CRICKET BLOGS

It’s because everyone thinks that Swanny and Harbhajan Singh are brilliant spinners simply because they play for better International Sides (England & India respectively). Shakib Al Hasan plays for Bangladesh and is currently the best All-rounder in the world and has got better economy rates than both of them in ODI’S. So who is better - Be Honest please!!!

Tamim Iqbal once said that its his goal to score century against all the Test nations. England scratched off the list. Today he made a delightful century,103 off 100 balls. A century in lords, his name would certainly be on board!!

Well Played Tamim Iqbal. Now he has a century each in ODI and Test.

Quite surprised to see this news on cricinfo today, it was probable heads were going to roll after their miserable T20 campaign, but didn’t expect them to ditch Boucher.
Do you think the selectors have made the right move or should someone else have been axed from the side?
Also, AB de Villiers will now keep for SA, do you think this is a good idea? I’d say not he’s one of the best fielders around in the world but the move opens an extra spot for a batsman in the team though.
I’d still have Boucher in my ODI team.

For those dummies who always thought I was harsh on Tendulkar just because he was a North Indian, READ THIS…

The openers should consist of at least 1 top notch quality batsman (say a Showag or a Gambhir or a 10 dull car or even a Dravid (a better player than Kallis in ODI and T20)). Otherwise, this deficiency is bound to show up sooner or later.

I do not have much faith in Murali Vijay and maybe even Dinesh Karthik. Both are from Chennai….and that’s where I am from.

Murali Vijay has always been fallible against quality pace attack, and it again showed up yesterday. He better come up with a masterful knock either against Aus or S.A on a not-so-flat wicket or else he might have to be clubbed alongside Yusuf Pathan as pathetic players against quality fast bowling.

Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik doesn’t have the same kind of weakness that Murali Vijay has against quality attacks. However, Karthik is totally undependable. I do not know why the selectors keep going back to him time and again. In my opinion, Rohit Sharma should have played as an opener. Karthik should be only considered as a replacement wicketkeeper - not as a replacement batsman.

Yesterday’s failure of M Vijay and Karthik was overcome by the fluent knock of Yuvraj and a milestone of an innings from Raina.

Hopefully Gambhir will be careful enough not have his diorhea during a crucial match. India can afford to have the solidity of a Gambhir and a trial-by-fire Murali Vijay as openers. But a M Vijay and a Karthik opening and failing yet again might even result in India getting shot out for a ultra cheap total. How often is a century scored in an international T20 ? Only 3 so far, and that’s why I say Raina’s success completely masqueraded yesterday’s failure with the opening partnership.

(a) Would you agree that this opening combination might be worrisome for India in this T20

(b) Should Karthik be utilized only as a replacement wicketkeeper or as a replacement batsman/replacement wicketkeeper ?
Read "even a Dravid (a better player than Kallis" as

"even a Dravid, a better BATSMAN than Kallis" in ODI and T20. Kallis might be the better player because he gifts those 8-10 runs/over spells too. Again, if Dravid keeps wickets, who knows, Dravid might still be the better PLAYER too.
kashyap,

Robin Uthappa, Doug Bollinger, et al missed out because ICC forced the cricketing nations to select the playing XV before the IPL was even at halfway stage. So for once, we can say it wasn’t politics that dictated the selection.

T J, I highlighted 10dullcar and Dravid just to highlight a "top notch quality batsman"

Kudos to him for dominating in the Indian domestic leagues but i don’t think he stands a chance in Test cricket even against average medium pace bowlers on a juicy wicket. Let’s not even talk about world class bowlers like Dale Steyn, Doug Bollinger, Mitchell Johnson and Morne Morkel. He has been given many opportunities to impress us but he has failed miserably. Don’t you think India should continue their desperate search for an average allrounder because surely Pathan is way below average in international cricket and the others before him are in the same boat?
Oh please desi boy, stop trying to make lame excuses for him. He is below average in international cricket. Period. And i was talking about Test cricket not ODI’s and T20’s. He’s not a regular member of India at all. 2 fifties in 33 matches in ODI’s? Top score of 33 in Twenty20’s. That can’t make you a regular member at all. He scored that first class double hundred on a flat flat flat wicket of India against average bowlers mostly who were probably spinners. The guy looks hopeless and out of sorts against the short ball. You can’t survive against vultures like Steyn, Morkel, Johnson and Bollinger with that kind of weakness. Would you care to address that issue?

I know he has 17 000 ODI runs, 13 000 in Tests and almost 100 centuries in international cricket. But my point is: it seems to me like those achievements are only personal glory. Among all the great victories that India achieved as a team, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and VVS are bigger match winners. How come India does not have a World Cup trophy, no series wins in SA and Aus but yet he is and Indian cricket god. Where is he when India needs him mostly for example during the 2003 world cup final, 2007 world cup where India were eliminated in the first round, test series in SA and Aus. Why is he so special to Indians even though he has never done anything special for Indian cricket. All his records are just personal victory.

