A crumbling 157-year-old cricket pavilion

A 157-year-old cricket club in the Black Country could be forced to close its historic pavilion amid safety fears.

Stourbridge Cricket Club, founded in 1842, based at the Memorial Ground, High Street, Amblecote, needs £10,237 to update its 40-year-old wiring system to meet national heath and safety guidelines. 

The club's 366 members have applied to Dudley Council's Stourbridge Area Committee for £8,000 and plan to match the amount themselves through fundraising events.

More here.

Dravid's batting puts Sri Lanka on the back foot.

  India vs. Sri Lanka,1st Test, Day 1.

 

At 32 for 4, it appeared a repeat of the 1st Day of the India vs..South Africa Test played at the same ground. However, to state the obvious, the Sri Lanka cricket team is nowhere in the same class as the South African's and squandered a dream start.

 

Let us not get ahead of ourselves and start at the beginning, Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and unhesitatingly elected to bat.

 

Expectedly, the Indian top order, barring the maverick Virender Sehwag who played another cameo, succumbed to the swing of the Sri Lanka bowlers and was quickly on its knees.

 

That's when Rahul Dravid walked in and went on to bat the whole day and in the process completely turned the match on its head.

 

The most striking element of Dravid's innings was his rapid scoring rate. His strike rate was so good that at 385 for 6 India closed the day at its highest ever score on the 1st day of a Test match.

 

In his quest to regain the advantage of winning the toss, Dravid was ably supported by Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

 

Though 385 is a good score, Rahul Dravid should ensure that India goes on to post a score in excess of 450 and take the match completely away from the Sri Lanka cricket team.

 

Brief scores:

India 1st Innings: 385 for 6 in 90 overs (Rahul Dravid 177 not out, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 110, Yuvraj Singh 68, Chanaka Welegedara 3/75, Dhammika Prasad 2/90).

Tickets for ICC World Twenty20 on sale worldwide.

Image by slopedome via Flickr

The ICC announced yesterday that the tickets for next year's ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies are now on sale around the world.

The International Cricket Council also announced the ticket prices and emphasised their desire to make the ICC World Twenty20  affordable.

Ticket prices for the  single group stage matches will cost US $ 3 and for the double headers the ground entry cost will be US $5. The tickets for the Super Eight will cost US $8 and semi-finals will fluctuate between US $ 10 - 20.

General tickets for the finals on 16 th May  will cost US $ 20 with the premium stand ticket costing US $ 40.

TUI has been appointed the official tour operator for India.

India vs. Sri Lanka- Will India maintain their spotless record?

The Sri Lanka Cricket team have never won a Test match in the Indian soil in the last 2 decades.

Under their new captain, Kumara Sangakkara, they are working hard to wipe away this blemish. To further their ambition, they have a highly potent bowling attack.

The Sri Lanka team are also a much better than the Indian cricket team when it comes to fielding.

Added to this is the fact that the Sri Lanka cricket team is the second ranked team, behind the Australian in ICC Test rankings.

Undoubtedly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his team mates will have to play very hard to stave off this challenge.

However, to achieve their objective the Sri Lanka team have to bat to their potential.

For it is their batting that invariably falls short in comparison. The Sri Lanka batsmen have always promised much, but failed to deliver on overseas tours. Barring, Sangakkara, the other batsmen have woeful records in away matches.

The Indian cricket team have their own woes to overcome.

For starters, this Test series is the first they are playing since last April. The Indian cricketers have to settle quickly into the Test cricket mode and also overcome the ODI series defeat against the Australians.

The batting has an unsettled look with an over dependence on the explosiveness of Virender Sehwag.

Similarly, the Indian bowling attack has all the makings of revolving door. The pace attack have a couple of bowlers who are making their way back from injuries.

The thinking that Harbhajan Singh is waning and his worth to the team appears to be his ability to rile the opposition has gained credence.

In short, both teams have the capability but the series win depends on whom will play well in the 1st Test match.

