Wednesday, February 27, 2008

In The International Spotlight...Germany Cricket

In The International Spotlight...Germany Cricket

Team_2 gottingen germany

German Cricket Ground

Germany is a world reknowned sporting country and has national teams in the top echelon of sports such as soccer, bobsledding, basketball, individual sportspersons such as Boris Becker, Michael Ballack, Michael and Ralf Schumacher...and the list goes on. However as Germany lies so close to the U.K they also play Cricket, which is a minority sport in that country but none-the-less do play the brilliant game.
Cricket in Germany has a history going back to 1850, when a group of people from England and the United States founded the first German cricket club in Berlin. Several more teams were later founded in Berlin and the rest of Germany, as well as a national federation. Cricket lingered on over the following century, with occasional visits of German players to England and British and other foreign teams touring in Germany, but only when it got a foothold in the German universities in the 1980s did the number of German cricket clubs and players start to grow again.
The national organisation for the game is currently the German Cricket Federation (Deutscher Cricket Bund, DCB), founded in 1988. As a whole there are about 50 cricket clubs in the country.

Germany became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1991, but did not play their first international until 1995, when they took part in the European Nations Cup in Oxford, England, playing against Austria, Sweden, Greece and France. They hosted the tournament in 1996, playing against France, Portugal, Sweden and France, and finished as runners up in the 1997 tournament after losing to France by one run in the final, the winning run being scored by David Bordes whilst he had a skull fracture. The Wisden Cricketers' Almanack later listed the final as one of the 100 best matches of the 20th century.

In 1998, Germany competed in the European Championship for the first time and finished seventh. They became an associate member of the ICC the following year and played in Division Two of the European Championship in 2000, finishing as runners-up to Gibraltar.

They played at the 2001 ICC Trophy in Canada, their first and, to date, only appearance in the ICC Trophy. They failed to progress beyond the first round and again finished as runners up to Gibraltar in Division Two of the European Championship the following year. They also played in Division Two in 2004, finishing third, and in 2006, again finishing third.

Tournament History -->
ICC Trophy:
1979 to 1990 inclusive: Not eligible - not an ICC member
1994: Not eligible - ICC affiliate member
1997: Not eligible - ICC affiliate member
2001: First round
2005: Did not qualify
European Championship
1996: Did not participate
1998: 7th place
2000: Division Two runners up
2002: Division Two runners up
2004: 3rd place (Division Two)
2006: 3rd place (Division Two)

In May 2008, Germany will travel to Jersey to play in Division Five of the World Cricket League. A top two finish in this tournament will qualify them for Division Four later in the year. In August, they will travel to Guernsey to play in Division Two of the European Championship against the hosts as well as France, Gibraltar, Jersey and the winner of a play-off between Croatia and Israel.
Regional associations

Regional associations include the Norddeutscher Cricket Verband, (North German Cricket Federation). Clubs playing there include:
• Oldenburg
• Lübeck
• HICC
• Alster
• Kiel
• Pak Alemi
• Buxtehude

Clubs include the Cricket Team of the University of Göttingen (German: Cricket Team der Uni Göttingen) which started with the help of the British Tourist Board in Frankfurt, the British Army and the 1st Royal Tank Regiment Hildesheim who supplied the team with enough equipment to furnish the club and offered a date for a game on their base. The first team comprised a mixture of people who had played cricket before and some who hadn't. All came from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, most from the Department of Neurobiology.

A major milestone in Göttingen cricket was gaining permission from the University of Göttingen to make a pitch at the University Sports Ground. The Cricket Team of the University of Göttingen is a founder-member of the DCB. Cooperation with the University of Göttingen has expanded, so that the club hosted several national indoor championships, with greatly increasing numbers of teams. Moreover, nets were erected for practice. A priority in the coming years will be to introduce more students to the game.

Here are some good links to find out more on German Cricket:

  • Germany Cricket at Cricketarchive.com
  • ICC's one-day rankings
  • A hundred matches of the century, 2000 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
  • ICC Trophy matches played by Germany at Cricket Archive



    CTdUG-openers-Abid_Ayoma german cricket

    cricket_mail_Poster germany

    *Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.com, Cricinfo.com

  • The Underarm Incident of 1981....

    The Underarm Incident of 1981:
    Cricket is a game that never has fully escaped the subject of controversy. No longer can cricket fans expect a controversy-free tournament or series. Take for instance examples like the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Bob Woolmer, Match-fixing (perhaps made famous by Hansie Cronje and co), Ball Tampering, Chucking, and one incident that has entrenched itself into the annals of cricketing history, one Australia in particular would love to remember and one New Zealand wouldn’t, is of course The Underarm Incident of 1981.

    An infamous incident in a game of cricket, involving an underarm delivery occurred on February 1, 1981 when Australia was playing New Zealand in a One Day International, the third of five matches in the final of the Benson & Hedges World Series Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.In the February 1981 underarm delivery incident, the batsman at the non-striker's end, Bruce Edgar, was on 102 not out at the time and his innings has been called "the most overlooked century of all time".

    The match had earlier controversy: in the Australian innings, Martin Snedden took a spectacular low outfield catch off the batting of Greg Chappell when he was on 52. It was disallowed by the umpires, although TV replays clearly showed it was a clean catch. Some commentators believed Chappell should have taken Snedden's word that the catch was good. Chappell went on to score 90, before he was caught by Bruce Edgar in similar fashion. This time Chappell walked.In the confusion, one of the fielders (Dennis Lillee) forgot to walk into place, meaning that the underarm ball was technically a no-ball, because Australia had one too many fielders outside the field restriction line.

    The delivery--->

    New Zealand needed six runs to tie the match from the final ball, with eight wickets down. The Australian captain (Greg Chappell) ordered the bowler (his brother, Trevor Chappell) to bowl underarm: rolling the ball along the ground to avoid the possibility that the No. 10 New Zealand batsman (Brian McKechnie) would score a six from the last ball to tie the match.
    Immediate reaction

    Australia won the game, but boos were heard from the crowd and the New Zealand batsmen marched off in disgust. Since that day the underarm bowling incident has been a source of discussion, both heated and jocular, between Australians and New Zealanders.

    It was described as "the most disgusting incident I can recall in the history of cricket" by the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Rob Muldoon, who also said that "It was an act of cowardice and I consider it appropriate that the Australian team were wearing yellow".

