Well with countdown beginning for the world cup starting 19th of this month, even my eyes are set on the same. And, this has made me go through the past 9 editions of the same starting from 1975 when I was still not born. Well, with that being a different issue, casting our eyes on the statistics would mean a lot with the ongoing excitement in the wait game in all our minds. Starting from the 1975, 1979 and 1983 world cups in England, the semi final match was the first between the two teams under consideration for West Indies never played Pakistan in 1975 before the semis.
Since 1992, the semi finals of the world cup has been a repeat of the match that was played earlier at one point of the tournament be it in the league stages or in the earlier rounds like the super sixes and the super eights. Starting from 1992, the semis was Pakistan v New Zealand and England v South Africa with the results being the same. Pakistan had beaten New Zealand earlier by 7 wickets at Christchurch and England had beaten South Africa by 3 wickets. In 1996, for a change only one result happened to be the same with Australia winning the semis against West Indies which was opposite of what happened in the league stages.
In 1999 world cup as well, the result of the two semi finals happened to be the same with Australia beating South Africa by 5 wickets in the super six stage and Pakistan beating New Zealand by 69 runs in the league stage before Australia beat RSA by 0 runs and Pakistan beat New Zealand by 9 wickets. In 2003 as well, the semifinals were India v Kenya and Australia v Sri Lanka, the results being the same as was in their earlier encounter. India had beaten Kenya by 7 wickets in the super sixes while Australia had beaten Sri Lanka by 96 runs.
In the 2007 edition as well, the semi finals of the tournament was a replica of what happened in the earlier encounters be it in the super eight stage or the round robin stage. Sri Lanka had beaten New Zealand earlier in the super eight stage by 6 wickets while Australia had beaten South Africa by 83 runs in the round robin stage of the tournament. Another interesting fact is that since 1999, one semi finals is the one played between the same two teams in super sixes with the other being played in the league stages barring 2003. For some more feats regarding world cups come back tomorrow to the site.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Hosts at a world tournament
As the countdown for the mega event has already begun, a look at the hosts of 10 world cups, 5 ICC Champions trophy and 3 World T20s would be worth going through. Out of the 10 9 nations who have been granted the test status, all of them have hosted world cups atleast once, with India & Pakistan doing it twice in 1987 and 1996, Sri Lanka doing it in 1996 and this year 2011 along with Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and West Indies doing it once. With Bangladesh being one of the 4 3 hosts this time, the set is complete with all 9 nations having their share.
An interesting fact to be noted is that Kenya are the only non-test playing nation to have hosted a world cup match when they did it in 2003. Of the lot, only 2 of the 9 hosts has been able to make it to the finals of a world cup when England did it in 1979 and Sri Lanka in 1996. Further refinement would drop Sri Lanka for, the final of the 1996 world cup was held in Pakistan. This brings England a rare gesture of being the only hosts to have reached the finals of a world cup. However, until 1983, it was named Prudential cup which even drops England from the list.
In 1975 and 1983, England managed to reach the semis while both India and Pakistan managed the same in 1987. Australia missed out in reaching the semis in 1992 after rain helped Pakistan take the place of Australia. Pakistan missed out a semifinal berth in 1996 with India and Sri Lanka making it there. In 2003, the major hosts - RSA failed to get past the 1st stage with Zimbabwe ending it in the super sixes and Kenya in the semis. Thanks to the forfeited matches by England and New Zealand against Zimbabwe and Kenya respectively. And in 2007, West Indies were lucky to be in the super eights.
So has been the case with the ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka yet again being the only hosts to have reached the finals of the same after they were declared joint winners along with India in 2002. Coincidentally, England are the only other team to have managed to reach the finals of an ICC Champions trophy in 2004 after beating Australia in the semis. It would be worth mentioning that Australia are the only team to have won both the ICC world cup and champions trophy in South Africa and India, with West Indies being the other team to have done so in England by winning the Prudential cup in 1975 & 1979 and ICC CT in 2004.
An interesting fact to be noted is that Kenya are the only non-test playing nation to have hosted a world cup match when they did it in 2003. Of the lot, only 2 of the 9 hosts has been able to make it to the finals of a world cup when England did it in 1979 and Sri Lanka in 1996. Further refinement would drop Sri Lanka for, the final of the 1996 world cup was held in Pakistan. This brings England a rare gesture of being the only hosts to have reached the finals of a world cup. However, until 1983, it was named Prudential cup which even drops England from the list.
