ICC Has Ruled Out Eden Gardens
Saturday, January 29, 2011
In a major embarrassment to the BCCI, the ICC has ruled out Eden Gardens as the host of the game between India and England on February 27. The ICC's inspection team, which included some of the leading experts in the field of stadium and ground preparation, felt that Eden Gardens would not be ready in time. No alternate venue for the match has yet been named. The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and the three World Cup stadiums in Sri Lanka were all given the go-ahead by the ICC.
"Regrettably, Eden Gardens has not made sufficient progress to justify the level of confidence required to confirm that the venue would be ready in good time," Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said. "This was no easy decision to take and while it is most unfortunate, it is absolutely necessary." The Cricket Association of Bengal is having an emergency meeting to discuss the development.
Kolkata was to host three other matches in the World Cup, but the status of those games is still unclear. "At this stage no decision has been taken on those matches," an ICC spokesperson said. The India-England clash was the only chance for fans in Kolkata to see the home side.
BCCI president Shashank Manohar said that there was no need for the BCCI to call any emergency meeting, but pointed out that he would consult his "office bearers" to finalise the venue for the match. It is learnt that Bangalore is tipped to be a favourite. "99 % it will be Bangalore," an ICC source said.
The news of switching the match from Kolkata comes just two days after the tournament director, Ratnakar Shetty, waved away worries over readiness of World Cup venues. Media personnel had been barred from a recent inspection of Eden Gardens.
The venue, one of the largest cricket stadiums in the world, has hosted some of the highest-profile matches of the previous two World Cups held in the subcontinent including the final in 1987 and the semi-final in 1996. No international matches have been held in Kolkata since the Test between India and South Africa in February as the stadium was being renovated.
"All venues had ample time in which to prepare for World Cup matches," Lorgat said. "We had been understanding and had provided extensions to the deadline dates but unfortunately we are now at a point where we must carefully manage our risks.
"The Central Organising Committee had provided venues with a deadline of 30 November 2010 to complete all construction work and then to be match-ready by 31 December 2010. An extension was granted by the ICC for five venues, which were again inspected over the past week. Sadly, Eden Gardens in Kolkata was unable to meet the final deadline date of 25 January 2011."
The ICC is still deciding on the new venue for the India-England match. "We will work with the new venue, the tour operators and the ticket distributors to manage the logistical challenges that will surely arise," Shetty said.
Labels: BCCI, Eden Gardens, ICC
posted @ 12:50 PM,
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Sachin - Learning School For Cricketers
Friday, January 28, 2011
Former captain and Director-General of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Javed Miandad has urged the Pakistani cricketers to learn from the achievements of Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar in order to excel on the field. “We keep on reading and hearing about some of our players making tall claims about how they will deliver, but on field that is not happening and it is a big let down for the nation,” said Miandad.“I would advise them to just focus on their game and go for improvement and take every match seriously.
They should learn from Sachin who has had a marvellous career and and yet one never hears him making tall claims about his performances or achievements. He is a proper professional and someone our players can learn from,” said the master batsman.Miandad also called on captain Shahid Afridi to take more responsibility as a player and lift the team by example and added that the all-rounder has enough talent to be a match-winner but needed to channelise it properly.“He (Afridi) shouldn`t be playing the way he is. Imran Khan is a great example of how a captain should perform. Imran lifted the team in the 1992 World Cup by his own performance and Afridi needs to start doing that himself. He did it during the World T20 Championship, so he is perfectly capable of doing it again,” Miandad said.
Urging the players to take the current one-day series against New Zealand seriously Miandad said: “Unfortunately, what I noticed was that the players didn`t appear serious about their business in the first match. In international cricket this is just not acceptable.”“It is important for the players to realise that once they get into a losing streak, it will be difficult for them to come out of it,” he said.
Labels: Sachin Tendulkar
posted @ 10:45 AM,
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ICC Demands Answers After Aamer Plays
Thursday, January 27, 2011
International cricket chiefs are demanding answers on why suspended Pakistani paceman Mohammad Aamer, at the centre of a corruption probe, played in a domestic club match, an official said Wednesday. The 18-year-old Aamer, along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, was suspended over allegations of spot-fixing during Pakistan's tour of England last year in a case that shook the global game.
