West Indies on improving rankings

Well, it is obvious for any team to gain advantage and in addition gain courage and excitement from that victory to put up a better performance in the days to come. This need not be the case for a team that gets defeated though there goes the saying that "better luck next time" or "losing is the stepping stone for success" for, a defeat takes away the courage most of the times. This is if you have a winning habit and losing really pisses you off. But, neither are the cases with the West Indies. Neither are the West Indies bothered about their losing streak nor about their rankings.

I remember the then West Indies early last year citing a 4-1 win against Australia in the Commonwealth Bank series 2010 at Australia. But, that series didn't even turn out to be 1-4 as far as the West Indies were considered. West Indies lost the series 4-0 to Australia with one match getting blown out due to bad weather. May be no one would have taken Chris Gayle's words so seriously but, a little bit of sense in talking becomes mandatory when things go public and considering one's caliber. Everyone knew the caliber of the West Indies which has only deteriorated since then.

Now that West Indies have won the first test against Pakistan rather unexpectedly by 40 runs, no doubt all their eyes will definitely be on the second test match starting today at Basseterre which the West Indies hardly have a chance looking at their standard. But still, having hopes shouldn't be a problem no matter what. It needs a thorough search through the Internet to see when last did the West Indies win a test match let alone a test series barring the Providence test last week against Pakistan. Of course, they have never met India since 2006 which reduced their burden a little bit.

However, they are bound to meet India later next month for a bilateral series where once again they are termed underdogs. Now, their concern if the West Indies captain-Darren Sammy is to be believed is their rankings which have since the past 8 years or so have been just two behind the bottom. With Zimbabwe losing its test status in 2005, now the West Indies are just behind Bangladesh in the latest ICC test rankings. This has to be the area of concern for the team who once upon a time dominated world cricket. Beating Pakistan this time as well and India in the forthcoming tour can be a possibility with West Indies facing them at home. But..

Shocked!

I had to keep on reading the news again and again unable to believe it in my eyes when I saw it for the first time on the television and on the news channels. The West Indies had beaten Pakistan by 40 runs in the first test at Providence. I had not much of a surprise when the West Indies had two consecutive wins against Pakistan in the last two one dayers which came after they had lost three matches earlier to the sub-continent nation. Of course, that was four in a row for the teams considering the West Indies' ten wicket loss to Pakistan in the quarter-finals of the world cup.

But, a test victory for West Indies against Pakistan is indeed something really worth of a praise for the hosts not only for their victory but also for their win in a test match when the spectators all over the world would have other opinions regarding the test status retained for the West Indies by the ICC. Had I been the ICC chief, I would have stripped the West Indies of their test status after Brian Lara retired. I just can't recall when last did the West Indies last win a test match against a decent opposition barring Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Likewise, my doubt to you readers is whether the West Indies have won a test match against even Bangladesh for, all I can remember West Indies doing was to lost both the test matches to Bangladesh on their last tour at home two years ago. Since 2007, the West Indies have never faced India in test matches be it on tour or at home. And they have not won a match against South Africa despite the teams meeting each other every year. Can anyone of you tell me when last did West Indies meet England and Australia and New Zealand recently?

Pakistan's dreams have been shattered once again when they lost the first test by 40 runs yesterday. Pakistan, we hear was and is and after this test will always be looking for a test series win against the West Indies in West Indies. Way back in 2005, the Inzamam-Ul-Haq led Pakistan team snatched a win in the 2^nd test at Kingston after losing the 1^st test at Bridgetown by 276 runs. This time also, all odds favor Pakistan to win over West Indies in the second test starting on 20^th at Basseterre but will have to wait for another tour to relish their dreams.

New Zealand make their presence felt

Well needless to be said, New Zealand beat Pakistan yesterday by 110 runs which was their first victory in world cups since 1992 (the world cup since which I have been following). I still remember New Zealand losing two games to Pakistan in the 1992 world cup, one in the league stages and the other in the semi finals which saw their fans leave the stadium in tears. Since then, New Zealand have been losing to Pakistan in 5 occasions, two each in the 1992 and 1999 editions and 1 in 1996. Since then the two teams have never met in world cups at all.

