India squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

The much awaited Indian squad for the World Cup has been announced. The only major surprise has been the exclusion of Rohit Sharma and Inclusion of Piyush Chawla.

There is no back-up wicket keeper in case Dhoni suffers an injury. There was no place for S.Sreesanth - who impressed the South Africa test series, while the disappointing Ishant Sharma has been omitted as expected.
MS Dhoni will lead a 15 member squad which includes 8 batsmen, 3 spinners and 4 Fast Bowlers.
India are clubbed in Group-B in the world Cup alongwith Bangladesh, England, South Africa, West Indies, Ireland and The Netherlands.
India will play the inaugural match of the World Cup 2011 against Bangladesh in Mirpur on February 19.
India squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Virender Sehwag (vc), Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel.

South Africa Squad for ICC World Cup 2011

Uncapped leg-spin bowler Imran Tahir was named in South Africa's 15-man squad for the Cricket World Cup 2011 in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka from February 19 to April 2.
Remarkable omissions are veteran wicketkeeper batsman Mark Boucher and all-rounder Albie Morkel, who both had reputations as strong finishers in the closing overs of one-day games.
Tahir, John Botha and left-armer Robin Peterson will form South Africa's spin attack.
Morne van Wyk, who shone in a Twenty20 match against India, was chosen as the back-up wicketkeeper to de Villiers, had been selected to fill the number seven role.
South Africa Squad: Graeme Smith (c), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, AB de Villiers(w), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne van Wyk(w).

Pakistan's World Cup squad

Pakistan left out veteran batsman Mohammad Yousuf from their final 15-man squad for next month's World Cup hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi will lead the team.
With Yousuf's exclusion the squad is largely inexperienced, with only seven players having featured in previous World Cups.
Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Akhtar are the only survivors of Pakistan's runners-up finish in the 1999 tournament.
Pakistan will be without key players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer who were all provisionally suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on charges of spot-fixing during team's tour to England last year.
A decision on their case is due on February 5 and the PCB last week said they can be included in the team if absolved.
Another player, Kamran Akmal, who was also under suspicion of match-fixing, was included after being reportedly cleared by the ICC, but all-rounder Shoaib Malik and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria failed to get clearance.
Pakistan, who won the World Cup title in 1992, are placed in Group A of the 14-team event to be played between February 19 to April 2. They open their campaign against Kenya at Hambantota on February 23.
Pakistan Squad: Shahid Afridi (C), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanveer, Ahmed Shahzad

India name preliminary World Cup squad

Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane are included in the 30-man preliminary squad for the 2011 World Cup, while there was no place for veteran Rahul Dravid and Irfan Pathan.
Yusuf Pathan made it to the list of probables following his good performances against New Zealand in the recently concluded ODI series. Also named in the squad was Parthiv Patel, who hit two half-centuries in the last two matches of the five-match ODI series against New Zealand.
The batting had the likely names of Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina. The ones who are likely to be challenging for a place in the final fifteen are Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahana, Saurabh Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara.
The fast department had well-known seniors such as Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel and Praveen Kumar, while Vinay Kumar also found a spot. The spinners were led by Harbhajan Singh and included Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra and R Ashwin, while Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja made it as the bits-and-pieces men.
The side had four wicket-keepers with Dinesh Karthik, Parthiv Patel and Wridhiman Saha joining captain MS Dhoni.
The final team is to be declared a month before the start of the World Cup as per the rules of the ICC and would be pruned to a squad of 15.
30-man list: MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Saurabh Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Parthiv Patel , R Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Dinesh Karthik, Shikhar Dhawan, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla, Cheteshwar Pujara, Pragyan Ojha, Praveen Kumar.

Zimbabwe Squad for ICC World Cup 2011

Zimbabwe's best known batsman Hamilton Masakadza not selected in World Cup Squad.
The squad: Elton Chigumbura (capt), Regis Chakabva, Charles Coventry, Graeme Cremer, Craig Ervine, Sean Ervine, Gregory Lamb, Shingirai Masakadza, Chris Mpofu, Ray Price, Edward Rainsford, Tatenda Taibu, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya and Sean Williams. Manager Lovemore Banda.

