Well the cricketing world has so far seen the Pakistani hard hitting batsman - Shahid Afridi as only a blind slogger of the cricket ball rather than a batsman who would play a calculated innings. But, as a matter of surprise, it was the same slogger who took his team to the zenith when they faced Sri Lanka in their first encounter of the Asia cup at Dambulla yesterday. It was really interesting to see that Shahid Afridi played one of the innings of his life when the lonely handled the Sri Lankan bowlers despite there being no support from the other ends.
Even today, the fact is that Shahid Afridi is a blind slogger of the ball though the batsman has two out of the top five fastest hundreds against his name in one day cricket. In addition to the fact that Shahid Afridi played a calculated innings, the other interesting thing to be noticed is that Shahid Afridi took to the crease at number six after the dismissal of Shoaib Malik. The entire Pakistani innings consisted of 7 sixes, all of which were hit by none other than Shahid Afridi. While, the entire match saw just 8 hits out of the ground and the next is needless to be said.
There have been batsmen like Sanath Jayasuriya, Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds who are big hitters and at the same time play a calculated and responsible innings and as a result of the same, the team can rely upon such players which confirms their position not only in the team but also in the playing XI squad. But, with the most important thing missing in Afridi, one has to wonder as to how on earth did Shahid Afridi manage to play more than 250 one day matches. Leaving that apart, one has to wonder even more as to what on earth makes the selection to go in for Afridi even when selecting a test team!
Whatever, this time as a rare case, Afridi could manage what he couldn't in all these days of his cricketing life when he played one of the innings of his life with the wicket hardly supporting the batsmen no matter to which team they belonged. A target of 243 was in no way a non chasable one for either of the team and more so for Pakistan. No other player from Pakistan managed even one fourth of what Afridi could. This I consider as the one more than his 37 ball hundred he scored against Sri Lanka and the 45 ball century he scored against India in 2005. For, those were on batsmen friendly pitches and without any sort of pressure.
Showing posts with label Andrew Symonds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andrew Symonds. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Punish the umpires instead
Well the news has its say that the decision review system is about to take a back seat for the reason that it involves a lot of cost that is considered as unnecessary by the ICC. It seems that the world's cricket governing body is not interested in giving the teams or the players a fair trial no matter what on earth happens. It is not the ICC who would be responsible in case a team crashes out of a major tournament when there is hardly any mistake on its side or there is least that it can do. Really?
If the ICC considers about cost cutting measures, one has to reason out why does the game has a provision in giving the umpires an option to refer a doubtful decision to the 3rd umpire? Why doesn't one of the teams suffer in case there can be a lot of money that can be saved. Of course, there is not going to be a loss of anyone's life or property in this case. The ICC should have learnt a lesson after the Sydney test episode between India and Australia where 8 decisions were wrong and funny that one of them included the decision by the third umpire as well.
However, all these are allowed to happen by giving a lame excuse that these are human errors regarding which nothing can be done. One can agree with the former part of the sentence which says "human errors" but not with the latter part that says "nothing can be done". In case something needs to be done, there are lots that can happen. In case a batsman is found to be not out, he can be called by the umpires back to the crease to continue to bat. This can happen when the same umpires rule out a six to be a four after consulting the third umpire over wireless.
Similarly, in case the opposition captain calls back a batsman after learning that he was not out, the batsman can still come back and play like it happened in a match between Sri Lanka and Australia in 2004 after Symonds was given out which was not the case actually. And one other thing that can be done is to penalise the umpires in case they go wrong in deciding irrespective of whether it is a human error or not. When captains can be fined for slow over rate and bowlers for excessive appealing, why should the umpires go scot free for their decision can affect not only a player or a match but also a series?
If the ICC considers about cost cutting measures, one has to reason out why does the game has a provision in giving the umpires an option to refer a doubtful decision to the 3rd umpire? Why doesn't one of the teams suffer in case there can be a lot of money that can be saved. Of course, there is not going to be a loss of anyone's life or property in this case. The ICC should have learnt a lesson after the Sydney test episode between India and Australia where 8 decisions were wrong and funny that one of them included the decision by the third umpire as well.
However, all these are allowed to happen by giving a lame excuse that these are human errors regarding which nothing can be done. One can agree with the former part of the sentence which says "human errors" but not with the latter part that says "nothing can be done". In case something needs to be done, there are lots that can happen. In case a batsman is found to be not out, he can be called by the umpires back to the crease to continue to bat. This can happen when the same umpires rule out a six to be a four after consulting the third umpire over wireless.
Similarly, in case the opposition captain calls back a batsman after learning that he was not out, the batsman can still come back and play like it happened in a match between Sri Lanka and Australia in 2004 after Symonds was given out which was not the case actually. And one other thing that can be done is to penalise the umpires in case they go wrong in deciding irrespective of whether it is a human error or not. When captains can be fined for slow over rate and bowlers for excessive appealing, why should the umpires go scot free for their decision can affect not only a player or a match but also a series?