But media reports in Pakistan said Aamer featured in a domestic club match for Pakistan Army against Rawalpindi despite being suspended from all forms of cricket that come under the umbrella of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). "The ICC wrote to the Pakistan Cricket Board on the matter on Tuesday," an ICC spokesman confirmed to AFP from its headquarters in Dubai. A PCB spokesman confirmed they were investigating the issue.
"Yes, we have come to the knowledge of Aamer playing a match in Rawalpindi and we are investigating the matter," PCB spokkesman Nadeem Sarwar told AFP An ICC anti-corruption tribunal heard the case relating to the three suspended players in Doha, Qatar, last month and is due to announce its verdict on February 5.
All three were provisionally suspended by the ICC in October, with the world governing body's code of conduct carrying a minimum five-year ban if corruption charges are proved. The maximum punishment is a life ban. Their suspension came after reports in the British newspaper News of the World, which claimed several Pakistani players - including the trio - obeyed orders from an alleged bookmaker during the Lord's Test in August.
The newspaper said it paid Mazhar Majeed, an agent for several Pakistan players, 150,000 pounds (237,000 dollars) in return for advance knowledge of pre-arranged no-balls which could then be bet upon. In a separate case, Majeed and the three Pakistani players face criminal charges for defrauding bookmakers in England. The minimum punishment in the case is ten years' imprisonment. Scotland Yard has handed two reports to prosecutors in Britain, who have yet to decide on further action.
Labels: Aamer, ICC, Pakistan Cricket, PCB
posted @ 10:52 AM,
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Inzamam's Disagreement Over World Cup Build-Up By PCB
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Former Pakistan cricket captain Inzamam-ul-Haq Monday accused the sport's authorities of creating factions within the national side by delaying the naming of a captain for next month's World Cup. Pakistan is the only one of 14 competing teams to have failed to name a captain for the tournament, to be jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from February 19 to April 2.
Inzamam, who played 120 Test matches for Pakistan scoring 25 centuries, said the delay had disrupted the team's preparations for the showpiece event and stoked divisions among the squad. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last week named a 15-man squad for the tournament but did not name a captain, fanning speculation that current one-day captain Shahid Afridi could be replaced with Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq.
"With only three weeks left to the World Cup, Pakistan have no captain and the blame goes to the PCB for creating an impasse which has divided the team into two groups, supporting Afridi and Misbah," Inzamam said in an interview. "In this scenario one cannot have high expectations for the team." Inzamam was at the helm when Pakistan crashed out in the first round of last World Cup in 2007 - a tournament overshadowed by the sudden death of coach Bob Woolmer a day after the side's shocking defeat against Ireland.
The team also tumbled out in the first round of the 2003 tournament. But in 1992 Inzamam's inspired innings in the semi-final and final helped propel Pakistan to their only World Cup triumph. "I am surprised, why does it always happen to Pakistan?" said Inzamam, who managed just 19 runs in the 2003 World Cup and was blamed for the team's poor performance.
"The PCB has failed to control the situation and if Pakistan fares badly in the World Cup, people will accuse the players and not the board." Inzamam accused the PCB of in selecting the 15-man World Cup squad without consulting one-day captain Afridi or coach Waqar Younis.
"So if the team loses, the captain and coach will say that it was not their team and was selected without their consent. And they will rightly not accept responsibility for a poor showing," he said. "When a team is without a captain how can a proper strategy be made? The team is playing a one-day series in New Zealand but they do not know who will be their captain in the World Cup which is very damaging." Pakistan is in Group A of the World Cup and start their campaign with a match against Kenya at Sri Lankan resort of Hambantota on February 23.
Labels: Inzamam, Pakistan Cricket, PCB
posted @ 11:52 AM,
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South Africa Clinch ODI Series
Monday, January 24, 2011
Yusuf Pathan hit a blistering 68-ball century but could not stop South Africa from winning the series-deciding fifth and final one-day international against India at SuperSport Park on Sunday. South Africa won by 33 runs according to the Duckworth/Lewis method, clinching a come-from-behind 3-2 series win thanks mainly to a century by Hashim Amla and four wickets by fast bowler Morne Morkel.
