I have created a Myspace page called CricketFanatic where you can join up and help promote the game of cricket amongst the social networking communities as well as promoting this site at the same time. Feel free to check it out by right-clicking HERE.
If you don't have a Myspace account don't stress, as you can click on the "HERE" link above and do it from there also.
Hope you enjoy your visit :).
Monday, December 29, 2008
Cricket Fanatic(s) on Myspace.com
Player Profile(#43)...Dale Steyn (South Africa)
Dale Willem Steyn (born 27 June 1983 in Phalaborwa) is a South African cricketer who plays in Test and One Day International cricket for South Africa. Steyn plays domestic cricket in South Africa for Nashua Titans. He is a right-arm fast bowler. Steyn holds the record for the fastest South African to reach 100 wickets in Test Match cricket, a feat he achieved on 2 March 2008 . Steyn currently has the second best bowling strike rate of all time in Test match cricket (amongst bowlers who have bowled a significant number of deliveries), behind George Lohmann . He achieved a tally of 78 wickets at the world class average of 16.24 in Season 2007/08 and was subsequently rewarded with the prestigious ICC 2008 Test Cricketer of the Year Award. He also plays foor the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Playing style:
Steyn is an aggressive out-and-out fast bowler capable of bowling at speeds in excess of 145 km/h. He is capable of generating considerable swing and usually chosen to bowl with the new ball to maximise these attributes . Steyn is an extremely competitive cricketer and often celebrates vigorously after taking a wicket. He has stated that "(he) love(s) the buzz from bowling fast" and that "(he) want(s) to be the quickest in the world".
Although he has the ability to hit the ball hard, Steyn is usually considered a tail-ender when batting and often bats at number ten or eleven.
International career:
Home Tests against England 2004/05:
Steyn made his debut for South Africa on 17 December 2004 in the first Test of England's tour. His first victim in Test cricket was Marcus Trescothick whom he bowled with a fast in-swinging delivery. However, his overall performance was underwhelming, he took eight wickets at an average of 52.00, and he was dropped after bowling poorly in England's second innings of the fourth Test in January 2005, bowling eight no balls in nine overs which went for 47 runs. England won the match by 77 runs.
One Day Internationals 2005/06:
Later that year, Steyn was picked in the squad for the African XI in the Afro-Asia Cup of 2005/06, and he made his One Day International debut on 17 August 2005. The African XI won the match, with Steyn bowling last batsman Ashish Nehra to seal victory by two runs. Steyn made his One Day International debut for South Africa on 20 January 2006 in a match against Australia at Melbourne, a match which was part of the 2005-06 VB Series. Steyn did not bowl particularly well and after another below par performance against Sri Lanka he dropped out of consideration for the South African ODI team.
Home Tests against New Zealand 2005/2006:
Following a strong season playing domestic cricket for the Titans, Steyn was recalled to the Test side to play New Zealand in April 2006. He responded to his opportunity with his first five-wicket haul in the first Test at Centurion, ripping through the New Zealand batting lineup along with Makhaya Ntini as New Zealand crumbled to 120 all out, chasing 248 to win . He finished the three Test series with 16 wickets at 26.00 and made a fine impression throughout.
Away Tests against Sri Lanka 2006:
Steyn was included in the Test team to play Sri Lanka away in a two match series in July and August 2006. In his first overseas Test, at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, he took 3 for 129 as Sri Lanka piled up 756-5, with Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena putting together the highest Test match partnership ever (624 runs). South Africa slumped to defeat by an innings and 153 runs . In the second Test, at the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo, Steyn took his second five-wicket haul in Tests during Sri Lanka's first innings, but went wicketless in their seconds innings as Sri Lanka sealed a 2-0 series victory by a single wicket. Steyn finished the series with eight wickets at an average of 36.50.
Home Tests against India 2006/07:
Steyn retained his Test place for the three match home series against India. He picked up an injury whilst bowling early in India's first innings in the first Test at Johannesburg which prevented him from taking much further part in the game and also ruled him out of the second Test. He returned to play in the deciding third Test at Cape Town and bowled well, taking six wickets for 88 runs in the match as South Africa clinched the match and the series. He finished the series with six wickets at an average of 19.00.
Home Tests against Pakistan 2006/07:
Despite his strong performance on his return to the team in the third Test against India, Steyn missed out on a place in the first two Tests against Pakistan, with the selectors opting to play a four man attack featuring full-time spinner Paul Harris. He returned in the third Test, at Cape Town, when the selectors decided to rest Andre Nel and Shaun Pollock in preparation for the immanent 2007 Cricket World Cup. He took four wickets in the match for 87 runs as South Africa won the match by 5 wickets and took the series 2-1. As this was his only match, his average for the series was 21.75.
One Day Internationals 2007:
Steyn was recalled to the South African ODI squad in June 2007 and played in three matches between June and August, against Ireland, India and Zimbabwe. He had mixed success in these three matches, taking wickets but proving expensive.
Away Tests against Pakistan 2007/2008:
Steyn was picked for the Test squad to tour Pakistan in October, and played in both Tests. In the first Test at Karachi, during Pakistan's second innings, he picked up his third Test five-wicket haul as Pakistan were bowled out for 263 chasing 424 to win. He had an unremarkable second Test, with the match petering out to a draw, handing South Africa the series 1-0, and finished the series with nine wickets at 24.66.
Home Tests, ODIs and T20 against New Zealand 2007/2008:
Steyn was by now an established member of the Test team, and he produced his finest series performance to date in the two Test matches against New Zealand in November. In the first Test at Johannesburg he collected his fourth and fifth five-wicket hauls (5/35 and 5/59) and his first ten-wicket match as New Zealand were thrashed by 358 runs, South Africa's biggest victory margin in terms of runs to date. Steyn was also awarded his first Test Man-of-the-Match award. This devastating form continued into the second Test at Centurion where he picked up 4/42 in the first innings and his sixth five-wicket haul (6/49) to help South Africa to victory by an innings and 59 runs. His second ten-wicket match earnt him his second Man-of-the-Match award in a row and his series performance of 20 wickets at an average of 9.20 won him his first Man-of-the-Series award. On the back of his performance, he broke into the top five of the ICC rankings for Test bowlers for the first time in his career.
He made his Twenty20 International debut on 23 November 2007 in the one-off game against New Zealand, taking the wicket of Scott Styris and only giving up 17 runs from his four overs. He also featured in the third One Day International at Cape Town, where he had partial success, taking the wickets of the New Zealand openers, Brendon McCullum and Lou Vincent, but going for 50 runs from nine overs.
Home Tests, ODIs and T20 against West Indies 2007/2008:
Steyn's next international appearance was in the first Twenty20 International against the West Indies. He took the exceptional figures of 4/9 in three overs, with all four wickets being picture perfect yorkers, but was unable to stop the West Indies chasing down the target of 59 runs.
Steyn's form continued into the Test series. He had a fairly indifferent match in the first Test at Port Elizabeth, taking 5/188 in the match as the West Indies scored their first away victory in Test matches for two and a half years, although he did hit his highest Test match score to date, 33 not out, in South Africa's second innings. He picked up figures of 4/60 and 4/44 in the second Test at Cape Town as South Africa leveled the series and once again proved his worth in the deciding third Test at Durban by taking 1/18 and 6/72, his seventh five-wicket haul, as the West Indies were thrashed by an innings and 100 runs. His 20 wickets at 19.10 earnt him his second consecutive Man-of-the-Series award.
He played in the first three matches of the One Day International series, but couldn't match his Test success and was briefly dropped after failing to take a wicket and going for 62 runs in his ten overs during the third match at Port Elizabeth. He was recalled for the fifth match at Johannesburg but struggled again, taking one wicket but going for 78 runs from ten overs.
Away Tests and ODIs against Bangladesh 2007/08:
In the first Test of the two match series against Bangladesh, at Dhaka, Steyn helped South Africa avoid an embarrassing defeat. Bangladesh were bowled out for 192 in their first innings, with Steyn claiming 3/27, but then South Africa collapsed to 170 all out, handing the hosts a shock 22 run lead. However Steyn (4/48) then combined with Jacques Kallis (5/30) to restrict Bangladesh to 182 all out and South Africa were able to complete a five wicket victory on the fourth day of the match. South Africa won the second Test at Chittagong comprehensively (by an innings and 205 runs) and Steyn returned figures of 4/66 and 3/35 giving him 14 wickets in the series at an average of 12.57, which won him his third consecutive Man-of-the-Series award. When Steyn dismissed Junaid Siddique in Bangladesh's first innings (his 20th match), he claimed the record for the fastest South African to reach 100 wickets in Tests, beating Hugh Tayfield's record of 21 matches. He holds the record amongst all players who are currently playing Test cricket. Steyn featured in the final One Day International of the three match series, going wicketless but only giving away 19 runs in 8 overs.
Away Tests against India 2007/08:
Coming into the three Test series against India predictions about how Steyn would fare were mixed, with some commentators identifying him a crucial part of a South African team which could pose a serious challenge to India, whilst others predicted he might struggle playing against a strong batting lineup on lifeless subcontinent pitches.
The first Test at Chennai turned out to be a very high scoring affair, with South Africa batting first and making 540, then India responding strongly, led by Virender Sehwag who scored 319 from 304 balls, to reach 468/1 by the end of the third day. On the fourth day Steyn helped to restrict India's lead to 87 runs by dismissing MS Dhoni with a bouncer then blasting through the lower order, taking three wickets in two overs for the cost of two runs, all bowled with reverse swinging deliveries. He finished the innings, and the match which petered out into a tame draw, with four wickets for 103 runs. On the morning of the second Test at Ahmedabad, South Africa demolished the much vaunted Indian batting line within twenty overs, for the meagre total of 76 runs. Steyn was the pick of the bowlers taking five wickets for 23 runs, dismissing Sehwag and Rahul Dravid then mopping up the last three batsmen for the cost of 11 runs. In the second innings he added a further three wickets to his match tally, finishing the game with eight wickets for 114 runs, as South Africa completed a crushing victory by an innings and 90 runs. The final Test at Kanpur saw Steyn pick up three first innings wickets which took him to 15 wickets in the series at 20.20. As a result of this, the cumulation of an outstanding 2007/08 season in which he took 75 wickets in 11 matches, Steyn moved up to joint first place (alongside Muttiah Muralitharan) in the ICC Test match bowling rankings.
Away Tests against Australia 2008/2009:
In the 2nd test match in a 3 match series, Steyn was involved in a record 10th wicket partnership of 180 with J.P. Duminy. Steyn recorded a score of 76 (191 deliveries) in an innings that helped South Africa recover from 6-141 to post a score of 459. Steyn also starred in the first innings with figures of 5-87 (29.0 overs).
Links to more information on Dale Steyn:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
We Love Cricket! A cricket community on Facebook.com
I have created a group on Facebook for anyone and everyone who is interested in Cricket. All are welcome to join as long as you don't post spam etc on the boards and the wall. You might be prompted to login to your Facebook profile/page before you can view it, if you don't have a Facebook profile/page you can sign up using the sign-up link.
I am looking at boosting numbers in this community so there can be a high level of visitor interaction and lots of interesting cricket related posts on the wall etc although you are definetly welcome to tell what you have been upto etc.
If you want to take a sneek peek at the group right-click HERE.
If you are having troubles getting to the group page let me know and I will try fix it for you :)
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
4 wickets in 4 balls, a brilliant piece of bowling
Heres a video of the only time in international cricket that four wickets have been taken in 4 consecutive balls. The lucky bowler was Sri Lanka's fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who has a similar bowling action to that of Jeff Thompson, who is a legend in Australian cricketing circles. He took these wickets in a O.D.I against South Africa at the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.
The four consecutive wickets were all taken in the same over and the unlucky batsmen to have been dismissed (and go down in cricketing history for a not so good reason) were as follows: Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis and Makhaya Ntini.
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
What is Twenty20 cricket?
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in the United Kingdom for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each have a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs.
A Twenty20 game is completed in about two and half hours, with each innings lasting around 75 minutes, thus bringing the game closer to the timespan of other popular team sports such as football. It was introduced to create a lively form of the game which would be attractive to spectators at the ground and viewers on television and as such it has been very successful. The ECB did not intend that Twenty20 would replace other forms of cricket and these have continued alongside it.
Since its inception the game has spread around the cricket world. On most international tours there is a Twenty20 match and most Test-playing nations have a domestic cup competition. The inaugural World Twenty20 was played in South Africa in 2007 with India defeating Pakistan in the final. The Indian Premier League is currently the largest and most popular (in terms of attendance and television audience) Twenty20 league in the world.
History:
Origins
The idea of a shortened format of the game was discussed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 1998 and 2001.
When the Benson & Hedges Cup ended in 2002, the ECB needed another one day competition to fill its place. The cricketing authorities were looking to boost the games popularity with the younger generation in response to dwindling crowds and reduced sponsorship. It was intended to deliver fast paced, exciting cricket accessible to thousands of fans who were put off by the longer versions of the game.
Twenty20 cricket was formally introduced in 2003 when the ECB launched the Twenty20 Cup and was marketed with the slogan “I don’t like cricket, I love it”.
Twenty20 Worldwide:
On 12 January 2005 Australia's first Twenty20 game was played at the WACA Ground between the Western Warriors and the Victorian Bushrangers. It drew a sellout crowd of 20,700.
Starting 11 July 2006 19 West Indies regional teams competed in what was named the Stanford 20/20 tournament. The event has been financially backed by billionaire Allen Stanford, who gave at least US$28,000,000 funding money. West Indies legends also backed the programme, and several "looked after" the teams during their stay in and around the purpose built ground in Antigua. It is intended that the tournament will be an annual event. Guyana won the inaugural event, defeating Trinidad and Tobago by 5 wickets. The top prize for the winning team was US$1,000,000, but other prizes were given throughout the tournament, such as play of the match (US$10,000) and man of the match (US$25,000).
On 1st of November 2008 the Superstars 101-0 West Indies team beat England 99 by 10 wickets. England slumped to 33-4 and then 65-8 after 15 overs before Samit Patel's 22 took them to 99 in 19.5 overs, still easily their lowest Twenty20 total. Chris Gayle got an amazing 65 runs not out.
On 5 January 2007 Queensland Bulls played the New South Wales Blues at The Gabba, Brisbane. A crowd of 11,000 was expected based on pre-match ticket sales. However, an unexpected 16,000 turned up on the day to buy tickets, causing disruption and confusion for surprised Gabba staff as they were forced to throw open gates and grant many fans free entry. Attendance reached 27,653.
For 1 February 2008's Twenty20 match between Australia and India, the Melbourne Cricket Ground was sold out based on pre-ticket sales and 84,041 people attended the match involving the Twenty20 World Champions against the ODI World Champions.
Twenty20 Internationals:
On 17 February 2005 Australia defeated New Zealand in the first men's full international Twenty20 match, played at Eden Park in Auckland. The game was played in a light-hearted manner - both sides turned out in kit similar to that worn in the 1980s, the New Zealand team's a direct copy of that worn by the Beige Brigade. Some of the players also sported moustaches/beards and hair styles popular in the 1980s taking part in a competition amongst themselves for best retro look, at the request of the Beige Brigade. Australia won the game comprehensively, and as the result became obvious towards the end of the NZ innings, the players and umpires took things less seriously - Glenn McGrath jokingly replayed the Trevor Chappell underarm incident from a 1981 ODI between the two sides, and Billy Bowden showed him a mock red card (red cards are not normally used in cricket) in response.
The first Twenty20 international in England was played between England and Australia at the Rose Bowl in Hampshire on the 13 June 2005, which England won by a record margin of 100 runs.
On 9 January 2006 Australia and South Africa met in the first international Twenty20 game in Australia. In a first, each player's nickname appeared on the back of his uniform, rather than his surname. The international match drew a crowd of 38,894 people at the The Gabba. Australia convincingly won the match with man of the match Damien Martyn scoring 96 runs.
On 16 February 2006 New Zealand defeated West Indies in a tie-breaking bowl-out 3-0; 126 runs were scored apiece in the game proper. The game was the last international match played by Chris Cairns - NZC handed out life-size cardboard masks of his face to patrons as they entered the ground.
Criticism:
Although the format has proved successful, it is not without its critics. Purists[who?] feel that Twenty20 waters down the sport and draws attention away from the more serious and technical arm of the sport, first-class cricket and Test Cricket.
It is also argued that since Twenty20 encourages far-from-technical cricket, youngsters wanting to pick up the game will be misguided into believing that cricket is all about trying to hit 6’s and 4’s no matter how you do it. Also it may create the misconception that cricket is a batsman’s game and there is little incentive learning how to bowl, since it is the bowlers that are usually at the receiving end, leading to fewer youngsters taking up bowling.
Rules of Twenty20 Cricket:
A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each have a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs.
The Laws of cricket apply to Twenty20 with some exceptions:
-No more than five fielders can be on the leg side at any time.
-During the first six overs, a maximum of two fielders can be outside the 30-yard circle.
-After the first six overs, a maximum of five fielders can be outside the fielding circle.
Twenty20 Records:
Links to more information and records on Twenty20 Cricket:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
In the International Spotlight...Denmark Cricket
The Denmark national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Denmark in international cricket matches. They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1966 and are currently part of the ICC's High Performance Program.
History:
Beginnings
Cricket has been played in Denmark since the mid 19th century, with the first club being formed in 1865 by English railway engineers. The first organised match was played the following year between two teams of English players, with the first matches involving Danish players taking place in 1866. The game expanded greatly over the following twenty years, with 30 new clubs being formed in 1883.
