This is one advantage that the Aussies, South Africans and the West Indies have on their home soil when they have pitches that can offer uneven bounce. May be that is the reason why bowlers like Curtly Ambrose, Walsh, Ian Bishop, Glenn McGrath, Damien Fleming etc happen to be from that side of the cricketing world though there are the likes of Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath, Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Chaminda Vass etc who hail from the sub-continent. But, when it comes to bounce, it has to be no other team but the West Indies. Australia and South Africa follow behind.
This time, Sri Lanka are expected to take on South Africa on their home soil in days to come when batsmen like Jayawardane, Sangakkara and Samaraweera happen to face the wrath of Dale Steyn, Morkel and newly joined pacer Vernon Philander who had some splendid performances in the IPL earlier this year in India. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will be missing the services of Lasith Malinga, Chaminda Vass and Nuwan Kulashekara leaving only the somewhat in form pacer Dilhara Fernando to do his bit for Sri Lanka. I wonder whether such a weak outfit from Sri Lanka has even toured South Africa in the last decade?
Problem regarding the teams like South Africa, Australia and West Indies lies in them tackling spin bowling which made their life hell whenever they toured Sri Lanka with Muralitharan there in the team. But, spin has little or absolutely no effect in the pitches of South Africa for Sri Lanka to try their luck. In that case, the presence of Ajantha Mendis would be only to fill in the vacancy so that the team consists of eleven players. Of course, Ajantha Mendis also is not a perfect turner of the ball which forms a different story altogether. But, the fear for spin bowling can be capitalized by Mendis.
In case there happens to be a fear for spin bowling in the minds of the South African batsmen, then may be spinners from Sri Lanka can have a ball which can rarely happen with the South African team well aware that they are the hosts. And, moreover there is no Muralitharan to do miracles with the ball. But, if Dale Steyn happens to have his words come true, then the ball might just hit the highest point of the bat. And, Dale Steyn's words have a greater probability of coming true, given his form and fitness since the past two years or so.
Showing posts with label Wasim Akram. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wasim Akram. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Will Harbhajan's dream be relished?
Well it is or has always been an accepted theory that only batsmen make good captains while bowlers rarely get the chance to captain their side. This was the case some 7 years back when Sourav Ganguly was forced to opt out of the tournament against Pakistan and Rahul Dravid was made the captain of the then Indian side which saw wins in the first test followed by a defeat in the second. However, Ganguly returned back for the third test which saw India register another innings win against arch rivals-Pakistan. Then, there were two batsmen who captained the Indian side.
That tournament was famous for Virender Sehwag's (India's) maiden triple hundred when he smashed all the Pakistani bowlers-Saqlain especially all over the ground at Multan. That apart, coming to the point, news on the web is that the Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh is keen to captain the Indian side which is now on its all time high after their world cup win exactly two months back. But, his dream seems far from being relished when it has been only batsmen who are found to captain the side. However, the Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori becomes an exception. Or else, no other bowler seems to hold the tag.
The other side of the debate also has wicket keepers making good captains like Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Similarly there were quite a few players like Andy Flower and Moin Khan who captained their side as well as kept wickets. But, the lone sufferers have been the bowlers and of course fielders. But, with known fielders hardly available and no other name but Jonty Rhodes making it to the list, fielders can be kept out of the list. Of course, even Jonty Rhodes didn't captain the South African side. Another bowler who made it to the elite list was Shaun Pollock.
Or else, the names which captained their sides were Shahid Afridi, Andrew Struass, Dhoni, Chris Gayle etc who were all batsmen or rather all-rounders, Dhoni being a wicketkeeping allrounder. But, despite being successful bowlers, players like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Javgal Srinath etc never got a chance to captain their side. There have been successful bowlers like Wasim Akram, Daniel Vettori, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev etc who have been successful captains. And someone like Sachin Tendulkar is the worst captain India has ever seen no matter how gr8 a batsman he is. With the trends showing no signs of reversing, the question left unanswered is whether Harbhajan's dream ever be relished
That tournament was famous for Virender Sehwag's (India's) maiden triple hundred when he smashed all the Pakistani bowlers-Saqlain especially all over the ground at Multan. That apart, coming to the point, news on the web is that the Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh is keen to captain the Indian side which is now on its all time high after their world cup win exactly two months back. But, his dream seems far from being relished when it has been only batsmen who are found to captain the side. However, the Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori becomes an exception. Or else, no other bowler seems to hold the tag.