Bangladesh 15-man squad for ICC World Cup 2011

Former Bangladesh Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza will not take part in World Cup 2011 after the injured fast bowler was left out of Bangladesh's world cup squad named on Wednesday.
Bangladesh who are in Group B with India, England, Ireland, Netherlands, South Africa and West Indies will begin their campaign against fellow co-hosts India in the tournament opener in Dhaka on Feb. 19.
Bangladesh Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Shahriar Nafees, Zunaed Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Roqibul Hassan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Mohammad Sohrawardi, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Rubel Hossain.

New Zealand Squad for Cricket World Cup 2011

New Zealand has been drawn in Group A against Kenya, Australia, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Canada and Sri Lanka for the ICC World Cup tournament 2011.
Jamie How was a surprise inclusion in New Zealand's 15-man World Cup squad.

New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (c), Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder, Jamie How, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Kane Williamson, James Franklin, Jacob Oram, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills, Hamish Bennett, Luke Woodcock.

India or Sri Lanka may win ICC WorldCup 2011: Rodney Marsh

India and Sri Lanka will be hot favorites’ to win cricket World Cup 2011 which would be held in the sub-continent, according to ex-Australian wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh.
Marsh feels Asian countries will have an edge during the February-March tournament which would be jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Marsh said Australia's chances in the World Cup 2011 would also get clearer depending on how they fare against India and England in the coming days.
"I think we'll get a fair idea of how Australia are going to fair in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 once we've seen the results of the ODI games Australia are playing against India and also against England.
"We'll also get an idea of how England and India are going to fair too with those results," Marsh, who represented Australia in 92 ODIs, said on this week's ICC Cricket World audio show.
"I think the fact that the tournament is being held in the sub-continent means it will be very difficult for teams England, Australia, New Zealand or South Africa to win.
"I would think a team from Asia would be successful, perhaps Sri Lanka, I quite fancy them for the title and of course India," he said.
Marsh is an ICC Cricket Hall of Famer, who played in the 1975 and 1983 World Cups in England.

Kenya squad for ICC World Cup 2011

Kenya on Wednesday announced a 15-man squad for ICC Cricket World Cup in India, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh.
Notable omissions in the team that lost all five build-up matches in India earlier this month are left-arm spinner, Hiren Varaiya and seamer Ragheb Aga.
But brothers, Shem Ngoche and James Ngoche who have played for the Under 19 team, have been included.
Kenya Squad: Jimmy Kamande (c), Seren Waters, Alex Obanda, David Obuya, Collins Obuya, Steve Tikolo, Tanmay Mishra, Rakep Patel, Morris Ouma, Thomas Odoyo, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Elijah Otieno, Peter Ongondo, Shem Ngoche, James Ngoche.

Australia's World Cup Squad

Defending champions Australia revealed their squad for next month's World Cup, banking on the fitness of a pair of injury-prone pacemen and elder statesmen Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey.
Veteran fast bowler Brett Lee and short-form specialist Shaun Tait were both included in the 15-man squad, which they are trying to win for the fourth successive time.
Ricky Ponting was named as Captain, but is still recovering from a broken finger, while Hussey made the squad but is a major doubt after a severe hamstring tears in the six-wicket win over England at the MCG on Sunday.
Hussey is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks, with Australia's first game on February 21, and chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch conceded he was a doubt for the showpiece event.
"It is a severe injury and we will make a decision closer to departure date," Hilditch said on Tuesday. Players can be replaced before the tournament.
The shocking selection was Victorian all-rounder John Hastings, who has played just two one-day internationals, while David Hussey, Mike's younger brother, also made the squad.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Paine, hyped by many as a future Australian skipper, is part of the 15.
Left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty, who played on Sunday, was overlooked in favour of the returning Nathan Hauritz, who was ignored for the entire Ashes series but has been in top form in domestic first-class cricket this season.
Victorian paceman Peter Siddle was not included, despite being one of the better Ashes performers for Australia with ball and bat.
Australia Squad: Ricky Ponting (c), Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Cameron White, Brad Haddin, David Hussey, Mike Hussey, Tim Paine, John Hastings, Doug Bollinger, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Steven Smith, Nathan Hauritz.

