Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Ashes cartoon


Pakistan not happy on Ajmal overlook in ICC awards

Pakistan lodged a protest with cricket’s governing body Monday over the exclusion of off-spinner Saeed Ajmal from the shortlist of an annual award, saying they hope his name will be included after a review.
The 34-year-old’s name did not feature among the four nominees for the coveted ‘Test Cricketer of the Year’ award, despite being Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker in the period under consideration.
South Africa’s Hashim Amla and Vernon Philander, Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and Australia’s Michael Clarke all made the list.
The International Cricket Council holds the annual awards ceremony to recognise the best players and umpire in international cricket.
The names are chosen by a 30-member jury comprising of former players, officials and journalists. This year’s ceremony will be held in Colombo on September 15.
Ajmal took 72 wickets in the 12 month period, including 24 in Pakistan’s 3-0 rout of then world number one Test team England earlier this year.
Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman Nadeem Sarwar said they have written to the ICC on Ajmal’s omission.
‘Yes, we have shown our concerns on Ajmal’s name not shortlisted for Test player of the year award despite his excellent performance in Tests during that stipulated period,’ Sarwar told AFP.
‘We hope that the ICC will reconsider this and include Ajmal’s name,’ he added.
Graeme Swann was omitted from a shortlist in 2010 but was later included after England put up his case. South Africa also objected to the omission of their players and boycotted the 2009 ceremony held in Johannesburg.
Despite his omission from the award shortlist, Ajmal’s name has been included in ICC’s best Test team of the year.
http://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2012-09-05&nid=22584#.UEaFNrLiaUE

day-night first-class match in the forthcoming National Cricket Leagu

The Bangladesh Cricket Board said on Tuesday that it will introduce day-night first-class match in the forthcoming National Cricket League in line with the guideline of the International Cricket Council.  
‘The opening game and the final match of National Cricket League will be a day-night affair and a pink ball will be used as per the rule of the ICC,’ BCB president AHM Mustafa Kamal told reporters at a news conference after an emergency meeting.   
Kamal added that the forthcoming NCL, which is expected to begin on October 14, will be franchise-based, something which they have planned for years but could not implement. 
‘We are not sure if we have a franchise for one or two teams but let’s begin it from somewhere,’ said Kamal.  
The lone first-class tournament of the country began in 2000-01 and since then the respective divisions used to run their team. 
It was also decided that each division will have a cricket operation manager who will look after their respective divisions.
‘We will select those managers but they have to be from those divisions,’ said Kamal.
‘He will look after and be a part of the team as well as provide us with the development chart in those respective divisions,’ he added. 
In the meeting, the disciplinary matter related to batsman Shahriar Nafees‘conduct during the Bangladesh ‘A’ team’s recent tour of India has been referred to the BCB’s disciplinary committee and the committee has been asked to submit a report in 14 days. 
Shahriar was sent back home from the middle of the Shafi Dharashah tournament after team management reported against him for behaving rudely during a match against the host side. 
The performance of the Under-19 team in the ICC U-19 World Cup in Australia was also evaluated and it was decided that the two top performers of Bangladesh in the tournament would be rewarded with TK 2, 00,000 each. 
The other members of the squad will get Tk one lakh each. The BCB also announced a cash incentive for the national players who won 3-0 against Ireland in a recent Twenty20 series. The detail of the incentives for Ireland series, however, was not provided.
http://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2012-09-05&nid=22577#.UEaE5bLiaUE

Bangladesh player banned


Former Bangladesh cricketer Shariful Haque has been banned for an indefinite period after spot-fixing allegations made against him before the Bangladesh Premier League by Mashrafe Mortaza were substantiated, BCB president said after a board meeting.
Haque played one ODI for Bangladesh, against India, in 1998 and had unofficially retired from the game. He worked with Biman, the national airline, which Mortaza represents in the Dhaka Premier League.