The other side of the debate also has wicket keepers making good captains like Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Similarly there were quite a few players like Andy Flower and Moin Khan who captained their side as well as kept wickets. But, the lone sufferers have been the bowlers and of course fielders. But, with known fielders hardly available and no other name but Jonty Rhodes making it to the list, fielders can be kept out of the list. Of course, even Jonty Rhodes didn't captain the South African side. Another bowler who made it to the elite list was Shaun Pollock.
Or else, the names which captained their sides were Shahid Afridi, Andrew Struass, Dhoni, Chris Gayle etc who were all batsmen or rather all-rounders, Dhoni being a wicketkeeping allrounder. But, despite being successful bowlers, players like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Javgal Srinath etc never got a chance to captain their side. There have been successful bowlers like Wasim Akram, Daniel Vettori, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev etc who have been successful captains. And someone like Sachin Tendulkar is the worst captain India has ever seen no matter how gr8 a batsman he is. With the trends showing no signs of reversing, the question left unanswered is whether Harbhajan's dream ever be relished
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Kallis breaks Ganguly's record!
Well records mean records and they don't make a difference whether they are for the good reasons or for the bad. And, the case is exactly the same when it comes to the South Africa's most experienced batsman bowler all - rounder when he scored his first double hundred in tests (obviously). Prior to this feat of Kallis, his highest score in test match cricket was 189 which he scored against West Indies way back in the late 2003. With four players in history to have crossed the 300 run mark twice, Kallis feat is well short of reasons to celebrate. But, lots to be satisfied with.
Atleast now, Kallis need not retire with a bad mark that none of his 38 hundreds in test match cricket had a double hundred. One double hundred is better than none of them to his credit whatsoever. Kallis is way ahead compared to the Waugh brothers - viz Mark and Steve with stats suggesting that Steve Waugh had just one double hundred while Mark Waugh had just one score above 150 in tests, let alone double hundreds. So has been the case with the former India captain Sourav Ganguly who scored his first double hundred in his last test match against Pakistan in 2008.
Likewise, the England all - rounder Andrew Flintoff retired from test cricket last year after winning the Ashes without a single double hundred against his name. This was the last thing that was expected from one of the world's most promising all - rounder. Flintoff has been responsible for England's Ashes victory on two occasions. With that apart, few other examples include Sri Lanka's world cup winnings captain Arjuna Ranatunga whose highest individual test score is an unbeaten 135 against Pakistan in his 4th year of serving his country in international cricket. That score stood as his highest individual score for 13 more years until he called it a day.
If those were regarding batsmen who had limited success with double hundreds, it is strange to know that some lesser known cricketer like Marvan Atapattu had six double hundreds to his credit, with three of them coming against Zimbabwe and one against Bangladesh. Even Sachin Tendulkar has just 5 double hundreds to his name which is one less than what Atapattu could manage. Bowlers like Wasim Akram and Jason Gillespie have one hundreds against their name which puts them on par with Ganguly and Kallis off late when their double hundreds are compared. Finally, I'd like to put an end to this topic by dedicating it to my friend with whom I had all these stats which I've put up and with this I say Happy Birthday Buddha!.
Atleast now, Kallis need not retire with a bad mark that none of his 38 hundreds in test match cricket had a double hundred. One double hundred is better than none of them to his credit whatsoever. Kallis is way ahead compared to the Waugh brothers - viz Mark and Steve with stats suggesting that Steve Waugh had just one double hundred while Mark Waugh had just one score above 150 in tests, let alone double hundreds. So has been the case with the former India captain Sourav Ganguly who scored his first double hundred in his last test match against Pakistan in 2008.
