cricket crazy!

Did dressing room uneasiness prompted Rahul Dravid to quit?

2007-09-14T23:43:00.000-07:00

Rahul Dravid has been quoted as saying that the enjoyment has gone out of a tough captaining job.So why was he not enjoying the captaincy, is it because of too much criticism about him being a defensive captain or too little support from his team.Talking to NDTV before the World Cup Dravid had said: "I do enjoy the captaincy, I see it as a great honour and privilege and think I have enjoyed everything that comes with it. You got have to accept that there will be tough days as a captain.""You turn from being a good boy to everyone's whipping boy. I don't take it personally though there will be a captain after me and he'll go through the same thing, the captain before me went through it as well. It's not about Rahul Dravid but the position that one inherits," Dravid added.That was before the World Cup, Rahul Dravid offered to resign after the disastrous first round exit but was persuaded to stay on.Greg Chappell however had great faith in Dravid's captaincy implying that it was the destructive influence of seniors that prevented him from doing his job.While Dravid had test series wins in West Indies and England he was also criticized for being too defensive as a captain.Rahul Dravid as captain:
Did not enforce the follow-on in the Oval Test
Toss error allowed England to win the Mumbai test in 2006
Toss error in the Lord's game
England won ODIs 4-3However Dravid continuing as captain was never in doubt despite some of the mixed results but there was always speculation that he couldn't quite marshal the team and didn't always enjoy their support.Dravid's problems:
Zaheer said 'bowlers were not tired' in the Oval test contradicting him
Dravid pulled up Ganguly for dressing room leaks
Dravid pulled up players for 'torn' jeans and using I-pods.The speculation will continue unless Dravid sets the record straight himself.However in the eyes of former cricketers and fans he was always the right man for the job given his ability to lead from the front.He had no hesitation in declaring in the Multan Test when Tendulkar was on 194 not out and he had no hesitation in declaring in the Sydney Test when he was himself on 91 not out.And it was this public stature that got Gillette to pick him as part of their campaign of global ambassadors for the game along with Roger Federer and Thierry Henry.No doubt he's still the best a man can get, just that Dravid thinks he's the best at batting rather than at captaincy.
Courtesy:NDTV.com

Pakistani team will visit and review security in India

2007-09-14T23:40:00.001-07:00

A two-member Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) delegation of Zakir Khan and Sohail Khan is due to leave for India on September 17 (Monday) to review the forthcoming tour and security arrangements.
The PCB officials will visit Guwahati, Mohali, Kanpur, Gwalior, Jaipur, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore the venues of five one-dayers and three Tests. Pakistan team will visit India during November and December.
“It is a routine visit and we will submit our report to the PCB Chairman, Dr. Nasim Ashraf," Zakir Khan, PCB Director cricket operations told Khaleej Times yesterday.
Meanwhile, the two-member Cricket South Africa (CSA), arrived in Lahore and meetings with PCB officials to the security measures and logistics for their team's tour of Pakistan.

Did windies take Bangladesh lightly?

2007-09-14T23:34:00.000-07:00

West Indies' loss to Bangladesh Thursday in the Twenty20 World Cup was not because they underestimated the Tigers.
This was the contention of Windies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan who said the Caribbean side had simply been outplayed.
"We never considered them minnows. They have been playing well and they are improving rapidly and I'd like to say congratulations to them and wish them all the best for the rest of the tournament, they deserve to win today (Thursday)," Sarwan said in a post-match media conference.
Bangladesh easily chased down the West Indies' 164 for eight, reaching their target with two overs to spare.Sarwan hinted that based on the results so far in the tournament, Bangladesh could reap further success in the inaugural event.
"After what happened last night (Zimbabwe beating Australia) and today (Bangladesh beating West Indies) anything is possible and I think it makes it even more possible in the Twenty20 version of the game," Sarwan explained.
Looking to the future, Sarwan said Windies would be looking to regroup from this disappointment and hinted there would be healthy competition for spots on the regional side.
"There are always opportunities [for other players]. We aren't playing that well in Test cricket either, but I think there are opportunities," Sarwan pointed out.
"I don't think anyone's place is cemented in the team apart from Chris (Gayle) and Shiv (Chanderpaul). It's a matter of players doing well in the domestic competition and anyone would be eligible for selection once they do well."
Courtesy:jamaicaobserver

Climax of Twenty20 could kill anybody!

2007-09-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

You could almost feel the hush as the Indian and Pakistani bowlers lined up for the tie-breaker bowl-out at Sahara Kingsmead Stadium. Then, as the Indians kept hitting the single unprotected stump and the Pakistanis kept missing, you could hear just that same roar that goes up during a penalty shootout in a football or hockey match.
It could have been anywhere in India or Pakistan, instead of South Africa. The capacity 20,000 crowd of mainly local and expatriate Indians and Pakistanis stayed glued to their seats as the match between the arch rivals unfolded, with flags of both countries flying alongside each other in the stands with lots of friendly rivalry amongst the fans.
India seemed to have a slighter edge in the stands, where fans tried to be as different as possible. Vying with the dancing girls who have become an institution at the championships, there was one fan complete with the wide helmet in which Yamraj, the god of death, is traditionally pictured. It proved prophetic.
On the opposite side of the field, two fans unfurled a banner with an inscription straight from the latest Shah Rukh Khan starrer that has put hockey firmly in the spotlight again. 'Chak De India', read the banner, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men certainly did go for it, especially Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa, who all hit the stumps while none of the first three Pakistanis - Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi - hit the target as tumultuous cheers from the crowd accompanied each ball.
Unlike other games, where the crowds start moving out as the last overs approach to avoid the rush to get out and drive home, no one dared move in this game.
'We could not even get to the toilet or go buy a cool drink for fear of missing a great shot,' said Aslam Malik, a Pakistani who has been in South Africa for the past decade now. Working for a local IT company, Malik came to the game with co-workers Ashraf Mohammed and Taran Ramraj, both from India and Hanif Goolam, a South African of Indian origin. The four had driven the 700 km from Pretoria for the game and their camaraderie reflected the spirit in which fans have been attending the games so far.
In fact, said South African fan Arjun Patel, 'one can now see exactly how many brothers have come here from the motherland.
'We daily hear stories about the huge number of legal and illegal immigrants from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh who are in South Africa, and it took a game like this to see them together in such strength at one venue. Although there were many South Africans in the crowd too, I think the festive atmosphere that our brothers from those countries created was what made the match more fun.'
'I always come to Kingsmead whenever India or Pakistan play there, and although I don't quite understand how the points were made here, my husband (Bashan), who is a keen football fan, found the 'penalty' shootout style to be very exciting,' said Shireen Moodley.
It was only the second tied match in the short history of Twenty20 cricket. New Zealand had beaten West Indies 3-0 on the earlier occasion.
Courtesy:earthtimes.org

Ricky Ponting asks' who's humiliated now?'

2007-09-14T23:27:00.000-07:00

Australia demolished England by eight wickets in an emphatic return to form at the Twenty20 World Championship - but even that crushing win had nothing on the severity of Ricky Ponting's parting shot at Kevin Pietersen.
The outspoken England star's call to "humiliate" the world champions came back to haunt him in a big way at Newlands as Australia, less than two days after being stunned by minnows Zimbabwe, handed the old enemy a comprehensive thrashing.
Nathan Bracken snared 3-16 and man-of-the-match honours as England were bundled out for 135 before Matthew Hayden's unbeaten 67 from 43 balls piloted Australia to victory with a massive 31 balls to spare.
The win secured Australia's place in the Super Eights of the tournament, while avoiding the indignity of a first-round exit.
It also gave Ponting the perfect opportunity to line-up Pietersen at the post-match press conference - and the skipper didn't miss.
Pietersen boiled Australian blood when he said after England's win over Zimbabwe on Thursday: "We were humiliated by Australia (in the last Ashes series) and now we're in a position of strength where we can pretty much humiliate them ... It's an opportunity of a lifetime."
Ponting didn't hold back in response.
"Comments, unless you can back them up, don't mean anything at all," the captain bristled.
"They had their chance today to do what he said they wanted to do, 'a once in a lifetime opportunity ... to try and humiliate Australia'.
"They had the opportunity, and if anything they're the ones who have walked off humiliated today."
Having been left "embarrassed" by Australia's five-wicket loss to Zimbabwe on Wednesday, Ponting was gushing in praise of his side on Friday.
Australia's four-pronged pace attack of Bracken, Mitchell Johnson (3-22), Stuart Clark (2-24) and Brett Lee (1-31) were superb.
Andrew Flintoff top scored with 31, while Pietersen added 21, but Australia's disciplined attack ensured England struggled to get their run-rate over six-an-over for much of the innings.
The final three overs - bowled by Bracken and Clark - in particular, were an unmitigated disaster as England lost four wickets for just eight runs.
Australia had no such problems taking to the English bowling attack.
After collapsing to 3-19 against Zimbabwe, Australia's top order dominated the run chase with Adam Gilchrist blazing 45 in a 78-run opening partnership with Hayden before Ponting hit a quick-fire 20.
"I thought we were excellent today," Ponting said.
"We had our backs to the wall going into the game against a team that's been playing a lot of cricket and a team that's a lot more experienced than us in this format of the game, and we've come away with a very, very comprehensive win, so I'm extremely happy with what we've done.
"I think we showed a lot of character to bounce back the way we have.
"If we hadn't learnt from the mistakes we made (against Zimbabwe) we would have all been dummies.
"We respected the game a lot more today I think and the result has been a lot different."
Australia play Bangladesh in Cape Town on Sunday in their first match of the Super Eights, with Pakistan and Sri Lanka also drawn in their group.
Courtesy:Brisbanetimes.com

ICL asks Court to stop BCCI from using Indian flag!

2007-08-25T00:43:00.000-07:00

On the day Subhash Chandra, the chairman of Essel Group and the man behind the Indian Cricket League (ICL), declared that he has nothing personal against Indian cricket board president Sharad Pawar, a legal battle erupted.The ICL on Friday went to the Delhi High Court, seeking to restrain the BCCI from “intimidating” its players and interfering in its affairs. Questioning the BCCI’s sanctity to run Indian cricket, it urged that the board be restrained from using the Indian flag and the name of the country as it had accepted before the Supreme Court that it is a private, autonomous body. The suit also urged the High Court to direct the BCCI to let the ICL use stadia across the country for its tournaments. The BCCI, on its part, gave a guarded response. Chief Administrator Officer Ratnakar Shetty said, “We will formulate our plan of action once we get the notice.”
Courtesy:HT

Dravid is pleased with young Piyush Chawla's progress

2007-08-25T00:39:00.000-07:00

Teenage leg-spinner Piyush Chawla received a glowing endorsement from captain Rahul Dravid after taking three key wickets in India's nine-run win against England in the second one-day international at Bristol
"He's a young kid, he's only 18-years-old. He has a long way to go. But there are great signs.He's played all his (one-day) cricket outside of India in conditions that don't really suit his sort of spin bowling. He's got a great attitude, terrific for an 18-year-old. He always wants to bowl. He's looking to bowl to good batsmen and looking to set aggressive fields.

He's not scared, even if he gets hit. He played a Test match against England in Mohali (in 2006) and if you look at the way he's bowling now and the way he was bowling then, there has been an improvement

Collingwood praises his side's effort

2007-08-25T00:35:00.000-07:00

England got 320 of their target of 329 - their highest ever total chasing in a one-day game - but the skipper admitted it was propbabaly a mistake to drop spinner Monty Panear and play Chris Tremlett.

"In hindsight, you look at the balance of the side, the seamers did well for us at the Rose Bowl and we felt we'd go in with the big lads and obviously 329 was a bit too many for us to chase.
"It was a great game of cricket. We fought right to the end and nearly chased down 320-odd and it was a great effort from the boys."

Boucher fined 60% of match fees

2007-08-25T00:31:00.000-07:00

PROTEAS wicketkeeper Mark Boucher has been fined 60 percent of his match fees in the Twenty20 World Cup cricket tournament next month, after being found guilty of breaching Cricket South Africa’s player code of conduct.
Charges arose from an article published in Business Day on August 15 where Boucher commented on Jacques Kallis’ non-selection for the Twenty20 event.
In his evidence, Boucher repudiated any link between his comments and the selection issue, and claimed his reference to those who had an “issue with Kallis” or “a chip on their shoulder” or “ulterior motives” had nothing to do with the selectors of the Twenty20 team but was merely a statement, in general, concerning Kallis’ critics, and sections of the Afrikaans press.
The commissioner found that the comments by Boucher served to “rubbish” a possible reason for Kallis’ non-selection and that the comments were prejudicial to the selection of the team and hence to the Twenty20 itself for if South Africa was not fielding its best team that, in turn, was detrimental to the prestige of the World Cup.
On Thursday, the commissioner handed down his sanction, and stated: “In my view the breaches are serious. Senior players have a responsibility to CSA and to cricket in general.
“Their responsibilities are set forth in the code and in their contracts and one is entitled to expect punctilious performance of their obligations.
“In the present case the comments to the media were calculated in their effect to embarrass CSA and to denigrate the Twenty20.”
The commissioner noted that damage has been done to CSA and that Boucher has not retracted, nor apologised for the comments made

China will make Cricket global:Asian Cricket Council

2007-08-24T01:04:00.000-07:00

Asia's Cricket Council (ACC) chief is optimistic that increasing investment to develop the sport in China will pay dividends in the near future.
"We have made big investment including money and technical support in developing cricket in China," ACC chief executive Syed Ashraful Huq told China Daily in Beijing during his visit to last week's national men's cricket championship.
"I am confident the investment will get paid."
"It is not a bad investment. It is not like going to the stock exchange and buying shares. It is a safe investment."
The Chinese Cricket Association (CCA), which joined the ACC after the former was established in 2004, has been developing the sport in China in recent years by laying a foundation of professionally trained players, coaches and umpires.
Huq believes China will play a pivotal role in making cricket a truly global sport.
"We have trained hundreds of local coaches here," he said.
"I am hopeful China will play well because if China plays well, then the whole value of the sport will go up over the world."
"Only when major countries like China play the sport, at that time we can say the sport is a truly global sport."
"We have more than 100 countries playing in the world, but China makes the most differences."
As the boss of the sport's governing body in Asia, Huq is especially pleased the sport will debut at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, where he hopes it will give Chinese cricket the spur it needs.
"It will have different impact now," Huq said.
"I came to Beijing two days ago and had meetings with chief of CCA."
"This is the first meeting with chief official in China and I am glad to see they are more interested in advancing the sport than I expected."
CCA chief official Liu Rongyao said the national body was fully committed to development programs.
"It is such a good chance," he said.
"Cricket is more and more popular in China's schools."
"After support from international organizations and our own efforts, we will have more people getting involved and will set up national teams for assembled trainings."
Huq even claimed cricket would be the most popular sport at the Guangzhou Games when teams representing the most populous nations face off.
"Eventually the cricket will become the biggest game in Asian Games - the No 1, because it is seen by the most and it is followed by the most," he said.
"Also China will play the cricket as the host. They will send their men's and women's teams and show people what the sport is."
Huq revealed his long-term aim beyond the Asian Games was to put the sport on the Olympic roster.
"China's standing as the world's leading sporting nation can play a major role in influencing future Olympic rosters."
"China is soon expected to overtake the United States as the top Olympic nation, if not at the 2008 Beijing Olympics then possibly London."
"As such they would have a lot of say in what sports are in the Olympics."
"That's why it is important that cricket is developed in China."
"I don't know if cricket can make it into the London Olympics in 2012, where it could have demonstration status, but maybe the one after that."
Huq, who has visited China twice each year since his first visit in 2002, is impressed by the sport's progress among young people and believes China will jump to a mid-level standard in Asia within two years.
"I saw the same boys playing last year and what they are playing now is very very different."
"In about two years time, they will come up to a level of, say, if not India, Pakistan, maybe other countries like Malaysia and Singapore.
"And by 2010, who knows (what will happen for the China's cricket). In three years, they might do something amazing."