Netherlands Squad for ICC World Cup 2011

Peter Borren was named the skipper of the Netherlands side while Ryan ten Doeschate, who was picked up by the Kolkata franchise for the IPL 4, would be the star attraction of the side.
Netherlands squad: Peter Borren (capt), Adeel Raja, Wesley Barresi (wk), Mudassar Bukhari, Atse Buurman, Tom Cooper, Tom de Grooth, Alexei Kervezee, Bradley Kruger, Bernard Loots, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Ryan ten Doeschate, Berend Westdijk, Bas Zuiderent

Praveen Kumar ruled out World Cup, replaced by Sreesanth

Praveen Kumar has been ruled out of the ICC World Cup 2011 after failing to recover from an elbow injury.
S. Sreesanth, who undergo a fitness test at the National Cricket Academy, was named as the replacement for Praveen Kumar.
"The ICC has confirmed that Praveen Kumar can be replaced in the squad by Sreesanth," BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan said in a statement.
Praveen Kumar, who returned early from the ODI series in South Africa to recover in time for the World Cup, went to England for further treatment but doctors took a final call on his fitness and ruled him out after the medical check-ups.
The Uttar Pradesh bowling-all rounder underwent a fitness test at the NCA but it seems the injury had not healed as fast as was expected, a BCCI source said.

Jayasuriya, Vaas out of Sri Lanka's final squad for the World Cup

There was no place for sentiment in Sri Lanka's final team for the ICC World Cup Cricket 2011, with the national selection panel headed by former great Aravinda de Silva not selecting either Sanath Jayasuriya or Chaminda Vaas in the final fifteen.
Both Jayasuriya and Vaas had been team-mates of de Silva - with all three proving to be integral parts of the team that won the 1996 World Cup, which was the last one held in the subcontinent.
Sanath Jayasuriya and Vaas had been named in the provisional squad of 30 players, but their declining international powers meant that they couldn't find a place for themselves in the final squad, even though they had expressed their wish of playing a final World Cup before retiring. However, neither of them has featured in an ODI for Sri Lanka for over a year, and the chances of their both making the final squad were always slim.
Most of the squad that beat Australia in Australia 2-1 for a maiden ODI series triumph in the country has been retained. Among the surprise omissions was that of off-spinner Suraj Randiv. Randiv had given a good account of himself in his brief international career, alongwith proving to be a good fielder and decent batsman, but left-arm spinner Rangana Herath was preferred over him.
The absence of the veterans means Sri Lanka has only one player in their ranks who knows what it feels like to win a World Cup - world record holder Muttiah Muralitharan. Muralitharan had retired from Test cricket after the first Test against India with a fairytale finish getting to 800 wickets, but had said that he would be available for selection for the World Cup.
The team will be led by Kumar Sangakkara with Mahela Jayawardene being the vice-captain. India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh host the 2011 World Cup, which will take place from February 19 to April 2.
Sri Lanka World Cup squad: Kumar Sangakkara (c & wk), Mahela Jayawardene (vc), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath.

England 15-man squad for ICC World Cup 2011

The England selectors announced the final 15-man squad for the forthcoming ICC World Cup 2011 hosted in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka commencing 19th February.
Matt Prior was the only surprise in the 15-man England Squad.
England squad: Andrew Strauss (Captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Ajmal Shahzad, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy

Canada squad for ICC World Cup 2011

Canada World Cup Squad: Ashish Bagai (capt/wk), Rizwan Cheema (vc), Hamza Tariq, Jimmy Hansra, Harvir Baidwan, Khurram Chohan, Balaji Rao, Nitish Kumar, John Davison, Henry Osinde, Parth Desai, Hiral Patel, Tyson Gordon, Zubin Surkari, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Karl Whatham.