    The reaction in Australia from then Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, called the act "contrary to the traditions of the game". Commentating for Channel 9 at the time, Richie Benaud described the act as "disgraceful" and called it "one of the worst things I have ever seen done on a cricket field".

    Brian McKechnie bears no ill will over the incident but both Chappell brothers have publicly stated their embarrassment over the incident and, over 25 years later, are still reluctant to discuss it. Unfortunately for Trevor Chappell, this incident is what he is best remembered for. As a direct result of the incident, underarm bowling was banned in limited overs cricket by the International Cricket Council as not within the spirit of the game.New Zealand cricketer Warren Lees recounted the underarm incident on New Zealand's 20/20 current-affairs show, on Thursday 17 February 2005. He said for long after the affair there was silence in the dressing room, which was broken suddenly and unexpectedly by fellow player Mark Burgess smashing a tea cup.

    On February 17, 2005, 24 years after the original underarm delivery, Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath light-heartedly revisited the incident in the first ever Twenty20 international, played between Australia and New Zealand. In the last over of the match, a grinning McGrath pretended to bowl an underarm delivery to Kyle Mills which prompted New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden to produce a mock red card. This drew a large reception from the crowd, which was mostly made up of New Zealand fans, and echoed the good spirits in which the whole game had been played.

    Here is a video about the Underarm Incident, its well worth watching! --->



    *With thanks and acknowledgements to Wikipedia.com, Youtube.com, Cricinfo.com

    Monday, February 25, 2008

    Streaking...Is it cricket or not?(if you are offended by streaking then don't read this, as I have included photos of streakers in this post/article!)

    Many enthusiastic fans of the game of cricket would in some stage of their lives would've witnessed streaking on the cricket by fans of the game that perhaps take their obsession for the game a bit over the top. One of the first incidences of streaking in the game of cricket was in the first World Cup in 1975 when a fella by the name of Michael Angelow (yes the name does sound similar to that nude sculpture) decided to strip down to his birthday suit and bear his nether-regions to the cricketing public. I havn't been able to find out exactly for sure but it was probably fuelled by alcohol, which is probably a key catalyst in helping people perhaps lose their inhibitions and do wild and crazy things, in this case- streaking. There are many views about what part streaking plays in cricket eg some people are dead against it and on the other end of the scale partisians to the game of cricket think its amusing and entertaining. Personally my views on streaking come roughly in the middle. I think that its highly entertaining for the game and in a way provides a highlight ( besides 4s and 6s getting scored ans wickets falling and spectacular catches etc) which will be discussed amongst buddies, but in a sense they also distract the cricketers in the field and cricket is a family game as well-as Reverend Lovejoy's wife on The Simpsons says " will someone please think of the children!", and who knows a streaker could one day carry a couple of stubbies with him/her on the pitch and spill the alcohol on the pitch, and that could turn the results of the game negatively on either team. It would be disastrous if it was the home team.

    Nonetheless as an enthusiastic cricket fan I do find it amusing and entertaining to see, I suppose parents of children and people highly offended by streaking could momentarilly cover their eyes and shield themselves from their perceived view of streaking as "disgusting", but then again its controversial because at the end of the day everyone that is at the ground must have one thing in common- they are there to watch the game they love and that streaking aside cricket is indeed a brilliant game.




    streaking in cricket5

    streaking in cricket4

    streaking in cricket3

    streaking in cricket2

    streaker_cricket

    Saturday, February 23, 2008

    Player Profile(#7)...Eion Morgan(Ireland)

    Player Profile(no#7)...Eion Morgan(Ireland):

    Eion Morgan just reaches the crease

    Eion Morgan takes a superb catch

    Everyone must know the resilient effort that the Ireland team conjured up to stun most cricketing critics to reach the Super Eights stage of last years Cricket World Cup in the West Indies. They toppled Pakistan, which in cricketing circles has been a very legendary side and was the winner of the 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia/New Zealand. A few players were key to that effort and Eion Morgan was one of those players that shone.

    Eoin Joseph Gerard Morgan born 10 September 1986 in Dublin is an Irish cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman, part-time right-arm medium bowler and an occasional wicket-keeper. He plays in English county cricket for Middlesex.
    Morgan was a regular member of Ireland's youth teams and represented them at Under-15 and Under-17 level. He was selected in the Irish Under-19 squad for the 2003-04 Under-19 World Cup, and was Ireland's top run-scorer in the competition. Two years later, he captained Ireland in the 2005-06 Under-19 World Cup where he finished as the second-highest overall run-scorer. Morgan made his One Day International debut for Ireland on 5 August 2006 at the European Championships against Scotland. He nearly made a century on debut, scoring 99 before he was run out. It was the first time in ODI history that a player had been dismissed for 99 on debut. Only two other batsmen passed 20 as Ireland beat Scotland by 85 runs. His maiden ODI hundred came not long after, on the 4 February 2007 against Canada in Nairobi. He became the youngest ever non-subcontinental player to make a century in ODI cricket.

    Morgan is the first cricketer to have scored a first-class double century for Ireland with an unbeaten 209 against the United Arab Emirates in February 2007 at Abu Dhabi. In February 2007, Morgan was named in Ireland's 15-man squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup

    In May 2007, Morgan was named as one of England's twelfth men for the Lord's Test versus West Indies, and came on for Matthew Hoggard on the third day. Eoin was educated at Catholic University School on leeson street and won several senior cup cricket winners medals playing for CUS.

  • ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup, 2003/04 Averages: Ireland Under-19s
  • ICC Under-19s Cricket World Cup, 2005/06 Batting - Most Runs
  • Scotland v Ireland at Ayr, 5 August 2006
  • ODIs - Youngest to Score Century
  • Dominant Morgan sets Irish record

    Eion Morgan vs Kenya

    Eion Morgan vs South Africa

    *Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.com, Cricinfo.com

  • In the International Spotlight...Malta Cricket

    In the International Spotlight...Malta Cricket:

    Maltese people playing cricket

    The Malta Cricket Association was set up in 1989 although the first cricket match to be played on the Maltese Islands was between the British Services regiments stationed at the Cottonera and Valletta back in 1878 at the Verdala Palace Ground. By 1903 the game started to spread over to several keen Maltese enthusiasts and several competitions existed. With the setting up of the association it became involved and was a founder member of the European Cricket Federation. In fact Malta is represented in the European Nations Cup which is held biannually with the participation of ten countries.

