Thursday, November 09, 2006

Video: Kangaroos behaving like chimps

The uncouth Aussie team shown here insulting a cabinet minister of India.

"Would they have done such a thing to their prime minister or premier?
In India, we are brought up to respect our elders."
~ Sunil Gavaskar


Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Hiya buddy, get off stage


Sunil Gavaskar sent out a strong reminder to newly crowned Champions Trophy winners, Australia: “In India, we respect our elders.”

Gavaskar, who said he was “hurt” to hear about Ricky Ponting tapping BCCI president Pawar to get him off the stage during the Champions Trophy presentation on Sunday, stressed that he was “not amused” over another incident, which showed disrespect to the senior leader, reports Mid-Day.

"I am not amused by one of the Australian players who said, ‘Hiya buddy’ when he went up to receive his medallion from Mr Pawar... Just receive it quietly..."

About the nudging:

"Would they have done such a thing to their prime minister or premier? In India, we are brought up to respect our elders"

~ Sunil Gavaskar

A word to the not so wise Aussies: pride cometh before the fall, mates.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

How to score at faster run rates

Don't Panic. If the bowling is good with a new ball and the openers don't tear away, stay calm. The solid opening partnership is still an excellent base to work from. When the bowlers are on top it's more important to graft and stay in than try and rattle along at a fast rate.

Set a target. Knowing the par score for a ground and set smaller goals along the way to make it easier to achieve. This way you are focussed on time constraints from the first ball rather than a slow rate followed by a mad dash in the last few overs.

Get the order right. Batsmen like to know where they are batting in the order so changing things around should be a low priority. However, sometimes the situation might need a certain style of player to go in. Good players will always be happy to move the order in the interests of the team.

Bat to 11. 9, 10 and Jack may not be very skilled with the bat, but they can learn how to stay in to save games and give the strike to the other end to keep the run rate ticking over. Even the lower order need to have discipline and awareness of the game situation.

Rotate the strike. When a team is bowling well there is nothing more annoying than having quick singles taken. In club games there are always places to score a sneaky run (like targeting a weak fielder). It keeps the scoreboard going and with a bad ball an over punished you could get the rate up to 6 easily.

Keep talking. When I see batsmen not talking between overs I know the fielding side are on top. Talking allows you to stay focused on the task, relaxed and discuss scoring areas. It's also helpful for outgoing batsmen to advise the incoming player as they cross.

Know team strengths. Every player has a different style. Everyone should know their place in the team: Blockers should be prepared to run well and give the strike, hitters and nurdlers need to understand each other's roles and players in form can take more of the strike.

I must admit, it's a tall order to ask the average club side to reach the levels of a well drilled international team. But any side can focus on the basics and drag their run rate up to a level where you will become a considerably better batting side. Then all you need to do is take 10 wickets!

by David Hinchliffe, ECB Cricket Coach.

Creative Commons License. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5

Chappell's tenure with Team India may be over post WC

Coach Greg Chappell's association with Indian cricket may be over after next year's World Cup, Australian media reported today against the backdrop of the team's early exit from the ongoing Champions Trophy, reports MSN India.

Chappell, who has a two-year contract with the Indian team till the World Cup, and the Indian Cricket Board have agreed to part ways after the mega event in West Indies next April, the 'Courier Mail' daily reported today without quoting any sources.

Methinks his fortune may change if he helps Team India win the World Cup.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Swing bowling tips for wicket taking success

Swing bowling tips for wicket taking success
By Ian Canaway

A bowler who has the ability to bowl swing is an important asset in any cricket team as swing bowling is a great way to baffle a batman, add pressure and take wickets. The swing bowler has the ability to move the ball in the air either away from the batsman or in towards the batsmen. The swing is created by holding the cricket ball in a specific way so that when it is released from the hand the varying levels of air resistance combined with the position the seam is directed causes the ball to swing in the air.

The swing is accentuated by polishing and shining one side of the ball so that is smooth relative to the other side, which should get roughened up through the natural course of play. Select a side to shine at the start of the match and ensure all the bowlers and fielders know which side to polish. You can polish it by rubbing sweat into it and then rubbing it on your cricket trousers.
There are three generally recognised swing delivery types, in swing, out swing and reverse swing.

The out swing delivery is a ball which when bowled by a right handed bowler to a right handed batsman swings from the leg side towards the off side. The aim of the out swinger is to encourage the batsman into playing a drive and ideally the swing will increase the chance of getting an edge and getting the batsmen out caught behind, so make sure you've got some good catchers behind the stumps. You want to pitch the ball quite full, aiming at or just outside off stump so that the batsman is forced to play at the ball.