Opening batsman Amla made 116 not out as South Africa reached 250 for nine in a rain-interrupted innings. Set to make 268 to win, India were headed for a heavy defeat when they slumped to 119 for eight with fast bowlers Morkel and Dale Steyn inflicting most of the damage. But Pathan unleashed a ferocious assault on the South African bowlers during a ninth wicket stand of 100 with Zaheer Khan.
Pathan slammed eight sixes and eight fours as he made 105 before he top-edged another attempted big hit against Morkel and sent a catch spiralling to cover. Khan got a reprieve when the stand was worth 20 when he top-edged a short ball from Morkel and was caught by wicketkeeper AB de Villiers. But umpire Simon Taufel asked television umpire Shaun George to check whether Morkel had bowled a no-ball. George ruled that Morkel had overstepped by millimetres and Khan batted on.
As the ball flew to all parts of the ground, South African captain Graeme Smith called on Morkel and the fast bowler finally induced a false stroke. Morkel finished with four for 52 as India were all out for 234. Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that South Africa deserved to win. "It has been a disappointing series for the batsmen. We have not really performed as a batting unit. To say we wanted to win the final game just because Yusuf scored a hundred was asking too much," said Dhoni.
Looking ahead to next month's World Cup, Dhoni said the big lesson for India was that if they were able to keep wickets in hand they could chase down almost any target with a powerful hitter like Pathan in the side. South Africa's innings was interrupted when the hosts were strongly placed at 226 for three after 42 overs.
Dhoni sent South Africa in, hoping to take advantage of expected early morning life in the pitch - and also to have the option of revising his team's strategy in the event of predicted rain interruptions. Smith fell once again to left-arm opening bowler Khan - for the 11th time in international cricket - edging a catch to second slip in the third over.
But Amla played a calm innings, content to play the supporting role in a second wicket stand of 97 with Morne van Wyk, who made 56 off 63 balls, then picking up the pace in a fourth wicket stand of 102 off 98 balls with JP Duminy (35). India opted to play only two seam bowlers, bringing in leg-spinner Piyush Chawla in place of Ashish Nehra.
posted @ 2:32 PM,
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Pakistan Born South African Cricketer
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Mohammad Imran Tahir (born 27 March 1979) is a Pakistan born South African cricketer. Tahir is a right-handed batsman who is a leg break bowler. Tahir currently plays for the Dolphins in South Africa and will play for Hampshire in the 2011 English county cricket season.
As well as his first-class career in Pakistan, Tahir has had short spells with Yorkshire and Middlesex in county cricket as well as playing for Staffordshire in the Minor Counties Cricket Championship. While Tahir has represented Pakistan Under-19 cricket team's and Pakistan A, he failed to win full international honours for Pakistan. Tahir is married to a South African and has indicated that he is eligible to play for South Africa when he met his four-year residence requirement in April 2009.
Tahir was a member of Hampshire's 2009 Friends Provident Trophy winning squad, taking 2/50 from 10 overs in the final against Sussex. Tahir made his career high score of 77 not out in a County Championship match against Somerset on 28 August, 2009. For the 2010 season Hampshire signed Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis, replacing Tahir for the season. Tahir represented Warwickshire for the 2010 season, although he is contracted to play for Hampshire from the 2011 season onwards.
Tahir made his 100th first-class appearance in the 2009/2010 SuperSport Series when the Titans played the Lions. On January 8 Tahir was called up to the South Africa squad in their Test series against England although he was then withdrawn one day later after Cricket South Africa revealed that he was not eligible to play.
At the end of the 2009/10 season, Tahir moved from the Titans to the Dolphins. This was due to a lack of first-class cricket with the club, who preferred to play 23-year-old leg-spinner Shaun von Berg. When Tahir was called into South Africa's squad for the final Test against England, national coach Mickey Arthur said "I'm not entirely sure what the issues are between him and the Titans, but the Titans obviously aren't going to pick him because they'd rather pick the young leggie they have".
