A final worth watching

Well as an Indian, I should be glad to see my team country lift the ICC cricket world cup for the 2^nd time. At last, India have won another world cup and that too after the color dress was introduced in one day cricket. Pakistan and Sri Lanka had previously won their world cups in 1992 and 1996 wearing color dress and India was deprived of such prestige which happened to be true yesterday after their 6 wicket win over Sri Lanka at Mumbai. As a result, India became the 1^st nation to win a world cup on home soil.

But, my post here is regarding the finals of world cups which have been one sided since the past three editions when Aussies were totally unbeatable. The case was partly similar in 1996 as well when the third Sri Lankan wicket of Ashanka Gurusinha fell when they were closing in on the target of 241 set by Australia. Australia was totally outplayed. This time, both the teams should consistency and finally since there can be just one winner, Sri Lanka had to be satisfied with the runners-up tag. A total of 274 was a decent one to both chase or defend unlike in previous 3 WC finals.

I can still recall the way Shane Warne demolished the Pakistani batting line up consisting of Saeed Anwar and co in the finals of the 1999 world cup where Pakistan were dismissed for 132-the lowest total in the finals of a world cup. Even Scotland and Bangladesh were able to score 181 and 178 respectively in their matches against Australia. The entire match lasted for just 59 overs meaning just about half an hour after one innings would have got over. Had this been known before hand, may be the finals might have been held soon after the 2^nd semi-finals would have got over.

Then comes the 2003 finals where after Australia had piled up a mammoth 359 losing just 2 wickets not before inflicting a 100+ run partnership, the only question that was awaited was "by how many runs would Australia win?" and "how long would the Indian innings last?". So was the case in 2007 . Sri Lanka should be lucky that the match didn't last 50 overs which would have otherwise seen a target in excess of 359 that was imposed against India in 2003. Still, the fastest hundred in the world cup final happened to be broken and so was the highest individual score in the world cup final.Don't forget to check out the Army Blog.

What is so gr8 in it?

Yesterday, Pakistan beat Australia by 4 wickets to stop their 35 match winning streak that included one tied match against South Africa in the semi finals of the 1999 world cup and one match abandoned with the match against Sri Lanka being called off due to rains. May be this world have come before for Australia, had that game taken off. But, despite all these facts, I personally don't regard this as a major victory for Pakistan or any team to have managed it. Not because that I'm an Indian and turning down Pakistan's achievements is my birth right that I am into such statements.

But, beating a team that was once an unbeatable team is not a major achievement. Only a handful of players from the Australian side are found playing cricket though not at their career best of form and fitness. Only Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson and Brett Lee are found making it to the squad since 2003 when the Aussies were unbeatable. And for the matter, Ponting is at his best only in smashing LCD sets rather than the ball which has was known to be. There is no Gilchrist, Hayden, Martyn, Symonds and Mike Hussey to take the batting charge with McGrath, Nathan Bracken and Brad Hogg to bowl.

Added to that, the current Aussie team lacks a match winner like Michael Beaven who could take his team out from the clutches of defeat despite his team reeling at 135/8 against England in 2003 and Andy Bichael who was a replacement for Jason Gillispie and proved much more than what Gillispie would have been. Australia never finished with a run rate less than 6.0 an over in the 2007 world cup batting 1^st and got all its opponents all out with Bangladesh being an exception in the 2007 world cup. Coming close to such a team was also a tough task let alone winning.

It would be no tough task to fight a 90 year old man when thinking about the same when the person at his young age would have made him pay the price. In the current cricketing world, Australia is as good as any other team and winning against them would be just another win against a normal opposition. New Zealand could have done this for, they were the 1^st decent team to have faced the Aussies in 2011 WC. Since the 2007 triumph, the Aussies have made news only for bad reasons though they won the ICC champions trophy in 2009 and were the runners-up in world T20 2010.

It would be nice to think about ways to make money online, online business guide than cheering a pseudo-record by Pakistan I'd suggest.

Will John Davidson retire or..?