For two world cups since 1999, Pakistan have never been able to cross the first round of the world cup and the teams had been grouped in such a way that Pakistan had no chance of meeting New Zealand in the league stages of the world cup. Of course, the teams have met in the T20 world cup in all three editions with Pakistan winning two and New Zealand one. Coming to the ICC champions trophy, which is also a world cup tournament, Pakistan and New Zealand have met thrice with New Zealand winning all three in 2000, 2006 and 2009.

Yesterday, Pakistan just paid the price for not being so alert on the field when they dropped the catch of none other than Ross Taylor who was instrumental in New Zealand's 92 runs off the last four overs that laid the platform for their victory. On the other hand, New Zealand's fielding was exactly the opposite of their Pakistani counterpart. There was a warning in that game against Sri Lanka when ones turned out to be twos, easy catches were dropped and run outs were missed. Finally, Pakistan had to settle with a 11 run win which should have been 50 runs or so.

A bowler who could take three consecutive 4+ wicket hauls and claim his best favorite shot to be "anywhere for six" could only take one gifted wicket of Guptill and score 17 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 188. It is just unfortunate for Pakistan to have such an inspirational captain who can hardly take responsibility when the situations demands a captain's knock similar to that of Steve Waugh. Afridi was one among the two six hitters from Pakistan but which was hardly of any use to his team. By winning the game against Pakistan, New Zealand made their presence felt after they had lost to Australia and were likely to lose yesterday as well.

Semi finals of a world cup

Well with countdown beginning for the world cup starting 19^th 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.

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 1^st stage of the tournament, they will be failing to do so for the 3^rd 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.

Why Does ICC Want To Finish Off U-19 WC in a hurry

Well the seventh under 19 world cup is on its way with as many as four matches namely-West Indies vs Pakistan, India vs Afghanistan, Ireland vs South Africa and last but not the least Canada vs Zimbabwe about to make a start on the first day itself. One has to really wonder as to why does the ICC want to finish off the mega event in a span of just 15 days, with four matches scheduled everyday and obviously at four different venues. The final of the tournament is scheduled on the 30th of this month, with as many as 40+ matches to be held inbetween.

It is really fascinating to see some new teams like Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Afghanistan and United States of America (USA)who are yet to make it to the senior world cup that is held once in four years making a mark in the U-19 world cup. United States and Hong Kong have made it to the international arena previously as well, the former in the ICC Champions Trophy 2004 and the latter in the two editions of the Asia Cup in 2004 and 2008. Though there are hardly any takers for the matches involving the aforementioned teams, one fine day, they can be considered to take the game of cricket forward.

Is it because there are no takers for these matches that the ICC is scheduling these games in such a tight schedule or is it because that the ICC wants the U-19 players concentrate on some other issues may be outside the cricket world. The major world cup the is held once in four years spans over two months, with the players from all the major cricketing nations having a year round schedule excluding their domestic tournaments and the IPLs. Even the lesser events like the ICC Champions trophy and ICC world T20 that are held once in every 2 years spans slightly more than 15 days.

Whatever be the case, there is no cricket tournament that hosts four matches daily. The maximum that has been hosted in a single day is three, with one game involving only minnows. It is just not understandable as to why 4 matches are held simultaneously. Is it the lack of viewers who watch these games? T20 world cup hosts 2 matches daily unlike 4 in U-19 WC. I wonder as to how come the TV channels who have bagged the telecast rights of these matches can show the viewers the match of their interest. Can anyone of you readers of this blog give me an answer for "What other commitments do these U-19 players have other than this U-19 WC?".

With so much loop holes that the ICC is not bothered about despite things being clear, it looks that the ICC just wants to finish off the U-19 world cup as a formality than ancourage the yourgsters take to the game of cricket.

By Hooks or Crooks, New Zealand beat Pakistan

Pakistan might have lost out on an opportunity to host a test match but has not yet lost out on winning a test series. This despite the fact that Pakistan lost the first test to New Zealand yesterday at Dunedin by 32 runs. Thanks to some one man show by Shane Bond in terms of the bowling department of New Zealand who took 8 wickets to earn the man of the match. However, the batting department didn't lag far behind when the lower middle order batsman in Daniel Vettori bought up all his experience to miss another century by 1 run and in addition some contributions from Guptill and Taylor as well.