Several touring sides from England and Scotland visited the country in the early part of the 20th century, including the famous Marylebone Cricket Club. In 1933, an attempt to organise the first international match against the Netherlands failed, and it wasn't until 1954 when the Danish national side played their first match against Oxford University, the year after the current Danish Cricket Federation was formed.
They then began to play against other national sides, primarily the Netherlands, who they first played in 1955. They played their first match against Scotland in 1961.
ICC Membership
Denmark became an associate member of the ICC in 1966, drawing their international against Scotland that year. They played Bermuda for the first time in 1969 and drew their first match against Ireland in 1970. They finally picked up their first international win against the Netherlands in 1972.
They played their first matches against Canada in 1974, losing a three-day match but winning the limited overs match. They played home internationals against East Africa and Sri Lanka, beating East Africa. They toured East Africa the following year, drawing with both East Africa and Kenya.
They took part in the first ICC Trophy in 1979, reaching the semi final where they lost to Sri Lanka. They did not take part in the 1982 tournament. In 1983, Ole Mortensen became the first Danish player to play county cricket. Denmark returned to the ICC Trophy in 1986 and finished third after beating Bermuda in the third place play off.
In 1989, Denmark hosted Australia for two one-day matches. They lost the first match in Brøndby by 45 runs and lost the second in Copenhagen by 54 runs. They fared better at home against Canada that year, winning twice against them. After playing both home and away against Bangladesh in 1990, they played in the ICC Trophy, reaching the second round.
Denmark again played in the ICC Trophy in 1994, finishing tenth in the tournament after losing to Namibia in the plate final. They played their first matches against France in 1995, and hosted the first European Cricket Championship in 1996, finishing third. They finished fifth in the following years ICC Trophy and were runners up in the European Championship in 1998.
In 1999, Denmark took part in the C & G Trophy for the first time. The following year, they took part in the ICC Emerging Nations Tournament in Zimbabwe, where they finished fourth, and the European Championship, where they finished last, without winning a game. The following year, they took part in the ICC Trophy in Canada, finishing eighth. The MCC toured Denmark in 2002, and Denmark won all three matches. They won just one match at that year's European Championship, finishing fifth ahead of Italy.
Present day
The Netherlands visited Denmark in 2003, winning both matches. Denmark played a two match series against Ireland later in the year, losing both matches and missing out on qualification for the ICC Intercontinental Cup. They again finished last in the European Championship the following year. In 2005, they played their final match in the C & G Trophy, losing heavily to Northamptonshire before taking part in the 2005 ICC Trophy, where they again finished eighth.
In 2006, Denmark again took part in the European Championship, finishing fourth after winning only against Italy. At the end of that year, it was announced that they would join the ICC's High Performance Program from 1 April 2007.
In August 2007, Denmark registered a win over Bermuda an ODI playing country, and towards the end of October 2007 they played in Kenya against domestic teams and Kenya A. Denmark led by Freddie Klokker who scored consecutive centuries in all their matches clean swept the Kenyan sides and Kenya A. Denmark bowled, batted and fielded exceptionally well.
Records:
ICC Trophy
Links to more information about Danish Cricket:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Cricket Bat Care and Maintenance -Knocking in Your New Cricket Bat
Ideally you should knock in any new cricket bat for at least six hours, yes it's a lot but it will help condition your bat for heavy usage without damaging it.
You should also knock-in your new cricket bat even if it comes advertised as 'ready to play', as it still won't be ready for the full force of a hard new cricket ball, especially if you catch an edge or the ball hits the toe.
I've seen players go out on to the square with a brand new cricket bat, which hadn't been knocked in. In the first over he dug out a Yorker, which resulted in a 'fatal' crack in the toe of the bat. If it had been knocked in properly it's unlikely this would have ever happened. If you don't knock in your bat you could literally be 'throwing £200 down the pan'.
To knock in your bat I highly recommend you use an old high quality cricket ball.
Begin gently by tapping the bat, particularly focusing in on the edges, as these are a very vulnerable part of the bat and by the end you want the edges to be almost slightly rounded.
Spend 2-3 hours doing this stage of knocking in the bat, making sure you cover all of the face of the bat, excluding the splice area. Don't knock-in the back of the cricket bat.
After you have done this gradually increase the force with which you hit the bat, making sure you systematically cover all of the face of the bat. By the end you should be hitting the bat with full force to simulate the impact of a real cricket ball.
When you have finished knocking in the bat, you should first progress to using the bat for out field practice and then in the nets against an old used high quality cricket ball, especially avoid 'bat breaker' cricket balls, you know the ones, cheap, hard and usually shiny. If your bat is going to break or split it's these balls that'll do the damage.
Once you've played the bat in for a few hours in the nets it'll be ready to take out on to the square.
It's a tedious process but well worth the time and effort for the results you'll get for your hard work. Its worth mentioning that some sports shops may offer a knocking in service for a small fee. Personally I like to do it myself to see how the bat progresses as it becomes more knocked in.
For more cricket batting tips, cricket tips, news and gossip, head over to www.cricketsecrets.com and discover the #1 under used cricket secret, that you can use today to explode your cricket results!
*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Player Profile(#42)...Makhaya Ntini (South Africa)
Makhaya Ntini (born 6 July 1977 in Eastern Cape Province) is a South African cricketer who was the first ethnically black player to play for the South African team. A fast bowler, he tends to bowl from wide of the crease with brisk, although not express, pace. He has survived legal controversy early on in his career to become only the third South African to take 300 Test wickets after Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald, and to reach second place in the ICC test match bowling ratings. He plays domestic cricket for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.
Background:
Ntini came from humble beginnings where he tended cattle in his home village of Mdingi in the Eastern Cape. It was there that his talent was discovered and he was sent to Dale College in King William's Town where he would develop his game. His action was intentionally modelled on West Indian great Malcolm Marshall.[citation needed] After a brief spell with Border his break came courtesy of an injury to Roger Telemachus and Ntini was included in the South African squad to tour Australia late in 1997. His international début came on January 16th at Perth against New Zealand where he took 2/30 off his full quota of 10 overs. A couple of months later, on March 19th, he made history by becoming the first black South African Test cricketer (though not the first non-White cricketer, as bi-racial Charles Llewellyn made his Test début in 1896). The Test match was at home in Cape Town against Sri Lanka and his maiden wicket was Aravinda De Silva who would be one of his 2 wickets in the game.
Controversy:
His career looked like coming to an end in 1999 when Ntini was charged and then convicted of rape. The case caused widespread controversy in South Africa with his conviction generating negative publicty in view of his status as the first black South African Test cricketer. Ntini maintained his innocence and was acquitted on appeal and looked to rebuild his international cricket career.
International career:
Ntini returned to the South African side for a Sharjah tournament in 2000. His improvement was clear as he bowled with greater control. In 2003 he became the first South African to take 10 wickets at Lord's Cricket Ground. Arguably his best performance, however, came on 12 April 2005, when Ntini took 13 wickets for 132 runs against the West Indies at Port of Spain. This remains the best bowling performance by a South African cricketer in a Test match. On 3 March 2006, Ntini also achieved the best bowling figures by a South African in an ODI, demolishing Australia with 6 wickets for 22 runs. Ntini is a popular figure in South African sport and he was voted their favourite sportsman in a research poll conducted by the South Africa Press Association.
From recent performances, Ntini has established himself as South Africa's premier fast bowler and one of the leading fast bowlers in the world. As of December 2007 he is ranked as the world's third-best Test bowler behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Stuart Clark, and ninth-best ODI bowler, according to the ICC rankings.
On 20 January 2007 Ntini dislodged Mohammed Sami to take his 300th test wicket, in his 74th test. On 1 August 2008 he removed England opener Alistair Cook to claim his 350th test wicket in his 90th test.
Links to more information on Makhaya Ntini:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Cricket Batting Tips - Foot Work
Recently I was asked, “is ‘foot work’ really that important?”
When batting in cricket it is essential to have excellent footwork. As good foot work is the basis for achieving excellence in cricket and is the foundation for good batting technique.
Foot work is absolutely necessary as all successful strokes start with effective footwork.
If you watch Brian Lara, Michael Vaughn, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, all of these amazing batsmen have outstanding footwork, often when these types of players don't perform it is simply due to lack of footwork.
Good footwork allows you to time the ball well and place the ball in gaps. It gets you in the optimum position to hit the ball, so you can hit it where you want and with ease.
If you have been struggling to play a particular shot for some reason it could be due to poor footwork causing bad timing and body positioning.
With faster bowlers it is even more essential to have excellent fast and precise footwork, so that you can get into a balanced position, in-line with the ball, so you can play the ball with control.
Getting quickly into position through footwork therefore is very important.
The more you practice your footwork against both fast and slow bowlers the easier you will gradually find it. Many players do what we call trigger movements just before the bowler releases the ball, this helps get the feet moving into position and into line much quicker and easier, especially against faster bowlers.
Next time you watch a game on TV watch the batsmen’s feet really closely as the bowler is about to deliver you’ll see these small ‘trigger movements’; small foot movements, which help the batsmen get in position and inline early.
As a batsman it is absolutely necessary to develop your foot work and foot movement, as all excellent strokes start with effective and efficient footwork.
To find out more tips on improving your footwork and stroke play feel free to visit www.cricketsecrets.com and start your run scoring spree!
*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
In the International Spotlight...Uganda Cricket
The Uganda national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Uganda in international cricket matches. Having previously been part of the combined East African and East and Central African teams, they became an associate member of the International Cricket Council in their own right in 1998. They began to play international cricket in 1951/52 when they first took part in a triangular tournament against regional rivals Kenya and Tanzania (then Tanganyika).
They have competed in the ICC Trophy on two occasions, in 2001 and 2005. They won Division Three of the World Cricket League in Darwin, Australia in 2007, qualifying them for Division Two of the same tournament towards the end of 2007, which also qualified them for a spot on the ICC's High Performance Program.
History:
East Africa team:
Uganda combined with their regional rivals Kenya and Tanzania to form the East Africa team. The first known match for this team was against a South African "Non-Europeans" team captained by Basil D'Oliveira in September 1958 in Nairobi, with the visitors winning by seven wickets. East Africa became an associate member of the ICC in 1966 and India toured the following year, winning a match against Uganda by 6 wickets before a first-class match against East Africa in Kampala which India won by 8 wickets.
East Africa toured England in 1972 and the Marylebone Cricket Club played a first-class match against East Africa in January 1974, winning by 237 runs. The following year, East Africa played in the 1975 Cricket World Cup in England. After various warm-up games, including a 3 wicket win against Glamorgan, they played New Zealand, India and England in the World Cup itself, losing all three matches. The World Cup was followed by a first-class match against Sri Lanka at the County Cricket Ground, Taunton, which the Sri Lankans won by 115 runs. East Africa played in the ICC Trophies of 1979, 1982 and 1986, without qualifying for the World Cup from any of them.
Uganda continued playing their regular matches against Kenya and Tanzania, despite Kenya leaving the East Africa combination in and the triangular tournament became a quadrangular tournament in 1966 when Zambia joined in. From then until the tournament's end in 1980, Uganda won the tournament just once.
East and Central Africa cricket team:
The East Africa team left the ICC in 1989 and was replaced by the East and Central Africa team the same year. This new team was a combination of Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, and they took part in the ICC Trophy for the first time in 1990, also taking part in 1994, 1997 and 2001.
Setting out on their own:
Uganda left the East and Central Africa combination and became an associate member of the ICC in their own right in 1998. Their first international tournament was the 2001 ICC Trophy. After winning all five of their first round games, they lost a play-off match against the UAE for the right to enter the second stage of the tournament. The following year, they finished third in their group in the Africa Cup.
In 2004, Uganda played their first first-class matches in the ICC Intercontinental Cup against Kenya and Namibia, winning against Namibia. In August that year, they finished second to Namibia in the Africa Cricket Association Championships in Zambia. This qualified them for the following years ICC Trophy, in which they finished in twelfth and last place after losing to Papua New Guinea in their final play-off match. Earlier in the year, they again played against Namibia and Kenya in the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup, losing both games.
Present Day:
In January 2007, Uganda faced Bermuda and Canada as those two teams prepared for Division One of the World Cricket League in Nairobi. This also served as preparation for Uganda's visit to Darwin, Australia, for Division Three of the same tournament. They won their games against the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and Tanzania before beating Papua New Guinea in the semi-final. They then beat Argentina in the final of the tournament.
Uganda's performance in the Division Three tournament means that they have gained a spot in the ICC's High Performance Program, and will now travel to Windhoek, Namibia towards the end of 2007 where they will face Argentina, Denmark, Oman and the UAE in addition to hosts Namibia. A top four finish in this tournament will qualify them for the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier, whilst a bottom two finish will mean that they play in Division Three again in 2009.
Uganda took part in a four-team Twenty20 tournament prior to the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup, playing games against Pakistan, Kenya, and Bangladesh in Nairobi. As expected, they lost against Pakistan and Bangladesh, losing but they stunned African rivals Kenya with a two-wicket win.
Their next matches were two one-day games against Bermuda, also in Nairobi, in October 2007. They surprised their more experienced rivals, going down by just seven runs after Nandikishore Patel and Danniel Ruyange scored half-centuries, before winning the second match by 43 runs with Joel Olwenyi scoring a half-century of his own.
Links to more information on Uganda Cricket:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Cricket Batting Tips: The Sweep Shot And Reverse Sweep
The sweep and the reverse sweep are two batting shots which are not commonly used, especially the reverse sweep which is rarely used. However both shots can be used in certain batting situations and are an effective way to score runs and keep the score board ticking over.
There is a high element of risk with the sweep shot, so good judgement and excellent timing is essential. Avoid playing the sweep and reverse sweep early on in your innings especially to straight deliveries, as it is not a good idea to play it until you have your eye in and know how the pitch is playing and what the bowler is doing. As for example, if the ball stayed low it would be quite easy to misjudge and get out LBW or bowled which you definitely want to avoid, so be patient and play yourself in first.
The sweep and reverse sweep are both cross batted shots and should ideally be played to slow deliveries which are of a good length and not too full. To play the orthodox sweep shot, first wait for the ball to be released before making any movement – DON'T PREMEDITATE THE SHOT!
Once you have determined that the ball is there to play the sweep shot to, move your front foot as far down the wicket towards the pitch of the ball as you can. As you are moving forward bend both knees simultaneously so that you whole body is low down, let your back knee touch the ground to act as an extra base of support. Try to stay balanced and relaxed. Bring the bat down from the off side and across the ball towards the leg side and aim to hit it either in front of or behind square leg. You can roll your wrists over the ball as you hit to help keep it on the ground. Aim to have your arms fully extended when you contact the ball.
To play the reverse sweep, get in to the same position as for the orthodox sweep, however this time, bring you bat down and across from leg side towards the off side, so you are aiming to hit the ball through the gully area. This shot requires very good coordination and timing as you have to twist the bat round so that the bat face faces the off side at the point of contact without altering your grip.
Common problems:
-Premeditating the shot- deciding to play the shot before the bowler has bowled the ball. Wait until the ball is released from the bowlers hand before deciding to play the shot.
-Playing the sweep too early in the innings before getting your eye in. Wait until you are set and know how the pitch is playing and what the bowler is doing before attempting the shot.
-Trying to hit the ball too hard. Good timing and technique is better and more effective as you need to reduce the risk as much as possible.
-Playing the shot to deliveries which are either too full or too short, so good judgement of length is required.
Remember that the sweep and reverse sweep are quite hard shots to master and carry quite a lot of risk, so make sure that if you intend to use them, practice the shots in the nets and in training to get a feel for the shot and so you know when to play it; so that when you come to use them you are confident and skilled enough to do so.
To find out more on how to improve the sweep and reverse sweep shots, and many more cricket shots, head over to www.cricketsecrets.com today!
*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway.
A very merry cricket christmas to all!
Hi everyone,
Just would like to wish all my readers a very merry cricket christmas and a happy cricket new year :). Make sure you take yourself and your family and friends to the park or even your back yard and have some fun playing a good game of backyard cricket, while enjoying each others company :). Feel free to add your comment about any backyard cricket games you have played on christmas day...
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Tips for Buying a New Cricket Bat
When it comes to buying a new cricket bat there are a number of factors that you need to address before making your final decision to purchase a new cricket bat, such as:
- The brand,
- The size,
- The model,
- The weight,
…these are just a few factors to consider.
This article will look briefly at a few tips to follow when it comes to replacing your old favourite bat with a new cricket bat.
Choosing a cricket bat based on its brand really comes down to personally preference, as realistically there is not much major difference between brands. They all have cricket bats with similar attributes and features; it is the variation between models that I would pay closer attention too, not the brand name. However it is worth mentioning that some of the new Kookaburra cricket bat models are almost unique, as some are now reinforced with a new graphite matrix, giving “maximum power transfer and increased strength”.
When buying a new cricket bat, carefully select the model of cricket bat that most suitably fits your style of play. As some bats are designed specifically certain styles in mind, for example the Kookaburra Big Kahuna, is designed for strong, ‘big hitters’. Whereas the Kookaburra Kahuna Ricky Ponting cricket bat is an excellent choice for a stroke player who likes to hit boundaries.
It is very important when buying a new cricket bat to choose the correct size bat. As a bat that is too large or too small will only hinder your playing ability. I’ve found the best way to determine if a bat is of the right size, is to stand in your batting stance and rest the toe of the bat against the outside of your back foot, lean the cricket bat so that the top of the handle rests next to the inside groin of your front leg. If the bat is of the right size it should rest comfortably next to your box on the inside groin of your front leg.
The weight of a cricket bat is probably most important and you should choose a lighter bat where possible. A lot of players make the mistake of buying a bat which is too heavy and their performance suffers as a result, this is especially applicable to younger players who are often lulled into buying bats which are either to heavy or too big. As an adult I tend to choose a weight of around 2’ 8 – 2’ 10 oz, in a short handle (SH).