Tendulkar bowled

Surprising as it may sound but senior Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar’s defence has been breached three times in a row in the ongoing Test series against New Zealand.
After being bowled in the first innings of the first Test in Hyderabad and the first innings here, Tim Southee made it three in a row when he disturbed Tendulkar’s middle stump on Monday.
Revered worldwide for his record-breaking feats and his sound technique and temperament, the veteran batsman’s campaign in the two-match series got off to a poor start after Trent Boult cleaned him up for just 19, uprooting the middle stump in the first Test, and it continued in the second match here.
Doug Bracewell went through Tendulkar’s defence after he left a gap between his bat and pads in the first innings of the ongoing match.
Tim Southee then piled on Tendulkar’s agony as the Kiwi pacer knocked the middle stump after clipping his pad with a delivery that came back into the right-hander. That Tendulkar was playing across, did not help the batsman’s cause.
The batsman seemed quite frustrated with himself as he raised his bat in anger at the stumps.
Tendulkar, who has scored 15,489 in 189 Tests for an average of 55.31 prior to this match, has now being bowled 51 times in Test cricket. Rahul Dravid (55) and Allan Border (53) top the charts.
http://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2012-09-04&nid=22482#.UEU8TrLiaUE

Kohli, Dhoni saved the day

India survived a mini collapse to sweep the series against a fighting New Zealand with a five-wicket victory on the penultimate day of the second and final Test in Bangalore on Monday.
The hosts slipped from 152-2 to 166-5 before achieving their 261-run target in the final session, thanks to a 96-run stand between man-of-the-match Virat Kohli (51 not out) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (48 not out) under pressure.
India won the opening Test by an innings and 115 runs in Hyderabad.
New Zealand fought well as they twice neutralised India’s advantage to storm back into the match on a good pitch before Dhoni and Kohli steered their team home, much to the delight of the nearly 15,000 spectators.
The Indian captain finished the match with a six over mid-wicket off off-spinner Jeetan Patel, who took three wickets. Dhoni hit two sixes and three fours, while Kohli cracked nine fours.
‘Virat’s batting was superb. He fought well and soaked up the pressure. We all knew that after 40-45 overs it would easier,’ said Dhoni.
‘The spinners bowled brilliantly and the catching was good.’
India were 77 without loss after brisk knocks from Virender Sehwag (38) and Gautam Gambhir (34) and then 152-2 following a 69-run stand between Cheteshwar Pujara (48) and Sachin Tendulkar (27) before New Zealand struck back.
The tourists came back strongly after tea, which was taken early due to rain, as they dismissed well-set Pujara, Tendulkar and Suresh Raina (0) in the space of 14 runs.
The 39-year-old Tendulkar was bowled for a third successive innings in the series, this time by fast bowler Tim Southee, after hitting five fours in his 34-ball knock.
The world’s leading scorer in both Test and one-day cricket with an unprecedented 100 international centuries, Tendulkar finished the series without a half-century in three innings.
‘We had our chances and showed character to come back from a terrible Test in Hyderabad. We came with some standards we wanted to maintain, which we did in patches,’ said New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor.
‘They way Kohli and Dhoni batted was outstanding.’
Patel had Pujara caught by Daniel Flynn, who ran backwards from forward short-leg to take a superb diving catch, and then bowled Raina.
Tendulkar and Pujara steadied the innings after Sehwag and Gambhir had fallen in the morning in the space of six runs.
Pujara, who scored a solid 159 in the first Test, was on 37 when he survived a stumping chance off Patel as wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum failed to collect the ball.
McCullum kept wicket in place of Kruger van Wyk, who was injured after being struck on the arm by a delivery from paceman Umesh Yadav while batting on Sunday.
The New Zealand skipper pressed Patel into the attack in the 12th over after pacemen Trent Boult, Southee and Doug Bracewell had failed to provide the breakthrough in overcast conditions.
Sehwag lofted Patel over long-off, the first six of the innings, and then cut him for a four before falling in the same over. He stepped out to try another big shot, but missed the line and was bowled.
He smashed one six and seven fours in his 33-ball knock.
Gambhir went for his shots early in the innings, hitting Boult and Bracewell each for two successive fours before falling to a loose shot.
He was caught by Taylor at first slip off Boult after hitting seven fours in his 58-ball knock.
New Zealand were earlier bowled out for 248 in their second innings, adding 16 runs to their overnight total of 232-9.
Patel (22), the last man out, looked unhappy with the decision when given caught behind off left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan, as the TV replays suggested he had missed the ball.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin finished with 5-69, his third five-wicket haul in four innings against New Zealand. He was named man of the series.
http://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2012-09-04&nid=22479

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Superman Tendulkar


No Deccan Chargers in Indian Premier League


Deccan Chargers, the champions of second edition of Indian Premier League, is unlikely to feature in the next edition of the cash-rich league which may force the BCCI to lookout for a prospective buyer in the next few days.

