youngsters to accept their weaknesses and move ahead, hoping with a better come back. Unfortunately, Hayden's thinking was otherwise. And reminding you guys, Australia is no short of any decent bench strength. There are likes of James Hopes, Shaun Marsh, Hussey brothers-David & Mike and Warner-who is considered to be a replacement for Hayden. Now, all eyes would be on hayden, when he makes a good comeback, for, the game of cricket cannot afford to miss someone like Matthew Hayden whatsoever.
Even the Pakistan team, way back in 2003, had dropped 8 of its players after they failed to make it to the second stage of the same. And Pakistan bounced back, beating teams like Sri Lanka and New Zealand the same year. And team India, which now stands tall in all three forms of the game couldn't even make it to the super eights of the world cup in 2007. A strict action of their respective cricket boards saw one team lift the inaugural T20 world cup, while the other team ended as the runners up. So, such harsh actions by the cricket boards at times are welcome.
Else, each team would be a replica of the present West Indies or an England team. It is a fact that the selectors did a Ganguly on Matthew Hayden, but, as all of us aware of, team interests overcome personal ones. Forget it! And even now if the Australian selectors do not take chances, they will be responsible for Australia in becoming another West Indies. No doubt that the decision on Hayden was harsh, but, Hayden did deserve it. Not only Hayden, but, even Ricky Ponting should be stripped of his captaincy for a certain period of time. Making Clarke the skipper would be a good option. And so should be Brett Lee from the bowling department.
Probably. like Shaun Tait, even Matthew Hayden should have taken off from the squad, without giving the selectors a tough time. This would have even inspired a lot of youngsters to accept their weaknesses and move ahead, hoping with a better come back. Unfortunately, Hayden's thinking was otherwise. And reminding you guys, Australia is no short of any decent bench strength. There are likes of James Hopes, Shaun Marsh, Hussey brothers-David & Mike and Warner-who is considered to be a replacement for Hayden. Now, all eyes would be on hayden, when he makes a good comeback, for, the game of cricket cannot afford to miss someone like Matthew Hayden whatsoever.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Something Is Lost For South Africa
Well it was really frustrating when the news that South Africa has lost the third test to Australia broke out in the afternoon. This shattered the dreams of not only most of the South African players, but also all the Aussie haters and Protea fans over the world. It is inevitable but to accept that Australia still head the ICC test rankings and are even now the most powerful cricketing nation in the world. A chance to overthrow the Aussies from the throne was eventually lost by South Africa. Such opportunities do not arise every now and then. How, stupid were the South Africans to let that go off their hands!
A little bit of game planning would have seen South Africa achieve the most expected one. But, what could be said of a team that makes a mess and gets itself into self destructive mode? Forget about a win at Sydney, even a draw would have had some smiles on the faces of the fans. But, no. South Africa looked as though they never ever wanted to come out of that festive mood, that was achieved when they had won the second test. Why should one ever think of winning the third, when it hardly makes any difference regarding the series? This was the way Smith might have thought before entering the third test.
A similar thing was witnessed in the round robin stage of the world cup 2007, when South Africa faced the same Australia at St Kitts where Australia, batting first made a stiff 377. South Africa, afresh from their memories of having chased down 434 successfully were expected to do the same here as well. And it looked as though another Johannesburg was in store that day. But no. It all started with the run out of AB De Villiars. South Africa, who had until then had put up 160 runs on board at the end of the 21st over were eventually all out for 294. Thus rendering all dreams shattered. And the third test was no different.
And look as who the match winner for Australia was! A three match old player, who made his debut in Mohali against India in the Border-Gavaskar trophy in October last year. And how could South Africa manage to give the charge to the tail enders like Mitchell Johnson and Hauritz, who scored a handy 64 and 41 respectively? At the end of the day, South Afric amissed out on a golden opportunity to whitewash a team that had last time whitewashed them some three years ago. With this at stake for us at the moment, the only thing left for us would be to watch out for another exciting encounter between these two gaints of cricket, when Australia will be touring South Africa two months from now.