The grip for the out swing delivery is quite simple and provided the seam is up right at the point of release it should swing. You need to hold the ball as normal for a medium paced delivery with the seam vertical, however for the out swinger the seam needs to be vertical and pointing towards first or second slip at about a 15° angle, so that your fingers will be running slight across the seam. The shiny side should face the leg side of the batsmen, thus the rough side faces the off side and the direction of swing. The increased air resistance on the rough side and seam position will cause it to swing through the air towards the offside. The run up should be slightly angled and bowled from close to the stumps.


The in swing delivery is basically the reverse of the away swing in that when bowled from a right handed bowler it swings in towards a right handed batsmen from the off side towards the leg side. Have a straighter run up and deliver the ball slightly wider on the crease. In contrast to the away swing bowler, the in swing bowler aims to get the batsmen out LBW or bowled by pitching it up. Aim to bowl it so that it swings from outside off stump and pitches in line with middle and off stumps, be careful though because if you start it too straight it will swing down leg side and be easy for the batsman to hit away.

Tip - If you find yourself swinging the ball uncontrollably, hold the ball across the seam so that the seam runs horizontally, this will help negate and reduce the amount of swing.
You need to make sure that your bowlers and fielders are aware of which side of the ball in polished and that is constantly shined between deliveries. Most bowlers will shine the ball themselves but it is always useful to nominate one or two fielders to shine the ball as well while the bowler is walking back to his mark.

Changing weather conditions have an often noticeable affect on the amount that the cricket ball will swing. Dry hot sunny days don't favour swing bowling, whereas overcast, cloudy conditions are found to be most influential at generating more swing. So take this into consideration when deciding who to bowl if you are captain.

For more cricket tips and tricks visit: cricketsecrets.com

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Video: Jim Laker's remarkable 19/90

Jim Laker's remarkable achievement in the Old Trafford Ashes Test of 1956.
The first time a bowler took 10 wickets in an innings.
At the end of the Test, off-spinner Jim's figures read 19/90.

How to judge the shot to play



The batsman's job is to score as many runs as possible.

But to build an innings, a batsman needs sound judgement to work out which deliveries to defend, leave or score off.

Even top class batsmen give their wicket away because of poor shot selection, so it's not an easy science.

The batsman has approximately 12 shots to choose from either side of the wicket.

So stroke selection depends on the line, length and speed of a delivery.

Click to read more about How to judge the the shot to play

Quick Commentary: Bishen Singh Bedi

"Look around.
The Australian team plays cricket the Aussie way;
the South Africans do it their way.
For the life of me, I don't understand why we can't play the game the Indian way."

~Bishen Singh Bedi, in Outlook.

Chappell and Dravid can't flex this


They were seeing the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies as the hour of reckoning. But eight defeats in the last 14 matches, including five in a row to the West Indies, has backdated the crunch situation by six months. That is, to just about now.

The team's recent showing has left coach Greg Chappell and captain Rahul Dravid with little choice: they have to deliver the goods in the ICC Champions Trophy, on in India from October 7-November 5. Now consider this: India has never won the Champions trophy outright, having lost to New Zealand in the Nairobi final in 2000 and shared the title with Sri Lanka in a rain-hit tournament in the island nation in 2002.

Is the team ready to improve on that? Well, going by the trough it slipped into in the West Indies and the inertia it displayed in the DLF Cup in Kuala Lumpur last month, it will take one hell of a standing leap for Team India to come out of this one.

Read more as Outlook demands that Chappell and Dravid have to deliver. And now.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Disrepute ban for Inzamam

Inzamam's four-match ban is the least he could have been given Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has been cleared of ball-tampering, but banned for four one-day internationals for bringing the game into disrepute. Read more

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Kangaroo dawdle

The topic of controversial umpiring decisions has always held centre stage in cricket and the much dreaded ‘Pakistani umpires’ of the 70s and 80s have now given way to the even more dreaded pro-Aussie umpires of the 2000s.



Let us trace the beginning of the so called invincibility of the Aussies. It basically started with Steve Waugh’s proclamation after the 1997 World Cup and was buttressed by their exploits against all the major cricketing sides in the world after that. Gradually the ‘Caribbean Calypso’ was replaced by the ‘Kangaroo dawdle’ and the World went yellow acknowledging the tactical, physical and logistical prowess of the Aussies.

However, it wasn’t as simple as all that. There was also a concerted effort behind the scenes to intimidate the umpires as well in favor of the Aussies. Key batsmen of the opposition routinely fell to doubtful decisions. Arrogant Aussie umpires like Darrell Hair took on Asian Superstars like Muralitharan and got away with it. The underlying message was simple. Its either the Aussie way or the highway. Seasoned umpires like Venkatraghavan and Steve Bucknor buckled under pressure. Remember the Semi final between Windies and Australia which was also Ritchie Richardson’s last international match. Four doubtful LBWs were given by Venkat in that match to Warne and the Aussies won a match that they should have lost. Subsequently as a reward Venkat was a regular as a neutral umpire in almost every series down under. Umpires like David Shepherd, an Englishman who resisted Aussie pressure tactics were quite easily shunted out. Read the rest of this fascinating post by Yogesh Saigal.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Chappell's moment of infamy

Australia v/s New Zealand. 1 February 1981, MCG.