"The IPL governing council members will be meeting on September 4 where a concrete decision regarding the future of Deccan Chargers will be taken. As of now, there is very little chance that DC will be playing in IPL VI as it is unable to resolve the financial problems. The Board will have to find a new buyer for the team," a top BCCI official toldPTI today.

In June this year, the Deccan Chronicle group had appointed Religare Capital Markets Ltd to advise it on selling of Deccan Chargers following approach "by multiple parties evincing interest in acquiring stake in the company's IPL team".

However, according to investment banking sources, financial liabilities of the franchise owner pushed away the prospective buyers and the matter has been intimated to the cricket board.

"None of the investors were really interested to buy a team with financial liabilities. Now, the owners have intimated the BCCI about their inability to sell the team. The BCCI has reportedly told them that they would now auction the team," a reliable source in investment banking sector informed.

The formal announcement will come within a few days but BCCI is likely to get a suitable replacement as many business houses are interested in buying a team.

"Obviously, for a new investor, the advantage will be that he would get a set team and also can buy a few more players. The BCCI will encash the bank guarantee and pay the salaries of the players," the Board official said.

The Deccan Chronicle group had acquired the franchise for USD 107 million (approximately Rs 588 crore) in 2008.
http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=773875

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Roqibul shines in T20 warm-up

Batsman Roqibul Hassan continued to shine in the warm-up games as it was his half-century that guided Bangladesh Green to a comfortable four-wicket win over the Red’s in the first practice match, ahead of the ICC World Twenty20, at the National Cricket Academy ground on Tuesday. 
Earlier, Roqibul impressed everyone in a practice match at the very ground with a blistering 61-ball 140 to earn Bangladesh ‘A’ team a nine-wicket win against the national side before their Europe tour.
The performance eventually earned him a place in the 30-member preliminary squad of the World T20, but his lack of form with the ‘A’ team in the Shafi Dharashah tournament could not get him a place in the short-list.
On Tuesday, Roqibul’s 36-ball 50 and Mahmudul Hasan’s unbeaten 21 helped the Green to reach 103-6 in just 13.5 overs after pace bowlers Dollar Mahmud (3-9) and Shahadat Hossain (3-36) led the Red’s destruction to dismiss them for 101 in 14.1 overs.
Junaed Siddique made 34 from 15 balls while Elias Sunny scored 24 to give some respectability to the score of Red’s, a side mainly compromised with the national players.  
National skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Nasir Hossain and Mohammad Ashraful were missing from the line-up as they are involved in the Sri Lankan Premier League while Mashrafee bin Murtaza was out with illness. 
However, Tigers coach Richard Pybus was not worried with the outcome of the result as the game was played in a picnic mood at a ground way below the standard size.  
‘There is nothing to worry as it cannot be termed as a full-fledged cricket match. The ground is very small and does not fill all pre-requisite to play a proper game,’ Pybus told reporters.  
Batsman Jahirul Islam, who had no meaningful contribution in Red’s total, echoed the coach and said that lack of ground available to play was the reason for playing at this field. 
‘We’ve no alternative stadium to play practice matches at this moment. Even our national stadium is not ready so we are playing in this ground,’ said Jahirul.

IPL loses its title sponsor

The Indian Premier League has lost its title sponsor after real estate giant DLF declined to renew its five-year deal, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.
‘We have just stepped off the IPL,’ DLF group executive director Rajeev Talwar told the Press Trust of India.
‘Sponsoring the IPL over the last five years was a strategic decision wherein we wanted to establish our brand presence across India as the leading real estate player.
‘We believe that we have been able to achieve the desired objectives to a great extent.’
DLF reportedly paid $50 million to be the title sponsor of the glitzy Twenty20 league for the first five years, a deal which ended with the 2012 edition in March-April.
The last date for renewal of the contract was July 28, Talwar added.
There was no immediate comment from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which owns the IPL.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