Well the latest abuzz in the cricket world is that the Canadian all rounder John Davison is set to retire after the world cup which is scheduled on 16^th March that is tomorrow after Canada's match against Australia at Bangalore. What a way to retire for this lad who was born as an Australian and is set to have his last game played against the very same team where he was born. I just can remember the Zimbabwean batsman Neil Johnson who scored an unbeaten 132 against Australia in the super sixes of the 1999 world cup who carried his bat throughout the innings.

Similarly, John Davison's fastest hundred in the 2003 game against the West Indies in the league stages of the tournament couldn't stop his team from losing rather badly despite John Davison making news for all the good reasons and being awarded the man of the match for his 100 that came off just 67 balls. This is more than a luxury for someone from a non-test playing nation though Mathew Hayden bettered the record by 1 ball in the very next edition in 2007 when he scored a 66 ball hundred en route to posting the highest team total in that world cup tournament against a test playing nation.

And today, the record is quite safe in the hands of the Irish batsman O'Brien bettering Hayden's record by 16 balls when he scored a hundred off just 50 balls at a strike rate of 200. Added to that, Ireland ended up on the winning side in that particular match. This proved safe heavens for John Davidson for, now he can boast of a world record for the fastest world cup hundred from a losing side. This is something rare that I've happened to see in My Day to Day Lfe. John also happened to be awarded the man of the match in a game against the Kiwis.

That world cup would be a memorable one for John Davison for Canada tasted a victory against Bangladesh in that world cup compared to this one where they are yet to have one. Canada have lost all their matches and are bound to lose their 6^th tomorrow when they are set to play Australia. That particular match against West Indies saw two records. One being the fastest world cup hundred by John Davison and the fastest world cup fifty by Brian Lara. Today, both records are history. Aged 40, if not now, when else will John Davison retire or will he likely be another Jayasuriya?

Holding the spirits high

Well I had stated in one of my recent posts regarding the world cup being unofficially declared with the initial games being played between weaker teams and strong ones that does not evoke much interest among viewers. But, at the same time, one has to appreciate the ICC for coming out with such a plan that would keep the spirits of the game high with hardly any room for a fowl play like it has happened in the past. One can imagine Pakistan losing the last game to Bangladesh in the 1999 world cup after they had won matches against New Zealand, Australia and West Indies.

That loss to Pakistan hardly made any difference to the world cup with no team carrying any points forward to the super six stages. But, one match that really mattered was the one between South Africa and Zimbabwe which South Africa intentionally lost in an attempt to eliminate England which was much deserving than Zimbabwe. It is agreed that there is no scientific reason for my statement but, one can imagine the reason with India losing to Zimbabwe in the mast minute by 4 runs. That was also the reason why India failed to reach the semis of the 1999 world cup.

So was the case in the 2003 world cup with Sri Lanka losing to Kenya for reasons assumed that Kenya had gained 4 points from a walkover game against the Kiwis after the latter turned down to tour the country and Kenya had wins against Bangladesh and Canada. This deprived West Indies and South Africa from reaching the super sixes and New Zealand from reaching the semis. A match gifted from Zimbabwe to Kenya saw Kenya reach the semis as well which was unfair. This led to the ICC come out with a different in 2007 with teams divided into 4 groups, with 4 teams in each group.

As a result, any such tricks by teams would mean the end of the team doing it. But, that was a failure with India and Pakistan crashing out from the tournament after they lost to Bangladesh and Ireland respectively owing to overconfidence. But, the current format gives teams a 2^nd chance so that the top four would reach the quarter finals. Once again, any team that tries to act smart will have to pay the price by being the victim itself before making life miserable for any other team. An optimum chance here lies in the fact that even if a team wins against weak oppositions, a place is guaranteed in the quarter finals.

So, with the first 10 days reserved for weaker teams, the best idea for fans who'd have come here to see the world cup would be to visit Tourist Places in India.