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Aussies not for big bucks?
Needless to be said, this is the third edition of the Indian Premier League. For the second time in succession, players from Pakistan are banned (once officially and unofficially this time) from participating in the same. At the same time, one other aspect that needs to be noticed is that some most of the players from Australia are also not found to feature in the IPL despite having the potential in them to attract huge sums of money and a lot of fame as well. The list includes close to a dozen players from the country. This is to be indeed given a closer look.
Last year in 2009 (obviously), Michael Clarke was found to back out from that year's edition of the IPL despite being offered a base price of $1 million the reason for which sources say is not enough for him considering his caliber. And, there was Shaun Tait who withdrew his name from the auction list when he wanted to improve his game as far as his international commitments were considered. This also was found making Shaun Tait back out from the CB series earlier that year for the same reason which drew a lot of applause. This was said to have been done by Shaun Tait to battle depression.
So has been the case with Mitchell Johnson who has not seen featuring in the IPL so far in all three editions though having the potential in him to make it big here. Johnson was believed to have been offered a price if $800,000 which he turned down without a second thought. And this year, though being free from his international commitments, Ricky Ponting is seen nowhere in this edition of the IPL despite having appeared for Kolkata Knight Riders earlier. While others like Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori and others who are also into their international commitments are being seen.
The only players being seen from Australia are players who have quit playing international cricket like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Martyn to name a few. Someone like Andrew Symonds is making his appearance owing to the fact that he has been banned from playing international cricket for Australia for reasons best known to everyone after the T20 world cup last year. The other category include players like Shaun Marsh and David Hussey who have not been featuring for the Australian team for a long time. The only players who play regularly play for Australia and still show interest in IPL have been Brett Lee (if not for his injury), Warner,Watson and Ryan Harris offlate.
Last year in 2009 (obviously), Michael Clarke was found to back out from that year's edition of the IPL despite being offered a base price of $1 million the reason for which sources say is not enough for him considering his caliber. And, there was Shaun Tait who withdrew his name from the auction list when he wanted to improve his game as far as his international commitments were considered. This also was found making Shaun Tait back out from the CB series earlier that year for the same reason which drew a lot of applause. This was said to have been done by Shaun Tait to battle depression.
So has been the case with Mitchell Johnson who has not seen featuring in the IPL so far in all three editions though having the potential in him to make it big here. Johnson was believed to have been offered a price if $800,000 which he turned down without a second thought. And this year, though being free from his international commitments, Ricky Ponting is seen nowhere in this edition of the IPL despite having appeared for Kolkata Knight Riders earlier. While others like Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori and others who are also into their international commitments are being seen.
The only players being seen from Australia are players who have quit playing international cricket like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Martyn to name a few. Someone like Andrew Symonds is making his appearance owing to the fact that he has been banned from playing international cricket for Australia for reasons best known to everyone after the T20 world cup last year. The other category include players like Shaun Marsh and David Hussey who have not been featuring for the Australian team for a long time. The only players who play regularly play for Australia and still show interest in IPL have been Brett Lee (if not for his injury), Warner,Watson and Ryan Harris offlate.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Big guns yet to fire in this IPL
It doesn't matter for the audience if Shane Warne doesn't get the ball to turn like it used to happen in the Ashes. There is no one complaining if Sachin Tendulkar doesn't get a hundred in the IPL or becomes the highest run getter like he has done in the 2003 world cup in South Africa. But, if someone like Virender Sehwag fails to hit a six in almost every match, the fans are disappointed outside Delhi as well. And much to anybody's surprise, this has been going on for the past three weeks in the current edition of the IPL.
The big guns from whom fire crackers are expected happen to be Virender Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Sanath Jayasuriya, Yuvraj Singh etc to name a few. However, none of them have kept up their word which they meant when they were paid huge sums. Sanath Jayasuriya can be given an excuse with Sachin Tendulkar not making up his mind to include him in the playing XI. And, there have been quite a few players like Andrew Flintoff and Jacob Oram who can be as punishing with the bat as they can get. But, injuries have overpowered them once again unfortunately.
And then, there is McCullum and Ross Taylor who have made their entry into the IPL just a day back after finishing their full fledged series against Australia. Though Jacques Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar are found doing justice to the money paid to them and the expectations the fans have had in them, their nature of play can hardly be paralleled with someone like Gilchrist or Symonds. So far Gilchrist has had just one score above 50 and an aggregate of 118 runs from 8 games played so far. And, when it comes to Symonds, his record is just above Gilchrist's with the batsman scoring 2 half centuries and aggregating 232 runs but at a strike rate of 122 compared to 174 by Gilchrist.