    The Malta Cricket Association has a season long of activities ranging from organizing the national league and a number of friendly matches against foreign opposition and has been trying hard to get the game going in schools over the years. Recently a coaching clinic was re introduced at the Marsa Cricket Club. This is being held on Saturday mornings from 9.30am till 11.30am at the Marsa Sports club. There are four clubs in Malta. Two are based at the Marsa Sports Club, Marsa C.C and Krishna C.C. the other two clubs are Melita C.C and Overseas C.C. All games are played at the Marsa Sports ground being the only ground available. Marsa C.C hosts games played against touring teams mainly from England. All players have a chance to play.

    If you would like to find more about cricket in this country here are some excellent references/links --->

  • http://blogs.cricinfo.com/btw/archives/malta/
  • Malta Cricket Tours

    Malta Cricket

    malta_cricket Marsa SCCC


    *Acknowledgements of text to the Malta Olympic Committee

  • Monday, February 18, 2008

    www.whoplayscricket.com

    Hey everyone,
    as of the 14th of this month (sorry for the lateness of this particular post) this cricket blog-site is also known as www.whoplayscricket.com. I bought this domain because I thought it would be easier for others to remember and the cost of US$7.99 from godaddy.com I thought was very reasonable :) My blogsite will still also be knowen as whoplayscricket.blogspot.com. Thank-you to all the visitors that have come to visit my blogsite! I am still working on ideas to make this a better experience and I rely on readers comments for this, feel free to pass on any questions to me :)



    Cheers!
    Rob

    The worlds cricketing nations

    Heres a map showing every cricketing nation in the world today. Note that there is three tiers, they are: Full Members (nations that are qualified to play all forms of cricket), associates (other countries that are recognised as cricket playing nations but aren't qualified for tests), and affiliate nations (nations that have some sort of organised structure to the game and is recognised my the ICC, but yet to gain associate status). Here it is: --->>>

    Map no.1

    all the worlds cricketing nations


    If you have problems viewing the maps or if its taking too slow for the page to load up please let me know and I will do my best to fix the problem :).

    Player Profile(no.5)...Jacques Kallis(South Africa):

    Player Profile...Jacques Kallis(South Africa):

    Jacques Kallis

    Jacques Kallis

    South Africa is home to some of the most revered and well known people on the planet. It is also known for the beautiful savannahs and rich abundant wildlife, the High Veldt, and its sporting prowess in sports like Rugby union and of course Cricket. In regard to cricket there have been a number of players that have been given the tag as the worlds’ best whether it be all-rounder, bowler or batsman, and one player that has blossomed to prominence in all forms of cricket is Jacques Kallis.

    This brilliant efficient batsman burst onto the scene in 1995 when he made his Test
    Missed the first Test of South Africa's tour of Australia at the end of 2005 with an elbow problem, struggled facing Brett Lee at Melbourne and was hampered by the injury in making a patient and crucial 111 in the first innings at Sydney. Added a slow, unbeaten half-century in the second innings as South Africa contemplated their declaration and ended with an average of 61.33. Stood in as captain for the gut-wrenching third Test in a return series at home recently, and was the lead South African batsman in a bowler-dominated contest. A fighting 114 out of a total of 267 at Durban highlighted his series return of 227 runs and seven wickets. With Graeme Smith ruled out for 12 weeks with an ankle injury, Kallis was named captain for three ODIs and a Twenty20 against Zimbabwe at home ahead of the Champions Trophy in October.

    Against India at home at the end of the 2006, Kallis topped the ODI run tally on either side with 168 at 84, including an unbeaten hundred, but managed only one fifty in the Test series. Against Pakistan just after that, Kallis continued to amaze with his all-round feats. He was the leading run-scorer of the series and his bowling was vital in a weaker attack at Newlands. In the ODIs, he hit two crucial half-centuries and topped the averages. At the 2007 World Cup, Kallis was South Africa's highest run-scorer with 485, but drew further criticism for his sluggish approach at the crease. Failed in the semi-final against eventual winners Australia. Kallis was not included in the South African side for the Twenty20 World Championship at home in September.

    It was, however, no surprise to see him live up to his reputation after being recalled to the side for short tour of Pakistan towards the end of 2007. After back-to-back Man-of-the-match titles there really was only one contender for Man of the Series, and Kallis continued his excellent form with hundreds and wickets in series against New Zealand and West Indies at home. Kallis's continued run of prolific scores helped him displace Mohammad Yousuf from the second position in the rankings for Test batsmen, and Kallis also extended his lead in the rankings for Test allrounders, where he moved in first place ahead of Andrew Flintoff.

    The 13 or so years that Jacques Kallis has been around for has provided the cricketing world with excellent entertainment and has been a pleasure to watch both his bowling and batting throughout his career. Over those 13 years he developed from an ordinary cricketer to one that will have legendary status for years to come, and from his development it can be said that if one puts in the hard yards they can achieve anything and in Jacques Kallis’s case he has achieved a career any sports enthusiast would be proud of and the fact that he put alot of work into refining his techniques in all forms of the game proves the passion he has for the game.

    Jacques Kallis

    Jacques-Kallis

    Jacques Kallis and his partner at the ICC awards

    *Acknowledgements to Cricinfo.com, Andrew Miller and Jamie Alter

    Friday, February 15, 2008

    In the international spotlight...Ireland Cricket

    In The international Spotlight...Ireland Cricket:

    Ireland National Cricket Team

    Ireland vs West Indies

    Leprechauns , kissing the Blarney Stone, Guinness, Gaelic Football....They are some of things that Ireland is world famous for, and as their saying goes- “to be sure, to be sure”, they also have a cricket team. As with almost every country that has ever played cricket, close-neighbouring Ireland was introduced to the cricketing world by the English. The 1800s was when cricket in Ireland started to grow its first seeds when the game was introduced in the towns of Kilkenny and Ballinasloe and during the following 30 years the game started to spread outwards and many clubs that were established during this early expansion still exist today.

    The first official Ireland National Team was inaugurated and played their 1st game in 1855. This was long before any Test Match was ever played. Their first opponents were

    An Englishman by the name of Charles Lawrence was a key influence for cricket’s growth in Ireland. He helped the games’ development and also played the game himself, and he was based mainly in Dublin. All this took place in the 1850s. Ireland also became a place for professional touring teams to ply their trade during the 1850’s and 1860’s and the first team to go over was the M.C.C in 1858.