In 1975 and 1983, England managed to reach the semis while both India and Pakistan managed the same in 1987. Australia missed out in reaching the semis in 1992 after rain helped Pakistan take the place of Australia. Pakistan missed out a semifinal berth in 1996 with India and Sri Lanka making it there. In 2003, the major hosts - RSA failed to get past the 1st stage with Zimbabwe ending it in the super sixes and Kenya in the semis. Thanks to the forfeited matches by England and New Zealand against Zimbabwe and Kenya respectively. And in 2007, West Indies were lucky to be in the super eights.
So has been the case with the ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka yet again being the only hosts to have reached the finals of the same after they were declared joint winners along with India in 2002. Coincidentally, England are the only other team to have managed to reach the finals of an ICC Champions trophy in 2004 after beating Australia in the semis. It would be worth mentioning that Australia are the only team to have won both the ICC world cup and champions trophy in South Africa and India, with West Indies being the other team to have done so in England by winning the Prudential cup in 1975 & 1979 and ICC CT in 2004.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
South Africa has to learn fro India experience
Well as I have written in most of my earlier posts related to India's recent tour of South Africa which South Africa win with a lot of ups and downs, South Africa have only managed to take home the series and emerge as official winners of the bilateral series. But, as most of them have out it, it was India who took home more benefits from the tour compared to South Africa if not the series. A series that South Africa should have won 5-0 was won by a 3-2 margin. Had this been a 3 match bilateral series, India would have won 2-1.
There should have been no reason for South Africa to have lost both the second as well as the third one dayer with the expectations being so low. Chasing down a mere total of 191 on the board should have been no big task and, with 8 wickets in hand that too obtained at crucial moments of the match, defending 220 in the 3rd One dayer was also not acceptable at any cost. Things are worse for the feat happened to be achieved by South Africa at home. So, one can imagine what might happen when South Africa tour for the world cup with India being one of the hosts.
This has been realized earlier by Dale Steyn prior to other members of the South African team. South Africa, as said above will be heading towards the sub continent shortly for the mega event and unluckily, they are grouped with none other than India, the team which tested its guts on home soil. But, once again, luck stays in favor of South Africa this time with Nagpur being set to host the India - South Africa match, the venue where South Africa claimed an innings win in the first test in early 2010. And adding to that, though South Africa have been unlucky in world cups, they are not as unlucky in the pool stages.
South Africa have managed 5/5 in the group stage of the 1996 world cup, 4/5 in the 1999 world cup. However, though RSA won just 1/2 in 2007, Australia was a better team than RSA. So was the case in 2003 where New Zealand and West Indies both beat RSA before they tied with Sri Lanka. And, in case South Africa lose to India, they have matches against England and West Indies, against which winning can be considered to be easy for South Africa. But, Dale Steyn has to be careful about his team's performance with Smith having decided to quit as captain after the world cup.
There should have been no reason for South Africa to have lost both the second as well as the third one dayer with the expectations being so low. Chasing down a mere total of 191 on the board should have been no big task and, with 8 wickets in hand that too obtained at crucial moments of the match, defending 220 in the 3rd One dayer was also not acceptable at any cost. Things are worse for the feat happened to be achieved by South Africa at home. So, one can imagine what might happen when South Africa tour for the world cup with India being one of the hosts.
This has been realized earlier by Dale Steyn prior to other members of the South African team. South Africa, as said above will be heading towards the sub continent shortly for the mega event and unluckily, they are grouped with none other than India, the team which tested its guts on home soil. But, once again, luck stays in favor of South Africa this time with Nagpur being set to host the India - South Africa match, the venue where South Africa claimed an innings win in the first test in early 2010. And adding to that, though South Africa have been unlucky in world cups, they are not as unlucky in the pool stages.
