A Crappy New Zealand Side

Well this has become the fate of most of the major cricket playing countries may be since the introduction of the T20 format of the game and more so after the introduction of the devils of the game namely the IPL and ICL. None of the teams are found to put up a good performance for, their national side, the money that it offers is equivalent to a tip that either ICL or IPL offers. If not for Australia, South Africa and India, no other team in the world is today found playing good test cricket. If not, there was no reason absolutely for New Zealand to take the visitors for a ride at Willington.

Not only this, but New Zealand weren't even able to make the second test theirs despite having a 200+ run lead, wherein New Zealand could have even imposed a follow-on. The test went on to yield a null result when all the eyes were on the New Zealand team. The lag that India sufferred in the first innings of that test hardly matterred the Indians who were then under Virender Sehwag. As an Indian cricket fan, I should welcome that. But, as an avid cricket enthusiast, no. It was India who emerged the winers in that game, for they escaped from the jaws of defeat without any pressure upon them whatsoever.

That is a forgotten issue now. However, in the on going third and final test at Willington, the result seems obvious on the second day's play itself, where the New Zealand team crumbled like a baked cookie. It is just funny to even think about a team of the caliber of New Zealand to have had such a disastrous tour and that too being the hosts. The only cheers that the New Zealand team can boast about is owing to the fact that they didn't lose the first test by an innings but only by 10 wickets. The margin of victory being reduced and in turn the woes of the New Zealand team.

And the third test that is ongoing is giving hints of a 2-0 victory for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men. Whether India deserve the victory or not, Vettori does deserve to be on the losing side. It looks likt the motivating factor that the New Zealand team had in the 2007 world cup has gone away with Stephen Fleming. If the scoreboard cites the 9 wickets that India lost on day 1, the fact of 345 run on the board was also equally true. But, still, if Vettori deserves a pat on his back for getting India all out for 379, what has Vettori got to say regarding his batsman's debacle, who could pile up just 197 runs on the board? Now, the lead being 233, the match is bound to end on day four itself, taking into account New Zealand's first innings score.

Was this the way test matches were used to being played until the introduction of IPL and ICL?

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.

The Unforgettable Brian Lara

Even after a year and a three fourth being passed since the West Indian legend Brian Lara retired from all forms of international cricket, it is just not possible to forget the batting of Brian Charles Lara, which was a combination of delightful flamboyance and solidity. The man who had cited that he would continue playing test cricket, which Lara calls it to be a version where the real challenge of the game lies. And on that particular day in the match against England in the super eight of the ICC world cup 2007, Lara says it is all over. including test cricket. How disappointing?

Still, not all hopes were lost by Lara's fans over the world, for once Lara hinted that he would be entertaining his fans in the ICl, by signing up for the Essel's group. His statement then was "t gives me great pleasure to join the Indian Cricket League. You can't keep me too far from cricket and hence I return to the game in this exciting new avatar that the Essel Group has launched". This I hope would have bought back the lost smiles on the faces of the fans of this great batsman, who can surprise the opposition by stroking the ball into places where you would not expect him to do so.

But, even this didn't last much longer, for Lara was forced out of the tournament owing to a fractured arm that he is believed to have sustained while playing in Trinidad & Tobago. The last time one could see Brian Lara in action was against Hyderabad Heroes where he scored just 16 (15b,2x4). Since then its always been a wait game for his fans, who are expecting him to be available sooner or later. But, this has never happened so far. And is it never bound to happen?So, it is as though the man who can tame the bowlers of the world with typical nonchalance is now a matter of the past.

Someone like Inzy, Jayasurya, Shane Warne, Sourav Ganguly, Glenn McGrath, Shane Bond and much others who have called it a day from international cricket are now found entertaining their fans by participating in leagues like the IPL and ICL. This is an undisputed fact that these leagues are to a greater extent colourful due to the presence of these stalwarts. Missing players like Wasim Akram, Brian Lara, Steve Waugh etc really hurts. But, nothing can be done regarding the same what so ever. All that can be done is to just rewind the button and watch these players' highlightes during their playing days. Last but not the least, even now if Lara makes a return to the ICL, it would make the cricketing fans jump with joy.