Likewise, the England all - rounder Andrew Flintoff retired from test cricket last year after winning the Ashes without a single double hundred against his name. This was the last thing that was expected from one of the world's most promising all - rounder. Flintoff has been responsible for England's Ashes victory on two occasions. With that apart, few other examples include Sri Lanka's world cup winnings captain Arjuna Ranatunga whose highest individual test score is an unbeaten 135 against Pakistan in his 4th year of serving his country in international cricket. That score stood as his highest individual score for 13 more years until he called it a day.
If those were regarding batsmen who had limited success with double hundreds, it is strange to know that some lesser known cricketer like Marvan Atapattu had six double hundreds to his credit, with three of them coming against Zimbabwe and one against Bangladesh. Even Sachin Tendulkar has just 5 double hundreds to his name which is one less than what Atapattu could manage. Bowlers like Wasim Akram and Jason Gillespie have one hundreds against their name which puts them on par with Ganguly and Kallis off late when their double hundreds are compared. Finally, I'd like to put an end to this topic by dedicating it to my friend with whom I had all these stats which I've put up and with this I say Happy Birthday Buddha!.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Inzy decides to come to light
Well the retired Pakistani batsman, Inzamam Ul Haq has shown his interest in becoming the batting coach for his team if the latest news in Pakistan cricket is anywhere to go by. This, if at all happens, would be another star batsman taking over as the coach of the Pakistan team after Javed Miandad was selected as the Pakistani coach in the bilateral series involving India in 2004. Though secondary at the moment, that was after a long gap of 12 years that India were touring Pakistan for reasons once again which are secondary here. Whatsoever, Inzamam's nod for the job should be worth a thought by the PCB.
The Pakistan team need not be blamed for losing 3 + 5 + 1 matches against Australia last year which was extended to two more T20 losses at the hands of Australia in the T20 world cup followed by a loss in the first test in England. Likewise, it would be worth mentioning that they did win the second test against Australia unexpectedly not before whitewashing the same in the two T20 games that preceded the test series. One doubt that everyone should be found asking should be why was there no one day games played between the countries? Anyways, why should we bother when ICC didn't? Right!
Coming to Inzy, the man has been not only out of any cricketing action but has also been out from all sorts of cricket news. After his retirement from all forms of the game in 2007, Inzy was found starting the 2nd innings of his cricketing life when he was found playing for Lahore Badshahs in the banned Indian Cricket League. Since then, Inzamam has neither been seen playing in any of the domestic leagues (atleast as far as my knowledge goes) nor found taking the mike in his hand and doing some sort of commentary stuff like say Wasim Akram is doing after is retirement some 7 years ago.
And, how long can Inzy keep himself isolated from the world of cricket, when he has made news for the good reasons in the field since the 1992 world cup for a decade and a half. As a matter of fact, Imran Kahn was found making news in the elections when he stood opposite Benazir Bhutto and then Waqar Younis is seen coaching the bowlers of the national team after 6 years of retiring from all forms of the game. I doubt whether anybody knows that Waqar Younis is the third highest wicket taker in ODIs. And then, despite a hattrick in the 1999 world cup and just 12 scalps less than 300 to his name, Saqlain Mushtaq is a forgotten episode in Pak cricket.
The careers after retirement for a cricketer would be commentator, coach, columnist or finally player in other leagues. And, with the ICL breathing its last and IPL closing all doors for Pakistani players, the only option left for Inzy would be coach and it would be no surprise that he is utmost needed for the job.
The Pakistan team need not be blamed for losing 3 + 5 + 1 matches against Australia last year which was extended to two more T20 losses at the hands of Australia in the T20 world cup followed by a loss in the first test in England. Likewise, it would be worth mentioning that they did win the second test against Australia unexpectedly not before whitewashing the same in the two T20 games that preceded the test series. One doubt that everyone should be found asking should be why was there no one day games played between the countries? Anyways, why should we bother when ICC didn't? Right!