A little bit of game planning would have seen South Africa achieve the most expected one. But, what could be said of a team that makes a mess and gets itself into self destructive mode? Forget about a win at Sydney, even a draw would have had some smiles on the faces of the fans. But, no. South Africa looked as though they never ever wanted to come out of that festive mood, that was achieved when they had won the second test. Why should one ever think of winning the third, when it hardly makes any difference regarding the series? This was the way Smith might have thought before entering the third test.
A similar thing was witnessed in the round robin stage of the world cup 2007, when South Africa faced the same Australia at St Kitts where Australia, batting first made a stiff 377. South Africa, afresh from their memories of having chased down 434 successfully were expected to do the same here as well. And it looked as though another Johannesburg was in store that day. But no. It all started with the run out of AB De Villiars. South Africa, who had until then had put up 160 runs on board at the end of the 21st over were eventually all out for 294. Thus rendering all dreams shattered. And the third test was no different.
And look as who the match winner for Australia was! A three match old player, who made his debut in Mohali against India in the Border-Gavaskar trophy in October last year. And how could South Africa manage to give the charge to the tail enders like Mitchell Johnson and Hauritz, who scored a handy 64 and 41 respectively? At the end of the day, South Afric amissed out on a golden opportunity to whitewash a team that had last time whitewashed them some three years ago. With this at stake for us at the moment, the only thing left for us would be to watch out for another exciting encounter between these two gaints of cricket, when Australia will be touring South Africa two months from now.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
A Nightmare For Sri Lanka?
Well..at the end of the day, the Sri Lankan team looked somewhat relieved, after winning the second test match against Bangladesh. This was however expected. Meaning a Sri Lankan win was expected and not a Bangladeshi fight back. On one hand, if there is a team in Australia who are found to lose their fearsomeness, Bangladesh on the other hand are coming up with surprises in test cricket as well after some amazing ones in one day internationals. Anyway, lets keep that aside for the moment. Coming to the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh tests, I feel Sri Lanka would be saying a "Oh! no never again". That was the trauma that the Sri Lankan team had to go through the series against Bangladesh.
Of course, Sri lanka would have never expected Bangladesh to come back so strongly at them whatsoever. But, Bangladeshis are no morons to not take the advantage of the over confident Sri Lankan team. I still cannot recall as to hoe the Sri Lankan team could manage a win in the first test against Bangladesh at Mirpur, when Bangladesh had gone past 400 runs. Finally, the Sri Lankan team had to rely on their old war horses Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis to register a win at Mirpur. Not to forget Sangakkara and Jayawardane who did the job with the bat for Sri Lanka.
After this match, Sri lankan captain Mahela Jayawardane never repeated the mistake what he did at Mirpur and was over cautious so as to settle a win in the second test without any trouble. Of course, the captain can never ever afford to forget this nightmare, which didn't even win the man of the match award for any of his team mates.However, the approach to the second test was not at all satisfactory. For, against a team like Bangladesh, the other teams take as much chances as possible, so as to bring in the lesser experienced ones to face the challenges of the international arena. But, Jayawardane went in with a full strengthed team to face Bangladesh in the second test.
The same old faces of Mahela and Dilshan batting and the same Murali bowling. And look at the target what Sri Lanka imposed on the Bangladesh team. A whooping 624 runs! For, a total of just above 400 would have been more than sufficient against Bangladesh, Jayawardane took no chances absolutely to put pressure on the bowlers. It would not be wrong to say the Mahela Jayawardane didn't have enough guts to dictate the bowling on the Bangladeshi batsmen. Jayawardane never wanted to take chances against even Bangladesh, fearing a major upset to him and his team. A fear of losing a test to Bangladesh was always there in the minds of Mahela Jayawardane. Mahela's efforts to win the test against Bangladesh would have even outclassed Smith's efforts to win the ongoing test series against South Afrcia.
