I was trawling through the internet for something to write about and I was shocked to see what I saw, I kept saying "Netherlands beat England" over and over again. England is the home of cricket, and where Twenty20 cricket first started off from. This game was played at Lords, which is known the world over as being the spiritual home of cricket. Anyone would expect England to easily trounce a minnow like the Netherlands but as some history suggests, not even the giants of cricket are immune to the biggest upsets (Bangladesh Beating the Aussies at Sophia Gardens in 2005, Ireland's heroics at the 2007 World Cup are two examples that stick out in my mind).
The Netherlands played well above their weight and known skill level to beat England by 4 wickets in the upset with TN de Grooth being the man of the match. This is a game that will go down in history and remind the big players in world cricket to not underestimate any opposition. I hope that they will produce more giant killing performances.
View the news bulletin and scorecard by clicking HERE. Also see them celebrate their deserved win by clicking HERE.
*Acknowledgements to Wikipedia.org and owners of pictures and videos used.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
The biggest upset of the century
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.
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, November 6, 2008
Player Profile(#30)...Ryan Sidebottom(England)
Ryan Jay Sidebottom (born 15 January 1978 in Huddersfield) is an English cricketer who plays international cricket for England and domestic cricket for Nottinghamshire. He is a primarily a left-arm fast-medium bowler. Sidebottom played his first Test match in 2001 against Pakistan, but failed to take a wicket and was dropped for six years. In 2007 he was brought back into the side following an injury to Matthew Hoggard and took four wickets in his first innings. Since then he has become a prolific bowler for England. He took the 37th Test cricket hat-trick in his 11th match for England against New Zealand, becoming the 11th English player to do so, on 8 March 2008, and on 23 March he took his third five-wicket haul in the same series, breaking the previous record for an Englishman in New Zealand. His father, Arnie Sidebottom, was also a cricketer, and played one Test match for England in 1985 against Australia.
Sidebottom made his debut for his native Yorkshire in 1997. The winner of the NBC Denis Compton Award two years running, (in 1999 and 2000), he finished as the leading domestic English-bowler at the end of 2000, conceding only 12.5 runs for each of his 24 wickets, and capping this with a nomination for Cricketer of the Year by the Cricket Writers' Club. Injury problems took away much of his 2000 season, but, during the winter, Sidebottom toured the West Indies with England A, taking 16 wickets at a bowling average of 16.81. He made his international debut the following summer against Pakistan in place of Matthew Hoggard. He played in two ODIs in October 2001 against Zimbabwe.
Sidebottom left Yorkshire to join Nottinghamshire at the end of the 2003 season, having taken 163 wickets for Yorkshire at an average of 25.12. At Nottinghamshire, he took 50 wickets in both the 2005 and 2006 seasons, helping them to the County Championship title in 2005; he had also won the title with Yorkshire in 2001.
He sports a flamboyant hairstyle which has led to the dressing room nickname of "Sexual Chocolate". Sidebottom's long hair indirectly led to a second nickname, "Stringfellow", after a hapless Henry Blofeld repeatedly confused him with long-haired nightclub impresario Peter Stringfellow during the first Test match against New Zealand in 2008.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Cricketing SEX Scandals
Over the years there have been many sex scandals in the beloved game of cricket. When most people combine the words "sex scandal" and "cricket" its most likely that Shane Warne will immediately come to mind. As a brilliant player as he is he has been involved in so many of them that everytime I have typed in "cricketing sex scandals" in Google almost every one of them brings up some reference to Warney. I respect him as a player (with his magical bowling skills etc) but I think that in some way his career may have been tarnished and will be remembered for not only his superiour skills on the field, but most likely also his "superior" skills in the sack and by texts to various women that were involved in many of his romps.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not slating him completely, for most of my life that I have been interested in cricket I have always looked up to Warney for his master legspinners and how lethal and magical his deliveries were (eg bowling Mike Gatting out, Bowling Andrew Strauss for his 700th wicket and so much more) and I would pick him in a select World XII anyday, but maybe he (and like other cricketers involved in sex scandals as well) needs to sort out his personal life, as by not doing so he has lost only one of the few things more precious than the brilliant game of cricket- His gorgous ex-wife Simone, regular access to his children, and breaking up that precious bond between family.
In the meantime here is a handful of links that go to articles that talk about cricketing scandals. I know I have ranted on mostly about Warney but like everyone else on this planet nobody is perfect, as there are many sex scandals out there, not only with other cricketers, but in real life away from cricket as well.
Player Profile(#22)...James Anderson(England)
James Michael "Jimmy" Anderson (born 30 July 1982 in Burnley, Lancashire) is an international English cricketer. A pace bowler, Anderson made his international debut at the age of just 20 before experiencing a career trough. He has since been recalled to play for England, however.
As a young player, Anderson's rise was incredibly quick; he represented the England national team before he was awarded his cap at county level, coming almost straight from club cricket and Burnley's 2nd XI. His ODI debut came on December 15, 2002 against Australia at Melbourne. He showed good promise in this series - a three-team tournament also including Sri Lanka - which earned him a place in the 2003 World Cup squad. It was here that he really broke into international cricket with a match-winning spell against Pakistan, where he took four wickets in day/night game to collect the Man of the Match award. But where there are highs, there are also lows. In what proved to be England’s last match of the tournament he conceded 12 runs off the penultimate over against eventual world champions Australia and England lost a closely fought contest.
