Well with all the four quarter-finals of the world cup being over, I guess it is time to bid the best of the quarter-finals which included 8 teams playing four games (obviously). The first of the quarter-finals between West Indies and Pakistan was just a walk over game for Pakistan who thrashed the West Indies like never before. First by bowling out them for just above 100 and then chasing the same with close to 30 overs left. But, that feat can be enjoyed by no one other than the Pakistanis. So, that match stands canceled in picking the best.
Next on the list comes the match involving India and Australia which India unexpectedly won with 5 wickets still in hand. This goes down as the best of all knock-out games in this tournament so far with hardly anyone having their bet on the co-hosts though they are the favorites to win the crown this time. Though Australia have lost the services of Adam Gilchrist, Mathew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Glenn McGrath and others, there are some like Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Brad Haddin, Brett Lee etc who are still fresh from their days of glory since the last decade.
Australia might have lost to Pakistan in their league stage encounter with the sub-continent nation but the quarter-finals of the world cup is totally a different game whatsoever. Coming to the next game between New Zealand and South Africa, that was just an elimination match where both teams don't deserve to be in the semi-finals and one of them has to make it there irrespective of whether anyone likes it or not. Both South Africa and New Zealand had just one win in their league stage and that too by a one man show and a crash by the opposition.
It was India who lost their equations against South Africa and if not for Ross Taylor, no other batsman from the Kiwi side put Pakistanis under pressure. Last but not the least we have the game between England and Sri Lanka which was (we guess) anticipated by England to be their last show in this world cup. Gone were the good work when they had a tie against India chasing 339 before losing to Bangladesh and Ireland. They were just a step better than the West Indies and nothing else. Teams gotto be lucky to have faced West Indies and England and likewise they did it in style when they didn't lose a wicket en-route to their successful chase.
Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts
Monday, 28 March 2011
Saturday, 26 March 2011
What a major difference?
Well if any team cannot even chase down a small total of 221 in the quarter-finals of a world cup, then expecting something special from them would just be as stupid as it can get whatsoever. And that was what the South Africans were found doing yesterday against New Zealand at Dhaka. And, with winning being totally out of question, just look at the margin of victory the Kiwis had against the Proteas and you can realize that the Proteas have just been better than the West Indies. I can no doubt say that Bangladesh and Ireland played better cricket than the South Africans.
One has to just take a look at how many times in world cups the South Africans have been losing to the Kiwis since their entry into world cricket in the 1992 world cup. If not for the 1996 and 1999 world cups, New Zealand have been able to take home twice of what the South Africans have managed. This was the third consecutive time that New Zealand beat South Africa in world cups. I just felt pity to see Shaun Pollock go in first to the presentation area despite scoring 307 runs and Herschelle Gibbs missing out to Stephen Fleming for the MoM award.
You can just go through the scorecard top see that there were no big hitting by the New Zealand batsmen. All the New Zealand batsmen did was to wait for an opportunity and strike at the right time. The entire New Zealand innings consisted of just lone six from the blades of Kane Williamson. There was a 114 run 3rd wicket partnership between Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor which was instrumental in the eventual score of 221.The South Africans couldn't even bowl the New Zealand batsmen all-out and allowed them to play all their 50 overs which laid the foundation to their defeat.
The match should not go down as another chucking by the African team for, this was anybody's game unlike in 1992-1999 world cups. The South African scorecard which at one point of time read 121/3 in the 27th over eventually ended at 172 all out meaning only 51 runs could be scored in 16 odd overs at the rate of just over 3 runs an over losing 7 wickets. This was the second time the South Africans were found doing this. Previously, against England as well, they succumbed chasing 173. This time, had this been the score against England there would have been another tie for England.
One has to just take a look at how many times in world cups the South Africans have been losing to the Kiwis since their entry into world cricket in the 1992 world cup. If not for the 1996 and 1999 world cups, New Zealand have been able to take home twice of what the South Africans have managed. This was the third consecutive time that New Zealand beat South Africa in world cups. I just felt pity to see Shaun Pollock go in first to the presentation area despite scoring 307 runs and Herschelle Gibbs missing out to Stephen Fleming for the MoM award.
You can just go through the scorecard top see that there were no big hitting by the New Zealand batsmen. All the New Zealand batsmen did was to wait for an opportunity and strike at the right time. The entire New Zealand innings consisted of just lone six from the blades of Kane Williamson. There was a 114 run 3rd wicket partnership between Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor which was instrumental in the eventual score of 221.The South Africans couldn't even bowl the New Zealand batsmen all-out and allowed them to play all their 50 overs which laid the foundation to their defeat.
The match should not go down as another chucking by the African team for, this was anybody's game unlike in 1992-1999 world cups. The South African scorecard which at one point of time read 121/3 in the 27th over eventually ended at 172 all out meaning only 51 runs could be scored in 16 odd overs at the rate of just over 3 runs an over losing 7 wickets. This was the second time the South Africans were found doing this. Previously, against England as well, they succumbed chasing 173. This time, had this been the score against England there would have been another tie for England.
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Great hosts-Bangladesh!
Well I wish like Pakistan, had even Bangladesh been stripped off its hosts' status, that would not have been a bad decision at all by any means. By no means are Bangladesh justifying their being the co-hosts along with India and Sri Lanka. For the second time in the tournament, Bangladesh were bowled out for a score less than 100. The first one was against West Indies when they were bowled out for 58 runs at their home ground. This time, Bangladesh did slightly better to see them end their score by another 20 runs on the board. The only reason for critics to go silent.
Even in that match against the West Indies, Bangladesh had absolutely no reasons to fare so badly taking into account the caliber of the West Indies team who are yet to win against a decent opposition till date with a match against due. On the other hand, Bangladesh did well in the match against England where they beat them by 2 wickets and then in the first encounter against India where though Bangladesh lost, they gave in a tough fight to the co-hosts India where they didn't lose all ten wickets and scored 283 runs on the board losing by 87 runs.
In yesterday's game against South Africa, though hardly anybody would have expected them to win, at least a few of them would have expected Bangladesh to put up a tough fight. Another match that would be worth citing here would be the one against Ireland where both the contestants were equally competitive, with wins against England and Holland. With this loss, Bangladesh end their campaign with three wins, equal to West Indies who have wins against Holland, Ireland and Bangladesh. These were obvious wins for a test playing nation like the West Indies. However, their big game is due against India later this week.
Similarly, India has had wins against Ireland, Bangladesh and Netherlands which is also quite obvious. Both of them have their big game to come. But, the scorecard of yesterday's game might make someone laugh when only one batsman from Bangladesh happened to score more then 10 runs and making it more worse was that even the number of extra deliveries bowled by the South African bowlers ended at 8 which was 2 less than the speculated figure. This was South Africa's second 200+ margin victory after their thrashing of Holland at Mohali. Concluding the post, Bangladesh should be glad that the Proteas didn't cross the 300 run mark like India.
Even in that match against the West Indies, Bangladesh had absolutely no reasons to fare so badly taking into account the caliber of the West Indies team who are yet to win against a decent opposition till date with a match against due. On the other hand, Bangladesh did well in the match against England where they beat them by 2 wickets and then in the first encounter against India where though Bangladesh lost, they gave in a tough fight to the co-hosts India where they didn't lose all ten wickets and scored 283 runs on the board losing by 87 runs.
In yesterday's game against South Africa, though hardly anybody would have expected them to win, at least a few of them would have expected Bangladesh to put up a tough fight. Another match that would be worth citing here would be the one against Ireland where both the contestants were equally competitive, with wins against England and Holland. With this loss, Bangladesh end their campaign with three wins, equal to West Indies who have wins against Holland, Ireland and Bangladesh. These were obvious wins for a test playing nation like the West Indies. However, their big game is due against India later this week.