Of course, Sri lanka would have never expected Bangladesh to come back so strongly at them whatsoever. But, Bangladeshis are no morons to not take the advantage of the over confident Sri Lankan team. I still cannot recall as to hoe the Sri Lankan team could manage a win in the first test against Bangladesh at Mirpur, when Bangladesh had gone past 400 runs. Finally, the Sri Lankan team had to rely on their old war horses Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis to register a win at Mirpur. Not to forget Sangakkara and Jayawardane who did the job with the bat for Sri Lanka.
After this match, Sri lankan captain Mahela Jayawardane never repeated the mistake what he did at Mirpur and was over cautious so as to settle a win in the second test without any trouble. Of course, the captain can never ever afford to forget this nightmare, which didn't even win the man of the match award for any of his team mates.However, the approach to the second test was not at all satisfactory. For, against a team like Bangladesh, the other teams take as much chances as possible, so as to bring in the lesser experienced ones to face the challenges of the international arena. But, Jayawardane went in with a full strengthed team to face Bangladesh in the second test.
The same old faces of Mahela and Dilshan batting and the same Murali bowling. And look at the target what Sri Lanka imposed on the Bangladesh team. A whooping 624 runs! For, a total of just above 400 would have been more than sufficient against Bangladesh, Jayawardane took no chances absolutely to put pressure on the bowlers. It would not be wrong to say the Mahela Jayawardane didn't have enough guts to dictate the bowling on the Bangladeshi batsmen. Jayawardane never wanted to take chances against even Bangladesh, fearing a major upset to him and his team. A fear of losing a test to Bangladesh was always there in the minds of Mahela Jayawardane. Mahela's efforts to win the test against Bangladesh would have even outclassed Smith's efforts to win the ongoing test series against South Afrcia.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Rivalling The Ashes?
Well, this was the match that was thought to be worth the wait for all the cricket crazy fans over the world. For, these two have been the teams that are rated high in the minds of the cricket fans. Courtesy- the world record chase of 434 by South Africa against Australia which happened to be one rare case where Australia lost the ODI series 2-3. This I think need not be cited specially whatsoever. And, how can one ever afford to forget such a great match. From then onwards, the encounters between Australia and South Africa have been on the top of the list for all the cricket fans. Oh yes, it includes me too. Well, all that is past. However, even in the present period, things are no different either.
It is deeply rooted in the minds of the cricket fans that, if at all there is a team that could beat Australia it is South Africa. And, as all of us are aware of, South Africa did exactly that in the first two tests against Australia. Not even India or England for that matter come in for such praise. With the two tests being dominated by South Africa, the third test would have really sparked off some or much curiosity among the fans out there. A win in this test would throw Australia from their number one position in test cricket, which they (Australia) have been enjoying since the past eight years or more. With the first two days of play in hand, it is really a tough job to judge the winner right away.
Neither has Australia shown some reluctance in putting a better performance, nor the Proteas are in any mood to sacrifice the third test to Australia for having won the series already. Pressure is found to be on both the sides. If not for the series, for the top spot in world cricket. A big blow in the form of an injury to Greame Smith has found to loosen the hopes of a South African win. However, the way the tail put up a 184 run partnership in the first innings of the second test shouldn't be forgotten. By putting up a decent total of 445 on board, Australia have indicated their come back into the game once again. The proteas have still 8 wickets in hand and a lot to prove. Of course, all of us would be expecting the same ie a South African win.
In the past five years (since 2003), the Australian team has lost its place temperorily on two occasions. And both of them saw South Africa head the list for the strongest one day squad. Way back in early 2007, where South Africa had beaten world cup chokers India and Pakistan in the five match series played by a margin 5-0 and 4-1 respectively. On the other hand, for a change, Australia had lost the two out of the three finals to England in the Commonwealth Bank series 2007, followed by a 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand. And in the second instance, where Australia once again lost to India in 2008, with the proteas registering wins against Bangladesh and West Indies late 2007. However, a similar fate in test cricket is yet to target the Aussies. Now, it time for that. So, can South Africa do it this time?