Despite all these positives from the New Zealand batsmen and Shane Bond and with the fact that New Zealand won the first test, I'd still say that it was a fluke that New Zealand won the match and not by talent. A close look at the New Zealand players irrespective of which department they belonged to, their body language was never found to speak for them whatsoever. Except for Shane Bond, none of the New Zealand players ever showed any sort of enthusiasm in game for reasons best known to them personally. There was hardly any passion for the game from the New Zealand side.

On the other side, the Pakistani players were in the game until they lost their last wicket. The last three wicket partnership for Pakistan in the second innings lasted for as long as 17 overs and nothing would have been possible without the presence of Shane Bond. Where were the players from New Zealand when they had to face the Pakistani bowlers who just dumbfounded most of the New Zealand batsmen when they lost all their wickets for a partly score of just 153? It was not a big deal to have posted a just above 400 runs in the first innings after being put to bat by Pakistan.

It was not a bad move when the Pakistani captain chose to field first after winning the toss for, not only did bowlers from Pakistan have the guts to put pressure on the New Zealand batsmen but also that the New Zealand batting line up was thought to never rise up which unfortunately didn't happen. Once again Shane Bond's presence played a crucial role here when he took 5 Pakistani wickets restricting them for 332. That was not a bad total whatsoever by Pakistan. It was some luck that saw New Zealand score 429 runs which eventually saw them end up victorious.

One has to just wait and see how far can New Zealand can go from here onwards. Can the Kiwis win atleast one of the remaining 2 matches to win the series?

A Reason For Pakistan To Smile

In the recently concluded one day series between Pakistan and Australia, if our memories are long, Australia won the series by a margin 3-2 Pakistan won the first one day match only to lose the second and third followed by a consolation win in the fifth one day when at one time in the match they gave a hint that the result would be 4-1 favoring Australia. Anyway, Pakistan finally ended up victorious after beating the Aussies by 7 wickets despite losing three quick wickets. And in the only T20 match that was a part of the series, Pakistan had almost everything theirs for, on one side they were champions of the game compared to Australia and on the other side, Australia were not playing T20 the way they play either ODI or test cricket.

As expected, Australia crumbled for a partly total of just 108 which is as good as a 3.0 per over run rate in an ODI match. It was fascinating to see Australia have just three players who could manage to score a double digit score. The top scorer in the Australian side was opener Shane Watson who scored 33 runs. This was good only in comparison with the rest of the batsmen and not as far as the game of T20 cricket is concerned. I wonder as to how come Australia could sink so low in T20 cricket that players like Andrew Symonds, Hopes and Hussey could not lead the Aussie batting despite having made names for big hitting in international arena.

On the other hand, Pakistan could win the match without the services of the big hitting Shahid Afridi and captain Younus Khan who opted out of the match and Misbah takes over the captaincy for yet another time. For a change, Shahid Afridi was found striking with the ball bowling his regular leg spin when he is known for his big hitting that can rather be called a slog instead. Shahid Afridi is always found hitting the ball blindly irrespective of the position at which he is batting and the position his team is in. Sometimes, the ball that gets hit covers the distance and during other times, just finds the fielder.

However, off late, Shahid Afridi is found to bowl his leg spin with a wide variety that often makes the batsmen think twice before selecting a shot. Perhaps! Shahid Afridi can now think about a role as a bowler in cricket for, his blind slogging of the ball often disappoints his team rather than be of some service to the same. Until now, Afridi's varying spin bowling was limited only to minnow like Kenya and Zimbabwe. Now, he has got even the decent opposition like Australia under control with his varying leg brakes. For the first time, I can see two bowlers belonging to the same team being given the man of the match award. Probably, this has happened for the first time I guess. I remember Gibbs (RSA) & Ponting (Aus) being awarded the man of the match in the historical match where RSA chased down 434 imposed by Australia.