Similarly, India has had wins against Ireland, Bangladesh and Netherlands which is also quite obvious. Both of them have their big game to come. But, the scorecard of yesterday's game might make someone laugh when only one batsman from Bangladesh happened to score more then 10 runs and making it more worse was that even the number of extra deliveries bowled by the South African bowlers ended at 8 which was 2 less than the speculated figure. This was South Africa's second 200+ margin victory after their thrashing of Holland at Mohali. Concluding the post, Bangladesh should be glad that the Proteas didn't cross the 300 run mark like India.
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
The best South Africa can do
Well gone are the days when cricket fans used to pity the plight of the South Africans when they used to come so close to winning and all of a sudden lose the plot midway. That was the case in 1992, 1996 and the 1999 world cups but not thereafter. Since 2003 world cup onwards, South Africa have only been just another team and no extraordinary team. And in this world cup as well, they had no reasons to lose to England and in the match against India, it was India's loss and not the Proteas' win. Smith has only been a failure so far.
The South African captain has in most of the game games barring England and West Indies. But, in games against teams like Ireland, South Africa has everything to say. They did everything right in their game against Netherlands and the same can be expected against Bangladesh. They got a world record victory margin of 221 runs against Netherlands who are yet to taste a win in this world cup. Yesterday, their performance against Ireland was splendid only to add to their woes citing their plight against England and India. South Africa are yet to perform in this series though their place in the quarter-finals is rather guaranteed.
Coming to yesterday's game, the total of 272 on the board by South Africa was far below par when expectations reached a team total of 350+ or so. This should not mean that they would have been a better team had they been able to do so. Though bad luck has stopped haunting South Africa in world cups since the 2003 world cup, bad luck seems to have cast its eyes on the South African players when Jean Paul Duminy failed to get the three figure mark when he was caught by the fastest hundred scorer in world cups. Now, Kevin O'Brien was responsible in breaking a hundred.
It was nice to see every South African bowler returning with a wicket barring Alex Cusack who bowled just 2 overs and all ten Irish wickets were down. Why did South Africa lose 7 wickets en-route to their total of 272 batting first? Why only one batsman got a half century when the second best score happened to be the number 7 batsman-Colin Ingram who scored 46? Though Morne Morkel returned as the top bowler with three scalps, he was the most expensive bowler with 33 runs from 5.2 overs at a rate of 6.18 an over. And, no South African bowler bowled his full quota of 10 overs. Why?
The South African captain has in most of the game games barring England and West Indies. But, in games against teams like Ireland, South Africa has everything to say. They did everything right in their game against Netherlands and the same can be expected against Bangladesh. They got a world record victory margin of 221 runs against Netherlands who are yet to taste a win in this world cup. Yesterday, their performance against Ireland was splendid only to add to their woes citing their plight against England and India. South Africa are yet to perform in this series though their place in the quarter-finals is rather guaranteed.
Coming to yesterday's game, the total of 272 on the board by South Africa was far below par when expectations reached a team total of 350+ or so. This should not mean that they would have been a better team had they been able to do so. Though bad luck has stopped haunting South Africa in world cups since the 2003 world cup, bad luck seems to have cast its eyes on the South African players when Jean Paul Duminy failed to get the three figure mark when he was caught by the fastest hundred scorer in world cups. Now, Kevin O'Brien was responsible in breaking a hundred.
It was nice to see every South African bowler returning with a wicket barring Alex Cusack who bowled just 2 overs and all ten Irish wickets were down. Why did South Africa lose 7 wickets en-route to their total of 272 batting first? Why only one batsman got a half century when the second best score happened to be the number 7 batsman-Colin Ingram who scored 46? Though Morne Morkel returned as the top bowler with three scalps, he was the most expensive bowler with 33 runs from 5.2 overs at a rate of 6.18 an over. And, no South African bowler bowled his full quota of 10 overs. Why?
Sunday, 13 March 2011
What does Sachin and India want to prove?
Hmm..this is for the second time in the tournament that India have lost with Sachin Tendulkar scoring a century. But, as most of the tongues wag, I don't blame it on the maestro keeping in mind various superstitions. When cricket is a team game, leaving something completely upon one player is just stupid and a shameful act as well as cowardly. One can go through the scorecard of yesterday's game between India and South Africa at Nagpur to see what actually happened. If not for the opening duo, no other batsmen really stood to the occasion. Of course, Gambhir did.
But, with the likes of Yousuf Pathan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh being there in the team and that too in full form, things should have been a lot better. India were at one stage charging in at 267/1 at the end of the 40th over at over six an over and with ten more overs still to go. The total seemed to be somewhere close to 400 with all the aforementioned batsmen and tail-end batsmen like Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan who can do their bit with the bat at the fag end of the innings. Oh! I forgot to mention Kohli.
With such a strong batting line up and with such a great initial start, something much was expected and unfortunately, the total ended 4 runs less than 300. But still, all was not lost with the Indian bowlers being capable of doing things as expected with Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra being among top wicket takers for the team. They did well initially when South Africa were at one stage 247/6 after at one stage being at 223/3. 13 runs were needed from the last over and my goodness! I wonder how that was possible under that much pressure!
Failures with both the bat as well as the ball should and must draw all sorts of criticism no matter who scored a hundred or who held their nerves to restrict the opposition when there were 6 other batsmen who got out scoring single digit runs or just above the ten run mark and someone like Ashish Nehra who gave away 65 runs from 8.5 overs at 7 and a half an average that included the last over. I don't discourage Dhoni for giving the last over to Nehra instead I criticize him for under-using his bowlers when Sehwag & Sachin Tendulkar could have bowled.
But, with the likes of Yousuf Pathan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh being there in the team and that too in full form, things should have been a lot better. India were at one stage charging in at 267/1 at the end of the 40th over at over six an over and with ten more overs still to go. The total seemed to be somewhere close to 400 with all the aforementioned batsmen and tail-end batsmen like Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan who can do their bit with the bat at the fag end of the innings. Oh! I forgot to mention Kohli.
With such a strong batting line up and with such a great initial start, something much was expected and unfortunately, the total ended 4 runs less than 300. But still, all was not lost with the Indian bowlers being capable of doing things as expected with Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra being among top wicket takers for the team. They did well initially when South Africa were at one stage 247/6 after at one stage being at 223/3. 13 runs were needed from the last over and my goodness! I wonder how that was possible under that much pressure!
Failures with both the bat as well as the ball should and must draw all sorts of criticism no matter who scored a hundred or who held their nerves to restrict the opposition when there were 6 other batsmen who got out scoring single digit runs or just above the ten run mark and someone like Ashish Nehra who gave away 65 runs from 8.5 overs at 7 and a half an average that included the last over. I don't discourage Dhoni for giving the last over to Nehra instead I criticize him for under-using his bowlers when Sehwag & Sachin Tendulkar could have bowled.
Monday, 7 March 2011
South Africa has to stop playing cricket
Well, if a team cannot chase down a meager total of just 172, one can no doubt question its credibility in international cricket and especially in the mega event such as the world cup. South Africa have been in the news for all the bad reasons since they made it to the international arena in the 1992 world cup. Since then, bad luck have struck them thrice in that decade and since then, the South Africans have made fools out of themselves and nothing else. South Africa were an unbeatable team in the 1992, 1996 and 1999 world cups under Hansie Cronje.
But since then, they have just been an ordinary team similar to say India, England or New Zealand. They have no one else but themselves to blame for their debacle in 2003 world cup when they were given an over short in the inaugural match against West Indies, when they were unable to defend a 300+ total with an asking rate of over six an over (even after the D-L method was applied) and finally when they needed a run and the batsman simply ducked the ball thinking he could do it in the next delivery against Sri Lanka which ended in a tie.