It is deeply rooted in the minds of the cricket fans that, if at all there is a team that could beat Australia it is South Africa. And, as all of us are aware of, South Africa did exactly that in the first two tests against Australia. Not even India or England for that matter come in for such praise. With the two tests being dominated by South Africa, the third test would have really sparked off some or much curiosity among the fans out there. A win in this test would throw Australia from their number one position in test cricket, which they (Australia) have been enjoying since the past eight years or more. With the first two days of play in hand, it is really a tough job to judge the winner right away.
Neither has Australia shown some reluctance in putting a better performance, nor the Proteas are in any mood to sacrifice the third test to Australia for having won the series already. Pressure is found to be on both the sides. If not for the series, for the top spot in world cricket. A big blow in the form of an injury to Greame Smith has found to loosen the hopes of a South African win. However, the way the tail put up a 184 run partnership in the first innings of the second test shouldn't be forgotten. By putting up a decent total of 445 on board, Australia have indicated their come back into the game once again. The proteas have still 8 wickets in hand and a lot to prove. Of course, all of us would be expecting the same ie a South African win.
In the past five years (since 2003), the Australian team has lost its place temperorily on two occasions. And both of them saw South Africa head the list for the strongest one day squad. Way back in early 2007, where South Africa had beaten world cup chokers India and Pakistan in the five match series played by a margin 5-0 and 4-1 respectively. On the other hand, for a change, Australia had lost the two out of the three finals to England in the Commonwealth Bank series 2007, followed by a 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand. And in the second instance, where Australia once again lost to India in 2008, with the proteas registering wins against Bangladesh and West Indies late 2007. However, a similar fate in test cricket is yet to target the Aussies. Now, it time for that. So, can South Africa do it this time?
Sunday, January 4, 2009
West Indies Win The Lucky Draw
Well with as many exciting encounters in cricket at present in progress, there are equal number of boring encounters as well on the other side of the cricketing world. The excitement includes the ongoing clash between Australia and South Africa for the number one spot in test cricket and the boring one being the West Indies' tour of New Zealand, which has so far not been taken seriously by either of the teams out there. None of the test matches that were played, were played with the spirit of winning or atleast having the opposition in a spin. Such was the situation with teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. But, the late entries to the same have been West Indies and New Zealand.
Both the teams out there are found to play the games just for the sake of it. Thank god that they were not played in a cricket crazy country like India. Had it been, the sponsors would have had to think twice before going in for such matches. And that too in this era where recession has taken a toll! Anyway, issues like that should not really matter us. However, this is been found to clash with the timings of the Australia-South Africa test matches. The preference obviously going to this rather than the West Indies-New Zealand stuff. But, what about the ones who'd prefer a one day match over a test?
And also its been a long time since a one day international has been up. And the cricket fans would obviously be craving to watch some wonderful one day encounters. But, thanks to the boring West Indies-New Zealand series which has stripped them of the spirit of waiting for a one day match to kick off. This leaves the cricket fans wth no other option than to wait for the one day series between Australia and South Africa to kick off after the third test and the two T20 matches that follows. Neither were the two T20 games interesting if the expectations are to be believed. So, will the game of cricket be able to flourish in these nations wtih such a bad approach?
Lest, there are three more one day matches to go. The first one being cancelled and the second was reduced to 28 overs a side, which the West Indies clinched luckily. None of the players from both the teams making the talk of the hour makes the matter still more worse. Especially after the retirement of Stephen Fleming and Shane Bond, the New Zealand team have no big names that would be found on the fans' lips, with someone like Scott Styris and Jacob Oram making news only for injuries rather than the way they play their game of cricket. And even the West Indies are no different in this regard, with the only consolation being Shivnarine Chanderapaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Ok..a little bit of Chris Gayle. Not too bad....
