World Cricket Weekly 30 June 2011

No Comments 30 June 2011

Sri Lanka in England

After a dreary, rain sodden, test series, England and Sri Lanka embarked on a single T20 and their ODI series under fairly grey skies again. The T20 saw an emphatic victory for Sri Lanka, largely thanks to a superb knock by out-of-form maestro Mahela Jayawardene (72 from 57). Kumar Sangakkara also hit 43, and the Sri Lankans chased down England’s modest 136 in less than 18 overs. So, not a great start for new England T20 captain Stuart Broad, who could soon overtake Darren Sammy in the ‘only picked because I’m captain’ stakes, as his form has been pretty ordinary of late.

The first ODI was affected by rain, and saw England post an impressive 229 from 32 overs. Much has been made of the potential of the next South African turned Englishman, Craig Kieswetter, but until his impressive 61 in this knock, it was hard to see what the fuss was about. Honestly though, South Africa must be pretty annoyed that these super-talented players keep hopping off to England. Imagine a Proteas team that still had Jacques Kallis, AB De Villiers and Dale Steyn, but also boasted the likes of Kevin Pietersen, John Trott and Kieswetter…sheesh.

In reply, the Lankans could only put up 121, with Jimmy Anderson taking 4/18 in swinging conditions, and Graeme Swann picking up 3/18. It’s important to note that debutant Jake Dernback (great name!) grabbed two middle-order wickets, and none other than Whispering Death Michael Holding labelled him as ‘lively’. With four matches to go, we hope that this series finds some life, but at the moment that feels as far off as a sunny day in England.

India in the West Indies

The first test in Jamaica finished up earlier this week with India posting a fairly close 63 run victory. With no team scoring over 300, and in fact the Windies posting the biggest single innings score (262 in their second), it was certainly not the whitewash that some commentators expected. Credit must first be given to Rahul Dravid, whose 112 was just magnificent, and he was duly awarded man of the match. The other real standout for India was Ishant Sharma who snared 6 wickets in the match, and certainly looked the most explosive bowler of either side.

Ishant Sharma

The Windies had to be heartened by the close nature of the match. Although it was always unlikely they would be able to chase down the final total of 326, to post 262 was impressive. Adrian Barath and Lendl Simmons got the innings off to an extraordinary start, scoring at more than a run-a-ball. But once they were dismissed I think most thought the Windies would collapse calypso style. But, fighting innings from Darren Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul, Darren Sammy and Ravi Rampaul, saw the Windies at least get close. Credit too must go to Devandra Bishoo, who took seven wickets for the match and now has 16 wickets in just three tests.

The second test currently underway in Barbados has been badly affected by rain, but it was interesting to note that the Indians suffered another shocking batting collapse to be all out for 201. Again, the only real resistance was from an old-timer VVS Laxman, and the Indians must be worried about the resiliency of the new generation who have been brought up playing ODI and T20 cricket. The Windies are currently 5/98 in reply, with another three wickets to Sharma.

Vale Sanath Jayasuria

Finally this week, it gives me great pleasure to honour one of the all-time greats, Mr Slash and Dash himself, Sanath Jayasuria. Honestly, there are not many sportsmen who last over twenty years at the top level, and if there are, they tend to be those quite unassuming types…well…not Sanath! What a star! Let’s review his record:

Tests

110 matches

6973 runs

14 centuries

340 highest score

98 wickets

ODI

445 matches

13430 runs

28 centuries

189 highest score

323 wickets

Just an unbelievable record really. That combination of batting prowess and his amazing left-arm orthodox spin have made Sanath one of the all-time great players. As he is known as more of an ODI player, I really had no idea he’d played that many test matches, with such a fantastic record; averaging over 40 with the bat. But, as stated, ODI cricket is what he is most renowned for, and a glance at his record tells you why.

However, as we know stats are just numbers, and really I’ll remember Sanath for revolutionising the role of the opening bat in ODI’s. He and Romesh Kaluwitarana were the first opening pair who decided to target 100 by 15 overs. At their peak during the 1996 World Cup, they were unstoppable, and the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs and Chris Gayle would never have been the openers they were without the trailblazing efforts of Sanath and Romesh. I guess the last thing to note is the way Sanath played the game. Always with a smile on his face, seemingly adored by his teammates and loved by opposition players and supporters, Sanath played the game the right way.

So, let us hope that he can enjoy a great retirement making money on the mercenary T20 circuit and hopefully giving back to Sri Lankan cricket as it moves forward to the next generation.

Watch an amazing knock by Sanath in the ’96 World Cup

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World Cricket Opinion

Match Fixing Controversy: Accused players deserve humility

No Comments 07 September 2010

Reports have come through today that England fast bowler Stuart Broad has expressed no sympathy for the Pakistani players who are alleged to be involved in the match-fixing scandal. Now, to a certain extent Broad is spot on, the thought of feeling any sympathy for cheating sportsmen is certainly hard to fathom. However, players such as Broad must understand that a certain sense of humility is helpful in such an awful situation.