You should also take into account to grade and type of the willow of the cricket bat. Most bats are made from English Willow, which is a soft fibrous wood, with good striking qualities and is the best option. There is also Kashmir Willow, which is cheaper, harder and quite durable. It is often used in junior bats and produces less ball striking satisfaction. Always choose English Willow when given the option.
Cricket bat willow is graded on a scale from G1+ to G4. A willow grade of G1+ is the highest grade and is used by the top professionals, it is the best willow and is unbleached with straight even grains and no markings or discolouration. It’s more expensive but as always you get what you pay for!
Grade 4 (G4) willow is often non-oil and will usually have a covering on the face, such as an anti-scuff covering. It is the lowest grade of willow, which is represented in the price. If you have the money always opt for the highest grade willow you can afford.
You can now buy cricket bats online cheaper than you can offline, as online stores tend to have fewer costs associated with their businesses and so can offer cheaper prices and discounts. Also most offer guarantees on their bats so you can return it if the size or weight is not quite what you want. A sneaky tip; if you see a new bat you like go to your local store, check the size, weight, feel and pickup, then buy online, so you’ll get exactly what you want and save money in the process.
These are just a few ideas and tips I consider when buying a new cricket bat, most important are the bats size, weight and feel. Obviously the price is an important factor, but by buying online you can often save money.
Discover amazing cricket tips and tricks at www.cricketsecrets.com that you can use today to greatly improve your cricket results!
*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway.
Player Profile(#41)...Jeetan Patel (New Zealand)
Jeetan Shashi Patel (born 7 May 1980 in Wellington) is a New Zealand cricketer of Indian origin. Patel is a right arm off spin bowler. He plays domestic cricket for the Wellington Firebirds and has represented the New Zealand Black Caps in One Day Internationals, Twenty20 matches, and a Test.
Patel was earmarked as a promising player early in his career. He played age group cricket in Wellington at under 15, under 17, and under 19 levels. He played for the New Zealand Cricket Academy in a one-day match against England A in 1999 and made his debut for Wellington in New Zealand's 1999-2000 domestic season. Patel currently has a first class bowling average of around 40 and a List A bowling average in the mid-30s.
Patel showed steady improvement as a bowler during the 2004-05 season, taking 26 first class wickets at an average of 32.84. He played two one-dayers against South Africa A on the 2004-05 New Zealand A tour of South Africa. He represented the North Island in the 2004-05 State of Origin match and played for the New Zealand Academy in the 2005 Cricket Australia Emerging Players Tournament.
In the 2004 English Season, he represented Buckingham Town Cricket Club, making a big impact in the 1st Team as well as progressing youngsters in local development schemes. Patel became the first player in twenty years to take 50 league wickets during his spell at the Bourton Road club and first player ever to go on to play international cricket.
Patel was a member of the 2005-06 New Zealand Black Caps tour of Zimbabwe. He made his ODI debut for New Zealand against Zimbabwe in the 2005-06 Videocon Tri-Series. He toured Sri Lanka with New Zealand A later in the season and played in the Triangular A Team Tournament at the conclusion of the tour.
Patel was selected for the one-day leg of New Zealand's 2005-06 tour of South Africa. He made his international Twenty20 debut on the tour and was named Man of the Match, returning bowling figures of 3 for 20 off 4 overs. He played as a Supersub in the first ODI against the Proteas, returning creditable bowling figures of 2 for 48 off 8. Other career highlights include a Man of the Match performance for New Zealand against Sri Lanka in the fourth ODI of Sri Lanka's 2005-06 tour of New Zealand. Playing as a Supersub in his fourth ODI, Patel restricted the run rate and built pressure at a crucial period during Sri Lanka's run chase, finishing with match figures of 2 for 23 off 10.
Patel made his Test debut against South Africa in the second Test of New Zealand's 2006 tour of South Africa.
New Zealand coach John Bracewell has described Patel as a "long term investment". He is the selectors' preferred second spinner in international matches, behind Daniel Vettori.
Patel is not related to former New Zealand spin bowler Dipak Patel.
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Cricket Fielding Tips: Improving Your Cricket Fielding
When fielding during cricket there are many things to think about and consider depending on where you are fielding. This brief article will look at a few essential cricket fielding tips which you can incorporate into your game to improve your fielding.
Where ever you are fielding you should always be on the balls of your feet so you can react and change direction quickly. If you are caught flat footed you’ll be slower off the mark and potentially give away more runs.
Try to anticipate where the ball will go; you can do this by carefully watching the batters shape and movements. This may be a little difficult at first but after a bit of practise will become second nature and you’ll react much quicker to any shots coming your way and field better as a result.
When you are fielding close to the boundary and have to throw from the deep, try to aim your throw just above the keepers head and the ball should drop nicely in to his gloves, provided you have a relatively strong throwing arm.
When catching close to the wicket, such as in the slips, gulley or short leg, make sure you stance is correct with your feet shoulder width apart or slightly wider. Spread your weight evenly across both feet, resting lightly on the balls of your feet, with your knees flexed. Keep your hands together, close to the ground with your fingers pointing down. Keep your head up with your eyes level and stay alert.
When catching the ball in close, watch the ball all the way into your hands, allowing the ball to come to you; don’t try to snatch at it. ‘Give’ with the ball as you catch, cushioning the impact. When catching in the deep, try and catch the ball at eye level and cushion the ball into your chest.
The ball can come to you at any time so it is really important you stay alert and awake so you can stop that vital run or take a match winning catch.
These are just a few cricket fielding tips that you can incorporate into you game; there are many more cricket fielding tips for specific aspects of fielding. However these are the general cricket fielding tips I’ve found to be the most useful when fielding myself.
Discover amazing fielding tips and tricks at www.cricketsecrets.com that you can use today to learn how you too could become a fielding superstar.
*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Cricket Tips: Visualisation: The Key to Cricket Success?
An excellent cricket tip I picked up is the power of visualisation. It is a skill which is often neglected by cricketers. For batsmen, bowlers and fielders at any level of the game it is an important skill that should be mastered.
Visualisation or guided imagery is a very powerful technique that can help increase both your efficiency and effectiveness in achieving your cricket goals, whether it would be scoring one hundred runs, playing a perfect cover drive or taking that vital wicket or catch.
“You must see your goals clearly and specifically before you can set out for them. Hold them in your mind until they become second nature.” --Les Brown--
All top class athletes utilise visualisation to mentally rehearse what they have to do and how they are going to achieve it. By doing this they train their minds and bodies to actually perform the skill as effectively and efficiently as possible.
For example, before batting Ricky Ponting will have visualised every stroke and shot in his many inning’s this season which have netted him an average of over one hundred so far this season.
When you begin to use visualisation techniques, you want to mentally create a vivid scene in you mind of your wanted outcome. You want this scene to be as detailed and clear as possible, you need to be able to see, feel and smell your success.
Actually visualise your success, picture yourself taking that critical wicket or scoring that winning run. Visualise whatever you want your desired situation to be, how it feels, what your emotions are, imagine being in the situation and succeeding.
Make visualisation a daily activity, to go alongside your other cricket training. By succeeding in your mind you will become more passionate about your cricket and you will work harder, pushing yourself to do whatever is necessary to achieve success.
When using visualisation never ever consider failure or giving up as this will likely be the eventual outcome. Always have a positive mental attitude and draw on your success as inspiration however small they may be.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -- Aristotle –
Dream big and aspire to succeed at the highest levels, be patient, work hard and persevere there is nothing except yourself stopping you from achieving your goals in cricket.
For more cricket batting tips, cricket tips, news and gossip, head over to www.cricketsecrets.com or visit our new forum and share your tips and advice with other cricketers!
*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway.
Cricket Tips: Goal Setting for a Successful Cricket Season
One of the essential cricket tips I ever learned was that of goal setting. The ability to set goals and effectively motivate yourself to achieve them are two essential cricket tips and skills that will help you achieve success in any cricket season or sport.
Starting a cricket season without goals could be compared to batting blindfolded in the dark. What would be your chance of hitting the ball? It is essential to set goals at the start of the season to aim for: How many runs, wickets or catches will you takes? Giving yourself a target to aim for will help focus your mind and mentally prepare you for setting plans to achieve them.
If when you start your cricket season, you have no goals and aim at nothing; is it not unlikely that you will hit nothing and achieve nothing? If you haven’t set goals, start now and set yourself the goal to score 250 runs or take 60 wickets by the end of the season, then plan how you will do it.
To set effective goals there are a few things you need to know about yourself which will affect how you set your goals. You are affected by, the environment in which you live, your experience and knowledge, your attitude and dreams and visions for the future.
When you set your goals you need to decide what you want and when you want to achieve each goal. You should spend time writing down your goals and display them in a prominent position where you will see them daily to remind yourself to stay motivated and focused. Cross off your goals once they’ve been achieved, add new ones to ensure when you reach your goals, you can further them and take your cricket to the next level.
“Don’t set your Goals to low. If you don’t need much, you won’t become much”. - - Jim Rohn - -
I’m sure you will have come across the SMART analogy, with regards to goal setting. It contains the most important concepts to consider and adhere to when setting your goals.
Goals should be; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time related.
For example it would be unwise to set a goal of scoring one hundred runs every week, it’s just not a realistic goal for the average person, unless you are Michael Vaughn or Ricky Ponting that is! As you would probably fail to reach this goal, your motivation would suffer and you might start doubting your cricketing ability.
Before you start setting your goals write a list of all the things you want to achieve; whether it would be your first one hundred runs, fifty wickets in the season or first catch. By doing this it will help focus your mind and motivate yourself to succeed.
Now set your goals, they need to be SMART and you need to set both short term and long term goals, and also daily goals, for specific match days. All successful cricketers set goals and prioritise them in order of importance.
By making goal setting a habit there is no reason why you cannot achieve your cricketing goals.
For more cricket batting tips, cricket tips, news and gossip, head over to www.cricketsecrets.com and discover the #1 under used cricket secret, that you can use today to explode your cricket results!
*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Player Profile(#40)...Chris Gayle(West Indies)
Christopher "Chris" Henry Gayle (born 21 September, 1979 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a West Indian cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies and domestic cricket for Jamaica. He is a hard-hitting left-handed opening batsman who can bowl right-arm off spin when called upon. Gayle has a variety of quality shots that he can perform.
Gayle played for the West Indies at youth international level after he made his first-class debut aged 19 for Jamaica. He played his first One Day International 11 months later, and his first Test match 6 months after that.
Gayle, who normally opens the innings when he plays for the West Indies, is a destructive batsman who is most effective playing square of the wicket. In July 2001, Gayle (175), together with Daren Ganga (89) established the record for opening partnerships at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo when they put on 214 together against Zimbabwe.
However, generally speaking he had a slow start to his international career, but invigorated it in 2002, ending the year with three centuries against India in November and becoming the fourth West Indian to score 1,000 runs in a calendar year. Along with Vivian Richards, Sanath Jayasuriya and Brian Lara he is the only player in One Day International history to have three or more scores of 150.
In 2005, Gayle was dropped for the first Test against South Africa along with six other players following a dispute over sponsorship issues (see below). He returned for the second test but had a poor series until the fourth Test, where he made his career-best: a match-saving 317. It was the first ever triple century against South Africa and up until Mahela Jayawardene made 374, it was the highest individual Test score against them.
In August 2005, Gayle joined Worcestershire for the rest of the English season, playing eight matches. He made two half-centuries in three first class matches and two half-centuries in five one-day matches, and won one Man of the Match award in the one-day National League. However, Worcestershire were relegated after Gayle made 1 in the final match against Lancashire.
Gayle was named Player of the 2006 Champions Trophy, where the West Indies nearly defended the title which they won in 2004, being defeated in the final by Australia. Gayle scored three centuries and totaled 474 runs, 150 more than any other batsman, and also took eight wickets in as many matches.
Gayle, in keeping with the rest of the West Indies team, had a poor World Cup in 2007. He recorded a series of low scores; the one exception being a blistering 79 off 58 balls against England in the West Indies' final match.
Gayle currently holds the record for the highest innings in a Twenty20 International, having scored 117 against South Africa in the World Twenty20 Championship, and, to date, is the only batsman to have hit a century in the Twenty20 format.. and he hit Ten sixes on the match... format. He is currently the only cricketer to have hit centuries in all three formats of international cricket.
In April 2008, Gayle was auctioned by the franchise Kolkata Knight Riders of the Indian Premier League, but missed the opening games due to an ongoing Sri Lanka tour to the Caribbean. When he finally joined the team, he missed out on the action due to a groin injury he picked up during that tour. Afterwards, he had to leave to join the West Indies team for a home series against Australia, thereby not playing in the inaugural version of the IPL at all.
Controversies:
Gayle is generally regarded as a calm and cool cricketer, but he has been involved in a few controversies.[citation needed] In 2005 Gayle was involved in the dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board and a number of players over sponsorship issues. These players had personal sponsorship deals with Cable and Wireless, who used to sponsor West Indian cricket. However, since the West Indies had recently become sponsored by Cable and Wireless' rivals Digicel the West Indies Cricket Board demanded the players dropped their Cable and Wireless deals. When the players refused to back down, the West Indies Cricket Board dropped them for the first Test against South Africa. Gayle later cut his deal with Cable and Wireless and rejoined the side for the second Test. In March 2006, he was charged with conduct contrary to the spirit of cricket during a Test against New Zealand but was subsequently found not guilty. Later that year, during October's Champions Trophy tournament in India, he was fined 30 percent of his match fee after repeated verbal exchanges with the Australian batsman Michael Clarke. He also publicly criticised the West Indies Cricket Board during the 2007 tour of England which led to an official reprimand and warning.
Links to more information on Chris Gayle:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Introducing...The ICC Intercontinental Cup
The ICC Intercontinental Cup is a cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council as part of its cricket development program. It is designed to allow Associate Members of the ICC the chance to play first-class cricket matches against teams of similar skill in a competition environment and prepare them for eventual promotion to Test cricket status.
Tournament history:
2004: The inaugural ICC Intercontinental Cup was completed on 22 November 2004 when Scotland won the title in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Scotland beat Canada by an innings and 84 runs in the final. The competition included 12 teams, divided by geographical region into four groups of three. Each team played the other two teams in its group once each. The top team in each group then progresses to the semi-finals, and the winners of those to the final. In order to encourage competitive play and avoid deadlocks, a point system including bonus points was used.
2005: The tournament was played for the second time in 2005. The teams and groupings were the same, except that Hong Kong came in to replace Malaysia, and the Cayman Islands replaced the United States who were expelled from the competition by the ICC because of then ongoing political problems within cricket in the US.
The points system was also modified so that teams could score unlimited batting points in the first innings and a maximum of 4 points in the second innings.
The tournament was won by Ireland who defeated Kenya in the final.
2006-07: The tournament was cut from 12 to eight teams, with Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands and Uganda losing the right to participate, while Namibia knocked out Nepal in a play off for the eighth place. The match length was extended from three to four days, and each team was scheduled to play at least three matches. The teams were divided into two groups of four, with each team playing the other once and the top two teams qualifying for the final, and the points system has also been changed: 14 points are now awarded for a win, and six for a first-innings lead. Due to preparations for the 2007 World Cup and the longer tournament, the final was played in May 2007, where Ireland defeated Canada to defend their title.
2007–08: The 2007–08 tournament was played as a single round robin league of eight teams, so that each team played seven matches. The teams ranked first and second at the end of the pool stage contested the final.
Namibia finished on top at the pool stage, but lost the final against second placed Ireland in late October in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Ireland thus completed a hat-trick of Intercontinental Cup victories, having been undefeated in the competition, and having won three consecutive make-or-break away fixtures in Africa (against Namibia, Kenya and Namibia again) to clinch the title.
Countries that are or have participated in the ICC Intercontinental Cup:
Links to more information on the ICC Intercontinental Cup:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
In the International Spotlight...Estonia Cricket
The Estonian Cricket Team is a fledgling team which represents the nation of Estonia in International Cricket competitions. Granted Affiliate Status in June 2008. Estonian cricket relies upon the support of touring sides from Britain and other European nations to get matches to play. In the 2007 season they won over 80% of all their games.
The president of the Estonian Cricket Association is Barry Jason, who currently holds the world record for the most amount of countries played in by one person, 128 in total. Estonians who have recently made the grade as International players include Andres Burget, Gleb Bihanov, Andrus Kämbre, Kristjan Kogerman, and Risto Koovit.
The most famous tourists to Estonia have been Sir Tim Rice, and his team the Heartaches, the MCC, the Lord's Taverners and most recently Carmel & District Cricket Club captained by Timothy Abraham.
Estonia is also home to a unique variant of the game in Ice Cricket. The Ice Cricket World Championship is held annually in the Estonian city of Tallinn and is played upon the surface of a frozen lake. These tournaments are now sponsored by Bulmers Original Cider, Scottish & Newcastle, and they last from January until late March.
The year 2007 saw the formation of the Estonian cricket league. The league consists of four Tallinn based teams who compete in a round robin format. Players who are members of the Estonian Cricket League are eligible to be selected for the National side. 2007 saw a victory for Kalev CC captained by Andres Burget.
Links to more information on cricket in Estonia:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Player Profile(#39)...Sohail Tanvir (Pakistan)
Sohail Tanvir (born December 12, 1984 in Rawalpindi, Punjab) is a Pakistani cricketer. He created a name for himself in his early years as a street cricketer of Rawalpindi, and was known as "Sohail Kukree".[citation needed]
Domestic career:
IPL career:
On March 11, 2008, Tanvir was signed up in the second round of the Indian Premier League's players' auction by the Jaipur franchise, Rajasthan Royals, for $100,000.