Both the teams out there are found to play the games just for the sake of it. Thank god that they were not played in a cricket crazy country like India. Had it been, the sponsors would have had to think twice before going in for such matches. And that too in this era where recession has taken a toll! Anyway, issues like that should not really matter us. However, this is been found to clash with the timings of the Australia-South Africa test matches. The preference obviously going to this rather than the West Indies-New Zealand stuff. But, what about the ones who'd prefer a one day match over a test?
And also its been a long time since a one day international has been up. And the cricket fans would obviously be craving to watch some wonderful one day encounters. But, thanks to the boring West Indies-New Zealand series which has stripped them of the spirit of waiting for a one day match to kick off. This leaves the cricket fans wth no other option than to wait for the one day series between Australia and South Africa to kick off after the third test and the two T20 matches that follows. Neither were the two T20 games interesting if the expectations are to be believed. So, will the game of cricket be able to flourish in these nations wtih such a bad approach?
Lest, there are three more one day matches to go. The first one being cancelled and the second was reduced to 28 overs a side, which the West Indies clinched luckily. None of the players from both the teams making the talk of the hour makes the matter still more worse. Especially after the retirement of Stephen Fleming and Shane Bond, the New Zealand team have no big names that would be found on the fans' lips, with someone like Scott Styris and Jacob Oram making news only for injuries rather than the way they play their game of cricket. And even the West Indies are no different in this regard, with the only consolation being Shivnarine Chanderapaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Ok..a little bit of Chris Gayle. Not too bad....
Saturday, January 3, 2009
2008: A Year That Bought A Revival In Cricket
You may say whatever but, the year 2008 was a year that bought some great as well as some most of the never-again like issues. Starting with the most popular one in the decline of the world dominating Australian team, with the retirement of Adam Gilchrist in particular, which followed by their second Commonwealth Banks series loss. If on one side there was team Australia who were fading from their days of excellence, there came India who, started emerging as one of the toughest competent who was on the hit list of the opposition. These being true both for on field performance and off the field issues as well. Indians have learnt to give back the verbal abuse what they received and at times even initiate the same.
If there was any team that hit the list for the most verbal exchanges on the field, it was none other than India. The list includes Harbhajan Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer khan and not to forget our hero Sreesanth, to name a few. This being something that even the great stalwarts of Indian cricket like Sachin and Dravid were never found to learn despite their experience. Looks like not everyone would like to back answer with their bat and ball. I leave it to you guys to judge whether its worth the praise or not. Proceeding further, some changes include the introduction of big bucks in Indian cricket, that made even a Tom-Dick & Hary to become a crorepathi, with no room for comparing a player's performance with the money what he takes home.
And then on the list is the cancellations that took a toll this year, first as all of us are aware of, Australia and New Zealand cancel their tour to Pakistan where security never allowed them to breathe free. And this followed by the cancellation of the ICC Champions Trophy, which made most of us to miss this mega event. This being supported by South Africa as well, in addition to England and Australia. Probably, this was the first instance where the Australian and English brains in cricket worked towards same thinking. And then, India once again showed that they are no way less compared to Pakistan in getting the cricket tours canceled. This is of course needless to be said.
A year where Australia has lost more than it won is the year 2008. A year where a decent team in Pakistan goes without playing even a single test or an ODI (at home). Some consolation being the 3 one dayers against Windies at Abu Dhabi. While, the West Indies and New Zealand are least bothered about playing cricket, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have something to convey. But, it looks like there are no one to listen. Forget It! And, as per the ICC rules, the non test playing nations are supposed to come to light and make it to the sports page only when there is a mega event. Thanks to Pakistan who never let that happen. When the BCCI was busy cracking its head as to where will MSD play? Chennai Superstars or the test against England? Well, the Mumbai terror attacks had a solution to it.