    The spread of the game in Ireland continued until the 1880s when there was an outbreak of land wars in which Landlord and Tenant were alienated. Also there was a ban placed on foreign games by the Gaelic Athletic Association who maintain and look after of games that are native to Ireland such as Hurling and Gaelic Football. They managed to hang onto this particular ban until 1970. The rule during this ban was as follows: “if a player played the extremely popular Irish games he could not play the ‘foreign’ games. If he did he would be banned from the Irish Games.” Another event which seemed to curb the development of cricket in Ireland was in 1921 when Southern Ireland was inaugurated as an Independent State and with this development came the exodus of the Lord Lieutenant and his court, the army and the civil servants, and from that the game of cricket lost many prominent players. However through this setback the game in Ireland prospered. Ireland sent teams to Canada and USA in 1879, 1888, 1892 and 1909. The high class teams that came to Ireland were highly entertained and in 1904 the South Africans were beaten in Cork. An Irish Cricket Union was formed in its infancy in 1890 but only lasted until 1923. The union people know of today is the one founded in that year.

    The post was era began with a match -v- Scotland in 1946 and so there have been 50 post war seasons. The fixture list expanded. County teams began to visit Ireland, as well as the Test playing countries. Entry to the Gillette Cup (Nat. West from 1981 onwards) was achieved in 1980 and to the Benson & Hedges in 1994. Tours were made to America and Canada in 1973 and twice to Zimbabwe in 1986 and 1991. In 1993 began the Triple Crown Series, involving matches between Ireland, England N.C.A., Scotland and Wales. Entry to I.C.C. in 1993 allowed Ireland to compete in the I.C.C. Associate Members' Trophy in 1994 finishing seventh of 20 countries and qualifying for the semi finals in 1997. 1996 saw the initial European Championship, hosted by Denmark with Ireland being the inaugural winners. This is intended to be a biennial event.
    The change in the game's overall structure to a greater preponderance of Limited Overs Circuit has been reflected in the programme of the Irish Cricket Union. Prior to 1981, the year of our entry into the Gillette Cup, Ireland had never played an official Limited Overs match. The few such games that had been played were non-cap matches. Thus the first 305 matches played by Ireland were all time games, including one-day games played. Since the first official Limited Overs Match in 1980, Ireland has played 203 matches in all, of which 123 have been Limited Overs. Even this percentage is continuing to rise. In 1998 there were 22 matches in all played of which 20 were Limited Overs and a further 5 Limited Overs matches scheduled were abandoned without a ball being bowled.

    In the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies came one of the finest performances ever seen in an Irish team. They beat Pakistan in pool play to advance to the quarter-finals. The coach for the Pakistani team was very dismayed that his team lost to a “minnow” nation, and soon after one of the most controversial events of the World Cup occurred when Bob Woolmer (the Pakistan Coach) died supposedly of a heart attack. Ireland thoroughly deserved a place in the quarterfinals as they showed immense passion and no matter what they seemed to always be enjoying themselves and played in good spirits in the game. It is from this that the conclusion can be drawn that Cricket in Ireland has alot of potential and there is no doubt if they keep up the passion and enjoyment for the game they could one day remove their “minnow” status and be welcomed into the top echelon of cricketing nations. To see a video clip of Ireland bundling Pakistan out of the 2007 Cricket World Cup click HERE. Also an article on the same match can be found by going HERE. Scroll down to the article with the title "Ireland Dump Pakistan out of World Cup".

    Trent Johnston- Ireland National Cricket Team

    Ireland Cricket Fans  Are Very FUN!

    Ireland Stun Bangladesh  by 73 runs 2007 Cricket World Cup in West Indies

    *Acknowledgements to Cricinfo.com, www.rte.ie/sport, www.spectacleboat.com, www.sundayworld.com, www.infacta.com

    Wednesday, February 13, 2008

    Some very worthwhile extras, must see!

    Hey everyone,
    Was at a friends house the other day and saw this confusing yet amusing poem about cricket. It boggled my mind to start with but managed to get my head around it:) Without further ado here it is:

    Cricket- as explained to a foreign visitor:

    Each man thats in the side that's in goes out and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out.

    When they are all out, the side thats out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and then tries to get those coming in out.

    Sometimes you get men still in and not out.

    When both sides have been in and out including the not outs...

    Thats the end of the game.

    HOWZAT!?

    *Acknowledgements to the Marybelone Cricket Club, and "Ulster".

    Backyard Cricket- Our Favourite Pastime!

    Backyard Cricket- Our favourite Pastime:

    Flood tide cricket on the Fairhaven surf beach, Victoria, Australia in Jan 06

    Backyard Cricket

    Backyard cricket, Street cricket, beach cricket or garden cricket is an informal variant of the game of cricket, played by people of both sexes and all ages in gardens, back yards, on the street, in parks, carparks, beaches and any area not specifically intended for the purpose.

    Overview:

    Whilst loosely based upon the game of cricket, many aspects are improvised: the playing ground, the rules, the teams, and the equipment. Quite often there are no teams at all; the players take turns at batting and there is often no emphasis on actually scoring runs. A bat of some kind is necessary. The bat can be anything, as long as it can hit the ball and can be suitably held in the hands. A ball (often a tennis ball, since this is less likely than a cricket ball to inflict injury) is the other essential item, (a tennis ball can be modified by wrapping half of the ball in insulating tape in order to induce swing bowling). The tennis ball is also common due to being much cheaper and more readily available than a leather cricket ball and is easier to hit due to having a slower air-speed. The pitch can be any stretch of ground that is reasonably flat. The wicket may be any convenient object - a cardboard box, a rubbish bin, case of beer, telegraph pole, or tree. Often, the wicket is by no means close to the official size, but it is used anyway. A wicket at the non-striker's end is generally a single stump if true stumps are available and in the absence of larger objects may be just a hat. Its main purpose is to mark the bowler's crease, but you can be run out by it. Standard footwear used in backyard cricket are thongs (flip-flops) or bare feet.

