INSIDE CRICKET

The issue of ball tampering is a very serious issue. Few years back, the whole of the Pakistani team got involved in ball tampering issue against England. They walked out of the field because of the accusation. It resulted in the match getting forfeited and the result getting awarded in favor of the England cricket team. Now recently Shahid Afridi, Pakistan’s stand in skipper, got caught tampering the ball. These sorts of issues are not doing good to the already troubled atmosphere prevalent in Pakistani cricket. And Shahid Afridi’s comment that all teams tamper with the ball has only drawn flak from cricketers worldwide. Definitely these are troubled times for Pakistani cricket.

One of the refreshing faces of international cricket now is Greame Swann. The orthodox off spinner from England is a determined and a simple person. He knows his strengths and weaknesses. He sticks to his strengths. He brings life into the game with his refreshing attitude. Swann is a cool customer. He is not a flashy bowler in the sense that he does not bowl the dhoosra. He is more of a classical off spinner. He bowls good line and length consistently. He deceives the batsmen with flight and variation in pace of each delivery. He is no muck with the bat too. He along with Collingwood has saved a few test matches for England. England has a potent bowling attack. He complements the pace bowlers very well and is one of the reasons for England’s success in the longer version of the game. He seems to be enjoying his bowling. Cricket needs players like Swann. The four wicket haul against the Aussies during the ashes series at the oval can be rated as one of his best bowling performances. Swann along with broad are two people who have changed the fortunes of the England cricket team after Pieterson stepped down and Strauss took over as England captain. The charismatic Swann seems to have survived the South African safari too as he has performed up to the mark in the ongoing test series between England and South Africa.

Cricket enthusiasts derive great pleasure in comparing the players of today and the players of the past. Sometimes there is no room for comparison. The players of the past had their own set of challenges to face.  During the 1970’s and the 1980’s there were no protective helmets and other advanced protective gear. Cricketing greats such as Sunil Gavaskar, Geoff boycott, Vivian Richards etc have played some fiery pace bowling from the likes of Walsh, Marshall and Garner. West Indian team at that time had a devastating bowling attack .Once as Mohinder Amarnath was facing Ian bishop on a bouncy Jamaican wicket, the ball pitched on the wicket and the next impact of the ball was on the sight screen behind. Imagine the likes of Gavaskar and Amarnath playing such fiery bowling without wearing a helmet. During that time, there were no speed guns to record the speeds at which these pace bowlers of the past bowled. But one can safely say that some of the West Indian pace bowlers would have clocked more than 100 miles per hour. No wonder that the West Indian cricket team dominated the cricketing world during the 1970’s and the early 80’s. Their fiery bowling was well complemented by some magnificent batting too.

The third edition of IPL is going to see the come back of Damien Martyn into competitive cricket. The stylish Australian cricketer has been responsible for many of Australia’s famous victories in tests and one day international. His retirement was a shock to many as he was in ominous form during the time of his retirement. Every one are keeping their hands crossed and are hoping for special performances from Damien Martyn in the third edition of the Indian Premier League. Damien Martyn is going to play for Rajasthan Royals this season alongside his former team mate Shane Warne. Can he turn the fortunes of his team this time around? We have to wait and watch.

One of the most intriguing rivalries in test cricket is the rivalry between Australia and England. The Ashes battles that have been fought between these two sides have always created interest. Ashes test series is generally considered as the holy grail of test cricket by the two sides. Ashes series has seen many surprising results and unexpected cricketers rising to the occasion to save their respective sides. When it comes to the Ashes series, there is no odd favoring either of the sides. Ashes series has always seen surprises and is as fearsome as India – Pakistan rivalry. Cricket fans are looking forward to more exciting battles in the Ashes test series in the future.

Cricket in general is a sport which tests the mental toughness of an individual. We have seen many great characters to have played the gentleman’s game. Sir Don Bradman, Brian Lara , Sachin Tendukar and the list goes on. One of the toughest characters cricket has ever seen is Paul Collingwood. He is some one who does not get the attention that he commands. He has engineered many of England’s victories. He is tough. He never gives up and fights till the end. He is a very good batsmen and an extraordinary fielder. He is handy with the ball too. He will definitely be remembered as one of the greatest cricketer to have ever played the game.

Sachin Tendulkar recently crossed the 13000 run mark in test cricket. He achieved this milestone against Bangladesh. No one else has scored 13000 runs. His nearest competitor is the Australian captain Ricky Ponting who is more than 1000 runs short of Sachin’s milestone. It is highly improbable that the little master’s record would be broken in the near future. Only Ricky Ponting has an outside chance. But Sachin with a few more years of cricket left in him looks good for more. Sachin Tendulkar shows no sign of fatigue and seems to be enjoying his cricket. The little master has done almost every thing in the game except lifting the world cup. Hope he does it before bidding farewell to the international arena.

India’s stand in skipper Virender Sehwag had recently commented that Bangladesh have an ordinary side and are not capable of getting twenty wickets against the formidable Indian batting line up in a test match. This had resulted in a war of words as the Bangladesh skipper Sakib Al Hasan had said that the Indian side does not have the bowling strength to remain number 1 in test cricket and that Australia and south Africa are better sides when compared to India. Now it will be interesting to see how both the sides react on field when the first test unfolds. Can India prove that it is better than Australia or South Africa to the Bangladeshi’s or will Bangladesh prove that it is no ordinary side? Only time can tell.

Australia has been led by many great cricketing legends like Allan border, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and now Ricky Ponting. The Australians have this unique habit of identifying leaders at grass root level and grooming them for the greater vigor of international cricket. Now Ricky ponting has become the world’s most successful test captain with 42 test wins under his belt. He achieved this feat with the victory against Pakistan in which Pakistan got thumped by Australia by 171 runs. The match saw Australian off spinner Nathan Hauritz taking 5 wickets for the first time in his career. The great success of the success of Australian teams can be attributed to their captains and the system that produced them. Ricky Ponting has faced ups and downs as a captain. He had to deal with the retirement of Australian greats like Shane Warne and Glen McGrath. Still becoming the world’s most successful test captain under the given circumstances should be applauded. He has 42 test wins. He has led Austalia in 65 test matches. He has a winning percentage of 64.61%. Ricky ponting has also been involved in the team building process of the Australian side after the retirement of some of Australia’s iconic players. He has led Australia to consecutive world cup triumphs. Surely he will be remembered as one of the greatest captains of all time.

The recently held IPL auction saw the franchisees boycotting the Pakistani players. This is not good for the game. A sport should bring nations together in spite of the differences. This incident does not send right signals across borders. A sport should be used as a tool of peace. A sportsman has been considered as an ambassador of peace many times. Players like Shahid afridi, Kamran Akmal etc would have added great value to their franchisees. In fact, Akmal played a vital role in Rajasthan Royal’s triumph in the first edition of IPL. It is sad that we are not going to witness some exciting players play in IPL-3.