South Africa have managed 5/5 in the group stage of the 1996 world cup, 4/5 in the 1999 world cup. However, though RSA won just 1/2 in 2007, Australia was a better team than RSA. So was the case in 2003 where New Zealand and West Indies both beat RSA before they tied with Sri Lanka. And, in case South Africa lose to India, they have matches against England and West Indies, against which winning can be considered to be easy for South Africa. But, Dale Steyn has to be careful about his team's performance with Smith having decided to quit as captain after the world cup.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The deserving and undeserving
Well it was fascinating to see V V S Laxman being awarded the 4th highest honor namely the Padma Shri award needless to be said for his contribution to international and domestic cricket. Though Laxman deserves the award, one has to think aout the deserving but denied cricketers like Javagal Srinath whose contribution to Indian cricket is as immense as Laxman's is along with the other 10 such players. Things have become a total confusion in Indian cricket with undeserving players becoming millionaires while the deserving are taken up for a throw away price. I can also recall someone quoting Mathew Hayden above Sachin Tendulkar in the international run.
If the list of the 10 players who have been awarded the Padma Shri is given a close look at, the list includes Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Bishen Singh Bedi. No doubt that all these players deserve to be in the elite list with some doubts raising over the selection of Ganguly and Bishen Singh Bedi, some other players who could have been given a thought include Javagal Srinath who was the lone fast bowler after Kapil Dev to continue for 12 years before Zaheer Khan and co took charge.
If Anil Kumble could have been given the honor, Javagal Srinath deserves it equally. Similiarly, another cricketer to have been unlucky is Syed Kirmani, who was a wicket keeper one of his kind and a replacement for whom is yet to be included. Not even Dhoni can be placed close to Kirmani in terms of wicket keeping. And then, Krishnamachari Shrikanth was the first batsman and cricketer to have taken two five wicket hauls for India, something that even a full time bowler Kapil Dev couldn't do. Mohammed Azharuddin was the first Indian batsman to have crossed 6000 runs in one day cricket but Azharuddin has been given a different award.
No one disputes the treatment given to Azharuddin. And, if the list is once again given a close look at, it is evident that except for Kapil, Bedi and Gavaskar, the rest of them belong to the recent past or the last decade. One has to give a rethinking to the selection of Dhoni into this elite list with more than a decade to go in his career. So is the case with Harbhajan Singh when Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh miss out. One more interesting fact is that except Harbhajan, Kumble, and Bedi the rest of them are batsmen. Kapil is the lone all rounder. Now, another batsman has joined the list.
Finally, the list holds good if statistics are excluded from discussion. But, what else does hold good to judge a player's caliber?
If the list of the 10 players who have been awarded the Padma Shri is given a close look at, the list includes Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Bishen Singh Bedi. No doubt that all these players deserve to be in the elite list with some doubts raising over the selection of Ganguly and Bishen Singh Bedi, some other players who could have been given a thought include Javagal Srinath who was the lone fast bowler after Kapil Dev to continue for 12 years before Zaheer Khan and co took charge.
If Anil Kumble could have been given the honor, Javagal Srinath deserves it equally. Similiarly, another cricketer to have been unlucky is Syed Kirmani, who was a wicket keeper one of his kind and a replacement for whom is yet to be included. Not even Dhoni can be placed close to Kirmani in terms of wicket keeping. And then, Krishnamachari Shrikanth was the first batsman and cricketer to have taken two five wicket hauls for India, something that even a full time bowler Kapil Dev couldn't do. Mohammed Azharuddin was the first Indian batsman to have crossed 6000 runs in one day cricket but Azharuddin has been given a different award.
No one disputes the treatment given to Azharuddin. And, if the list is once again given a close look at, it is evident that except for Kapil, Bedi and Gavaskar, the rest of them belong to the recent past or the last decade. One has to give a rethinking to the selection of Dhoni into this elite list with more than a decade to go in his career. So is the case with Harbhajan Singh when Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh miss out. One more interesting fact is that except Harbhajan, Kumble, and Bedi the rest of them are batsmen. Kapil is the lone all rounder. Now, another batsman has joined the list.
Finally, the list holds good if statistics are excluded from discussion. But, what else does hold good to judge a player's caliber?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Has Pakistan chosen a decent squad?
Well, it is just less than a month before the big even is about to start and one should be hapy to hear that Pakistan is still yet to select a captain for its team. May be the PCB is still awaiting the comeback of Imran Khan, Inzamam or Wasim Akram, failing to realize that they have retired from all forms of cricket long back. There might have been cases here teams would have headed to a tournament without a full time coach like it happened in the inaugural edition of the world T20 tournament in 2007 where India headed with a stand in bowling coach-Venkatesh Prasad.