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Christchurch Earthquake Images Shake Up New Zealand Cricketers During World Cup Campaign

New Zealand cricketers suffered a serious scare while in India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 as they were greeted with the news of the Christchurch earthquake that has devastated New Zealand’s second largest city.

New Zealand cricketers were in for quite a shock when the news of a 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch reached them. Naturally there was concern for those they left behind as also their home country which has been reeling from this recent setback.

Even the ICC has recognized the concern and taken cognizance of the shock and horror and decided to work in collusion with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 organizers to ensure that the team will have the opportunity to pay their respects before the New Zealand v Australia ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 match which gets underway on Friday morning, Indian time.

Quite a few cricketers have been left quite stunned by the images and as one can see, these are not for the fainthearted. One can only imagine how torn the cricketers must feel, miles away from home at a time like this

Netherlands Captain Dismissed and Brought Back as England Have Foul Play on the Field

These things do happen. But it was more interesting given that England were already under the hammer from the Netherlands in their first ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 encounter.

The second ball of the forty-ninth over from Stuart Broad saw the Netherlands captain, Peter Borren, dismissed. However, the captain was asked to return even as he chose to walk away because England erred in their fielding position, which meant that a mandatory fourth player in the thirty yard circle was found outside. The perpetrator happened to be Paul Collingwood who tried to run in as fast as possible but failed to make the circle and England lost the wicket they thought they had.
Irrespective of that decision, Netherlands find themselves in a strong position at halftime, stunning England in Orange City, Nagpur.596187

Sachin Tendulkar Gets Thumbs Up for England Match After Knee Injury Scare and MRI Scan

India suffered a little scare with their trump card. But fortunately Sachin Tendulkar has been cleared off niggles and will play for India in their second ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 match against England on Sunday, the 27th of February.
There are always worrying concerns when someone of the stature of Tendulkar is rendered injured. Although the Indian cricket team is no longer dependent only on Sachin Tendulkar to win matches for them, Tendulkar’s presence has an aura about it, not to mention the fact that Tendulkar is an asset behind the scenes as well as on the field.
In that light, the Indian cricket team was slightly concerned by Tendulkar’s knee pain and precautionary MRI scans have revealed that the batting maestro has no reason to worry and will be fit to play the second match. Tendulkar had pulled with his knee problem that arose during India’s first ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 match versus Bangladesh.
However, the reports are in the clear, Tendulkar is not suffering from a new problem and it will mean that Indian fans will see a full strength team for the match, something Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian captain, highlighted as one of the points in the favour of India in this tournament.596072
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Aus v Zim ICC World Cup 2011 Half Time: Zimbabwe Test Defending Champions Australia

It was a strange innings in many ways because the defending champions never really dominated it. Rather it was Zimbabwe who came off impressively at half time in the Zimbabwe v Australia match in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Group A match, using the UDRS to good effect as well.
Australia found themselves at sixty-nine for one after twenty-one overs, showing how sedately Australia were approaching this game. Whether it was a cautious approach or anything else, was hard to tell. What was clear though that Australia were feeling their way into the match, which worked rather well for Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe still have 263 runs to chase at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad. Australia’s credits go to the man in form, Shane Watson, and thereafter in an unlikely hero in the Australian vice captain, Michael Clarke, who kept it together.
Zimbabwe would have liked the fact that Australia were going no faster than 3.5 runs an over and it was only in the period till the thirty-first over thereafter with the introduction of Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, that seemed to have woken up Watson to score seventy-nine runs.
Zimbabwe used the Umpire Decision Review System twice in the first two decisions and more importantly in the case of Shane Watson. Chris Mpofu pulled off a tremendous run out against Ponting and thereafter Zimbabwe restricted Australia in the end stages once more even as Clarke batted on for a half century to take Australia to 262 for 6.596041
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Sri Lanka's Jayawardene, Sangakkara Bury Canada Under 210 Run Defeat