Too Much or No Cricket

Well these days, as I have stated in some of my earlier posts, there was a time when there was absolutely no cricket played.It all started with the cancellation of the ICC Champions trophy 2008, which was to be held in Pakistan, citing security reasons.Then, we had almost a month and a half with out cricket.Not even some county league not any premier tournament like the ICL or the IPL.Thus, wasting so much time without any entertainment to the viewers nor any revenue to the sponsors and the cricket boards.And there was abandonment of the last two one day matches involving India and England.Well the action is justified.This was also the case with the second edition of the Indian Cricket League.

And finally there was a break when the Border-Gavaskar trophy kicked in.This was held in conjunction with the Bangladesh-New Zealand tests and one day matches.Once this got over, there were as many as five tournaments taking off simultaneously.This included England's tour of India,West Indies versus Pakistan at Abu Dhabi,Bangladesh in South Africa and New Zealand's tour of Australia, Sri lanka versus Zimbabwe, all these in addition to the second edition of the Indian Cricket League.Which one to watch and which one to leave?Out of these six tournaments, I hope none of them were worth the praise what-so-ever.All the matches were equally predictable and one sided.

Now, the drought has once again found to hit international cricket,starting with the cancellation of the last two one day matches and the Indian Cricket League games.I wonder what would be the fate of the test series involving India and England, with England going into the series without even a warm up game.The test matches involving Australia and New Zealand are over.So are the matches between South Africa & Bangladesh and WestIndies vs Pakistan.The one day series involving New Zealand and Australia would be held somewhere in February 2009.It looks like the scoreboard on my blog would be empty for another week or so.

So it would be on 11th of December when we get to watch an international game, when the first test between West Indies and New Zealand kicks in.On the same day, the first test between India and England takes off in style.God knows as to why two tours start and end on the same day.Even the dates during which the second test involving the teams mentioned above takes off at the same time on 19th December.What does the ICC get out of such bad timings of scheduling? Perhaps! Two days prior to the second test between India & England, the first test between South Africa and Australia takes off.So, then we would be having three test series' going on simultaneously.

I wish that the ICC plan the schedule of international tours in such a way that there is cricket round the clock.No clash betwen two series' happens and no situation arises where one keeps waiting for a series to kick in.Because, even the viewers are also the part of the game similar to the umpires and players.

An Inhuman Shameless BCCI

Well the last two days or so,I could hardly do anything worth, be it sleeping in peace,having my food or be it my hobby in blogging, though I managed to put up some posts on my site.Courtesy- the dreadful terror attacks in Mumbai that not only rocked the world but also made me think as to how could someone be so inhuman?I could just not take my eyes off the TV sets, which made me think each and every moment about the progress regarding the attempts by the security personnel trying to save the hostages from there.How inhuman?

At the same time,there was BCCI whose eyes were all focused on whether or how to continue the series involving India and England, when the entire human race was praying for the innocents and the rescue squad out there in Mumbai.Finally,I congratulate the BCCI for ending being successful in going on with the test series by negotiating with the remaining two one day matches.I wonder as to how come the BCCI failed to continue with the one day series as well?In addition to the current international tours, there was also the second edition of the Indian Cricket League going on in progress.But,I could never find any such decisions regarding the same.

I now ask you readers as to how many of you, after watching the dreadful terror attacks ever think about going and watching some entertainment programmes, be it a cricket match or a movie?Are we so much ill hearten that we tend to leave all these behind us and think about ourselves?Despite all the news channels showing the aftermath of the attacks, there was a holiday declared owing to the death of former prime minister V P Singh.I wish there had been a boycott of the current cricket tour as a mourning for those innocent victims in Mumbai and the cammandos who laid their lives to secure the lives of the hostages and for nabbing/killing the terrorists.Atleast can we do this much?