When practice brings in over confidence

It was as though that I was reading a A Journal of My Life when I got a wake-up call with already three of the matches at the ICC cricket world cup being over with lots of batsmen having their innings of their lives and bowlers having their ball of their lives all against stupid teams who are only on a tour of the sub-continent minus Pakistan rather than to play some decent game of cricket. India beat Bangladesh in the very 1^st encounter of the tournament and New Zealand and Sri Lanka doing the same for Kenya and Canada respectively.

Though the viewers and fans will have to wait for atleast ten days or even 15 days for the real action to start, it is no doubt that players have already started on their high note for the good as well as the wrong reasons. The very first match saw India beating Bangladesh by 87 runs which was a decent margin had it been against some strong opponent say like Pakistan. There were two centurions there with Virender Sehwag mastering over his maiden ODI 150 and Virat Kohli his hundred, both in the same match. Much to anyone's amazement, there were 3 players from Delhi, with 2 batting and Gambhir running for Sehwag.

Though all the Indian cricket fans enjoyed Sehwag striking with confidence, something which he couldn't since 2003, his 175 is not a replica of what Kapil Dev did way back in 1983 in that match against Zimbabwe. However, Sri Lanka's 210 run win against Canada once again reminded the way they shattered them two world cups ago when Canada were reduced to 36 runs for the loss of all their ten wickets which was the lowest team total at that time and which stands 2^nd today with Zimbabwe falling short by 1 run once again against Sri Lanka. So would be New Zealand's 10 wicket win over Kenya.

But, as it has been evident from the past, one can recall Zimbabwe beating Australia and Sri Lanka beating India when the former teams mentioned were not granted test status and color dress were yet to make their presence felt. Similarly, India and Pakistan were ousted from the 2007 world cup after being over confident in their games against Bangladesh and Ireland. India and Pakistan were expected to beat Sri Lanka and West Indies respectively, both of which didn't happen. The only reason for these is the over confidence they attained after their more than convincing wins against minnows. However, the format doesn't give way to undeserving teams to cross the border to the quarter finals.

How can cricket in Ireland flourish?

Well in today's cricketing world, almost every country is into controversies with doubts being raised whether it is regarding the idea to make headlines in major cricket or sports websites or to just be in the news no matter whether it is for the good or the bad reasons. And, Ireland has proven not to be an exception as well. Well, though the post doesn't take into consideration about Ireland's intention, one has to question the integrity of the sport called cricket in Ireland which at present is showing signs of upraise. They have shown decent improvement in cricket the day since they made entry into the big stage.

Needless to be said, they beat Pakistan in the pool stage of the 2007 world cup at the Caribbean after ending up with a tie in their another league stage encounter with Zimbabwe. And to make it better, they beat Bangladesh in the super eights of the tournament, which saw to it that they never returned with empty hands from the super eights. They once again beat Bangladesh in the 2^nd world T20 held at England which saw them make it to the super eights of a world cup for yet another time. Though this fact may not go well with cricket enthusiasts, they could manage what India could in the super eights.

Precisely speaking, India came down to the level where Ireland were placed by the end of the super eights, when they lost all the three matches they played in the super eights. Luckily, Ireland could manage what even world champions - Australia couldn't in the 2009 edition of the world T20 when they made it to the super eights while the Aussies couldn't. If you are bored with cricket, then Movies reviews here after read and you can watch the movie at theater . Anyways, coming back, despite all these interesting facts about Ireland, the way things are going on thereafter is just disappointing.

News has its say that two players namely Hamish Marshall from New Zealand and Ed Joyce from England will be playing for Ireland in the coming ICC major world cup. The reasons for this might be quite obvious that they have little chance of not making their re-entry back to their national squad and they are a better bargain for an upcoming team like Ireland. They are better than any Irish born cricketer atleast in today's cricket. One can imagine if this continues to make rounds with every foreign cricketer trying to find a place in a non-test playing team, what might happen to the cricket in its own soil?

