|
|
|
|
 |
 |
   |
cricket Pakistan
Under-19 team confident of making rare hat-trick Unstoppable
Tendulkar bags another crown with 16,000 runs cricket Are
hopes of West Indies revival just a pipe dream? Committed
to be world champions
cricket At last, the pressure of being the captain of a national team, the pre-defined controversies that are meant to hassle up one's soul and the public eye which is always chasing like a shadow got over Malik's nerves By Muhammad Shahbaz Zahid A week back at home I switched on my television set and started roaming through a sea of channels, new and old, as usual. To my utter surprise I saw Pakistan cricket team's captain present on a local TV show early in the day answering questions related to his private life -- again. It wasn't long ago
when skipper Shoaib Malik's reputation was drenched by an ugly They further said that they wanted their daughter's separation from the Pakistan international, divorce i.e., as they didn't want the girl to continue their relationship. Malik, absolutely shocked by this claim, made public appearances and gave away interviews saying that this (marriage) had never happened and he was being falsely pointed out. The case was pencilled in with Malik even saying that when he visits India in a couple of months, he is going to file a case against the Indian family who had tried to bring a bad name to his status. A sad feeling came to my emotions when I saw Malik talking about this incident yet again. On that very talk show, he begged the fans, other people related to cricket and the media not to ask him about this issue ever again. Malik, who seemed frustrated after being asked about this incident by the female host of the show, said this was the last time he, publically and personally, was answering and talking about this alleged-marriage matter and wouldn't do so in the future. Poor boy! At last, the pressure of being the captain of a national team, the pre-defined controversies that are meant to hassle up one's soul and the public eye which is always chasing like a shadow got over Malik's nerves. But he fought them hard just in a matter of seconds. As soon as the show neared its end, a part of the show that is related to wishing people on their birthdays commenced. And that's where we saw another side of Malik's personality. Malik, to the tune of the beat and steps being taught by the host, started dancing joyously and kept on going like he would never stop. I can't recall my memory if I had seen a cricketer, Pakistani or international, doing such stuff for a long long time. It was a surprise, a pleasant one in fact, which people must've gone through at that particular moment. Malik waved his hands madly and showed all the moves he could possibly act on. The host, herself, looked quite amazed by this feat and applauded every now and then. A time then came when she stopped and started guiding Malik to a few more dance steps. It seemed that a dummy, attached to strings, was following the movement of the hand. Any way, this act surely made him a hit among a few circles of the society. Others might have suggested a few things for him. The dance, though, surely made him the hotstepper of the team. But it is not only about Malik these days. There are other players in the spotlight too. And amongst those, pacer Shoaib Akhtar tops the list. On a recent tour to India, Akhtar made most of the headlines during the Test and One-day International (ODI) series, both of which Pakistan lost in the end under Malik's captaincy. Though a brilliant bowler, Akhtar's calibre as a world class pacer has been hampered by the fact that he, during his stints with the national team, has always been surrounded by one controversy or another. Whether he's in the starting line-up or out of the squad, all the focus is on him. People queue up to watch his on- and off-field antics. One thinks that this would make him careful of not doing anything wrong but that's only a mere thought. On that very tour, Akhtar was being asked to sign up a Bollywood movie which he almost did. Critics blamed Akhtar of being selfish as his concentration was more on off-field assignments than one on the field. Akhtar's commitment towards the team was brought under the microscope and he was warned that his spot in the national squad wasn't always guaranteed. The paceman visited a girls school on the Indian tour too and also proposed to a student there. Though this offer wasn't a serious one, the news rocketed sky-high and his pictures along with the students were splashed on the newspapers countrywide. This wasn't an act one is supposed to expect from an international player. Injury then hampered Akhtar afterwards and he was left out of the squad to face Zimbabwe in the five-match ODI series at home. To cap that, he was also omitted from the contracted players' list and was told to improve on his fitness. Akhtar hit back and criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) policies accusing the board of double standards and adopting a dual policy while awarding central contracts. The PCB then sent a notice to Akhtar and asked him to respond within a week or face disciplinary action for his remarks. But a few days back, Akhtar said he will not respond to the notice. The Aussies might be on their way to tour Pakistan if the political turmoil here comes to an end. And for this very important series, the national team needs the services of this controversial pacer at any cost. The Board and the pacer, himself, need to set aside their differences soon because we know that the 'Rawalpindi Express' is a class apart when it comes to performing on the field, at least. The