Now, in the match against England yesterday, South Africa did well to restrict them to less than 175 with some Imran Tahir having a ball with four wickets to his credit. Not even in dreams would the South African captain-Graeme Smith would have thought that his team would be at the losing side when at one stage the South African scoreboard read 124-4 at the end of the 32nd over needing 49 runs from 108 deliveries with needless to say 6 wickets in hand. Since then, all the South African batsmen could manage was to lose wickets in quick intervals and see that their team lose the match.
I just cannot figure out what exactly happened to South Africa or what sort of magic did England do to get back into the game to come out victorious from nowhere. One can give some consideration to match fixing for, such cases rarely happen and that too for South Africa against England-who are not rated among favorite teams to beat the Proteas. With most of the betters having their say on South Africa, betting rookies can make merry with South Africa losing the game to England. There might be many similar matches like this but, no one comes close to winning and all of a sudden make a U-turn. Only fixers can have their say.
But since then, they have just been an ordinary team similar to say India, England or New Zealand. They have no one else but themselves to blame for their debacle in 2003 world cup when they were given an over short in the inaugural match against West Indies, when they were unable to defend a 300+ total with an asking rate of over six an over (even after the D-L method was applied) and finally when they needed a run and the batsman simply ducked the ball thinking he could do it in the next delivery against Sri Lanka which ended in a tie.
Now, in the match against England yesterday, South Africa did well to restrict them to less than 175 with some Imran Tahir having a ball with four wickets to his credit. Not even in dreams would the South African captain-Graeme Smith would have thought that his team would be at the losing side when at one stage the South African scoreboard read 124-4 at the end of the 32nd over needing 49 runs from 108 deliveries with needless to say 6 wickets in hand. Since then, all the South African batsmen could manage was to lose wickets in quick intervals and see that their team lose the match.
I just cannot figure out what exactly happened to South Africa or what sort of magic did England do to get back into the game to come out victorious from nowhere. One can give some consideration to match fixing for, such cases rarely happen and that too for South Africa against England-who are not rated among favorite teams to beat the Proteas. With most of the betters having their say on South Africa, betting rookies can make merry with South Africa losing the game to England. There might be many similar matches like this but, no one comes close to winning and all of a sudden make a U-turn. Only fixers can have their say.
Friday, 4 March 2011
Who gives a damn about Holland?
Well as expected and as usual, yesterday South Africa beat Holland by 231 runs at Mohali to become the fourth nation in this world cup to have registered a 200+ run margin of victory after Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies did it against Canada, Kenya and Holland respectively. Likewise, Holland was the victim of such a batting display for the second time after West Indies did the same to them four days back. It would just be a waste of time to talk about the South African batsmen who notched centuries and a quickfire 40 off 15 balls who was Duminy.
South Africa were facing Holland for the third time in a world cup and all three world cup games have been memorable ones for the against Holland. In 1996 world cup no matter that South Africa under Hansie Cronje did well to beat all five teams in the round-robin stage but their highest team total came against Holland when they ended their 50 overs piling up 328 runs which was one of the highest team total at that time. South Africa won that game by 160 runs needless to be said. Then in their next encounter in 2007, Herschelle Gibbs smashed 36 runs off an over.
This time, the record for the highest victory margins is seen getting better and better as matches go by. First, it was Sri Lanka who inflicted a 210 run defeat on Canada which was followed by but not bettered by Pakistan who did the same to Kenya when they washed them by 205 runs and then there was the West Indies who crushed Holland by 215 runs to better Sri Lanka's record by another 5 runs. Now, that record as well is broken with South Africa bettering that record by 16 more runs when the margin was 231 runs but of little use.
It is not a match that anyone on earth would cherish no matter what the record books have to say. In 2007, South Africa fell just short of making it to the history books for yet another reason when they ended their innings at 353 at the end of the stipulated 40 overs with still 7 wickets in hand. Had there been further play possible, may be the target of 414 runs set forth by India against Bermuda might have been surpassed. In addition to Gibbs' 36 runs over, Kallis had a 30 run over in the 40th. At the end, with games against England & India yet to come, who cares what happens against Holland?
South Africa were facing Holland for the third time in a world cup and all three world cup games have been memorable ones for the against Holland. In 1996 world cup no matter that South Africa under Hansie Cronje did well to beat all five teams in the round-robin stage but their highest team total came against Holland when they ended their 50 overs piling up 328 runs which was one of the highest team total at that time. South Africa won that game by 160 runs needless to be said. Then in their next encounter in 2007, Herschelle Gibbs smashed 36 runs off an over.
This time, the record for the highest victory margins is seen getting better and better as matches go by. First, it was Sri Lanka who inflicted a 210 run defeat on Canada which was followed by but not bettered by Pakistan who did the same to Kenya when they washed them by 205 runs and then there was the West Indies who crushed Holland by 215 runs to better Sri Lanka's record by another 5 runs. Now, that record as well is broken with South Africa bettering that record by 16 more runs when the margin was 231 runs but of little use.
It is not a match that anyone on earth would cherish no matter what the record books have to say. In 2007, South Africa fell just short of making it to the history books for yet another reason when they ended their innings at 353 at the end of the stipulated 40 overs with still 7 wickets in hand. Had there been further play possible, may be the target of 414 runs set forth by India against Bermuda might have been surpassed. In addition to Gibbs' 36 runs over, Kallis had a 30 run over in the 40th. At the end, with games against England & India yet to come, who cares what happens against Holland?
Friday, 25 February 2011
Smooth sail for South Africa
In the beginning of the tournament itself, looking at the schedule and the grouping of teams it was well understood that the teams who would make it to the quarter-finals of the world cup would be India, West Indies, South Africa and England from group B and Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand from group A. But, the next guess that is more important would be the semi-finals and unfortunately, even that work has been greatly simplified. Thanks to the below par performance from England and West Indies who would no doubt be on the losing side in the quarter-finals.
Yesterday, the West Indies played as though they were no match for the Proteas when the South African ship sailed so smoothly en route to their successful chase of 223 runs set by West Indies. Had this been the total some ten years back, then may be a see-saw sort of match would have been in front of our eyes. But, i a day when even a total in excess of 300 does not guarantee a victory, a total of 222 stands nowhere. The West Indies bowlers showed no signs of spirit that they were facing a strong nation and played as though they were facing Ireland.
There was only one batsman from the West Indian side who scored a half century and despite batsmen like Dwayne Bravo and Devon Smith and Shivnarine Chanderapaul getting the momentum right, they could not convert their innings into match winning partnerships. It would be wrong to say that the West Indies are not equipped with match wining players which is responsible for their debacle. There are the likes of Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo etc who can do miracles with the bat. There is also a rare all-rounder in Kieron Pollard who can smash bowlers and take wickets as well.
But, the thing which the West Indian players lack is the team work which makes them one of the most vulnerable outfits in world cricket. Any team can beat the West Indies including Bangladesh and may be to an extent. In the last world cup, despite playing at home and with Brian Lara out there, they had losses against England, Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa and New Zealand. Their only success was against Pakistan in the pool match. No doubt that West Indies will make it to the quarter-finals but, it is sad that the competition will be stripped off its caliber when teams don't perform upto their expectations.
Yesterday, the West Indies played as though they were no match for the Proteas when the South African ship sailed so smoothly en route to their successful chase of 223 runs set by West Indies. Had this been the total some ten years back, then may be a see-saw sort of match would have been in front of our eyes. But, i a day when even a total in excess of 300 does not guarantee a victory, a total of 222 stands nowhere. The West Indies bowlers showed no signs of spirit that they were facing a strong nation and played as though they were facing Ireland.