Next comes the year of retirements, which was a continuation since its initiation in 2007. First being Shaun Pollock, for reasons best know to him. And someone like Scott Styris and Shane Bond, whose pockets wanted more and that took over their love & passion for cricket. India have a reason to smile, for the people who retired served their team with full heart and Ganguly's fans need not burn the effigies of the selectors anymore. And someone like Marvan Attapattu, whose dismal performance equals his contribution, nothing in particular can be said. So, guys, lets hope that the worst of 2008 never repeats and the best progresses to even more best in the year 2009. Wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year 2009.
If there was any team that hit the list for the most verbal exchanges on the field, it was none other than India. The list includes Harbhajan Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer khan and not to forget our hero Sreesanth, to name a few. This being something that even the great stalwarts of Indian cricket like Sachin and Dravid were never found to learn despite their experience. Looks like not everyone would like to back answer with their bat and ball. I leave it to you guys to judge whether its worth the praise or not. Proceeding further, some changes include the introduction of big bucks in Indian cricket, that made even a Tom-Dick & Hary to become a crorepathi, with no room for comparing a player's performance with the money what he takes home.
And then on the list is the cancellations that took a toll this year, first as all of us are aware of, Australia and New Zealand cancel their tour to Pakistan where security never allowed them to breathe free. And this followed by the cancellation of the ICC Champions Trophy, which made most of us to miss this mega event. This being supported by South Africa as well, in addition to England and Australia. Probably, this was the first instance where the Australian and English brains in cricket worked towards same thinking. And then, India once again showed that they are no way less compared to Pakistan in getting the cricket tours canceled. This is of course needless to be said.
A year where Australia has lost more than it won is the year 2008. A year where a decent team in Pakistan goes without playing even a single test or an ODI (at home). Some consolation being the 3 one dayers against Windies at Abu Dhabi. While, the West Indies and New Zealand are least bothered about playing cricket, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have something to convey. But, it looks like there are no one to listen. Forget It! And, as per the ICC rules, the non test playing nations are supposed to come to light and make it to the sports page only when there is a mega event. Thanks to Pakistan who never let that happen. When the BCCI was busy cracking its head as to where will MSD play? Chennai Superstars or the test against England? Well, the Mumbai terror attacks had a solution to it.
Next comes the year of retirements, which was a continuation since its initiation in 2007. First being Shaun Pollock, for reasons best know to him. And someone like Scott Styris and Shane Bond, whose pockets wanted more and that took over their love & passion for cricket. India have a reason to smile, for the people who retired served their team with full heart and Ganguly's fans need not burn the effigies of the selectors anymore. And someone like Marvan Attapattu, whose dismal performance equals his contribution, nothing in particular can be said. So, guys, lets hope that the worst of 2008 never repeats and the best progresses to even more best in the year 2009. Wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year 2009.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The Aussie Debacle-Who Is To Blame?
As most of us think it to be, it is neither the retirement of most of the cricketing greats all of a sudden from the Australian squad. For, this was more the less expected. Its just obvious that the so called greats of the likes of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne would be retiring sooner or later. Or, did the Australian selectors be of the idea that these players would be serving Australian cricket forever or what? Australia did manage to win tests comfortably even without the services of these two great stalwarts, for as all of us are aware of, Shane Warne was banned from international cricket for a year and Glenn McGrath also lost a year inbetween, when injury forced him out.
For the case, Ricky Ponting was not available for the Border-Gavaskar trophy in 2004 that was held in India and Adam Gilchrist had to take the initiative. They did well to furnish Steve Waugh's dream of winning a test series in India by winning the series 2-1. And the fact was also that Shane Warne was no threat for the Indian batsmen. With the presence of Shane Warne who was in sublime form and Glenn McGrath as well, Australia lost the Ashes in 2005, after handing England a 239 run defeat in the first test, which had many think of England's whitewash, which didn't happen. It is just not fair for anyone to put the blame on the former players' retirement or even the lack of form of the present lot.