In the summer of 2003, he made his first Test cricket appearance against Zimbabwe at Lord's, and become the 17th Englishman to collect five wickets in an innings on debut. His success continued in the subsequent one day tournaments against Pakistan, (against whom he took a hat trick at the Oval), South Africa and Zimbabwe. In a matter of few months, he had become one of the biggest stars in English cricket. Continued alteration of hair styles, attractive looks, and up-to-the-minute outfits earned him comparisons with some of the most recognizable sport personalities around, including David Beckham. The frenzy was however not to last forever.
Another young man, South Africa’s captain, Graeme Smith, put Anderson and England to the sword as he made back-to-back double hundreds in the first two Tests of a series where he eventually ended up making more than 600 runs. Even though Anderson managed to pick up another five-wicket-haul at Trent Bridge, and the series was eventually drawn with England winning the final Test at The Oval by nine wickets, the damage had already been done from Anderson's point of view. His place in the England team was now far from certain. He was selected in both the one-day and Test squads for the winter tours to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but injuries left him able to play in only 1 of the 5 Tests on that tour. He bowled well below his potential to collect figures of 0-85 in his sole appearance. The Sri Lankan conditions - typically unhelpful for fast swing bowling - didn't help.
More info for James Anderson can be found by right clicking on these links:
*Acknowledgements to Cricinfo.com, Wikipedia.com. Icc-cricket.com, Ecb.co.uk, owners of pictures and videos used.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The Year 2006, and the adventures of Big Warnie in London
Hey all!
I was playing Brett Lee Backyard Cricket before and came across these videos of an ad Campain for The 2006 Ashes Series in England, I know it was about a couple of years ago but I loved the vids! They were very well put together and the English public didn't look too impressed, and even though I'm a kiwi I have to hand it to the Aussies it was a masterpiece to watch, thoroughly brilliant! (hmmmmm I wonder if we can get a giant Kiwi statue and do the same...). If you would like to check them out for yourself feel free to click on the banner below:)
*Full acknowledgements to the Australian Cricket Board
Monday, March 24, 2008
Player Profile(#13)...Kevin Pietersen(England)
Kevin Peter Pietersen MBE (born 27 June 1980 in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa) is an English cricketer. He is an attacking right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for Hampshire County Cricket Club and is a member of both the England Test match and One Day International teams.
He made his first-class debut for Natal in 1997 before moving to England after voicing his displeasure at the racial quota system in place in South Africa, and in order to further his opportunities for playing at international level. Being born of an English mother gave Pietersen eligibility to play for England, and after serving a qualifying period of four years playing at county level, he was called up almost immediately into the national side. He made his international debut in the One-day International match against Zimbabwe in 2004, and his Test match debut in the 2005 Ashes series against Australia the following year.
Pietersen quickly became the fastest batsman to reach both 1000 and 2000 runs in One-day International cricket, and currently has the highest average of any England player to have played more than 20 innings of one-day cricket. He also has the second-highest run total from his first 25 Tests, behind only the Australian Donald Bradman. He became only the third English batsman to top the ICC One-day International rankings, doing so in March 2007.
Here is a write-up about him by Jenny Thompson (July 2007):
“Expansive with the bat and explosive with the bombast, the South African-born Kevin Pietersen is not one for the quiet life. Pietersen, an enthusiastic, bold-minded and big-hitting No 5, first ruffled feathers by shunning South Africa - he was disenchanted with the quota system - in favour of England; his eligibility coming courtesy of an English mother. He never doubted he would play for England: he has self-confidence in spades but, fortunately, he has sackfuls of talent too. Sure enough, as soon as he qualified in September 2004, he was invited to tour Zimbabwe for that winter's one-dayers, where he averaged 104 in three innings. Success here earned him a late call into England's team against none other than South Africa in early 2005. Undeterred by hostile receptions from the home crowds, he announced his arrival - loudly, of course - with three centuries in five innings, and in doing so demonstrated his peerless eye for the ball and for making headlines, too. On reaching his maiden ton in the second ODI at Bloemfontein, he kissed his badge with unreserved fervour and afterwards announced his next ambition: getting a tattoo of three lions and his England number. Playing at Test level was next on the Pietersen to-do list, and, as a man who puts his money, if not always his mind, where his mouth is, it was only a matter of time. Overlooked for two Tests against Bangladesh, he made his debut against Australia at Lord's of all places, and responded with a pair of hard-hitting fifties in a losing cause. Six dropped catches in the series appeared to have dented his brash confidence, but with the series at stake, he once again showed his unswerving eye for the limelight by clubbing a phenomenal 158 on the final day at The Oval, to secure the draw that England needed for a first Ashes triumph in 18 years. First to congratulate him on his feat was Shane Warne, his good friend and captain at Hampshire, whom Pietersen had joined at the start of the season after three eventful and fractious years at Nottinghamshire. Unsurprisingly, that innings proved hard to live up to, but astonishingly Pietersen managed it, clubbing two more big hundreds in his next two Test innings in England, the second of which - against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston - included a remarkable reverse-sweep for six off Muttiah Muralitharan. In Australia the following winter, he once again lived up to his reputation with hard-earned runs, but his tour ended in disappointment when he flew home with a fractured rib, courtesy of Glenn McGrath after the first match of the CB Series. While England's World Cup was a miserable failure for the team it was a personal success for Pietersen who hit two centuries - including his first ODI ton in a winning cause against West Indies - and confirmed his role as England's leading batsman. His dominance continued against West Indies with a majestic 226 at Headingley - finally beating his previous 158, a score he had made three times previously. It was the highest score by an England batsman since Graham Gooch's 333, and his march towards greatness continued. “
EARLY AND PERSONAL LIFE:
Born of an English mother and an Afrikaner father, Penny and Jannie Pietersen had a strict and well-disciplined childhood, along with his three brothers Tony, Greg and Bryan; he learned valuable lessons from this "fantastic" approach to parenting, and said: "Discipline is good. It taught me that I didn't always have to have what I wanted; that what I needed was different from what I wanted." In his autobiography he refers to himself and his brothers getting the cane both at home and at school. Bryan is currently playing club and second XI cricket in England.