There was only one batsman from the West Indian side who scored a half century and despite batsmen like Dwayne Bravo and Devon Smith and Shivnarine Chanderapaul getting the momentum right, they could not convert their innings into match winning partnerships. It would be wrong to say that the West Indies are not equipped with match wining players which is responsible for their debacle. There are the likes of Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo etc who can do miracles with the bat. There is also a rare all-rounder in Kieron Pollard who can smash bowlers and take wickets as well.
But, the thing which the West Indian players lack is the team work which makes them one of the most vulnerable outfits in world cricket. Any team can beat the West Indies including Bangladesh and may be to an extent. In the last world cup, despite playing at home and with Brian Lara out there, they had losses against England, Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa and New Zealand. Their only success was against Pakistan in the pool match. No doubt that West Indies will make it to the quarter-finals but, it is sad that the competition will be stripped off its caliber when teams don't perform upto their expectations.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
South Africa exit yet again
For the third consecutive time, South Africa have given a grand exit from the world cup after losing to Pakistan at Gros Islet by 11 runs. The margin of victory for Pakistan might not seem to be that good but, the match against the Proteas was worth wining for both teams one, for South Africa to make it to the semis and second for Pakistan to keep their hopes alive in making it to the semis. Pakistan has lost both their earlier games to England and New Zealand while South Africa have a win against New Zealand and a loss to England.With all gates being close for South Africa, Pakistan has a chance of making it to the semi-finals in case England happen to win over New Zealand. In case New Zealand win, the semi-finalists would be the two teams which beat Pakistan in the super eight stage. Coming to the match, the pitch never seemed to favor the batsmen when both Pakistan and South Africa had a bowler in their team who could scalp 4 wickets. Or else, a total of 147 is hard to defend. This is for the 2nd time that Pakistan have ousted South Africa from T20 world cup.
Last time year, Pakistan had knocked off South Africa (who were until then unbeaten) in the semi-finals of the tournament en route to their successful campaign in England. Looking at the scorecard, After Kamran Akmal's stint at the top, Pakistan had to wait until the entry of Umar Akmal to see their scoreboard ticking once again. It was Umar Akmal's 51 runs along with a 61 run partnership with Shahid Afridi which laid the platform for a decent score on a bowler friendly pitch which went on to become a winning total for them. Shahid Afridi's 30 runs from 16 balls should also not go unnoticed.
Coming to the batting of the South Africans, initial blows from Asif and Abdul Razzaq was more than enough for viewers to come to conclusion of the match. If not for AB deVilliars, no other batsmen really had something to talk about. In the end, South Africa lost equal number of wickets as Pakistan but fell 11 runs short of what Pakistan could put up on the scoreboard. Now, all that Pakistan would want to happen is that England
Monday, 3 May 2010
No2 for India
For the third consecutive time, India have got into the super eights stage of a world T20 tournament without losing a single game in its league stage. In 2007, India had beaten Scotland (taken for granted) and Pakistan while in 2009 India beat Bangladesh and Ireland to reach the super eights of the tournament. Now, as expected by all, India beat Afghanistan a couple of days back and yesterday they beat South Africa to keep the tempo moving. It was interesting too India battle Afghanistan today and face South Africa tomorrow. The games involving India were held back to back.However, no one complains with India winning both the matches effectively and with it being a T20 game, even if two games involving one team is held on the same day doesn't matter. Indian batsmen never had problems of any sort when Suresh Raina did most of the scoring becoming the first Indian to score a century in a T20 international. Of course, there is no Sachin Tendulkar playing T20 cricket to score a century there. Anyways, with that apart, the match had only notable contributions from Yuvraj Singh and Raina who with the rest only filling the vacancies that were relevant.
It is not anybody's fault with Dhoni hardly getting anything to play and his score was an unbeaten 16 runs off 6 balls with one six and a boundary. Raina and Yuvraj together played 90 balls which was 75% of the match. It shouldn't matter who played with every batsman having his day. Whatever, it was foolish for Smith to stick to the six bowler formula when four bowlers bowled their quota. Whatever, chasing 187 is a tough job though Kallis on the top had the Indian bowlers running for cover when he struck 73 from 54 balls. May be that was too slow for T20 cricket especially when chasing.
Kallis stood for nine overs scoring at less than 9 runs an over which is quintessential in T20 cricket. Guys who came in later namely AB deVilliers, Morkel and Boucher scored quick runs but not enough ones to secure a victory. It was because of those batsmen that South Africa crossed the 170 run mark with the margin of victory limited to 14 runs. Towards, as there would be a man of the match who is responsible for his team's victory, there would also be a man who would be solely responsible for his team's defeat and it was Kallis in yesterday's match.
Sunday, 28 February 2010
South Africa requires improvement
Yesterday, the most experienced South African cricketer-Jacques Kallis asks for some improvement from the South African players who could all do is to take home a consolation win in their recently concluded one day series against India after winning the third and inconsequential match at Ahmedabad by 90 runs. This was against an under powered team India which didn't have the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan, which South Africa made use of to the fullest extent at Ahmedabad. A victory was more than less guaranteed for South Africa than expected. This was without Graeme Smith to head RSA.
However, even though the series against India be sidelined, South Africa have hardly anything to justify by its side in one day cricket. The last time South Africa won a one day series was in January last year against Australia (excluding all the under rated teams like Zimbabwe which is fresher than the one under discussion) . That was also an under rated performance which saw the Proteas gasping for a 3-2 finish in the 5 matches that it played. Prior to that, South Africa had defeated Australia in Australia by a margin 4-1 in the former part of the Commonwealth Bank series.
Since then, South Africa has hardly played any international one day series in 2009. And, whenever South Africa played an international one day series, it was found crashing unpredictably. South Africa couldn't even make it to the semi finals of the ICC Champions Trophy after losing to Sri Lanka and England, at a time when everyone thought it would be South Africa to emerge at the top of it group. South Africa gave no fight to either Sri Lanka or England against which it lost in a one sided manner. All the aforementioned developments happening when South Africa hosted the ICC Champions trophy.
And then, South Africa played their next one day series after the ICC Champions trophy only after a gap of 2 months when it faced England. But, the result was no different for South Africa. For, South Africa yet again lost the five match series to England unexpectedly by a margin 1-2 with the remaining matches being washed out. This was followed by the recently concluded one day series against India, the result of which is needless to be highlighted specially whatsoever. Despite being a strong outfit, South Africa's run in ODI cricket is fairly below par compared to the expectations that it draws from the cricketing world.
However, even though the series against India be sidelined, South Africa have hardly anything to justify by its side in one day cricket. The last time South Africa won a one day series was in January last year against Australia (excluding all the under rated teams like Zimbabwe which is fresher than the one under discussion) . That was also an under rated performance which saw the Proteas gasping for a 3-2 finish in the 5 matches that it played. Prior to that, South Africa had defeated Australia in Australia by a margin 4-1 in the former part of the Commonwealth Bank series.
Since then, South Africa has hardly played any international one day series in 2009. And, whenever South Africa played an international one day series, it was found crashing unpredictably. South Africa couldn't even make it to the semi finals of the ICC Champions Trophy after losing to Sri Lanka and England, at a time when everyone thought it would be South Africa to emerge at the top of it group. South Africa gave no fight to either Sri Lanka or England against which it lost in a one sided manner. All the aforementioned developments happening when South Africa hosted the ICC Champions trophy.