India wins U-19 World Cup

A dazzling batting display by India saw them lift the ICC U-19 World Cup after beating the hosts and defending champions Australia by six wickets at Tony Ireland Stadium in Townsville on Sunday.
The victory gave India its third World Cup title, after Mohammad Kaif and Virat Kohli had lifted the trophies in 2000 in Sri Lanka and 2008 in Malaysia respectively.   
India’s skipper Unmukt Chand led his troop to victory with a match winning unbeaten 111-run knock as India knocked off the target making 227 runs for the loss of four wickets with 14 balls to spare after Australia had posted a moderate 225-8.
India were trouble when they lost four wickets with 97 runs on the scoreboard, but Smit Patel joined Chand to add 130 runs for the fifth wicket and ensured the win.
Chand was twice dropped by wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson and Bosisto on 38 and 
84 respectively while Patel also survived two missed-catches on zero and 51 respectively and both batsmen made full use of their dropped chances. 
Chand clobbered seven fours and six sixes in his knock off 130 balls while Patel (62 not out) played an equally important role.     
Earlier, Will Bosisto (87 not out) showed a lot of maturity when he steered Australia to a respectable 225-8 after the home side had plummeted to 38-4 before the completion of the 12th over.
Sandeep Sharma was the pick of India bowlers when he finished with figures of 4-54. 
Chand received the player of the final award for his match-winning knock while Bosisto was adjudged as the player of the tournament.

Cricket to resume at SBNS next month

The home of Bangladesh cricket, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, will be back with cricketing action on its renovated surface by hosting a One-Day International series followed by a Twenty20 series against South Africa women’s cricket team from September 7-15.
The South African women’s team is due to arrive on September 5 and would participate in a three-match ODI series along with three T20 Internationals at the home of cricket that has not hosted any match since May.  
‘The three ODIs will be held respectively on September 7, 8 and 10,’ Jannatul Ferdous, Executive of BCB’s Women’s wing, told New Age on Sunday. 
The T20 matches will follow on September 12, 13 and 15.
SBNS wore a deserted look after the Bangladesh Cricket Board took the initiative to burn the grasses of the entire field in order to plant new Bermuda grass on the outfield.
The step was taken in a bid to make it more comfortable and reduce the risk of injuries which the players suffered while diving to take a catch or save a boundary on the previous outdated grass.
The work also helped the ground to get some much-needed rest after hosting matches almost on alternate days since it became the country’s cricketing hub in 2006.
Syed Abdul Baten, BCB’s national manager of grounds and facilities, said the field is now almost ready and should face no problem in hosting the South African ladies. 
‘We are ready to play matches at the SBNS as the ground is well prepared after the renovation work,’ he said. 
‘Apart from planting new grasses we had also done top-dressing in all our wickets.
‘But it had also improved our drainage system as we could remove the layer of grass that had grown and used to block the free flow of water,’ he added.

Cricket to resume at SBNS next month

The home of Bangladesh cricket, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, will be back with cricketing action on its renovated surface by hosting a One-Day International series followed by a Twenty20 series against South Africa women’s cricket team from September 7-15.
The South African women’s team is due to arrive on September 5 and would participate in a three-match ODI series along with three T20 Internationals at the home of cricket that has not hosted any match since May.  
‘The three ODIs will be held respectively on September 7, 8 and 10,’ Jannatul Ferdous, Executive of BCB’s Women’s wing, told New Age on Sunday. 
The T20 matches will follow on September 12, 13 and 15.
SBNS wore a deserted look after the Bangladesh Cricket Board took the initiative to burn the grasses of the entire field in order to plant new Bermuda grass on the outfield.
The step was taken in a bid to make it more comfortable and reduce the risk of injuries which the players suffered while diving to take a catch or save a boundary on the previous outdated grass.
The work also helped the ground to get some much-needed rest after hosting matches almost on alternate days since it became the country’s cricketing hub in 2006.
Syed Abdul Baten, BCB’s national manager of grounds and facilities, said the field is now almost ready and should face no problem in hosting the South African ladies. 
‘We are ready to play matches at the SBNS as the ground is well prepared after the renovation work,’ he said. 
‘Apart from planting new grasses we had also done top-dressing in all our wickets.
‘But it had also improved our drainage system as we could remove the layer of grass that had grown and used to block the free flow of water,’ he added.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Indian cricket board is like Fox news channel!