    Rules:

    Backyard cricket rules change constantly. Often they are made up on the spot. As always with informal games, it is the unspoken rules that are most important: these are usually that all participants should have a reasonable chance to play a part regardless of age, gender, or skill level, and that no-one should be injured. Typical examples of the less important but explicit rules for a particular game include:

    *Roofs or flats? - Often the toss is conducted by spinning a bat in the air which will either land face down (with the roof shaped back of the bat pointing up) or with the flat face pointing up. Making this choice correctly gives the captain making the call the choice of innings. Since a bat thrown randomly will land "rooves" with about a 70% frequency, most people will call "rooves" when given the choice. Knowing this, however, a canny thrower may tailor his or her throw to increase the odds of "flats". With practice, the probability of throwing a bat to come up "flats" can be greatly enhanced.

    *Bowling - 'normally' 6 balls to an over with a new bowler each over. There will always be 'two' balls to go in an over. Sometimes longer overs or no overs are used. The striker's (batsman) and non-striker's (bowler) ends do not change. Instead, if there are two batsmen, they swap ends at the end of each over.

    *Last ball pending soup - on the bowlers otherwise last ball of the over, the "last ball pending soup" rule can apply, where the bowler is granted an extra delivery everytime he puts the batsman under a degree of discomfort, which is said to be placed in a soup due to the delivery. This may include such as an edge or a complete missed stroke.

    *No balls - would normally only be given if the ball is a grubber (strikes the pitch and rolls rather than bouncing). Random play may throw up other incidents which are inarguably a no ball though. The ball will be bowled again and depending on the days rules, will probably score the batsmen a run.

    *Wides - Have to be obvious. A wide may or may not be bowled again depending on local rules and may or may not score a run. It is not wide if the batsmen swings at it unless it is out of his reach at the full extension of arm and bat. Which is a wide as obvious as a barn.

    *First ball rule(A.K.A Trial Ball) - a player cannot be given out on the first ball he/she faces. This rule is generally applied to those with little cricketing skill.

    *No Duck - a player cannot be given out without scoring.

    *Wicket Dispute - When there is a dispute over a wicket, (a good example being the run-out rule), it is very common that the bowler will believe a player is out, and the batsman will believe it is not out. If there is not a mutual umpire present, the decision is often made with a compromise, such as 5 runs off the batsman's score however continue batting. If no compromise is accepted by both parties, the next step is 'Last Man Standing'. Some people choose to use a 'majority rules' system before the 'Last Man Standing' system, however it is common that the bowling or batting team will have more players, and therefore the decision will always go their way, or if the numbers are equal, there will be no majority. The 'last man standing rule' means that the first team to leave the backyard or playing area (such as an oval or beach), automatically forfeits the wicket. If the batter leaves first, they are automatically out, if the bowler leaves first, the batter is not out.

    *3 miss rule - once a player has failed to hit 3 consecutive deliveries they are out, this number can be adjusted depending on ability and number of players. Rare.

    *Six and out rule - hitting the ball over the fence (or into the water, into the big hedge, or some other area where the ball may be difficult to retrieve) counts as six runs and out. If a game is being played where runs are not scored, this rule may still apply. A variant of this rule is hitting the ball inside or outside house(s) if playing outside or inside respectively.

    *Lost Ball - if a batsmen hits the ball to an area where the fielders are unable to find it, the batsmen may be called over to help in finding the lost ball if the fielders are unable to locate it. If the batsmen is also unable to find the ball, he/she is out including the runs they made off the lost ball.

    *One hand, one bounce - a player is able to catch the batsman out with one hand as long as the ball has bounced only once, hence the name "one-hand, once bounce." A variation on this is that a player is out if caught one-handed after the ball has bounced off an obstacle (not the ground) such as a house, car, or window pane, etc. If playing in an enclosed area, such as in a driveway or in cricket nets, this rule can also be: One Hand Off the Net. Another variation counts "one hand, one bounce" as half a wicket, requiring two catches for a dismissal. This counteracts the ease of dismissal when playing on hard surfaces with a tennis ball. This rule was invented to make fielding easier while holding a drink.

    *Two Bounce Headbutt - A fielding player is able to headbutt the ball after it has bounced on the ground twice to dismiss the batsman

    *Two Bounce Kick-up - A fielding player is able to kick the ball and catch it on the full with one hand after it has bounced on the ground twice to dismiss the batsman

    *No LBW - the more complex and subtle rules of formal cricket (like the leg before wicket rule) are often ignored. This rule is often expanded to include no-balls and most wides (unless of course, the ball is unmistakably wide). This rule came about because of the lack of umpires in this form of the game. Indeed, the bowling and popping creases are hardly ever indicated. There is simply a general consensus to deliver the ball when at a certain area.

    *Fixed LBW - if LBW is being used, the ball must hit a specified area of the batsman, usually designated as below the knees while the batsmen is standing in his/her crease and directly in front of the stumps for he/she to be out.

    *Tippy-go', Tippity, Tip-and-run, Tip-hit, Hit and run, Tipsy, Tipneys, One Tip or similar - if the batsman hits the ball he or she must run regardless of the distance or quality of the shot played. This is sometimes varied to two or three chances and the player must run before the second or third ball, respectively. These variant are called two tip and three tip respectively.

    *Tip-is-it, Batsman's fault or Tippers out - often employed when there are two batsmen and the above rule is in effect. Tip-is-it specifies that in the event of a runout the batsman who hit the ball is out, regardless of which player is found short of their crease. This helps prevent the non-striker being dismissed at fault of their batting player.

    *Any wicket - Fielders may run the batsman out by knocking over either wicket, irrespective of the end the batsman was running to.

    *Swapping of ball- A tactic often employed when the batsmen at the crease is considered by the majority of the participating players to be of an irritating nature, rude, ugly or to posses any feature which the bowler dislikes. In this rule the bowler is entitled to change the ball used in play without the batsman's knowledge. The ball may be changed to a leather cricket ball, incredi-ball or other ball of the bowlers choice. In this rule balls of a short length or full tosses above waste height are deemed legal.
    Another variation on this rule is the ability of the bowler to at certain stages throughout the game bowl two balls in one hand at the batsman on strike. This tactic is usually employed under the same circumstances as the above ruling

    *Automatic Wickie, Electric wicket-keeper, or electronic wicket-keeper, automatic wicket-keeper, or auto-wiky - a rule which states that if a batsman "snicks", or edges, the ball so it goes to where a wicket-keeper might have been able to catch him out, then the batsman is out, regardless of the fact that he was not physically caught out. Also if the bowler is bowling spin or slow bowls then the automatic wickie can stump the batsman, the batsman will usually get one warning however. Electric/automatic wicket-keeper is often a feature of backyard games played in house driveways and against garage doors, where it is physically impossible for any player to take the fielding position of wicket-keeper. Of course, if there is a person playing at 'keeper, the electric/automatic wicket-keeper rule does not apply; an electric/automatic slip fieldsman might be called into play instead.