And then, South Africa played their next one day series after the ICC Champions trophy only after a gap of 2 months when it faced England. But, the result was no different for South Africa. For, South Africa yet again lost the five match series to England unexpectedly by a margin 1-2 with the remaining matches being washed out. This was followed by the recently concluded one day series against India, the result of which is needless to be highlighted specially whatsoever. Despite being a strong outfit, South Africa's run in ODI cricket is fairly below par compared to the expectations that it draws from the cricketing world.
Saturday, 27 February 2010
India not targetting a whitewash against RSA
With the first two matches already being won by India and with it the series as well, suggestions are that India would be looking in for a whitewash. One need not specially cite the way India won the first one dayer against South Africa where the match went on until the last legal delivery was bowled. Anyway, that is a different issue altogether. However, the fact that seems evident after Dhoni's decisions to rest Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag is that Dhoni doesn't have the idea to whitewash South Africa. Instead, Dhoni's idea seems to give youngsters some international match practice.
This would be the first whitewash imposed by India over South Africa if at all India succeed in doing so. I just cannot remember as to when last did South Africa ever play an ODI series against India in India. From the past 6 years since the 2003 world cup, South Africa have been to India only for the test series if not for the 5 match ODI series that was played in October 2005 which was leveled 2-2 with one ODI being abandoned. In 2004, South Africa visited India for only a 2 match test series and so was the case on its earlier tour in 2008 where the Proteas played just 3 tests.
As a matter of fact India has hardly whitewashed any team barring Bangladesh. The only ODI series that I can recall in the recent past is the 5-0 victory over England in November 2008. That was a 7 match ODI series that was cut short to 5 one dayers owing to the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. The second best to this would be the 6-1 series win over Sri Lanka in 2005 and 4-1 against Pakistan in 2006. As a matter of fact, India were unable to whitewash Bangladesh on its earlier tour when India lost the 2nd one dayer at Dhaka in 2004-05 by 11 runs.
And now though this is no golden opportunity, India has given up the idea of going in to whitewash South Africa. Dhoni has included the likes of Abhimanyu Mithun, Rohith Sharma and Murali Vijay who will be replacing Tendulkar and Sehwag. And as usual, there is no Harbhakan Singh and Zaheer Khan which completely rules out India's chances of winning the 3rd and the final one dayer at Ahmedabad. However, some chances despite the absence of key players would be absence of Smith in the South African team and the presence of Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina etc among a few others who can put pressure on the visiting team.
This would be the first whitewash imposed by India over South Africa if at all India succeed in doing so. I just cannot remember as to when last did South Africa ever play an ODI series against India in India. From the past 6 years since the 2003 world cup, South Africa have been to India only for the test series if not for the 5 match ODI series that was played in October 2005 which was leveled 2-2 with one ODI being abandoned. In 2004, South Africa visited India for only a 2 match test series and so was the case on its earlier tour in 2008 where the Proteas played just 3 tests.
As a matter of fact India has hardly whitewashed any team barring Bangladesh. The only ODI series that I can recall in the recent past is the 5-0 victory over England in November 2008. That was a 7 match ODI series that was cut short to 5 one dayers owing to the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. The second best to this would be the 6-1 series win over Sri Lanka in 2005 and 4-1 against Pakistan in 2006. As a matter of fact, India were unable to whitewash Bangladesh on its earlier tour when India lost the 2nd one dayer at Dhaka in 2004-05 by 11 runs.
And now though this is no golden opportunity, India has given up the idea of going in to whitewash South Africa. Dhoni has included the likes of Abhimanyu Mithun, Rohith Sharma and Murali Vijay who will be replacing Tendulkar and Sehwag. And as usual, there is no Harbhakan Singh and Zaheer Khan which completely rules out India's chances of winning the 3rd and the final one dayer at Ahmedabad. However, some chances despite the absence of key players would be absence of Smith in the South African team and the presence of Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina etc among a few others who can put pressure on the visiting team.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
400* in tests and 200* in ODIs: The new landmarks
This was perhaps the only record that Sachin Tendulkar had not made his own. I remember the way Sachin Tendulkar was looking helplessly in that particular match against Pakistan at Chennai that played more than a decade back when Pakistan's Saeed Anwar belted Anil Kumble for three consecutive sixes enroute to his 194. Finally, it was in the bowling off Sachin TendulkarSaeed Anwar's dream run came to an end when he was 6 runs short of scoring a double hundred. May be Sachin had told this to himself that these 6 runs would be scored by "me" which turned into a reality yesterday when he scored the world's first double hundred.
People would have gone sick looking the way Sachin Tendulkar scoring hundreds the way sun rises and sets every day. But, it would be wrong to consider this a hundred. The ICC and all major cricket websites must open a new column in batting records indicating the number of double hundreds scored by a batsman, which would at present contain only one name-SachinRamesh Tendulkar. The record, until yesterday was against a player who had achieved it by an unfair means when Saeed Anwar had a runner when his individual score was 70 and had no problems when he took to front foot to send Anil Kumble out of the ground on 3 successive occasions.
It is a bad fortune of the record that it remained unbroken until last August when Charles Coventry notched an unbeaten 194 which is considered to be better than the one set up by Saeed Anwar for the fact the the Zimbabwean batsman remained unbeaten. Finally, the unfair record set up by Saeed Anwar will never ever pop up as the highest individual score in one day internationals anymore. For, the score of 200* by Sachin Tendulkar is not only the highest individual score by a batsman in one dayers but also a new landmark called the double hundred that'll be the one for ever.
In case by a freak chance someone is able to overtake Sachin's record, still Sachin Tendulkar will be the man to have first scored a double hundred. And no one would highlight Saeed Anwar as the first batsman to have crossed the 190s. This can no doubt be considered to be in par with the unbeaten knock of 400 by Brian Lara against England which became another mark in test cricket. If the difference between these two batsmen is that one player plays right handed and the other left handed, similarities exist with both batsmen using a MRF bat. So cool isn't it!!
People would have gone sick looking the way Sachin Tendulkar scoring hundreds the way sun rises and sets every day. But, it would be wrong to consider this a hundred. The ICC and all major cricket websites must open a new column in batting records indicating the number of double hundreds scored by a batsman, which would at present contain only one name-SachinRamesh Tendulkar. The record, until yesterday was against a player who had achieved it by an unfair means when Saeed Anwar had a runner when his individual score was 70 and had no problems when he took to front foot to send Anil Kumble out of the ground on 3 successive occasions.
It is a bad fortune of the record that it remained unbroken until last August when Charles Coventry notched an unbeaten 194 which is considered to be better than the one set up by Saeed Anwar for the fact the the Zimbabwean batsman remained unbeaten. Finally, the unfair record set up by Saeed Anwar will never ever pop up as the highest individual score in one day internationals anymore. For, the score of 200* by Sachin Tendulkar is not only the highest individual score by a batsman in one dayers but also a new landmark called the double hundred that'll be the one for ever.
In case by a freak chance someone is able to overtake Sachin's record, still Sachin Tendulkar will be the man to have first scored a double hundred. And no one would highlight Saeed Anwar as the first batsman to have crossed the 190s. This can no doubt be considered to be in par with the unbeaten knock of 400 by Brian Lara against England which became another mark in test cricket. If the difference between these two batsmen is that one player plays right handed and the other left handed, similarities exist with both batsmen using a MRF bat. So cool isn't it!!
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Patented Records
Well, yesterday in the third day of the 1st test match between India and South Africa, SachinTendulkar recorded his 47th test hundred and Virender Sehwag his 19th test hundred, which is not the discussion here. But, Sehwag's feat of 100 in just 87 balls is one. It has been almost a decade since the newspapers make headlines whenever Sachin Tendulkar scores a hundred. On the otherhand, whenever Sachin Tendulkar used to get out in his nineties, that used to make headlines. So, would be Sehwag whenever he scores a fastest hundred or a fastest double hundred.