Pietersen attended Maritzburg College, Pietermaritzburg, and made his first-class cricket debut for Natal's B team in 1997, aged 17, where he was regarded predominantly as an off spin bowler and a hard-hitting lower-order batsman. After two seasons, he moved to England for a five-month spell as the overseas player for club side Cannock CC, and helped them win the Birmingham and District Premier League in 2000. This first spell away from home did not leave him with fond memories for England, in particular "those horrible Black Country accents", living in a single room above a squash court, and working in the club bar. However, he returned to newly-renamed KwaZulu Natal side a better cricketer, a lack of opportunities to bowl having improved his batting.
Pietersen is widely portrayed in the media as having a self-assured personality, described by Geoffrey Boycott as being "cocky and confident". England test captain Michael Vaughan counters this, saying, "KP is not a confident person. He obviously has great belief in his ability but that's not quite the same thing...And I know KP wants to be loved. I try to text him and talk to him as often as I can because I know he is insecure." He has been noted for his unusual haircuts, with his peroxide blond dyed streak of hair along the middle of his head during the 2005 Ashes series being described as a "dead skunk" look. During the 2006–07 Ashes tour, the Australian team, noted for their efforts to dominate opponents psychologically, dubbed him "The Ego", or "FIGJAM" (Fuck I'm Good, Just Ask Me). Other nicknames include KP, Kelves and Kapes.
Pietersen was rumoured to be dating model Caprice Bourret who accompanied him to the ICC awards in October 2005, but he is now married to Liberty X singer Jessica Taylor. The couple married on 29 December 2007 at the Manor House Hotel in Wiltshire, with former England team-mate Darren Gough acting as best man.
Domestic career:
He impressed members of Nasser Hussain's England side when playing for KwaZulu Natal in 1999; he took four top-order wickets and, despite batting at number nine, scored 61 not out from 57 balls, hitting four sixes. Hussain then recommended that Pietersen secure a contract with an English county side.
Despite the praise from the England side, Pietersen was dropped from the Natal first team. Pietersen felt that this was due to the country's racial quota system, in which provincial sides were required to have at least four non-white players. Pietersen's view was that players should be judged on merit, and described it as "heartbreaking" when he was left out of the side, although he later reflected "it turned out it was the best thing that could have happened". Pietersen has since firmly criticised the quota system, which he feels forced him out of the country of his birth. He has also criticised Graeme Smith, who became captain of the South African side in 2003, calling him "an absolute muppet, childish and strange" and that his behaviour "leaves a lot to be desired". Smith opposed this, saying, "I'm patriotic about my country, and that's why I don't like Kevin Pietersen. The only reason that Kevin and I have never had a relationship is because he slated South Africa". His outspoken views published in his autobiography, Crossing the Boundary, in September 2006, and in an interview for South African magazine GQ, led to unsuccessful calls for an ICC investigation regarding bringing the game into disrepute.
In 2000, Nottinghamshire coach Clive Rice, who had seen Pietersen play in 1997 in South Africa at a schools week, heard that Pietersen was playing club cricket in Birmingham and offered him a three-year contract to play for the county. His maiden first-class century came on his Nottinghamshire debut against Loughborough UCCE. In his first season he made 1,275 runs with an impressive batting average of 57.95, including 218 not out in an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 352 with John Morris at Derby in July, after having been out lbw for a duck in the first innings.[33] These performances led to praise in the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack: "If he can maintain his first season's form, the name of Pietersen should be pencilled in for future Test squads." This form did indeed continue into the following year: he made another unbeaten double-century, against Middlesex, taking part in a partnership of 316 for the fourth wicket with Darren Bicknell. This period proved to be a purple patch for the batsman, scoring four consecutive centuries (254 not out, 122, 147 and 116) in one week in August.