"This kind of improvement is not taking place anywhere in Asia. This is because Chinese people are disciplined. When they get their mind on something, they will make it."
Supporting Huq's claims, the national women's cricket team finished a surprising third at last month's Asian Championships, just two years after the women's players picked up a bat and ball.
According to ACC's plan, China's women's team will go to India for training and competition next year.
The men's team, which was selected after the national championships last week, will compete at the U-15 and U-19 Asian Championships later this year.
Next year they will play at senior level.
Former Pakistan international Rashid Khan is currently coaching China's men's and women's cricket teams.
The CCA aims to have 15,000 cricketers by 2009, with a proportional number of umpires and coaches, and 60,000 by 2012.
By 2020, following the establishment of a national league, international club matches and a national school and inter-city competition, the association expects cricket to be played actively by 150,000 people.
courtesy:chinadaily.com

Shoaib Akhtar snubs ICL offer

2007-08-24T01:02:00.001-07:00

Controversial Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has reportedly refused to join the rebel Indian Cricket League despite being offered a whopping Rs 120-million contract.
Reports said this the most lucrative offer made by ICL to any of the cricketer around the world thus far.
"ICL made the highest offer to the speedster. No other player got even close to him. He was offered Rs 120 million to figure in the league engagements for the next three years," The News quoted a source as saying.
Shoaib`s team mates, including Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Asif, are known to have been offered about half that amount.
"Shoaib was given the highest offer almost at par with some of the leading Indian cricketers. However, he immediately turned down the offer and without giving it a lengthy consideration, he refused to join the league that has got no official backing," another close associate of the Akhtar was quoted as saying by The News.
The quickie is learnt to have said that even if he was offered Rs 1000 million, he would not have deserted his country.
"Shoaib takes pride in representing the country, and even if he had been offered a bigger amount he would not have considered that unless and until the International Cricket Council (ICC) or Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) allowed it," reports quoting sources said.

West Bengal govt is ready to give Eden Garden ground to ICL

2007-08-24T00:59:00.000-07:00

The Indian Cricket League has been offered support from West Bengal Sports Minister Subhash Chakraborty, who has given permission to utilise the world famous Eden Gardens and other grounds under state government control for their ties.
"Whatever facilities we have, we will make available to the boys who have been punished, particularly by the CAB. I have no objection. All the fields will be available for them as all the fields are available for CAB. The owner of the fields is the state government not any other body," Chakraborty was quoted as saying to zeecric.com.
"The Eden Gardens was looked after by CAB. Now the lease period is over and it is state government’s property. If Kapil and others like to play in Eden Gardens, I would allow it. What is the harm in it?" the sports minister added.
Interestingly,the current CAB President Prasun Mukherjee, who is also the Kolkata Police Commissioner, has the backing of the Sharad Pawar-led BCCI regime.

At this level you don't need professors:Sourav Ganguly

2007-08-24T00:55:00.001-07:00

Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian captain, has applauded the man-management skills of the current Indian coaching staff and was pleased that the tour has proceeded without any "hiccups".
Ganguly, who had some major differences with former India coach Greg Chappell, was happy with the current atmosphere in the dressing room, adding that the team did not need a "professor" to coach them at this level.
"The youngsters have enjoyed themselves," Ganguly told Cricinfo when asked about the dynamics in the team. "It's been a lovely dressing room, a free dressing room. No hiccups, not many controversies off the field, not too much rubbish going around, which has been good. It's been fantastic."
Did he think the lack of a head coach had affected the team in any way? "We have coaches - Robin [Singh] and Venky [Prasad] have been superb," he said. "They've been nice, their man-management skills have been worth watching. Chandu Borde has been nice. Lot of people said he's 73 when he got appointed. He may not be the most active because of his age but the batting ideas he gives - stands behind in the nets, watches every ball - that's all you need.
"You don't need a professor at this level. You don't need to treat international players like students. What are you going to teach Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid or Anil Kumble? What are you going to tell them? [There are] minor things which you notice in the nets you come and tell them, 'This is what I feel, this is how you can do it better'. And Mr Borde does it perfectly."
After India's Test series triumph at The Oval, their captain, Dravid, had also acknowledged the efforts of Prasad, Robin and Borde. However, when asked about the lack of a coach before the first game of the one-day series, he was guarded with his stance. "We've had some good success on this tour, but it will be too simplistic to say it's because we haven't had [a coach]," he said. "There are other factors that have gone into us playing well. You can't just focus on the coach.
"Sometimes you're in the team and looking at it from one perspective. People from outside can look at a team and see the direction it's going in. They must provide some intelligence and input as well."
Courtesy:Cricinfo.com

Ravi Bopara wants to be England's Tendulkar

2007-08-24T00:51:00.000-07:00

Ravi Bopara strolls into the Chelmsford pavilion. He is all smiles, with big hands, a stocky build and tracksuit top and bottoms. His presence is room-filling but unforced, putting you straight at ease.
His big smile makes him look younger than his 22 years and immediately approachable. There is nothing clumsy or hurried about his handshake or his small talk.
But then it is only right that he should be relaxed; Essex is his home from home. However, his reputation suggests that, no matter where he finds himself, he will cope.
This reputation was polished on the world stage in April. It was one of the few thrilling matches of the World Cup. England needed 102 in 16 overs to beat Sri Lanka and stay on course for the semi-final. They were six wickets down. At the crease were 36-year-old Paul Nixon, playing his 15th one-day international, and Bopara, with only four ODIs behind him.
But while Nixon fidgeted, Bopara was visibly detached, the calmest man on the field. Watching him ease his way to 52, with pushed ones and twos and creative flicks for four, was a study of a man thinking only about the next scoring option. Everything else - the noise from the stands, the need for a win, playing in the World Cup at 21 - seemed to be blocked out.
Although there was an unhappy ending - Bopara bowled by Dilhara Fernando needing three to win off the last ball - it could be the beginning of a great story.
"I said to myself when I was 17 that I wanted to represent England by the time I'm 21," says Bopara, matter-of-factly. "Although that happened, I never expected to be at the World Cup so early."
That his plans were slightly ahead of schedule clearly did not bother him in the Caribbean. "I had my plan against Sri Lanka and I set myself a clear goal of what I wanted to do. I said to myself, 'I'm going to score my runs here, here and here and not worry about the total or how they're bowling.' Like all of my batting, I was just thinking about where I'm going to score rather than looking at the big picture."
The game sealed Bopara's growing reputation as a wristy, impulsive and intelligent batsman who could build different types of innings - from slow-burners to boundary-filled assaults. And he took his form into the county season. By the beginning of August he was averaging in the high 60s with the bat and had scored his first double-hundred.
His medium-pacers were also proving more and more effective, especially in one-dayers. No wonder he is unfazed.
Bopara believes that a streetwise childhood helped foster his level-headed approach. Born in Forest Gate, East London, to Indian parents, he was touched by the game at an early age while watching his dad play park cricket for Internationals CC. Ravi remembers hating it when he was not taken.
While his dad played, Bopara and his brother would throw a ball around on the side. Most nights from the age of nine were spent playing cricket with his friends from the local area, often in slightly dodgy surroundings.

Read full interview
Courtesy:Cricinfo

Murali is no hurry to break records

2007-08-24T00:47:00.000-07:00

Muttiah Muralitharan insists he has no designs on breaking Shane Warne's Test record in his own backyard this summer.
Murali needs nine more wickets to eclipse Warne's tally of 708 and become the leading Test wicket-taker of all-time, and the Sri-Lankan off-spinner could well claim those in Australia during his country's two-Test tour in November.
Given Murali's career has been tarnished by previous visits to Australia, where his action has persistently been questioned, one might think he would relish the opportunity of ousting Australia's greatest-ever bowler on is home turf.
But the 35-year-old knows it is only a matter of time before he surpasses Warne and is in no rush to establish his place in history.
"I'm not really focused about that because we're trying to play well and win matches there," he said.
"The wickets are good, bouncy. They're supposed to favour fast bowlers but I don't know if it'll be too early in November. So maybe, if I'm lucky, it will spin and I can get some wickets.
"If I get the wickets, then fine, otherwise I can do it in another series because I want to play another four years of Test cricket for Sri Lanka so it'll happen at some moment because I'm just nine wickets away."
Murali has painful memories of Australia, not least because he has taken just eight wickets in his three previous Tests here, which include the one-off Super Series Test in 2005.
He was no-balled by Australian umpires Darrell Hair and Ross Emerson during the 1995-96 tour, has frequently been heckled by home fans and even Prime Minister John Howard labelled him "a chucker".
Yet the mild-mannered Sri Lankan wants to put all that behind him and is optimistic of a warm welcome this summer.
"Hopefully I'll get a good reception," he said. "Whatever happened has gone now, it's a new thing, and hopefully they'll react in a positive way.
"I haven't thought about it happening again. I always think positive, rather than thinking negative."
Warne has been both friend and foe to Murali during their battle to be crowned 'king of spin', and they renewed acquaintances at Manchester's Old Trafford ground this week as Lancashire hosted Hampshire.
It is the first time Murali and Warne have faced each other in a County Championship match and the first time in a first-class match since the Third Test in Colombo in March 2004, although they did clash in a one-day game between the counties in 2005.
This is possibly the last time the two greats will face other and the spin rivals provided a poignant moment on day three, exchanging the tricks of their trade as they warmed up for the day's play.
"He was showing me some balls that he bowls," said Murali. "I was just listening and trying to bowl them."
Courtesy:TvNZ
Asked which deliveries they were, he joked: "I can't tell you those secrets."

Michael Vaughan wants to return to One day team

2007-08-24T00:42:00.000-07:00

England Test captain Michael Vaughan believes that he could break the shackles on his scoring potential should he be given one more opportunity in the one-day squad, sans captaincy.
Vaughan has been left out of the Engaland ODI squad ever since he quit captaincy after a disappointing World Cup campaign.
"Maybe playing as a non-captain will unleash the shackles, and I will just have a go and become a better player," Vaughan was quoted as saying to the NatWest cricket website, adding that his chances for a recall would come down to his successor, Paul Collingwood.
"Only time will tell - but certainly in a year if I'm fit and firing I'd like another opportunity. But that's down to Colly to select me," the Yorkshire player added.
Vaughan has traditionally struggled to get going in one-day cricket despite a Test average of 43.94, which saw him being crowned Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2003.
Vaughan’s poor World Cup and an ODI average of just 27.15, with no hundreds, make him look pretty ordinary.

Harsha Bhogle finds ICL a positive move for cricket

2007-08-24T00:35:00.000-07:00

The ace cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle finds ICL a good move for the better of Cricket. Here's what he thinks about IC-BCCI controversy, appeared in his Indian Express column

The BCCI may be forced to look at the reality of Indian cricket in the eye rather than offer it a bored, distracted glance

The ICL isn’t about cricket, neither is the BCCI. One is, and the other hopes to be, about making profits in a booming market. There isn’t anything wrong with that as long as you state it upfront. And yet, by nature’s wonderful way of sorting things, a confrontation is on the cards and both, at least the BCCI, will be forced to think about Indian cricket, that poor little rich kid that nobody loves.
That is why challenges are good, that is the positive side of free market existence. We are all driven out of comfort zones and forced to confront the truth. Batsmen rediscover the urge to play longer innings when a younger challenger knocks at the door, writers spend an hour more on their columns, airlines drop prices and offer better deals. The BCCI may be forced to look at the reality of Indian cricket in the eye rather than offer it a bored, distracted glance. What fun.
All sport has to be about three things. Revenues and therefore, profits; the players; and the spectators. Normally, in a good competitive environment, the first of those should derive from the second and the third.
If the players are well prepared and play good cricket, the spectators and viewers come in and revenues rise. But in a monopoly, you don’t have to worry too much about players and spectators; just as Indian Airlines didn’t need to worry too much about passengers. But if the ICL does reasonably well, and provides the players and the spectators with an option, the BCCI will be forced to think about them; like Indian Airlines had to with the arrival of private carriers.
And so I think the BCCI will be forced to stop doing stupid things like going to Australia seven or eight days before the first Test with only one three-day game to get used to the conditions. At the moment, I am pretty certain they know it is wrong but I am just as certain they don’t worry too much about it because revenues are independent of players and spectators, products and customers. But if India look unprepared for Australia and do badly, and if viewers have the option of switching, the BCCI might be forced into doing something right. There is always another way of getting there, remember!
At the moment though, the ICL is a concoction of has-beens and never-will-bes. And you have to wonder about some of the former players jumping at the opportunity of filling their pockets. They are a bit like call centre companies—anyone who wants a job is welcome—but I guess they have no choice at the moment for they must start with they have. But it is in their long term intent that I believe their success will eventually lie. Zee have been quick off the blocks with most things they have done in television but it is their vision that will be tested.
They have had chief executives walk in and out every year, ambitious programmes vanish quietly and while they give the impression of being nimble you don’t always know if they are in it for the long haul. If I was a young cricketer today, I would want to be convinced of intent.
There are also three key questions: who, where and when? We have some inkling of the who but have no idea of the when and the where. What are the teams going to be called? Are they looking to establish a culture of city rivalry? If, for example, Mumbai is one of the teams, are there enough players from Mumbai for the Mumbaikar to wear a team shirt with pride? The US leagues can do that and so can the Premiership (how many London players, or for that matter England players, are there at Chelsea and Arsenal?) because they have a long history of local affiliation.
The irony of it all is that Lalit Modi wanted to start a similar league ten years ago and found the door being shut on him by the BCCI. Now Modi is in the BCCI and his organisation is shutting the door on what was really his idea! But there is an opportunity here, maybe two, for the BCCI. If more players leave the Ranji Trophy it can actually become more competitive because Indian cricket needs fewer, not more, players.
And they can start a similar league that could well be more attractive and profitable. But will they? If you are used to having people come to you to buy tickets it is very difficult to go to them to sell tickets!
I hope the ICL has a good debut though it seems that they are more at the start of a steeplechase than in the final straight. It will be good for Indian cricket and, if they want to look at it that way, best for the BCCI!
Courtesy:Indian Express

Justin Langer says sledging is important in cricket

2007-08-09T22:33:00.000-07:00

Former Australian Test opener Justin Langer feels that sledging needs to be a part of modern day cricket, without which the game will lose its spice and will also be robbed off its aura of mysticism.
“Let’s make no bones about it: Test cricket can be a fierce affair,” Langer wrote in his column for the BBC.
“Cricket is a non-contact sport so in the heat of the moment words are often exchanged between different players. This is part of the contest.
“The game wouldn’t be the same if everyone was silent on field. I would be concerned if my team, no matter what colour cap we are wearing, were quiet throughout the course of a day’s play.
“I would see this as a sign of disinterest or lack of competitive edge that the best teams tend to display. It would be a sad day when emotion of a contest was taken away from the game,” Langer added.
Langer supported England coach Peter Moore’s views and sentiments on muting the stumps microphone during the course of play.
“I believe Moores was absolutely spot on with his assessment of stump microphones. If there is anything unsavoury happening in middle then I believe that is where it should be left; on the field.”