    *Safe - if there is only one batsmen and he makes a single run, he/she must exclaim Safe!, Wicket!, Crease! or similar before walking back to the batting crease, or they may be run out. If the batsman wants to leave his crease at any time when not making a run, he/she must exclaim 'Wicket Leave' or 'Wicket' before he steps outside his/her crease.

    *Magic Fielders, similar to the automatic wicket keeper rule, magic fielders can range from a chair to a hose, cars to windows, and the rule states that any magic fielder that is hit on the full will be recorded as out.

    *Bowler gets the shit, If a bowler is hit into an area which is inhospitable, hard to field or of a large distance away from the playing field they are required to collect the ball. This rule however only applies when the ball is hit in a position which doesn't result in the batsman's dismissal. If the ball is hit in an illegal area (over the fence for example) and the batter is given out then it is his/her job to retrieve the ball.

    *Tree Fielders, similar to the Magic Fielder rule, the bowler is allowed to nominate a set number of trees (or bushes) as fielders. If the ball hits the tree on the full, the batsman is out. There are variations on the rules, such as the tree's canopy only counting as a fielder.

    *Hit and Roll rule, Trap - a rule in which fielders who retrieves balls hit by the batsman are given the opportunity to get the batsman out by rolling the ball from that point towards the batsman's bat which is laid flat on the ground facing the fielder. If the ball rolls and hits the bat then the batsman is out and is replaced by that fielder. If the ball is only hit within a short distance, then instead of laying the bat down, the batsman swings the bat like a pendulum and the fielder targets the swinging bat. Another variant involving balls which are only hit over short distances is that the batsman holding his bat with the edge facing the fielder. The fielder aims to target this to get the batsman out as above.

    *Hit and Run rule - When the batsman hits or nicks the ball they are forced to run otherwise they are out, this will speed up the game if there are many players.

    *Peg - after the batsman has struck the ball they do not run. Once the fielder has the ball, they may throw it at the batsman's wicket. If the fielder hits the wicket, then the batsman is out and it is the fielder's turn to bat. Alternatively, if the batsman is caught or bowled then the fielder responsible bats next. Uncommon, bears more in common with Rounders.

    *Hit the Window - If the batsman's shot hits a fragile item such as a window pane or a car, they are often given out. However this rule normally doesn't apply if the ball has ricocheted off another item first.

    *House Rule - If the ball hits the house the batsman is out. Sometimes this is limited to the roof, or another area of the house, such as a garage door or a fence.

    *Creases - The bowling crease is generally the non-strikers wicket along a line straight out to either side. The batsman's crease may be marked by a stick or spare bat, but is generally made by dragging the bat across the line of the pitch at a guessed metre out from the stumps and however distance is large enough to be clearly seen.

    *Batter to bowler - not used much anymore but still an accepted form, a batsmen who goes out bowls the remainder of the over.

    *Can't Bat then Bowl - If a lot a players are playing the batsman that just went out can not bowl for at least one over after he goes out. Sometimes he is not allowed to bowl until everyone else has bowled depending on local rules

    *Scoring - when used is an informal thing with people keeping count in their heads and the winner gets nothing more than prestige. Runs can be made by running the length of the pitch.
    Sixes and Fours vary based on the surroundings but generally they are as follows: Fence on the bounce is 4, on the full is 6, over the fence is 6 and out. Far side of the road is 4, on the full is 6. If it goes too far down or over the road its six and out. The roof is 6 and out. Cars and caravans are out with no score. The house/shed is 4 on the bounce, 6 on the full. The windows though are out, no score. If the ball is lost in the bushes/scrub local rules apply. The batsman may keep running indefinitely, but more often a maximum number of runs would be agreed upon before he helps search, or he may join in the search immediately. A token 4 runs may be added.

    *Catcher's in - The person who gets the batsman out will be the next to bat unless some players are missing out, in which case it will go to the person with the least chances at bat, or the youngest of same. Taking the catch counts as taking the wicket, the bowler gets no credit.

    *Current - In the absence of two sets of stumps or objects of similar height and structure are total non availability (where batting stumps are drawn on walls doors etc,.)the bowlers end has usually a stone,or any similar object(including sandals),to act as stumps.Since hitting it directly with a ball is nearly impossible,the fielder can just have contact with the stone,while catching the ball in order to run out a batsman.Usually the contact is with legs.

    *Going out - catch on the full, run out (either end for one batsman games), bowled, one-hand one bounce, 6 and out, roof, car, window etc is out, no 6. Spectators can catch you out.

    *Number of batters - really depends on how many players you have. Two players only happens if there are enough fielders.

    *Last man gets his tucker - The last batter for each side is allowed to bat without a partner so that no-one is left stranded and everyone gets a turn.

    *Bouncing on grass - where the pitch is a small patch of lawn, or area surrounded by a cement circle/rectangle/path/etc, the ball must bounce on the green (or similar area) first, or else can be given out. Also similarly when there are few players, the ball might have to go past a certain point before runs can be scored.

    *Third Umpire - In the event that there is a third umpire decision required a "toss" of the bat will occur and the batsman will make the call, if the call is successful then the batsman will remain "in" otherwise the batsman is "out".
    Peg Leg- if the batsmen and fielding players cannot decide whether the batsman is out or not the bats may be asked to play peg-leg.This is when the batsmen must use the handle to hit the ball rather than the blade of the bat. Roofs or Sheds-In a situation where the ball is hit on the roof or shed a fielder can claim the out by catching it with one hand of the roof.

    Within a given game, rules are often interpreted in varying ways, or added to as the game progresses. A younger child that benefits from the "first ball rule" but goes out to the second ball also might discover that there is now, by unspoken consensus, a "second ball rule" as well, and if necessary a "third ball rule".
    The scoring system is sometimes modified, with rules such as "12 and Out" or "8 and Out" an event that occurs when a player hits the ball a great distance, possible over the road or into the ocean, depending on the location of the game. Sometimes, the "Aggrigate Rule" is played, meaning that a player receives the runs from a boundary as well as any runs they claim during the chase and retrieval of the ball. This allows for scores such as fives and sixes (without getting out).
    In some parts of the world, backyard cricket (and other similar games) is one of the very few truly child-like activities that modern adults may participate in without attracting social stigma, and one of the dwindling number of adult activities that are accessible to children.