I never Expected This From Zimbabwe

At present, there are four international cricket tournaments in progress.But,as all of us are aware of, there are hardly any tournaments that are of much thrill and excitement that cricket used to be in the recent past or so. One tournament that was being looked upon by cricket fans in India is the tour of England.But, even that tour is a one sided affair, for England had already given it up even before playing.England never showed any sorts of teeth in restricting the Indians.Now, as expected England have lost the series already after the fourth one day at Bangalore. And the second tournament that is under progress is the tour of New Zealand to Australia. The one day record of New Zealand of New Zealand may say whatever, but, as far as their test statistics goes, I'm really sorry.Even a commanding position in the first innings could not be made use of to any greater extent.Anyway thats another issue altogether.

The third series that took place recently was the one day games between Pakistan and West Indies, which also as expected Pakistan won the series 3-0.With only two out of a lot of 11 West Indian team playing,the result could have not been any better.Some blistering knocks from Chris Gayle earning him the man of the series was a welcome relief for the West Indians.And the other tournament being Bangladesh's tour of South Africa,about which I need not mention anything.But, despite all these boring encounters, there was atleast one match that could raise eye brows.This was the third one day match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.With the first two games being a mis match, the third game gave it all to the fans.And finally, I was a bit relieved, as atleast once in a bluemoon I could watch a low scoring thriller.Sad that Zimbabwe lost the match at the end of the day, despite an awesome performance by the opening batsman Mazakadza.

With each and every cricket match being a boring affair these days, I pray god that atleast in the oming season there be some interesting encounters, which could make up one's day. Else, watching the hame of cricket would be a punishment rather than entertainment.Bye.

Drop Yuvraj Singh For the Series Against England

With India beating Australia 2-0 in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar trophy, several questions were being raised about India's would be dominance in the all three formats game of cricket.But,as I've stated in most of my earlier posts regarding Border-Gavaskar trophy,it was partly due to the depletement of the Australian test team that landed in India,and partly for some superb performances from the likes of Ishanth Sharma and Zaheer Khan-who bowled splendidly in the series,and some blistering fireworks from the blades of V V S Laxman, M S Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir-who made most out of the flat tracks that suited the Indian style of batting.No marks to the spinners what-so-ever.

Now,team India is found to overwhelm England-the starters of cricket in the 18th century.Now,with the recent past of England cricket team's performance taken into consideration,they had defeated South Africa 4-0 in the one day series that were held in September after being defeated 2-1 against the same in the test series.And before that, there was New Zealand's tour of England,in which England won the test series and lost the one day series.But,these defeats were not that embarrassing as they are in the current tour of India.For,atleast team England were found giving a tight reply to the visitors.No matter..the England were hosting these teams,which is not the case here.With England being hosts,when the results are so horrible,one can imagine the fate when England is hosted and that too in a sub continent nation?

Irreective of the match result,what matters is the way the teams out there play the game of cricket with full spirit and never-say-die attitude.But,England was never found doing it.In the first ODI,England captain won the toss and chose to put India into bat,thinking that the pitch would be a batting heaven (which it was) and chasing any total would not be difficult.The decision was right although, but,things were not made use of by the England batsmen.When India made a score of 387,a score of atleast 300+ would have made the viewers take to guessing.But,a score of just 229 in just 37 overs is something that a non-test playing nation would be found doing.And in the 2nd ODI,despite having India reeling at 29/3 in 7.3 overs,England not only allowing India put up a big total,but lost wickets in quick succession to someone like Yuvraj Singh-who is not a bowler by anymeans.I wouldn't even give him the tag of part-time-bowler.

Whether England wins or loses the series is a different issue altogether,but,if there is to be some enthusiasm for viewers to go and watch the match in the stadium,I wish there should be atleast some restriction from the opposite team,which would make the match interesting.With the Australian team that toured India not being able to take none other than a man of the match award in the last test,I feel the die hard fans in India would be thinking twice before going out to watch a cricket match if this continues.Just imagine the fate of the sponsorers who have invested millions of dollars in IPL & ICL (keeping in mind the craze for cricket in the country),if the fans-who give their life for cricket, get bored of cricket and give up watching.

It never looks as though the England team will atleast now wake up to put up a though fight against an in-form Indian team.A solution to this would be to reduce the strength of the current Indian team to be in par with the opposition it is facing,so that the matches would be a bit more interesting with lesser one sided games.Else,be prepared for empty stands.