For, all of the greats who retired did serve Australian cricket to the maximum extent and their retirement was somewhere nearby. Who is to blame, if the Australian Cricket Board didn't take the matter seriously, if at all they were interested in Australia dominating the cricketing world? All the players who retired were in their late 30s. Didn't the Aussies have any considerable bench strength? Blame it on the IPL and the ICL, which made some players to dance to their tunes by sprinkling money. The category includes Jason Gillespie in particular. And where have the guys like Andy Bichel, Shaun March and others gone?
For, it is tough to find as to when did someone like Michael Beaven, Jason Gillespie, Andy Bichel- (who have played immense part in most of the Aussie wins) and likes play their last game for Australia before they one fine day called it a day? Did the selectors expect the aforementioned players to wait indefinitely for their turn to come so that they can represent the national side? Lets go to the situation when Steve Waugh was handed over the captaincy and all of a sudden players like Mark Waugh, Tom Moody, Damien Fleming vanish and, fellow players like Hayden, Gilchrist, Martyn, Lee etc being in their mid 20s and had lack of experience.
How come Steve Waugh was able to build that Australian team to a world dominating side and now Ricky Ponting blames the retirement of fellow players for his team's debacle? With all these facts in mind, one can come to the conclusion that all Ponting was found doing these days was to enjoy the good and hard work done by his predecessor-Steve Waugh and is now found to panic when things have gone beyond his control.
For the case, Ricky Ponting was not available for the Border-Gavaskar trophy in 2004 that was held in India and Adam Gilchrist had to take the initiative. They did well to furnish Steve Waugh's dream of winning a test series in India by winning the series 2-1. And the fact was also that Shane Warne was no threat for the Indian batsmen. With the presence of Shane Warne who was in sublime form and Glenn McGrath as well, Australia lost the Ashes in 2005, after handing England a 239 run defeat in the first test, which had many think of England's whitewash, which didn't happen. It is just not fair for anyone to put the blame on the former players' retirement or even the lack of form of the present lot.
For, all of the greats who retired did serve Australian cricket to the maximum extent and their retirement was somewhere nearby. Who is to blame, if the Australian Cricket Board didn't take the matter seriously, if at all they were interested in Australia dominating the cricketing world? All the players who retired were in their late 30s. Didn't the Aussies have any considerable bench strength? Blame it on the IPL and the ICL, which made some players to dance to their tunes by sprinkling money. The category includes Jason Gillespie in particular. And where have the guys like Andy Bichel, Shaun March and others gone?
For, it is tough to find as to when did someone like Michael Beaven, Jason Gillespie, Andy Bichel- (who have played immense part in most of the Aussie wins) and likes play their last game for Australia before they one fine day called it a day? Did the selectors expect the aforementioned players to wait indefinitely for their turn to come so that they can represent the national side? Lets go to the situation when Steve Waugh was handed over the captaincy and all of a sudden players like Mark Waugh, Tom Moody, Damien Fleming vanish and, fellow players like Hayden, Gilchrist, Martyn, Lee etc being in their mid 20s and had lack of experience.
How come Steve Waugh was able to build that Australian team to a world dominating side and now Ricky Ponting blames the retirement of fellow players for his team's debacle? With all these facts in mind, one can come to the conclusion that all Ponting was found doing these days was to enjoy the good and hard work done by his predecessor-Steve Waugh and is now found to panic when things have gone beyond his control.
Where Do The Other Teams Stand?
Since the day South Africa beat Australia at Perth, chasing a total that went into the record books for the second highest run chase in tests, and more so after recently South Africa beat them once again in the second test to win the three match test series, all cricket bloggers have been writing posts citing the end of Aussie dominance. Yes ! This is true to a very great extent. And their recent 2-0 series loss to India in the Border-Gavaskar trophy need not be mentioned separately either. However, casting our eyes upon other teams as well would certainly give us a better idea as to who fare and how. Yes or No?