The 3 test series is too short to recover lost ground for both the teams. Hence the 1st Test that starts  at the Motera on Monday could well decide the series.

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Poms beat Australians to Ashes Tickets

Tickets for the 2010-11 Ashes series in Australia are on sale - but only in England. The intriguing part of it is the fact this is being done with the blessings of Cricket Australia.

 

Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young explains why Ashes tickets are being sold to English fans ahead of the Australian cricket fan?

 

"Travellers from overseas need time to get their arrangements in place.

 

"It's standard practice for major events. We're keen to encourage overseas fans, and the English seem to be the strongest travellers. There are a lot of pluses ... the 2006-07 Ashes created $315 million of incremental economic activity for Australia. As far as the Australian economy goes, it's fabulous.

 

"A lot of money goes into Australian cricket because they buy tickets and they enjoy themselves while they're here and add a great deal to the economy."

 

It sounds practicable but one has to wait and watch how the disgruntled Australian fan for whom seeing an Ashes Test match is like a pilgrimage reacts to this partiality to the Poms.

India vs. Lanka: Ajantha Mendis 'effect'

Ajantha Mendis was effective when the Indian cricket team toured Sri Lanka last year. So effective was he with his ‘carom ball’ that he ran rings around accomplished batsman like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.

In fact he proved to be the game changer and helped Sri Lanka win the series. Rahul Dravid, who have seen off threats from the great Shane Warne , was completely befuddled by Ajantha Mendis.

The trial run of the ‘referral system’ helped Mendis no end. The Indian cricketer, a reluctant adapter, was at the receiving end of a few borderline decisions. So Mendis with his exotic ‘delivery’ proved lethal and was hailed too quickly if one might add as  successor: to the maverick bowling legend, Muthiah Muralitharan.

However, his effectiveness diminished against the Indian ODI team, which had some young Turks. So much so, a relative new comer to International cricket, Virat Kohli, was pulling his ‘carom ball’ to the boundary with impunity.

Sadly, for Mendis, his potency went southwards after the historic debut Test series against India.

This brings us back to the question we were exploring: will Ajantha Mendis prove as effective in India as he was in Sri Lanka?

The answer for that is a resounding no. But with a caveat, he may prove lethal in ODI’s and Twenty20 matches where batsmen have to play more instinctively than in the Tests.

Sachin Tendulkar: Is longevity greatness?

Sunil Gavaskar believes Sachin Tendulkar is ahead of other batting greats because he has played International cricket for 20 years.

To quote:

Sachin Tendulkar is slightly ahead of batting greats Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting , former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said in an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN on Wednesday.

"I think apart from Sir Garfield Sobers, nobody has played 20 years of international cricket," Gavaskar said. "And 20 years of playing at the highest level and playing at the highest standards - that is an achievement beyond compare."

While there is no debating Sachin Tendulkar's greatness, Gavaskar, by calling attention to Sachin Tendulkar's longevity, has reduced it to the level of flattery.

Surely, everyone will agree that mere longevity is not greatness.

IPL: On pink balls and 12 th man

IPL franchises agreed to use pink balls in warm-up matches and practice sessions.

IPL is an excellent launch pad for pink balls as top cricketers will get an opportunity to get assimilated. Not only that the scruffy grounds in India will provide an excellent work out for the pink balls and help decide on their durability.

In other IPL related news, IPL franchisees have abandoned the 12th man and in turn agreed to use 4 fielding substitutes instead.

Will the West Indies play as a team?

Interesting question:

 

Questions surround the West Indies team that set out yesterday for Australia, where they will engage what is still, arguably, the most formidable cricket team in the world. The most crucial of these is how the players will bind together, given that the squad is made up of players who took part in the prolonged strike caused by the dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and Players Association (WIPA) and those who, by breaking the strike, came into such prominence that they are now part of this all-inclusive line-up.

 

 

Day- Night Tests a certainty?

The ICC appears keen to introduce day - night Test matches in order to make Test matches more popular.

 

In fact at the end of a 2 day board meeting at Johannesburg, ICC released a statement that there will be "further research into various proposals for product development and variation of Test cricket, including day-night Test matches".