writer is a staff member at 'The News' Karachi shehnu@gmail.com
'Our track record is so good against Sri Lanka, India, England and Australia etc. Our under-19 team has thrashed England 3-1 and Australia 5-0 in the recent past' By Ghalib Mehmood Bajwa After winning a triangular event in Sri Lanka a few days back, the Pakistan Under-19 cricket team is fully prepared to complete a unique hat-trick of World Cup titles in Malaysia and insha-Allah our youngsters would grab this goal. This determination was expressed by Col Naushad Ali, Chairman National Junior Selection Committee, while talking to 'The News on Sunday' (TNS) last week. Remember, Pakistan won their previous two World Cup crowns in 2003-04 (Bangladesh) and in 2005-06 (Sri Lanka). It is pertinent to
mention here that Pakistan thrashed hosts Sri Lanka and England in Col Naushad told TNS that the Pakistan outfit was enriched with great cricketing potential and fighting skills. "Fortunately our team got an ideal preparation in the shape of the Sri Lankan tri-series that was played in very similar atmosphere to Malaysia where the grand World Cup event is going to kick off on February 17 (today)," he explained. Col Naushad, who played six Tests for Pakistan as an opener and wicket-keeper, said, "If our boys managed to win a third World Cup in a row, it would be a great gift for the nation." To a query Naushad, who served Pakistan Army for 29 years in various administrative, technical and sensitive positions, said that there were several reasons behind our confidence. "Our track record is so good against Sri Lanka, India, England and Australia etc. Our under-19 team thrashed England 3-1 and Australia 5-0 in the recent past. "Our squad comprises several quality players like Imad Wasim, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Aamer, Adil Raza, Ahmed Shahzad, Umar Amin, right-arm leg-spinner Shahzaib Ahmed etc and that's why we are quite hopeful of retaining the Under-19 title," he expressed his hope. Answering a question regarding the level of competition in the event, Col Naushad, who is known as a sober and reasonable personality in cricketing circles, said "There would be tough competition in the World Cup because all the participating nations have sent their full strength and best possible sides for the grand event." To another question, Naushad, who also has performed as ICC Match Referee in five Tests and 13 ODIs, informed that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has taken some stern steps to keep the event clean and transparent. "ICC has announced to conduct dope tests and wrist tests to gauge the age of the players during the 16-team mega event." When asked to comment about Pakistan's tough rivals, Naushad said Bangladesh and India are the teams who can pose serious challenge to Pakistan's hat-trick bid. Col Naushad further informed that the seventh edition of Under-19 Cricket World Cup will be played between February 17 and March 2 and will be spread over three Malaysian cities -- Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor. "Beside the ICC's 10 full members and hosts Malaysia, five qualifiers -- Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Ireland and Bermuda -- will take part in the grand event." As far as format of the tournament is concerned, the 16 teams have been divided into four groups with the top two teams progressing to the Super League quarter-finals while the two bottom teams from each group shall play in the Plate Championship quarter-finals. The winners of the Super League quarter-finals will qualify for the semifinals whereas the losing quarter-finalists will play in the Super League play-offs. The winners of the Plate Championship quarter-finals will play in the Plate Championship semifinals while the beaten quarter-finalists will participate in the Plate Championship play-offs. The inaugural Under-19 World Cup was the brainchild of the Australian board as part of the country's bicentenary celebrations and was held at a number of beautiful centres in South Australia and Victoria in 1987-88. The seven Test-playing countries plus an ICC Associates XI took part in a full round-robin format. Australia lost only one match, their final round-robin game against Pakistan by which time they had qualified for the semis. They went on to beat Pakistan by five wickets in the final, thanks to an unbeaten hundred from Brett Williams. The next edition of the event held after the gap of ten years in 1997-98 in South Africa when the ICC announced that it would be a biennial event in the future. England were the unexpected winners of the Under-19 World Cup under skipper Owais Shah. India's game against Pakistan in Durban attracted a crowd of more than 10,000 and the final in Johannesburg between England and