Tahir qualified for South Africa on 1st January 2011, and was selected by them for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
posted @ 11:15 AM,
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Pak Cricket
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Anyways – despite this draw, Pakistan has finally won the series. Pakistan’s last Test series win was against West Indies in December of 2006. Following is the summary of Test series results since Pakistan won it the last time.
(1) 2010-11 Pakistan v New Zealand in NZ (1-0) (Jan 19, 2011)
(2) 2010-11 Pakistan v South Africa in UAE (0-0)
(3) 2010 Pakistan v England in England (1-3)
(4) 2009-10 Pakistan v Australia in Australia (0-3)
(5) 2009-10 Pakistan v New Zealand in NZ (1-1)
(6) 2009 Pakistan v Sri Lanka in SL (0-2)
(7) 2008 Pakistan v Sri Lanka in Pakistan (0-0)
(8) 2007-08 Pakistan v India in India (0-1)
(9) 2007-08 Pakistan v South Africa in Pakistan (0-1)
(10) 2006-07 Pakistan v South Africa in South Africa (1-2)
(11) 2006-07 Pakistan v West Indies in Pakistan (2-0) (Dec 1, 2006)
posted @ 10:43 AM,
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ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 India Team
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
1. M S Dhoni [Captain & Wicket Keeper]
2. Zaheer Khan
3. Munaf Patel
4. Ashish Nehra
5. R Ashwin
6. Harbhajan Singh
7. Yusuf Pathan
8. Sachin Tendulkar
9. Virender Sehwag
10. Praveen Kumar
11. Gautam Gambhir
12. Piyush Chawla
13. Virat Kohli
14. Suresh Raina
15. Yuvraj Singh
Labels: Squads
posted @ 11:21 AM,
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Big Bazaar
Friday, January 14, 2011
Big Bazaar, the hypermarket retail chain of Future Group and the authorized licensed merchandiser for ICC World Cup 2011, has launched an exclusive range of personal care products - ‘Gel Toothpaste’ and ‘Glycerine Bathing Bars’ under its private brand ‘Sach’, to commemorate the cricketing extravaganza.
Brand ‘Sach’ is inspired and co-created by cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and Future Group.
The Brand Sach which already has toothbrushes, toothpastes and kids wear within its portfolio has now extended its portfolio in Bathing Bars.
The exclusive World Cup product range of ‘Sach Gel Toothpastes’ comes in 3 variants – Fresh Mint, Icy Spicy Fresh and Triple Action Gel, while the ‘Sach Glycerine Bathing Bars’ have 2 variants in Active Energy and Germ Protect to offer.
Speaking on the launch of Big Bazaar’s ICC World Cup 2011 exclusive merchandise, Sanjeev Agarwal, Joint CEO, Big Bazaar said, “Through our vast exclusive product offerings, we attempt to cement a strong relationship with our customers by enabling them to express their appreciation and cheer for Cricket by sporting the fan look.”
The exclusive World Cup range is available at all Big Bazaar outlets across the country.
Labels: World Cup Economics
posted @ 11:44 AM,
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Indian team colours its boys with body paints for World Cup
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Art and cricket have merged in a novel campaign to take the game and its cult heroes to the masses in the run-up to the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup for Pepsico India, the main sponsor of the Cup.
The campaign, to run across all media domains from Jan 15, will feature popular cricketers sporting their favourite colours on their bodies in intricately painted body art.
Every art work has been themed and captioned to suit the personality of the wearer and his style of play according to ancient Chinese and Indian astrology, where each colour of the seven rainbow shades bears an astro-significance.
The glamour boy from Jharkhand and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will flaunt the 'fire in the belly look' to symbolise his high-spirited game and body language on the field.
Fire is a symbol of power, passion, aggression and destruction. Dhoni's colour palette will be a peppy mosaic of blue, green, yellow and orange. The pattern does not incorporate his contribution to the pitch but conveys a graphic image of a blazing fire in his belly and his desire to win.
Spin bowler Harbhajan Singh will wear the 'fiery ball' to gel with his vigour and attitude. The graphic image of the ball on his body is symbolic of his strength on the field and an explosion of red light at the tail of the ball reflects the aggression with which he commands situations on the pitch.