In 2003, Pietersen scored 1,546 first-class runs, and 764 runs in limited overs cricket. He was selected for the 2003–04 ECB National Academy tour of India, and had a successful tour scoring 523 runs including three centuries in his six first-class innings to record an average of 104.60, and making 131 in a one-day match against India A in Bangalore.
After Nottinghamshire were relegated in 2003, Pietersen requested a release from his contract, saying "I haven't been happy for a while....The pitch at Trent Bridge has been one of my problems... I could have done so much better if the wicket had been good." This led to a public row with club captain Jason Gallian, where Gallian allegedly threw Pietersen's kit off the Trent Bridge balcony and broke his bat:
“During the game I told the captain that I was not happy and that I wanted to leave. After the game we spoke in the dressing room and then I went to have dinner. I got a call saying the captain had trashed my equipment. I was told the captain had said, 'if he does not want to play for Notts he can f*** off.' I have not spoken to Gallian since, nor have I received an apology.”
Pietersen was made to honour the last year of his contract at Nottinghamshire, but "didn't enjoy it at all". In October 2004, he joined Hampshire under the captaincy of Shane Warne.
After becoming a regular in the international side, Pietersen rarely gets an opportunity to play domestic cricket. Having an England "central contract" means that Pietersen is only released to play for Hampshire at the discretion of the national coach. After being left out of the national side to face Bangladesh in May 2005, Pietersen had several good innings in the four-day county championship, including two centuries. He only played twice for the county in 2006, and has played once so far in 2007, with an unbeaten 66 against Ireland.
International career:
The tour of Zimbabwe caused several players to voice their concerns about the Robert Mugabe regime, the security issues in the country and the standard of the Zimbabwean side. Steve Harmison was the first to boycott the tour for "political and sporting reasons", and all-rounder Andrew Flintoff was reported to be considering taking a moral stand himself. The England Chairman of Selectors David Graveney denied that the selectors would leave out players unhappy with touring Zimbabwe and would put their absences down to injury. Flintoff was, however, "rested" and Pietersen rushed into the squad "at the earliest opportunity". In the five match ODI series, Pietersen batted in three innings which included a score of 77 not out; he finished the series with an average of 104.00 as England won the series 4–0.
Pietersen was upset not to be initially in the squad to tour South Africa. With Flintoff withdrawing due to injury, Pietersen was recalled to the squad, and cemented his place in the first team with 97 off 84 balls in the warm-up match against South Africa A, in the face of a hostile crowd. Throughout the tour, Pietersen was subjected to a barrage of abuse from the South African crowd, who regarded him somewhat like a traitor. He said:
“I knew I was going to cop a lot of stick but it will be like water off a duck's back...I expected stick at the start of the innings, and I'm sure it will carry on through the whole series. But I just sat back and laughed at the opposition, with their swearing and 'traitor' remarks... some of them can hardly speak English. My affiliation is with England. In fact, I'm starting to speak too much like Darren Gough... In fact, I'm going to get one of Gough's tattoos with three lions and my number underneath...No one can say I'm not English.”
Pietersen scored a 96-ball 108 not out in the tied second ODI at Bloemfontein, after which the crowd turned their backs on him as he returned to the pavilion. This score set his ODI average at an incredible record 234.00. He made 75 at Cape Town, then at East London Pietersen made an unbeaten 100 from only 69 balls, the fastest century by an England player in a one-day match, although England still lost by eight runs. In the final game at Centurion Park, Pietersen came to the wicket at 32/3 and scored 116, but again could not prevent a defeat. Pietersen ended the series, which England lost 4–1, with 454 runs in five innings, and the Player of the Series award. By the end of the series, the South African crowds had generally replaced hostility with respect for Pietersen, his final century being awarded a standing ovation.
Mixed success in Ashes build-up:
Despite press speculation, Pietersen was not picked for the Tests against Bangladesh—his early season form being dogged by a foot injury—but with his county form improving, he was selected for the Twenty20 match against Australia at Southampton, making 34 from 18 balls and taking three catches as England won by 100 runs.
In the triangular ODI series against Australia and Bangladesh, Pietersen did not get to bat in the first match at The Oval as England won by 10 wickets, but scored 91 off 65 balls in the match in Bristol against Australia. In the remainder of the triangular series, Pietersen scored quickly, although without other half-centuries. He finished the seven-match series with a total of 278 runs at an average of 46.33.
Pietersen's performances sparked speculation over whether he would be brought into the Test side for The Ashes later in the summer. A BBC poll of 10 respected cricketers resulted in a minor preference for playing Pietersen and Ian Bell in the middle order, with Graham Thorpe missing out.
Later in July, Pietersen played in all three matches of the (ODI) NatWest Challenge against Australia. In the final match he was the top scorer for England with 74 runs, however he was forced off the field in the third over of Australia's reply with a groin injury.
Speculation over when Pietersen would play for the Test team was ended in July with the announcement by the England chairman of selectors, David Graveney, that Pietersen had been selected ahead of Graham Thorpe. He made his debut in the first Ashes Test at Lord's, becoming the 626 player to play for the national side. Pietersen scored 57 and 64 not out as England collapsed to a heavy defeat, becoming only the fourth player to top score in both innings on debut for England, the eighth England player to score a half-century in each innings on his debut, and the third cricketer to do so at Lord's. In the second Test at Edgbaston he scored 71 in the first innings and 20 in the second, with England narrowly winning by 2 runs.