New Zealand was watched by about 6,000. Sri Lanka hosted the next event in 1999-00 which was the first one in the Asian Sub-Continent. To the disappointment of a large crowd at Colombo's SSC ground, Sri Lanka fell at the final hurdle in a final dominated by India. In one of the semifinals, Sri Lanka delighted a crowd of 5000 at Galle by beating Pakistan. In 2001-02, the fourth Under-19 World Cup only confirmed Australia's dominance of the game. They thrashed South Africa in the final convincingly. Pakistan provided the main upset when they lost to Nepal by 30 runs. Pakistan began their rule at this level of cricket in 2003-04 which is intact so far. The decision to award the tournament to Bangladesh proved inspired as more than 350,000 spectators saw the 54 matches. And the competition ended with a close final between the two best teams -- West Indies and Pakistan -- and a 30,000 crowd acclaiming the victorious Pakistanis almost as their own. The last Under-19 World Cup was staged in Sri Lanka in 2005-06. Pakistan retained their title in an extraordinary final against India at the Premadasa Stadium. Pakistan crumbled to 109, but in reply restricted India at one stage at 9 for 6 in a thrilling passage of play. Jamshed Ahmed and Anwar Ali, two of the success stories of the tournament, did the damage and there was no way back for India, who fell 38 runs short. The
writer is a staffer at 'The
News' Lahore ghalibmbajwa@hotmail.com
His nearest contestant is Sri Lanka's master blaster Sanath Jayasuriya, but he is around 4,000 runs behind and there is no chance for any batsman to beat Tendulkar's milestones in the near future By Khurram Mahmood Sachin Tendulkar during the second match of the ongoing Tri-Series against Sri Lanka at the Gabba in Brisbane last week became the first batsman in the history to cross 16,000 runs in the shorter format of the game. So far, Tendulkar has
played 411 One-day International matches in a career spanning Tendulkar, 34, has scored 41 centuries in the one-day format besides going past the half-century mark on 87 occasions. He is the first batsmen to have scored 50 or more internationals hundreds. Now overall Tendulkar has 80 hundreds in international cricket that include 39 in Test matches. Interestingly, he failed to score his first century till his 79th One-day International, but after that didn't look back and became the highest century-maker in both forms of the game. The Little Master is also a handy bowler for the team in one-day cricket with his leg-break and googlies, taking 154 wickets at an average of 44.12 and breaks partnership on crucial occasions. After Tendulkar there are only six players -- Sanath Jayasuriya (12,241), Inzamam-ul-Haq (11,739), Sourav Ganguly (11,363), Ricky Ponting (10,853), Rahul Dravid (10,585) and Brian Lara (10,405) -- who have scored more than 10,000 runs in One-day Internationals. His nearest contestant is Sri Lanka's master blaster opener Sanath Jayasuriya, but he is around 4,000 runs behind and there is no chance for any batsman to beat Tendulkar's milestones in the near future. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar made his ODI debut against Pakistan at Gujranwala on December 18, 1989. In his first appearance he was dismissed second ball for a duck, caught by Wasim Akram off the bowling of Waqar Younis! In his illustrious career of over 18 years he has won the most (53) Man of the Match and 13 Man of the Series awards. Tendulkar with Sourav Ganguly, shared a record 17 century partnerships in the shorter version of the game. In his 36th One-day International against Zimbabwe in the 1992 World Cup when he scored 81 runs, he completed his 1,000 runs in limited overs cricket. The opening match of the Pepsi Austral-Asia Cup in 1993-94 against debutants United Arab Emirates at Sharjah was the 73rd ODI for Sachin. It was the first time when he played as an opener and hammered 63 off 75 balls. During his innings he completed 2,000 ODI runs. During his innings of 112 not out against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup in 1994-95 Tendulkar crossed 3,000 runs. It was his 96th match and he made his fifth ODI century. Sachin Tendulkar played his 115th one-day match against South Africa at Sharjah in 1995-96. He scored only 17 runs but notched up his 4,000 runs during the innings. He took just 20 games to jump from 3,000 to 4,000 ODI runs. At Kingsmead in February 1997, against South Africa, the little master completed 5,000 runs in the limited overs game. Tendulkar's milestone came in his 141st ODI at an average of 40.16 including 11 centuries and 31 fifties. In the first final of the Silver Jubilee Independence Cup at Dhaka in 1997-98 against Pakistan, he scored 95 runs in 78 balls. During his blistering innings consisting of six fours and five sixes he also completed 6,000 runs, in the same game he also took three wickets. In his 196th ODI appearance at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Tendulkar hit a perfect 128 off 131 balls to reach his 17th hundred in One-day Internationals and equalled the world record of Desmond Haynes. The West Indies opener had scored his centuries in 238 matches. Sachin also passed 7,000 runs during his masterful