But, can there ever be a team without a captain or can there be a team which decides who should captain just moments before calling the toss? The PCB has made a debacle by dropping fellow players like Mohammed Yusuf and Salman Butt, both of whom could have borne the responsibility, captaincy has to be an issue whatsoever. Moreover, if the squad that the Pakistan team will be heading with to the world cup is taken, the issue gets even more bigger and may be even bigger than the one haunting its captaincy issue. Captaincy can be borne by either Afridi or Abdul Razzaq keeping in mind the experience of both.
It looks like Inzamam Ul Haq is worried regarding who will captain his side with so many of them being shown the doors in the 15 member squad. Afridi has though not done a fab job as a player, his statistics suggest that he has played more than 200 matches in limited overs cricket but, keeping in mind his carelessness in selecting shots, he has to be kept out of discussion. However, Abdul Razzaq can be a good choice keeping in mind both his experience and sense of responsibility when it comes to both batting as well as bowling. Other names that strike are Kamran Akmal and Younus Khan.
With Younis Khan opting out, another choice would be Misbah Ul Haq who has shown to me rather responsible and with no other member of the 15 member squad seeming to do the job, Misbah can well be an option. But, if the squad itself is considered, it looks like Pakistan is bound to do an Australia for the wrong reasons. If Pakistan fail to go past the 1st stage of the tournament, they will be failing to do so for the 3rd time in a row like Australia winning the world cup since 1999. There was no reason to include Shoaib Akthar when Yousuf was denied entry.
But, can there ever be a team without a captain or can there be a team which decides who should captain just moments before calling the toss? The PCB has made a debacle by dropping fellow players like Mohammed Yusuf and Salman Butt, both of whom could have borne the responsibility, captaincy has to be an issue whatsoever. Moreover, if the squad that the Pakistan team will be heading with to the world cup is taken, the issue gets even more bigger and may be even bigger than the one haunting its captaincy issue. Captaincy can be borne by either Afridi or Abdul Razzaq keeping in mind the experience of both.
It looks like Inzamam Ul Haq is worried regarding who will captain his side with so many of them being shown the doors in the 15 member squad. Afridi has though not done a fab job as a player, his statistics suggest that he has played more than 200 matches in limited overs cricket but, keeping in mind his carelessness in selecting shots, he has to be kept out of discussion. However, Abdul Razzaq can be a good choice keeping in mind both his experience and sense of responsibility when it comes to both batting as well as bowling. Other names that strike are Kamran Akmal and Younus Khan.
With Younis Khan opting out, another choice would be Misbah Ul Haq who has shown to me rather responsible and with no other member of the 15 member squad seeming to do the job, Misbah can well be an option. But, if the squad itself is considered, it looks like Pakistan is bound to do an Australia for the wrong reasons. If Pakistan fail to go past the 1st stage of the tournament, they will be failing to do so for the 3rd time in a row like Australia winning the world cup since 1999. There was no reason to include Shoaib Akthar when Yousuf was denied entry.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Unbelievable!
Well once again, you readers might go misled by the title which might make you think that the post is written regarding India's comeback in yesterday's match against South Africa after at one stage of the game reeling at 119 runs on the board losing 8 wickets leaving the tail enders a rather impossible job to accomplish. But, my post is regarding the man of the match award going in favor of Hashim Amla and the man of the series award favoring Morne Morkel, both of which were not justified. Of course, it was Amla who did a fab job for his team which emerged victorious.
My man of the match would have been none other than Yousuf Pathan who not only took the match from nowhere towards the target but was also speed in doing so. People might have come across batsmen who would have seen their team victorious after seeming to be impossible at one stage, losing quick wickets in important stages of the match and with limited overs to play. But, the pace at which they would have scored the winning runs would be nowhere close to what Yousuf Pathan was seen doing yesterday. Of course, Zaheer Khan gave him a good support from the other end.
I can recall the semi finals of the world cup in between Australia and West Indies in 1996 and against South Africa in 1999, both matches which Michael Beaven set right for his team. But, the rate at which Beaven scored his runs was very careful unlike a 68 ball hundred by Yousuf Pathan yesterday. Another match that I would like to cite here is the one between India and Australia at Hyderabad played in October 2009 where Sachin Tendulkar scored 175 runs while chasing a target of 350 and eventually falling short by 3 runs. In that match though India lost, Sachin Tendulkar was awarded the man of the match.