Bangladesh Is No Australia!

Hmm..Australia banned Andrew Symonds from the tour of India and Bangladesh earlier,for opting to fish rather than attend the meeting with the board officials. Though the Australian team misses this lad,they have not got anything to repent with the decision taken by the committee members,for there are remaining eleven players in the squad ready to put in an extra effort in order to fill the void created by Andrew Symonds. The decision of leaving Symonds out of the Australian squad is equivalent to drawing a bucket of water from a sea.And Australia need not pay a heavy price for ommitting Symonds from the squad.With star batsmen like Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin and Ricky ponting,the Australian batting line up is quite safe I suppose.

On the other hand,Bangladesh Cricket Board bans players who join the rebel Indian Cricket League for 10 yrs.Joking!When the Bangladesh Cricket Board is not sure about the present scenario in the team,I wonder as to how it managed to take a decision for ten years altogether?The team which I wrote about previously is the strongest team in the world,but,the team which is now under consideration is placed at the bottom of the ICC points table.Isn't the Bangladesh Cricket Board unaware of this?Can Bangladesh afford to do such a blunder?Well..if the Bangladesh thinks it won the first game against New Zealand at Dhaka,it is mistaken!It was New Zealand who lost rather than Bangladesh winning.

When cricket is just rising in Bangladesh,giving the players some liberty would have been much more sensible rather than taking drastic steps and imposing harsh rules upon its national players. Is Bangladesh ready for a mass boycott of its players from the national squad,given the money that the ICL offers?If this happens,what about the status of cricket in Bangladesh and test cricket in particular?The number of question marks in this post is equal to those being faced by the cricket board of Bangladesh.I feel it is the players delight that they have been recognized by the ICL and offered big bucks.

Finally the Bangladesh Cricket authorities know their limits and then take such steps, steps,for,it is not Indioa who can boast of big money in its cricketing board,nor Australia who have a sea of talent in cricket.

Just Rakhi Sawanth Will Not Help Make ICL Colorful

Well after almost two months without any good cricketing action,the action packed days are back with a bang.All to be deceived.Some boring umpiring in the first test between India and Australia.And the ICL is more of a flop rather than an awesome cricketing action.All eyes were on the second season of the indian Cricket League. But,it looks like the sponsorers do not need any benefit from these matches.Its just a charity game I suppose.I never thought that these matches would be so colorless.In this regard,the Indian Premier League scores very much above this league.The introduction of sky cameras and the niners would have added to the excitement.But, so far that is not to be.So when can it be expected?

Well..whether that will take place in the near future or not,that is not the issue that is haunting now.But, the ICL committee should take the commentary team seriously.It looks like the commentary team is not being payed properly by the Zee sports. Otherwise,I've never seen such a bad commentary whatsoever.And that too Hindi commentary for a commercial series?How mean!Though the ICL was introduced before the IPL,I feel it has to learn a lot from the IPL.A look at the IPL format,action involved and the commentary by the Star Cricket team would give the ICL franchisees a better idea regarding how to run a business involving cricket.

The commentary at times makes us laugh when the commentary like "batsman ne balle ko apne haath mein pakad kar ball ka intezar kar raha hain" and then "Ab is waqt,bowler gend ko apne haath mein rakh kar btsman ki taraf daud raha hain" .No doubt,the crowd that attends the match is pretty denent in number.But,if this is the trend that the ICL committee members continue doing,the present day crowd would not be the same.Else,one would see it diminishing day by day.The tournament started with a bang with Rakhi Sawanth and Kareena Kapoor (in the previous edition) shaking their leg at the inauguration.But,how long will this continue.Of course the cheer leaders are a delight to watch.More than the game of cricket,these things grab in more attraction.

Just introducing a hike in pay to Rs 14 Cr will not grab in good players or crowd. Needless to say,the committee members of the Indian Cricket League do not enjoy a freedomwhen it comes to the ground,players-who are not allowed to play for their national team once they join ICL,which is not the case with the IPL,the members need to put in a lot of hard work to see to that the tournament results in a decent crowd puller.Shifting of the telecast from Zee sports to something like say Ten Soprts or ESPN/Star Sports would help solve matters.Thank you.

