Category Archives: Australia

Fascinating Test cricket battles in the week ahead

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The week that lies ahead will see some fascinating Test cricket action. It is quite a unique time as all Test playing nations except Bangladesh are involved in a test series. England is touring South Africa, West Indies are touring Austrialia, Pakistan are playing in New Zealand and closer home Sri Lanka will play the final Test of the three match series tomorrow against India.

India play Srilanka at the historic Brabourne…

India takes of Sri Lanka tomorrow at the Brabourne Stadium. It is a stadium that has been known to be the bastion of culture and legacy when it comes to cricket in India. The association which runs the stadium (CCI) had a falling out with the Mumbai Cricket Association back in the early 70s. This led MCA to construct a new stadium called the Wankhede. The two associations have gotten closer now a days and with the Wankhede stadium undergoing a major re-building exercise Brabourne gets its chance to host one more Test match after 36 long years. Last time Test cricket was played at the Brabourne, Sachin Tendulkar was not even born!

India will be keen to win this Test match as it will haul it upwards to being the No 1 ranked Test team in the ICC rankings. This will be quite an achievement for the Indian team who are not particularly hailed for their ability in Test cricket.

New Zealand host Pakistan…

Not sure if New Zealand will have their confidence high after last weeks win over Pakistan. The Pakistan team came very close to an unlikely win over the Kiwis. But I still feel Pakistan have some inherent technically challenged opening batsmen along with some sparkling yet not reliable batting lineup. They have a great bowling line up too but I still feel it would not be able to match up to New Zealand’s usual dose of resoluteness and professionalism. The Test match between New Zealand and Pakistan begins on 3rd December 2009. If you are in India you should be able to catch the action on Ten Sports in early morning around 430 am.

Australia host West Indies in Adelaide…

In the first Test Match Australia declared their innings at 480/8 and bowled out West Indies twice in less than 2 days. The match was over on the 3rd day itself and was one sided more of less from the first day’s first session. This sort of a defeat does not speak very highly of West Indies’ chances in the second Test at Adelaide. This match starts on Friday morning at 5.30 in the morning. Indian viewers should be able to catch the game on Star Cricket.

Who is killing Test cricket? T20 or the curators

With the rise of IPL and T20 cricket in general a lot of voices have showed concern that Test cricket might die out because the entertainment of T20 simply cannot be replicated by Test cricket. Some people are taking the middle path that Test cricket, ODIs and T20 all have their place. A lot of people watching cricket are younger people and hence they choose T20 over Test cricket.

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Is T20 really hurting Test Cricket?

Some might argue T20 cricket is making Test matches look boring and might even finish of the game. But I do not think Test cricket is losing it’s charm in India because of T20. I think it is because of the pitches Test matches are being played on.

Over the last 2 years India hosted 13 Test matches. 7 were drawn, 5 won by India and 1 lost. This includes 4 test series out of which India has won two and tied one. The 4th series is still continuing against Sri Lanka and guess what the first match is was drawn.

Now compare Test matches being played in Australia in the last two years. There were 9 Test matches held, 5 won by Australia while they lost 3. One match ended in a draw.

The stark comparison is there for everyone to see. When you play on sporting pitches of Australia there is a result 8 out of 9 times, where as in India there is a result 6 out of 13 times. Take for instance the Test match that just got over against Sri Lanka. 1598 runs were scored and only 21 wickets fell over 5 days. The worlds highest wicket-taker was bowling on a fifth day pitch leave alone taking wickets, he could hardly even trouble the batsmen. T20 is not the villain here, the pitch curator is the villain for making such feather beds.

Importance of Test Cricket

If you kill Test Cricket, you kill cricket. This will happen because the art of bowling is really polished and unrestricted only in Test matches. If a bowler picked up 2 wickets in 4 overs for 40 runs in a Test match, the bowler has bowled well. The scenario in T20 becomes different as 40 runs are too many. The focus is on runs rather than wickets for a bowler.

Test cricket is pure cricket. The batsman have to score runs, the bowlers have to take wickets. The simplicity of this concept brings about the skills in a cricketer out in its purest form. What do you think? Let me know with your comments.

The Man who made kangroos jump higher

A chubby body and a childish face – That is the physical appearance of the Australia’s best captain – Ricky Ponting. Quote the word ‘physical’ in bold letters, because his mental appearance is far from this childish physical features. Inside that chubby face there is a mysterious, cunning and sharp mind which could bring homePoting victory and supremacy in the match.That’s the reason why he still wears the Aussies captain’s cap  !

He is the man who led the Aussie team which won the World cup in 2003 and 2007. A captain who led the team to victory, twice – itself shows us Ponting’s class ! Ponting, a good captain, with aggressive ideas, clinical batting and agile fielding proved him to be leader of the best cricketing team in the world. His Velcro-hands and bat has always created terror in the opponents minds.  He is the one and only threat for the world’s best batsman – Sachin. As Ponting  has records which are very near to Sachin’s records. He has scored more than 30 centuries and broke Gavaskar’s record last year, which Sachin too had broken. If Sachin retires now, it’s sure that at-least some of his records would be overwritten by Ponting.

He had been the captain of  ICC ODI team for several times. Remember that ICC team is formed by selecting only the best players around the world. Choosing Ponting as the captain of the ODI team itself shows his value.

He will truly be remembered by every cricket lover for his enthusiastic captaincy and batting skills ……

ICC World Twenty20: India reaches the Semifinals!

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Now, that is one heading I really wanted to write a post with… but Indian team’s performance in the Super8 let me down.

Nevertheless, the Indian team in Women’s T20 WC has given me this chance… 🙂

If you were busy following the men’s tournament and did not get a chance to check out what was happening in Women’s T20, here is an update.

Indian Women’s Team defeated Pakistan and Sri Lanka in their group matches to reach to the Semifinal stage. The other three teams that qualify for the Semi finals are England, New Zealand and Australia.

A Quick Re-cap

Indian Women’s Team was placed in Group B along with England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Match 1

  • England Women vs India Women at Taunton – Jun 11, 2009
  • England Women won by 10 wickets (with 26 balls remaining)
  • India Women 112/8 (20/20 ov); England Women 113/0 (15.4/20 ov)

Match 2

  • India Women vs Pakistan Women at Taunton – Jun 13, 2009
  • India Women won by 5 wickets (with 14 balls remaining)
  • Pakistan Women 75 (19.5/20 ov); India Women 78/5 (17.4/20 ov)

Match 3

  • India Women v Sri Lanka Women at Taunton – Jun 15, 2009
  • India Women won by 5 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)
  • Sri Lanka Women 94/6 (18/18 ov); India Women 95/5 (16.5/18 ov)

Indian Women’s Team ended up second in their group after England (who won all the matches they played). India women now plays against New Zealand women, the unbeaten from group A, in the first Semi Final match on the 18th.

Fixtures

Day Time Match Venue Forecast
Thu Jun 18 5:30 PM IST 1st Semi-Final
India Women vs New Zealand Women		 Trent Bridge Cloudy
Fri Jun 19 5:30 PM IST 2nd Semi-Final
England Women vs Australia Women		 Oval Mostly Sunny

The matches will be played on the same venue for Men’s Semifinal before their matches and will be telecasted live on TV.