Sri Lankan cricket board slams Bishan Singh Bedi

2007-08-09T22:29:00.001-07:00

Sri Lanka on Thursday denounced former India skipper Bishan Singh Bedi’s “vituperative outburst” against Muttiah Muralidharan as “needless and unfair”.
In reference to Bedi’s comments that Muralidharan was taking advantage of his physical deformity and that the ICC have “created a monster” by allowing him to continue to bowl, the Sri Lankan cricket board said such remarks were intended to “harm the bowler’s reputation and achievements”.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) media manager Samantha Algama said in a statement: “It is irresponsible for a person of Bedi’s stature to make such public comments where he has attacked the personal integrity of Muralidharan and technical competency of the ICC.
Bedi has needlessly, unfairly and deliberately targeted Muralidharan in his vituperative outburst.”
Algama said SLC would back Muralidharan if he intends to take action against Bedi. “We feel that Bedi’s comments are defamatory and intended to cause harm to his reputation and achievements, and also disparage the ICC’s ruling on the matter.”
“SLC sincerely believes that appropriate action should be taken by the authorities to prevent such incidents from recurring and will support any and all efforts by Muralidharan to take corrective action in the matter.”
Bedi, who has been a vocal critic of Muralidharan, said the Sri Lankan was killing the game by setting a wrong precedent for youngsters.

Now it's Lalu vs Pawar off the cricket pitch!

2007-08-09T22:23:00.000-07:00

The battle of cricketing leagues is heating up by the day and the person who, on Thursday, took on BCCI President Sharad Pawar is none other than his rival and Bihar Cricket Association Cheif - Lalu Prasad Yadav.
He's come out openly against BCCI's plans to impose a ban on players joining the breakaway Indian Cricket League.
Now, there is this cricketing battle with a twist - instead of 22 men taking each other in a stadium, its our own political fraternity out to settle scores with each other.
The latest entrant to the battle field is Lalu Yadav, Railways Minister and the President of the Bihar Cricket Association, who is batting in favour of the breakaway cricket league ICL.
"The players who complain that they are not being selected, if they join the parallel cricket league what's wrong in that. It will help talent come up and India will get good players," said Lalu Yadav.
In the last 48 hours, the BCCI chief Sharad Pawar himself has been forced to eat his words over his support to the ICL.
First, he tried to act cosy with Subhash Chandra's ICL.
"I dont want anyone to be penalised. It will be great if we all can work together," said Sharad Pawar day before the BCCI's working committee meeting in the capital.
But, only to be rebuffed by all his BCCI colleagues.
"If he (a player) choses to associate himself with any other organisation, he shall not be entitled to derive any benefits from the BCCI or be connected with any of its activities," announced Rajiv Shukla after the Working Committee meeting on Wednesday.
The congress general secretary Digvijay Singh too has recently written a letter to the BCCI Cheif making a case for the ICL but why all this controversy about a league which only is eyeing former superstars in order to bolster its own credentials.
In the end, is it simply about money?
Maybe, that is why Lalu Yadav is willing to offer the services of his railways stadiums to the ICL. Why should the BCCI be the only organisation reaping in the moolah from cricket.
And of course, sorting out Sharad Pawar also means one notch higher in the eyes of the ultimate super power - Sonia Gandhi.
Courtesy:IBNlive.com

Lalu Prasad Yadav supports ICL

2007-08-09T22:17:00.000-07:00

Even as the Indian board remains inflexible over the Indian Cricket League (ICL) , the federal railway minister and Bihar Cricket Association president Lalu Prasad Yadav today openly backed the ICL, saying the million-dollar tournament could be played in stadiums owned by his ministry.
Railways, the ministry's side in the Ranji Trophy, have won the tournament twice in the past five seasons and own around 50 grounds across the country. That could come in handy for the ICL who face a lack of venues to stage the league. Most cricket grounds are owned by local cricket associations, and the BCCI has discouraged any sort of interaction with the ICL.
Yadav described the ICL as a "good initiative" and said competition was good for the game. "The parallel league is a good thing for those who complain that they were not selected or were ignored. This competition will be good for spotting good players.
"We will definitely allow them to play in our stadiums. We will charge money for it."
The board said yesterday that cricketers associating themselves with other organisations would not be entitled to any benefits from the BCCI or "be connected with any of its activities". Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, had last week threatened to impose life bans on players who joined the unofficial body.

Sarwan was shocked when he was dropped

2007-08-09T22:08:00.001-07:00

Ramnaresh Sarwan has called the experience of being dropped from Test squad in Pakistan last November one of the most shocking incidents of his life and hit out against the team management of the day, calling it a political decision.
"I was in the dressing-room on the morning of the Test preparing to go out for batting practice when Brian [Lara] approached me and said I was not playing," Sarwan told the Jamaica Gleaner. "I was very shocked but I said nothing and went out to do some batting drills. I don't think my omission was justified. I was very angry because there was no specific reason given for the decision to drop me.
"It made me understand that sport is also about politics and that people would do what's necessary to accomplish their own goals, whatever that might be. It was a very humiliating experience, but I think it has made me stronger as a person."
Lara had insisted at that time that the move wasn't "designed as a drop," and Sarwan had a key role to play in West Indies cricket. "He will come back from this and come back stronger. It wasn't designed as a drop," Lara said on November 24. "We just wanted to make him aware of the situation and come back stronger. We need him and we need him to take control."
Courtesy:cricinfo.org

Stephen Fleming dropped from Twenty20 team

2007-08-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

New Zealand selectors on Thursday said they would not send Test skipper Stephen Fleming to the ICC Twenty20 World Championships in order to blood Daniel Vettori as captain.
Fleming stood down as the Black Caps one-day captain to concentrate on his Test career following New Zealand's World Cup semifinal loss to Sri Lanka earlier this year and selectors are looking to Vettori to fill the void.
New Zealand coach John Bracewell said including Fleming in the squad travelling to South Africa in September could have proved a distraction.
"This is the first opportunity for Daniel to captain the team abroad and we wanted to ensure that Daniel and the team were not looking to him (Fleming) for leadership," Bracewell said.
Vettori has already expressed his interest in captaining the one-day side in the absence of Fleming and his installation as Twenty20 skipper signals a changing of the guard.
While the spinner has acted as stand-in captain in New Zealand when Fleming has been unavailable, the Twenty20 tournament is the first time he has been handed the skipper's armband overseas.
The New Zealand squad included two new caps in all rounders Nathan McCullum and Bradley Scott.
Wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins also earned a recall as back-up to Brendon McCullum.

Shah Rukh Khan at the Oval

2007-08-09T21:14:00.001-07:00

On the first day of the Oval test, fans were there in full force not just for a look at Sachin Tendulkar but also a glimpse of SRK. King Khan decided to pop into the Oval not to queue up for a Sachin autograph like Daniel Radcliffe but just to watch him bat.The superstar is in London for the premiere of his film Chak De India and that's why he was more familiar with a penalty corner than with a cover drive.SRK was all miked up and ready for a bit of a chin-wag with someone as famous as him at least in India. And as he waited his turn to chat with Sunil Gavaskar, the actor looked like he was contemplating his next role as a sports commentator.SRK may be playing the role of a hockey coach in his new film but it was visible that his true passion lies in cricket, which was confirmed by his brief visit at the oval.

BCCI is scared of ICL, says Bishan Singh Bedi

2007-08-07T00:24:00.000-07:00

Finally the all time big mouth of the Indian cricket is talking about ICL! No, not Navjot Singh Sidhu, but another sardar, Bishan Singh Bedi. He's, as expected, attacking BCCI. Bedi says the BCCI's opposition to the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) is grounded in its fear of being exposed as an inefficient organisation."The BCCI cannot ban players for playing in the league. Suppose you are working for a company and join another after some time, your former employers cannot stop you from earning your livelihood. That's illegal. Cricket is not their personal property and they have no right to stop anybody from joining this league. Actually the board is scared that if the ICL turns out to be a well organised event, then their own failures would be exposed," he added.
He didn't even spare ICL's intentions! Bedi felt the ICL organisers are only trying to mint money out of the country's obsession with cricket!
"I don't think it is something on the lines of Kerry Packer series, so there should not be any objection in the first place. I don't know whether this league would be good for the game in the long run but there is no harm in allowing it to take place," he said.
Bedi also came out in support of National Cricket Academy chairman Kapil Dev who has been threatened with a sack for joining the league.
"I don't think it would be appropriate to take away his job on this ground,"
If you're concluding that Bedi is on ICL's radar, forget it. He is in no mood to join ICL "I will not join ICL for the simple reason that I don't think I would be able to fit into this bunch of vultures,"

Now Attapattu in ICL net!

2007-08-05T23:54:00.000-07:00

Another International cricketer is in ICL's net, it seems. Sri Lanka's stylish opening batsman Marvan has asked Sri Lanka Cricket to release him from his annual central contract.
"Marvan sent a letter to chief executive Duleep Mendis on Friday requesting release from his central contract," board secretary Kangadaran Mathivanan said. The 36-year-old righthander opted out of the recently completed series against Bangladesh and has been approached to play in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), a rebel Twenty20 competition being set-up by Indian broadcaster Zee TV.
The money bag shown by ICL must have been a too big incentive to ignore for Attapattu, who's almost approaching retirement in International cricket. Atapattu's current contract is worth $100,000 per annum plus match and tour fees. Just imagine, how much ICL would have offered him!

Aaqib Javed sees no future for Shoaib Akhtar

2007-08-05T23:50:00.000-07:00

Former Test pacer Aaqib Javed, the chief bowling coach at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, has warned that fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar does not have a very long international career. Describing Shoaib as a very moody player, Aaqib, said he didn't see the fast bowler playing for more than two year's time. "He is basically a very moody player. Only he knows what he wants to do when he gets up the morning although each player is supposed to be ready to train and for every condition," said Aaqib. Aaqib said only Shoaib knew how serious his present injury was. "Only a player knows really about his fitness. So it is hard to say whether this neck strain is serious or not," he added.
"What creates problems for Shoaib is that if he is out of cricket for one or two weeks he does not touch the ball. So he loses the rhythm and focus. If he does not work very hard in his last few years as an international player he will face a lot of difficulties in future"

Lawson says India-Pak series is equal to Ashes!

2007-08-05T23:45:00.000-07:00

Pakistan's new coach Geoff Lawson has rated the team's traditional rivalry with cross-border rivals India as the mother of all cricket battles.
The former Australian fast bowler said that to beat India in India is about 10 Ashes series wrapped in one.The biggest series of the decade happens in India. Beating India in India is about 10 Ashes series wrapped in one. It's like another war over there,"
Pakistan is due to tour India in November and December to play three Tests and five ODIs.
Lawson in his column also expressed astonishment over the Australian hockey team's pull out from the Champions Trophy tournament due to be held in Lahore in December.
"Sports people in the subcontinent are deities almost. If you are involved in sport, that's the safest situation to be in.There are less concerns than I have going to London or New York. I was in England in 2005 when all the bombs went off and that was scary"
May be Pakistan needs to hire more foreigners to propagate safety in Pakistan!

Tim Boon wants to coach Indian Cricket team

2007-08-05T23:28:00.000-07:00

The latest to join the list of aspirants to be the Indian Cricket coach, is Tim Boon, Leicestershire's senior coach. "I'm in the middle of a contract here in Leicestershire but any county coach will aspire to be an international coach. I look at England, Australia and India as the top three jobs in the world. We all harbour thoughts to lead countries."
Kepler Wessels, Queensland's Terry Oliver, former Sri Lanka coach John Dyson, Dave Nosworthy of South Africa and former India wicketkeeper Chandrakant Pandit are the some of the names doing the rounds for the Indian coaching job.
Being a cricket coach in the Indian sub-continent is a tough job. While the challenge of meeting crores of crazy Indian cricket fans' expectations can shatter anybody, the prospect of earning loads of money in terms of contract and advertisement cannot be ignored.

Atherton wants Sreesanth banned from third test

2007-08-05T23:11:00.000-07:00

Former England Captain Mike Atherton is baying for Sreesanth's blood. He wants Sreesanth to be banned for the third test.Atherton wrote in his column that a bowler must always be punished severely for bowling a beamer. "If bowled deliberately there cannot be a more cowardly action on a cricket field; if bowled accidentally it is still potentially lethal. Either way it should incur an immediate one-match ban. The ball wasn't new and the lacquer had worn off, making it less likely to slip out of his hand; it wasn't wet; he had directional problems but hardly of the 'yips' variety.

We do know that, since the ball landed at the wicketkeeper's feet, he missed his length by a good 30 yards, an extraordinary failing for an international bowler. If it did slip, it slipped with remarkable accuracy, honing in on Pietersen's skull. Shortly afterwards he overstepped the front mark by two feet to bowl a rapid bouncer at Collingwood. Sreesanth was hardly in control of his emotions during that particular spell.

The royal wave was all that was needed for him to be portrayed as an innocent in the matter and to be forgiven.
An apology doesn't necessarily mean it is sincere. With match referees on the prowl, any bowler with an ounce of survival instinct is bound to apologise, deliberately bowled or not. And the batsman/batting side has no option but to accept it, for if it is not accepted then the moral high ground shifts in favour of the bowler, whose integrity is suddenly in question.

By fining Sreesanth 50% of his match fee for a shoulder nudge that could have inflicted no physical damage and ignoring the beamer which could have maimed a less alert batsman, the International Cricket Council once again showed a liking for the irrelevancies over the issues that matter. Since the match referee remained silent on the issue, it is Dravid who should take the appropriate disciplinary action ahead of The Oval Test match. Even if he doesn't want to take disciplinary action, he should ask himself: does he really want a bowler who so obviously cannot control his emotions to play in such a crunch encounter?"

Phew! This man is really angry with Sreesanth!

Mohd Asif says No, Afridi still not decided about ICL

2007-08-04T05:23:00.000-07:00

The young players who have been persuaded by ICL are in dilemma. Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif has rejected a Rs 100 million offer from the Indian Cricket League (ICL) even as all-rounder Shahid Afridi remained undecided on joining the rebel series. Asif said ICL organisers had offered him Rs 70 million initially which was eventually increased to Rs 100 million for a three-year contract.
"Whatever I am today it is because of Pakistan and there is nothing greater than playing for your country. I cannot imagine dumping the national team to play in a private league. Right now I am busy preparing for the Twenty20 World Cup and this offer from the Indian league organisers was nothing but a distraction which is over now," he added.
Afridi, however, said he was still considering the Rs 90 million offer made to him by ICL organisers and would take time to decide on the matter.
"It is premature to say whether I will accept the offer or not," the all-rounder said.
Earlier Pakistan board has warned it's current players from joining ICL. The PCB has, however, made the concession for former players provided they are not employed with the board.
Meanwhile, sources said skipper Younis Khan was also approached in England, where he is playing for Yorkshire, but he turned it down.
ICL organisers have already approached former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, who has retired from one-day internationals but is keen to play in Tests for Pakistan.
Sources said another former captain, Moin Khan, was also in the ICL radar.
Courtesy:HT

Kapil Dev questions Sharad Pawar's commitment to Cricket!