Coming to Inzy, the man has been not only out of any cricketing action but has also been out from all sorts of cricket news. After his retirement from all forms of the game in 2007, Inzy was found starting the 2nd innings of his cricketing life when he was found playing for Lahore Badshahs in the banned Indian Cricket League. Since then, Inzamam has neither been seen playing in any of the domestic leagues (atleast as far as my knowledge goes) nor found taking the mike in his hand and doing some sort of commentary stuff like say Wasim Akram is doing after is retirement some 7 years ago.
And, how long can Inzy keep himself isolated from the world of cricket, when he has made news for the good reasons in the field since the 1992 world cup for a decade and a half. As a matter of fact, Imran Kahn was found making news in the elections when he stood opposite Benazir Bhutto and then Waqar Younis is seen coaching the bowlers of the national team after 6 years of retiring from all forms of the game. I doubt whether anybody knows that Waqar Younis is the third highest wicket taker in ODIs. And then, despite a hattrick in the 1999 world cup and just 12 scalps less than 300 to his name, Saqlain Mushtaq is a forgotten episode in Pak cricket.
The careers after retirement for a cricketer would be commentator, coach, columnist or finally player in other leagues. And, with the ICL breathing its last and IPL closing all doors for Pakistani players, the only option left for Inzy would be coach and it would be no surprise that he is utmost needed for the job.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Murali's absense a gain for Lanka
Well it is written as a curse or a major setback for the Sri Lankan team in the ongoing world T20 in the Caribbean. But one has to think that the absence of the veteran off spinner is a blessing in disguise for the Sri Lankan team. There is no one disputing Muralitharan's contribution to the Sri Lankan for the past 15 years or so. But, one has to more than realize the fact that Murali's contribution to the Sri Lankan team is restricted only to test matches and one day internationals and that too which is a now only a history.
Muttiah Muralitharan reached the zenith in late 2007 when he took his 710th test victim to surpass the Australian legend Shane Warne who ended his career with 709 wickets just a year before Murali overtook him. And since then, there has hardly been any news about the off spinner who even surpassed Wasim Akram when he claimed his 503rd victim in one day internationals against India. Is has been almost two and a half years since Muttiah Muralitharan overtook Shane Warne to become the highest wicket taker in test cricket and by now, if one has to listen to his fans, they'd expect much more from Murali.
By now, Muttiah Muralitharan should have crossed the 800 wicket mark which is still due. Muralitharan didn't make news when he claimed the 750th test victim. And when it comes to the one day internationals, Muralitharan should have atleast crossed the 550 mark but both of which are yet to happen. And in addition to these facts, the indisputable fact about Muralitharan is that his elbow bends when he delivers the ball which have made most of the western teams raise their voice against Murali. The Aussies should be proud for having a major share in that which is a different issue here.
However, the fact that is recent about Muralitharan is that he will not be available for the remainder of the T20 world owing to a groin injury. The Sri Lankan cricket selection committee is found to be clueless regarding whom to picl and whom not to. This is quite evident from the selection of Sanath Jayasuriya who by now should have seen either shouting in front of the mike in the commentary room or else warming himself with his wife and kids. And the 2nd disaster is the selection of Muralitharan who can hardly be of any use in the shortest format of the game. This could in turn harm Murali's performance in the other two formats of the game as well which he intends in playing for a couple of years more.
Muttiah Muralitharan reached the zenith in late 2007 when he took his 710th test victim to surpass the Australian legend Shane Warne who ended his career with 709 wickets just a year before Murali overtook him. And since then, there has hardly been any news about the off spinner who even surpassed Wasim Akram when he claimed his 503rd victim in one day internationals against India. Is has been almost two and a half years since Muttiah Muralitharan overtook Shane Warne to become the highest wicket taker in test cricket and by now, if one has to listen to his fans, they'd expect much more from Murali.
By now, Muttiah Muralitharan should have crossed the 800 wicket mark which is still due. Muralitharan didn't make news when he claimed the 750th test victim. And when it comes to the one day internationals, Muralitharan should have atleast crossed the 550 mark but both of which are yet to happen. And in addition to these facts, the indisputable fact about Muralitharan is that his elbow bends when he delivers the ball which have made most of the western teams raise their voice against Murali. The Aussies should be proud for having a major share in that which is a different issue here.