15 were required from the final over. Hadlee hit the first ball for 4, was lbw to the second. Smith took twos off ball 3 and 4, and was bowled by the 5th. McKechnie came to the wicket with 7 required, and Greg Chappell instructed his brother Trevor to bowl the final ball underarm, rolling along the ground.


Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Allan Border's one-handed deflected catch

Fielding at first slip, Allan Border takes a great one-handed deflected catch. Australia v/s West Indies.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Chappell to seniors: Get back to basics

Coach Greg Chappell says senior players, including Sachin Tendulkar, need to get back to the basics, reports MSN Cricket.


Speaking about the next batch of senior players slated to take guard at the rolling camp here tomorrow, Chappell said: "There will be some variations, but sometimes the senior players need to get back to the basics as well".


"I think this (the ongoing rolling camp) is an opportunity to get them back to the basics", the former Australian captain said.


"The good thing about good players like Tendulkar, (Virender) Sehwag, (Rahul) Dravid, Yuvraj (Singh) and (Mohammed) Kaif is that these guys have been around for a long time but they are prepared to revisit the basics from time to time.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Hair says ICC encouraged his offer

Darrell Hair said he was encouraged by the ICC to make an offer to quit as an umpire following the Pakistan ball-tampering furore at the Oval last week, reports Rediff.

Hair has been heavily criticised since the International Cricket Council (ICC) revealed details of an email he sent to officials requesting a $500,000 one-off payment in return for quitting their elite panel of umpires after the row.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

How does tampering with a ball affect its trajectory?

Players have used countless products - including hair wax, lip salve and sunscreen - to illegally make the unscuffed side of the cricket ball slicker and shinier. They may also chew sugary sweets or chewing gum in the field, before applying sweetened (and therefore shinier) saliva to the ball's surface.

The big question: How does tampering with a cricket ball affect its trajectory?

Guy Adams of The Independent comes up with soem answers.

Why ball-tampering is such an emotive issue

When umpire Darrell Hair awarded England five penalty runs for Pakistan violating law 42.3 for deliberately altering the condition of the ball during the fourth Test at The Oval, the Australian official provoked a huge Pakistani backlash.

Ball tampering is tantamount to cheating, everything that contravenes the spirit of this most gentlemanly of sports.

Unfortunately these accusations are nothing new to Pakistani cricket.

The slur has taunted the nation since all-rounder Imran Khan first extracted exaggerated late movement with the older ball during the 1970s.

In Cricket's stigma BBC Sport's Troy Cooley examines why ball-tampering is one of the most emotive and controversial issues in Test cricket, especially when accusations involve Pakistan.

Obituary: Wasim Raja

Wasim Raja died suddenly and unexpectedly on August 23, 2006, while playing cricket for Surrey with a team of seniors. The circumstances suggest a heart attack. He was only 54, yet his accomplishments had already covered a wide canvas - Test star, coach, ICC match referee, teacher, academic, and beloved family man.

Cricinfo's Shaad Shafqat writes is a touching obituary, Only the good die young.

Rest in pace, Wasim Raja.

Friday, August 18, 2006

August 18: The two-day test

August 18, 2000:

England v/s West Indies. An unforgettable victory for England at Headingley, and the first two-day Test in over 50 years.


Allan Donald vs Michael Atherton

The infamous over bowled by Allan Donald to Michael Atherton during South Africa's tour of England in 1998.




Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Aamir Sohail vs Venkatesh Prasad

It's the 1996 World Cup Quarter Final, India versus Pakistan at Bangalore.

Watch Aamir Sohail exchanging words with Venkatesh Prasad after smashing him for a boundary, and then the bowler coming back the very next ball with a fantastic delivery.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

A football manager's views on cricket

Rafael Benitez is well on the way to being regarded as one of Liverpool Football Club's greatest ever managers after leading the Reds to two major trophies in his first two seasons in charge – an achievement never matched by any previous Anfield boss.

Here he offers his views on cricket.

Spanish wit at its best.

There's no place like home

Cricket's equivalent of Julius Caesar's famous Veni, Vidi, Vici - to conquer opponents in their backyards - is a rare trait among batsmen.

Bradman averaged 102.84 in England, while Wally Hammond and Ken Barrington also performed outstandingly on tours.

Among current batsmen, Rahul Dravid's overseas record trumps his magnificent one in India , but by and large most batsmen thrive in the relative comfort of home.

Travis Basevi and George Binoy of Cricinfo, look at batsmen who have performed better at home than overseas and vice versa.