    In India,Pakistan, Srilanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan & Nepal it is also known as gully cricket (Street Cricket).

    Tactics:

    *Cant go out first ball- This tactic is commonly used if the rule of "you cant go out first ball" is in place. A batsmen will take advantage of his inability to go out on the first ball by attempting to hit the ball as far as possible, often over the fence for six. This is done for two reasons.
    -To tally extra runs without the possibility of going out.
    -To punish the person bowling as it is their duty to retrieve the ball

    Another variation on this rule is if the first ball a batter faces is deemed as unreachable (Off the pitch for example) The bowler is then obliged to bowl another ball in which the batsman is unable to be dismissed from. This rule continues until the bowler bowls a ball considered legal

    *Snicket - A tactic employed by batters. Instead of hitting the ball towards the boundary or into open space, the batsman nicks the ball, thus sending it past the wickets. If there is no wicketkeeper, slips, or as in many backyard games, thick bushes, the batter can make several runs, while the bowler or the fielders run to retrieve it. This tactic is often banned by a disgruntled fielding team.

    *The Lost Ball Trick - A tactic employed by fielders. When the ball is hit into bushes, the fielder/s locate the ball, but rather than return it to the pitch, the fielder/s pretend to continue to search for the ball, thus coaxing the batter to go for another run. At this time, the fielder quickly returns the ball, and if properly executed causes the batter to be run out.

    *The Hide the Ball Trick - A tactic employed by fielders (at least 5 are required for). This tactic is similar to the "Lost Ball Trick". However, this tactic requires more fielders and is notably more spectacular, therefore is only used to dismiss batters who have been in for a long amount of time. When the ball is hit into bushes, the fielder/s locate the ball, but rather than return it to the pitch, they pretend to continue to search for the ball, thus coaxing the batter to go for another run. After about 15 seconds of "unsuccessful" searching, several other fielders (including the wicketkeeper or bowler) go over to help, appearing to be annoyed. The initial searcher slips the ball to the bowler/wicketkeeper, who after another 10-15 seconds of "fruitless" searching return disdainfully to their positions near the wicket with the ball hidden in a pocket or behind their back. The player appears to be impatiently awaiting the discovery of the ball, until the batter goes for another run. At this time, the player "knocks of the bails" with the ball, thus ending the batsman's innings.

    *Bush Belting - A tactic employed by batsmen. If a thick, spiky, spiderweb infested or otherwise inhospitable bush is located near the pitch, the batter "slogs" the ball into it, thus slowing the fielders.

    *Cheeky run or Bump and Run - In the absence of a wicketkeeper or silly point fielders, the batsman can 'blade' the ball by playing a defensive shot and take a cheeky single. This tactic is countered by the fielding team by disallowing single runs altogether, thus forcing the batsman into positive strokeplay to get runs.

    *Wet Ball Trick - The ability by the bowler to inconspicously soak the ball (usually a tennis ball) in water, and bowl it to the batter without their knowledge. If executed correctly, this causes both the ball to bounce and skid off the surface faster, while also causing water to be sprayed into the batsmens face. Many a great wicket have been taken with this technique.
    *Guyanese Wicket - If using a wicketkeeper, the wicketkeeper can attempt to tip the wicket over with their foot or hand, giving the impression of the batsmen hitting the wicket.

    Beach Cricket:

    Play on an actual beach can be achieved either by using the flat strip of hard-packed sand along the surf line as the pitch, or by only "bowling" gentle full tosses to avoid the problem of the ball not bouncing off loose sand. If there are no true stumps available a bin is the first choice, followed by a deck chair. While Eskies (Plastic drinks cooler) are sometimes used they are less popular because they are too bulky, someone is probably sitting on it and the drinks are still inside it. In beach cricket the creases and the boundary are normally drawn in the sand in a line which extends well past the side of the agreed pitch to prevent them becoming obliterated in the first over. The batsmen will frequently redraw the line. Sometimes, play is shifted along the beach to a new pitch as the packed sand of the original pitch is turned up, thus reducing the standard of or even completely disabling bowling.

    The tide plays a big part in the standard of the pitch in beach cricket. During low tide, the pitch tends to be on the semi-wet sand, and is deemed superior than cricket played in high tide (when the pitch is on dryer, looser sand). In particularly long matches, the play will shift up and down the beach depending on the tide.

    Beach Cricket Tri-Nations Tournament.

    Positions in Backyard Cricket

    *Acknowledgements of text to Wikipedia.com

    England's woeful game against New Zealand

    Just would like to say what an excellent and clinical performance by the New Zealand side in the 2nd ODI against England in 12/2/08. England succumbed to their 4th 10 wicket loss in recent times and whoever underestimated New Zealand before the ODI serious were hugely mistaken and I say they probably were humiliated. We thoroughly deserved to win and in that performance we justified our top 3 position in the world in ODI cricket. It goes to show that any side that showed the guts and determination as the kiwis' done can achieve anything. A great account of this match can be viewed by going HERE. Scorecard.

    Tuesday, February 12, 2008

    Player Profile(#4)...Brian Lara(West Indies)

    Brian Lara

    Brian Lara


    Born in a family that had the same number of children as a fielded cricket team (11), it wasn’t very long until Brian Charles Lara took to the bat and was bitten by cricketing game bug. Right from the onset it was evident he was a very talented sportsman, apart from the game of cricket he also played for Trinidad’s junior soccer and table tennis teams. At 6 years of age he was introduced to the finer techniques of the game when his father and one of his older sisters enrolled him at the Harvard Coaching Clinic and it was perhaps attending these classes that helped his passion for the game grow which made him choose cricket as his main and primary focus.