However, the fact that is recent about Muralitharan is that he will not be available for the remainder of the T20 world owing to a groin injury. The Sri Lankan cricket selection committee is found to be clueless regarding whom to picl and whom not to. This is quite evident from the selection of Sanath Jayasuriya who by now should have seen either shouting in front of the mike in the commentary room or else warming himself with his wife and kids. And the 2nd disaster is the selection of Muralitharan who can hardly be of any use in the shortest format of the game. This could in turn harm Murali's performance in the other two formats of the game as well which he intends in playing for a couple of years more.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Whats Murali upto?
It was way back in late 2007 that Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan claimed his 709th test wicket to become the highest wicket taker in test match cricket overtaking Shane Warne's tally of 708 wickets. And, since then Muralitharan has hardly made news in international test cricket. It has been more than two years since Muralitharan claimed his 709th test victim and since then, Muralitharan has taken just 83 wickets after getting the wicket of Paul Collingwood in the home series against England on December 3rd 2007. Present statistics of Muralitharan suggest that the off spinner has bagged 792 test wickets.
Since that test match against England in 2007, Sri Lanka has played 16 test matches and much to their surprise, Muralitharan has featured in all these 16 games for Sri Lanka. This means that Muralitharan has played as many as 32 innings and could manage just 83 wickets as mentioned meaning just less than 3 wickets per innings. Muralitharan's overall statistics suggest 5 wickets on an average per match. Murali's career suggests that he holds the record for the maximum number of 5 wicket hauls and 10 wickets hauls with his number of 5 and 10 wicket hauls being 66 and 22 respectively.
However, if Murali's record past the Kandy test where he claimed his world record is taken into consideration, he has been able to take just five 5 wicket hauls with one against England in Colombo in that series, one against West Indies at Port of Spain, two against India at Colombo in 2008 and one against Bangladesh at Dhaka. Out of these, only one 10 wicket haul has been made possible for Muralitharan when he took a combo of two 5 wicket hauls by taking 5 in the 1st and 6 in the 2nd at Colombo in 2008. Out of these, only the ones against Bangladesh & West Indies have been away from home and only one have been for a winning cause (leaving the match against Bangladesh).
The lone victory the Murali could achieve for his team by taking 5 wickets was against India in Colombo which Sri Lanka won by an innings and 239 runs. Even the match against West Indies where Muralitharan took 5 wickets ended in a draw at Port of Spain. So has been the case with Muralitharan in ODIs where the bowler has managed only 9 wickets after claiming his 503rd wicket against India in early 2009. And, none of the ODIs have seen Murali emerging as a match winner for his team after his epic ODI against India. But, the SL selection committee doesn't give a 2nd thought before including him in the playing XI.
Since that test match against England in 2007, Sri Lanka has played 16 test matches and much to their surprise, Muralitharan has featured in all these 16 games for Sri Lanka. This means that Muralitharan has played as many as 32 innings and could manage just 83 wickets as mentioned meaning just less than 3 wickets per innings. Muralitharan's overall statistics suggest 5 wickets on an average per match. Murali's career suggests that he holds the record for the maximum number of 5 wicket hauls and 10 wickets hauls with his number of 5 and 10 wicket hauls being 66 and 22 respectively.
However, if Murali's record past the Kandy test where he claimed his world record is taken into consideration, he has been able to take just five 5 wicket hauls with one against England in Colombo in that series, one against West Indies at Port of Spain, two against India at Colombo in 2008 and one against Bangladesh at Dhaka. Out of these, only one 10 wicket haul has been made possible for Muralitharan when he took a combo of two 5 wicket hauls by taking 5 in the 1st and 6 in the 2nd at Colombo in 2008. Out of these, only the ones against Bangladesh & West Indies have been away from home and only one have been for a winning cause (leaving the match against Bangladesh).