Read this article. Please read this article. Tests are not the only cricket http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/560959.html?comments=all#comments And then think for about ten minutes. I know that it is not an easy job to think or analysis anything after reading indian cricket commentators article nowadays. Then if i may, please read this article. Don't blame the IPL for everything that's wrong http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/566915.html

Have you found a common trend? Like Fox news, BCCI is trying to manipulate the common feeling. To judge something if something is good accurate and quality information is essential. But with the help of former crickets and commentators BCCI is following the path as Fox news by publishing articles, interviews which suits their own agenda. Lets discuss it in more details.

1. Panic Mongering: Is it time to bury the ODI? http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/568997.html

This article is not the only example how BCCI currently hate ODI. It is really surprising. ODI makes BCCI so much rich. And makes famous to their most bankable player sachin tendulkar. Remove all records of ODI from him. He has a very good test cricket record. A very good one. But it is not the greatest. Mainly ODI records makes his best batsman in world history. Probably BCCI no longer need ODI as sachin tendulkar is not playing ODI cricket anymore.


2.Bullying: This is a favorite technique of several Fox commentators. Same is true for BCCI. Remember ICL. Former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi made startling revelations that the BCCI forced the ICC to change its constitution to outlaw the now defunct Indian Cricket League. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/modi-says-bcci-bent-rules-to-outlaw-icl/1/142197.html

3. Confusion: DRS is the perfect example of the dirty tactics BCCI is used for its own purpose. At the beginning BCCI is happy about this technique. But when some decisions went against them they started a smear campaign. Dhoni asked question about the 2.5m rule. Quickly all the indian commentators asks the similar question. They played the tune like orchestra. Now DRS is out. Viva BCCI!


When somebody ask questions about the popularity of the twenty-twenty cricket. BCCI and its surrogate cricket commentators argue that a lot of people share the same perceptions. It is not a sign that something is true. It is sign that BCCI is selling lies.


 Twenty20 cricket is a circus. Sometimes it is fun watch lions, elephants and zebras showing cheap tricks using balls and fire. People claps but as soon as they leave tent, the greatest show on earth is over. Like Rome this kind of circus will haunt cricket in years to come.

Ravichandran Ashwin took 6 wickets

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took a career-best 6-31 to put India in firm command on a rain-hit third day of the opening Test against New Zealand in Hyderabad on Saturday.
The 25-year-old was superbly backed by left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha (3-44) as New Zealand were dismissed for 159 in their first innings at the stroke of lunch in reply to India’s 438.
The hosts, who enforced the follow-on after taking a 279-run lead, reduced New Zealand to 41-1 in the second innings at stumps on a day when only 37.3 overs were bowled.

Bangladesh restarted their training for the ICC World Twenty20

National cricketers are getting to know more about Twenty20 cricket as they are playing it a lot more in recent times, said experienced left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak on Saturday. 
Bangladesh have played six T20 Internationals so far this year compared to only two in 2011 and three in 2010. 
The Tigers also earned a place in the ICC Twenty20 rankings for the first time in their history after fulfilling the requirement of the ICC by playing eight matches within a specific time frame. 
‘Playing a lot of games lately is helping us in understanding the game better,’ Razzak told reporters when the national cricketers resumed their training after the Eid-ul-Fitr vacation at Mirpur.
Bangladesh restarted their training for the ICC World Twenty20 on Saturday, though only nine players had reported. 
Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, his deputy Mahmudullah, batsmen Mohammad Ashraful, Tamim Iqbal and Nasir Hossain are currently busy in the Sri Lankan Premier League while paceman Mashrafee bin Muratza has yet to return from village home in Narail.  
Razzak and fellow spinners spent some quality time with spin bowling coach Saqlain Mushtaq before the southpaw spoke to the media. 
‘Earlier we were not adept at playing this format and that’s the truth. We were not in the ranking and were never considered as a force by others and the reason for it is that we did not play a lot of T20 cricket,’ said Razzak.  
Razzak said that sometimes due to this lack of understanding of the game our players fail to perform despite having the skills. 
Bangladesh, currently placed eighth in the ICC T20 rankings, have played 24 T20 Internationals so far but could win only eight of them.
‘We have the skills but at times we tend to make mistakes for not understanding the game,’ said Razzak. ‘But as we play more games our batsmen and bowlers know how they should approach the game in order to excel in their respective departments,’ said Razzak.
http://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2012-08-26&nid=21371