Aussies Do What They Could Best Do

After the third one day match between Australia and Pakistan, Australia must be feeling a lot more comfortable for clinching the series, when a part of the odds favored the opposition team namely Pakistan who were also facing the same drought that the Australians were facing. But, that was indeed a welcome vitory for Australia after enjoying their dominating position for almost a decade. Well the news of the Australian team declining in standards of the cricket comparatively, is a stale one I suppose. But, who on earth intends to lose something they have enjoyed for almost a decade? Even Ricky Ponting is no exception.

This could be the only reason for Australia to consider themselves lucky enough. They have at last won a one day international tournament in 2009, after losing twice at the hands of the Proteas and then leveling the series with New Zealand in the later part of the Common Wealth Bank series. This was another match that the Australians just managed to lose once again. For, they had the Pakistani batsmen well in their control when the Pakistani batsmen were found reeling at 56 for the loss of three wickets at the end of the 16th over, with the target being 250.

Occassionly, both the teams out there viz Pakistan and Australia had one of their batsmen scoring an unbeaten 116. For Pakistan, it was Kamran Akmal and for Australia it was the opner Shane Watson. It was fantastic to see the Pakistani batsmen not losing any more wickets after their initial loss. Of course, in the recent past, Pakistan has been doing it commonly in most occassions. I still remember the Pakistani batsmen losing all their wickets for a score of 312 on the first day itself and the next step was India putting up a total of 516, empowered with Virender Sehwag's 173. But, Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt came back strongly in the second innings and ensured that the match never went to India.

However, had this come a match prior to this, things would have been seriously different for both the teams. They could have well won the third one day match when Australia were destroyed for a modest total of just 198 on the board. If a team like Pakistan cannot chase down 198, it is a wonder as to who is to be blamed. Of cpurse, not much could be expected from the second and third ODI where in Pakistan imposed a total of just 207 in the second and ten runs lesser than this in the fourth one day. Finally, the Australian players can play in the IPL peacefully without any blasting from their board.

A Rare Feather In Aussie Flag

Believe it or not. I was of the impression that Australia would surely lose the third one day match to Pakistan and would also forfeit the series as well. But, the third one day international had a totally different say whatsoever. This became even moire stronger after the first innings where the Australian batsmen lost wickets at regular intervals for a partly score of just 198 on the board. And it was just a wonder come true for any team to have defended this score and that too against a decent XI like Pakistan. So, would it be right if I say that Australia are back to their winning ways. Well....not really

A Super Cool Symonds

The second one day international between Australia and Pakistan at Dubai reminded me of the world cup encounter between the same two countries way back in 2003 where Andrew Symonds bought Australia from nowhere to end up victorious at the end of the day despite being at 94 for the loss of 5 crucial wickets at one stage, with the then Pakistan side equipped with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Australia finally ended their batting innings at 308/8 and winning the match by 82 runs. All this being possible because of Andrew Symonds who scored an unbeaten 143 off just 125 balls.

And this time in Dubai too, it was the same Andrew Symonds who with his all round contribution helped Australia win the second one day international against Pakistan. Otherwise also, the Australians were in a rather comfortable position first by restricting Pakistan to a modest total of just 207 and then by surpassing the total in 45 overs losing just 4 wickets in the process. Especially after the loss of Australia in the first one day match at the same venue a couple of days back and Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal threatening to take the game away from the Aussies, Symonds' feat is indeed worth the praise.

That is the reason why someone like Andrew Symonds is there in the Australian team despite a number of controversies that surround him off late. If one would ask me, I can tell you guys that Andrew Symonds is no better when compared to either Sreesanth or Shoaib Akthar when it comes to off the field controversies. And Andrew Symonds was also kept aside for the test tournament against India in India last year owing to some fishing controversy which was fishy as well. And Australia paid the heavy price which it had to, by losing the test series 2-0 st the hands of India.

Coming to the match, the second ODI was a face saving one for Australia who are on the receiving end of many fingers which are found pointing towards them after the end of the Warne -McGrath era. Adding to these were the retirement of fellow players like Mathew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist and then injuries striking Brett Lee. Such victories are always welcome for any team who are facing such a drought in cricket when it comes to winning matches. May be that was the reason as to why all the six players who made it to the crease did their little bit that contribute to Australia's success after defeat.

Where Will The 2011 Be Held?