innings. Pakistan have never won against India in the World Cup. In the 1999 ICC World Cup at Old Trafford in England India beat Pakistan by 47 runs. Sachin scored 45 off 65 deliveries during his innings he completed 8,000 runs in One-day Internationals. It was Sachin's 217th appearance in ODIs. In his 242nd game, at Nagpur against South Africa in March 2000, Sachin Tendulkar became only the second batsman in One-day International cricket history after his teammate Muhammad Azharuddin to cross 9,000 runs. Tendulkar in his 266th appearance scored 139 runs off 125 balls against world champions Australia; during his 28th ODI century he became the first batsman in limited overs cricket to reach the 10,000 runs landmark. In January 2002 at Kanpur when the little master scored his 48th run against England he added one more record to his name when he became the first batsman in ODI history to scored 11,000 runs. It was Sachin's 284th match. Once again, in the World Cup 2003 Pakistan failed to beat India in the premier contest. Tendulkar once more was the hero with his 98 runs. When he took his 83rd run he reached the 12,000 run mark. He thus became the first batsman in international cricket history to reach this landmark in both categories of the game. Before Sachin, former Australian skipper Allan Border had the record of the maximum 11,174 runs in Test cricket. Sachin's 141 was not enough to beat Pakistan in the second one-dayer at Rawalpindi in 2004. But in this match Sachin Tendulkar crossed yet another milestone in his amazing career when he completed 13,000 runs in the shorter version of the game in his 330th ODI match. The Indian batting maestro in the first One-day International against Pakistan at Peshawar in February 2006 scored another hundred and also bagged another crown for himself when he became the first player to score 14,000 runs in limited overs internationals. It was his 359th ODI. In his 387th ODI Tendulkar became another first to score 15,000 ODI runs against South Africa in August 2007. Tendulkar has suffered a series of wear and tear injuries in the last few years and recovered from a long-term tennis elbow injury to play against Pakistan last year. High expectations from the millions of fans who do not accept anything less than a century from him the build-up puts a lot of pressure on the master batsman. No other player suffers so much from the pressure of expectations like that. Either he is in form or struggling to keep the opposition always under pressure. When Tendulkar is on song, there is no more majestic sight in the cricketing world. He has scored heavily on all kinds of wickets around the world. His batting is a balanced combination of timing, elegance and power. If he remains fit and keep his form he can create some unbeatable records in international cricket. Tendulkar also has the record of most runs 1,796 in the World Cup at a very high average of 59.87 including four hundreds and 13 half-centuries. His best score in the World Cup 152 not out was against Namibia in 2003. Sachin Tendulkar, with his 11,782 runs in Test cricket so far, is just 171 runs behind record-holder Brian Lara (11,953 runs) to become the highest run getter in Test cricket as well. The
writer works in the art department at 'The News on Sunday' in Karachi khurrams87@yahoo.com
LEADING RUN-GETTERS IN ONE-DAY
INTERNATIONALS Name Team Mat I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 0 S R Tendulkar (Ind) 311 401 37 16083 186* 44.18 85.44 41 79 19 S T Jayasuriya (SL) 406 394 18 12241 189 32.55 90.48 25 64 29 Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak) 378 350 53 11739 137* 39.52 74.24 10 83 20 S C Ganguly (Ind) 311 300 23 11363 183 41.02 73.70 22 72 16 R T Ponting (Aus) 291 282 35 10853 164 43.93 80.58 25 63 17 R Dravid (Ind) 333 308 40 10585 153 39.49 71.22 12 81 13 B C Lara (WI) 299 289 32 10405 169 40.48 79.51 19 63 16 Note: All statistics are updated upto India v Sri Lanka ODI on February 12 One fails to understand, why the players defecting to ICL and getting lucrative contracts would endanger the future of Pakistan cricket and those being contracted by the IPL wouldn't By Dr Nauman Niaz We are being hit from
every direction by a confusing range of events that have given a new
length to words like disarray and perplexity. The Chairman of the PCB Dr
Nasim "We cannot afford such a talent drain," another PCB officer commented. While the slow wheels of commonsense and fairness, and in Pakistan cricket they must be the slowest in the world, creak and groan it might help if all the officials who crowd the areas where self-preservation and personal benefits occur round the clock, would not refrain from mouthing hollow and meaningless cliches. As is now the great solution to every problem that hits us, a system of monetary compensation is quickly set in motion. Why did Mohammad Yousuf deflect from his initial commitment with the Indian Cricket League (ICL) readily joining the Indian Premier League? It's a question that needs to be answered without adding the useless cliches. Reportedly, based on