In the drawn third Test, Pietersen struggled with 21 and 0, then scored 45 and 23 in the fourth as England went 2-1 up. Under pressure to post a large score in the final Test at The Oval, Pietersen did not contribute significantly in the first innings with 14. In the second innings, Pietersen was dropped twice before reaching double figures, but went on to score his maiden Test century with 158, drawing the match and securing the series for England. His innings included seven sixes, a record for an English player in an Ashes innings. Pietersen was named Man of the Match for his efforts, and finished the series as top scorer, with 473 runs over the five Tests, an average of 52.55. However, he had a less successful series in the field, dropping six catches in the five Tests, a point he made wryly when questioned about the Australians dropping him three times on the final day. Pietersen was given an ECB "central contract" to reflect his place in the national side.
Less rewarding winter tour:
Pietersen had a less successful time in the three Test matches against Pakistan, which England lost 2–0. He made little impact in the first and third Tests, his highest score being 34. He fared better in the second, however, making his second Test century in the first innings. He was also performing well in the one-day series with two explosive innings of 56 from 39 balls to help England win the first ODI, and 28 from 27 balls in the second. The quick-scoring innings in the second ODI was to be Pietersen's last on the tour. A rib injury sustained in the first ODI proved too painful throughout the second, and Pietersen returned to England to recover fully for the tour of India.
In March 2006, Pietersen played in the three Tests against India, which England drew 1–1. His 87 in the second innings of the first match came during England's acceleration period, helping push the required target over 300. England then declared overnight, and India successfully batted out the final day to secure a draw. This half-century was followed by another in the first innings of the second Test. The second innings was not so good, facing just 13 balls before being given out caught behind off a Harbhajan Singh delivery. The unhappy Pietersen was later fined 30 percent of his match fee for shaking his head and showing signs of dissent. "Replays demonstrated that the ball that had dismissed him had brushed his forearm, not his glove, before ballooning up into the hands of Rahul Dravid at slip. But umpire Darrell Hair gave him out for 4 as England collapsed on the fourth afternoon." Pietersen posted scores of 39 and 7 in the final Test, a match England won comfortably after a dismal 100 all out in India's second visit to the crease.
In the one-day series, which England lost 5–1, he was top scorer for England in four out of the five matches he played, and had the highest average of any player with 58.20. His 71 in the second ODI took him past 1,000 ODI runs, equalling Viv Richards' record of 21 innings to reach this total.
In May 2006, Pietersen matched his highest Test score of 158 in the first match against Sri Lanka, and followed it with 142 in the second Test. This took him passed the milestone of 1,000 Test runs, in his 12th Test match, and he became the first batsman since Graham Gooch in 1990 to score a century in three successive Test innings on English soil. This performance moved Pietersen into the top ten of the ICC cricket ratings, as he was named the England (Test Match) Player of the Series. On the first day of the third Test against Pakistan, Pietersen reached his fifth Test century with an overnight score of 104. Although Pietersen retired hurt shortly after reaching three figures, due to cramp, he returned to the crease the next morning and went on to top score in England's first innings total of 515 with 135 runs from 169 balls.
Pietersen bowled his first delivery in Test match cricket on June 4, against Sri Lanka. His first Test wicket came against Pakistan later in the summer when Kamran Akmal got a thin edge through to Geraint Jones. Later in June, Pietersen scored 17 in the Twenty20 International as England lost by 2 runs to Sri Lanka. The twenty over match against Pakistan was no better, Pietersen being bowled by Mohammad Asif for a golden duck as Pakistan helped themselves to a five-wicket victory.
England in Australia, 2006–7:
In the much anticipated Ashes series in Australia, Pietersen was widely judged to be England's best player, scoring 490 runs in five matches and averaging over 50. He started well with a defiant 92 in the first Test despite England losing by 277 runs, and then backed up his good form with a century in the second Test in Adelaide, sharing a 310-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Paul Collingwood. When he was eventually run out, his first reaction was to "giggle" because it was the third time he had scored exactly 158 runs (at that point, his highest Test score). However, even Pietersen seemed disheartened by the end of the series, which England lost 5–0.
In the Twenty20 match, Pietersen was run out on 11, as England lost the match by 77 runs. For a powerful hitter, Pietersen has not posted a large score in the specialised twenty-over format, averaging 15.50 In the first One-day International of the 2006–07 Commonwealth Bank Series, on 12 January at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Pietersen was injured when a ball bowled by Glenn McGrath hit him on the ribs. Despite continuing his innings in some discomfort, making 82, X-rays revealed a fracture and Pietersen was forced to miss the rest of the series.