2007-08-04T05:21:00.000-07:00

The battle is completely on now!
Swords are out and BCCI and ICL are fighting in the open, atleast verbally!
Former India captain Kapil Dev on Saturday hit back at the BCCI for threatening to impose life ban on players aligning with the rebel Indian Cricket League, saying such a tough stand was 'unfair' and would only 'scare players'.
Kapil, Chairman of the ICL's Executive Board, also took a dig at BCCI President Sharad Pawar by questioning his commitment to cricket.
"I am disappointed. They are trying to scare players when people of the country want to play cricket. It is not fair for the BCCI Secretary (Niranjan Shah) to say like that," he said.
"Maybe, he has his own reasons but that's not the way to react," he told a private TV channel.
Shah had on Friday warned that any player signing up for the breakaway ICL would be banned for life. "Our stand is very clear. Players who take part in the ICL will never be eligible to play for the country again," he had said.
Kapil also gave a tongue-in-cheek reply to Pawar's reported comments that the former Indian captain was "busy with other activities" and had little time for National Cricket Academy of which he is the chairman.
"He is a senior politician and has an important ministry. Does he have time for cricket? I can also say about him what he said about me," Kapil said.
Courtesy:HT

Shoaib Akhtar confirms offer from ICL

2007-08-04T00:20:00.000-07:00

With the Twenty20 World Cup just a month away, triggering an important season in which Pakistan face South Africa, India and Australia, the bombshell that current players have been seriously considering offers from the breakaway Indian Cricket League is posing a threat to Pakistan cricket.
The quartet - captain Shoaib Malik, Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq - consulted lawyers to deal with the repercussions of playing in the ICL.
Three other players - Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan and Danish Kaneria - too delayed signing their contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
A lawyer representing one of the four players, said the PCB had no right to stop the players if they wished to play for the ICL. The legal advice encouraged the players.
Shoaib Akhtar, being the most popular of the four, is said to have got an offer of US one million dollars, with Afridi second with $500,000 and the other two promises of $300,000 each.
Shoaib Akhtar confirms offer:
The speedster confirmed that he had received a "very lucrative offer from the ICL," but preferred not to play in it.
"It was a very tempting offer but I have decided to stay away from it and am going ahead and signing the PCB contract," he said.
The quartet - alongwith Younis and Yousuf, both of whom were also approached by the ICL, are placed in A category of the central contracts.
They get an annual salary of Rs 2,50, 000 and bonuses in case of wins and notable performances.
New Zealand's Stephen Fleming was the first current Test player to be speculatively linked to the competition.
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq, who still harbours hopes of playing in the Tests after retiring from One-Day cricket, is also considering the ICL offer.
The PCB's chief co-operating officer Shafqat Naghmi hoped the matter would be resolved soon.
Courtesy:cricketnext.com

MS Dhoni may captain India at Twenty20 World Cup

2007-08-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

With most of the veteran cricketers like Dravid, Sachin and Gangluy off the Twenty20 World Cup, BCCI is left with little choice over the captaincy issue. Of the top three contenders Sehwag, Yuvraj and Dhoni, the first two are in batting lean period. And the natural choice is Dhoni. And his performance in the first two tests against England will surely help him to get that coveted designation. So, now only a formality left to announce MS Dhoni as India's captain at the Twenty20 World Cup.

And former cricketers are in favour of Dhoni too.

"Dhoni is a future captain and I think you should give more time to him so that he can understand what actually international cricket is"

says Yashpal Sharma, former national selector.

"Definitely, I think Dhoni has it, Yuvraj has it, Sehwag is not there but he has it, and so does Dinesh Karthik, who's doing so well. So, we have got quite a good pool of guys but then they have to prove themselves. They have to be consistent." says Kirti Azad, another former national selector

Infact, the captaincy can do wonders for this long haired cricketer by bringing in maturity and consistency in his performance

Pakistan will not allow any players to join ICL

2007-08-02T23:20:00.000-07:00

Pakistan Cricket Board finally takes a tough stand on Indian Cricket League. The rumours has been making rounds about Pakistan's some key(though veteran) players joining ICL. But now The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) says it will not allow current or former players still involved with the Board to play in the unofficial Indian Cricket League."The ICL is not recognised by the International Cricket Council or its member Boards so there is no question of our players going to play there."
Rumour was that Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik had received offers days after former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq confirmed he had been approached by the organisers.
The ICL has signed former West Indies captain Brian Lara for the Twenty20 series to be played over 45 days starting in October.
Ashraf said any player who decided to play in the league would not be selected again for Pakistan.
"We have clauses in our central contracts clearly outlining the board decides where the players can play," he said. "Even where former players are concerned if they are not holding any position with the board we can't stop them. But those who are working for us will not be given permission to play in the Indian league."
Obviously BCCI is trying its best to convince the boards from other nations, to talk tough and take tough stand on joining ICL
Interesting, very interesting!

Venkatesh Prasad asks Sreesanth to play by the rules

2007-08-02T23:06:00.000-07:00

Biggest challenge for any bowling coach is to channelise pace bowlers' aggression in a productive manner, stopping it from being wasted.Sreesant is one Indian pacer who has loads of agression, which if diverted in the right direction can do wonders. But lately he's off the focus, being in news for wrong reasons. Sreesanth said he is embarrassed about barging into England Michael Vaughan. “I’m embarrassed by what I did and I think I will have to change. I want to say sorry for that but no one should question my commitment.
Venkatesh Prasad, the Indian bowling coach, knows Sreesant very well as Sreesanth spent most of his cricketing days in Bangalore, Venky's hometown. Venky this time defended Sreesanth. “He has fantastic body language, the aggression is great. But we’ve talked about that, not to cross the line! His bowling has been a bit of a concern, but I won’t go deep into in because he has so much talent.”
Nicely said Venky. Sreesanth is young and energetic who needs proper guidance rather than blunt criticism

Stump microphone may be switched off during the third Test

2007-08-01T23:36:00.000-07:00

England coach Peter Moores and skipper Michael Vaughan have spoken to ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle about the prospect of asking Sky Sports to turn down the volume on the stump microphones in the final Test at The Oval Frm August 9.
Madugalle, who plans to speak to both sides about their behaviour before the Oval Test, seems to be intent in instilling some more discipline in the cricket proceedings after England endured considerable embarrassment for their misdeeds at Trent Bridge. Even the Indians were guilty of misbehavivour.
Regular viewers will have heard England's players attempt to unsettle the Indian batsmen with regular chatter and Moores is concerned the players should not have to worry about their comments also being heard by cricket followers.
Both Vaughan and Moores have insisted England's behaviour was no more than gamesmanship and they have not breached the spirit of cricket by which all international teams have to abide.
"It's been under consideration.There have to be some things which are left on the field to be fair to the players so they can actually go and play the game without worrying that everything they do and say is going straight into someone's lounge,” Moores said

I tried to york Pieterson:Sreesant

2007-08-01T23:24:00.000-07:00

Sreesant, the colorful character of Indian cricket was in news during the second cricket Test for all the wrong reasons. Here he talks about his famous beamer that scared Kevin Pieterson
"See, I don't stride to the wicket, I sprint. Ask any cricketer and he will tell you that it is impossible to bowl a beamer with a run-up like mine. I had bowled two deliveries on a good length and was trying to bowl a yorker which went horribly wrong. I tried for a yorker and it happened to be a beamer and I did apologise to Kevin Pietersen. It is part of the game and I have done it even in the nets.And it happens when you really try to bowl a yorker at full length. But I would like to say to all the Indians that it was just a mistake and please forgive me for that. I will not repeat it again. But most probably I will get him (Pietersen) out twice in the next Test. "
About his clash with Vaughan
"To be honest, I'm embarrassed by what I did and I think I will have to change.I want to say sorry for that (the Vaughan incident) but no one should question my commitment. I am thankful to Rahul bhai (Dravid) for showing faith in me. He was upset with a few things, but after the game he came and told me when we were celebrating in the dressing room, 'Sree, after all this, after all the explanations I had to give for you, I still love you and want you to do well' "

Zaheer Khan says he was under pressure

2007-08-01T23:16:00.000-07:00

Zaheer Khan finally admits that he's been under tremendous pressure during the last few months. Rightly so, most of Indian fast bowlers who went out of the team because of injury problems, never returned.We don't even remember some of those names!

Here's what Zaheer said to news channel, CNNIBN

On the win

"I am really feeling proud. The whole team is very excited and we are very happy that we have achieved the victory in this Test match and are going one-up in the series. But definitely, there is one more Test match to go, so we are all focussed and looking forward to it."

On jelly beans

"Definitely jelly beans fired me up. But it just happened and the match is over now. Looking forward to the next Test and just happy that we are one-up in the series."

On pressure on him

"There was pressure on us as a bowling unit as the English conditions are very conducive for fast bowling. And since I had some edge over the other bowlers so the pressure was there but I was looking forward to that.
We started the series a little slowly. At Lord's, there was little nervousness to start with but after the first day, I was sort of comfortable and was feeling that my rhythm was coming back."

Inzamam-ul-Haq warned by PCB against joining ICL!

2007-07-31T21:05:00.000-07:00

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Naseem Ashraf Tuesday issued a clear warning to former captain Inzamam-ul Haq, saying he will not be considered for national selection if he decides to play for the breakaway Indian Cricket League.
"Since the International Cricket Council does not recognise this private tournament our position is clear -- any Pakistani player who plays in the League will not be considered for national selection again," Ashraf told PTI.
"Our policy is clear we will not give permission to any of our players to play in the Indian league as it is not supported by the officialdom," he said.
Inzamam, who has been ignored by the PCB for a central contract after announcing retirement from the one-day cricket following Pakistan's World Cup debacle, Monday said he would like to play in the League if the terms were right from the ICL organisers.

Shane Warne 'pissed off' with Indian Cricket League!

2007-07-31T20:57:00.000-07:00

A 'pissed off' Shane Warne has threatened to pull out from the Indian Cricket League after the organisers wrongly declared that the spin wizard was a certain starter even before the negotiations were over.
ICL`s executive board chairman Kapil Dev confirmed to the Australian media recently that both Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath had confirmed their participation in the million dollar Twenty20 tourney.
Warne is said to have signed a three-year deal worth about USD 2 mn to join the breakaway league but his manager James Erskine has denied the reports and hinted that the bowler is having a major rethink.
"Certainly I am pissed off, and I think Shane is rightly pissed off, that they said he had announced he had signed," Erskine was quoted as saying by the 'Herald Sun'.
"That's not true. That hasn't gone down well. That shows a lack of organising."
Warne claimed last week he was keen to play in the tournament backed by the Essel group.
Erskine also said Warne was wary of not offending cricket Australia and the ICC, which were not expected to approve the tournament.

Shoaib Akhtar angry for being hit by batsmen!

2007-07-31T20:53:00.000-07:00

Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar spent a frustrating day during the practice match between the probables for the Twenty20 World Cup and ended up venting his anger on a window pane in the National stadium dressing room. Shoaib was upset at being hit all over by young batsmen like Khurrum Manzoor and Khalid Latif and later by Pakistani openers Salman Butt and Imran Nazir. Worse still, the mercurial bowler also offended the national selectors present at the ground, by playing in shorts. Shoaib came off the field after first bowling three overs in first innings and then four in the second innings. At one stage, Shoaib was so upset with the manner in which the batsmen hit fours and sixes off him that he bowled a beamer at Latif who hooked him nonchalantly for a six after having taken three fours in a previous over. In the second session, Butt and Nazir also showed no mercy and Shoaib chose to walk off complaining of dehydration and exhaustion in the warm weather after conceding 44 runs in four overs. On coming back to the dressing room, he vented his frustration by kicking at a window pane which cracked in the middle. After that the fast bowler, who has played just one Test and four one-dayers in the last 15 months due to fitness problems, sat sulking and refused to speak to the media despite a request from manager Talat Ali. Chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed, clearly upset at Shoaib's attitude, vented his anger at young Khurrum Manzoor who was given a dressing down for showing dissent against an umpire's decision. Shoaib's behaviour and his failure to play on Sunday raised many questions about his fitness but Talat insisted that the pacer was fine and was being rested before a hectic international season. "It was hot, very humid and he got dehydrated. We gave him water and time to recover. He was a little dizzy because of the dehydration but he was fine after a cold shower and lots of water," he explained.

Vaughan says sorry to Zaheer Khan

2007-07-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

England captain Michael Vaughan apologised to India's Zaheer Khan for the jelly bean controversy at Trent Bridge but said incident had nothing to with England's defeat. India won the second Test by seven wickets before lunch on the final day to take a 1-0 lead in the series, however the game was littered with incidents that overshadowed the cricket. Zaheer reacted angrily to England putting jelly beans on the pitch while he was batting on Sunday evening. "It's an incident that has been blown out of proportion," Vaughan said. "A few jelly beans were left on the floor by the stumps at a drinks interval as we got a wicket. "If it offended Zaheer in any way we apologise for that. But there were no jelly beans thrown from the slip cordon. "It's not the reason why we've lost a game of cricket, because of some jelly beans. We just didn't apply ourselves as well as we could have done with the bat. We were probably 60 or 70 runs light in the first and second innings."

Indian cricketers grooved to Beedi Jalaile!

2007-07-31T20:43:00.000-07:00

Champagne and beer flowed generously in the dressing room after India completed a historic victory over England in the second Test at Trent Bridge yesterday.After swinging England out, the team swung to the beats of the Beedi Jalaile from Omkara. Yuvraj Singh and Sreesanth, the team’s two known dancers ,were the main instigators, while others were seen whistling and shaking a leg.Also heard were songs from Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and the English song Tease Me.Sourav Ganguly, who, along with Rahul Dravid completed the formalities, left early after the celebrations to be with his wife and daughter, who were at the hotel. “I wanted to finish the match with a six, but it did not click. I swung my bat, but the ball swung too much,” Sourav later told MiD DAY.Sachin Tendulkar later threw a party in his room, which was attended by Yuvraj, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth and Robin Singh, among others. Dinesh Karthik and Ramesh Powar went out with their families later in the night. Stumped!An unusual sight was witnessed at Trent Bridge yesterday. After winning the Test, Dravid and Ganguly, who were at the crease, did not rush to uproot the stump, as is the usual tradition. In fact, reserve player Ishant Sharma ran down afterwards to collect the stump. However, the ground staff had already packed the stumps by then, who, however, did give him a stump.
Courtesy:mid-day

Zaheer Khan spurred by jelly beans on the pitch!