the status of Yousuf, there were steps taken of great The meaningless cliches now seem to be the great solution to everything that befalls us. What's wrong with players participating in the Indian Cricket League? That it isn't complying with the business interests of the BCCI. And why PCB intends to serve as a power broker for the Indian Premier League? What are the key interests? Why ICL players have suddenly become untouchables? One of the largest Telefilms Company (part of the Essel Group) is promoted by Subhash Chandra bid for the telecast rights to the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Although the highest bid, it was unsuccessful. In 2004, Subhash Chandra again bid for the telecast rights and ended up in an inconclusive court battle. He bid again for the 2006-2010 rights and once again lost. He responded by creating the ICL -- It was like revisiting Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket. This Telefilms Company announced that it would partner infrastructure major IL & FS to create a new, ambitious cricket organisation, the ICL. This league was promised to carry prize money of US$1m for the winner. The ICL was set up with Rs 1 billion corpus, and initially comprised of six teams, to be expanded to sixteen in three years. Until the BCCI cross examined all the possibilities and the emerging threat, ICL was tipped to become the richest league in India. The point has to be noted that ICL management seized the initiative of assembling the league after India had lost miserably in the World Cup and their tour to South Africa in April 2007. It was presumably an attempt to capitalise on the sentiments of the Indian cricket fans wondering why a country of one billion couldn't produce a decent set of players. And also cricket's marketing in India annually generates close to the tune of Rs 1000 crore in advertising and subscription. BCCI didn't need a competitor or a sharing partner. BCCI threatened its players to keep away from the controversy ridden ICL and also advised the other boards to agree to their mindset. Pakistan jumped into the fray, almost instantly. On July 24th, 2007, some great international names cropped up, including Brian Lara, Stephen Fleming, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Inzamam-ul-Haq. Soon, Imran Farhat chose opting out of his Pakistan Cricket Boardcentral contract to sign up with the ICL. Subsequently, the PCB imposed bans on the players associated with the ICL. Disenchanted, they were disallowed to take part in all first-class cricket though they were permitted to play Grade II and club cricket. One fails to understand, why the players defecting to ICL and getting lucrative contracts would endanger the future of Pakistan cricket and those being contracted by the IPL wouldn't. The association of aesthetic pleasure in cricket with romantic images and Pakistani traditions was, of course, the trade mark of Intikhab Alam, now member of PCB's Board of Governors. Intikhab was widely regarded as Pakistan's top leg-spinner and a complete all-rounder. His own version of the Pakistani apotheosis of cricket had few moral overtones -- and indeed some irony and a deal of pleasant skill. It is thus a more insidious form of the 'more-than-a-game' argument and, despite its underlying social attitudes, a much more attractive one. Nevertheless, because of being clear headed his rejection -- often quite explicitly -- of conventional moral postures he presented a more credible picture of cricket as a game. In this he has been a marvel, very practical and insightful. He picked a job of coaching Indian's regional Punjab team in 2005. He went to India and did the job for which he was cut for. He must have been the ideal man to differentiate between facilitating the players to sign up with IPL and banning those contracted by the ICL. The future organisation of Pakistan cricket does involve many uncertainties. One believes that cricket could emerge infinitely poorer in the next few years. Whatever the negotiated settlement, the entrenched elite of the PCB, who have been running the game with such absolute power look getting in serious trouble. The lessons learnt should have provided the education for more dynamic administration; it didn't seem happening. As a result of PCB's obstinacy, the players, the third estate of cricket, had a chance to demand their own share. The significance of these defections to the Indian League could allow the cricketers to demand their basic rights which are being denied to them, admittedly benevolent ones, which had been treating them as power-abusing labourers. The PCB seemingly negotiated with Inzamam-ul-Haq to curtail player-power, but the insensate dropping of a masterly Yousuf left them with other maneuvers to bring him back. In future, the players could take their share of power, and as in most other major sports, especially the professional ones, they could be a significant force in cricket government. The administration doesn't want to revert to their role as public servants. The PCB looks confused about their objectives. In general, Dr Nasim's team of highly celebrated directors looked lacking cricket-management's nous, mature leadership and organisation. Their views being narrowly parochial, and in global terms, their relationships have been diversive rather than unified. They don't seem