Then we have Sehwag whose fastest fifty against Chennai Super Kings was overshadowed by 6 innings with scores less than 20. And, when it comes to Mathew Hayden who held the orange cap in the last season of the IPL, the only highlight this time would be the score of 93 he scored against Delhi Daredevils. And, nothing needs to be specially said about Yuvraj Singh who has had series of scores as follows: 4, 9, 4, 43, 15, 24, 2 and 36 which total upto 137 from the 8 games he has played so far. There have been situations in the past as well when a few or may be most of the expected batsmen disappoint. But, this time it is all the expected batsmen who have disappointed without any exceptions.
The big guns from whom fire crackers are expected happen to be Virender Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Sanath Jayasuriya, Yuvraj Singh etc to name a few. However, none of them have kept up their word which they meant when they were paid huge sums. Sanath Jayasuriya can be given an excuse with Sachin Tendulkar not making up his mind to include him in the playing XI. And, there have been quite a few players like Andrew Flintoff and Jacob Oram who can be as punishing with the bat as they can get. But, injuries have overpowered them once again unfortunately.
And then, there is McCullum and Ross Taylor who have made their entry into the IPL just a day back after finishing their full fledged series against Australia. Though Jacques Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar are found doing justice to the money paid to them and the expectations the fans have had in them, their nature of play can hardly be paralleled with someone like Gilchrist or Symonds. So far Gilchrist has had just one score above 50 and an aggregate of 118 runs from 8 games played so far. And, when it comes to Symonds, his record is just above Gilchrist's with the batsman scoring 2 half centuries and aggregating 232 runs but at a strike rate of 122 compared to 174 by Gilchrist.
Then we have Sehwag whose fastest fifty against Chennai Super Kings was overshadowed by 6 innings with scores less than 20. And, when it comes to Mathew Hayden who held the orange cap in the last season of the IPL, the only highlight this time would be the score of 93 he scored against Delhi Daredevils. And, nothing needs to be specially said about Yuvraj Singh who has had series of scores as follows: 4, 9, 4, 43, 15, 24, 2 and 36 which total upto 137 from the 8 games he has played so far. There have been situations in the past as well when a few or may be most of the expected batsmen disappoint. But, this time it is all the expected batsmen who have disappointed without any exceptions.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
IPL a boon to cricket lovers!
Well it has been almost 6 days since the third edition of the Indian Premier League has kick started and no doubt that it has drawn the same craze that the previous two editions have managed to draw. Though there is hardly anything new in the third edition of the IPL compared to its previous two editions, this has not been able to stop people to switch on their television sets after coming home from work and has not stopped people from going to the stadiums and watch their teams play in case matches are being held in their cities.
One has to indeed salute the organizers of the same and the people who came out with such an idea. This is one such platform where cricket lovers can see their heroes who have called it a day from international cricket long back take to their favorite cricket kits once again. It was fun to see the likes of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Damien Martyn and others who were last seen some 3 years ago playing for their country. And, one could fulfill their dreams of watching Sachin Tendulkar playing T20 cricket when the BCCI had ruled out any scope for the senior players prior to the inaugural edition of the world T20 in 2007.
The only man who would be cursing to a little extent would be Shane Warne who was found feeling happy that he need not bowl at Sachin Tendulkar once again which proved to be wrong during matches between the Royal Challengers and Mumbai Indians. Worst is the fact that Shane Warne has to share the toss with Sachin with both of them captaining their respective sides. And, lesser known players can not only make money but also keep their hopes alive of making it to the international squad atleast once after their performance though the same is far from guaranteed.
And, the other fact is that for a duration of close to 2 months, the entire world can be seen playing for just one country that is India. In addition, one can see a clash between two players playing against each other when they would be rubbing shoulders otherwise. Also, one can see players from two different teams playing for the same team in the IPL. A player from a particular state need no necessarily play for the team where he has learnt to play cricket like we have Suresh Raina and Dhoni playing for and captaining Chennai Superkings when the place of birth points to Gujarat and Jharkhand.
And finally, this is one such platform where people enjoy the game of cricket rather than favoring one team like it happens in international cricket where an Indian fan goes home disappointed whenever India loses the match. This is not the case here where, irrespective of who wins and who loses, fans go back home happily keeping in mind the fact that it was an Indian side that won no matter that it was an Indian side who lost as well.
One has to indeed salute the organizers of the same and the people who came out with such an idea. This is one such platform where cricket lovers can see their heroes who have called it a day from international cricket long back take to their favorite cricket kits once again. It was fun to see the likes of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Damien Martyn and others who were last seen some 3 years ago playing for their country. And, one could fulfill their dreams of watching Sachin Tendulkar playing T20 cricket when the BCCI had ruled out any scope for the senior players prior to the inaugural edition of the world T20 in 2007.