2007-07-31T00:25:00.000-07:00

If India do the inevitable and clinch the second cricket Test against England at Trent Bridge today, it will go down as a story of how jelly beans inspired a rare away Test win. That's what Zaheer Khan indicated last night when he said that the on-field aggression and the jelly beans incident spurred him on to a magical five for 75 to put England in demolition zone on the penultimate day of the battle. "At one point, there was a jelly bean on the pitch when I batted and next ball there were some more thrown in by them, so I asked them what was going on," said Zaheer, adding, "This was insulting." Zaheer, like Sourav Ganguly on Sunday, said this was all part of the game, but he was very lucid when it came to the jelly beans incident. "I may have got at the wrong guy (Zaheer was seen in an animated discussion on Sunday with Kevin Pietersen), but at that point of time I was upset," remarked Zaheer. He claimed his fifth five-wicket haul in Tests yesterday — his first against England.
Courtesy:midday

Ricky Ponting hits out at Indian Cricket League!

2007-07-30T01:24:00.000-07:00

Ricky Ponting has hit out at the proposed Indian Cricket League (ICL), saying the million-dollar series threatens to tempt ageing cricketers into early retirement while luring youngsters away from national duty.
"It's only a concern if there is huge money involved in it," Ponting said. "If this sort of stuff gets off the ground, these guys won't even be playing with their mates, they'll be thrown into made-up teams. You'll be out there by yourself and trying to win some money," he was quoted as saying by the Herald Sun.
"The other thing being talked about is this [Allen] Stanford guy in the West Indies. The $23 million he's said to be offering is a concern because the way I look at it is people getting towards the end of their international career will think, 'If I'm guaranteed that, this kind of money might be a good thing.'"

Ponting felt such a league suits only the likes of Brian Lara, for whom money can be a motivation to carry on for a bit longer after giving up his international career. "I think it will only be people towards the end of their careers like Lara [who was last week signed by the ICL]. Look, it might work out really well for them -- play a bit more cricket for money on top -- but it's not something I've looked at."
Concerned about the impact that the ICL could have on youngsters, Ponting said it would hardly be of any benefit for young cricketers to play in the series, which was more of a money-making exercise. "I'm not sure what these 18 or 19-year-olds who aren't State-contracted will learn from Twenty20 cricket. I read where Deano [Dean Jones] said it will help these guys out. It won't help them out; it will help Dean out. It will help the people running the event.
"I can't see how these young kids playing Twenty20 cricket will do much in giving them an upbringing in learning much about the game."

Jones had said that the ICL will not poach any contracted players from state or national teams and believed that the series would help young talented players. "We won't be looking at any Australian players or state players because it will clash with their commitments and we don't want guys to break their contracts . . . far from it," Jones said. "We might look at helping some young 18 or 19-year-old players who are not playing for their states.
"Last year in Australia of more than 120 guys to get contracts, only a handful were teenagers. They would be better off mixing with Brian Lara than staying home and playing club cricket.
"People are us calling rebels but we are angels. We might Americanise it and trump it up a bit, and change a few rules, and we will give players a say in what rules deserve to be changed. We are trying to give young players a chance and they could come from places such as Kenya and Ireland. Each of the teams will also have their own academy. The series will run for a month over the next three years."
Former Australian coach John Buchanan, meanwhile, felt that Allen Stanford's proposed Twenty20 bash in West Indies was a bigger revolution waiting to happen than the ICL.
"The ICL is a fantastic concept but from the bigger point of view, I think Stanford is making the real moves. The stumbling block for him is getting the backing of the West Indies Board," he said.
"If that happens, you could have a whole new development in the game with international tournaments. Twenty20 shouldn't take over from 50-overs cricket and Tests will always be the pinnacle, but we'd be silly to get in the road of Twenty20."

Courtesy:cricinfo.org

Dinesh Karthik is sad for missing the century

2007-07-30T01:18:00.000-07:00

Young Indian opener Dinesh Karthik is disappointed that he lost a golden chance to score a Test century against England after doing all the hard work in the second Test at Trent Bridge.
"A hundred was there for the asking today. To get out in the first ball after tea was definitely disappointing. If I'd gone on, a hundred was on the cards.The new ball was definitely doing a bit, probably not as much as yesterday, but they had two good swing bowlers as well. (Ryan) Sidebottom bowled well to me. He hit me on the box a couple of times, got me on the hand. But we needed to be positive and it later became like
any other pitch," .

Alan Donald says Sachin is the best!

2007-07-30T01:13:00.000-07:00

Praising Sachin Tendulkar, former South African and now England bowling coach Allan Donald said the Sachin is the best batsman of present era and deserves to become the highest run-getter in Test cricket.
Donald said the veteran Indian willower, was the best in the business and could carry on for a few more years.
"In my era, I think he is the best player I have ever had the pleasure of playing against. He is something special, very freakish, and I think that what he has done for the game and his country has been absolutely phenomenal," Donald said while paying tribute to Tendulkar.
Donald said Tendulkar can carry on playing for a few more years and can go past Brian Lara's record of scoring most number of Test runs(11,953).
"There is a lot more cricket in Tendulkar. He still looks so boyish. It's is a bit scary to notice how many hundreds he has notched up in Test cricket and not to mention those one-day hundreds.
"He's just a credit to cricket. I know he has been through a bad trot with injuries over the last couple of years but he looked his old self out there. I hope there is still a lot more cricket in Sachin because it's unbelievable how many years he's stuck it out and achieved what he has. I hope he goes past Brian Lara's record - he deserves it," Donald said.

Inzamam is interested in Indian Cricket League

2007-07-30T01:07:00.000-07:00

Now Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq is in news related to ICL. Inzy has been approached by the Indian Cricket League (ICL) to play for one of the participating teams and he is considering the offer.
Inzamam, who retired from One-Day cricket after the World Cup in March, confirmed that ICL had made an offer to him and he was excited.
"I am excited at the prospects of playing alongside other great players and if the terms are right I will certainly play in the league. I am not acting as an agent on behalf of the league organisers and I am not aware if any other Pakistani player had been signed on.
The league will feature an annual tournament featuring foreign players and some current Indian players. Inzamam did not mince any words while voicing support for the ICL.

Monty Panesar is Sport Personality of the Year

2007-07-29T07:56:00.001-07:00

England's only Sikh cricketer Monty Panesar has been chosen as Sport Personality of the Year at the Asian Achievers Award 2007.
At a glittering ceremony held at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, on Saturday night, Lord Karan Billimoria, leading NRI entrepreneur presented the award to Panesar.

British Journalists don't want to hear Hindi!

2007-07-28T22:49:00.000-07:00

We Indians still worship British language, English just because we respect all the languages. But British journalists, who are supposed to be the most civilised citizens of the World, have no basic manners. After the first day's play at the second cricket Test, VVS Laxman took the mantle of talking to the media. There were British journalists and there were Indian journalists. Minutes later, when Laxman was answering a question from a Indian journalist in Hindi, the British journalists walked up to the table, picked up their voice recorders and walked out. Laxman and Rufus Rockey, the Indian team manager, looked bewildered but stayed on. The Indian team management says that the least the local journalists could have done was to wait till Laxman had finished his answer and then excused themselves.
It is learnt that the Indians have made a verbal complaint to the Indian Cricket Board, and according to a team source, a “strong mail” has been despatched to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The crux of the complaint is that as the hosts, the ECB does not have someone to manage the media at press conferences.
“You simply can’t do this,” said a source in the team. “Even if they have to go off in a hurry, they should have the courtesy to let a man finish his answer.”
The British need to learn a few basic manners in respecting the World. This World is beautiful because it is made of diverse cultures, rich languages. Let's learn to accept and respect that.

Laxman wants to nail the English team

2007-07-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

India's stylish batsman VVS Laxman is a relieved man. With England on the backfoot, he with his willow club wants to pile as many runs as possible and defeat any recovery plans of the English side.
"It's an ideal opportunity for us.You have to trust your instincts and abilities and play as late as possible. England side have all good seam bowlers and it will be a good challenge facing them on this wicket.

England opener Cook is all praise for Indian bowlers

2007-07-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

England opener Alistair Cook is all praise for Indian bowlers. He is the right person to talk about it, as he stood there at one end and seen them run through England batting lineup.
"When it swung and nipped around like that it was tough, and the Indian bowlers didn't give us too many scoring options.It was one of those days when none of the batters got in, or if they did, kept getting out."

ICC is not threatened by ICL

2007-07-27T22:18:00.000-07:00

ICC is not threatened by Subhash Chandra's ICL, yet. The ICC on Friday allayed fears that the proposed Twenty20 series by Indian Cricket League would take some gloss of the inaugural world championships to be staged at Johannesburg in September.
ICC cricket manager Dave Richardson termed ICL as a minor local event "It's a local thing, it's not a threat. It doesn't conflict with what we are trying to do in South Africa. It is not an international tournament"
The ICL, has roped in Brian Lara and has approached New Zealand's Stephen Fleming and Australians Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.
With a winner's purse of USD 1 million, the proposed league would feature six teams, with a mix of International and Indian players, which would play Twenty20 matches across India.
Kapil Dev is the Chairman of its Executive Board, where he is joined by Tony Greig, Australian cricketer-turned-commentator Dean Jones and former India stumper Kiran More.
Former players like Sandeep Patil, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Madan Lal, Rajesh Chauhan and Pranab Roy have also joined the rebel league in some capacity or the other. Most of the India rejects, who have a lot of cricket left in them are expected to join the League, as it promises them secured contract over a long term.

Warne and Mcgrath yet to join ICL!

2007-07-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

Few days back Kapildev said Warne and Mcgrath are already on the roll. But Warne's manager contradicts Kapildev statement. Though Warne is keen on joining ICL, the deciding factor could be the pay package. These recently retired veteran cricketers doesn't want to let the golden chance go. They are still in the bargaining stage. Warne in his column says
"Playing cricket in India is always an experience. That is one reason why I am keen to take part in the new Twenty20 League in October and November. The organisers are ambitious and, if the whole package is right, then I'll be out there.
Brian Lara has committed to it and I have been speaking to him and a few other players. I know that I will miss the game during the winter, having retired back home. This is ideal at roughly three weeks long. People the world over are turning to Twenty20 for a quick fix of cricket and they will love the spectacle in India"
Dean Jones who's one of the Directors of ICL contradicts Kapil Dev's statement saying, "Kapil Dev hasn't been briefed properly. He's firing from the hip. Everything's fine. It's just normal Indian press and a few guys not communicating. Discussions are still continuing"
More confusions! But money will surely clear all the confusion soon!

Will Jonty Rhodes join Indian Cricket League?

2007-07-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

Zee's Indian Cricket League is making news again and again. With the recruitment campaign gaining momentum, there's question on everyone's lips! Will he join? Will they succeed? And more questions!
The latest buzz is that South Africa's fielding coach Jonty Rhodes will join ICL. Jonty Rhodes, who epitomised fielding and One-Day brilliance is keen on having a go. And what he says...
"I haven't played cricket for a long time, so obviously, it would depend. I have a contract with Cricket South Africa. And Cricket South Africa's CEO, Gerald Majola has said that he doesn't want South African cricket players to be going and playing anywhere.And as far as I am concerned, I haven't played for a long time, so I don't think that the guys are going to be knocking at my door," said Rhodes.
So, every cricketer worth his run/wicket/catch wants to take a calculated step! And rightly so!

How will you win Twenty20 World cup?

2007-07-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

With Twenty20 world championship just around two months away, every team is seeing a fair chance. There's no champions in this form of the game yet, like Aussies in one-dayers and Test cricket. Nobody knows what strategy to adopt. Even the host team South Africa captain Graeme Smith has no clue too!
He talks on the game, championship and the strategy(or no strategy)
"It is interesting as it is being played at a time when not many people know too much. Most of the Twenty20 matches take place in the summer and we are just coming out of the winter. It will be interesting to see how the things react. You just have to go there and see how you feel on the day and judge your gut feeling.
Well runs on the board is going to be the key. In 20 overs it is all going to be about four and sixes as you will get all the marketing and advertising. I think also the ability to take wickets is going to be crucial. If you are going to put the other team under pressure quickly and then you get the runs on the board then you go a long way to win the game.
But then that is general cricket. You have to get the basic right. Then you can experiment and then hope to make most of the conditions."
All we can say is that, on any day any champion can emerge. This is the one championship where all teams seem to be equal!

Sehwag and Bhajji to join Indian Cricket League?

2007-07-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

Media baron Subhash Chandra's brainchild Indian Cricket League has finally started to distrurb people at BCCI. Suddenly more big names have come up and some big names have confirmed that they are joining ICL. After old horses like Kapil Dev, Sandeep Patil, Kiran More joined the core-committee of ICL, Brian Lara's entry gave the League shot in the arms.
Lara will captain one of the six teams that take part in the Twenty20 tournament which will roll, this November. Each team will have four international players, two senior Indian players and five young Indian cricket prospects. According to the sources, Australian Pace Guru Dennis Lillee is also expected to join the League soon. But the rumour which people find exciting is the prospect of two Indian senior players joining ICL. They were said to be in the World Cup team but dropped from the current Indian team touring England. May be people are talking about Virendra Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh. But I don't see them jeapardising their career by this move. They are going through a rough patch, but being a seasoned cricketer, they know that it's just a matter of few good outings in the field. And they have a long road ahead unlike Brian Lara who's already retired. Some more retired international names are also doing the rounds, Mcgrath and Shane Warne. And they have confirmed that the deal is being finalised. Shane Warne is said to be talking about an amount of 2 Million dollars as a package!
ICL is an interesting development. But retired international cricketers will never be able to add the excitement that an Indian cricketer can bring in. Our current cricketers have too much to lose if they rebel and subscribe to the new idea. ICL is certainly on a shaky ground. Only thing that excited these joinees is money. But money alone will not help them to take on an entity as big as BCCI!

Brian Lara joins ICL

2007-07-24T13:55:00.000-07:00

Brian Lara has become the first big-name signing for the Indian Cricket League, which announced today that it has also contracted former Indian allrounder Madan Lal to coach its Delhi team and Balwinder Singh Sandhu as director of academies.
Lara, who retired from international cricket after the World Cup earlier this year, said he looked forward to playing with promising youngsters and to captaining one of the teams. "You can't keep me too far from cricket and hence I return to the game in this exciting new avatar", Lara said in a statement issued by the Essel Group, promoters of the ICL.
Lara's joining the ICL had first been reported in May and at the time the names of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath had also been linked with the league.
Rajesh Chauhan and Pranob Roy, former players who had also served as selectors, were roped in as talent scouts for the league. They joined Kapil Dev, Kiran More and Sandeep Patil on the ICL roster.

Courtesy:cricinfo

Dravid on India's batting heroes

2007-07-23T23:18:00.000-07:00

Rahul Dravid on India's batting heroes

We have to reassess our batting, look at some of the shots, shot selection, that we played. Some of their bowlers we have not played before. So we have some food for thought now. We can go and work on the weaker areas. We got out of jail, there were a couple of partnerships but we were truly saved by the weather. I don't think you can blame the tail. Yes there was a chance that the weather could save and we needed the guys to hang in there. And Dhoni did that well. The seamers all through have been exceptional, except perhaps for the first morning. It's a good sign and if we could get out batting firing again, that will be well. It needed an exceptional innings from Kevin Pietersen to take the match away from us. So, Pietersen was the difference between the two sides.