becoming aware of their managerial responsibilities. Dr Nasim must now be wondering to have conservative radicals or radical conservatives to govern cricket in the country. There has been a certain irony in regarding the Indian Cricket League or ICL, as the champions of egalitarian revolution. Although they may well not see themselves in this role, they could effectively provide the economic incentive and the co-operative impetus defying the status quo, thus fulfilling the first requirement of revolution. Since long, cricket has been trying to come to terms with a richer, less structured consumer society where money has replaced class as a measure of social standing. Despite loads of money earned by the cricketers still it is much less than what other sports such provide worldwide. It is regrettable that a step taken by Inzamam-ul-Haq et al was necessary, but this was largely the fault of the reactionaries, some of whom could sacrifice the prospects and balance of the team and its top players rather than to cede any vestige of the power that they appear to have used for long. This myopia resulted in attitudes based on doubtful principles. People who are knowledgeable and concerned fail to understand seeing Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar defecting to the ICL and players like Hasan Raza contemplating to follow them, more out of disillusionment than greed, this terrible outcome, which the cricket establishment is holding up as a premonition of ultimate disaster, is neither a remote possibility, nor a realistic solution. But the point that troubles many of us is not as much the frightening descent into uncertainty that now holds Pakistan cricket from one end to the other, but the peculiar manner in which all that was decent and valuable has died inside us.The voice of cricket fan is gone and each one of us, in his private space and perhaps within limited inner circles, laments this sad decline incessantly, yet other than a few handpicked persons, are simply not willing any more to stand up and be counted. We have lost confidence in ourselves long before we lost confidence in the crumbling structure of governance that is the essence of Pakistan cricket's survival today. What has killed us inside? Most of us believe that it does not matter what we have to say or write because it cannot change a thing. Perhaps it is correct but should that mean that we stop altogether? What tragedy will it take to shake us from our death like stupor? Are hopes of West Indies revival just a pipe dream? West Indian cricket is going through a real disastrous situation as a lack of coordination among the cricket officials and former players has badly affected the infra-structure By Muhammad Akram Chohan Once considered as the world beaters, the West Indian side had to face a humiliating defeat in the One-day International series against the Proteas. This is not the first time that cricket fans in West Indies are facing this sort of humiliation as the golden era of West Indian is a thing of the past. Their supremacy over
their opponents, aggression, self confidence and talent are now West Indian cricket is going through a real disastrous situation as a lack of coordination among the cricket officials and former players has badly affected the infra-structure of the game in their set-up. The nepotism, personal likes and dislikes have made West Indian cricket a laughing stock in world cricket community but those who are responsible for this tricky situation are taking no lessons from their mistakes. To make matters worse, most recently the president of the West Indian cricket board Julian Hunt has removed four legends i.e. Desmond Haynes, Ian Bishop, Andy Roberts and Courtney Walsh from the cricket committee which was working along with the board. In this scenario where the situation is so ugly and unpleasant, how can one hope that the team would do well in their outings against much stronger sides such as the South Africans. The president of the WICB is behaving childishly as he is just focusing on targeting those who have a difference of opinion with him over some issues or they are big names in world cricket in comparison to the Board president. When the president of the Board would be afraid of his colleagues, then the situation can never prove productive and in simple words one can say without any hesitation that hopes of revival of the lost glory of West Indian cricket will never change from dreams to reality. Their cricket administrators are not giving due importance and attention to the continuous decline in cricket as they are busy in settling personal scores ignoring the all important assignment on their hands, which is to take West Indian cricket to that particular era when black magic had demolished every challenger who dared to come in front of them on the path of clinching the title of world champions. Those who are responsible to run the cricketing affairs in the Caribbean should do something as it is really painful to see the once world conquerors facing shameful defeats one after the other. They should make the young generation feel pride in becoming cricketers by using the former legends such as Sir Vivian Richards, Desmond Haynes