Just like i had voiced my opinion for the last year T-20 WC. Am again totally unsatisfied with this years T-20 selection too. I think this time they have got it all wrong. The team doesn’t seem to be backed with a good selection of seam or spin bowling.
Yuvi, Harabajan and then Zaheer all look out of shape. I remember the comback performance of Zaheer, where he got back in shape and looked leathel but now all the 3 look out of shape. Yuvi needs to get back with his fielding and get back in shape. Apart from that, Time and time again, i wonder why Rohit is being selected again?

Seriously, guys, what’s with the selection of this guy?. He’s an average player, who has proved time and time again in international matches as a failure. I still remember his embarrassing performances, for T-20 WC 2008. It looked like he was playing a test match and looked totally out of shape after eating all those sweets probably.I failed to understand how he was selected to play against SA and what is there in this player, that we haven’t seen after over 2 yrs of repeated failure. Manish Pandey,Robin or then Virat Kolhi would have been a way better selection, since all the 3 look in top form at the moment. Piyush Chawla, was another surprise. He doesn’t looks any exceptional with his bowling other than, he could be handy with the bat. Ojha, could have been a better choice. Irfan Pathan also could have been pretty handy with both the bat and ball. I don’t know much to think of Ashish Nehra, for i think he’s more suited for ODI’s.

Harbajan i think have been just ordinary.It looks like he’s missing that old spark in him. He performs once in like 10 matches and then goes ordinary. Honestly, am not happy with this team selection, even though i want my team to reach the final and probably win the cup, but, with this team it, would be a big surprise, if this team could even reach the semi’s.

MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar, Rohit Sharma
Your views please.
Barathiya sahasiya bagavan– U need to get a life. That’s your problem.
Barathiya sahasiya bagavan–Chup jaa beta aur souja, nahee thu Gabaar Singh ayaga, aur tumma lajayaga.

Friends,

Ponting thinks this has been the best organized CT he says:

""I was worried at the time when 20-over cricket became as popular as it did that we might start playing a few less 50-over games, but I think tournaments like this can only help the game.

"I’ve really enjoyed the tournament and I think the fans around South Africa have enjoyed the tournament, so it’s got some endorsement from me, and even a low-scoring game like today can probably be one of the more entertaining games that you can watch and be involved in as a player."

Ponting, who also picked up the Player-of-the-Series and Golden bat awards after his side defended their title, has played in all six editions of the Champions Trophy. But he said the latest edition, which was reduced to only eight teams for the first time, had been the best organised.
"

However, an user writes an interesting comment:
"Posted by krs_spidey on (October 07 2009, 17:24 PM GMT)
i found this mini wc as the best since 2000 edition..no meaningless matches,tight,compact,small and fortunately played on pitches of south africa providing even bat ball contest like the two t20 world cups in sa and eng(not the usually flat, slow and dead tracks of subcontinent)..it was very exciting and gripping to see depleted nz side defending a small total with bond and mills especially troubling australian top order with the new ball in final..but sadly icc hasnt taken any cue from compact format of this champions trophy and a disastrous last ODI wc as it has again included 14 teams for wc2011..this means again we’ll have too many one sided useless contests(like ind vs netherlands,aus vs canada etc.)..12 teams r enuf in ODI wc like 1996 and 1999 editions..if icc wants to promote cricket in other nations it shud do it with t20 format..have 16 teams in a t20 wc coz it offers more chance for weaker teams to surprise strong ones..and even if contest is one sided it finishes in 3hrs
"

http://www.cricinfo.com/iccct2009/content/current/story/428641.html
1) Do you agree or disagree with these 2 views, if not why not?

2) Do you think ICC needs to do something more to ensure that 50-50 cricket may not have the same fate as archaeopteryx lithographica?

I think pieterson the most overrated cricketer.I had never seen him getting runs after 2005 ashes.had pretty poor tour in india..IPL very low performance ..Poor 20-20 world cup…now poor ashes too…its not just he is not getting runs.he is struggling lot against average bowlers…getting too across to the wicket..As engish people say he is not a good batter ..pretty average one surely not better than YOusuf,sehwag,Yuvi ,dhoni,sangakara,jayawardene,clarke,hussey,synonds ,hayden,gilly, etc..I beleive a player should be consistent enough to be regarded as a grt one

pretty low strike rate of 64 in test cricket…how can u call him aggressive?..its not hitting abt a towering sixer
once a 100 ball matters..

then flintoff ..he just took 2 five wickets haul and a career average of 33.36 .(both odi and tests).there r no of bowlers better than him in international cricket …i agree he hits the deck hard …difficult to get away..but for sure not a grt bowler or a wicket taker…

As england never produced grt crickters after 1980(Ian Botham the last) they R celebrating pretty average players as grt ones? Ur comments….

Born in Bentley West Australia
played in both 1996 and 1999 Cricket World Cup
Played Over 80 Odi’s
and Over 20 tests
Not Langer nope
Yeah its Damien Fleming well done

NOW im officially going to bed
its 2.15 in the U.K