Playing in his third match of tournament, on May 4, Tanvir took a match-winning six wickets against the Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. His figures of 4-0-14-6 are a record for Twenty20 cricket. He ended the tournament as the highest wicket-taker, with 22 wickets from 11 matches at an average of 12.09, an economy rate of 6.46 and a strike rate of 11.20, the best among bowlers with more than six wickets.
In the final of tournament, on June 1 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai, with Rajasthan chasing 164 to win, Tanvir added 21 runs along with captain Shane Warne. He hit the winning runs of the final ball of the innings, to see the Royals home. He was later presented with the "Purple Cap", an award for the leading wicket-taker of the tournament.
A statistical analysis conducted by Cricinfo after the conclusion of the league stage of the tournament rated Tanvir as the most successful player. He was also rated as the second best value player of the tournament, having been signed on for $100,000.
International career:
An allrounder, he is a hard-hitting left-handed batsman and left-arm fast-medium bowler who also bowls occasional left-arm orthodox spin. Despite not having taken a single wicket during his ten Twenty20 matches domestically, he was selected for Pakistan's squad for the inaugral World Twenty20 after Shoaib Akhtar was sent home. He made his Twenty20 debut in the tournament, and took six wickets in six matches, with best bowling figures of 3 for 31 in four overs against Australia. Though considered an allrounder, Tanvir did not get a chance to bat in the tournament until the final, where he made his first international runs, with a six off his first ball, aiding Pakistan back into the game.
After impressing in the ICC World Twenty20, he was selected to play in the ODI series against South Africa in October, 2007. He was then selected for the tour of India, and took eight wickets in the ODI series. He also took part in the Test series that followed, making his debut in place of the injured Umar Gul. On debut at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Dehli, he took three wickets which included Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. In Asia Cricket Cup, June 2008, Pakistan played their first game against Hong Kong at Karachi. In that match, Pakistan's top order was badly ripped by Hong Kong bowlers before Sohail Tanvir set up a 100 run stand along with Fawad Alam for the 8th wicket. Sohail scored his maiden ODI 50 in that match. He scored 59 off just 55 balls which took Pakistan to a respectable score of 288. After that, in the match vs. Sri Lanka, Tanvir took his first 5 wickets haul. He ended at 5/48 in 10 overs.
Links to more information on Sohail Tanvir:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Friday, December 12, 2008
The Complete List of Test and O.D.I Cricketers
Here is a list of links that take you to a page showing every cricketer that has played test cricket for their country. This might help with cricket related trivia so be sure to bookmark this site :).
Test Cricket:
O.D.I Cricket:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
The XXXX Gold Beach Cricket Tri-Nations series
The XXXX Gold Beach Cricket Tri-Nations series is a four-round beach cricket competition created and sponsored by Australian beer brand XXXX. It was launched on September 27, 2006, and the event coincided with the 2006-07 Ashes series being played in Australia with the first series being played in January 2007.
The first series involved cricketing legends from Australia, England and the West Indies. It was won by England, who beat Australia in the Grand Final on 4 February 2007. Due to the popularity to the initial series, a new 2008 series was held with teams from Australia, England and New Zealand competing.
2008 saw an additional venue - Glenelg Beach in Adelaide included in the schedule alongside the existing locations of Maroubra Beach in Sydney, Scarborough Beach in Perth and Coolangatta Beach on the Gold Coast.
Network Ten is the host broadcaster of the matches.
The Rules:
The series incorporated rules that are a hybrid of the regular game and that of indoor cricket. As with the regular game boundaries score 6 runs if hit over the perimeter, and 4 if the ball hits the ground before passing or touching the perimeter.
There are eight overs in an innings, with the final two overs declared "Captain's Choice" in which each side's captain is allowed to field the batsmen and bowlers of their own choosing. For the first six overs batsmen and bowlers are swapped out every two overs.
When a batsman is dismissed, he keeps batting — however, he loses runs. A score is decreased by 5 runs when the batsman has been dismissed by two-handed catch, and by 7 runs with a one-handed catch. It is possible to score into negative numbers.
A batsman cannot be dismissed LBW if he plays a shot.
The series uses a plastic drop-in pitch to allow the ball to bounce, and batting and bowling only take place facing one direction. The Coolangatta arena initially featured an open boundary along the surf, allowing fielding to be possible in the water, however this was later removed due to crowd control concerns.
Venues:
The 2007 series venues and dates were:
The 2008 series venues and dates were:
Teams:
2007:
The umpire for all matches was Dickie Bird.
2008:
The umpire for all matches was Clive Crookshanks.
Records:
Team:
Individual:
* = batted twice(captains choice)
Trophies:
Round Robin competition:
Finals:
Entertainment:
Throughout the matches the players were miked up so both fans at the game and at home watching the televised match can hear the players talking. Also music was played throughout the day whilst the matches were being played.
When the players were fielding around the boundary, they were taking time out to sign autographs for fans situated around the boundary.
In between the matches there was performances on field, by the female cheerleading squad XXXX Angels. Also XXXX promotional staff were handing out giveaways including XXXX Gold bucket hats, beach cricket balls and other promo items.
Links and references to the XXX Gold Beach Cricket series:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
List of One Day International cricket records
Here is an assortment of some of the One Day International cricket records. They are recent at the time of writing this article/post and could obviously change after this post.
Most consecutive wins:
Rank: 1
No# of wins: 21
Country: Australia
Period: 11 January 2003 to 24 May 2003
Rank: 2
No# of wins: 12
Countries: Pakistan and South Africa
Period(s): 18 November 2007 to 8 June 2008 (Pakistan)
13 February 2005 to 30 October 2005 (South Africa)
Rank: 4
No# of wins: 11
Countries: West Indies and Australia
Period(s):4 June 1984 to 2 February 1985(West Indies)
14 March 2007 to 28 April 2007(Australia)
Most consecutive defeats:
Rank: 1
No# of defeats: 23
Country: Bangladesh
Period: 8 October 1999 to 9 October 2002
Rank: 2
No# of defeats: 22
Country: Bangladesh
Period: 31 March 1986 to 14 May 1998
Rank: 3
No# of defeats: 18
Countries: Bangladesh and Zimbabwe
Period(s): 22 February 2003 to 12 November 2003 (Bangladesh)
11 June 1983 to 14 March 1992 (Zimbabwe)
Rank: 5
No# of defeats: 17
Country: Zimbabwe
Period: 20 April 2004 to 5 December 2004
Highest innings totals:
Rank: 1
Score: 443-9 (50 overs)
Teams: SRI LANKA v The Netherlands
Venue: Amstelveen, Netherlands
Season: 2006
Rank: 2
Score: 438-9 (49.5 overs)
Teams: SOUTH AFRICA v Australia
Venue: Johannesburg, South Africa
Season: 2005-06
Rank: 3
Score: 434-4 (50 overs)
Teams: AUSTRALIA v South Africa (match report)
Venue: Johannesburg, South Africa
Season: 2005-06
Rank: 4
Score: 418-5 (50 overs)
Teams: SOUTH AFRICA v Zimbabwe
Venue: Potchefstroom, South Africa
Season: 2006
Rank: 5
Score: 413-5 (50 overs)
Teams: INDIA v Bermuda
Venue: Port of Spain, West Indies
Season: 2007
Lowest team totals:
Rank: 1
Score: 35 (18 overs)
Teams: ZIMBABWE v Sri Lanka
Venue: Harare, Zimbabwe
Season: 2004
Rank: 2
Score: 36 (18.4 overs)
Teams: CANADA v Sri Lanka
Venue: Paarl, South Africa
Season: 2002-03
Rank: 3
Score: 38 (15.4 overs)
Teams: ZIMBABWE v Sri Lanka
Venue: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Season: 2001-02
Rank: 4
Score: 43 (19.5 overs)
Teams: PAKISTAN v West Indies
Venue: Cape Town, South Africa
Season: 1992-93
Rank: 5
Score: 45 (14 overs)
Teams: NAMIBIA v Australia
Venue: Potchefstroom, South Africa
Season: 2002-03
Individual records (batting):
-(Highest individual score)
Rank: 1
Score: 194
Player: Saeed Anwar (Pakistan)
Teams: Pakistan v India
Venue: Chennai, India
Season: 1996-97
Rank: 2
Score: 189 not out
Player: Viv Richards (West Indies)
Teams: West Indies v England
Venue: Manchester, England
Season: 1984
Rank: 3
Score: 189
Player: Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
Teams: Sri Lanka v India
Venue: Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Season: 2000-01
Rank: 4
Score: 188 not out
Player: Gary Kirsten (South Africa)
Teams: South Africa v United Arab Emirates
Venue: Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Season: 1995-96
Rank: 5
Score: 186 not out
Player: Sachin Tendulkar (India)
Teams: India v New Zealand
Venue: Hyderabad, India
Season: 1999-00
Individual records (bowling):
- (Best figures in a match)
Rank: 1
Bowling: 8-19
Player: Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka)
Teams: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
Venue: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Season: 2001-02
Rank: 2
Bowling: 7-15
Player: Glenn McGrath (Australia)
Teams: Australia v Namibia
Venue: Potchefstroom, South Africa
Season: 2002-03
Rank: 3
Bowling: 7-20
Player: Andy Bichel (Australia)
Teams: Australia v England
Venue: Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Season: 2002-03
Rank: 4
Bowling: 7-30
Player: Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)
Teams: Sri Lanka v India
Venue: Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Season: 2000-01
Rank: 5
Bowling: 7-36
Player: Waqar Younis (Pakistan)
Teams: Pakistan v England
Venue: Leeds, England
Season: 2001
For more information on cricket records feel free to explore these links:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
In The International Spotlight...Nepal Cricket
The Nepal national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Nepal in international cricket matches. They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1996, having previously been an affiliate member since 1988.
They have been participating in international matches since 1996, including every ACC Trophy tournament, the 2001 ICC Trophy and two ICC Intercontinental Cups.
History and beginnings:
Cricket was introduced to Nepal by the ruling Rana dynasty when they returned from studies in England and India in the 1920s, though the game was kept very much for themselves and the other elite. The Cricket Association of Nepal was formed in 1946 to promote cricket amongst the aristocracy.
When King Tribhuvan overthrew the Rana family in 1951, cricket began to spread to the rest of the population. A team of Nepali players visited India in 1954, and in 1961 the Cricket Association of Nepal became part of the National Sports Council, to attempt to promote cricket in the whole of Nepal, though this tended to be limited to Kathmandu until the 1980s.
Improvements to the communication and transport infrastructures in Nepal allowed the game to expand outside Kathmandu in the 1980s and Nepal became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 1988. A major development programme was begun in the early 1990s, with regional and district tournaments established and cricket being promoted in schools.
The interest in cricket increased quickly, and demand to play was such that teams in tournaments had to be restricted until more facilities were built in the mid 1990s. Nepal became an associate member of the International Cricket Council in 1996, which was the year the national side played for the first time, in the ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur, in which Nepal finished fourth out of six teams in their first round group, beating Brunei and Japan.
The facilities in Nepal had improved enough by 1998 to allow them to host that year's ACC Trophy at grounds in Lalitpur, Kirtipur (at Tribhuvan University) and Kathmandu. Nepal themselves were unsuccessful in the tournament, going without a win.
In 2000, Nepal's youth development policy began to pay off when the Nepal Under-19 team finished eighth in the Under-19 World Cup. The senior side had their best performance to date later in the year when they reached the semi-finals of the ACC Trophy before losing to Hong Kong at Sharjah. They competed in the ICC Trophy for the first and, to date, only time the following year. In the tournament in Ontario, they beat Germany and Gibraltar, but a loss to eventual runners-up Namibia prevented them from progressing past the first round.
In 2002, Nepal were runners-up to the UAE in the ACC Trophy in Singapore and they hosted the ACC Emerging Nations Tournament in 2003, winning easily against Bhutan and the Maldives. They won so comprehensively that they were not invited back to the tournament the next time it was played in 2005.
Nepal played first-class cricket for the first time in 2004, playing in the ICC Intercontinental Cup against the UAE and Malaysia. They beat Malaysia, but drew with the UAE, failing to reach the semi-final stage. They finished third in the ACC Fast Track Nations Tournament during 2004, which qualified them for the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup, and finished 5th in the ACC Trophy, which qualified them for the repêchage tournament of the 2005 ICC Trophy. They finished third in this tournament after beating Qatar in a play-off, meaning that they did not qualify for the 2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland. They beat the UAE and drew with Hong Kong in the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup, but missed out on qualification for the semi-finals by half a point. They were runners-up to the UAE in the 2005 ACC Fast Track Nations Tournament.
In March 2006, Nepal played Namibia in Windhoek in a play-off match to decide the final team in the 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup. Needing to win outright to qualify for the main tournament, the match was drawn after there was no play on the first day. Later in the year, they toured Pakistan, playing against the Pakistan Cricket Academy before playing in the ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur. They finished fourth in the tournament after losing to Afghanistan in a play-off. They won the first ACC Premier League in 2006. They most recently played in the ACC Twenty20 Cup in Kuwait, where they finished fourth in their first round group.
Records:
Overall:
ICC Trophy:
More:
In May 2008, Nepal travelled to Jersey to play in Division Five of the World Cricket League. Although Nepal topped Group A after the group qualifying matches, they lost their semi-final to Afghanistan and finished third overall after defeating the USA in a playoff. With only the top two from this tournament qualifying for Division Four in Tanzania later in the year, Nepal missed out on the chance to take their 2011 World Cup dream any further.
They will also play in the ACC Trophy at some point in the year.
Their top eight finish in the 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup will mean that they will play in the 2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup, which will serve as a qualifier for the cricket tournament at the 2010 Asian Games.
Links to more information on Nepal Cricket:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Wicket Keeping Success Tips
The wicket keeper is an essential and key part of the cricket team. Every team needs a reliable wicket keeper. As well as taking catches, stumping the batsmen and taking run outs, the wicket keeper is one of the team’s most important players: motivating and inspiring the bowlers and fielders to raise their game and WIN.
To be a wicket keeper you need fast reactions and precise judgement as you have very little time to react to such things as fast deliveries especially if there are changes and deviations in the balls line due to variations in swing, movement off the pitch and edges.
You need to be alert and have high levels of concentration. Like a top batsmen you want to be able to ‘switch on and off’ your concentration between deliveries and overs to avoid getting mentally tired, as it’s impossible to fully concentrate non-stop for hours at a time. High levels of fitness and flexibility are also very important for a wicket keeper as it can be very tiring because you are effectively doing hundreds of squats and diving around the field. So stay fit, warm up and down and stretch thoroughly to remain in peak condition and avoid injury.
Equipment for wicket keeping:
Basic technique- Wicket keeping stance:
You can stand up to spin bowlers and slower paced bowlers. The wicket keepers stance is quite straight forward, you need to stand about one step behind the stumps, making sure no part of your body or equipment is in front of the line of the stumps.
Crouch down with your left foot (reverse for left hand batsmen) inline with middle stump, therefore on you are crouched a little on off side. Try to keep your head still and eyes level during the delivery to help you judge the pace and line. You should be balanced and relaxed with your weight slightly forward on the balls of your feet. Be alert and ready to react to the delivery.
Catching the ball:
When you are catching the ball, aim to get your head/eyes above the line of the ball and your body behind the line of the ball. As the ball rises from the pitch, rise from the crouching position with the ball, so you mirror the height of the ball. Watch the ball into your hands and catch it with your fingers pointing downwards. You’ll need to cushion the impact of the ball hitting your gloves when catching by ‘giving’ with your hands. If the ball continues to rise as it reaches you, step with your outside foot backwards and across, rotating your body outwards, taking the ball on one side of the body.
To catch a ball delivered on the off side or leg side, move your feet and body across immediately to get your head back into line with the delivery. (Move the outside foot first and follow with the inside.) Rise with the ball as discussed above and ‘give’ with hands to reduce the impact.
If you are standing back which you should be to medium and fast bowlers take your stance as discussed above, however stand in a position so that the ball is taken once it begins to drop.
Sometimes you may have to dive to take wide deliveries or thick edges, always try to take the ball in two hands if possible, roll after the dive if you can to reduce the impact of landing and changes of injury.
Stumping:
You can attempt a stumping if the batsman is out of the crease after you have caught the delivery. Once you’ve taken the ball move your body weight towards stumps and move hands fast to break the wickets.
Visit www.cricketsecrets.com right now to pick up a free report to help you improve your wicket keeping skills today!
*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway.
The Top Ten Weird Dismissals Of Cricket
I came across this video on Youtube and I had to put it up on here for all of you to see. It is a very well put together video of some of the most memorable yet strangest dismissals in cricket. Nice piece of work Sanjeet :).
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Player Profile(#38)...Daniel Vettori (New Zealand)
Daniel Luca Vettori (born 27 January 1979, Auckland, New Zealand), but brought up in Hamilton attending Marian School and later St Paul's Collegiate School, is a cricketer who is the current captain of the New Zealand cricket team. When available he plays provincial cricket for Northern Districts, and is also an international member of Indian Premier League team the Delhi DareDevils. He is the youngest player to have represented New Zealand in Test cricket, having made his debut in 1996/1997 at the age of 18. Vettori is a slow left-arm orthodox spinner, but he is known for his flight and guile rather than prodigious turn or pinpoint accuracy.
International career:
Vettori made his test debut at Wellington for New Zealand against England on 6 February 1997. His first Test wicket was Nasser Hussain. Three weeks earlier he had made his first class debut, against the touring English side and again his maiden wicket was Hussain. His ODI debut came a month later against Sri Lanka at Christchurch on March 25th 1997.