and many others as their younger lot is more interested in joining other games of much shorter duration such as baseball, basketball, boxing and athletics to get the maximum amount of money. This should be rectified as the strong and hugely built youngsters are not coming to represent the West Indies which is greatly required as the game of cricket demands a person physically strong to take the burden of international cricket. This is not happening in the West Indies as the majority of their young generation is least interested in cricket which is the sole reason of the decline in the fast bowling department too. There is no Marshall, Roberts, Holding or Walsh to take revenge from the opponents if West Indies team falters in any game. It is also very surprising to note that the sons of former greats are nowhere on the scene as far as representing the homeland in the game is concerned. Their team is also divided in small groups based on the countries they belong to which is not serving the game in any manner. This negative attitude is also causing great damage to their abilities, as in spite of the presence of some big names in their ranks, the results are not coming. Gone are the days when West Indies was ruling the cricketing world with plenty of superstars at their disposal. These days their cricket affairs and the unity among their players are at their worst as the desire of becoming powerful at the cost of the Board and team have jeopardised the Test status of West Indies. These days West Indian cricket is facing the toughest period in its history. If this situation continues to prevail in the coming days, then those days are not very far away when the 'sworld governing body of sport would take a decision in this regard. To avoid this dicey sort of situation, one will have to take some bold and harsh decisions to control the game in a more organised manner and people like former greats must come forward to do the needful which has been lacking for quite some time now. Committed to be world champions The Indian collapse at MCG proves the Aussies lost the Twenty20 semi just by chance By Waris Ali Some really interesting cricket has been played during this Indian tour of Australia. Two of the four Test matches magnificently fell into the lap of the hosts before the third Test could result in victory for the tourists and the fourth ended in a draw. While it was a reciprocal tour of the Indians after hosting Australia in their country in October last, it was much more a repetition of that seven-ODI series which ended up at 4-2, in favour of the Ponting eleven. Much of interest in
that October tour of Australia was attached to the fact that they had
very recently lost the semifinal to the Indians in the Twenty20 world
championship While hosting the world champions, the Indian team had set high expectations of beating them in the one-day series also, thanks to their high morale sprouting from the recent marvellous victory and the advantage of the home ground. But the champions proved themselves champions; they emerged victorious graciously in the ODI series. But far more suspense and thrill was preserved in the sole Twenty20 clash which was a chance for the hosts to prove their might, and they successfully did so; India had defeated Australia in the only Twenty20 match, thus prevailing upon Australia that their previous victory was not by chance; they had, instead, wrought out this victory very assiduously. The 189-run target was, by no means, a tough job for the Aussies to win the Twenty20 World Championship semifinal, but the mighty Indian bowlers, Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan, did not allow the Ponting-less Aussies to rush to the target; except Matthew Hayden's 62 and Andrew Symonds's 43, there was no strong knock played by any other batsman, and the hot favourite Aussies were knocked out of the championship. It was a major upset of the tournament that, once for all, decided that the championship would not go to Australia, at least. India emerged as a dark horse. It was just a coincidence that each of the two teams found their next Twenty20 clash against each other; Aussies had been scheduled to tour India to play seven ODIs to be followed by the only Twenty20 clash which was centre of attention. At last, the day, October 20, came and the game was played; very surprisingly, India again snatched victory, consolidating their claim that they dominated Twenty20 world cricket. The humble 167-run target set by the tourists proved no more than just child's play when Gambhir's 63, Uthappa's 35 and Yuvraj's 31 not out helped end the game just in the 19th over. In fact, Ponting's marvellous 76 was badly wasted away because of poor plays of Gilchrist, Hayden and Symonds. The cricket fans the world over had been thunderstruck. It turned out to be another thrilling coincidence that the next Twenty20 clash of the two teams also fell between each other; the Indians had another chance of prevailing upon Australia that Twenty20 edition of the game was their specialty and the Aussies were just losers. The Melbourne Cricket Ground had been set to witness this third-in-a-row Twenty20 clash; it was February 4 last. The tourists India, in