A rare feather in South Africa's cap

South Africa and New Zealand belong to a totally different club when it comes to international cricket with both the teams having made only upto the semis finals of a world cup and that too equal number of times. Both the teams have made it to the semi finals of a world cup on three occasions in 1992, 1999 and 2007. Here, South Africa makes news for the good reasons when the South African wicket keeper Mark Boucher celebrates his 500^th test victim when he gets the West Indian player Ravi Rampaul out caught behind in the 2^nd test at St Kitts.

This, I guess is the only feat that a South African individual can ever boast of after Lance Klusner was awarded the man of the series in the 1999 world cup played in England. Lance Klusner was out only on two occasions, one against Australia and the other against New Zealand in the 1999 world cup and deserved to be there holding the trophy despite there being Geoff Allot from New Zealand along with Shane Warne who had finished on top with 20 wickets each to become the highest wicket takers in the tournament. If not for that, no other South African player can boast of his achievements in international cricket.

This can be rejoiced by the South African team who has known to be unlucky though that is evident only by their outlook. South Africa is yet to make it to the finals of a world cup, let alone winning it. And, so is the case when it comes to the world T20. There is no South African batsman who has scored a triple hundred in test match cricket. All these happening despite South Africa having the potential to do it unlike Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. However, South Africa, as a team can boast of being the only team to have successfully chased down a total in excess of 400.

South Africa are the only team to have beaten Australia in Australia since 1994 when West Indies did the same. Oh! I forgot to mention Herschelle Gibbs' feat of hitting six sixes in an over in the world cup pool match against Holland though which draws much criticism for being achieved against a non test playing nation. But, the other side of the coin also suggests that no other batsman has been able to do that despite there being teams like Bermuda, Scotland etc. Of course, one should not expect Gary Kirsten's knock of 188* to be mentioned here for this is no general blog and has no general readers.

James Sutherland does have a point

Well if the chief executive of cricket Australia - James Sutherland is to be believed, Australia can one fine day have three different outfits, one each namely for tests, one day internationals and the T20s. So, if at all there is even a freak possibility, the ICC should be holding two different series' involving the same team which according to James Sutherland has to be Australia. Or else, another possibility can be tests, one dayers and T20 matches can be held parallel with once again Australia being the common team. Is this what James Sutherland means to say according to this?

The statement can also be taken like, Australia at present have an enormous talent which can see them send 45 players simultaneously if at all such a rare situation is bound to happen and still end up being victorious. This can well to some extent in today's cricket be considered to be true as far as Australia are considered. And, this would have been true to a greater extent some three years down the lane when they not only ended up victorious in the finals of the world cup in 2007 but also won 11 games in the tournament though they didn't face the like of India and Pakistan.

There would have hardly been any damn person who would have bet his money against Australia, no matter which team they were facing. Back in 2003, one can recall the way Australia emerged victorious despite their team being deceived from the services of Shane Warne, Shane Watson and Jason Gillespie in the initial stages of the tournament. Jason Gillispie had to head back home after giving his team a good start against India where he picked up 3 wickets to be adjudged the man of the match. His replacement - Andy Bichel came in handy for Australia in the match they most needed.

This was in the match against England where Australia were not only chasing a target of 204 set by England but also a 12^th match that would have seen Australia overtaking the West Indies' tally of 11 consecutive wins in ODIs. In that match, Bichel grabbed 7 wickets giving away 20 runs and in addition, stood along side Michael Beaven in a 83 run partnership which had seen Australia at 135/8 at one stage. Though there were India & Sri Lanka in 2003 and 2007 world cups respectively on the otherhand playing their threatening part, Australia was totally invincible. Had there been another Australian team, it would not be wrong to say that the finals would have been between two Australian teams and not Oz vs Ind or Aus vs SL.

A ray-of hope for sub continent

It was way back in 1996 that a country from the sun continent made it to one of the mega events in cricket, when U.A.E made it to the wills World cup in 1996 and was placed in Group B along with Holland, Pakistan, England, New Zealand and South Africa. Since then, no other nation from the Asian continent has been able to make it to the world cup- be it the ICC Champions Trophy that is held once in 2 years or the world T20 which is also scheduled with the same gap inbetween. Bangladesh-a team also from the sub continent made it to the world cup in 1999, and has since then been a regular part of international cricket.