Rahul Dravid feels lucky

2007-07-23T22:57:00.000-07:00

Rahul Dravid after the drawn test at the Lord's
"Of course we had a bit of luck but it's nice to get away with one of these rather than lose them. I'm glad that Dhoni, along with the tail, batted through a difficult period for us in tough light and got us there.
There was a sense of relief in the dressing room. You can never have the same feeling as winning the Test match but it will give us confidence going into the second Test level.At the start of the day I felt pretty confident: I knew the first one-and-a-half hours would be critical. If we had a good start I knew it would set us up well for the game. The thought did cross my mind that in previous Tests we were left knowing if we had batted for an extra half-hour we could have saved the match.It's just nice to get away with one of those rather than losing one."

Symonds asks aussies to respect Murali

2007-07-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

All-rounder Andrew Symonds has urged Australian crowds to applaud Muttiah Muralitharan if the controversial off-spinner breaks Shane Warne's Test wickets record when Sri Lanka tour Down Under in November.
The 35-year-old Sri Lankan became the second player in history to reach 700 victims in the final Test against Bangladesh in Kandy earlier this month, and lies eight scalps behind leg-spinner Warne's record haul.
Symonds, a former team mate of Muralitharan at English county Lancashire, said he hoped Australian crowds would respect his achievements despite him twice being called for throwing on tours there in the 1990s.
"I just hope the beer drinkers in the sun don't give him a hard time and late one afternoon if he breaks the record they start on him," Symonds told Australian Associated Press.
"I hope that doesn't happen, I hope people can stand up and actually applaud him for what he is, a legend of a game."
Sri Lanka play a two-Test series against Australia starting in Brisbane on Nov 8, but Muralitharan has only played three Tests on Australian soil largely due to the throwing controversies.

Dalmiya is back and talking tough!

2007-07-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

Former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya is talking tough after his victory in the Kolkatta High Court. He lashed out at his detractors and rubbished all the allegations levelled against him.
" The day I feel that there is no more compromise with my prestige I have got nothing more (to fight against) and no axe to grind. But I will not be able to leave this world with a black spot on my head or on my children. The CAB is my home ground - it's like home and away. If the CAB needs me, if it needs my advice I will go. The CAB has not played with my prestige - they told me do you want us to fight or to do what but I told them I will resign; they never forced resignation on me. may come back (to the BCCI) but before I come I will ensure that they do not put anybody on ransom or use coercive methods. I will see to this. In short, nobody can treat it (cricket) as their fiefdom"
Time to watch out. Off the field action would be more interesting

Woolmer's benefit game in mess

2007-07-21T23:50:00.000-07:00

Seems Bob Woolmer will not get peace for soon. After the stretched death-investigation drama which finally ended in declaring his death as natural, now it's the drama about Bob's benefit match. Bob's widow has been requesting Pakistan Cricket board for a benefit match in the memory of Bob, the proceeds of which will go to a trust in his name. Earlier it was planned as a game between England and Pakistan. But all the cricketers are in such a tight schedule that, though most of them want to pay tribute through a game, the boards seem to have no dates left for this game.
Now, Bog's widow is requesting for an India and Pakistan match. And the BCCI is in a fix as PCB has agreed for the match during Indian team's Pakistan visit. "We fully support the idea of Gill Woolmer to raise funds for the academy. We have confirmed the same to her," said Ehsan Malik, PCB spokesman. But did they consult BCCI before deciding about the match? Ofcourse not! Hear what Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary says "Where's the time. We have such a tight schedule and I don't think it's possible."
Seems like another India-Pakistan war of words in the offing. Now about CRICKET!

Sarwan all praises for Gayle!

2007-07-20T23:00:00.001-07:00

Carribean cricket is going through a tough period for a long long time. Even players seem to be drifting away from the main cause and focussing on personal agendas. But contrary to speculations, Ramnaresh Sarwan is all praise for Chris Gayle for his performance in England.

"I think he was really outstanding, and you have to commend Chris for the way he handled the team during the ODI series.Obviously, he was under a little bit of pressure from the West Indies Cricket Board, and the way he came out showed his maturity, and I thought everyone supported him well which is really good to see. When you look at Chris the individual, lots of people have a lot to say about him and his body language on and off the field.But it just goes to show that you should never judge a book by its cover. I think he has shown his commitment to West Indies cricket and the public should not really judge an individual who has wholeheartedly supported West Indies cricket"

This will surely help West Indian cricket as this is the time for players to stay together and put cricket on the priority

Sourav Dada helped me!

2007-07-20T22:52:00.000-07:00

What helped Sreesant to make a dramatic bowling comeback on the second day of Lord's test? Listen to him...

"I was standing at fine leg yesterday after my first spell and I saw Sourav Ganguly bowling, and it really inspired me because he was just hitting the right areas. He got the first wicket and he showed us the way. I am thankful to him, to be really honest.

I think the main thing was that the confidence level was much higher today. I took it very simple. I told myself that I would be myself rather than think too much about the game and trying too hard. I said I would just keep it simple and bowl in the right areas.

Venkybhai [Venkatesh Prasad] always helps us. He is someone who gives us the report as to where you have to bowl and where you are going wrong. He is doing a great job and it really helped me. Even this morning, during the delay.

The conditions were different today. There was more moisture in the air and I think there was a bit of difference. But I think the main thing was that Zaheer and me hit the right areas and that made the difference.

I started bowling like Sreesanth, the moment I bowled the seventh over; that is the first over of my second spell. The only thing I focused was on hitting the right areas, making the ball move and trying to take it away from the batsmen. That is exactly what I followed even today.

I want to thank God for the three wickets. Getting the first wicket at Lord's was very important. Then when I got the first wicket I was happy; then when I took the second I was happier. And finally when I claimed the third wicket, I was the happiest!"

Geoff Lawson is Pakistan's coach

2007-07-17T00:12:00.000-07:00

Former Australian speedster Geoff Lawson is Pakistan's new cricket coach. Here's what Lawson thinks of different topics
On the job
"I am excited, nervous, anxious. I'm looking forward to it. It is a significant job and it's a challenge. haven't been in an international dressing room since leaving the game but I have been on the other side of the fence, watching the game, analysing it. So I don't think it's too big a jump to be a coach now. I am involved in a lot of coaching in Australia, I am involved in commentating and I see a great deal of international cricket so all those ingredients should make the transition smooth."
On communication gap
"I am told that the squad are all learning English, so someone is making the effort somewhere. Yes, communication is important and I will be certainly trying to pick up some Urdu. If we need translators the board will surely get this done. We just want this to go as best as possible."

Cricketers on Murali

2007-07-14T07:57:00.000-07:00

Cricketers on Murali
Chaminda Vaas
Murali is one of the best bowlers in cricket arena. After 500 he aimed to reach 600 and once he was there he eyed the 700-mark. This guy just wants to continue playing and taking wickets - he loves to take wickets. When he doesn't get wickets, which is rare, he is very frustrated. I have been his bowling partner for more than a decade now and it has been a pleasure to bowl from the other end. He wants you to tie from one side because that makes it easy for him to buy wickets. The other thing about Murali is he never stops from learning: even if batsmen are trying their best to study him he himself has improved in the years to come up with new balls and variations, he never gives up. He is very hungry and at the same time he wants to set a good example for others. Nobody can match him. I would like to see him play for at least three to four more years and help produce young spinners in Sri Lanka.

Barry Richards
It is a wonderful achievement. No one questions his ability, he is a genius. He might be one of the last spinning geniuses in the today's totally-batsman dominated cricket. I must admit I had my doubts about his action in the early stages of his career but everybody now accepts genuine talent.

Harbhajan Singh
He is a great role model for all of us. He has been there for many years and always been a match-winner. He has taken Sri Lankan cricket to big heights, without him they wouldn't be where they are today. He is a champion spinner - his consistency of taking wickets, the way the creates the pressure by bowling good balls is just amazing. He is so hungry for wickets and that despite taking so many wickets and he wants to do it again and again. On the cricket ground he is a such a big presence and he leaves an effect on you. With his variations he can surely reach the 1000-wicket mark if he continues to play for at least a few more years. People feel he buys his wickets easily but he makes it look easy even if it is not so easy. In my intereactions with him he has always asked me keep motivating myself and keep playing and keep enjoying the game. After the retirment of Warne and McGrath we need heroes in the game and guys like Murali and Kumble are players we to look upto.

Muthiah Muralitharan targets 1000 Test wickets

2007-07-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

Muthiah Muralitharan speaks after taking 700 test wickets

On his achivement and the upcoming Aussie tour

It is a big achievement taking 700 wickets but I think I can achieve a little bit more. I knew anyway that I would get the 700 wickets. The challenge is whether I can take 1,000 before I retire. I'm thinking about playing till the next World Cup. I want to go to Australia and try and win the series because we have never won one there. Also I have not taken five wickets in an innings in Australia. They are the No. 1 team in the world but we can also be better than them if we play to our strengths

On beating Warne's record

The record will come in the near future, but I'm not sure it will happen in Australia because the wickets there usually help fast bowlers.I don't know how much I will get to bowl in Australia because our fast bowlers could grab most of the wickets.So many years at the top takes a lot out of you but I am still hungry for wickets and that is what matters

On the win over Bangladesh

If you are winning a match in less than 2 ½ days [taking into account disruption by rain] it is special. The way we batted and the way we bowled in the first innings was amazing. We played good cricket and didn't allow Bangladesh to raise their heads. We wanted to knock them off every time we bowled and batted. That's what we have done

England prospect Adil Rashid

2007-07-13T02:11:00.000-07:00

Young Yorkshire leggie had a great series against India U-19 last year, but bowling to Tendulkar and Ganguly will be his real test

INDIANS play their second warm-up game, a three-day affair, against England Lions in Chelmsford starting today. Apart from familiar England players like skipper Andrew Strauss, Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, there is one player who the Indians will do well not to take it easy against — 19-year-old Yorkshire leggie Adil Rashid.Rashid, the first Yorkshire-born Asian to make his first-class debut for the county, made a sensational start to his career last season by taking six for 67 in an innings win over Warwickshire. Rashid has been going through a lean patch this season but comes into the India match with a 5-114 against Yorkshire on Wednesday.PotentialThe young turk showed glimpses of his potential against the touring India U-19 team last year. He first smashed 114 and then bowled 43 overs to claim 8-157.Former India bat Lalchand Rajput, who was India U-19 coach when Rashid got stuck into them, believes the Yorkshire teenager is the real deal. “Rashid has got the temperament to be a top-class leg-spinner. He is not scared of getting hit,” Rajput told MiD DAY yesterday.“We had a strategy of attacking him. He did go for runs, but never stopped flighting the ball. He also has another important quality — he can bowl long spells. Against us, he bowled more than 20 overs on the trot.“Because he gives the ball flight, he extracts turn out of the surface. He also bowls a handy googly, ” Rajput said about Rashid, who is a product of the spinners program put in place by Terry Jenner, the former Australia leggie more renowned for shaping Shane Warne’s career.However, Rajput believes bowling against India will be the acid test for him. “County cricketers don’t play the turning ball well. But bowling against the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, all renowned players of spinners, will be his real big test,” Rajput said.UnfazedRashid has already started shooting from the lip, saying that he is unfazed by the prospect of bowling to his hero Sachin Tendulkar. “I’m not daunted. It will be quite a good challenge for me, bowling against the likes of Tendulkar,” Rashid said yesterday. However, many a contender has metamorphosed into a pretender when faced with a rampaging Tendulkar. How will Rashid cope? Today’s game may have some answers.

Courtesy:Midday

India's future cup missing!

2007-07-12T01:33:00.000-07:00

Rahul Dravid and his men would not be very pleased to know that the trophy they got for their first away series win over South Africa has been misplaced.The Future Cup, which India won by winning the 3-match ODI series in Belfast, and Sachin Tendulkar’s Man-of-the-Series award were among the 100-odd pieces of luggage that were misplaced on the Glasgow-London-Mumbai British Airways flight on July 5. It has been more than a week since, and no one, including the airline, knows where the trophy is.After the trophy was handed over to the Indian team, PDM Sports — the Percept Group’s sports marketing company, which had ground rights for the series — took charge of the main trophy, the Man of the Series and Man of the Match trophies and 12 souvenir bats (personally autographed by the Indian and South African teams). “All these were part of our baggage,” said Roland Landers, chief operating officer of PDM Sports.Landers said, he along with two colleagues, boarded BA-1475 from Glasgow to London on July 4. They changed flights at Heathrow airport and caught another British Airways flight BA 199 to reach Mumbai on July 5. “Only a dozen bags made their way through the conveyor belt,” said Saurabh Khurana, who was also on the same flight.Terror attackWhen the passengers approached British Airways, they were told over 9,000 bags were lying at Heathrow, and their bags could be among them, said Khurana.BA refused to elaborate when the backlog at Heathrow would be cleared. “The attack at Glasgow airport on June 30 had caused a 4-hour closure, leading to series of disruptions. We have employed 100 extra volunteers to clear the backlog of delayed bags,” British Airways spokesperson Radhika Raikhy said in an e-mailed statement. “This seems to have become a regular feature. Last time too the team had misplaced baggage, but not the trophy itself. BCCI is going to take up the matter with the airline,” said BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah.
Courtesy: Midday

Ian chappell smashes ICC's new rule

2007-07-02T02:14:00.000-07:00

Ian Chappell smashes ICC on new rule

"CRICKET’S law makers have traditionally favoured batsmen but their recent changes to the playing conditions suggest that in trying to satisfy both camps this time, they’ve actually achieved very little.Typical of those who tinker with the way the game is run, the latest ICC changes to the playing conditions have opted for the complicated rather than simple solution to any perceived problems. The free hit for a front-foot no-ball is a classic example.Batsmen will receive a free hit following a front-foot no-ball but it doesn’t say whether the fielding captain has the right to alter the field placings for this extra delivery. If they can, as happened for a couple of seasons in Australia, then it makes a mockery of the term free hit."