When Is The Next Match?

The last international cricket match that I've witnessed is the fifth one day international between South Africa and England and after that its all been politics in cricket boards regarding which cricketing nation is really safe to play and bla bla bla.Alas!The ICC Champions Trophy had to be eventually postponed to October 2009.And until then...?

The tour that a cricket fan like me is looking forward is the home tour involving Australia.But,with most of the top players in the Australian side (viz Adam Gilchrist,Shane Warne,Glenn McGrath,Brad Hogg) calling it a day,some of them missing the tour owing to injuries (not sure about the names) and finally someone like Andrew Symonds who has made a fool of himself by opting to fish rather than attend the meeting with the board officials and end up losing his spot,it looks like this tour will be a disappointing one even though the chances of India regaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy is looking like a certainity.

As an Indian fan,Ah!Awesome.But,as a cricket fan..?Thumbs down.After the Ashes 2005,this would be the one to watch out for Aussie haters.And ifffff..India lose their plot even then,I wish they go home and have a clean shave on their heads.On the other part of cricketing world,there is the series between Bangladesh and New Zealand.Well McCullum..its your day...ha ha ha..Another 28 ball 80* hah?

All sports channels and Star Cricket in particular telecast either past cricket matches,which would be a treat for action lovers and a curse for colour expectations.A boring colourless ROI vs Delhi (currently) and some County championship.For the next international action,I'll have to wait until 9th of October to watch the first test between India and Australia or the first ODI between Bangladesh and New Zealand.Thanks to the insecure situation in Pakistan that forced the ICC to postpone the mega event a year ahead.Thanks to the imbalance in Australian team that has landed in India to return the B-G trophy.And finally a one sided series between Bangladesh and New Zealand.

Atleast lets hope for some thrill in the next edition of the Indian Cricket Legue,for which,the BCCI has to make up its mind and compromise.Else,it would be colourless cricket here and there.

A funny Episode Of ICL?

With the Edelweiss 20s getting recently,its really amazing that the world championship of the Indian Cricket League has already begun in less than a weeks time taken since the Edelweiss 20s got over.I really wonder as to what the plans of these people are.Its too much 'n' too much of cricket being played.No doubt,the planning of the series is just perfect.But,what about the timing?

And adding to the fun is that even this time the matches are being scheduled in Hyderabad which was also one of the venues for the recently concluded Edelweiss 20s challenge.And a world series getting over in a weeks time?Oh! My God!It can never get worse than this I believe.How come the name Indian Cricket League,which is believed to be a private cricket board in India consists of teams like Lahore Badshahs?And in the recently added world series,one can see teams like World XI and Pakistan XI.Then why the name Indian Cricket League?

Well it looks like these people are trying too many things at the same time.Their thinking what I can correlate with is the way a wild boar runs without thinking of the consequences.The series which is now under progress is none the less like a triangular series consisting of teams India XI,Pakistan XI and the world XI.A world series consisting of only three teams?Ha ha ha...

The previous series' that were concluded recently were of some maturity when compared to the ongoing one.Atleast there were a lot of options,a lot of colours,lots of teams competing out there....lots.

All this is happening for the reason that the rebel League is newly launched and lacks experience despite the presence of players like Kapil Dev heading.It would be nice if the Indian Cricket League stops this massive experimenting which would at times lead to disappointment and also flop shows.And much before the fans write 'em off..

Oh! What An Upset?

My eyes couldn't just believe it!It was as though the curse for the Lahore Badshahs reached its peak on Sunday night,which put an abrupt end to the much awaited cheers by the crowd out there who had all come there to cheer the well deserved Lahore Badshahs who were thought to emerge as ultimate winners of the trophy.But,sadly that was not to be.

Despite a 5 wicket haul by Naved ul Hasan and the match ending up in a thrilling tie,there were 6 balls without a batsman at the other end to decide the fate of the Badshahs.No doubt!The match was between the top two teams of the tournament, with each of them having lost only to each other and outperforming the rest.But,my vote was always for the Badshahs,who were a balanced team unlike the Heroes-who had one or a couple of match winners and were found to succumb under pressure. This was evident when Abdul Razzaq was found to bowl 3 no balls costing 4 runs in the last over of the first finals-when Lahore Badshahs needed 12 runs of 6 balls with 4 wickets in hand.