The recent test scorers off late have been of course India and South Africa undisputedly. And what about the other seven teams out there? Of course regarding teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, it is a gone case. Then on the table there are the West Indians and New Zealanders at position eight and seven respectively. While the West Indies team have a beautiful track record of losing since a decade or so, New Zealand have joined them surprisingly of late. Keep aside their loss to Australia recently when they toured the same. For, some things can never be expected. And team India's run in tests outside home is still in a balance.
This conclusion not being drawn only owing to their test series loss to Sri Lanka in August earlier last year, but also due to the fact that they have hardly toured any nation down under. With the tour of Pakistan out of the list, the next test to watch would be against the Kiwis, when they will be touring the same in March. Still, that tour even if India wins, would not be satisfactory, given the New Zealand's poor run. And one more unnoticed aspect being that India haven't been able to grab any opposition completely. Only series wins and not whitewashes have been where India have restricted themselves to.
India beat the Aussies 2-0 out of 4 matches, a 1-0 win against England in 2 match test series, 1-1 against the Proteas and a 1-0 series win over Pakistan in December 2007. While, for South Africa it has been a 2-0 win over NZ in NZ last December, a 2-1 against Pakistan in Pakistan in October 2007, 2-1 win against in the 4 match test series against England and 2-0 against Aussies in the 2 games that have been played so far. Keeping these stats in mind, one can come to conclusions. Next team is England, who have series loss to South Africa, Sri Lanka (last December) and India of late, and wins against only New Zealand in the Nat West series. If not for the series win against India, Sri Lanka have nothing at stake, after their recent performance against Bangladesh. And last but not the least we have Pakistan, who have enjoyed more than anyone else with their wives & kids for the past one year.
Keeping these facts about other teams in mind, Australia have nothing to fear about despite their poor run in cricket. It was a misfortune that Australia faced the two teams that were of really some concern for them. Anyway, the Ashes are bound to remain in Australia this year too. This if Australia don't make 2005 once again.Bye..
The recent test scorers off late have been of course India and South Africa undisputedly. And what about the other seven teams out there? Of course regarding teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, it is a gone case. Then on the table there are the West Indians and New Zealanders at position eight and seven respectively. While the West Indies team have a beautiful track record of losing since a decade or so, New Zealand have joined them surprisingly of late. Keep aside their loss to Australia recently when they toured the same. For, some things can never be expected. And team India's run in tests outside home is still in a balance.
This conclusion not being drawn only owing to their test series loss to Sri Lanka in August earlier last year, but also due to the fact that they have hardly toured any nation down under. With the tour of Pakistan out of the list, the next test to watch would be against the Kiwis, when they will be touring the same in March. Still, that tour even if India wins, would not be satisfactory, given the New Zealand's poor run. And one more unnoticed aspect being that India haven't been able to grab any opposition completely. Only series wins and not whitewashes have been where India have restricted themselves to.
India beat the Aussies 2-0 out of 4 matches, a 1-0 win against England in 2 match test series, 1-1 against the Proteas and a 1-0 series win over Pakistan in December 2007. While, for South Africa it has been a 2-0 win over NZ in NZ last December, a 2-1 against Pakistan in Pakistan in October 2007, 2-1 win against in the 4 match test series against England and 2-0 against Aussies in the 2 games that have been played so far. Keeping these stats in mind, one can come to conclusions. Next team is England, who have series loss to South Africa, Sri Lanka (last December) and India of late, and wins against only New Zealand in the Nat West series. If not for the series win against India, Sri Lanka have nothing at stake, after their recent performance against Bangladesh. And last but not the least we have Pakistan, who have enjoyed more than anyone else with their wives & kids for the past one year.
Keeping these facts about other teams in mind, Australia have nothing to fear about despite their poor run in cricket. It was a misfortune that Australia faced the two teams that were of really some concern for them. Anyway, the Ashes are bound to remain in Australia this year too. This if Australia don't make 2005 once again.Bye..
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