Now that Pakistan has been excluded as the venue for the 2011 world cup owing to the security over that place, it would be nice to know where the games that were previously to be held in Pakistan would be held now. India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh being the other hosts, hosting the Pakistan matches there would not be a good idea, for they are packed with enough number of games and having more games there would be saturation point in these countries. And not only this, but, even the other three venues are likely to cause some or the other security concerns for the players.

One has to recall the blasts in the Indian cities that the country has witnessed and no assurance regarding avoiding the same in future as well. So, India can be just be considered to be better than Pakistan. Despite these blasts that are more or less targetted towards people from the West, Australia and England in particular, it is a wonder that hardly anyone has made an attempt to reconsider their decision of touring India. Blasts keep happening in one or the other city in India atleast once in a month. So, do you consider India as a safe option?

One fears that Pakistan might influence the ICC regarding the security in India taking into account the blasts in Indian cities that have rocked them. But, why should Pakistan do that? The ICC can itself come to a conclusion when it analuses the security suituation in India. Indian newspapers would be the best judge for that. And then, Bangladesh is just another Pakistan, where even the situation cannot be considered to be different. For the moment, there might not be any problems. But, can the Pakistan influence upon the country be given a pass? May be by 2011, situation in Pakistan be well under control and not regarding Bangladesh or India.

And neither is Sri Lanka safe. Of course, the target of the bombers there in Sri Lanka may not be the West world. But, bombs are not gifted with brains to strike only the target alone. Security is making rounds in Sri Lanka equally as it is being done in Pakistan. At present, Sri Lanka is no different than Pakistan when it comes to security concerns. Both the Pakistan as well as the Sri Lankan captains have been stroke recently. So, if these issues cross the line, the ICC world cup 2011 might go the ICC Champions Trophy 2008 way. As a reminder, Australia/New Zealand have last hosted a world cup or an international cricket even way back in 1992 for the Benson & Hedges world cup.

Is Pakistan So Good?

Well it was nice to finally see the Pakistani players wear their boots and hang on with their cricket gears when they faced Australia recently. And much to the excitement, not only did Pakistan enter the ground, but also they took the opposition to task and guess who the opposition was!!!Yes the mighty Aussies of the past. Of course not in the present arena. There were three Australian players whose performance was exceptional when compared to the rest. That was when Brad Haddin, James Hopes and Shane Watson scored 40+ scores. But, not enough support from the other players just added to the Aussie misery, who have just come back from a disastrous tour of South Africa losing the one day series 3-2.

A series of losses in this series against Pakistan could land the Aussies back to where they belong to. That is the number 3 position in the ICC one day rankings. And this doesn't seem to be too far taking their dismal performance against Pakistan into consideration. And how come Australia couldn't just contain the Pakistani players who are since the past one year or so playing international cricket once in a bluemoon? Of course, if the Australian team is given a close look, it doesn't actually seem so. But, the scoreboard the other day gave a different opinion. Reason?

The victory in the fifth and the final one day match against South Africa would have surely given them a great relief when they found themselves at no 2 in the ICC one day rankings. That was the feat that they could manage after losing the series to the Proteas and pulling off a consolation win. But, if things go this way for the Aussies, a Bangladesh- Australia match would be just fine, filled with guesses and thrills. For, Bangladesh are found improving themselves with respect to the game and on the other hand, Aussies are found diminishing in their standards.

2007. But they were never expected to be this bad that not only did they lose the game against Pakistan, but also lost all their 10 wickets for a score less than 175. And the bowler who took the Australian batsmen to task was a part time bowler in May be it is true that Australia are not the team they were two years ago during the world cupShahid Afridi, who is only known for slogging the ball blindly-sometimes over the ropes and many a times to the hands of the fieldsman. And if such a bowler can bag 6 Aussie wickets, one can imagine the plight of the Aussie bowlers.

A Lot Of Unexpecteds In A Month

Well a month long break from blogging couldn't just keep my life going as it always does. And finally, I'm glad that I'm back to blogging on cricket and getting in touch with you friends who have helped me grow to this level. Anyway let me do something more worth than just going in for some unwanted publicity. In the last one month or so, the day since I had taken an indefinite break from blogging, a lot of unexpected turn arounds in the world of cricket have taken place, which I still repent for not being able to bring or share with you.