    His great cricketing career really started to grow when at the tender age of 14 he made a positively astonishing 745 runs at an average of 126.16 in the schoolboy’s league (for Fatima College). This brilliant and Don Bradman-esqe like performance from the youngster earned him a call-up to the Trinidad National U16 team. The following year he stepped up and was selected in the Trinidad side to play in the West Indian U19 tournament and through his successes there he gained selection for the West Indies U19 side, which was very well earned. The year of 1987 was a season where he achieved yet another great milestone, by getting 498 runs and beating the record of 480 by fellow West Indian Carl Hooper in the West Indies Youth Championships. He also was captain for the Trinidad and Tobago side during this tournament which ultimately won this tournament due to his heroic innings of 116. His long-awaited Senior First-Class debut was made in January of 1988 when he played for Trinidad and Tobago in the Red Stripe Cup against Leeward Islands. His following match against a Barbados side was where he made a very credible 92 against a legendary bowling attack of Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall. In the same year he was the head-honcho of the West Indies side that participated in the Bicentennial Youth World Cup in Australia where his side carved a road to the semi-finals, and later that season he captained the West Indies U23 XI against a touring Indian team, where his remarkable innings of 182 enhanced his growing reputation even more.

    Eventually his superb performances earned him a call-up to the senior West Indies side but due to the death of his father he put that stage of his cricketing career temporarily on hold, as one can imagine losing one of their parents’ can be devastating and is an unfortunate occasion where the game of cricket has to temporarily take a back seat. 1989 was when he began his resurgence when he captained a West Indies B team to Zimbabwe and scored an encouraging 145 during the tour to the Southern African country.

    In 1990 Brian Lara was made Captain of the senior Trinidad and Tobago team at the tender age of 20, and he showed his class and maturity by leading the side to the one-day Geddes Grant Shield. This was another milestone as now he was the youngest ever captain for the side, which surely prepared him for his belated Test debut against Pakistan. On this occasion he scored 44 and 5 in his innings. His ODI debut however came a month prior against the same opposition and he scored 11 on this occasion. The 1992 World Cup in New Zealand/Australia saw him perform to an exceptional standard, averaging 47.57 during the tournament with a highest score of 88 retired hurt. In January of 1993 saw a performance by him that typified his reputation and class. In Australia he scored a maiden century (277) in his 5th ever test and this performance was one that would eventually lead a West Indies comeback in the series against the Australians to win the series 2-1.

    Brian Lara’s career contained many highlights, including several major records. He holds both records for the highest innings score in Test and first-class, with scores of 400n.o (against a touring England side in 2004) and 501 for Warwickshire vs Durham in 1994, respectively. In the latter he hit 308 of those runs in boundaries (10 sixes and 62 fours). He is also the only man in history to reclaim a World Record innings score. In 1994 he scored a then world record 375 against England (in turn beating Sir Garfield Sobers record of 365) which he held for nearly 10 years until 2003 when Matthew Hayden scored a hard-hitting 380 against an inexperienced Zimbabwe side (he was eventually out to Trevor Gripper), and he reclaimed the record the following year with that brilliant innings of 400 n.o. He is the only batsman in international Test history to achieve the Holy Grail of test cricket (breaking the 400 mark). On 16th Dec 2006 he was the first player from the West Indies to achieve the milestone of 10,000 ODI runs. Sachin Tendulkar and himself are the only batsmen to score as many runs in both ODI and Test forms of cricket.

    The dead-rubber game against England in the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies on April 21st was to be his swansong in ODI cricket. In his last innings he was involved in a bad mix-up at the crease with Marlon Samuels and was run out for 18, with England prevailing to win the match by one wicket. During the post-match interview he asked his fans “Did I entertain?” and the answer was a very loud “YES!” I’m sure he was humbled by this show of respect by his fans. He showed his respect and acknowledgement to his fans by doing a lap of honour around the ground, where he met some of those fans. It was said that this was going to be the last time he was going to have an active role in cricket however on 23rd July 2007 he signed with the Indian Cricket League to play for the Mumbai Champs, of whom he is currently the captain of.

    To find out more statistics and highlights of his career click HERE
    Brian Lara

    Brian Lara

    Brian Lara

    *Acknowledgements to Cricinfo.com, Google.com, Wikipedia.com.

    Monday, February 11, 2008

    Miscellanious

    Hi everyone,
    Due to his legendary status and all the amazing feats that he achieved in his career, my next player profile on Brian Lara (West Indies) will take longer than expected to do, however It will be done within the next three days, my other articles will still be done as planned.

    Cheers:)
    Rob

    One Month Anniversary!

    One Month Anniversary Special:

    Hey everyone!

    Just thought I’d write an article to celebrate the one month anniversary of my blog-site. I hope everyone who has come to have a look has enjoyed the content they have seen? I haven’t seen any comments yet so I assume my blog-site is rated good amongst the readers. Thank-you to all the visitors that have come to see my blog-site . If anyone has any cricket related content they want to see on my blog-site please inform me by leaving comments so I know what everyone out there wants to see. I originally only wanted to do just the 1st article but I have got serious about it and I spend alot of time researching appropriate material for each article, and at the end of each article I acknowledge my sources so I can show some sort of professionalism.

    As most of you have figured out I am very passionate about the game of cricket. It has been a huge part of my life and cricket is so much more than the game itself, it’s about a gathering of like-minded people who are passionate about the game on a lush green ground to play this game we love, and make lasting friendships through the game and to learn from one another. I am very interested in cricket from all over the world, and if some people haven’t noticed I have put a focus on some of the lesser known cricketing nations, as there are indeed other cricketing nations besides the countries that currently full members of the ICC (which include New Zealand, Australia, England, Pakistan, India, West Indies, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka). One of my sources, Cricinfo.com contains a full list of all the current cricket playing countries that play the game, which are in excess of 100. It is very interesting and great to see so much countries that play cricket, we should embrace each one of them and assist the minnows in the game to further their development and progression of the game.

    It’s not just players from the top sides in world cricket that provide the highlights (e.g: the powerful hitting of Adam Gilchrist, the magical spin bowling of Muttiah Muralithiran or the legendary status of players like Brian Lara and Shane Warne). If anyone has watched the past two World Cups there have been some exceptional performances by some players from the minnow nations. The hard-hitting John Davison(Canada), that memorable gravity-defying catch in the slips against India by the larger-than-life Dwayne Leverock of Bermuda, and the immense passion, effort and dedication of that giant-killing Ireland side who made the quarterfinals! I’m sure that any cricketing side with the passion and dedication that the Irish showed, despite odds being stacked heavily against them, the sky’s the limit for them. I’m sure there will be alot of people out there like myself that will be keeping an eye on these up and coming cricketing nations.

    Stay tuned for more articles and posts and please leave some comments and keep spreading the word about my blog-site :).