Though a cricketing 'purist' may look askance, day - night Test matches appear the only way to attract a wider audience for Test cricket.

 

Another idea though this one is unofficial, is to build a 'context' around a Test match. The propagators behind this idea believe, by building a context around a Test match for example a stake at the World Champion Test side title, it will attract more crowd to watch them.

Cricket: Shed a tear for Younus Khan

Nothing is going right for the Pakistan cricket team captain Younus Khan.

 

Not only, has his own batting performance faltered ( Younus has scored only two half-centuries in his last 19 ODIs.) he has also managed to lose two ODI series since the euphoric ICC Twenty20 World Cup.

 

On top of that Shahid Afridi has made some astute moves.

 

He has started batting more responsibly and has also made the right noises, including asking Younus Khan to reconsider his decision to retire from the Twenty20 form of the game.

 

Younus Khan has unwittingly agreed to reconsider it and has set off a furore over his decision.

 

The factions which were already against him have not only lambasted him for the decision but have also been keenly asking for Shahid Afridi to be appointed captain of the Pakistan cricket team.

 

Now that former Pakistani players have also called for his sacking it looks as if Younus has to do something exceptional to not only retain his captaincy but also his place in Pakistan cricket squad.

India vs. Sri Lanka: Indian squad

The Indian selectors sprung a surprise by including S.Sreesanth in the 15 member squad for the 1st 2 Tests against the visiting Sri Lanka cricket team.

While Zaheer Khan's recall was in the offing, Sreesanth's inclusion came straight out of the blue.

Though it is unlikely that Sreesanth may play in these Tests, the selectors may have selected him to evaluate how he gels with the squad.

It is pertinent to remember that this is the first time Sreesanth is sharing a dressing room with Harbhajan Singh after the infamous 'slapping' incident during the inaugural IPL tournament.

The Indian cricket team for the first 2 Tests against Sri Lanka:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman, Murali Vijay, Subramaniam Badrinath, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, S. Sreesanth.

IPL has reduced nastiness in Cricket

Sunil Gavaskar believes that the Indian Premier League (IPL), by bringing world's leading cricketers and thus helping them understand each other better, has reduced nastiness in cricket.

 

According to a PTI report Gavaskar told reporters at a book launch:

"During our times, there used to be intense rivalry as every player used to play to win. But the IPL has brought players from different countries together creating a good rapport among them."

While the IPL is too new a tournament to base such observations on, the relatively rancour free current 7 match one-day International's between India and Australia makes one believe there is some truth in it.

India Australia 7th ODI Mumbai

An intriguing situation confronts the Indian cricket team.

 

Having been at the receiving end at Mohali, Hyderabad and Guwahati and thus conclusively losing the series, should they use the ODI at the D Y Patil stadium to fine tune themselves for the upcoming series against the Sri Lankans.

 

There are those who argue that with a Test series,ODI's and Twenty20's coming up against the Sri Lankan's in another 4 days, India should try to win the last ODI against the Australians and thus regain some of their badly mauled pride.

 

This blogger believes that the Australian's will use this match to impose themselves on the Indians thus making sure that India realises where exactly they stand as an ODI team.

 

SET MAX Maximises IPL-3 Revenue

The official broadcasters of the Indian Premier League (IPL)cricket tournament, SET Max is estimated to rake in over Rs 650 crore during IPL -3, 30 per cent higher than it got in IPL-2.

The channel has signed on two co-presenting sponsors, Vodafone and Videocon for around Rs 55 crore each, while each associate sponsor is shelling out between Rs 35 to 40 crore, depending on the number of secondages bought.

SET Max this time will have 10 associate sponsors, of which eight have been signed up. Pepsi, Samsung, LG and Hyundai are among the associate sponsors.

From here:

Cricket: Kumara Sangakkara is no slouch

The Sri Lankan cricket team has arrived with Kumara Sangakkara at the helm.

As befitting the successor of Mahela Jayewardene, he appears no slouch at mouthing management gyan.