My job is tougher says Sachin Tendulkar

2007-07-02T02:07:00.000-07:00

Sachin Tendulkar, after becoming the first batsman to score 15,000 one-day international runs, could be forgiven for wanting to scream, “Who says I’m finished?” just as an angry Sebastian Coe did after winning his second straight Olympic 1500 metres title at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.Former Australia captain Ian Chappell was typically blunt when assessing Tendulkar’s future after a wretched World Cup in the Caribbean.Chappelli’s lineThe ‘Little Master’ managed just 64 runs in three matches, including seven and nought in the defeats by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka respectively which sealed India’s shock first round exit in March.“At the moment he looks like a player trying to eke out a career,” Chappell wrote in Mid-Day.“If he really is playing for that reason and not to help win as many matches as he can for India, then he is wasting his time and should retire immediately,” added Chappell, the brother of former India coach Greg Chappell. Super in IrelandTendulkar, who made 93 in India’s six-wicket win over South Africa at Stormont here Friday, having required 50 runs at the start of his innings to reach the 15,000 mark, didn’t follow Coe’s example when invited to respond to his critics. But his message was equally clear. “It is their job to have opinions. When I hold a cricket bat in my hand it’s a far tougher and bigger job.”Few would dispute Tendulkar’s claim to just such an occupation in being persistently landed, however unfairly, with the prime responsibility for the success or failure of the national side in cricket-crazy India, the world’s second most populous nation.Yet, Tendulkar was the first to say that, unlike Coe’s achievement, or Muhammad Ali’s regaining the world heavyweight boxing title at the age of 32, his latest landmark didn’t mean he’d reached a sporting pinnacle.“After playing for 18 years, I feel it’s just one of those things,” said Tendulkar, who has now scored 15,043 runs in 387 one-day international matches at an average of 44.24 with 41 hundreds.SublimeNo one could seriously suggest Tendulkar’s innings on Friday, coming just days after his 99 in South Africa’s four-wicket series-opening win on Tuesday was a selfish affair. It lasted just 106 balls with two sixes and 13 fours, most of them sublime, and ended with the right-handed opener bottom-edging a cut onto his stumps — not the shot of someone with a blinkered desire to score yet another hundred.“It’s obviously a happy feeling —especially when we ended up on a winning note,” Tendulkar said after India levelled the three-match series 1-1 ahead of Sunday’s finale.And yet, this innings was played in a fledgling cricket nation during a minor tournament against a side with little in the way of match practice since the World Cup.Rating gameTendulkar, 34, may hold the record for most Test hundreds with 37.But Chappell and many others name recently retired former West Indies captain Brian Lara as the greatest batsman of the generation.Left-hander Lara’s ability to make match-winning centuries against World No Australia without compromising his attacking game gives him the edge over Tendulkar in the eyes of some observers.

Courtesy:Midday

Bangladesh cricket, where it stands now?

2007-07-01T23:45:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh's assistant coach Sarwar Imran feels Bangladesh hasn't made much progress in Test cricket
"Nothing has changed in our approach to Test cricket because we are making the same old mistakes. We have a bunch of talented cricketers but I think we are not mentally tough to sustain at this level.
But former Bangladesk Captain Habibul Basher differs
" I am not frustrated with what happened at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.We have two more Tests to go and this is a chance for us to show that we are not as bad as people are making us out to be. There is no shame in losing to such a strong team like Sri Lanka, but we have to learn from the mistakes and try and bat longer

Collingwood praises Alan Donald

2007-07-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

Collingwood on bowling coach Alan donald

AD [Donald] is a very passionate guy and speaks his mind which is fantastic because he has got a hell of a lot of knowledge in that brain of his. He has spoken a lot to all of the bowlers and it shows when they are all going out there with aggression and hitting the bat hard and hitting the late-80s in terms of miles per hour, which is great.

Will Donald continue with England? He has been fantastic. Since he has been here he has given a lot of knowledge and experience to the bowlers. It's not my decision whether he stays or goes but he has given us a lot of help which is great for all the bowlers.

Rahul Dravid talks

2007-07-01T23:12:00.000-07:00

Rahul Dravid on Yuvraj

He has been a fantastic finisher for us. It's not an easy job to do under pressure and he does it really well. He's got the power, he's got the skill and he's matching that power and skill with temperament, mental strength and brains. That's a deadly combination. He is up there among the best one-day players in the world without a doubt.

Rahul Dravid on the series win

"It was nice to win this. Away from home, we haven't won a lot. It meant a lot to the team. We've had a few disappointments lately. To win a one-day series, against the No. 2 side in the world, away from home, in conditions that suited them rather than us, in three close games, we acquitted ourselves very well

Hatrick in first 3 balls of the innings!

2007-06-09T01:47:00.001-07:00

HATTRICK OF THE 1ST 3 BALLS - Click here for another funny movie.

w w w w!

2007-06-09T01:36:00.001-07:00

ICC World Cup 2007 Malinga 4 Wickets In 4 Balls - For more funny videos, click here

6-6-6-6-6-6!

2007-06-09T01:30:00.000-07:00

Gibbs Get Six 6's In 1 Over - Watch the best video clips here

Funny post interview!

2007-06-09T01:27:00.000-07:00

Fleming Richarson Bad Interview - Funny blooper videos are here

The transcript of the conversation

Richardson: Ok thanks, good luck.
Fleming: Thanks mate. (Interview ends) Yeah, you're an idiot. That's ridiculous, seriously that's just ridiculous. Two things: You've forgotten who your mates are, some of your comments in the changing room? And the other thing is you're just an idiot talking about scoring rates and picking up the... uh... the tempo of games; you were one of the most boring players to watch and from what I've seen so far in your commentary, it is crap. You're forgetting who your mates are mate; about six months ago you were with us.

Oh Greg!

2007-06-09T01:14:00.001-07:00

Underarm Bowling In Cricket - Funny videos are here

Shoaib's rubber hand?

2007-06-09T01:12:00.001-07:00

What Flexibility !!! - The most popular videos are a click away

Remember this battle?

2007-06-09T01:09:00.000-07:00

Cricket India - The best home videos are here

Jonty birdy!

2007-06-09T01:05:00.001-07:00

Jonty Rhodes Run Out Inzamam - 1 Of The Best Run Outs - The best video clips are here

Twelve runs off a ball!

2007-06-09T01:00:00.001-07:00

Shahid Afridi First Player To Hit A 12, HUGE HIT - The best bloopers are here

Wonderful catch!

2007-06-09T00:58:00.001-07:00

Great Catch - The funniest bloopers are right here

What a spin!

2007-06-09T00:54:00.000-07:00

Cricket Master - Watch a funny movie here

Mcgrath's bunnies, in cricinfo.com

2007-05-28T22:41:00.000-07:00

In Tests, Glenn McGrath's "bunny" was England's Mike Atherton, who was dismissed by him 19 times. Next comes Brian Lara, who fell to McGrath 15 times, then two more West Indians in Jimmy Adams (12) and Sherwin Campbell (11), and England's Alec Stewart (10). In one-day internationals, McGrath dismissed four different batsmen seven times: Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten of South Africa, Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya, and Sachin Tendulkar of India. He removed Jacques Kallis, another South African, six times, along with England's Marcus Trescothick.
http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/columns/content/current/story/295921.html

Century on test debut by wicketkeeper

2007-05-28T22:37:00.000-07:00

Matt Prior was the first England wicketkeeper to score a century on Test debut. When I first heard that stat I thought it was wrong, as I knew that keepers Paul Gibb and Billy Griffith had both scored debut hundreds, but on closer inspection it turned out that neither of them was keeping wicket in the match in question - Gibb against South Africa at Johannesburg in 1938-39 (he actually scored 93 and 106), and Griffith against West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 1947-48. Only two wicketkeepers had previously scored a century on Test debut, and both of them were from Sri Lanka: Brendon Kuruppu, who made 201 not out against New Zealand in Colombo in 1986-87, and Romesh Kaluwitharana, who biffed 132 not out against Australia, also in Colombo, in 1992-93.
http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/columns/content/current/story/295921.html

Kaif ready for a comeback, in IBNLIVE.COM

2007-05-28T22:32:00.000-07:00

He has been in and out of the national cricket team. As the Indian went on full throttle for a revenge if their World Cup defeat in Mirpur -- one man was sweating it out back home in a bid to earn his place back into the squad. And being included in the list of probables, have show him a ray of hope.

In the West Indies, Mohammad Kaif did well for himself, scoring his maiden Test hundred in St Lucia but since then it has been a downward slide.

The South African tour was disastrous and predictably enough, he was dropped. And even missed out on a berth in the World Cup team.

But Kaif thinks he is on his way back to regain his spot in the Indian team.

"Somewhere in your career you have to go through some roller coaster ride. And I think, at the moment I am facing that stage in my cricketing journey," said Kaif.

Kaif has a decent One-Day record. He has played 125 One-Day Internationals, scoring 2753 runs at an average of 32 with 2 hundreds. In his 13 Tests, the 26-year-old has scored 624 runs at almost 33 and he is happy with whatever he has achieved.

"I think whatever I have contributed for my country for the last five to six years, I am happy with it. If you look at my average and the positions I batted on at time for the team, overall I am happy the way it has gone for me."

Kaif's exceptional fielding has often overshadowed his poor scores with the bat but the next time he goes out to bat for India he would surely want to change that.
http://www.cricketnext.com/news/kaif-confident-of-making-a-comeback/25230-13.html

'I've the experience to coach India', in IBNLIVE.COM

2007-05-28T22:28:00.000-07:00

Dav Whatmore's contract with the Bangladesh Cricket team has ended and now he is the front runner to become India's next coach. Whatmore says he's the man as he has got the experience.

"I think it is a logical extension for a bigger challenge after continuing to accumulate a lot of knowledge in cricket coaching. I just feel that it is a logical extension to that greater challenge with all the information and experience," Whatmore says.

The 53-year-old Australian was born in Sri Lanka before migrating to Australia. He played seven Tests and one ODI for Australia before retiring in 1988-89 to become a coach.

He was the coach of Sri Lanka when they won the World Cup in 1996 defeating Australia and then went on to become the coach of Lancashire in English county cricket.

He became Bangladesh's coach in 2003. Under his tutourship Bangladesh won their first Test series beating Zimbabwe at home.

Some of the memorable wins that Bangladesh registered under him include a win over India in 2004-05 at Dhaka.

They also won an One-Day series against Zimbabwe and in 2005 they had beaten Australia at Cardiff in an ODI.

In the World Cup 2007 their second major win came against the South Africans in the Super Eights stage after they had overcome the Indians in the group stage.

Whatmore has been credited with all the success that Bangladesh have achieved in the recent times.

Kapil disappointed with BCCI, in NDTV.COM

2007-05-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

Former Indian cricket captain Kapil Dev has expressed disappointment over BCCI's "failure" to arrange telecast of the Test series between India and Bangladesh.

"The BCCI makes so much money from cricket. Hence, it is unfortunate that it was not able to arrange the telecast. There is a need for the BCCI to do a rethinking on this aspect," he told reporters on Sunday.

Kapil was in Pune to distribute prizes to the winners of an under-15 cricket tournament.

About centuries by senior Indian players on the Bangladesh tour, he said it would have been good if they had scored them at a faster rate.

Kapil, who is President of National Cricket Academy of the BCCI and executive chairman of the newly-formed Indian Cricket League, said that the ICL has been set up to promote cricket and bring in more competitiveness in the game

Reverse swing- Amit Gupta in MUMBAI MIRROR

2007-05-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

Zaheer, who flexed his muscles with a 7-wicket burst after an ordinary tour, oscillates between the sublime and the ridiculous far too often

The pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium was dead as a Dodo, the conditions hot and humid. Just what fast bowlers dread. The Indians had compiled over 600 runs, the Bangladesh pacers had got no purchase from the wicket and it seemed that the Indian new-ball bowlers would struggle too.

The way Zaheer Khan had bowled in the first test and the fact that conditions were non-suitable for the swing of RP Singh, gave little confidence. The third pace bowler in the Indian team Ishant Sharma was only making his debut.

But Zaheer, who had been flat till now in both the one-day matches and the rain-effected test at Chittagong, decided to come back to life. With the first ball of the Bangladesh first-innings on the second evening of the match, he removed Javed Omar. He followed it up with the wickets of Shahriar Nafees and Mohammed Ashraful. Suddenly his rhythm was back and it seemed the Indians were bowling on a different track.

Probably this has been the biggest problem with Zaheer. He moves between the ridiculous and the sublime with regularity. In the one-day and the test matches in this series, he had been all over the place. The lack of rhythm resembled the kind that marked his departure from the Indian side early last year.

ATTITUDE QUESTIONED

That was the time when his commitment, attitude and fitness were questioned. The critics were right to some extent. But Zaheer was ready to prove them wrong. A wonderful County stint later, he had found his fitness and his rhythm. As he said yesterday: “My bowling style is such that the more I bowl the better it is for me. This is what I have learnt from experience and I have tried to play as many matches as I can and try to keep my body in a good rhythm and try to maintain it.”

Zaheer’s success is not only important for himself but for the breed of young fast bowlers coming to the side. Partly due to their own talent or the plethora of injuries.

For some time now, the Indian cricket has been moving from a spin factory to a small-scale pace industry. The fast bowlers are not just there to remove the shine of the new ball, but they are being looked upon as the main weapon to win matches even at home.

From playing three spinners more and more matches are witnessing India playing three fast-bowlers plus one or two spinners both at home and away.

Zaheer now is into his seventh season with the Indian team after making is debut Bangladesh in 2000. He was a key part of the Indian team that registered victories in Australia and Pakistan. He had seen the good days with the Indian side.

INSECURE AGAIN

When he came back to the Indian side for the South Africa series last year, he was expected to be more then just a pace spearhead. Now he was the senior bowler and had to shepherd the younger lot of S Sreesanth, VRV Singh and Munaf Patel. At World Cup he was expected to lead the Indian charge, but he fell flat. What more, the stories of his having a spat with a young bowler became public. And the questions about his attitude again raised their heads. Experts said he was terrorizing the young bowler because he was not secure about his own place in the side.

But this is what Zaheer needs to stay away from. He is of utmost importance to this Indian side, not only for his ability to take wickets but as an senior statesman. The seven wickets he took in the second test should put a stamp on his wicket-taking part but the attitude part he will have to sort out soon if he needs to play a longer innings with the Indian side.

Ashra-ful of talent- Anand Naik in MIDDAY

2007-05-27T22:21:00.000-07:00

Ashra-ful of talent

When a team loses by an innings and 239 runs and yet if the highlight of the match is a knock by one of their batsmen, it is proof enough of his class and potential.

And Mohammad Ashraful proved yesterday that he is not just one of the most promising stars of Bangladesh cricket, but he has the ability to tear apart any opponent.

Bangladesh were already out of the game by the time Ashraful came into bat at 10-3 in the fourth over.

And as he took guard to face RP Singh, his dismissal off the first ball in the first innings would have played heavily on his mind.

“When I went out to bat, I was thinking about the 158 I had made against India last time. I wanted to bat just the way I had then,” Ashraful had said on Saturday.

In December 2004 at the Chittagong Stadium, against an attack that comprised of Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, Ashraful had walked in to bat at 54-3 and blasted his way to an unbeaten 158 off just 194 deliveries.

Though Ashraful could not do it in the first innings, he came very close to repeating his feat yesterday.

Throwing caution to the wind, the youngest Test centurion hooked Zaheer and RP over the ropes and drove them over the covers at will.

His 67 came off just 46 deliveries. As his batting showed skill and ability, his dismissal proved he still needs to mature to be a quality Test cricketer.
“Ashraful’s innings was a touch of brilliance.

But I though it was more akin to a one-day innings,” said outgoing coach Dav Whatmore.

“There is no doubt about his potential but a little bit of maturity will make him a truly great player,” he added.

http://www.mid-day.com/sports/international/2007/may/158241.htm

Shastri's thumbs up for Robin, Venky- Anand Naik in MIDDAY

2007-05-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

Shastri's thumbs up for Robin, Venky

Ravi Shastri’s job as the manager of the Indian team might have come to an end a bit earlier as India wrapped up the second Test and the series in just three days.

But his more important job in Indian cricket has just begun.