the most ever shameful performance, collapsed so ungraciously that they had been rendered absolutely defenceless; the abysmal 75 runs target was set for the hosts by 10 Indian batsmen as great as Gambhir, Sehwag, Uthappa and Dhoni. Interestingly, they failed to play all 20 overs and all Indian batsmen, except Irfan Pathan, were sent to the pavilion before reaching a double-digit individual score, disappointing the 84,041 powerful crowd at the MCG. Australia won the one-sided game for the loss of just one wicket, of Gilchrist; the Twenty20 match had been virtually made into an Eighteen12 game. Though this piece of writing recounts an account of three Twenty20 matches only, it is in fact an endorsement of a statement claimed by this writer before the Twenty20 Championship that the tournament did not need to be held so far as its holding is meant to see who are the champions, because Aussies were the champions. However, their loss in the semifinal proved this claim false, but only for the time-being. The February 4 game at the MCG exposed the real 'might' of the Twenty20 champions India who miserably collapsed. But the Aussies have never collapsed during the last one decade. The earlier two losses to the Indians were a result of powerful Indian batsmen; the Aussie batsmen had not faltered in those games. The Aussies have a marvellous and matchless record of winning cricket matches, both one-dayers and Tests. Though they lost to India in the previous two Twenty20 matches, their performance had been consistent. The collapsed batting of India at the MCG shows how much could they be weakened. The Aussies have been reigning the world of cricket for more than a decade by staying as the world champions for at least 12 years (by winning the World Cup 2007, their title as world champions spans over the period of 12 years, at least, since 1999 to 2011). Undisputedly, they are matchless, unconquerable and almost faultless; the qualities they will surely demonstrate in the shortest version of cricket also. It owes to the Aussies' greatness that of the nine ICC cricket World Cup tournaments, four fell into their lap, two into the Windies', and one each into those of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A simple analysis can show how magnificent the Australians are. The World Cup victories of India and Pakistan were a chance occurrence; neither of the team could win all the matches during the tournament. The invincibility of West Indies during the first two competitions comprised victories in just five matches each time. The Sri Lankan invincibility was dented by the two matches that fell into their lap without playing a single ball; Australia and West Indies preferred to lose two points each to Sri Lanka by refusing to play in Colombo on security grounds. In view of such an enviable record, the Aussies can be rightfully predicted to dominate the Twenty20 world also, no matter if they failed to win the first championship. The above-mentioned two defeats at the hands of India did not portray the real picture of the situation; India, like all other cricket teams, are definitely much behind the Aussies in technique, toughness and professionalism. It can be safely claimed that the Aussies will continue showing their might and keep themselves above all other teams in the shortest version of the cricket game also.
|
|
affair. Called one of the most sober players amongst his teammates, the
Sialkot-born all-rounder was being alleged by an Indian Muslim family
that Malik had married their daughter and wasn't accepting it now.
the tri-series two weeks ago, which was an ideal practice ahead of the
elite World Cup tournament. Pakistan won a low-scoring final against Sri
Lanka by eight wickets margin at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) ground,
Colombo.
over 18 years scoring 16,083 runs at a magnificent average of 44.18 per
innings, at a strike rate of 85.44 per innings.
Ashraf recently expressed: "I've said time and again that we have
nothing against any cricketer and our aim is to promote the game make it
healthier." The report that PCB submitted to Justice Malik Mohammad
Qayyum to clarify the board's stance on inflicting bans from first-class
cricket for having joined the breakaway ICL claimed that "the
decision was taken to protect the cricket future in the country as the
league -- which is bankrolled by a giant Indian Media Group -- is
sniffing for young blood in Pakistan and is ready to offer them big
money".
munificence from the PCB. Why weren't Taufeeq Umar and Imran Farhat or
Abdul Razzaq pleaded into changing their minds? Is it about not having
anything against any cricketer and aiming to promote the game making it
healthier? It appears as if the PCB thinks they have acted well and
justly towards all, a matter of personal belief -- another attempt to
offer a clean conscience and morally absolving themselves of their basic
failure.
the hallmark of the Australians these days.
in South Africa, disturbing badly all estimations calculated in favour
of the Ponting-led team; the shortest version of cricket had been
dominated by the Indians first by defeating the decade-old world
champions and then the archrivals Pakistanis in September.