For example, Sangakkara believes that the Indian team is the team under pressure because the Sri Lankan team has never won a Test match in India in the 27 years.

If that gyan wasn't convincing or threatening enough to cow the Indian cricket team, he is talking about how his team has set daily targets and plans to meet 'challenges'.

Unfortunately, the Sri Lankan cricket team captain may end up talking about this tour to India being 'learning curve' as his team is largely inexperienced and carry the aging veteran Jayasuriya.

Guwahati ODI : India gambles and loses series

Image by R▲▲S via Flickr

The best thing that could have happened to Dhoni would have been losing the toss. Unfortunately he won.This presented him with a Hobsons choice.

For if he elected to bat first, then his batsmen would have to overcome seaming conditions. If he chose to bat second then bad light would have made it a mad scramble to beat the D/L method.

The fact that Dhoni risked batting first shows how much faith he reposed on his bowlers.

As expected the India batsmen failed to counter the swing deployed by the Australian bowlers.

So badly did they bat (27 for five in nine overs) that the 170 they made in 48 overs can be almost called remarkable.

However, the total proved too little for the Australians who had their tails up and they effectively closed the series 4-2 without working up much of a sweat.

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Guwahati 6th ODI: Bad Light may prove decisive

India has win back to back matches to win the series. Unfortunately for them, the most decisive ODI of the series is being played at Guwahati.

The Indian cricket team has to pull something extraordinary because at Guwahati there are too many imponderables in the mix.

Firstly an early start and secondly an early close means the toss becomes important.

If Dhoni chooses to bat on winning the toss, then his batsmen will have to confront seaming conditions at least for the first 2 hours of the innings. Knowing the Indian batsmen's penchant for fishing outside the off stump, Dhoni might frown at this option but the Australian bowlers will contemplate the prospect of bowling first with glee.

The alternative, batting second, will provide Dhoni little comfort. Bad light will certainly raise its ugly head and the D/L method may decide the fate of the match.

Under these circumstances, it is imperative that the Indian team should pull together.

If India is to win this crucial ODI, Sehwag has to connect and Nehra has to find the edges.

Guwahati ODI: India's strategy

If India were to lose tomorrows ODI, then they effectively lose the series.
Considering the gravity of the situation, one expected Dhoni to make more than a gratuitous remark about India's strategy:

"The strategy is to get off a good start and then capitalise on it. We have done well in patches. It's important to be consistent especially when it comes to fielding. So we are hoping to field well."

Let us hope Dhoni has a much better strategy than this and his remark was made to keep the Australians in the dark.



[Caption]

We salute Amol Muzumdar

In the Name of Cricket salutes Amol Muzumdar.

Amol Muzumdar became the highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy, going past another domestic giant Amarjit Kaypee's mark of 7623 runs.

A man unnaturally ignored by the Indian selectors and one who held more promise and one who had more talent than those who made it to the Indian cricket team.

Amol Muzumdar a true servant of Indian cricket

Can Joel Garner turn it around?

Former West Indies fast bowler Joel Garner, team manager for the West Indies tour to Australia, hopes to instill a sense of the pride with which they dominated world cricket in the past.

But do the current lot of West Indian cricketers have the same commitment?

West Indies Cricket groping in the dark

10 year IPL Theatre rights up for grabs

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has called for bidding for the theatrical rights to IPL matches for the next 10 years.

The winning bidder can broadcast IPL matches in cinema halls, in bars, restaurants, buses, hospitals and in a host of public places.

The bidder can run advertisements between overs and other breaks in the game. However, they are restrained from telecasting matches in the town or city where an IPL match is taking place.

Sources indicate that multiplexes and media companies are showing eagerness unlike last year.

12 year old scores 439

A 12-year-old has scored 439 runs in a school cricket tournament in Mumbai.

According to the Times of India, Sarfaraz Khan faced 421 balls and hit 12 sixes and 56 boundaries for his Springfield Rizvi school against a hapless Indian Education Society in a three-day Harris Shield match on Wednesday.