His career was in jeopardy in 2000 with a back injury, but he recovered to play a major role in New Zealand's victory in the 2004 Tri-Series with England and the West Indies in England.
Vettori was selected in the final squad for the World XI Super Series against Australia and played in all 3 ODIs and the Super Test.
As of 10 March 2008 Vettori was ranked 1st on the ICC Player Rankings for One Day bowlers and ranked 2nd and 10th for Test and One Day all-rounders respectively.
Vettori has also played for Hamilton in the Hawke Cup.
Captaincy:
Prior to becoming captain on a permanent basis in 2007 Vettori had captained the Black Caps in ODI cricket on occasions such as when regular captain, Stephen Fleming, was unable to. As of the end of 2006 he had led New Zealand in 11 games, winning 8 of them.
He captained New Zealand at the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. Subsequently, it was announced that Vettori would captain the Black Caps in all forms of the game, i.e. captain Twenty20, ODI and the Test teams. Initially, it he was announced to only be captain of the former two.
Vettori's captaincy has had a rocky start, losing a Test series in England first up. Vettori also attracted some criticism in the following ODI series, when following a controversial run out, he engaged in angry shouting and jumping up and down from the balcony at Lord's Cricket Ground. He then refused to shake hands with the England team after the match. Not only did this contrast with Fleming's more languid style, some felt such behaviour was hypocritical given Daniel Vettori's support for team mate Brendon McCullum the infamous running out of Muttiah Muralitharan in similar circumstances.
Batting:
Vettori has matured into a useful lower-order batsman having scored 2,000 Test runs, including two centuries (137* against Pakistan in 2003 and 127 against Zimbabwe in 2005), as well as several half-centuries. Although it took Vettori 47 Tests to score his first 1,000 runs at an average of 17.24, the second thousand took him just 22 Tests at a rate of 42.52 per innings. Vettori's average batting at number 8 is 37.11 (for Tests) and is currently the best average of all time for a player batting there. His average at number ten is 3rd best of all time in ODIs.
In December 2006, Vettori began establishing himself as more of an all-rounder, batting at number 5 for New Zealand in the one-day series against Sri Lanka.
Personal life:
Vettori confirmed plans to marry fiance Mary O'Carroll and move to Auckland sometime in the winter of 2007. He has continued playing for the Northern Districts Knights. At the Wellington cricket ground The Basin in January 2008 he was seen wearing a wedding ring, so it is assumed that they are now married.
Links to more information on Daniel Vettori:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
The Greatest Cricketers of the Modern Era
Here are a list of some of the greatest players to grace the game of cricket. The players selected have been chosen by their quality and records.
The Following Cricketers are the Best of the Modern Era:-
GREATEST CRICKETERS:
01) Shane Warne
02) Sachin Tendulkar
03) Muttiah Muralitharan
04) Brian Lara
05) Wasim Akram
06) Glenn McGrath
07) Ricky Ponting
08) Jacques Kallis
09) Curtly Ambrose
10) Waqar Younis
11) Adam Gilchrist
12) Courtney Walsh
13) Steve Waugh
14) Inzamam-ul-Haq
15) Rahul Dravid
16) Sourav Ganguly
17) Mohammad Yousuf
18) Allan Donald
19) Andy Flower
20) Shaun Pollock
21) Matthew Hayden
22) Aravinda de Silva
23) Anil Kumble
24) Sanath Jayasuriya
25) Michael Bevan
Notable Exclusions:-
01) Chaminda Vaas
02) Chris Cairns
03) Gary Kirsten
04) Mohammed Azharuddin
05) Saeed Anwar
06) Stephen Fleming
07) Nathan Astle
08) Jonty Rhodes
09) Alec Stewart
10) Marvan Atapattu
11) Mark Waugh
GREATEST CRICKETERS (individually):
GREATEST CRICKETERS BY TEAM:
If you are not happy with the selection of the cricketers then feel free to express your opinion by leaving a comment on this post/article.
Players in Quest of Achieving Greatness:
01) Michael Clarke
02) Mike Hussey
03) Virender Sehwag
04) Shivnarine Chanderpaul
05) Graeme Smith
06) Brett Lee
07) Kumar Sangakkara
08) Kevin Pietersen
09) Andrew Flintoff
10) Chris Gayle
11) Andrew Symonds
12) Makhaya Ntini
13) Ramnaresh Sarwan
14) Mahela Jayawardene
15) Herschelle Gibbs
Monday, December 8, 2008
Swing Bowling Tips for Wicket Taking Success
A bowler who has the ability to bowl swing is an important asset in any cricket team as swing bowling is a great way to baffle a batman, add pressure and take wickets. The swing bowler has the ability to move the ball in the air either away from the batsman or in towards the batsmen. The swing is created by holding the cricket ball in a specific way so that when it is released from the hand the varying levels of air resistance combined with the position the seam is directed causes the ball to swing in the air.
The swing is accentuated by polishing and shining one side of the ball so that is smooth relative to the other side, which should get roughened up through the natural course of play. Select a side to shine at the start of the match and ensure all the bowlers and fielders know which side to polish. You can polish it by rubbing sweat into it and then rubbing it on your cricket trousers.
There are three generally recognised swing delivery types, in swing, out swing and reverse swing.
The out swing delivery is a ball which when bowled by a right handed bowler to a right handed batsman swings from the leg side towards the off side. The aim of the out swinger is to encourage the batsman into playing a drive and ideally the swing will increase the chance of getting an edge and getting the batsmen out caught behind, so make sure you’ve got some good catchers behind the stumps. You want to pitch the ball quite full, aiming at or just outside off stump so that the batsman is forced to play at the ball.
The grip for the out swing delivery is quite simple and provided the seam is up right at the point of release it should swing. You need to hold the ball as normal for a medium paced delivery with the seam vertical, however for the out swinger the seam needs to be vertical and pointing towards first or second slip at about a 15° angle, so that your fingers will be running slight across the seam. The shiny side should face the leg side of the batsmen, thus the rough side faces the off side and the direction of swing. The increased air resistance on the rough side and seam position will cause it to swing through the air towards the offside. The run up should be slightly angled and bowled from close to the stumps.
The in swing delivery is basically the reverse of the away swing in that when bowled from a right handed bowler it swings in towards a right handed batsmen from the off side towards the leg side. Have a straighter run up and deliver the ball slightly wider on the crease. In contrast to the away swing bowler, the in swing bowler aims to get the batsmen out LBW or bowled by pitching it up. Aim to bowl it so that it swings from outside off stump and pitches in line with middle and off stumps, be careful though because if you start it too straight it will swing down leg side and be easy for the batsman to hit away.
Tip: If you find yourself swinging the ball uncontrollably, hold the ball across the seam so that the seam runs horizontally, this will help negate and reduce the amount of swing.
You need to make sure that your bowlers and fielders are aware of which side of the ball in polished and that is constantly shined between deliveries. Most bowlers will shine the ball themselves but it is always useful to nominate one or two fielders to shine the ball as well while the bowler is walking back to his mark.
Changing weather conditions have an often noticeable affect on the amount that the cricket ball will swing. Dry hot sunny days don’t favour swing bowling, whereas overcast, cloudy conditions are found to be most influential at generating more swing. So take this into consideration when deciding who to bowl if you are captain.
Learn how to swing the ball in both directions with clinical accuracy so that you can destroy your opposition, by visiting www.cricketsecrets.com today.
*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway.
Cricket Bowling Tips and Hints:
When bowling in cricket there are many possible cricket tips or hints that can help improve your bowling.
In bowling, a combination of natural ability, good technique and practice is the recipe for good bowling, whether it is fast, slow or spin.
Here are some tips that will help your bowling and when implemented correctly your bowling speed:
The basic grip to hold the ball is to keep the seam vertical and to hold the ball with your index finger and middle finger either side of the seam with the side of your thumb resting on the seam underneath the ball.
In your approach/run in, try to stay:
During your approach and action, your head position is very important. Make sure that as you approach the wicket you are running at a steady, consistent speed, and increase strides. Aim to keep your head as steady and level as possible, looking towards your target.
Pull your front arm down and through the target area, making sure you complete the delivery with a full follow through.
Try to keep everything in the same direction, towards your target, keep your hips and shoulders parallel/in-line, and follow through the delivery in the direction where you intend the ball to go.
Also as a bowler it is very important to stay in great shape, as you’ll enjoy the game more and perform better in the latter stages if you have good stamina. So incorporating some light weight sessions in to your training is important.
Also aim to try and run 3 times a week to keep your cardiovascular system in top condition and to improve your stamina. South African fast bowler Makhaya Ntini, is well known for running 10Km every morning, even on match days!
But make sure you consult your coach/doctor/gym instructor before starting any sessions.
Discover more amazing bowling tips and tricks at www.cricketsecrets.com that will greatly enhance your all-round bowling performances.
*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway.
Spin Bowling Success Tips
The spin bowler is a key element in the bowling line up of any cricket team, the skill of Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan has highlighted the potential and the shear power and influence a high class spin bowler can have in the game of cricket. The spin bowler can be used to slow the game, add pressure and most importantly attack batsmen. The spin bowler moves the ball off the pitch turning it sideways, as the spinning ball grips the pitch and turns and can also cause it to bounce variably.
A good spin bowler needs to be able to bowl a consistent line and length, is able to turn the ball, which requires lots of practice and dedication to succeed. If you are a spin bowler you should try and experiment with varying degrees of flight, speed, and angle of approach in order to deceive the batsmen.
There are two recognised types of spin bowlers, which are, finger spinners who are classed as the orthodox technique and use their index finger (first finger) to spin the ball and the wrist spinners who use the wrist more than fingers to spin ball.
Target areas:
Off spin: The off spinner aims to spin the ball from a right handed batsmen’s off side towards the leg side. Try to bowl just outside of the off stump so that the ball turns and hits the stumps, also try to entice the batsmen forward on to the front foot by bowling a full length.
Leg spin: The leg spinner aims to bowl the ball so that it spins from a right handed batsmen’s leg side to the off side. Again try to pitch the ball up to the batsman to get them coming forward. Pitch the ball inline with the wickets so that the ball turns to hit the top of the off stump.
The grip:
Leg spin: Use the first two fingers to grip the ball horizontally across the seam, your third finger should be bent and running along the seam. Your thumb should rest lightly on seam and the spin is generated primarily by the third finger.
Off spin: Again grip the ball with your first two fingers horizontally across the seam and try to spread as wide as possible apart the joints of index and middle finger. The ball then rests lightly on third finger and thumb, the spin is and produced and passed on mainly through the index finger.
The delivery:
The off spin delivery, should start with an angled and short delivery stride. You should then pivot on ball of the front foot keeping your bowling arm high. Cock your wrist inwards and drive your back leg through to help rotate the body. Release the ball by turning your wrist sharply from left to right and by pulling down on seam with the index finger to generate spin. The back of hand should face the off side or upwards at finish of the delivery, don’t forget to follow through properly. Keep your head as upright as possible throughout the delivery and your eyes fixed on the target at all times.
The leg spin delivery is very similar to the off spin except with a few subtle and important variations. Your approach should be somewhat longer and have a slightly angled approach towards the target.
As you bowl you should raise your lead arm towards the target and bowl with a braced front leg (your weight should be through this leg). Pivot on the ball of the lead foot and bring your bowling arm up high with your wrist cocked outwards. Drive your back leg through and release the ball. Generate the spin by rotating your wrist from right to left and by most importantly using the third finger to impart the most spin. Finish with your palm facing leg side.
Follow through by rotating shoulders through the line of the wickets and driving your back leg through the action so that your hips rotate over your front foot. Keep your hips and shoulders inline and head as upright as possible throughout the delivery and your eyes fixed on the target at all times.
The Googly and the Doosra: Deceptive deliveries
The googly is bowled by a leg spinner and is a ball that appears to look like a leg spinner when it’s bowled but then moves unexpectedly in the opposite direction after it pitches. It’s bowled out of the back of the hand and requires the shoulder to be dropped a little at the point of release. A great example of a bowler who has mastered the googly is Shane Warne.
The doosra is bowled by an off spinner and is a ball that initially seems to look like an off spinner when it’s bowled but then moves unexpectedly in the opposite direction after it pitches. The doosra has been pioneered by the Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan and is very difficult to bowl. Muralitharan reputedly practiced the delivery for 2-3 years in the nets and practice before using it in first class cricket…I can’t bowl it so I’m not going to go into it!
The power and rotation on the ball are generated through a strong action and is enhanced by flicking the wrist and straightening the fingers at the point of release. Always try and spin the ball as much as you can, your consistency and accuracy will come with practice and hard work. Remember to bowl your spinners with oomph and purpose, don’t just throw it up and hope for the best.
Tip: Examine the pitch before bowling and try to identify areas of rough, cracks and other features on the wicket to aim at which may cause increased spin, variable bounce or erratic ball behaviour when pitched on and aim to bowl the ball into these areas provided they don’t cause you to bowl bad deliveries (e.g. short and wide).
Visit www.CricketSecrets.com right now to pick up a free report to help you improve your spin bowling today!
*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway.
In the International Spotlight...Italy Cricket
The Italy national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Italy in international cricket matches. They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1995, having previously been an affiliate member since 1984. The Italian national cricket team is administered by the Federazione Cricket Italiana (Italian Cricket Federation).
They are currently ranked 27th in the world by the ICC, and are ranked fifth amongst European non-Test teams. They are in Division Four of the World Cricket League and Division One of the European Championship.
The earliest mention of cricket in Italy is of a match played by Admiral Nelson's sailors in Naples in 1793. Around the end of the 19th century, several combined cricket and football clubs formed, including the world famous A.C. Milan, which was originally the Milan Cricket and Football Club and the first Italian football team Genoa Cricket and Football Club, which was originally the Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club. But these clubs soon forgot about cricket and concentrated on football. Cricket started to be revived after the Second World War.
The "Federazione Cricket Italiana" (Italian Cricket Federation) was formed in 1980, and they became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1984, and were promoted to associate member in 1995.
In 1996, Italy took part in the first European Championship in Denmark, finishing seventh after beating Israel in a play-off. They took part in the ICC Trophy for the first time in the 1997 tournament and performed poorly, finishing joint last out of the 22 participants. They finished fifth in the following years European Championship.
In 1999, Italy took part in a quadrangular tournament in Gibraltar also featuring France and Israel. They won the tournament, beating the hosts in the final. They finished fifth in Division One of the European Championship the following year and were due to participate in the 2001 ICC Trophy, but pulled out at the last minute due to a dispute over the eligibility of four players.
The 2002 European Championship saw Italy finish sixth in Division One, relegating them to Division Two for 2004, which they promptly won. This qualified them for the repêchage tournament for the 2005 ICC Trophy in early 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They finished seventh in that tournament after beating Zambia in a play-off.
They took part in Division One of the European Championship in 2006, finishing fifth. In May/June 2007, they travelled to Darwin, Australia to take part in Division Three of the World Cricket League. They finished seventh after beating Fiji in a play-off, and will play in Division Four of the World Cricket League in 2008.
In addition to playing in Division Four of the World Cricket League in 2008 against Fiji, Hong Kong, Tanzania Italy will also participate in Division One of the European Championship in Dublin, playing against Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Scotland.
Current Italian Cricket Squad:
Joe Scuderi(captain), Luis Di Giglio, Din Alaud, Alessandro Bonora, Munasinghe Gayshan, Dylan Sarnelli, Hemantha Jayasena, Samantha Ketipe, Thushara Kurukulasuriya, Luca Poli, Andy Northcote, Nicholas Northcote, Kelum Perera and Peter Petricola.
Links to more information on Italian Cricket:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Cricket Batting Tips For Aspiring Batsmen
There are hundreds of different batting tips in the game of cricket which can all potentially improve your batting and run scoring ability. Here is a selection of cricket batting tips that I've found useful to help improve your batting.
For more cricket batting tips, cricket tips, news and gossip, head over to www.cricketsecrets.com and discover the #1 under used cricket secret, that you can use today to explode your cricket results!
*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway
Cricket: The Greatest Sport On Earth?
I'm sure you'll agree with me that cricket is probably the greatest sport on Earth, well if you are a cricketer like me you will. The fact is for many people all around the world cricket is almost like a religion, every week fans and players go to training and watch matches, dedicated to the sport we cricketers all love.
Learning How To Play Cricket:
The problem with cricket is learning how to play cricket, importantly how to play cricket better than your opposition, and team mates, it's a great feeling to be the best player on the team. Many people think they can learn how to play cricket just by going down to nets, batting and bowling for a bit, then playing at the weekends.
The problem with this is that unless you have a good coach or senior players to oversee you, you will pick up bad habits which you reinforce every time you practice. You end up practicing bad habits and trust me this is the last thing you want.
If you are serious about learning how to play cricket you need to do the following things to help ensure your cricket success:
Learning how to play cricket and improving yourself as a player is a great goal to have. However, giving tips on how to play cricket in terms of batting, bowling and fielding are beyond the scope of this article. But if you follow the tips above and take and active approach to improving your cricket you won't go far wrong.
Discover amazing cricket tips and tricks and learn how to play awesome cricket so that you can explode your cricket results and destroy your opposition!
Visit, www.CricketSecrets.com right now to learn how to improve your cricket today!
*Acknowledgements to Ian Canaway
10,000 visitors, and rising...!
I would like to let all my visitors know that I have in recent days reached my first 10,000 visitors on here! I have exceeded this goal about 6 weeks earlier than planned when I first started this site close to a year ago now, have thoroughly enjoyed working on this site and I can say I will be carrying this on for quite a while yet.