And coming to the man of the series award, Morne Morkel stood no chance with the likes of Hashim Amla, Yousuf Pathan being right there. Morkel was not even the highest wicket taker in the series but rather comes in the 2nd place with 12 scalps after Tsotsobe who had 13 of them against his name. Likewise, Hashim Amla topped the charts for the highest run getter in the series amassing 250 runs from the five games he played. Also, Duminy was a contender with 244 runs from 5 matches. But, Morkel stood nowhere for the award with Yousuf Pathan also well in the race.
My man of the match would have been none other than Yousuf Pathan who not only took the match from nowhere towards the target but was also speed in doing so. People might have come across batsmen who would have seen their team victorious after seeming to be impossible at one stage, losing quick wickets in important stages of the match and with limited overs to play. But, the pace at which they would have scored the winning runs would be nowhere close to what Yousuf Pathan was seen doing yesterday. Of course, Zaheer Khan gave him a good support from the other end.
I can recall the semi finals of the world cup in between Australia and West Indies in 1996 and against South Africa in 1999, both matches which Michael Beaven set right for his team. But, the rate at which Beaven scored his runs was very careful unlike a 68 ball hundred by Yousuf Pathan yesterday. Another match that I would like to cite here is the one between India and Australia at Hyderabad played in October 2009 where Sachin Tendulkar scored 175 runs while chasing a target of 350 and eventually falling short by 3 runs. In that match though India lost, Sachin Tendulkar was awarded the man of the match.
And coming to the man of the series award, Morne Morkel stood no chance with the likes of Hashim Amla, Yousuf Pathan being right there. Morkel was not even the highest wicket taker in the series but rather comes in the 2nd place with 12 scalps after Tsotsobe who had 13 of them against his name. Likewise, Hashim Amla topped the charts for the highest run getter in the series amassing 250 runs from the five games he played. Also, Duminy was a contender with 244 runs from 5 matches. But, Morkel stood nowhere for the award with Yousuf Pathan also well in the race.
Friday, January 21, 2011
John Wright has to worry
Well very few players get a chance to coach the very same team for which they were playing years ago and John Wright is one of those lucky ones to have managed that when he now stands as the coach of the New Zealand team which is totally a different team compared to the team which he was coaching some 5 years ago. John Wright coached India until 2005 and during his tenure as the Indian coach, he was successful in seeing India make it to the finals of two world tournaments namely the ICC Champions trophy 2002 and ICC world cup in 2003.
Not only did he do this but in addition, John Wright saw Indian team win against all opposition except Australia in the 2003 world cup. Now, with John Wright being the coach of his home team, he has pointed the 11 losses of his team in succession and much to anyone's amazement, all those losses that the Kiwis have suffered have been against sub continent teams which includes Bangladesh as well in addition to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. New Zealand is one of those rare teams to have had 4 losses against Bangladesh in a span of 13 days between 5th October 2010 and 17th October 2010.
Added to those 4 losses, New Zealand's one off match against Bangladesh was abandoned which made them return penniless from that tour of Bangladesh. One can recall the West Indies team being whitewashed by Bangladesh in mid 2009 with most of the performers from West Indies going on strike leaving their U-19 players to take to the field. This was not the case with New Zealand whatsoever. To make things even more worse, New Zealand's losses to Bangladesh was even more than what they faced against Sri Lanka. New Zeland lost 2 games against Sri Lanka compared to 4 against Bangladesh.
With most of the teams around the world boycotting their tour of Pakistan and New Zealand being one among them, they lost the chance of losing to Pakistan on their home soil but, that didn't stop them from favoring Pakistan when recently they lost the test series against Pakistan on their home soil 0-1. As a coincidence, new Zealand are set top play the world cup in the same venues where they have lost the aforementioned games in Dhaka, Sri Lanka and India. All these with players like Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee to name a few big hitting names. This makes Wright's job even more tough and god knows what he vows when he says this.
Not only did he do this but in addition, John Wright saw Indian team win against all opposition except Australia in the 2003 world cup. Now, with John Wright being the coach of his home team, he has pointed the 11 losses of his team in succession and much to anyone's amazement, all those losses that the Kiwis have suffered have been against sub continent teams which includes Bangladesh as well in addition to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. New Zealand is one of those rare teams to have had 4 losses against Bangladesh in a span of 13 days between 5th October 2010 and 17th October 2010.