The only man who would be cursing to a little extent would be Shane Warne who was found feeling happy that he need not bowl at Sachin Tendulkar once again which proved to be wrong during matches between the Royal Challengers and Mumbai Indians. Worst is the fact that Shane Warne has to share the toss with Sachin with both of them captaining their respective sides. And, lesser known players can not only make money but also keep their hopes alive of making it to the international squad atleast once after their performance though the same is far from guaranteed.
And, the other fact is that for a duration of close to 2 months, the entire world can be seen playing for just one country that is India. In addition, one can see a clash between two players playing against each other when they would be rubbing shoulders otherwise. Also, one can see players from two different teams playing for the same team in the IPL. A player from a particular state need no necessarily play for the team where he has learnt to play cricket like we have Suresh Raina and Dhoni playing for and captaining Chennai Superkings when the place of birth points to Gujarat and Jharkhand.
And finally, this is one such platform where people enjoy the game of cricket rather than favoring one team like it happens in international cricket where an Indian fan goes home disappointed whenever India loses the match. This is not the case here where, irrespective of who wins and who loses, fans go back home happily keeping in mind the fact that it was an Indian side that won no matter that it was an Indian side who lost as well.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Why Brett Lee cites the IPL and not the NZ tour?
Well one has to feel happy that the Australian speedster Brett Lee has promised to be fit for the upcoming third edition of the Indian Premier League. I take your pardon- Brett Lee hopes to be completely fit for the upcoming IPL. This has to be a good news for cricket fans in India who would be looking forward to see him in action in the cash rich and entertainment rich tournament. More happier people would be the Kings XI Punjab who have already taken a blow when Yuvraj Singh was sacked as the captain and replaced by Kumara Sangakkara.
Anyways, that might not be an issue as far as the fans of Kings XI Punjab players or fans are considered and likewise, even Sangakkara has not been a bad captain for Sri Lanka. And the happiest man to be fit for the IPL would be Brett Lee himself, failing which he would also compromise with the payment he is bound to receive in case he opts out of the tournament. Needless to be said, Brett Lee was last found playing international cricket for Australia way back in October in the 7 match one day series against India last year in the 1st ODI at Vadodara.
There itself, Brett Lee had given a hint that he would not be fit for the next one dayer and since then has never been for for any international matches. Moreover, Brett Lee has made news for the wrong reasons when he retired from test cricket recently. However, when it comes to big tournaments like the world T20 and the cash rich IPL, any lazy bugger has to get up and come out shouting that he is fit irrespective of whether he is fit or not and Brett Lee is no exception. So has been the case with players like Sreesanth, Muralitharan to name a few who have given a fitness certificate about themselves when it mattered in the IPL and were nowhere in the scene when it came to playing international matches for their country.
Whatever, one thing that is to be noticed is that there is an ongoing one day series between Australia and New Zealand and will go on as scheduled until the 31st of this month, which would be more than 2 weeks after the IPl would have kicked in. But Brett Lee has neither been figured in the squad that played the 2 T20 games and also for the one day series that follows. And nothing needs to be cited specially regarding the 2 match test series that follows. Brett Lee was least bothered about the aforementioned tournaments and now comes shouting that he can play in the IPL. I wish Symonds should learn from Brett Lee how to handle such a situation.
Anyways, that might not be an issue as far as the fans of Kings XI Punjab players or fans are considered and likewise, even Sangakkara has not been a bad captain for Sri Lanka. And the happiest man to be fit for the IPL would be Brett Lee himself, failing which he would also compromise with the payment he is bound to receive in case he opts out of the tournament. Needless to be said, Brett Lee was last found playing international cricket for Australia way back in October in the 7 match one day series against India last year in the 1st ODI at Vadodara.
There itself, Brett Lee had given a hint that he would not be fit for the next one dayer and since then has never been for for any international matches. Moreover, Brett Lee has made news for the wrong reasons when he retired from test cricket recently. However, when it comes to big tournaments like the world T20 and the cash rich IPL, any lazy bugger has to get up and come out shouting that he is fit irrespective of whether he is fit or not and Brett Lee is no exception. So has been the case with players like Sreesanth, Muralitharan to name a few who have given a fitness certificate about themselves when it mattered in the IPL and were nowhere in the scene when it came to playing international matches for their country.
Whatever, one thing that is to be noticed is that there is an ongoing one day series between Australia and New Zealand and will go on as scheduled until the 31st of this month, which would be more than 2 weeks after the IPl would have kicked in. But Brett Lee has neither been figured in the squad that played the 2 T20 games and also for the one day series that follows. And nothing needs to be cited specially regarding the 2 match test series that follows. Brett Lee was least bothered about the aforementioned tournaments and now comes shouting that he can play in the IPL. I wish Symonds should learn from Brett Lee how to handle such a situation.
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