So keep your eye out on this site as I will be updating it regularly with interesting content. Also if there is other cricketing related material on here you would like to see please let me know.
Long live Cricket, the Brilliant Game!
Player Profile(#37)...Shivnarine Chanderpaul(West Indies)
Shivnarine 'Shiv' Chanderpaul (born 16 August 1974 in Unity Village, Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana) is a cricketer, and former captain of the West Indies cricket team. He is the first Indo-Caribbean in the West Indies team to play 100 Tests for the West Indies and has captained them in 14 Tests and 16 One Day Internationals. Chanderpaul is currently ranked as the number one batsman in the world in the current ICC test rankings.
Career:
A West Indian cricketer of East Indian origin, the left-handed Chanderpaul is known for his doggedness and ability to stick on the wicket for long hours. He is infamous in the cricketing world for his very unorthodox front-on batting stance, although he shifts his body into a more conventional position when he plays the ball, thus making him a prolific scorer on both sides of the wicket. His stance allows him to get most of his runs behind the wicket. Chanderpaul is renowned for playing left arm spin bowlers by getting his pad outside the line of off-stump, and hiding his bat behind the pad, in imitation of a shot, but without the risk of edging the ball.
Chanderpaul's first notable impact on Test cricket was as being the last batting partner of Brian Lara when Lara broke Gary Sobers' record of 365 not out in the fifth and final Test against England in 1993-94. Lara went on to make 375 before he was caught off Andrew Caddick's bowling, sharing a 219-run stand with Chanderpaul, who was left not out on 75.
Chanderpaul made his first Test century in his 19th Test match - after having scored 15 half-centuries in the preceding 18 matches. In the third of a five-Test series against India in 1996-97, he made 137* at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. He also featured with his Guyanese counterpart, and current West Indian vice captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, making 104 in chasing a world record 418 to win in the fourth innings of the final Test match versus Australia in 2002-03.
Chanderpaul's best first class score is 303* versus Jamaica for Guyana, and, despite his reputation as a dogged batsman, he has also made the fourth fastest century in Test cricket, scoring three figures in just 67 balls at the GCC Ground Bourda, Guyana, also in the 2002-03 series against Australia.
He was named captain of the West Indies in the first Test versus South Africa in March 2005 in Guyana, after seven senior players including captain Brian Lara were dropped in a sponsorship row. He emulated Graham Dowling to become only the second player to make a double century on debut as a Test captain, scoring an unbeaten 200 and making a sporting declaration in the first Test. It was announced that Lara would return to the team for the second Test, but Chanderpaul would retain the captaincy for the rest of the series. He was named to the squad of 20 for the World XI to face Australia in the Super Test in October 2005, but when the squad was cut to 14 names in August his name was not mentioned.
Chanderpaul remains one of the most recognisable faces in all of the West Indies, particularly his native Guyana, and he has come a long way from his first 50 in his first Test versus England in 1993-94 at Bourda to his current status as a former captain.
In April 2006, Chanderpaul resigned as West Indies captain in order to concentrate on his batting. He captained a weak West Indies team, and his record was not a successful one. In fourteen Tests he won one and lost ten with three draws. In sixteen One-Day Internationals, he won two and lost fourteen. Later in the month the captaincy was restored to veteran batsman Brian Lara.
Chanderpaul has recently reached the milestone of 100 Test caps, the 8th West Indian to do so and the first of East Indian descent.At the conclusion of the 2008 Australian tour of the West Indies, Chanderpaul will appear in the All Star line up for the 2008 Hong Kong Sixes on November 8th,2008. The Hong Kong Sixes was formed in 1992, and has become an annual fixture, attracting greats such as Brian Charles Lara, , Sachin Tendulkar, Steve and Mark Waugh, Sir Viv Richards, Andrew Flintoff, Adam Gilchrist and Wasim Akram and now Shivnarine Chanderpaul adding his name to the fixtures.
Trivia:
Some of his quirkier traits include having "baseball-style" tape under his eyes, which he started wearing after a successful run scoring spree in the United States,[citation needed] and using a bail from the stumps to "mark his guard". He is known for immense concentration at the crease which he can maintain for extended periods of time, drawing comparisons to batting greats such as Lara and Bradman. Chanderpaul is one of the few players to have gone 1000 minutes in Test cricket without conceding his wicket. He has done this four times, and is the only player to have done so more than once. However despite his extended stays at the wicket, he also has the ability to 'shift gears' particularly in the one day game where he has scored some of the fastest centuries to date. He also bats very well with the tail, often refusing to remain not out at the end of the innings trying to add as many runs as possible without exposing the tail to the strike.
Links to more information on Shivnarine Chanderpaul:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Introducing... the Twenty20 Champions League
The Twenty20 Champions League is an international Twenty20 cricket competition between clubs from Australia, England, India, Pakistan and South Africa. The Twenty20 Champions League is chaired by Lalit Modi, who is the Chairman and Commissioner of the Indian Premier League and Vice-President of the BCCI. The competition is being launched in 2008 as a response to the success of national Twenty20 domestic cricket leagues, most notably the Indian Premier League. The first edition was set to take place from late September to early October 2008 in India, after the tournament organisers resolved various teething problems that had put the inaugural tournament under some doubt, but it was later announced that the tournament would be held from December 3 to December 10, 2008. The initial tournament was postponed again following terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November 2008. A rearranged date has not been announced.
Background:
Chennai vs Kolkata in the Indian Premier League. Chennai have qualified for the first edition of the T20 Champions League
An international tournament for domestic cricket teams is believed to have been first mooted by Lalit Modi, vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 1996, Lalit Modi is also the chairman and commissioner on the IPL. The launch and subsequent success of Twenty20 cricket some years later was the influence behind a serious effort to get such a tournament off the ground. Twenty20 cricket was launched by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003. Its launch was a result of a long-term decline in the popularity of county championship and domestic limited-overs cricket. By reducing the number of overs per innings to twenty and by placing a three hour limit on matches, the format was designed to attract a younger crowd and to boost attendances. Twenty20 proved a success, with an international version launched in 2005 and a World Twenty20 Competition held in September 2007. This proved much more popular than the 50 over Cricket World Cup had been just five months previously. The following year, the Indian Premier League (IPL) was launched, proving that there could be a market for a big-spending domestic Twenty20 cricket league. The success of Twenty20 and the IPL lead many commentators to suggest that other forms of cricket would suffer, with some worrying about the effect of the popular fast-paced 'slogging' game on players' abilities in Test cricket.
Immediately after the end of the first series of the IPL, the cricket authorities in England, India, Australia and South Africa entered into discussions to create a new international club competition, to capitalize on the this success. The new tournament's £2.5m winning prize was described as "unprecedented" in cricket. A number of different formats for the tournament were considered, with original proposals containing a much lower prize fund. The T20 Champions League's creation was announced on 7 June 2008, along with the announcement of planned restructuring of some of the domestic cricket tournaments involved, including the introduction of franchising in South Africa, England and Australia. Pakistan's participation was always mooted, but not confirmed when the tournament was first launched. Following a series of discussions and the announcement of the creation of a Pakistan Super League from 2009, it was confirmed that two Pakistani teams would compete.
Format:
Qualifying:
Although the 2008 tournament was originally rumoured to only include teams from Australia, South Africa, India and England, it was announced on 4 July 2008, that two teams from Pakistan's domestic tournament were also invited. At the same, time England's participation was also put into doubt, following differences between the ECB & BCCI over the inclusion of rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) players. Eventually, it was arranged so that the 2008 Twenty20 Champions League is to be contested between 8 teams from 5 countries. The qualifiers are:
This format is expected to change as 12 teams will compete in the 2nd edition of the tournament in September-October 2009.
England's Participation:
The organisers of the tournament confirmed that any team competing would be banned from fielding players who have competed in the Indian Cricket League, a rival to the Indian Premier League. As a result of this, England's participation in the tournament was put in jeopardy. For the the 2008 season, 15 of the 18 counties fielded 25 players from the ICL. On 24 July 2008, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi confirmed their stance by stating that only Middlesex and Essex stood a chance of being invited to the Champions League because they didn't have ICL links. Middlesex won the Twenty20 Cup and confirmed they had accepted the invitation to participate in the tournament. Kent were officially barred from the competition on 1 August, and the ECB's suggestion to replace them with Essex was rejected by Cricket Australia.
Tournament:
The Twenty20 Champions League will be played over an eight day period and will consist of two divisions competing in a round-robin format. The top two teams from each division will then move on to an elimination round to the finals.
Links to more information on the Twenty20 Champions League:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Introducing... The Stanford 20/20 Tournament
The Stanford 20/20 Tournament is a cricket tournament in the Caribbean island of Antigua. It was held first in July and August 2006 in the West Indies at the Stanford Cricket Ground, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda and the same place the year after. It is a variety of the popular Twenty20 format first introduced in English cricket in 2003.
The format was initially devised and made possible by Allen Stanford as a part of his (private) plan to bring West Indian cricket back to life. 19 teams took part in the inaugural knock-out tournament and 20 teams took part in the second tournament (although 21 teams were originally scheduled to take part). It will now be a part of the official calendar of the WICB.
Current teams participating in the Stanford 20/20 Tournament:
Anguilla Pro Team
Antigua & Barbuda Pro Team
Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Cuba (in 2008 [barred])
Dominica
Dominican Republic (in 2009)
Grenada
Guyana
Jamaica
Montserrat
Nevis Pro Team
Puerto Rico (in 2009)
Saint Kitts
Saint Lucia Pro Team
Saint Maarten
Saint Vincent & the Grenadines
Trinidad & Tobago
Turks and Caicos Islands (in 2008)
United States Virgin IslandsLinks to more information about the Stanford 20/20 tournament:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
In the International Spotlight...Singapore Cricket
The Singapore national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Singapore in international cricket matches. They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1974 and have played in every edition of the ICC World Cup Qualifier (formerly the ICC Trophy) to date with the exception of the 1986 and 2005 tournaments. They have also ruled themselves out of qualification for the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier after finishing fifth in Division Five of the World Cricket League in 2008.
They also have played in each edition of the ACC Trophy and its predecessor the South East Asian Tournament. They play annually against Malaysia in the Saudara Cup three-day match and the Stan Nagaiah Trophy one-day series and between 1991 and 2004 played Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand in the Tuanku Ja'afar Cup.
History:
Beginnings of cricket in Singapore:
The first recorded mention of cricket in Singapore was in 1837 when a "Mr Z" complained, in a letter to the Singapore Free Press, of cricket being played near a church on a Sunday in violation of the Sabbath. This resulted in cricket being banned on Sundays, a prohibition that remained in place until the 1930s.
Cricket was an important recreational activity, with matches often played against the officers of visiting ships. The Singapore Cricket Club was formed in 1852 and played its first match amongst themselves the same year. The quality of cricket in these early years was quite poor, and it wasn't until 1865 before a team total of more than 100 was scored. Louis Glass became the first person in Singapore to record a century two years later.
The Singapore Cricket Club eventually began to play against teams from other parts of British Malaya such as Penang, Perak and Kuala Lumpur and this eventually led to an invitation from Hong Kong to send a team there, which saw the beginning of the long running series of "Interport Matches".
Singapore team:
(First matches)
The Singapore team did play twice during the Straits Settlements team era, playing twice against WAS Oldfield's XI in 1927, losing both matches by an innings. They next played in 1957, drawing at home to Ceylon. Various teams visited Singapore in the 1960s, including Worcestershire.
The Interport Matches resumed in 1968 with Singapore drawing against Hong Kong. These matches were played occasionally until 1987. In 1970, the Saudara Cup match against Malaysia was played for the first time, this continues annually to the present day. Also that year, Singapore played an MCC side captain by Tony Lewis and featuring Geoff Boycott. The match was won by the MCC.
ICC membership:
Singapore became an associate member of the ICC in 1974 and three years later won the Saudara Cup for the first time. In 1978, Singapore played India at home, the match ending in a draw. Singapore took part in the first ICC Trophy in England in 1979 but could only finish fourth in their first round group after only beating Argentina. They finished fourth out of eight teams in their first round group in the 1982 tournament and withdrew from the 1986 tournament when several of their players couldn't get leave from work.
Singapore played in the South East Asian Tournament for the first time in 1984, playing in the event again in 1988 and 1992 (when they hosted), though they never reached the final as Bangladesh and Hong Kong finished first and second on each occasion. The final Interport Match took place in Singapore in 1987, with Hong Kong beating the home side. They returned to the ICC Trophy for the 1990 tournament in the Netherlands, beating Malaysia and Israel during the event, and failing to progress past the first round.
Singapore began playing in the Tuanku Ja'afar Cup in 1991, an annual tournament against Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand. They won the event just once, in 1994, a year in which they finished 19th out of 20 teams in the ICC Trophy. The Stan Nagaiah Trophy, an annual three match series of one-day matches against Malaysia, began the following year. Singapore played in the first ACC Trophy in 1996, beating the Maldives and Thailand but failing to go past the first round. They finished 14th in the 1997 ICC Trophy and could only beat Papua New Guinea in the 1998 ACC Trophy, again failing to go past the first round.
21st century:
The first two major tournaments of the 21st century for Singapore got them off to a bad start as they lost all their first round matches in both the 2000 ACC Trophy in the UAE and the 2001 ICC Trophy in Ontario, their final ICC Trophy to date. They hosted the ACC Trophy in 2002, beating the Maldives and Thailand (by 325 runs) but again failing to progress beyond the first round, a performance they repeated in 2004. The finished fourth in the ACC Fast Track Nations Tournament in 2004 and 2005.
Singapore began to show an improvement in their form in 2006. That year they finished third in the ACC Premier League and finally passed the first round stage in the ACC Trophy, finishing fifth to qualify for Division Five of the World Cricket League in 2008. They didn't progress beyond the first round of the 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup, beating only Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia, but captain Chaminda Ruwan did make the highest score of the tournament. In the World Cricket League Division Five tournament in Jersey, Singapore finished fifth after beating Botswana in a play-off, though they did beat Afghanistan during the first round, who went on to win the tournament.
Records:
ICC Trophy:
Overall:
Links to more information on Singapore Cricket:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Player Profile(#36)... Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni or MS Dhoni pronunciation (Hindi: महेन्द्र सिंह धोनी) (born July 7, 1981 in Lavali Village Almora, Uttarakhand) is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian team. Initially recognized as an extravagantly flamboyant and destructive batsman, Dhoni has come to be regarded as one of the coolest heads to captain the Indian ODI side. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, CB Series of 2007-08 and IDEA Cup India-Sri Lanka ODI Series of 2008, the first ever bilateral ODI series win of India in Sri Lanka and The Border-Gavaskar trophy 2008 in which they beat Australia 2-0 thus letting India regain its spot at No.2 in world test rankings(fallen to No.3 after Sri lanka tour). Dhoni also recently captained the ODI team that beat England in the series 5-0.Dhoni is currently ranked the best ODI batsman in the world by the ICC. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was awarded the ODI Player of the Year award in 2008, the first Indian player to achieve this feat.
Personal life:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born in Ranchi Jharkhand to Pan Singh and Devaki Dev. His paternal village Lvali is in the Lamgarha block of the Almora District of Uttarakhand. Dhoni's parents, moved from Uttarakhand to Ranchi where Pan Singh worked in junior management positions in MECON. Dhoni has a sister Jayanti and a brother Narendra. Dhoni had long hair which he has now shortened; he cut it because he wanted to look like his favourite film star John Abraham. Dhoni is a fan of Adam Gilchrist, and his childhood idols were cricket teammate Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan and singer Lata Mangeshkar.
Dhoni studied at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali, Ranchi,Jharkahnd where he initially excelled in badminton and football and was selected at district and club level in these sports. Dhoni was a goalkeeper for his football team and was sent to play cricket for a local cricket club by his football coach. Though he had not played cricket, Dhoni impressed with his wicket-keeping skills and became the regular wicketkeeper at the Commando cricket club (1995 - 1998). Based on his performance at club cricket, he was picked for the 1997/98 season Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16 Championship and he performed well. Dhoni focused on cricket after his 10th standard.
Playing Style:
Dhoni is an aggressive right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. Dhoni is one of a number of wicket-keepers who have come through the ranks of junior and India A cricket teams to represent the national team — Parthiv Patel, Ajay Ratra and Dinesh Karthik also followed this route. Dhoni, referred to as 'Mahi' by his friends, debuted in the Bihar cricket team during the 1998/99 cricket season and was selected to represent India-A for a tour to Kenya in 2004. Along with Gautam Gambhir, Dhoni made multiple centuries against the Pakistan-A team in a tri-nation series and was selected in the Indian national team later in that year.[citation needed]
Dhoni tends to play mostly from the back foot with a pronounced bottom hand grip.He has a very fast hand speed through the ball which often results in the ball racing across the ground.From this initial stance his feets do not show much movement which sometimes results in chasing balls while not coming to the pitch of the ball or inside edging a lot of balls.
Dhoni scored 148 against Pakistan in his fifth ODI match in 2005 — then the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper. Later in the year, he broke his own record as well as set the current world record for the highest score in the second innings in ODI matches as he scored 183* against Sri Lanka. Dhoni's success in the limited overs format secured him a place in the test team. Consistent performances in ODI cricket through the end of the 2005/06 season saw Dhoni briefly ranked as the No. 1 batsman in the ICC ODI ratings.[citation needed]
Dhoni's form dipped through 2006 as India lost matches at the ICC Champions trophy, DLF Cup, away bilateral series against West Indies and South Africa. A return to form in the home series against West Indies and SriLanka in early 2007 proved to be an inaccurate indicator of Dhoni's form as India crashed out of the first round in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Dhoni was out for a duck in both India's losses. After the World Cup, Dhoni won the Man of the series award in the bilateral ODI tournament against Bangladesh. For the tour of England, Dhoni was named the ODI team vice-captain.