Bangladesh differs from the other teams, for one-it has been given a test status by the ICC and two for the fact that they have been playing international cricket more regularly unlike the other teams whose presence is felt only in the major events. There have been teams like Hong Kong & UAE who also belong to the Asian continent but have not featured in any of the ICC sponsored events since 1996 after UAE made its appearance as mentioned above. Hong Kong has played two Asia cups in 2004 and 2008. If not, no other Asian teams have even made news otherwise as well.

If the remaining 5 continents are considered, there is the African continent who has seen teams like East Africa who made an appearance in the 1979 Prudential cup and then there was Zimbabwe-who even enjoyed a decade long unsuccessful test run, followed by Kenya who have been playing in the mega tournaments since 1996 and last Namibia who gave a guest appearance in the 2003 world cup played at South Africa. Of course, the Australian continent that consists of only Australia as a country has to be left out of the discussion. The highest contribution is seen from Europe, which has seen countries like Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands and Bermuda.

The fact is also that the countries that have been facing humiliating defeats have been from the European continent. It was Scotland in the 1999 world cup and Holland in the 1996 world that went without a victory in those tournaments. Then, Bermuda in 2007 lost all three games and recorded for the highest team total conceded when India scored 413 runs in the league stage of the same. The American continent has three nations in Canada, West Indies and USA who have featured in the ICC's mega tournaments. Now, after Afghanistan made it to the world T20 due in Caribbean in April this year, it can be considered to be another feather in the Asian continent's cap, taking the total number of countries from the continent to 6.

An Irish Cricketer Who made It To The Cricinfo HL

A couple of days ago, cricket avatar was found highlighting the way Bangladesh cricket has advanced over the years and more so in the recent past after their entry into the super eights of the world cup 2007 held in the Caribbean. Now, though, the world has seen a lot of cricket in and by Ireland, hardly was there any Irish cricket player who had made news for either setting up a victory for his side or for announcing retirement from international cricket. Now, Ireland can feel proud that a cricket player from the island nation has made it to the headlines when he quit international cricket today.

This is Jeremy Bray for you. The Irish batsman who played 15 one day internationals and two T20 matches for Ireland from the ICC world cup 2007 quit from all forms of international cricket today. May be the way Ireland made it to the super eights of that world cup would be written in his autobiography one can suppose. The player under consideration is one such player who made his international cricket debut at the age of 33. May be, this is the second time Irish cricket has hit the headlines of a leading sports website whatsoever. The first time being in 2007 after Ireland beat Pakistan to enter the super eights.

The day a player retires from international cricket, all applause starts pouring upon him. However, this can never ever be the case with any Irish player atleast in the near future. And Bray is no exception. Statistics suggest that the player held the record for the highest first class score for Ireland when he scored 190 against UAE in the intercontinental cup 2005 for two years. The player also has a century for a tied cause against his name and also a man of the match award for the same when he scored an unbeaten 115 against Zimbabwe in the same world cup 2007.

May be hardly anyone would have noticed that Ireland are the only non test playing team in the world to have had one day wins against three test playing nations when they beat Zimbabwe (who have a history of playing test cricket atleast), Pakistan and Bangladesh in the 2007 world cup once again. Added to this would be the 304 run partnership against UAE and the 146 runs he scored against Canada in the finals of the intercontinental cup the same year. This can be considered as a golden era for Irish cricket at present. And Jeremy Bray should consider himself lucky enough to have been in the squad during this golden era. So, the theory behind this is that, in case a player's achievements should come to light, he's to retire from the game.

The Advent of Bangladesh Cricket

It was not too long ago that teams were found taking not only Bangladesh team for granted but also whenever they played against a minnow team. And most of the teams in the world have paid the price for for underestimating minnow teams like Kenya, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Ireland. But, until recently, it was the latter team's loss rather than the win what the minnows can be contented with. It was the West Indies' team that took Kenya for granted in the 1996 world cup for which the West Indies had to pay the price by losing the match by 66 runs.