In the ongoing 2nd test at Kolkata, Sehwag made headlines for not scoring the fastest fifty when at one stage of the match he was found having a score of 44 from just 22 balls. This has been the usual way that Sehwag's innings have been in the recent past. If anyone scores a hundred with a strike rate of more than hundred the first name that would strike anyone's mind would be that of Virender Sehwag. This can never seems to be broken atleast in the near future. So would be the number of matches played, number of hundreds scored and the number of runs piled by none other than Sachin Tendulkar would be hard to even come closer.
It would take more than a century or even more than that for anybody to come closer to the batting records held by Sachin Tendulkar. The other record that still stands unbroken is the batting average of 99.99 held by Sir Don Bradman that can never be beaten. Then comes the unbeaten score of 400 by Brian Lara and his two scores above 350 and 375 (to be precise). Then on the list would be the perfect 10 taken by Jim Laker and Anil Kumble that can happen only may be once in a century. One has to be lucky to have survived throughout the nineties to have witnessed two such feats.
Scoring 36 runs off an over may not be a distinct feat though it is spectacular and might raise eye brows, with teams like Bermuda and Holland out there. A Last ball six to win a match is also a record of the past when at present there are three such records held by Javed Mianded, a batsman from Zimbabwe (name unable to be recalled) and by Shivnarine Chandrapaul. Though there has been a chase of 400+ total, in the coming years one can expect few more such chases. Some unclaimed records are a perfect 10 in LOIs, 6 wickets in an over, a double hundred in LOIs and a 1000 run in an innings of a test match for a winning cause to mention a few. Are we lucky enough to see them in our life time???
In the ongoing 2nd test at Kolkata, Sehwag made headlines for not scoring the fastest fifty when at one stage of the match he was found having a score of 44 from just 22 balls. This has been the usual way that Sehwag's innings have been in the recent past. If anyone scores a hundred with a strike rate of more than hundred the first name that would strike anyone's mind would be that of Virender Sehwag. This can never seems to be broken atleast in the near future. So would be the number of matches played, number of hundreds scored and the number of runs piled by none other than Sachin Tendulkar would be hard to even come closer.
It would take more than a century or even more than that for anybody to come closer to the batting records held by Sachin Tendulkar. The other record that still stands unbroken is the batting average of 99.99 held by Sir Don Bradman that can never be beaten. Then comes the unbeaten score of 400 by Brian Lara and his two scores above 350 and 375 (to be precise). Then on the list would be the perfect 10 taken by Jim Laker and Anil Kumble that can happen only may be once in a century. One has to be lucky to have survived throughout the nineties to have witnessed two such feats.
Scoring 36 runs off an over may not be a distinct feat though it is spectacular and might raise eye brows, with teams like Bermuda and Holland out there. A Last ball six to win a match is also a record of the past when at present there are three such records held by Javed Mianded, a batsman from Zimbabwe (name unable to be recalled) and by Shivnarine Chandrapaul. Though there has been a chase of 400+ total, in the coming years one can expect few more such chases. Some unclaimed records are a perfect 10 in LOIs, 6 wickets in an over, a double hundred in LOIs and a 1000 run in an innings of a test match for a winning cause to mention a few. Are we lucky enough to see them in our life time???
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Curators play for India
Well, rumor has its say that the curator who will be preparing the pitch for the 2nd test between India and South Africa- Prabir Mukherjee is asked to prepare a turning track which will be a special one exclusively for Harbhajan Singh we can guess. After losing the 1st test match at Nagpur and that too by a margin of an innings and 6 runs, India have to look out for some or the other means to settle the series by winning the 2nd one scheduled at Nagpur and with it secure their number one position in test cricket which India is now enjoying.
This is not the first time that India will be going in for a track that will best suit them and a track that is sure to trouble the opposition. And the main weapon for India and that too against South Africa is no doubt the spin bowling department and more so when they are playing under home conditions. The secret is now revealed that India will be playing South Africa at a turner in Kolkata where unofficially India will have the upperhand. This is not the first time that India has taken such a stand when it is hosting its opponents.
If India's past series' against South Africa alone is considered, in the last tour in 2008, India lost the second test at Ahmedabad after the first test ended in a draw (which saw Virender Sehwag scoring his 2nd triple hundred) by an innings and 90 runs. In that particular match, not only did India go all out for a score of 76 on board but, the spinners returned with just 5 wickets between them. And, in the 3rd test at Kanpur, Indian curator took no sorts of risks and prepared a turning track where Harbhajan Singh had 7 scalps and spinners in particular taking 14 wickets en-route to their 8 wicket win.
So was the case in 2004 where the 1st test at Kanpur ended in a draw with Harbhajan Singh taking just 4 wickets and Kumble taking 6 in the 1st innings and going wicketless in the 2nd. Once again in the 2nd test at Kolkata the track suited spinners which Harbhajan Singh made full use of when he was found taking 10 South African wickets. This was also the case in the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2008-09 where two test matches ended in draw with the pitch aiding batsmen and the remaining two tests being won by India where spinners had their say.
This is not the first time that India will be going in for a track that will best suit them and a track that is sure to trouble the opposition. And the main weapon for India and that too against South Africa is no doubt the spin bowling department and more so when they are playing under home conditions. The secret is now revealed that India will be playing South Africa at a turner in Kolkata where unofficially India will have the upperhand. This is not the first time that India has taken such a stand when it is hosting its opponents.
If India's past series' against South Africa alone is considered, in the last tour in 2008, India lost the second test at Ahmedabad after the first test ended in a draw (which saw Virender Sehwag scoring his 2nd triple hundred) by an innings and 90 runs. In that particular match, not only did India go all out for a score of 76 on board but, the spinners returned with just 5 wickets between them. And, in the 3rd test at Kanpur, Indian curator took no sorts of risks and prepared a turning track where Harbhajan Singh had 7 scalps and spinners in particular taking 14 wickets en-route to their 8 wicket win.
So was the case in 2004 where the 1st test at Kanpur ended in a draw with Harbhajan Singh taking just 4 wickets and Kumble taking 6 in the 1st innings and going wicketless in the 2nd. Once again in the 2nd test at Kolkata the track suited spinners which Harbhajan Singh made full use of when he was found taking 10 South African wickets. This was also the case in the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2008-09 where two test matches ended in draw with the pitch aiding batsmen and the remaining two tests being won by India where spinners had their say.
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Selection only partly responsible for India's loss
Well the moment India lost their first test match to South Africa, the first person to whom all the fingers pointed towards happens to be the selection committee, followed by the captain and in some cases the coach. I don't think that anyone reading this post needs to be reminded specially that cricket is a team sport unlike badminton and table tennis. It was of course not a good selection when someone like Saha, Badrinath and Abhimanyu the included in the squad. If the scorecard of the match is given a close look at, Badrinath and Saha did play upto expectations and Abhimanyu was not included in the playing XI.
Not much was expected from Saha and Badrinath but, they did live upto expectations when Badrinath scored 56 in the first innings that included a 40 run partnership along with Sehwag in the first innings. Later on in the second innings, Saha had his say when he scored 36 runs and stood for 150 balls or 30 overs and almost 2 hours at the crease. All these despite not guaranteed a place in the coming test. Even Murali Vijay was pretty decent with the bat when he scored 32 runs in the second innings. Most of the damage was first done by the bowlers when they let the South African bowlers cut loose.