It is the second instance where the man of the match went to the losing side in case of a T20 tie,after the famous bowl out between India & Pakistan in the inaugural T20 world cup.

And one more thing that I could find was that the second edition of the ICL was much better than the may be last five editions of ICC world cup,which saw minnows like Bangladesh,Zimbabwe,Ireland,Kenya and even the West Indies making it big when compared to teams like India,Pakistan South Africa...some due to politics(as in case of the Zim v SA in 1999 & SL v Ken in 2003),some due to under estimating their opponents(like Pak v Ire & Ind v Ban in 2007,WI v Ken in 1996)...to name a few.

If fans could turn up to support these ICL games,there could be no doubt in having an exciting game of cricket ahead in future.Wat Say?

A Major Upset Waiting to Happen In ICL-II

Well the last time I had posted a topic which was in all praise for the new entrants- Lahore Badshahs,who had been unbeaten until Friday,when Hyderabad Heroes grabbed an upset win by 6 runs to go 1-0 up in the best of three finals of the second edition of the Indian Cricket League.And,if this happens no one on earth i believe would ever forgive or forget the Lahore Badshahs .

That would be the last thing that any true cricket fan would ever want to happen.And another fact is that the team is one of the best contenders for the title,for its completely balanced team consisting of experienced players in Inzy,Mushtaq Ahmed,Azhar Mahmood and others.All of us hope they emerge as Australians of world cricket rather than ending up as the unlucky South Africans-who are found to make a mess of their game whenever it comes to the big stage.

After the initial loss of the Lahore Badshahs to the hands of Hyderabad Heroes,I was found to think of a situation where a team beats each and every opponent it faces,only to lose the finals of the same.One such instance that I can quote is the famous Wills World Cup-1996,where South Africa won all of the 5 games in the league stages before losing to the Windies in the QF.And the same South Africa who won all games in the 1999 edition before losing to Australia in the super sixes & eventually in a tied semis.

Also the same South Africa had won all 6 games against Australia & India in the Titan Cup before losing to India.And some similar exchanges between India & Australia where both did the same to each other,first by Australia to India in the Pepsi tri series involving Zimbabwe,followed by India to Australia involving New Zealand at Sharjah-which is known for the memorable innings of Sachin Tendulkar's back to back hundreds.

Last but not the least,there was a quadrangular series involving South Africa,India, Kenya and Zimbabwe in 1999 at Nairobi and this time it was India who was at the receiving end of South Africa.

Indian Cricket League:Lahore Badshahs-A Perfect Finalist

On Thursday,after the Indian batting debacle in Ahmedabad against South Africa,there was something else for cricket fans to watch out for.This is the private cricket tournament in Indian Cricket League,which hosted the match between Lahore Badshahs vs Kolkata Tigers,which was the perfect semi finals and not ought to be missed.Both the teams put up a thorough fight and alas!there had to be just one winner of the match who would book a place in the finals of the second edition of the tournament.

The winner was off course Lahore Badshahs,who are till now the only team to be undefeated in the tournament.A loss to these Lahore Badshahs in the semis would have been nothing but injustice to the same.But,even the Kolkata Tigers were not found to compromise either.Even they were found to fight fire with fire,riding high on Lance Klusner's 57 ball 91,but eventually fell short by a small of 7 runs.

But,according to my opinion,it was the Lahore Badshahs who deserved a place in the finals-not only because they have been unbeaten throughout the tournament,but also posted a decent total which was not of one,but a contribution of the entire team,unlike in the Kolkata Tigers' case where only Lance Klusner was found to blast,while others were only clapping their hands to finally end their campaign.

As the trend goes,I would bet on the Lahore Badshahs who in my opinion would emerge as the champions of the second edition of the Indian Cricket League.