Sri Lanka joined New Zealand on the giant beaters list on Sunday as they trounced Canada in a heavy margin of defeat at the Hambantota with the Sri Lankan captain and former captain joining forces.
Mahela Jayawardene scored a fine ICC Cricket World Cup century while Kumar Sangakkara missed his by eight runs as Sri Lanka put winning out of the Canada cricket team’s mind by notching up 332 batting first by deliberate design.
The strong 179 run partnership after the sixty-three run opening partnership virtually packed Canada out of the Group A match even before half the match was over. Canada’s bowlers were no match for the richly talented and experienced batsmen who displayed the repertoire of their shots to the visitors.
In stark contrast, Canada made a disastrous attempts to salvage from pride. Three quick wickets went down with only twelve runs on board as Thisara Perera struck for Sri Lanka. It was only the Canadian captain, Ashish Bagai, and Rizwan Cheema that helped Canada add a few runs. But that success and joy were shortlived as Sri Lanka never allowed the visitors to settle in.
Nuwan Kulasekara and Muttiah Muralitharan shared five wickets between them as Cheema ended up being the top scorer with only thirty-seven runs as Canada collapsed to 122 in thirty-seven overs, losing embarrassingly by 210 runs.596038
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Pressure on England in ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 after Ashes, ICC Cricket World Cup 2010

England are beginning with plans anew and putting the fatigue of the Australia ODIs behind them as they meet one of their most memorable opponents, Netherlands, who would want to remind them of the ICC World Twenty20 2009 but not if England can help it in the Orange City as Nagpur is known.
Andrew Strauss will have a new opening partner officially in Kevin Pietersen. England are hoping that this new combination will get their ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 going after the rather insipid end to their tour of Australia where they managed to retain the Ashes to top off a great run that has seen them win the ICC World Twenty20 2010.
Netherlands want to prove a point to the ICC and they would like to do by beating England once more, as they did in the Twenty20 competition previously. However, it will be a hard act to emulate given that the England from 2009 is not quite the team that it is today.
Despite the several injury niggles that undid England at the end of the tour of Australia and notwithstanding the ODI results, the England captain thinks that England have been able to put the past success and the accompanying fatigue and injuries behind them to build themselves up once more for the ICC Cricket World Cup where England have failed to leave their mark in the previous few editions. The England of new promises to change that trend. It remains to be seen how hungry they continue to be for success and rise.596073
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Fill Empty Stadiums With Fans By Lowering Ticket Rates to Make the World Cup a Success!

One of the most glaring aspects of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, apart from the ICC turning a blind eye to the associate nations, is the fact that the empty stands that greeted the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 once more are already drawing concerns across the cricket world. But can not the tournament organizers change their scenario quickly?
It seems unusual to believe that there are no takers for cricket, even if it does not involve India, in India given that the country has shown a generosity towards the sport unlike no other. In that situation, it would be hard to imagine packed stadiums for a match not involving India or involving a lower ranked team but not as sparse as been on witness thus far.

One of the explanations for the lack of people in the stadium is being offered as there not being Indian cricketers, which is a reasonable enough reason. However, the case where people would not come to the stadium to see at least one of the top teams, such as Australia in their match against Zimbabwe, seems almost unbelievable.

It is also understandable that the World Cup coincides with the fact that the school going enthusiasts and students will be preparing for their exams and therefore, will not be able to give the World Cup its due attention, let alone throng the stadiums. Whether there are enough schools and school children that the organizers have looked at is questionable because it is the impressionable young ones who will really appreciate the situation.

The one good thing to come out of the World Cup tickets websites crash was the fact that it was established what was only rumoured before: that the tickets in the stadiums are not only reserved for corporates and officials, who have failed to then utilize them, but also, that the tickets are so heavily priced ( upwards of Rs.2500 for one of the minnow teams ) that it is understandable why people do not want to spend so much on a match whose result they can pretty much predict.