Flamboyant opener Virender Sehwag will flaunt a 'moving star' on his body. The star is Sehwag personified on the wicket telling the way he tackles the ball on the ground. It defines the brute force, nifty footwork and the sure-fire batting style of the ace batsman.
'Directed arrows' will capture the persona of Suresh Raina, the young southpaw, when on the field. The shooting set of arrows will show his magical power to hit the ball the way he pleases. The different sizes of the arrows project his growth in the game of cricket over the years.
Middle-order batsman Virat Kohli will sport the 'fast forward' look made of two solid triangles that replicate to represent his high-speed, energetic and exuberant movements on the pitch.
The creator of the look, Santosh Padhi, the chief creative officer and co-founder of Taproot India said the body paint campaign was an attempt to bring alive the 'passion that the cricketers have for the game'.
The executive vice-president of marketing, PepsiCo India, Sandeep Singh Arora, said: 'Cricket is more than just a game in India, it is like a faith and its followers include millions of passionate young Indians. With our campaign, we wanted to reflect the same fervour and energy that the fans and the players have and what can be more passionate than wearing it on your body.'
Body art over the last decade has become a rage in India and the sub-continent with the tattoo culture catching among the GenNext. The most common forms of body art in India are tattoos and body piercing.
India, however, owes its body art lineage to the ancient Kathakali and Kudiyattam traditions of performing arts in Kerala that make use of elaborate facial make-up in different colours to symbolise the personalities of the mythical characters in which the plays were based on.
Historically, green, blue, red, black and yellow are the most prevalent colours used in Indian body art.
Labels: Fans
posted @ 11:17 AM,
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Imran Khan signs with Geo Super for World Cup 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Geo Super has exclusively signed Imran Khan to participate, provide commentary, and be the brand ambassador for its Cricket World Cup presentation in Pakistan.
Imran Khan is one of the icons who ruled the international cricket for two decades and also led the Pakistani team to World Cup glory in 1992.
Khan will feature in Geo Super expert reviews, opinions and analyses leading up to and during the ICC Cricket World Cup matches due to start on February 19. The tournament is one of the most widely-viewed sporting events in the world and the number one TV event for Pakistan in terms of revenue and TV ratings.
Geo Super has the exclusive rights to broadcast all the matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 over cable and satellite networks throughout Pakistan.
Prior to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, nine Cricket World Cups have been organised by the ICC. Australia have emerged winner on most occasions, with four. Closely following is West Indies, who won the inaugural and the very next World Cup. India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have won one World Cup each.
Having captained Pakistan more or less throughout 1982-1992, Khan had retired from cricket at the end of the 1987 World Cup campaign, but returned after a presidential call to "rise above one's self" and answered the nation's call, rejoining the Pakistan team in 1988 as the skipper. At 39, Khan led his teammates to Pakistan's first and only World Cup victory in 1992. He has a record of 3,807 runs and 362 wickets in Test cricket, making him one of eight World-class cricketers to have achieved an 'all-rounder's triple' in Test matches, widely recognised as one of the best leaders the game has seen. Khan was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame on July 14th, 2010.
Labels: Geo, Imran Khan, Sports
posted @ 8:38 AM,
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The Future of Australia - Pakistani Born Usman Khawaja
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Usman Khawaja showed in his poised Test initiation against England on Monday that he could play a leading role in the revival of Australia’s cricket fortunes.
Pakistan-born Khawaja, the first Muslim to play for his adopted country, captivated a nation downcast by its national team’s Ashes downfall with his accomplished knock of 37 in the final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Far from being intimidated by the occasion, Khawaja, 24, whipped six runs off his first two deliveries and defied the English attack for two hours and 95 balls to star for the transitional Australian team.
“I'd like to play cricket, especially for Australia, as long as possible but I'm taking Ricky Ponting's spot, who is probably the greatest Australian batsman bar Don Bradman, so I'm just enjoying this Test match right now and trying to savour everything I can.”
Labels: Australia, Pakistan, Usman Khawaja
posted @ 11:08 AM,
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