First of all would be the sad disastrous end to the test series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which witnessed the expected and just added fuel to fire, with most other countries getting more rigid with the plans of not to tour Pakistan may be anymore. The spontaneous reaction being from New Zealand, who immidiately decided to call off their tour to the country which was to be held in late this year. Thanks to some bloody miscreants who don't want Pakistan to showcast their skills on the cricket field. It was really sad that the miscreants didn't even spare the only country that sympathised Pakistan and decided to tour the trouble torn nation.

Next comes the height of politics in India that made its way even to cricket. Alas! the much awaited second edition of the Indian Premire League had to be held in South Africa. This I think is in no way different from the cricket in Pakistan, which was compromised to be played outside its nation like Sharjah and Abu Dabhi. This was a little bit expected and a more of a surprise, for that was the last expected from atleast the fans, who would have thought of making it to the stadium to get a glimpse of the games and a few others who would have wanted their faces to be shown on television sets by luck.

These were the most missed by me in the last one month. Also, there was the way the West Indies escaped with a series win, with team England being unable to grab two wickets on the final day, when the West Indies' scorecard read 114/8. It was England who held the upper hand in that particular match, but not in that particular series whatsoever. England were found paying the heavy price for the debacle that they underwent in the first game where they were all out for 51. This left the West Indies, who are (in the recent past) are known for saving the series rather than go in for a win to just see to that they draw the remainder of the test series and ensure that they take home the trophy. No matter what the spirit of the game says.

Lankans Deceived

Well it has been a very long time since I last held a pen in my hand to blog something about cricket. But, I blame it all on the lack of some or any convincing turn around that really went on in the world of international cricket really. Still, I thought that waiting further for the same would just mean losing my fans who have encouraged me till here. So, I drew some points from the on going test series which featured Pakistan after almost a year or so. And they did the very same in a more decent manner whatsoever. The just showed the cricketing world that they haven't yet forgotten the game of cricket and test cricket in particular.

If Sri Lanka who were facing Pakistan after their debacle against India off late had two players, whom they had thought to have made a difference to their team, they were totally mistaken. For, even the Pakistani test team was well equipped with war heads like Younis Khan who put up a fighting triple century. In the process, Younis Khan became the third Pakistani batsmen to notch up a triple hundred. So, it is now left for the remaining subcontinental teams namely India and Sri Lanka to boast of another batsmen to have scored a triple hundered. Sri Lanka and India have two batsmen who have scored triple hundreds with Pakistan making it three.

For Pakistan, there have been three batsmen off late namely Hanif Mohammed, Inzamam Ul Haq and recently Younus Khan who have a double hundred against their name. While India have two triple hundreds, both of them being scored by Virender Sehwag alone and on the other hand, Sri Lanka too have two batsmen in Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardane to have notched up a triple hundred for their country. This has always been the case with a test match being held on Pakistani soil. Every match played on Pakistani soil becomes a batsmen's paradise and a bowlers' nightmare. More so in the India's tour of the country in early 2006.

In the first two of the three test matches, there were four Pakistani and two Indian batsmen who scored a hundred only to see the first encounter end in a draw. In the second encounter, debutant pacer R P Singh was named the man of the match in the drawn test for taking four wickets. This was the fate of test cricket. All that the first two test matches could witness was smashes from the bat of Shahid Afridi, who hit Harbhajan Singh for four consecutive sixes. And in the first test, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag lost out on putting a record first wicket partnership of 413 when Virender Sehwag lost out hastingly when the scoreboard read 410.

India Spoil Pakistan's Party

Well it is still an undisclosed fact as to why did team India ever decide of touring Sri Lanka when the ICC tours calender never had any plans of that sort. Of course there was a void left in the cricketing calender of the BCCI with the tour of Pakistan being sacrificed to the Mumbai terror strikes on 26/11. Anyway, Pakistan after a year long gap gone without any sorts of decent international cricket, had planned well in advance much more earlier than the Indians did, when they decided to go ahead with playing Sri Lanka once the Indian tour got canceled.