It is justified the way the Indian bowlers despite playing in the home conditions could allow the South African batsmen not only to pile up 556 runs on the board but also allow a 300+ run partnership between Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis. If there were no Laxman & Dravid in the squad, there were Sachin, Sehwag, Dhoni and Gambhir who could have solved the issue related to batting. Of course, Sehwag and Tendulkar came up with hundreds in the 1st and the 2nd innings respectively. But, Dhoni and Gambhir were absolute failures with the bat in the Nagpur test.
In the bowling department, if not for Zaheer Khan's first spell in the first innings, even he was not upto the mark and so were the other bowlers viz Harbhajan, Ishanth Sharma and Amit Mishra. The bowling department indeed requires some or a lot of refinement. For, someone like Sehwag had to bowl as a full time bowler and that too in a test match under the conditions where the South African batsmen were in full bloom. Luckily Sehwag got a wicket which is a different issue altogether. No matter what the first test squad had to say but, the inclusion of someone like Raina and Sreesanth would be just another blunder for, the former is a new comer to tests and the latter battles injuries most of the time.
Not much was expected from Saha and Badrinath but, they did live upto expectations when Badrinath scored 56 in the first innings that included a 40 run partnership along with Sehwag in the first innings. Later on in the second innings, Saha had his say when he scored 36 runs and stood for 150 balls or 30 overs and almost 2 hours at the crease. All these despite not guaranteed a place in the coming test. Even Murali Vijay was pretty decent with the bat when he scored 32 runs in the second innings. Most of the damage was first done by the bowlers when they let the South African bowlers cut loose.
It is justified the way the Indian bowlers despite playing in the home conditions could allow the South African batsmen not only to pile up 556 runs on the board but also allow a 300+ run partnership between Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis. If there were no Laxman & Dravid in the squad, there were Sachin, Sehwag, Dhoni and Gambhir who could have solved the issue related to batting. Of course, Sehwag and Tendulkar came up with hundreds in the 1st and the 2nd innings respectively. But, Dhoni and Gambhir were absolute failures with the bat in the Nagpur test.
In the bowling department, if not for Zaheer Khan's first spell in the first innings, even he was not upto the mark and so were the other bowlers viz Harbhajan, Ishanth Sharma and Amit Mishra. The bowling department indeed requires some or a lot of refinement. For, someone like Sehwag had to bowl as a full time bowler and that too in a test match under the conditions where the South African batsmen were in full bloom. Luckily Sehwag got a wicket which is a different issue altogether. No matter what the first test squad had to say but, the inclusion of someone like Raina and Sreesanth would be just another blunder for, the former is a new comer to tests and the latter battles injuries most of the time.
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Something strange and unusual
This is with reference to the argument by the England coach Andy Flower citing that Smith was given a life when the batsman was on 15 then, which had to be given out. If the England coach's words are to be believed, the South African captain Graeme Smith had a knick before the ball went on the find the keeper's gloves. But, this was not to be the case as far as the onfield umpires were concerned. Smith stayed on the crease, probably not knowing what had happened waiting for the umpires decision which finally went in his favor. And so was the decision of the third umpire.
Smith eventually went on to score 105, which was his 20th hundred in test cricket if statistics are to be believed. But, one thing hardly anyone can understand is that how could Andy Flower or Andrew Strauss hear the knick which neither was heard by the onfield umpires nor by the third umpire, who has the power to see the replays repeatedly? Of course, there has been situations where the third umpire has been partial to one side, when Andrew Symonds was given not out despite videos suggesting that his foot was above the ground in the famous Sydney test 2008.
But, the present case under consideration is a different one. That test played at Sydney was a controversial one where 8 decisions from the umpire had gone wrong, out of which one decision was given by the Australian captain Ricky Ponting (when he raised his finger to declare Ganguly out for a ball caught off a bounce) and the other by the third umpire as mentioned above. However, in the same test, Ricky Ponting was given out which replays suggest was not the case. But, this issue should not have been blown out of proportion by either Strauss or Flower.
If one has to go by Strauss' words, there should be such an issue popping up in every match almost when, there can be atleast one case of a no ball being declared a legal delivery and viceversa. And, this I bet would be witnessed by every test match wherein atleast one leg before decision turns out to be a wrong one. But, none of these decisions make news whatsoever. And, even if Strauss words are true to an extent, there was nothing to go in for a complaint to be lodged. No one in the crowds had heard a noise and so was the batsman. But still.....no complaints. And, how does Andy Flower say that the TV umpire had turned down the volume low before replaying the ball? Was Daryl Harper a dumbo by any means?
Smith eventually went on to score 105, which was his 20th hundred in test cricket if statistics are to be believed. But, one thing hardly anyone can understand is that how could Andy Flower or Andrew Strauss hear the knick which neither was heard by the onfield umpires nor by the third umpire, who has the power to see the replays repeatedly? Of course, there has been situations where the third umpire has been partial to one side, when Andrew Symonds was given not out despite videos suggesting that his foot was above the ground in the famous Sydney test 2008.
But, the present case under consideration is a different one. That test played at Sydney was a controversial one where 8 decisions from the umpire had gone wrong, out of which one decision was given by the Australian captain Ricky Ponting (when he raised his finger to declare Ganguly out for a ball caught off a bounce) and the other by the third umpire as mentioned above. However, in the same test, Ricky Ponting was given out which replays suggest was not the case. But, this issue should not have been blown out of proportion by either Strauss or Flower.
If one has to go by Strauss' words, there should be such an issue popping up in every match almost when, there can be atleast one case of a no ball being declared a legal delivery and viceversa. And, this I bet would be witnessed by every test match wherein atleast one leg before decision turns out to be a wrong one. But, none of these decisions make news whatsoever. And, even if Strauss words are true to an extent, there was nothing to go in for a complaint to be lodged. No one in the crowds had heard a noise and so was the batsman. But still.....no complaints. And, how does Andy Flower say that the TV umpire had turned down the volume low before replaying the ball? Was Daryl Harper a dumbo by any means?
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Whom does Ian Chappel rate as No 1?
Well cricinfo news say that Ian Chappel doesn't rate India as a long term number 1 keeping in t=his mind the fact that India at present doesn't have the necessary resources to retain the claimed status for long. Agreed that India have to rely upon someone like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag for most of the matches especially against strong nations. And, the fact the Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman are not among top run scorers in today's test cricket like they were some four years ago. Added to that is the fact that there is no leading bowler after the exit of Anil Kumble.
No one on earth, (let alone Ian Chappel and Sanjay Manjarekar) rates India in par with either Australia under Steve Waugh or the West Indies team of the 70s and 80s. But, the million dollar question is who has the zest in them to boast of being a long term number 1 team. It was Australia yet again after winning the lost glory when they regained the test series against the Proteas on the return tour early last year when they beat South Africa 2-1. Since then, Australia have been the number one team in test cricket until India took over after their 2-0 series win over Sri Lanka.
Despite being on the top spot, Australia lost the Ashes 2-1 in July-August last year. Despite coming close to winning on two occasions, Ponting's men lost out on that opportunity. However, that never ceased their top spot in test cricket. But, after they lost their top spot to India, even 2 series wins against West Indies and Pakistan could not see them topping the rankings. And, to win the Sydney test from the position they were in at one stage, really needs a tough competition and it could not have been any other team but Australia to have achieved that.
The third team that would hit the list would be South Africa but still who lack consistency which showed in the three tests they played against England. Teams like the West Indies and Bangladesh have to be kept out of discussion. And there is little scope for Pakistan who could not win even a single series since 2009 after spending 2008 without playing a single test. They must consider themselves lucky for the position they hold in today's test cricket. And the only team that is left is NZ which can win only at home and against weak oppositions. Still, they could not beat India in the 3 match test series earlier last year and had to share the honors with Pakistan 1-1.