As a batsman, Dhoni has shown the maturity to restrain his aggressive nature and play a responsible innings when the situation requires. Apart from traditional shots, Dhoni has two very unorthodox but effective cricket strokes. Since his entry into the Indian cricket team, Dhoni's aggressive batting style, success on the field, personality, and long hair have made him one of the most marketable cricketers in India.
Domestic career:
Junior cricket:
Dhoni was included in the Bihar U-19 squad for the 1998/99 season and scored 176 runs in 5 matches (7 innings) as the team finished fourth in the group of six and did not make it to the quarter finals. Dhoni was not picked for the East Zone U-19 squad (CK Nayudu Trophy) and Rest of India squad (MA Chidambaram Trophy and Vinoo Mankad Trophy). Bihar U-19 cricket team advanced to the finals of the 1999-2000 Cooch Behar Trophy where Dhoni made 84 to help Bihar post a total of 357. Bihar's efforts were dwarfed by Punjab U-19's 839 with Dhoni's future national squad teammate Yuvraj Singh making 358. Dhoni's contribution for the tournament included 488 runs (9 matches, 12 innings), 5 fifties, 17 catches and 7 stumpings. MS Dhoni made it to the East Zone U-19 squad for the CK Nayudu trophy but scored only 97 runs in four matches as East Zone lost all four matches and finished last in the tournament.
Bihar team:
Dhoni made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar in the 1999-2000 season as an eighteen year old. He made a half century in his debut match scoring 68* in the second innings against Assam cricket team. Dhoni finished the season with 283 runs in 5 matches. Dhoni scored his maiden first-class century against Bengal in the 2000/01 season in a losing cause. Apart from the century, his performance in the 2000/01[14] did not include another score over fifty and in 2001/02 season he scored just five fifty in each season in four Ranji matches. Dhoni's performance for the 2002/03 season in the Ranji Trophy included three half centuries in the Ranji Trophy and a couple of half-centuries in the Deodhar Trophy competition as he started winning recognition for his lower-order run contribution as well as hard hitting batting style.
In the 2003/04 season, Dhoni scored a century (128*) against Assam in the first match of the Ranji ODI trophy. He was part of the East Zone squad that won the Deodhar Trophy for the year and contributed with 244 runs in 4 matches. In the Duleep Trophy finals, Dhoni was picked over International cricketer Deep Dasgupta to represent East zone. He scored a fighting half century in the second innings in a losing cause.
India A team:
He was recognized for his efforts in the 2003/04 season, especially in the ODI format and was picked for the India A squad for a tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya. Against the Zimbabwe XI in Harare Sports Club, Dhoni had his best wicket-keeping effort with 7 catches and 4 stumpings in the match. In the tri-nation tournament involving Kenya, India 'A' and Pakistan 'A', Dhoni helped India 'A' chase their target of 223 against Pakistan 'A' with an half-century. Stressing on his performance, he scored back to back centuries - 120[21] and 119* against the same squad. Dhoni scored 362 runs in 7 matches (6 innings, Ave:72.40), and his performance in the series received attention from the then captain - Sourav Ganguly amongst others. However, the India 'A' team coach Sandeep Patil recommended Karthik for a place in the Indian squad as wicket-keeper/batsman.
ODI career:
The Indian team in the 2000s saw the use of Rahul Dravid as the wicket-keeper to ensure that the wicket-keeper spot didn't lack in batting talent. The Indian cricket establishment also saw the entry of wicket-keeper/batsmen from the junior ranks with talents like Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik - both India U-19 Captains in the test squads. With Dhoni making a mark in the India-A squad, he was picked in the ODI squad for the Bangladesh tour in 2004/05. Dhoni did not have a great start to his ODI career, getting run out for a duck on debut. In spite of an average series against Bangladesh, Dhoni was picked for the Pakistan ODI series. In the second match of the series, Dhoni in his fifth one-day international, scored 148 in Vishakapatnam off only 123 deliveries. Dhoni's 148 erased the earlier record for the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper, a record that he would re-write before the end of the year.
Dhoni had few batting opportunities in the first two games of the Sri Lankan bilateral ODI series (October-November 2005) and was promoted to No. 3 in the third ODI at Sawai Mansingh Stadium (Jaipur). Sri Lanka had set India a target of 299 after a Kumar Sangakkara century and in reply. India lost Tendulkar early. Dhoni was promoted to accelerate the scoring and ended the game with an unbeaten 183 off 145 balls, winning the game for India - an innings described in Wisden Almanack (2006) as 'Uninhibited, yet anything but crude'. The innings set various records including the highest score in ODI cricket in the second innings, a record that still stands. Dhoni ended the series with the highest run aggregate (346) and was awarded the Man of the series award for his efforts. In December 2005, Dhoni was signed by BCCI to a B-grade contract, skipping the initial C-grade level due to his performance on the cricketing field.
India scored 328 in 50 overs with Dhoni contributing 68 in their first match of 2006 against Pakistan. However the team finished poorly, scoring just 43 runs in the last eight overs and lost the match due to Duckworth-Lewis method. In the third match of the series, Dhoni came in with India in a precarious situation and scored 72 runs off just 46 balls that included 13 boundaries to help India take a 2-1 lead in the series. The final match of the series had a repeat performance as Dhoni scored 77 runs off 56 balls to enable India win the series 4-1. In recognition of his consistent ODI performances, Dhoni overtook Ricky Ponting as number one in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen on April 20, 2006. His reign lasted just a week as Adam Gilchrist's performance against Bangladesh moved him to the top spot.
Two canceled series in Sri Lanka, one due to the withdrawal of South Africa from the Unitech Cup due to security concerns and the replacement 3-match ODI bilateral series against Sri Lanka washed due to rain, was India's prelude to another disappointing tournament - DLF Cup 2006-07. Dhoni scored 43 runs as the team lost twice in three games and did not qualify for the finals. India's lack of preparation showed in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy as they lost to West Indies and Australia, though Dhoni scored an half-century against West Indies. The story of the ODI series in South Africa was the same for both Dhoni and India as Dhoni scored 139 runs in 4 matches and India lost the series 4-0. From the start of the WI ODI series, Dhoni had played 16 matches, hit just two fifties and averaged 25.93. Dhoni received criticism on his wicket keeping technique from former wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani.
Preparations for the 2007 Cricket World Cup improved as India recorded identical 3-1 victories over West Indies and Sri Lanka and Dhoni had averages in excess of 100 in both these series. However, India unexpectedly crashed out the World Cup after losses to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Dhoni was out for a duck in both these matches and scored 29 runs in the whole tournament. Dhoni put behind his disappointment in the World cup by scoring 91* against Bangladesh after India were left in a tight spot earlier in the run-chase. Dhoni was declared the man of the match for his performance, his fourth in ODI cricket. He was also later adjudged the man of the series after the third game of the series was washed away. Dhoni had a good Afro-Asia Cup, getting 174 runs in 3 matches at an average of 87.00, with a blitzkrieg 139 not out of 97 balls, a Man Of The Match innings, in the 3rd ODI.
Dhoni was nominated as the vice-captain of the ODI team for the series against South Africa in Ireland and the subsequent India-England 7-match ODI series. Dhoni, who received a 'B' grade contract in December 2005, was awarded an 'A' grade contract in June 2007. And also he was elected as captain of Indian Twenty-20 Cricket Team for the World Twenty20 in September 2007. On 2 September 2007 Mahendra Singh Dhoni equalled his idol Adam Gilchrist's international record for the most dismissals in an innings in ODI by catching 5 English players and stumping one. He led India to the ICC World Twenty 20 trophy in South Africa with a victory over arch rivals Pakistan in an intensely fought final on 24 September 2007, and became the second Indian captain to have won a World cup in any form of cricket, after Kapil Dev.
Test career:
Following his good one-day form against Sri Lanka, Dhoni replaced Dinesh Karthik in December 2005 as the Indian Test wicket-keeper. Dhoni scored 30 runs in his debut match that was marred by rain. Dhoni came to the crease when the team was struggling at 109/5 and as wickets kept falling around him, he played an aggressive innings and was the last man dismissed. Dhoni made his maiden half-century in the second Test and his quick scoring rate (half century came off 51 balls) aided India to set a target of 436 and the Sri Lankans were bowled out for 247.
India toured Pakistan in January/February 2006 and Dhoni scored his maiden century in the second Test at Faisalabad. India were left in a tight spot as Dhoni was joined by Irfan Pathan with the team still 107 away from avoiding follow-on. Dhoni played his typical aggressive innings as he scored his maiden test century in just 93 balls after scoring his first fifty in just 34 deliveries.
Dhoni followed his maiden test century with some prosaic batting performances over the next three matches, one against Pakistan that India lost and two against England that had India holding a 1-0 lead going into the test match. Dhoni was the top scorer in India's first innings in the third test at Wankhede Stadium as his 64 aided India post a respectable 279 in reply to England's 400. However Dhoni and the Indian fielders dropped too many catches and missed many dismissal chances including a key stumping opportunity of Andrew Flintoff (14). Dhoni failed to collect the Harbhajan Singh delivery cleanly as Flintoff went on to make 36 more runs as England set a target of 313 for the home team, a target that India were never in the reckoning. A batting collapse saw the team being dismissed for 100 and Dhoni scored just 5 runs and faced criticism for his wicket-keeping lapses as well as his shot selections.
On the West Indies tour, Dhoni scored a quick and aggressive 69 in the first Test at Antigua. The rest of the series was unremarkable for Dhoni as he scored 99 runs in the remaining 6 innings but his wicket-keeping skills improved and Dhoni finished the series with 13 catches and 4 stumpings. In the test series in South Africa, Dhoni's scores of 34 and 47 were not sufficient to save the second test against the Proteas as India lost the test series 2-1, squandering the chance to build on their first ever Test victory in South Africa (achieved in the first Test match). Dhoni's bruised hands ruled him out of the third test match.
Links to more information on M.S Dhoni:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
In the International Spotlight...Cayman Islands Cricket
The Cayman Islands national cricket team is the team that represents the British overseas territory of the Cayman Islands in international cricket matches. They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 2002, having previously been an affiliate member since 1997.
They have played in international competition since the year 2000, and played in the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup. They are in Division Three of the World Cricket League and are ranked at 24th in the world by the ICC, the fourth ranked non-test team in the Americas region.
History:
The Cayman Islands became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1997 and played their first tournament three years later when they played in the ICC Americas Championship in Canada. They finished fourth in the tournament, their only win coming against Argentina. Later in the year, they played their first List A matches as part of the Red Stripe Bowl in the West Indies. They played against Bermuda, Guyana, the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands in the first round, losing all their games.
The Cayman Islands gained associate membership of the ICC in 2002, a year in which they finished third in the Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina after recording wins against Argentina, the Bahamas and Bermuda. The 2004 Americas Championship served as a qualifying competition for the 2005 ICC Trophy, and a repeat of their third place finish from 2002 would have qualified them for that tournament. Wins against Argentina and the Bahamas meant they could only finish fourth however. This did qualify them for a place in a repêchage tournament in early 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They finished fifth in that tournament after beating Kuwait in a play-off match.
Later in 2005, the Cayman Islands took part in the ICC Intercontinental Cup, a tournament for ICC associate members with first-class status. They lost both their first round matches to Bermuda and Canada, thus not qualifying for the semi-finals. In 2006, they first played in the inaugural Stanford 20/20 tournament. They beat the Bahamas in the preliminary round, but lost to Trinidad & Tobago in the first round proper.
In August 2006, they finished third in Division One of the ICC Americas Championship after wins against Argentina and Canada. This qualified them for Division Three of the World Cricket League, which was played in May/June 2007 in Darwin, Australia. After beating Hong Kong and Tanzania in the first round, they lost to Argentina in the semi finals, and to Papua New Guinea in the third place play off, thus finishing fourth in the tournament.
Tournament History:
ICC Intercontinental Cup:
World Cricket League:
ICC Americas Championship:
The future:
In 2009, they will again play in Division Three of the World Cricket League, where they will play against Papua New Guinea and four teams still to be decided. A top two finish in that tournament will qualify them for the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier in the United Arab Emirates, where they must finish in the top six to qualify for the 2011 World Cup.
Links Linking to Information on Cayman Islands Cricket:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org, Cricinfo.com and owners of pictures and videos used.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Top 10 Highest Runscorers of All Time (In Tests)...
Here is a list of the top 10 runscorers of all time in cricket, as of 2nd December 08:
1. Sachin Tendulkar (India)
Span: 1989-2008
No# of Tests: 154
Runs Scored: 12273
Highest Score: 248*
Average: 54.30
100's: 40
50's: 51
2. Brian Lara (ICC/WI)
Span: 1990-2006
No# of Tests: 131
Runs Scored: 11953
Highest Score: 400*
Average: 52.88
100's: 34
50's: 48
3. Allan Border (Aus)
Span: 1978-1994
No# of Tests: 156
Runs Scored: 11174
Highest Score: 205
Average: 50.56
100's: 27
50's: 63
4. Steve Waugh (Aus)
Span: 1985-2004
No# of Tests: 168
Runs Scored: 10927
Highest Score: 200
Average: 51.06
100's: 32
50's: 50
5. Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Span: 1995-2008
No# of Tests: 125
Runs Scored: 10465
Highest Score: 257
Average: 57.18
100's: 36
50's: 42
6. Rahul Dravid (ICC/India)
Span: 1996-2008
No# of Tests: 129
Runs Scored: 10366
Highest Score: 270
Average: 52.61
100's: 25
50's: 53
7. Sunil Gavaskar (India)
Span: 1971-1987
No# of Tests: 125
Runs Scored: 10122
Highest Score: 236*
Average: 51.12
100's: 34
50's: 45
8. Jacques Kallis (ICC/SA)
Span: 1995-2008
No# of Tests: 125
Runs Scored: 9801
Highest Score: 189*
Average: 55.06
100's: 30
50's: 48
9. Graham Gooch (Eng)
Span: 1975-1995
No# of Tests: 118
Runs Scored: 8900
Highest Score: 333
Average: 42.58
100's: 20
50's: 46
10. Javed Miandad (Pak) 
Span: 1976-1993
No# of Tests: 124
Runs Scored: 8832
Highest Score: 280*
Average: 52.57
100's: 23
50's: 43
*Acknowledgements to Cricinfo.com and owners of pictures used.
The Top 10 Fastest Cricket Bowlers...
Here is a list of the current and all time fastest bowlers in world cricket. Enjoy!
Current Fastest Bowlers:
1. Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan)
2. Brett Lee (Australia)
3. Shane Bond (New Zealand)
4. Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)
5. Steve Harmison (England)
6. Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
7. Mohammad Sami (Pakistan)
8. Shaun Tait (Australia)
9. Tino Best (West Indies)
10. Ishant Sharma (India)
Bowlers At All Times:
1. Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan)(100.3 mph/161.41 kph)
2. Jeff Thompson (Australia)(99.8 mph/160.61 kph)
3. Brett Lee (Australia)(99.7 mph/160.45 kph)
4. Shane Bond (New Zealand)(98.1 mph/157.87 kph)
5. Andy Roberts (West Indies)(97.8 mph/157.39 kph)
6. Nantie Hayward (South Africa)(96.0 mph/154.49 kph)
7. Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)(95.9 mph/154.33 kph)
8. Waqar Younis (Pakistan)(95.1 mph/153.04 kph)
9. Steve Harmison (England)(95.0 mph/152.88 kph)
10. Tino Best (West Indies)(94.4 mph/151.92 kph)
Player Profile(#35)... Brett Lee(Australia)
Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976 in Wollongong, New South Wales) is an Australian cricketer.
After breaking into the Australian Test team, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket. He is also an athletic fielder and useful lower-order batsman, with a batting average exceeding 20.
Style:
Lee is an express bowler, one of the fastest the game has known, and is capable of bowling at 160 km/h (99 mph). Lee's fastest recorded delivery to date is 160.8 km/h (99.9 mph) which he bowled in his first over on March 5, 2005 at Napier, New Zealand against Craig Cumming. He is also an athletic fielder and aggressive lower-order batsman with a batting average exceeding 20.
Lee ranks with Pakistani bowler Shoaib Akhtar as the fastest bowler in contemporary cricket. Akhtar's delivery at 161.4km/h (100.2mph) stands as the fastest recorded to date.
Lee's speed allows opposition batsmen less time to react, increasing their chances of making a mistake and has bowled with great accuracy as Australia's bowling spearhead. He has a Test bowling average of just under thirty, which sees him ranked in the 5th in the International Cricket Council's Test bowling rankings.
Early in his career, Lee was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action, but was cleared. He was also criticised in early 2005 for bowling a series of beamers at batsmen during ODIs, at a rate which lead some to claim he was deliberately bowling illegal head high full tosses at batsmen.
Lee is at his most effective on the pitches of the southern hemisphere, where the pitches have greater bounce. In the northern hemisphere, he has taken 53 wickets in 19 Tests at an average of 42.11. In the southern hemisphere, he has taken 178 wickets in 40 matches at 28.48. He has had the most success against the West Indies and New Zealand, averaging in the low twenties. He averages more than 40 against England, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and in the 30s against other teams.
He played his first formal game of cricket for the Oak Flats Rats where he took 6/0 from one over or 6 wickets for 0 runs, all of his wickets being bowled [citation needed]. At sixteen years of age, Lee began playing first grade cricket for Campbelltown, where he managed to claim the wickets of a few New South Wales cricketers. He later joined Mosman, where at one point, he shared the new ball with Shoaib Akhtar.