Is it a coincidence that India have decided to tour Sri Lanka or is it just that India just wants to seek revenge against Pakistan in whatever way possible? A sweet and non voilent revenge on the Indian counterparts eh? Not bad. This forced the Sri Lankans to end their tour of Pakistan as early as possible. Sri Lanka and Pakistan played the scheduled three one day internationals in a span of just four days. While, in case of other tri nation tournaments, the tour lasts atleast a week if there are two days gap between each one day international match.

If at all the gap left out by the cancellation of India's tour to Pakistan has to be filled, India could have well gone in for some other team like there were the Bangladeshis who were jobless at the moment, very much fresh from their recent exploitation of the weak Sri Lankan team. This assuming that the Sri Lankan tour of Pakistan was booked far earlier compared to the Indians. If not Bangladesh, there were Zimbabwe & South Africa in addition to other non test playing nations. And how come the teams-India & Sri Lanka are found relaxing after every match while as said the Sri Lanka-Pakistan series was decided and concluded hastily?

And why should the void ever be filled, when last year when the ICC Champions Trophy that was to be held in Pakistan was cancelled all the teams over the world were just warming their bodies at home. Neither did the ICC nor did the other cricket nations ever decide about holding other tournaments like, they could have held another series of the IPL. The second in the year 2008. All of a sudden, why such hasty decisions? Now, the test series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan has been scheduled on 22nd of this month. But, it would be worth to think about it only after it really happens. I'm sorry. Only when the series gets concluded.

Finally Pakistan Pay The Price

The third one day international saw Pakistan pay a heavy price for what they have been doing since a year or so. A year long rest proves very crucial for the Pakistanis. For, when they are back to their playing days, they can hardly afford to crack the opposition in any manner in any department of the game. A 234 run defeat at the hands of the Sri Lankans is something unbearable whatsoever. For, even the 245 run defeat at the hands of Sri Lankans some nine years ago was unacceptable and this led to so many changes to the then Indian team. Members of the team like Nayan Mongia and Vinod Kanbli never ever tended to look back after sometime from the day they registered this huge defeat.

Pakistan fell just short of making into the record books for having a defeat of the highest margin in one day cricket as far as only the test playing teams of the world are considerd. Of course there have been instances where India imposed a 257 run defeat over Bermuda in the World Cup 2007 and in 2003 world cup, Australia inflicted a mammoth defeat of 256 runs. For the sake of stats, India has the record of inflicting the highest ever margin of defeat against any team in the world. And at the same time, India is the victim of having been beaten by a world record margin despite playing test cricket for years altogether.

It is still not understandable as to what was going on in the minds of the Pakistani cricketers which saw them succumb to such a low total of 75 while Sri Lanka's team total went well past 300. The variation between the performances of these two teams should be indeed given a re think whatsoever. If the past performances between Sri Lanka and Pakistan is taken into consideration, Pakistan should have had an upper hand in this match. Especially after their 8 wicket victory in the first one day international at Karachi. Pakistan have won the last 7 out of the 10 one day matches played against Sri Lanka. The three losses being in the third one dayer in the three match ODI series that followed after the world cup 2007 and two in the current series.

Despite for not having been playing cricket for a year long time, Pakistan managed to beat the West Indies 3-0 during their tout in Abu Dhabi convincingly. Of course they should have and have beaten Bangladesh and Zimbabwe 5-0 each. But, it is still not clear as to what happened to the Pakistanis when they faced a team which struggled against minnows Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in all the games they have faced each other. It is a wonder for a team to beat Pakistan after having the matches against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in a toss. A loss to Sri Lanka meant the end of theor successful one day campaign of having won 14 one day internationals in a row. Pakistan beat Bangladesh and Zimbabwe 5-0 and the West Indies 3-0 and Sri Lanka in the first encounter before losing the second and third one.

Sri Lanka Just Unpredictable

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.

After pakistan, Its Sri Lanka

Well, in one of my earlier posts, I had written about the fortune that Pakistan cricketers faced, when they are on a roll to overcome the record for most consecutive victories in one day internationals, that is currently held by Australia, for winning 21 consecutive one day matches, between V B Series 2002 to their West Indies tour in 2003, just after the world cup the same year. Currently, Pakistan have 14 consecutive one day victories, with five each against minnows namely Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, and three against West Indies. The fourteenth one being against India in the Asia cup 2008.