This was followed by India's loss to Zimbabwe in the league stages of the ICC world cup in 1999 for which India had to pay a price when India found itself in a situation that demanded all three matches to be won in the super sixes that involved matches against Australia, Pakistan and New Zealand which obviously didn't happen and India had to give a grand exit from the world cup. India have otherwise also lost to Kenya, which was inconsequential. But, paid a heavy price in the 2007 world cup when a loss against Bangladesh forced them to end their world cup dreams. So was the case with Pakistan after its loss to Ireland.

However, that apart, if the recent past of Bangladesh cricket is given a close look at, Bangladesh are found taking the opposition for a ride. This is quite evident from the fact that Bangladesh ended up scoring 260, 296 and 249 respectively in the matches that it has played against India and Sri Lanka. Though Bangladesh have lost all these games, they have gained a much better caliber which can make the opposition captain think twice before getting carried away by their past performances. India was found losing 3 quick wickets for 67 runs in the first encounter against Bangladesh. And all these not by the opposition underestimating Bangladesh.

It would not be wrong to say that Bangladesh are the top team when minnows are given a special consideration. They have beaten other minnows like Ireland, Kenya, Zimbabwe etc more than they have lost to these teams. Though their test series victory against West Indies is not convincing, it can be considered to be another feather in the Bangladeshi cap. South Africa were no match on that particular day when Bangladesh beat them by 67 runs in the world cup 2007 super eight tournament. Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have been the teams against which the opposition captain doesn't think twice before imposing a follow on. But, this could not be the case anymore if Bangladesh continue doing the good work.

So, with the advent of Bangladesh cricket, the world can see yet another team making serious attempts to take the game of cricket forward.

Sanath Jayasuriya Pushing Himself Towards the 2011 WC

Well it was thought to be all over for the veteran Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya after the 2007 world cup that was held in the Caribbean. However, Sanath Jayasuriya had different plans one can suppose, which is evident from the fact that Sanath Jayasuriya is found taking to the crease even today for Sri Lanka. Aged close to 40, fans have already given it up one can guess. And what can and what will anyone expect from a 40 year old when he had made it to the record books for the wrong reasons when he became the batsman to have scored most ducks in ODI?

Yes, Sanath Jayasuriya has the maximum number of ducks in one day cricket at 34 ducks out of the 444 matches that he has played. Just a couple of months ago, Sanath Jayasuriya had given the world a hint that he would be playing in the 2011 world cup despite his age being close to 42 then. Nevermind, that Sanath Jayasuriya is one of the most entertaining batsman the world has ever seen. In fact, it was Sanath Jayasuriya who started with the big hitting especially in the 1996 world cup in that particular game against England in the world up quarter finals at Faisalabad where Sanath Jayasuriya scored a 44 ball 82.

However, if his recent performance is given a close look at, Sanath Jayasuriya is found to be just waiting for the 2011 world cup that is scheduled in the sub continent so that, Sanath Jayasuriya can bid adieu to all forms of cricket I suppose. His test career ended in December 2007 after the second test against England-which is a memorable one for Sri Lanka that saw Muttiah Muralitharan becoming the world's highest wicket taker in tests surpassing Shane Warne. Even that match can be considered a memorable one for Jayasuriya when he scored 6 consecutive fours off James Anderson at Kandy.

In the recent past, the Sri Lankan captain had a little bit of hesitation in including Sanath Jayasuriya for the games against India. And moreover, Jayasuriya didn't even look to be a decent fit for the openers' slot despite doing a fair job for Sri Lanka in that position since decades. And moreover, Sanath Jayasuriya's place in the squad was not justified not only in the series against India but also prior to that. All these despite him being at the second position number 2 when it comes to the number of ODIs played, number of hundreds scored and the number of runs scored in ODIs.Finally, it would not be a surprise even if Sanath Jayasuriya continue to play T20 cricket until the age of 50.