Added to those 4 losses, New Zealand's one off match against Bangladesh was abandoned which made them return penniless from that tour of Bangladesh. One can recall the West Indies team being whitewashed by Bangladesh in mid 2009 with most of the performers from West Indies going on strike leaving their U-19 players to take to the field. This was not the case with New Zealand whatsoever. To make things even more worse, New Zealand's losses to Bangladesh was even more than what they faced against Sri Lanka. New Zeland lost 2 games against Sri Lanka compared to 4 against Bangladesh.
With most of the teams around the world boycotting their tour of Pakistan and New Zealand being one among them, they lost the chance of losing to Pakistan on their home soil but, that didn't stop them from favoring Pakistan when recently they lost the test series against Pakistan on their home soil 0-1. As a coincidence, new Zealand are set top play the world cup in the same venues where they have lost the aforementioned games in Dhaka, Sri Lanka and India. All these with players like Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee to name a few big hitting names. This makes Wright's job even more tough and god knows what he vows when he says this.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Centuries - Now and then!
Well recently, I came across Sachin Tendulkar's 50th ton in test match cricket and just though from where to where is the records heading towards. I can just recall the 34 centuries by the Indian batting great Sunil Gavaskar whose record was for a change broken by a non Sachin Tendulkar when Brian Lara scored his 35th test hundred against one of the eight test playing nations whose name is not important at the moment. This was some 5 -6 years down the lane. And now, Sunil Gavaskar's record stands in the 6th place behind Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting and Kallis.
Likewise, Sunil Gavaskar was the first and the only one until the above mentioned ones took his place and then overtook him to score 30 centuries in tests or more. Sunil Gavaskar was the only non colored player to have scored more than 30 hundreds in tests. The other batsman to cross 30 hundreds was Steve Waugh who had worn the yellow color. As a matter of fact, the color dress in one day cricket was introduced in the 1992 world cup played in Australia/New Zealand while Sunil Gavaskar retired from all forms of cricket in 1987. Since then, all the aforementioned players have worn their team color.
Now, with totally six players joining the 30+ hundred club, shifting our focuses on batsmen who have scored 20 or more hundreds, the list is even more long with batsmen from all teams barring Zimbabwe and Bangladesh being excluded from the list. The 30+ club includes 3 batsmen from India, 1 from South Africa, 1 from West Indies and 3 from Australia, with teams like Sri Lanka, New Zealand, England and Pakistan missing out from the list. However, the 20s club does not exclude batsmen from these countries with the list going endless with as many as 33 players from 8 nations making it to the club.
Coming to the one dayers, 17 centuries by Desmond Haynes was the highest ever scored which stood for almost a decade and now, that figure stands in the 10th position jointly held by Kallis and is ever decreasing. Similar to the fate of 30+ hundreds scores in tests, 20+ centuries in one dayers stand at number six with Jayasuriya, Sachin Tendulkar, Ponting, Ganguly, Saeed Anwar and Gibbs having achieved that. Keeping in mind these figures, there might be more number of batsmen in the days to come to score atleast 40 hundreds in tests and 30 in one dayers. Of course, very few might do a combo of 50 hundreds in both forms of the game.
Likewise, Sunil Gavaskar was the first and the only one until the above mentioned ones took his place and then overtook him to score 30 centuries in tests or more. Sunil Gavaskar was the only non colored player to have scored more than 30 hundreds in tests. The other batsman to cross 30 hundreds was Steve Waugh who had worn the yellow color. As a matter of fact, the color dress in one day cricket was introduced in the 1992 world cup played in Australia/New Zealand while Sunil Gavaskar retired from all forms of cricket in 1987. Since then, all the aforementioned players have worn their team color.
Now, with totally six players joining the 30+ hundred club, shifting our focuses on batsmen who have scored 20 or more hundreds, the list is even more long with batsmen from all teams barring Zimbabwe and Bangladesh being excluded from the list. The 30+ club includes 3 batsmen from India, 1 from South Africa, 1 from West Indies and 3 from Australia, with teams like Sri Lanka, New Zealand, England and Pakistan missing out from the list. However, the 20s club does not exclude batsmen from these countries with the list going endless with as many as 33 players from 8 nations making it to the club.