The organizers have perhaps missed a trick here, because if they can cut down their losses of empty stadiums by pricing the tickets low and breaking even, they could have not only recovered costs but also, spared themselves and the sport the ignominy of depicting empty cricket stadiums for something as prestigious as the ICC Cricket World Cup.

To blame the associate nations alone for the debacle of the tournament or the format seems very harsh when the game is being sold in the manner it is. Even a passionate country has its limits, and this would apply to the most ardent of cricket fans for whom watching cricket continues to be a privilege beyond their means.

When the fans are accounted for, perhaps the game can be restored to a healthy state and a thriving one at that.596175

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LCD TV Breaks Brunt of Ricky Ponting's Anger over Run Out Against Zimbabwe; Any Fine?

The ICC will have to look into this matter because Cricket Australia are denying knowledge of the incident that is doing the rounds since late last night. The former hellraiser has found himself in the middle of a blow out, quite literally.
Ricky Ponting is facing music for reportedly smashing a television set inside the Australian dressing room in Ahmedabad in the course of the Australia v Zimbabwe ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 match.

The Australian captain was visibly distraught as he was leaving the cricket field after a spectacular throw from Chris Mpofu saw Ponting run out. Exasperated by the dismissal and knowing how crucial it is for him to get going in the tournament, Ponting was seen livid, mouthing expletives - one would imagine against himself - and looking for a fight as he stepped off the field. The incident allegedly took place shortly thereafter.

While the Gujarat cricket officials have asked the ICC to look into the matter, it appears the Australian cricket team has moved on since the incident and instead enjoyed their first win in the tournament that has them as the three defending champions but not exactly shaped that way heading into the tournament.

Ponting is most aware of that fact as also that his time as the Australian captain has now all but run out, particularly in the Test format where he is the first Australian captain to lose the Ashes thrice. To top it off, Ponting has had close eyes watching his form and he can ill afford to make a mistake at this stage in his career, despite being Australia’s highest run getter and only behind India’s Sachin Tendulkar.

To then gift his wicket to a run out was perhaps the last straw for the captain’s patience and reminiscent of his bad boy days, Ponting gave a little glimpse of himself that should not be showcased in something so relevant as the ICC Cricket World Cup where Ponting leads the team that won the tournaments four times and looking to add a fifth title to their graph.

Does it remind anyone of the Commonwealth Games 2010 revelry ( or fury as the story has been told ) when property was damaged?596157

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Sehwag Gets Perspective from Sachin Tendulkar over Run Out Mishap v Bangladesh

While Ricky Ponting has become the target for those condemning his behavious over his run out against Zimbabwe, the two Indian openers have called truce over their run out mix up in India’s match against Bangladesh in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
A promising innings was nipped in the bud as India’s first wicket came by way of a run out. And the culprit appeared to be Virender Sehwag on all counts. While it was not clear whether Sachin Tendulkar had called for the run, Sehwag himself confirmed that Tendulkar did call and that Sehwag was guilty of ball watching which was the general surmise at the end of Tendulkar’s dismissal.

However, unlike the Australian captain who unwittingly unleashed his anger inadvertently on the dressing room furniture, Tendulkar had time to sit back int he dressing room and watch as Sehwag made amends with a brilliant 175 to get India in an indomitable position.

Later Sehwag sought Tendulkar’s apology and true to Tendulkar’s form, he apparently told Sehwag that winning the match for India was more important. And that Sehwag had then played such a match winning knock could have only gone in his favour with the batting maestro. But perhaps for India’s sake, Sehwag will watch out for Tendulkar’s next cue rather than be found guilty of watching the ball again, particularly when it is not his call.596193

 

Eng v Ned ICC World Cup 2011 Half Time: Doeschate gives Orange City Ton, Sets Huge Target

It is too bad that the England v Netherlands ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 was played to near empty stadiums in Orange City aka Nagpur because Netherlands have delivered half of what they promised to do, and now the other half of the match is awaited in anticipation as England try to overhaul Netherlands’ 292 with Kevin Pietersen opening in the innings.
It has to be said that the Netherlands innings held the promise of more, particularly in the manner in which Wesley Borresi took to England. His cameo knock of twenty-nine runs may seem small in front of Ryan ten Doeschate’s century. But it certainly set the tone for the match which was further by the rest of the batsmen in good measure.