CAREER IN 2007:
In the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Pietersen crafted 104 runs off 122 balls against Australia in the Super Eight stage of the tournament. It was the first World Cup century by an Englishman since 1996, and the first ever against Australia. He made three half-centuries, scoring 60 runs from 92 balls against New Zealand, 56 runs from 72 balls against Kenya, and 58 runs from 80 balls against Sri Lanka. His efforts in the World Cup helped him achieve the status of ICC number-one ranked batsman in the world for ODIs; however, England did not reach the semi-finals. In England's final match of the World Cup against the West Indies, Pietersen made 100 from 91 balls, and effected the run-out of retiring captain Brian Lara. This century took him past 2000 ODI runs, in doing so equalling the record 51 matches set by Zaheer Abbas. He finished the tournament with 444 runs, at an average of 55.5, and was described as shining in the England team "like a 100 watt bulb in a room full of candles".
Having scored a century in the first Test against the West Indies at Lord's, Pietersen posted his highest score of 226 in the second Test at Headingley, surpassing his previous best of 158 which he had achieved three times. With this score, Pietersen moved ahead of Everton Weekes and Viv Richards to be the batsman with the second-highest run-total out of his first 25 Tests (behind Don Bradman). It is also the highest Test score for England since Graham Gooch scored 333 against India in 1990. This innings subjected the West Indies to an innings and 283 runs defeat, their largest against any team. Pietersen, the Man of the Match, said, "I believe the recipe for success is hard work. I've been criticised for throwing my wicket away, and I tried to make it count here".
In the third Test at Old Trafford, scoring 68 in the second innings, Pietersen lost his wicket in a bizarre dismissal when West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo delivered a bouncer which knocked Pietersen's helmet off his head and onto his stumps. He is only the fourth batsman in Test cricket to be dismissed "hit wicket" as a result of headgear falling onto the stumps. This score took him past the 8500 first-class runs mark, and 2,500 runs in Test cricket.
In contrast, Pietersen's batting was poor in the following single innings matches; he scored a total of 77 runs in five matches (two Twenty20 and three ODI), recording a second-ball duck in the final ODI.[120] He subsequently fell to second in the official One-day International batting rankings, behind Ricky Ponting. Pietersen himself has commented that his lack of recent form is a result of "fatigue", and has reiterated his calls for a less "hectic" match schedule.
Pietersen found some form in the first Test against India, with a magnificent 134 in the second innings to set up a potential England victory. Pietersen described this as his best century, in very testing conditions. After two low scores in the second Test, Pietersen scored his 10th Test Century in the third and final Test at the Oval, helping England to draw the game with 101.
Pietersen was also picked for and played in the Twenty20 Championship in South Africa. In England's first game against Zimbabwe on September 13, Pietersen hit 79 runs off 37 balls including four sixes and seven fours in an English total of 188-9. England won the match by 50 runs, however this was to be Pietersens only significant contribution in the competition.[citation needed]
Sri Lanka 2007–8:
Pietersen travelled to Sri Lanka with England's ODI squad in September 2007. He scored 50 in England's warm up game against the Sri Lankan Cricket XI, however followed this with scores of one, twelve, and eight. He then found form with 63 not out from 75 deliveries to clinch a historic series win for England, the first in the country since the 1980s. He went on to score 28 in the final match which was a consolatory victory for Sri Lanka. In the first test that followed in November, he was the only batsman not to make double figures in a drawn warm up game against the Board President's XI, being caught for four. In the second warm up match against the Sri Lanka Board XI, Pietersen was again out for a low score in the first innings, surviving just three balls and scoring one run. In the second, however, England snatched a "surprise" win, with Pietersen finding form and hitting 59, the highest score of England's innings.
During the test series, however, Pietersen suffered a period of fluctuating form. Scoring 31 and 18 in the first test, he managed only a single in the first innings of the second. While he regained his touch for the second innings, with a match saving 45 not out, he hit one and 30 in the final test, passing 3,000 test career runs but averaging only 25.2 across the series, failing to score a half century in a series for the first time in his career, and having the second lowest average of all the recognised batsmen. He equalled the Test cricket record for passing 3000 runs within 3 years of playing for his country, with the distinction that he reached this total 6 months earlier than the other two players to achieve this.
New Zealand 2008:
Pietersen averaged 33 in the five match ODI series in early 2008, a high score of 50 and 165 runs overall failing to save England from a 3:1 defeat. The series was preceded by two warm up matches, where Pietersen scored 48, and 10, and two 20Twenty internationals where he scored 43, and 3, each match resulting in an England win.
England then played a series of warm up matches before the three test series began, where Pietersen would face New Zealand for the first time in his test career. Pietersen, however, did not play in the first warm up match for the test series, as England featured both wicket keepers Tim Ambrose and Phil Mustard in their batting lineup.
Achievements:
Awards-
Pietersen gained several awards for his performances in the 2005 season. He was named both the ICC ODI Player of the Year and Emerging Player of the Year in 2005, and was one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year (alongside team mates Simon Jones and Matthew Hoggard) for his role in the successful Ashes series against Australia. Along with the rest of the England team, he was decorated in the 2006 New Year Honours list, being awarded the MBE for his role in the successful Ashes series. He also played for the ICC World XI in the ICC Super Series 2005 against Australia.
Test match performance:
Test debut: vs Australia, Lord's, July 21, 2005.