Coming to the one dayers, 17 centuries by Desmond Haynes was the highest ever scored which stood for almost a decade and now, that figure stands in the 10th position jointly held by Kallis and is ever decreasing. Similar to the fate of 30+ hundreds scores in tests, 20+ centuries in one dayers stand at number six with Jayasuriya, Sachin Tendulkar, Ponting, Ganguly, Saeed Anwar and Gibbs having achieved that. Keeping in mind these figures, there might be more number of batsmen in the days to come to score atleast 40 hundreds in tests and 30 in one dayers. Of course, very few might do a combo of 50 hundreds in both forms of the game.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
How could this happen!
Well, anyone who reads the title of this post would be thinking it to be regarding South Africa's loss at the hands of India. However, though defending a total of 190 on board shocks everyone, a greater shock is something regarding Sachin Tendulkar having to opt out of the bilateral series owing to a hamstring injury. The reason for shock would not certainly be the absence of Sachin Tendulkar for the remaining four matches against the Proteas but the question here is will Sachin Tendulkar be fit for the upcoming world cup where Sachin Tendulkar is about to make his 6th appearance?
Another feature to be noted is that prior to every world cup, Sachin Tendulkar is found to be rested from the team atleast since the 1999 world cup played in England. Sachin Tendulkar was rested from two triangular series', one involving India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in India and the other involving India, Pakistan and England played at Sharjah. Owing to the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, India failed miserably especially in the matches against Pakistan despite there being the presence of Dravid, Azharuddin, Ganguly and Jadeja. And, the bowling department including Srinath, Kumble and Prasad couldn't save face for their team.
It was the absence of Sachin Tendulkar in the match against Zimbabwe that proved to be very costly for India which saw them struggle and end their world cup dreams in the super six stage itself of the world cup after their loss to Australia. Sachin Tendulkar had to leave to Mumbai owing to his father's death. With that apart, even prior to the world cup in 2003 at South Africa, Sachin Tendulkar was rested from the Indian squad in the series against West Indies and New Zealand, both the series which India lost. Sachin Tendulkar's next appearance was in the world cup regarding which nothing needs to be stated in particular.
However, as an exception, prior to the 2007 world cup, Sachin Tendulkar was available for the bilateral series against both Sri Lanka and West Indies and moreover, Sachin Tendulkar was awarded the man of the tournament in the series against West Indies no matter for what. This time, though Sachin Tendulkar was thought to be available for the bilateral series against South Africa and now he has to return owing to a hamstring injury as mentioned earlier. Statistics suggest that whenever Sachin Tendulkar was unavailable for tournaments prior to the world cup, India have fared well like in 1999 and 2003 and failed when he was available like in 2007.
Another feature to be noted is that prior to every world cup, Sachin Tendulkar is found to be rested from the team atleast since the 1999 world cup played in England. Sachin Tendulkar was rested from two triangular series', one involving India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in India and the other involving India, Pakistan and England played at Sharjah. Owing to the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, India failed miserably especially in the matches against Pakistan despite there being the presence of Dravid, Azharuddin, Ganguly and Jadeja. And, the bowling department including Srinath, Kumble and Prasad couldn't save face for their team.
It was the absence of Sachin Tendulkar in the match against Zimbabwe that proved to be very costly for India which saw them struggle and end their world cup dreams in the super six stage itself of the world cup after their loss to Australia. Sachin Tendulkar had to leave to Mumbai owing to his father's death. With that apart, even prior to the world cup in 2003 at South Africa, Sachin Tendulkar was rested from the Indian squad in the series against West Indies and New Zealand, both the series which India lost. Sachin Tendulkar's next appearance was in the world cup regarding which nothing needs to be stated in particular.
However, as an exception, prior to the 2007 world cup, Sachin Tendulkar was available for the bilateral series against both Sri Lanka and West Indies and moreover, Sachin Tendulkar was awarded the man of the tournament in the series against West Indies no matter for what. This time, though Sachin Tendulkar was thought to be available for the bilateral series against South Africa and now he has to return owing to a hamstring injury as mentioned earlier. Statistics suggest that whenever Sachin Tendulkar was unavailable for tournaments prior to the world cup, India have fared well like in 1999 and 2003 and failed when he was available like in 2007.
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