Keen followers of cricket will recollect that it was in this tournament in 1988 Tendulkar, made 329 during a 664-run partnership with Vinod Kambli, who also went on to play international cricket.

Ireland: Do we need another Test Cricket minnow?

Ireland which is currently an associate member with one day- international status, is pushing to join the list of countries playing Test cricket.

Undeniably, Ireland cricket has made considerable progress with their entry into the last eight of the 2007 World Cup being their most cherished success.

However, their intention to aspire for full member status brings forth questions.

Firstly, their one day International success in no way guarantees success in Test cricket. In fact there is a danger of them becoming another Bangladesh, a Test cricket playing country that has done nothing of note since getting the ICC's full member status in 2000.

Secondly, their application comes at a time when the cricketing pundits are bemoaning the lack of interest in Test cricket. Hence Ireland may be reduced to participating in the last rites.

Apart from these questions, one is inclined to wonder whether we need another minnow to make up the numbers and further dilute the quality of Test cricket.

Services claim administrative slip up

The Board of Control for Cricket in India's decision to ban the Service's team for the entire Ranji Trophy season has brought out the expected reaction.

The Indian Express reports that 

The Services team later apologised to the BCCI for the “administrative slip up” and sought new dates — it transpires that the team acted on an alert put out by the Military Intelligence after a security assessment, not corroborated by other intelligence agencies, warned of a militant plan to mingle with spectators and disrupt the match at the Sher-e-Kashmir stadium in Srinagar.

The apology confirms my long standing view that Indian cricket is in the 'right hands'.:)

 

Cricket: Scorer's up in arms

According to Times Online:

So strongly do they feel after their treatment — or lack of it — at the recent World Twenty20 in England that they are even talking about forming their own trade union.

Several months after the tournament ended, some of the 25 scorers claim they are still waiting to be paid their £93 match fee and others found that they had to queue with temporary catering staff for accreditation to get into the Brit Oval.

Their desire for recognition has resulted in a paper that will go before David Richardson, the general manager of the ICC, to consider their complaints.

Do you agree that scorers need to be recognised for their effort to enshrine a cricket match?

Cricket: Afridi sinks New Zealand

Pakistan vs.. New Zealand 1st ODI cricket match

 

Shahid Afridi's aggression gave Pakistan an easy 138 run win over New Zealand in the 1st day-night ODI Cool & Cool Cup played at Zayed Cricket Stadium at Abu Dhabi.

 

Afridi hit a 50 ball 71 and also grabbed 2 wickets and helped Pakistan overcome New Zealand.

 

Though New Zealand started the match promisingly they lost control over the match once Afridi came in to bat. Shahid Afridi partnered with Khalid Latif and then with Kamran Akmal and helped Pakistan post a imposing 287 for 9.

 

In reply, New Zealand succumbed for 149 in the 40th over.

 

Pakistan now has 1-0 lead in this 3 match ODI series. The other 2 matches will be played at the Zayed Stadium on November 7 and on November 10.

 

 

Bangladesh-Zimbabwe play a quaint ODI

Bangladesh cricket team is having a golden run. Having overcome a second string- nay a third string West Indian cricket team, they are all set to thrash Zimbabwe in an ODI series.

In fact they took an unbeaten 3-1 lead in their ODI series in a quaint match where only 93 runs were scored.

Bangladesh skittle Zimbabwe for just 44, the fifth lowest total scored by any team in an ODI and then quickly rattled off the required runs for the loss of four wickets.

Stanford stripped of knighthood.

This perhaps could hurt Stanford more than anything else.

The Telegraph quoted Jacqui Quinn-Leandro, the chairman of the Caribbean country’s National Honours Committee, as saying that the nation voted unanimously to revoke his title for "embarrassing the nation" by running the scheme out of his Antigua-based offshore bank.

Now will Antigua return the money received from him for development back to those affected by his Ponzi scheme.