·He has the second highest run-total from his first 25 Tests (behind Don Bradman).
·Fourth Englishman to top score in both innings of debut Test.
·He is one of only twenty-two players to have a peak ICC batting rating over 900.
One-day International performance:
ODI debut: vs Zimbabwe, Harare - Nov 28, 2004
·Fastest batsman to reach 1000 and 2000 runs.
·Fastest century by an England player (69 balls) (v SA, 2005).
EXTERNAL LINKS:
*Acknowledgements to Cricinfo.com, Wikipedia.com and all other sources.
Amateurs vs Professionals Cricket Matches
Should there be an annual Amateurs vs Professional Cricket game...?
Amateurs vs Professionals? Many cricket fans would have had dreams of facing their heroes in the game of cricket. I believe an annual Amateur vs Professional Cricket game would fulfil the needs of the average joe to put their skills to the test by playing the great game with the legends of cricket. Could you imagine yourself batting against the likes of Shane Warne and Brett Lee? Or bowling to batting legends like Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar? Or compare our fielding skills to legendary fieldsman such as Jonty Rhodes and Stephen Fleming? I have thought of a few concepts some which include having an hour or so of cricket with professionals during the intervals of One Day Internationals or Twenty20s, or as I have said have an annual Amateur vs Professional game (even a series) with the amateurs being selected from entries in a competition of some sort (amateurs being general people from the public), and proceeds to go to developing cricketing countries and another charity helping with social issues outside of cricket eg OxFam, World Vision, R.S.P.C.A etc etc. The game would be played in a festival like atmosphere and the main aim of the game would be to have fun and celebrate the game of cricket and how it has influenced peoples’ lives positively. If anyone has any views on this and/or has had the same or similar idea as me feel free to comment on this post. I think there would be many people that would like the idea, it’s a matter of working the idea with the cricketing authorities and working out the logistics of such an idea. But I think it may be possible...
In the meantime here’s some information about Amateur and Professional Cricket I found on the net:
AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL CRICKET:
Cricket at the highest level has developed into a fully professional international sport from which leading players can earn a large income. However professionalism has a long history in English cricket. The first professionals had appeared by the first half of the eighteenth century, when heavy gambling on the game encouraged wealthy patrons to draft the best players into their teams. They would often offer these players full-time employment as gardeners or gamekeepers on their estates. In the second half of the century, the famous Hambledon Club paid its players match fees.
In the middle of the nineteenth century William Clarke's All-England Eleven was a highly successful all-professional venture which did much to popularise the game. The earliest overseas tours were also all-professional affairs.
For many generations there was a formal divide in English first-class cricket between amateurs and professionals, or "Gentlemen and Players" as they were known at the time. Although amateurs and professionals often played together in the same team, they would use separate dressing rooms and on some grounds went on to the pitch through different gates. The amateurs referred to the professionals by their surname only, but the professionals called the amateurs "sir". However, this was not specific to cricket, but was the normal nomenclature used between middle and working class associates at that time. The "Gentlemen and Players" divide was a reflection of the divide between officers and other ranks in the army and it seemed perfectly natural to most English people of all classes in the 19th Century. The Gentlemen v Players matches were amongst the highlights of the English season, although the Players could usually put a much stronger side into the field than the Gentlemen.
An amateur would often be appointed as the captain of a team despite being one of the worst players, or even not good enough to belong in the team at all on the basis of his cricketing skills. This even applied to international Test cricket. After the 1870s and 1880s, when some touring teams to Australia were all-professional, England did not have a professional captain again until Len Hutton was appointed in 1952. Some of their amateur captains were unquestionably worth their place in the side, others were not. In the 1930s, Walter Hammond switched from professional to amateur so that he could captain his country.
In the 20th century the position gradually changed in cricket as English society became more egalitarian. There was also a mounting problem of shamateurism as the number of men who could afford to play cricket full time for several months each year without being paid to do so decreased. Some "amateur" players were given a largely nominal job as "club secretary" and there were sometimes allegations that a few were paid surreptitiously. The old distinction became increasingly out of step with social conditions after the Second World War and amateur status was abolished in English cricket at the end of the 1962 season.
When county cricket began to formalise in the mid 19th century, the counties employed professionals. The better supported and therefore richer counties such as Surrey often had teams made up largely of professional players with an amateur captain, while poorer counties such as Somerset relied much more heavily on amateurs to allow them to field a team without going into the red. However, early professionals were paid a low weekly wage and during the off season, which could last for nearly eight months, most were left to fend for themselves and had to take whatever work they could get. A few played professional football in the winter. In order to provide cricketers with some financial security after their playing careers, the benefit system was developed, but this was generally a poor substitute for good wages and a pension.
By the post Second World War period, most cricketers were on a fixed salary, but only for the summer months and until the 1970s, the earnings of professional cricketers were low. In England many cricketers needed to find other jobs over the winter to make ends meet, and in other countries with less demanding domestic cricket schedules most cricketers fitted their cricket in with study or a regular job. Things began to change in 1977 when cricket was shaken up the Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer. By offering cricketers higher wages than had ever been known in the sport before, Packer induced many of the world's most famous cricketers to abandon the official cricket competitions and play solely in a new competition called World Series Cricket which was broadcast by a television network which he owned. This was one of the biggest crises in the history of the sport, but it was patched up after a couple of years, when Packer's channel was granted the rights to official matches. The earnings of top cricketers from "official" cricket then began to escalate.