Selfish BCCI

Well with the second round of the Indian Cricket League began,I was surprised by the fact that even the second round was being hosted by the same ground at Panchkula.It was then that I came to know the reason that the culprit in this case was none other than the BCCI-who was not happy with the new turn that was taking place in the history of Indian cricket.It was shocking to hear that the BCCI has given the players to choose weather playing for India or the Rebel League.With neither the money nor the selection panel being a problem for the BCCI,it was just not acceptable by the BCCI to do this act.

As all of us know,there can be at the most some 15-30 players who are contracted by the BCCI.But,with a country with approximately about 1000+ players all over,is there any place for these players to display their talent?Players like Tamil Kumaran, Tejinder Pal Singh,Manish Sharma,Rakesh Patel and much more players who are playing for the ICL are hardly known by us.Do we?

And also,players like Dinesh Mongia,Ritinder Singh Sodi,Sridaran Sriram etc were axed after a couple of appearences.How -if the BCCI is questioned, should these players earn their day's bread with these rules put by BCCI?With such raw talent within them,why should they be denied a chance to showcast their talents?

As a matter of fact,the Ranji,Duleep,Irani trophies hosted by the BCCI are just boring.Does anyone make up their mind to switch on to a channel that is telecasting these matches?And,adding to this is the low money being paid to players for these tours.Isn't it rubbish by the BCCI in denying them a chance to play for the country, just because they've signed up by their Rebel League?

Well with this kind of decision taken by the BCCI,I feel that the BCCI is worried about losing money that they receive as bribes from players for allowing them to play for the nation.If not,Why aren't guys like Laxmipathy Balaji,Murali Karthik,Avishkar Salvi and others not making news despite proving themselves when given a chance,when the likes of Parthiv Patel,Dinesh Karthik,Yousuf Patel flash into the minds of selectors every now and then?

yes!It is high time that the cricket fans of the nation criticize such a shameful,cheap & selfish attitude of the richest cricket board of the world- BCCI.

InZy :An 18 year old even at 40??

In the second round of the Indian Cricket League taking place,there is one man in the side for whom my heart goes on.that's the old Pakistani war horse-Inzamam Ul Haq.Inspite of retiring from international career a year ago,it looks like this pakistani lad from Multan is never found to get exhausted.this was what was shown by this young man when he was found captaining his team in "Lahore Badshahs" in the ongoing Indian Cricket League at Chandigarh.So far,the team Lahore Badhshahs led by him has won all of the encounters viz:against Chandigarh Lions,Hyderabad Heroes and Chennai Superstars.With Inzy's score being 12* against Chandigarh Lions,50* against Chennai Superstars.Well...if Inzy could manage to win the Indian Cricket League title for his team,I think it would be a major achievement by pakistan after their World Cup victory way back in 1992(In which Inzy had a major role to play).And shortly the man celebrated his 39th B'day(on march 3rd).So a belated happy birthday Inzy!have a nice day.......

IPL & ICL Provoking Retirement Of International Cricketers?

Hmm..it is exciting to see hot bucks being involved in the recently launched-The Rebel Indian Cricket League & the Multi Million Dollar Indian Premier League.These leagues provide the fans to watch out for their cricketing heros viz Brian Lara,Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne,Sanath Jayasuriya,Inzy and much more who have retired from their respective nations after serving them for a long period.At the same time,these leagues attract players from their cricketing nations to play for these leagues rather than play for their motherland.Such players include Shane Bond,Adam Gilchrist,Brad Hogg,Scott Styris etc naming a few.

The players listed under the second category have all retired from international cricket,with a lot of fuel still left in their tank.I wonder as to what they are going to achieve by joining these leagues other than money.Will the crowd cheering their heroes be the same when they play for these leagues compared to that when they play for their country?And will the players show the same enthusiasm that they show when playing for their respective nations?

I think that the players representing their respective League teams will play only for money rather than to see their team through.A win or a loss to a particular team in these leagues would hardly make a difference to the players unlike when the same players play for their nations.And anyway,let we fans enjoy the turn that Shane Warne gets on the ball,the accuracy of Glenn McGrath,the pace of Shane Bond, Blistering of Brian Lara and Inzy and much more...