Lee also played for the Australian Under 17 & 19 teams and was awarded a scholarship to attend the Australian Cricket Academy.
In March 1994, Lee was forced out of the Australian under-19 team to tour India due to stress fractures in his lower back. He recovered and made his first-class debut for New South Wales against Western Australia in a Sheffield Shield match as a 20-year old in the 1997–98 season, playing one match and taking 3/114.
One month later, Lee was chosen to represent the Australian A team on a tour to South Africa. He claimed two wickets but in that very match, stress fractures in his back from the previous injury had re-opened and Lee was in a back brace for over three months. When he turned twenty-one, Lee moved to Sydney to be closer to work.
During the 1997-98 season, he played in five of the ten Sheffield Shield games, taking fourteen wickets at 30. He finished outside the top 20 in both the wicket taking list and the bowling averages. In 1999, during a Sheffield Shield match at Perth, Lee bowled a spell against the Western Australian batsmen, compared the fastest bowling seen in Australia since the days of Jeff Thomson back in the 1970s. From that point, Australian captain Steve Waugh and then vice-captain Shane Warne began pushing for Lee's inclusion in the Test team.
Early Test career:
By the late 1990s there were calls for Lee to be included in the national squad. He was eventually chosen in the final 14 for the Test series against Pakistan in 1999 but failed to make the final 11. By the time the Test series against India came around, he was twelfth man. However, he duly made his Test debut for Australia in December 1999 against the touring Indians, becoming Australia's 383rd Test cricketer.
Bowling first change, Lee took a wicket in his first over in Test cricket when he bowled Sadagoppan Ramesh with his fourth delivery. He also captured Rahul Dravid in his first spell before returning to take three wickets in six balls to finish the innings with figures of 5/47 from 17 overs. Australia had batted first, and Lee had earlier made 27 runs. Lee took thirteen wickets in his opening two Tests at the low average of 14.15.
Lee won the inaugural Donald Bradman Young Player of the Year Award at the Allan Border Medal award ceremony in 2000 soon after his debut.
During the early 2000 tour to New Zealand, Lee was reported by umpires Srinivas Venkataraghavan and Arani Jayaprakash for a suspected illegal bowling action. He was later cleared.
Lee took 42 wickets in his opening three series, the most by any Australian bowler in the seven matches he played. However, in his seventh Test, where he took seven wickets including a five wicket haul in the second innings against the West Indies, he suffered a stress fracture of the lower back which kept him out of three following Tests. He returned against Zimbabwe but soon suffered another setback a month later when he broke his right elbow and was sidelined until May 2001.
Spearhead of the bowling attack:
Many wondered how Lee would manage the role as the permanent leader of the pace attack upon the retirements of cricket greats Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. However despite scepticism he has already shown sensational form in the role being awarded the Man of the Series in the inaugural Warne-Muralitharan Trophy against Sri Lanka in late 2007. In his first series as bowling figure-head he reaped a phenomenal 16 wickets in two tests at an average of 17.5 stamping himself as the man for the job. This has been achieved by bowling 5 km/h slower to improve accuracy. In the two-test series he also took out each Man of the Match awards. In the following series Lee continued his blistering form taking 24 wickets at 22.58 in four tests against India. In the test series he also overtook Jason Gillespie to become Australia's 5th highest wicket taker. His consistent efforts saw him rewarded with the Man of the Series Award for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 2007/08. He capped off the season by winning the Allan Border Medal, the award given to Australia's best cricketer of the season.
Lee seemed underdone in the 2008 Australian tour of the West Indies, taking only 5 wickets in the first test match, during which he seemed exhausted. But he got back into the swing of things taking 8 wickets in the second test, including a 5 wicket haul, and 6 in the next test. Overall he seemed to regain his form as the series went on but was often tired by the extra workload; Mitchell Johnson did not live up to expectations until the final test, Stuart MaGill (who retired at the conclusion of the second test) also under-performed with the ball, and Symonds picked up a back injury which meant he could not bowl as often as anticipated.
One-day International career:
Lee made his debut in One Day International for Australia against Pakistan on 9 January 2000 during the Carlton and United Breweries Series at the Gabba, Brisbane. He became the 140th ODI cricketer to represent Australia.
In One-day Internationals Lee is widely regarded as one of the world's finest and most feared bowlers, he was ranked by the ICC as the No. 1 ODI bowler in January 2006 and has been ranked among the top ten ODI bowlers since the start of 2003. He has a wide array of deliveries including a dangerous in-swinging yorker. His bowling strike rate of around 30 puts him amongst the most incisive in this form of the game. He also has a One-day International hat-trick to his name, achieved in the 2003 World Cup against Kenya. Lee was the first Australian and fourth bowler to ever achieve this feat in World Cup history.
In the matches Australia played in the 2005-06 triangular one day series, Lee gave a display of his useful batting abilities by making 57 in the second game in a 100 run partnership with Michael Hussey to pull Australia out of a middle order collapse. However, he is yet to consistently contribute with his batting, and his current ICC ranking hovers around the 90-100 region.
Lee finished the series with 15 wickets, the third highest tally behind Nathan Bracken and Muttiah Muralitharan.
While Lee's average and strike rate in ODIs rank him as one of the best strike bowlers in ODI history, he can still be erratic occasionally, as shown by his relatively high economy rate.
Lee also has the ability to take wickets very early in the innings, often removing batsmen in the first over of the innings. The delivery he bowled to Marvan Atapattu in the semi-final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, reached 160.1 km/h (99.5 mph).
Batting:
Lee's batting has always shown potential and in recent times has been improving, averaging just over twenty in both forms of international cricket in the last two years. He has said that he would like to become an all rounder though it is not a main priority. During the 2005 Ashes series, Lee had numerous defiant innings, and showed promise as a batsman. Lee's aggressive style and strong physique often yields many sixes, including one six which flew out of the Gabba (Brisbane) during a Test match against the West Indies in 2005, billed as the biggest six ever hit at that ground.
On 2 April 2006, Lee hit his highest Test score of 64 in 68 balls against South Africa at Johannesburg. His previous highest score in Tests was 62 not out which he made against the West Indies in 2000 at the Gabba. Lee nearly surpassed this score on 3 January 2008 against India when he made 59 off 121 balls. Lee had also once again nearly surpassed his highest test score when he had made 63 not out, but unfortunately Ricky Ponting had declared the innings in the 2nd test against the West Indies. As a result of this, he fell one run short of his highest test score.
Lee's highest score in ODI matches is 57 against South Africa at the Gabba in January 2006 with his previous best being 51 against South Africa in 2002.
Awards:
Career highlights:
Tests:
One-day Internationals:
ODI Debut: vs Pakistan, Gabba, Brisbane, 1999-2000
Other highlights:
Personal:
Lee married Elizabeth Kemp in June 2006. They have a son named Preston Charles, born 16 November 2006. However, after two years of marriage, on 21 August 2008 Lee confirmed his separation from Kemp.
Lee is part of the rock band Six & Out. The band is made up of his brother Shane and former New South Wales cricketers Brad McNamara, Gavin Robertson and Richard Chee Quee. Lee plays the bass guitar or acoustic guitar for the band.
During the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy in India, Lee recorded a duet with India's music diva Asha Bhosle called You're the One For Me. The song reached a peak position of number two on the Indian and South African charts. In 2008, he filmed scenes for his first Bollywood movie Victory.
Lee launched his own fashion label 'BL', in 2001.
Lee will be performing the theme song for the 2011 Cricket World Cup, which will be hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
Links to more information about Brett Lee:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Introducing...The Compton Cricket Club
Earlier this year I made a short post about the Compton Cricket Club. I realised it did not have enough information about the club so heres another post with more in depth information:
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The Compton Cricket Club (CCC), or the 'Homies and the Popz', is a cricket club based in, Compton, Los Angeles County, California, USA. The CCC is the only all American-born disadvantaged exhibition cricket team.
The team is currently appealing to major cash backers for their historical tour to Australia in February 2009.
Recently the Homies and the Popz Team founder, Ted Hayes and team member, Isaac Hayes were interviewed on Light FM Melbourne, Australia on the 27th of November.
The team, which includes Latino and African American ex-gang members, was founded in 1995 by US homeless activist Ted Hayes and Hollywood movie Producer Katy Haber to combat the negative effect of poverty, urban decay and crime in Compton. The club uses the ideals of sportsmanship, and the particular importance of etiquette and fair play in cricket, to help players develop respect for authority, a sense of self-esteem and self-discipline.
“The aim of playing cricket is to teach people how to respect themselves and respect authority so they stop killing each other”
-(Team Founder, Compton Cricket Club, Ted Hayes)
The 'Homies' mission is to:
1. Curb the negative effects of gang activities amongst the youth of Compton.
2. Addressing homelessness in the inner city through the principles and ethics of cricket.
3. Encourage and promote civility, good and productive citizenship.
The team motto of 'Let the game begin again in America' harkens back to former popularity of cricket in the United States during the 19th century.
The majority of the team is formed of the founding members and Hayes sees them as a "cross-generational village-like team".
Club history:
The club began in 1995 in the Los Angeles Dome Village, with initial promotion of the club and game through high school workshops. Since then, they have toured the UK in 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2001. These tours have included rapping for HRH Prince Edward at Buckingham Palace and presenting Gerry Adams with a cricket bat to help broker a peace in Northern Ireland. Disney bought the rights to make a movie about the team, although they have yet to do so.
In 2003, Warwickshire cricketer Paul Smith spent three weeks helping train the CCC. The trip was a part of Smith's work with 'Cricket Without Boundaries', a charity that seeks to empower communities through cricket.
Past and Present Activities:
CCC vs the Afghan national cricket team:
A match with the Afghanistan national cricket team had been organised for June 7, 2008. Unfortunately the match has had to be postponed due to lack of funding for the National Cricket team from Afghanistan to fly from their home camp to Los Angeles for the historical match.
The two clubs are working towards another match sometime around September 2008.
This will be the first time that a cricket team from Afghanistan has toured to America. The match will help raise money for an orphanage rebuilt by US marines in Afghanistan and continue the CCC's vital work around the world promoting greater peace through 'cricket diplomacy'.
Proposed tour of Australia:
There are currently reported plans for the Compton Cricket Club to tour Australia for which they are looking for sponsors and product donors. This has currently been postponed until February 2009. Preparations for their Australian tour are being managed by Hugh Snelgrove.
The club hope that the Australian tour will continue their development into a world class competitive and exhibition cricket team and sporting club. While the publicity generated by the tour will be used to highlight other Australian non-profit organizations that deal with similar issues in their own communities. Touring Australia also aims to raise awareness of the CCC with key stakeholders to improve cricket opportunities between the USA and Australia.
The proposed tour and background to the Compton Cricket Club has recently (May 2007 - June2008) received considerable attention in mainstream Australian and international media including CNN, Sky News, Channel 7, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC Radio National, Alpha magazine, Courier Mail, NT News, Ninemsn.com, ESPN.com, Dailynews.com, Centralian advocate & the Big Issue magazine. They have also been publicized on KPFK (Radio) and KABC-TV in Los Angeles USA. Music publicity includes articles in Faster Louder (online) and 3D music magazine as well as Sky News UK, and SBS World News (Sam Ikin, Jan 3rd 2008).
The CCC will utilise its high exposure to benefit other organizations in Australia attempting to deal with similar issues in their own community including:
1. Reclink Australia, who provide recreational opportunities for disadvantaged and were recently publicised on ABC’s reality TV program 'Choir Of Hard Knocks'.
2. The Big Issue Street Socceroo’s, who have now played at three Homeless World Cups, in England, South Africa and Holland.
3. The Mavis Abberton foundation, helping youth at risk through sport whose parents are in jail or have substance abuse problems.
The CCC will also play an exhibition cricket match at Australia's premier indigenous cricket competition the Imparja Cup in Alice Springs on the invitation from NT Cricket. A reunion with team members from an all indigenous side that toured the UK and played against the CCC in 2001 is also being planned. The Indigenous Australian's tour in 2001 was commemorating the 1868 tour to the UK by a roving XI of Aboriginal players - the first Australian cricket team to tour to England (See Ashley Malletts 'The Black Lords of Summer: The Story of the 1868 Aboriginal Tour of England and Beyond', University of Queensland Press, 2002).
Due to a lack of sponsorship the CCC was forced to postpone their inaugural Australian tour until February 2009 when they believe they will have enough financial and material support to fund their four week tour of Australia.
Cricket Rap Outta Compton:
The club has recently released two tracks from raps 'Shots' and 'Bullets' that aim to document their transition from ex-gangsters to global stardom[5]. Their cricket raps have recently (November 2007) aired on FBI 95.4FM & Koori 93.7FM radio programs respectively across Australia.
A music video about the Compton Cricket Club produced by current members plans to be presented to the public by the end of 2008.
Links to more information about the Compton Cricket Club:
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Monday, December 1, 2008
In the International Spotlight...Afghanistan Cricket
The Afghan cricket team(Pashto:دافغانستان د کرکټ ملی لوبډله Dari: تیم ملی کریکت افغانستان) is a national cricket team representing Afghanistan. They have been an Affiliate Member of the ICC since 2001, and an Associate Member of the Asian Cricket Council since 2003.
Originally the Taliban regime in Afghanistan had banned cricket as they had banned most other sports, but in early 2000 there was a change of heart and the government wrote to the Pakistan Cricket Board asking for the PCB's support for an Afghan application to the ICC.
Cricket was previously little known in Afghanistan, until civil war drove many Afghans as refugees into Pakistan, where they found the game of cricket common as a leftover from the British Raj; those refugees returning brought it back to Afghanistan. In 2001, the Afghan side took part in a four-match tour of Pakistan, visiting Peshawar and Rawalpindi, and the team also visited in 2003 and 2004. In 2004 Afghanistan played in the ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur - the regional qualifying competition for the ICC Trophy - and performed respectably, with the highlight being a surprise win over hosts Malaysia. They finished sixth in that tournament, only just missing out on progression along the qualifying path for the 2007 World Cup by one place.
In 2006 Afghanistan hosted an MCC team led by former England captain Mike Gatting in a 40-over contest, and the Afghans won by 171 runs with Gatting being dismissed for a duck.
Later in 2006 the team competed in the ACC Trophy for the second time and finished in third place, thereby gaining entry to Division Five of the ICC World Cricket League which forms part of the qualification pathway to the 2011 World Cup. In May 2008, Afghanistan reached the final of the Division Five competition to qualify for Division Four. In the final, Afghanistan defeated Jersey, the host nation. Afghanistan defeated Hong Kong in the final of the tournament, which means they both reached WCL Division 3 too. Afghanistan kept its unbeaten record by beating Fiji, Tanzania, Jersey, Hong Kong (2 times) and Italy in the tournament. Now, they are setting for the WCL Division 3 tournament which be held in Argentina in January 2009.
2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Four Champions:
Afghanistan made a dramatic victory in Tanzania winning their all 6 played matches and at the end defeating Hong Kong in the Final by 57 runs. Afghanistan team who bat first put a target of 180 to Hong Kong, and by having the best bowlers diminished Hong Kong on just 122. Spin bowler Mohammad Nabi got 4 wickets in 9 overs with just 9 runs and bowled some of the Hong Kong's best batsmen like Butt Hussain, Najib Amar and Moneer Ahmad. Fast bowler Hamid Hassan actually broke the back-bone of Hong Kong Tabarak Dar, he was bowled. Afghanistan Cricket Team chose a new coach Kabir Khan in September 2008 prior to the tournament. Kabir Khan didn't have much time to train the team practically but he actually made the team to be ready for the games mentaly and pyschologically, because Afghanistan have played their previous games very emotionally with less patience. They played with a new tactic under Coach Kabir Khan and the results were outstanding. Afghanistan will play Division 3 in Argentina in January 2009.
2008 ACC Trophy Elite
The Afghanistan National Cricket team left the country on 23 July to participate in ACC Trophy Elite 2008. The ACC Trophy started on 25 July and ended on 03 August 2008. The ACC Trophy is the premier tournament in the Asia development region. The finalists of the ACC Trophy Elite qualify for the immediately succeeding Asia Cup where they take on Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in ODIs. Afghanistan finished 3rd in this tournament behind Hong Kong and UAE.
2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five Champions:
Afghanistan overcame Jersey and win a dramatic ICC World Cricket League Division 5 (WCL Div. 5) final in Jersey on 31 May. In a low-scoring match at the Grainville Jersey, Afghanistan completed the target of 81 runs with two wickets to spare. Afghanistan and Jersey join Hong Kong, Fiji, Tanzania and Italy in the six-team ICC WCL Div. 4 set for the Tanzanian capital of Dar Es Salaam from 4 to 11 October. In turn, the top two teams from that tournament will progress to WCL Div. 3 in Argentina next January and hope to finish in the top two to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2009 in the UAE, which incorporates Divisions 1 and 2. The top four Associate or Affiliate teams from the ICC World Cup Qualifier will book their places at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to be staged in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Tour to USA: Compton Cricket Club vs Afghanistan national cricket team:
A match with the Afghanistan national cricket team had been organised for June 7th. 2008. Unfortunately the match has had to be postponed due to lack of funding for the National Cricket team from Afghanistan to fly from their home camp to Los Angeles for the historical match.
The 2 clubs are working towards another date fixture for this match.
This will be the first time that a cricket team from Afghanistan has toured to America. The match will help raise money for an orphanage rebuilt by US marines in Afghanistan and continue the CCC's vital work around the world promoting greater peace through 'cricket diplomacy.
Useful Links:
Link to Afghanistani Squad members
Asian Cricket Council page on Afghanistani Cricket
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
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