Services refuses to play cricket in J & K

Image by 365bunnies via Flickr

Services refusal to go to Jammu & Kashmir to play a Ranji Trophy cricket match on security grounds is sure to cause an uproar.

Services have given a walkover to J&K in the Plate Division match, saying they have security apprehensions.

The BCCI will have a lot of explaining to do as this comes at a time when India is claiming that the security situation is normal.

One can also be sure that Pakistan will rake this up and the Pakistan Cricket Board will take the cue to add to India's discomfort.

As usual an unnamed BCCI official has promised to examine the reasons behind the Service's cricket teams refusal and take action.

Update:
The Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) cricket team was today banned from this year's Ranji Trophy due to their refusal to go to Srinagar for a Plate Division match against Jammu and Kashmir.

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West Indies squad for Australia Test series

Image by David Berkowitz via Flickr

A full-strength West Indies squad will tour Australia for this summer's three-Test series.

Reinstated captain Chris Gayle along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and allrounder Dwayne Bravo who sat out recent matches over a contract dispute, are among many of the West Indies team's best players included in the squad.

Had the contract dispute prolonged the West Indies would have struggled to compete in the three Test matches.

The West Indies are also set to return later in the summer to Australia, for f5 one-dayers and 2 Twenty20 games.

Windies tour squad:- Chris Gayle (capt), Adrian Barath, Sulieman Benn, Dwayne Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Travis Dowlin, Brendan Nash, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor, Gavin Tonge.

Tour schedule:- Nov 18-21 v Queensland, Allan Border Field, Brisbane; Nov 26-30, 1st Test, Gabba; Dec 4-8, 2nd Test, Adelaide Oval; Dec 16-20, 3rd Test, WACA.

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TTCB:"Movement of Change "get the manadate

Image by abdallahh via Flickr

Azim Bassarath who is a part of the "Movement of Change" is the new president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB). He  ousted Deryck Murray and helped "Movement for Change"to walk away with other important posts at the 53rd edition of the Board's annual general meeting yesterday.

TTCB Election Results

Results of the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board held on Saturday 31st October 2009 at the National Cricket Centre, Balmain Couva (winners in bold)

Officers

         President: Azim Bassarath

         1st VP: Dudnath Ramkessoon

         2nd VP: Lalman Kowlessar

         General Secretary: Arjoon Ramlal

         Treasurer: Sukesh Maniam (Deryck Murray placed a casting vote for Maniam)

Six Executive Members

        *       Dr. Allen Sammy

        *       Martin LumKin

        *       Anne Browne-John

        *       Patrick Rampersad

        *       Suruj Ragoonath

        *       Don Asgarali

        *       William Wallace

        *       Ignatius Trim

        *       Baldath Bodoe

        *       Moses Thomas

        *       Tarandath Sammy

Nominated and Committee members and other appointments will named after the first executive meeting.

India eyeing a hat-trick

Image via Wikipedia

The Indian teams back-to-back wins in Nagpur and Delhi, will have all Indian cricket fans hoping that the Indian team complete a treble of triumphs to stretch their lead against Australia in the fourth cricket one-dayer at Mohali.

Normally, this would have been a pipe dream, but considering the spate of injuries and the Australian team's inability to impose themselves on the Indian's in the recent past, the Indian's have an excellent opportunity to close all possibilities of a series loss.

Though the India team has shown resilience and consistency after the series opener loss, it remains to be seen whether they can overcome complacency.

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Cricket: New role for the 12 th man

Cricket South Africa has designed a new format to rekindle interest in the domestic ODI tournament.

What they have done is to permit teams to have 12 players in effect they have made the 12 th man a full member. They hope that this innovation will provide tactical flexibility to make the 50 pver format more dynamic.

The change to the 12th man's role allows for an extra batting or bowling option and also gives rise to the opportunity to remove a cumbersome fielder from play, as is the case in rugby or soccer. The new rules also do away with extending the hours of play for matches affected by rain, but instead reduces the number of overs accordingly, which should make for more exciting viewing.

The question before us is will these changes revive spectator interest and if so can it be replicated in International one day matches.