England failed to find their rhythm, giving away four balls and dropping catches like butter fingers. To Holland’s credit, they made use of every loose ball, batted stoically when England took to using bouncers to intimidate and persisted well with a good run rate to ensure they had more than a decent total on board by the end of the fifty overs, a stark contrast to the response of the other associate nations matches involving Kenya and Canada thus far.

Borresi and Kervezee’s start was suitably built on rather impressively in a seventy-eight run partnership for the third wicket between ten Doeschate and Tom Cooper who was disappointed to be dismissed for forty-seven. Ten Doeschate was by far Netherlands’ most outstanding batsmen on the day and even he would have felt that Netherlands built rather well to the point where he had to take the match to the next level which he did.

If Ryan ten Doeschate’s century was studded by nine boundaries and three sixes, England’s efforts was so lopsided, it was hard to imagine that this was supposed to be a match between an associate nation and a Test team from where cricket is said to have originated. England would have felt their deja vu moments as Netherlands had previously beaten England in the ICC Cricket World Twenty20 2009 at home.

Graeme Swann was the only saving grace in the bowlers’ statistics, going for only thirty-five runs in his ten overs taking two wickets. However, Netherlands carried on in spirit, with Tom de Grooth and Peter Borren ( who survived a dismissal through England’s overlook) putting forth a cameo as England now face a daunting challenge in their first match in Group B.596191

 

ICC and PCB - The 'unfathomables'

ICC and PCB - The 'unfathomables'

The ICC announced last week that the Cricket Committee recommended the DRS be used in all test series as well as the 2011 World Cup.

Yet again, the ICC will be conducting an experiment in their flagship event. Before the 2006 Champions Trophy in India, the ICC announced that reviews would be introduced at the tournament and, if successful, would be in force during the 2007 World Cup.

Thankfully, sanity prevailed a couple of months later, and the executive board threw that idea out of the window.

The DRS has so far, to the best of my knowledge, never been used in limited over internationals (50 overs or 20 overs). Without trialling it in bilateral series or other 3-4 nation tournaments, it would be downright stupid to use a World Cup to introduce the reviews system.

We still don't know how much time would be spent in a typical 50 over game on both teams appealing against the umpires' decisions. Wouldn't that result in the game being stretched beyond the normal 3 hr 30 mins / 3 hr 45 mins duration?

The ICC wants the broadcaster to shell out the money for the technology used. Maybe the right way to 'sell' the concept to the broadcaster is that they would have at least 10 minutes more per innings of telecast time, and thus something like 30-40 more advertisement slots.

The ICC's argument is that poorer (associate & affiliate) countries that don't benefit from the DRS shouldn't have to subsidize countries that will play games using the reviews system. The broadcaster's counter-argument should be that they don't want to pay up for a system that is unproven, and could potentially work against their favourite team.

Imagine if ESPN-Star, Sky Sports or the Nine Network paid up for the DRS, and the decisions kept going against India, England or Australia. For sure the broadcaster, and the audiences, would hate it!

From all evidence so far though, there is a lot more fine-tuning needed with the DRS, and I humbly submit that the World Cup is not the stage for a trial.

On 9 March, the PCB banned 4 players (2 indefinite, 2 for 1 year) and fined 3 others, who were placed under probation for 6 months.

Less than 3 months later, 2 of those banned and all the 3 who were fined are in a probables list for the Asia Cup and a tour of England. The 16 year-old ball-muncher is made captain.

I apologize. I totally give up trying to make sense out of the ICC's and the PCB's actions. Labels: 2011 world cup, afridi, ban, icc, pakistan, reviews, selection

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