No one on earth, (let alone Ian Chappel and Sanjay Manjarekar) rates India in par with either Australia under Steve Waugh or the West Indies team of the 70s and 80s. But, the million dollar question is who has the zest in them to boast of being a long term number 1 team. It was Australia yet again after winning the lost glory when they regained the test series against the Proteas on the return tour early last year when they beat South Africa 2-1. Since then, Australia have been the number one team in test cricket until India took over after their 2-0 series win over Sri Lanka.
Despite being on the top spot, Australia lost the Ashes 2-1 in July-August last year. Despite coming close to winning on two occasions, Ponting's men lost out on that opportunity. However, that never ceased their top spot in test cricket. But, after they lost their top spot to India, even 2 series wins against West Indies and Pakistan could not see them topping the rankings. And, to win the Sydney test from the position they were in at one stage, really needs a tough competition and it could not have been any other team but Australia to have achieved that.
The third team that would hit the list would be South Africa but still who lack consistency which showed in the three tests they played against England. Teams like the West Indies and Bangladesh have to be kept out of discussion. And there is little scope for Pakistan who could not win even a single series since 2009 after spending 2008 without playing a single test. They must consider themselves lucky for the position they hold in today's test cricket. And the only team that is left is NZ which can win only at home and against weak oppositions. Still, they could not beat India in the 3 match test series earlier last year and had to share the honors with Pakistan 1-1.
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Why did RSA include Tahir?
Well the latest news ahead of the fourth test match between South Africa and England was that South Africa has decided to drop the Pakistani born South African cricketer - Imran Tahir after claiming that Tahir is ineligible to make it to the South African squad. The decision was taken soon hours after the player was selected for the upcoming fourth test against England along with another player in Parnell by the South African convener of selector - Mike Procter. Much has been discussed about the issue wherein a report also says that his selection and subsequent omission from the squad is an embarrassment.
There was no reason absolutely for the inclusion of Imran Tahir which not only relates to his nationality but also for his experience in international cricket and more so in test cricket and that too at this stage of the tournament where a win is quintessential for South Africa to remain alive in the series whatsoever. And, it would have been a risk for someone like Tahir to have made it to the squad which no one can forgive for that matter. This is not the time for anyone to give chance for a new comer to play test cricket.
Added to this, his nationality also plays an equal role which not only raises legal issues related to whether Imran Tahir can be considered a citizen of South Africa or not, but also his potential to make it decent if not big in South African pitches. If at all Tahir is to be believed to be a decent player of test cricket, his experience would always point to that in Pakistani pitches, where he was a citizen until recently when he got married to a local South African girl. Tahir has not even featured in the domestic cricket of South Africa though statistics suggest that he has played for the Karachi Dolphins.
Tahir's first class cricket contains only one half century in 106 games that he has played till now and only one six in 20 T20 games that he has played so far. On the otherhand, he has been found to have a decent run in bowling department where he has 32 five wicket hauls. But, the most interesting factor about Tahir is that he is aged 30 and cropping him up to be a star one day would be just waste of resources and nothing else. Had something been possible in Tahir's cricketing life, it should have been cricket for Pakistan which didn't happen. So, one can imagine what would happen in case he is given a chance for RSA.
There was no reason absolutely for the inclusion of Imran Tahir which not only relates to his nationality but also for his experience in international cricket and more so in test cricket and that too at this stage of the tournament where a win is quintessential for South Africa to remain alive in the series whatsoever. And, it would have been a risk for someone like Tahir to have made it to the squad which no one can forgive for that matter. This is not the time for anyone to give chance for a new comer to play test cricket.
Added to this, his nationality also plays an equal role which not only raises legal issues related to whether Imran Tahir can be considered a citizen of South Africa or not, but also his potential to make it decent if not big in South African pitches. If at all Tahir is to be believed to be a decent player of test cricket, his experience would always point to that in Pakistani pitches, where he was a citizen until recently when he got married to a local South African girl. Tahir has not even featured in the domestic cricket of South Africa though statistics suggest that he has played for the Karachi Dolphins.
Tahir's first class cricket contains only one half century in 106 games that he has played till now and only one six in 20 T20 games that he has played so far. On the otherhand, he has been found to have a decent run in bowling department where he has 32 five wicket hauls. But, the most interesting factor about Tahir is that he is aged 30 and cropping him up to be a star one day would be just waste of resources and nothing else. Had something been possible in Tahir's cricketing life, it should have been cricket for Pakistan which didn't happen. So, one can imagine what would happen in case he is given a chance for RSA.
Friday, 1 January 2010
Did RSA wait for Procter's words
Well hardly anyone would have anticipated that South Africa would so badly lose the second test at Durban where the margin of victory was more than an innings. But, that is the case with the South African players who at times make fools out of themselves. Sometimes it is the bad luck that keeps them away from the title and during other times, it is their foolish approach to the game. And, neither of these were the case when they lost the Durban test to England. Now, after the loss to England, the South African convener of selectors-Procter comes out asking the players to show fight.
Were the South African players waiting for Procter to come out and motivate the players by using such words? The world has seen the result the South Africans have got whenever they showed in some or more fight be it against any opposition. Regarding this, nothing more needs to be said whatsoever. The more recent one was in the first test between the two countries - South Africa and England where South Africa could get 9 of the English batsman out only to see the game end in a draw and the man of the match being awarded to the England batsman Graeme Swann.
Whatever, that should not have been the way the South African players were expected to fare especially against England who are not at all rated as favorites by any strong test playing nation. And with South Africa being the home country, such a defeat is not at all acceptable. South Africa are also the team that is placed in the second position in the latest ICC test rankings behind only India at present. They are one of the two nations in the cricketing world to have been ahead of Australia, which is a pride in itself. They are the only team to have defeated Australia in Australia in the decade.
However, they lost to the same Australia in the return series that shortened the enjoyment that South Africa had to just 2 months. Likewise, England will be enjoying their Ashes victory for atleast 2 years and India for four years until the next Border-Gavaskar trophy kicks in. South African team will always be remembered as the one which was waiting for a signal from the dressing room in the match against Sri Lanka in the league stages of the world cup 2003 which was the one which would decide whether South Africa would advance to the super sixes or not. Finally, may be the decision from the dressing room was to drop the idea of continuing their WC campaign. So was the situation in this series against England.
Were the South African players waiting for Procter to come out and motivate the players by using such words? The world has seen the result the South Africans have got whenever they showed in some or more fight be it against any opposition. Regarding this, nothing more needs to be said whatsoever. The more recent one was in the first test between the two countries - South Africa and England where South Africa could get 9 of the English batsman out only to see the game end in a draw and the man of the match being awarded to the England batsman Graeme Swann.
Whatever, that should not have been the way the South African players were expected to fare especially against England who are not at all rated as favorites by any strong test playing nation. And with South Africa being the home country, such a defeat is not at all acceptable. South Africa are also the team that is placed in the second position in the latest ICC test rankings behind only India at present. They are one of the two nations in the cricketing world to have been ahead of Australia, which is a pride in itself. They are the only team to have defeated Australia in Australia in the decade.
However, they lost to the same Australia in the return series that shortened the enjoyment that South Africa had to just 2 months. Likewise, England will be enjoying their Ashes victory for atleast 2 years and India for four years until the next Border-Gavaskar trophy kicks in. South African team will always be remembered as the one which was waiting for a signal from the dressing room in the match against Sri Lanka in the league stages of the world cup 2003 which was the one which would decide whether South Africa would advance to the super sixes or not. Finally, may be the decision from the dressing room was to drop the idea of continuing their WC campaign. So was the situation in this series against England.
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