In the early 21st century cricket is still not as lucrative as some other sports, but international cricketers typically earn several times the average salary in their country. Regular members of the English cricket team earn several hundred thousand pounds a year. However, the highest paid cricketers in the world are the star members of the Indian cricket team, who make most of their income from endorsement contracts. Cricket is the main sport in India, and the players are front rank celebrities, especially Sachin Tendulkar, who is one of the world's highest paid sportsmen, with an income estimated by the Times of India to be in excess of thirty million US dollars a year, nearly all of it from endorsements[1]. The Indian Cricket Team is one of the highest paid sports teams in the world and it is the highest paid National Sports team.
It is also possible to earn an adequate annual income from domestic cricket in some countries, especially in England where the eighteen first class counties each employ about twenty players, most of whom earn at least the national average salary for the six month season, and some considerably more. Nonetheless many cricketers use the offseason to prepare for a post-cricket career.
*Acknowledgements to Cricinfo.com, Wikipedia.org
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
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.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Player Profile...Chris Cairns
Hi everyone,
I have decided to introduce Player Profiles to my blog-site. I randomly pick players from each cricket nation and it doesn't matter whether they play test cricket or not, no cricketing nation will be excluded, however due to the number of cricketing nations out there (in excess of 100), having a player profile from each country will take some time, so please be patient :)
The 1st player profile is going to be about Chris Cairns. Chris Cairns was a very accomplished cricketer in both the One-Day and the Test arena's. His career was blighted by numerous injuries, paticulary his back and knees. His career would've been longer if these injuries did not plague him the way they did. Here are some information and statistics about his career below:
Chris Cains brilliant century against India in the final of the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy -->
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Christopher Lance Cairns (Chris) Developed from a rebel in his early days in cricket to being something of a senior statesman, which was noticed by the role he played in the players' strike of 2002. It was him that played one of the key roles in ending that strike.
On his day he was one of the top all-rounders in the world ( he was Wisden Cricketer of the year in 2000), when he was fit that is. He had a brilliant career full of many highlights, but unfortunately some low-lights, of which some were factors that physically blighted his career.
Some of his many highlights include beating Sir Viv Richards record for the most 6's in a Test career (he got 87 in total). He achieved this landmark at Lords in the 2004 Test series in England, and in 2000 he played a man-of-the-match key role in helping New Zealand to win the Champions Trophy final in Nairobi, scoring 104 n.o. It was said he batted with one leg which was due to a knee injury he had at the time. His efforts in that game typified the type of cricketer he was, a very gutsy, determined one who always gave his best even through the struggles and rough times. He also played superbly in the 2001/2002 V.B series in Australia involving the host, New Zealand and South Africa. The New Zealand side managed to tame Australia throughout the series to reach the final against the Africans but of which the latter overcame the New Zealand side. I still think it was a brilliant series by N.Z, and also Chris Cairns.
He also played county Cricket in Nottinghamshire (in England) from 1989 to 1996 and returned for a second stint in 2003. He was a dedicated player for them also, and was highly regarded amongst his peers there (and also in his national side).
Then it was on January 22nd 2006 he retired from all levels of cricket ( although he later joined the non-sanctioned Indian Cricket League in 2007), at a press conference that was full of emotion. The Twenty20 game against the West Indies on February 16th 2006 was his Last game for any New Zealand side. He will be remembered as a cricketing great and he will go down in history as one of the best all-rounders in cricket.
To see his career statistics, Click HERE I used material from Cricinfo to research a little on Chris Cairns history.
The next player profile article will be of a recent retiree, stay tuned to find out who this is :)
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Laws of cricket
Hey everyone here's a handy resource that might help you if your knowledge about crickets rules and regulations are not as much as you would like, here is the link/URL for it: Click here for Rules and laws for cricket, from Marybelone Cricket Club, England This link will take you to a website that will also explain the history of cricket and when the laws and regulations first came about, if you would like any more info please don't hesitate to drop by and leave a comment/request. In most cases they can be translated to the language of your choice (your browser should have a translation button pre installed on there, if not please let me know and I can see what I can do).
Also can anyone tell me who will win the o.d.i and test series between new zealand and england? just asking for opinions etc, I would hope that new zealand will mount a good challenge against the poms, well i hope so because we need to since we have a shane bond-less bowling attack and our top order batting is lacking in performance issues, which need to be addressed immediately, wish matthew sinclair could go back to the days when he got that magnificent 214 against the west indies in the 1999/2000 season in nz (if you are wondering,his innings ended when he got bowled by reon king). the 47 he got against bangladesh was the scratchiest innings ive seen, probably ever, whether it was plain luck he managed to get that far due to the inept fielding skills of the minnow bangladeshis (he repeatedly nicked the ball through to the wicketkeeper and the slips cordon) or due to certain issues, lets just hope he remedies them issues.
Cheers everyone!
Rob
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