The lone victory the Murali could achieve for his team by taking 5 wickets was against India in Colombo which Sri Lanka won by an innings and 239 runs. Even the match against West Indies where Muralitharan took 5 wickets ended in a draw at Port of Spain. So has been the case with Muralitharan in ODIs where the bowler has managed only 9 wickets after claiming his 503rd wicket against India in early 2009. And, none of the ODIs have seen Murali emerging as a match winner for his team after his epic ODI against India. But, the SL selection committee doesn't give a 2nd thought before including him in the playing XI.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
A reason to sack Shoaib Akthar
As expected, this time as well, the Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akthar has been eliminated from the list of probables for the world T20 beginning this April. Though this was not a shock news for most of us, it is truly disappointing for atleast some of us if not all. Shoaib Akthar need not be in full praise for the world's fastest delivery bowled by him with a bent elbow which he might be proud of. Neither was his pace of any danger to any of the well known batsmen of the world. On the otherhand, bowlers with a lesser pace and some part time bowlers have managed to fare better than Shoaib.
One need not compare Shoaib with Wasim Akthar or Waqar Younis but, it has been found that every Pakistani captain prefers a part time bowler (who has converted himself into a full time one due to lack of the same in Pakistan cricket) in Shahid Afridi, who is now a days seen bowling 10 overs in every ODI he is found playing. His flash in the pan brilliance was evident when he was able to take 4 wickets for Kolkata Knight Riders in the very first match that he played for the same. This was done against the Delhi Daredevils at Kolkata only to be belted for 14.5 runs an over by Sanath Jayasuriya in their 68 run chase in the next game.
Unlike it has happened to Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan, Shoaib Akthar has been lucky when it came to his bent elbow. Muralitharan was targetted by the entire world with Australians having a major share in it when he was about to claim the world record for having the most wickets in test cricket. But, Shoaib Akthar's other related controversies have always found haunting him wherever he goes and whomever he faces. It is not the ICC alone that has targetted Shoaib off late but the PCB itself when it considers Shoaib Akthar to be dangerous for them off the field than to the opposition on it.
And time as well, the PCB has sidelined Shoaib Akthar for the T20 world cup that is due in the Caribbean in April this year. And the lame excuse that the PCB is found giving this time is neither got to do anything with his fitness or his form. But, the PCB terms Shoaib Akthar unfit for the tour citing his long term absence from international cricket, which reports suggest that Shoaib last played for Pakistan somewhere in May 2009 against Australia at UAE. But, even Pakistan had not played test cricket for more than a year in 2008 after all teams started boycotting their tours to Pakistan. Should the ICC also ban Pak from playing test cricket?
One need not compare Shoaib with Wasim Akthar or Waqar Younis but, it has been found that every Pakistani captain prefers a part time bowler (who has converted himself into a full time one due to lack of the same in Pakistan cricket) in Shahid Afridi, who is now a days seen bowling 10 overs in every ODI he is found playing. His flash in the pan brilliance was evident when he was able to take 4 wickets for Kolkata Knight Riders in the very first match that he played for the same. This was done against the Delhi Daredevils at Kolkata only to be belted for 14.5 runs an over by Sanath Jayasuriya in their 68 run chase in the next game.
Unlike it has happened to Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan, Shoaib Akthar has been lucky when it came to his bent elbow. Muralitharan was targetted by the entire world with Australians having a major share in it when he was about to claim the world record for having the most wickets in test cricket. But, Shoaib Akthar's other related controversies have always found haunting him wherever he goes and whomever he faces. It is not the ICC alone that has targetted Shoaib off late but the PCB itself when it considers Shoaib Akthar to be dangerous for them off the field than to the opposition on it.
And time as well, the PCB has sidelined Shoaib Akthar for the T20 world cup that is due in the Caribbean in April this year. And the lame excuse that the PCB is found giving this time is neither got to do anything with his fitness or his form. But, the PCB terms Shoaib Akthar unfit for the tour citing his long term absence from international cricket, which reports suggest that Shoaib last played for Pakistan somewhere in May 2009 against Australia at UAE. But, even Pakistan had not played test cricket for more than a year in 2008 after all teams started boycotting their tours to Pakistan. Should the ICC also ban Pak from playing test cricket?
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