Now, even another team in Sri Lanka are having the same luck, after whitewashing Zimbabwe recently, now, they are heading towards facing another minnow Bangladesh, which can assure Sri Lanka a seven straight win, with a match against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe due in the month of January 2009. But, it seems like the Sri Lankan cricket is shying away from achieving this, by scheduling a tour to Pakistan in January 2009, in case India fail to do so. I hope that the Sri Lankan Cricket is not aware of this for the moment. Else, Sri Lankan Cricket may re-consider their decision of touring Pakistan.

This is very much evident, bacause, Sri Lankan Cricket, earlier refused to have a bi-lateral series against England, owing to a $40 million deal with the IPL. Money gaining precedence over nation. And even this move would not be surprising either. Touring Pakistan may narrow its chances of achieving a consecutive one day win track record. For, the chances of a Sri Lankan win over Pakistan is unlikely as far as history and the current form of the Sri Lankan cricketers goes. Even Pakistan would find itself being deceived from having been given a chance to surpass the Aussie record for the most consecutive one day victories.

With the Sri Lanka- Pakistan series resulting always beng in a toss, a Pakistan win is as unlikely as a Sri Lankan win. But, this is not the case regarding Bangladesh or Zimbabwe. So, I would suggest both the PCB and SLC to re-consider their decision to hold a bi-lateral series.

Fate Of Pakistan Cricket?

Well it is nothing new that the Pakistan Cricket team has not yet played and is not going to play even a single test this year, if the ICC international test time table is to be believed. It was obvious for any team to boycott their tour to an insecurity prone country like Pakistan, and India to some extent. But, I wonder as to what was the mistake of Pakistani cricket fans, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and not to forget the players of Pakistan cricket? I don't know as to which curse is haunting them for the moment. A lot of coincidences, as a result of which the eventual user turning out to be the Pakistan Cricket Board. Why?

A talented team like Pakistan was being missed out by fans in the ICC world cup 2007 at the Caribbean, after the team lost out to Ireland, by under-estimating a weak opponent in the same. Now, since a year or so, there is news about Pakistan cricket only for the bad and wrong reasons. The last test that Pakistan played was against India on their tour late last year. I pity the poor fans who miss out the action of some of the big names like Shoaib Akthar, Sohail Tanvir and others in Pakistan cricket. The situation in Pakistan is so bad that the players are not paid their due if news papers are to be believed. If this contiues, we can look out for another Zimbabwe, to lose their test status, atleast by the fans, if not by the ICC.

The coincidence being that even the fate has played a spoilsport with Pakistan cricket. Because, there were no tours that Pakistan were to play outside their country what-so-ever. Any tours concerning Pakistan involved countries touring Pakistan rather than Pakistan touring other nations. Even the ICC Champions Trophy was to be held in Pakistan, from which, each and every country pulled out one by one, forcing the ICC to postpone the same to next year. Now, even the BCCI is thinking twice to send its players to Pakistan to play a test cum bi lateral series. Such things add just fuel to fire. The only positive being that the Asia cup went on smoothly, and Pakistan played a three match ODI series against West Indies in Abu Dhabi and won 3-0.

Imagine the fate of the players who would be without international cricket for a year. All these not owing to any injury. I feel really afraid upon thinking about the players, once they are back from exile to international cricket, whether they will be able to give their everything to the game of cricket? Can they play cricket with the same passion and enthusiasm as before? A year's gap really means a lot, in any field what-so-ever. And this is not West Indies or Bangladesh, who play test cricket only for the sake of it.Without adding any aggretion or any colour to it. The number of test playing nations under ICC was reduced to nine, after Zimbabwe were stripped off their test status in 2005.And everyone knows the caliber of Bangladesh in test cricket. Now, if Pakistan follow suit, what would be the fate of cricket in the world of sports?

Pakistan is a really talented team, with stunning match winners in Shoaib Akthar, Shoaib Malik, Misbah and lots. I am really eager to see the Pakistani cricketers back in action as soon as possible.