Impressive job

Member of the panel that will select India’s next coach, Shastri’s inputs, considering the time he has spent with the team, will be very important along with the fact that he has seen Dav Whatmore, one of the applicants for the job, at his work from close quarters.

And looking at the way he has been impressed with the job bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh have done, there is every chance that they might continue to be a part of the coaching staff under the new coach.

“If I am asked, they should stay with the team. Both Venky and Robin did a fantastic job with the team” the former India all-rounder said.

“They were both very dedicated cricketers and they did this job too with a lot of dedication and pride.”

While the pair’s fate will only be known on June 4, rumours had been doing the rounds that the Board of Control for Cricket in India was already planning to continue with Prasad.

“Even I have heard those rumors but the BCCI has not informed me anything about it. But if given a chance, I would love to continue with my job. It’s been a great experience for me,” Prasad had said a few days earlier.

Tightlipped

Shastri, however, refused to say anything about what he wanted from the next coach of the team.

“I am on the panel of the selection committee that will pick the next coach. So I will hold my cards for the moment,” he said.

What progress? Sunil Gavaskar in MIDDAY

2007-05-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

Seeing the manner in which the Bangladeshi batsmen batted in both the innings, one wonders if the Bangladeshi board had informed them that they were going to be given fees only for three days of the Test rather than all five days.
-Sunil Gavaskar in MIDDAY

Outrageous play

To see batsman after batsman coming out and trying to play outrageous shots was eye-popping, for one would have thought that a team that had been kept on the field for almost two days chasing leather and fielding in the heat would want to return the compliment, and at least look to keep the Indians on the field for two days, even if it was spread over two innings.

What this inept display clearly shows is that Bangladesh have made absolutely ‘zero’ progress in Test cricket, and with the possibility that a better team than theirs will have the odd bad day, they may win that odd one-day game.

In India’s case, that bad day unfortunately came in the 2007 World Cup, but India showed in no uncertain terms who was the boss in the one-dayers as well as the Tests here, and that too in the tigers’ den.

http://www.mid-day.com/sports/international/2007/may/158238.htm

A League of Their Own , Partab Ramchand in NEWINDPRESS

2007-05-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

The irony could not be missed by even a casual follower of the game. Kapil Dev, currently chairman of the BCCI-run Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy, now heads the Executive Board of the breakaway Indian Cricket League. Much as the men behind the project might disapprove of the word ‘breakaway’, there is more to it than meets the eye. The ICL is the brainchild of Indian TV mogul Subhash Chandra of the Essel Group that owns the Zee brand. Three years ago, Chandra made a bid for the BCCI’s TV rights and lost out despite making the highest offer. So the analogy with Kerry Packer is not out of place, for the late Australian TV tycoon was also a jilted suitor 30 years ago before he formed World Series Cricket and took on the Australian Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council in a head-on collision that ultimately saw the game undergo a metamorphosis.

The ICL is also seen as a direct confrontation with the BCCI, though Chandra himself and members of the newly-formed Executive Board have gone to great lengths to term the project as “complementary’’ to the functioning of the BCCI. But here, again, the analogy with Packer is not out of place. For if Packer took on the ICC, an organisation run by myopic and blinkered old men in suits who guarded their fiefdoms jealously, Chandra is also up against an Indian Cricket Board that guards its turf zealously and does not take kindly to any kind of rivalry even if it is termed complementary.

The BCCI’s initial reaction to Chandra’s announcement was along expected lines. Board secretary Niranjan Shah said that it would take “an appropriate decision” on the proposal received from Zee Telefilms to start a parallel cricket league. The outspoken BCCI vice president Lalith Modi, however, made it clear that the ICL was not going to be feasible without the Board’s cooperation. “If Chandra is planning a local tournament,” said Modi, “he can’t use our sports facilities without our permission. If he is roping in international players, that requires the sanction of the BCCI and the ICC. The Board does not normally give private parties permission to do anything like this.” Three decades ago, Packer faced a similar problem with overzealous officials. With the traditional Test grounds out of bounds for the WSC matches, he had to conduct the games at other venues, including football grounds. Dropped-in pitches, night cricket, white balls, black sight screens and coloured clothing were suddenly seen on a cricket field, and detractors dismissed it all as “the pyjama game.” We are all wiser now and thanks are due to Packer’s vision, even if the whole thing cropped up because of a personal grudge.

To Subhash Chandra too a vote of thanks would not be out of place but perhaps that will have to wait till his ambitious venture really takes wings. The ICL has been planned as a month-long Twenty20 cricket event which will feature six cities in an attempt to spruce up domestic cricket. The tournament will start with six city teams and go up to 16 by the third year. The prize money for the event is a whopping $1 million (about Rs 45 lakhs). The Essel Group is expected to pump Rs 100 crore into the ambitious project. Every team will consist of two Indian stars, four overseas players and eight juniors in keeping with the credo “give opportunities to youngsters.”

Chandra is of the view that the BCCI’s selection process has failed to create “a reserve pipeline of players” and the idea behind the league is to create an “ideal pool with killing instinct.” The BCCI, he has said, would be free to draw from the talent pool. “We feel that despite cricket being a passion and a religion in this country, despite it having great commercial players, BCCI has only six A-grade players signed up. Therefore, there is need for some united effort to create a talent pool and this will be done by a three pronged strategy — discovery, diligence and display.”

Attempting a predictably conciliatory approach, Chandra insists he isn’t trying to emulate Packer. “That was different. Kerry Packer had staged a coup by getting the big players on his side,” says Chandra. “However, in the case of the Zee Group, we would continue to bid for BCCI telecast rights. The initiative that we would launch is about a talent hunt and a talent-building process. The initiative to launch the ICL should be seen as a challenge taken up by the Essel/Zee Group in BCCI’s quest to improve Indian cricket.” Interestingly, Lalith Modi himself had floated the idea of a similar league about a decade ago, an idea that couldn’t progress beyond BCCI’s red tape. One of those involved in that project was former Indian opening batsman Arun Lal, who said, “The reason why Australia keep winning is because they have a strong domestic structure that keeps churning out world-class players.” Arun Lal was of the view that the BCCI should put 90 per cent of its energies into this sphere of activity. “This was what I felt eight years ago and this is what I still feel is the way forward.”

The crux of the matter is that the ICL cannot get off the ground unless it has the BCCI’s permission to host an event of this nature. Even after the announcement of the four member Executive Board — the others are former England captain Tony Greig, former Australian batsman Dean Jones and former Indian wicket keeper Kiran More — the BCCI preferred to adopt a wait and watch policy. “We don’t yet know the details of what has been planned. So far the announcements have mentioned only the formation of six teams, but we are not sure whether it’s detrimental to Indian cricket and the BCCI,” said Board sources when asked whether there were any conflict of interests. Till a clearer picture emerged as to the real intentions of Chandra’s ICL, the BCCI — not unexpectedly, given its feudal structure — would adopt an ultra-cautious approach. And Indians being conventional by nature, it is unlikely that any contracted player or a budding young cricketer aiming to play for the country will be willing to jeopardise his career even for a bulging pay packet.

Chandra, no doubt, is aware of what he is up against, and that is why he has given momentum to the ICL by forming an executive board comprising big names. And if Packer’s WSC was ultimately a success it was because of the presence of the superstars. Chandra needs to think big. Recently there was talk of players of the superstar status of Shane Warne, Brian Lara and Glenn McGrath being signed up. These reports were denied by Zee Sports Business Head Himanshu Modi, but then these are the kind of names that will be the big attraction. Even though the three have recently retired from international cricket, they still have a frenzied following in this cricket crazy nation. That would give the project both star status and credibility. Once a proper organisation is put in place, it would show that Chandra means business and the rest — including permission from the BCCI — would fall in place.

In the meantime, Kapil is looking ahead with undisguised enthusiasm. “It’s a great pleasure to lead the Executive Board of the ICL, the first professional league. I will try and utilise my experience of motivating and guiding players, both as captain and coach, to take the young talent to the pinnacle of success,” he said. On his part too he has taken care to clarify that this wasn’t a breakaway league. “We want to improve our domestic cricket as much as we can. We are not looking to create a rival team but helping the Indian board to find more talent and feeding the national team.” Greig, who also welcomed the initiative, said that the ICL would be a platform for all corners of India to play with and against some of the stars of international cricket. “They can learn from them and gain confidence to excel. I think Indian cricket is ready for a professional cricket league and I’m confident the ICL can make a difference.”

Indeed, it has always been a delicious thought why foreign stars do not take part in Indian domestic competitions. When Indian cricketers have played in the English county championships, in Australia and South Africa, why can’t foreigners come and play in the Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and the one-day competitions? To that extent too the ICL holds promise. After all who would not want to pay to see Kevin Pietersen play for Mumbai or Adam Gilchrist turn out for Karnataka?

Overall, the ICL presents an opportunity for Chandra. But it could also be an opportunity for the BCCI if it plays its cards right and does not continue to stay in its ivory tower. It may even be for the good of Indian cricket if only by giving the system a shake-up. As Jayaditya Gupta wrote on the Cricinfo website: “What Chandra is proposing is effectively what the BCCI should have been doing anyway — in terms of building both infrastructure and manpower. If the BCCI feels threatened, it may be stirred into action — which may not be a bad thing. If on the other hand Chandra has held out his hand in genuine partnership and the BCCI accepts, Indian cricket can only get better.’’

The ICL in a nutshell

6 teams or clubs to play in the opening year

Talks on with BCCI for gaining access to stadiums

Executive Board of the league under installation

Pool of referees and umpires to be created

Rules committee to form regulations for ICL

Ombudsman to look into grievances of players

League to begin with Twenty20 format and move to ODI format

Each team to have a mentor, media manager, psychologist and physio

Prize money for the winner: $1 million

League teams to compete with teams internationally

Number of teams to be increased from 6 to 16 in three years

National interest is supreme: says Miandad

2007-05-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

Former Pakistan Captain and coach Javed Miandad said Saturday that he will keep national interest prime if asked to again take up the responsibility as a coach of Pakistan team. "I have always kept national interest above all and will continue to do so in the future," he told APP in response to a query whether he would like to accept the coaching assignment of the national team for a fourth time if asked by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

"It is a hypothetical question but I can only think about it if the offer comes to me," Miandad, Pakistan's highest run-getter with 8832 in 124 Test matches said.

"I have to think about various options if any offer comes through", replied the former skipper - who had not applied for the coaching job, advertised by the PCB few weeks ago.

Country's premier batsman Miandad, who will turn 50 on June 12 this year, said he had served the country with honour and dignity and it was always his wish that Pakistan team perform well in the international arena.

PCB chief Dr. Nasim Ashraf in a recent statement had said they (PCB) were looking for a foreign coach and it would be appointed within next few months.

However some cricketing circles and Javed Miandad supporters in Pakistan believe that a home coaching could be more useful considering our environment and Miandad was a good choice for the assignment.

Miandad dispelled the impressions created by certain circles that by winning three- match series in Abu Dhabi against Sri Lanka 2-1, Pakistan team was back on track after the World Cup debacle.

"It was like festival cricket in Abu Dhabi. It is good that Pakistan's full strength team beat under strength Lankan team but it is not worth celebration," he remarked.

"Winning World Cup, Asia Cup or a major away series is worth celebrations and not series like in Abu Dhabi," he observed.

"Pakistan team got the same old lot except for Fawad Alam and Najaf Shah," he said. "We must look for consistency because that is the national duty of the players to perform well," he maintained.

He said look at Australians, they won the World Cup for a third time since 1999 and their celebrations were over after having a breakfast with Prime Minister John Howard.

"We need a good strategy and planning on long-term basis. Boys should learn from their mistakes and improve upon it," Javed Miandad said.

"Pakistan team can only enhance their performance and status by looking at a team such as Australia," he said.

"We needed a good team and should have a proper back-up line to fill the void in emergency," he pointed out.

Karthik takes huge strides as opener in REDIFF

2007-05-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

He battled heat, he battled cramps and he battled perceptions that a wicketkeeper can't make it to the team as a batsman alone.

Questions were asked whether Dinesh Karthik, also considered as a second choice 'keeper, could make a good reliable opener and justify his place as a batsman. But he answered his critics in style with a magnificent maiden century in the second and final Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Saturday.

"I am trying my best to become a very good opener. I have been always trying to do that. And if I keep getting runs probably also, Veeru bhai [Virender Sehwag] also began as a middle order batsman who changed into an opener. So also I want to get as many runs as possible," he said.

The young Tamil Nadu batsman played a major role along with fellow opener Wasim Jaffer as they scored centuries each, 129 and 138 respectively, to help India amass a huge 610 for 3 declared in their first innings.

Karthik, 21, had retired on 82 on the opening day after suffering from cramps caused by the extreme heat in Dhaka.

"It was tough because conditions were really hard and I was running a bit of a temperature. Probably I could feel the cramps in my hamstring. But I told myself to keep playing as I was very close to my hundred. It is important as it is my first hundred and I am happy about it," he said.

He also credited the support staff for helping the team to be in top shape even in such trying conditions.

"You can see a lot of work is being done backstage. Generally these guys never get publicity. We are given ice bath and they constantly keep giving us some replacement, nutrients etc so that we can carry on with the game," he said.

Karthik added that he is working on improving on as an opener in terms of his technique.

"I try to be as consistent as possible. And that can be done if I work a lot on my batting in terms of footwork, in terms of mindset. And I am always trying to do that. And very important I am trying to transform my batting from one day cricket to Test cricket. And that is very important. I am happy at the way things are going on," he said.

He described the new role of opening the batting for India as a new challenge, but one that he has tried at domestic level too.

"I have been opening in club cricket, couple of Ranji Trophy games, I always work on my batting, I want to give myself a lot of challenge," the youngster said.

Karthik also thanked his newly-wed wife Nikita, who has been with him through the tour.

"I would like to dedicate this century to my famly, my wife for supporting me. I am having fever. My wife stayed awake in the night and looked after me. It's a nice feeling. It's nice to have the family around," he said.

Botham set to 'walk' into knighthood

2007-05-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

Former England great Ian Botham should start getting used to being referred to as 'Sir', as he is set to be knighted for his pathbreaking charity walks, having raised £10 million for children with leukaemia.

Botham, already an OBE (Order of the British Empire), is set to embrace knighthood after his 11 walks. He will get the recognition during the Queen's Birthday Honours on June 16.

"Ian Botham was a fabulous cricketer but his selfless charity work is out of this world. His fund-raising is first-class and no one, absolutely no one, deserves an honour more than him," British daily The Mirror quoted a royal source on Saturday.

"At a time when the honours system has been in the spotlight, his knighthood will be deserved recognition of outstanding public service," the source added.

Botham, one of cricket's all-time leading all-rounders, has been on a never-ending crusade against Leukemia and raising money for Leukemia Research througout England and the rest of the world.

A self-proclaimed "Prisoner of walk", Botham has vowed not to stop his crusade until the dreadly disease is wiped out completely.

"It's a bit like being in the trenches. I have to finish this walk and that's that. I never think of failing. I think of myself as a PoW - Prisoner of the Walk - and I'll only be free when we reach Lands End," he said.

"Ian has vowed never to give up until all children and young people with leukaemia survive," a close associate of Botham added.