Broad’s stance is certainly one that is backed by a firm logic. He has stated that players are made more than aware of the dangers of match-fixing, and this is certainly the case. However, all of us who are following this crisis must keep in mind the various factors that have influenced the players who have allegedly made these terrible errors in judgement. There have been comments from a variety of sources regarding the ridiculous pay difference between Pakistani players and the officials running the game in that country, not to mention other players around the world. Another element is also the rumours that players are forced to adhere to the betting agents under threat to themselves and their families. Finally, the age and inexperience of the players must be considered. Mohammed Amir, and to an extent Mohammed Asif and Salman Butt, are all relatively young men, from poor backgrounds, who have been pushed into a situation where the riches of the world are being put at their feet. None of this excuses their actions; it merely suggests that this is not a straightforward issue.

What Stuart Broad’s comments suggest is a lack of understanding of the intricacies of this situation. To simply position the players as undeserving of any sympathy is to ignore the multi-faceted nature of the problem. This is not a case of a couple of ‘bad eggs’, it is a systemic problem that has been brewing for decades, and has not been dealt with in any meaningful way. There should, of course, be a considerable amount of blame dealt out to the accused players, but at the same time we should remember that they are men caught in a much wider situation, and as such they should be treated with at least a small amount of genuine humility.

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World Cricket Opinion

Stop the Broad Bashing

6 Comments 15 June 2009

For my money, Stuart Broad is an extremely likeable cricketer and has a heart the size of Mother Teresa’s. But for others he is the spawn of Satan, spouting his mouth off at every opportunity without the talent or prowess to warrant such actions. His bizarre pointing tactics during England’s humbling by South Africa in the World Twenty20 Super Eights were clearly a satanic act. Such work of the devil is not appreciated by the cricketing authorities with the ICC, after clarification was sought by the South Africans, deeming it as “not an appropriate action.”

You’d think a line would be drawn under the incident – today’s news is tomorrow’s chips paper etc. But NO, the Broad bashing continues . . . he’s a pretty boy, looks like a 12 yr old girl, a poor man’s David Beckham, a scrawny gobshite, big-headed, over-appealing , umpire disrespecting, substandard test cricketer, who boasts an extremely modest bowling average of over 40 after a weighty 17 tests. Other cricketers, like Ponting, KP, Roy or Hayden have been hated on before but for completely different reasons . . . because they were just SO good. Maybe the ego of a cricketer that matches their record is warranted but this isn’t the case with Broad. Some might even suggest that he’s only got where he is now courtesy of his last name.

Video Highlights, World Cricket Feature

6 Sixes in an over – A Rare Sensational Feat in the History of Cricket

17 Comments 02 January 2009

Scoring 6 consecutive sixes is an impressive and rare achievement in any form of cricket. When Yuvraj Singh smashedStuart Broad to all corners of the park and beyond in Kingsmead in the Super Eights of the Twenty20 World Cup, he became only the fourth batsman in the history of the game to register 36 runs in an over, following in the footsteps of Gary Sobers, Ravi Shastri and Herschelle Gibbs. Sobers and Shastri did it in first class cricket, whilst Gibbs and Yuvraj achieved it in ODIs and Twenty20s respectively.

Whilst comparing achievements from dissimilar eras is always hard – try arguing that Bradman is not the greatest cricketer of all time because he didn’t play in the professional era – in this case one of the feats excites and exceeds the others in its sheer class and graceful strokeplay.

Garfield Sobers – 6 Sixes in an over for Nottinghamshire vs Glamorgan , 1968 Swansea

Sobers, the then captain of Nottinghamshire, became the first ever batsman to hit six sixes in a single over of six consecutive balls in first-class cricket. Five of the sixes were beautifully clean strikes with a the full swing of the bat, but the record itself was only achieved with an enormous stroke of luck. Having hit four consecutive fours he got under a lofted drive that only made it past the ropes by some schoolboy fielding from Roger Davis palming it over the bar for 6.

The unlucky victim of his unchecked aggression was slow left arm bowler Malcolm Nash. At first glance from the video the bowling of Nash looks somewhat tame. But Sobers feat should not be devalued especially when you consider Nash’s impressive first class record – just under 1000 first class victims at a shade over an average of 25.

Herschelle Gibbs Slogs 6 Sixes in an over for South Africa vs the Netherlands, World Cup ODI, Warner Park, 2007

Elegance, gracefullness, cultivated are three words that I would often associate with Herschelle Gibb’s batting. On this occasion they could not be less fitting as Gibbs bludgeons the unfortunate Dan van Bunge in agricultural fashion for 6 consecutive sixes. The Netherlands show their faces every four years on the world cricket scene and Gibbs could not have highlighted their status as perennial whipping boys any better.

Ravi Shastri – 6 Sixes in an over for Bombay vs Baroda 1985

Video footage of this momentous Gary Sobers equalling achievement has been very hard to come by. The unfortunate bowler in this case was left arm spinner Tilak Raj and Shastri went on to score 200 not out the process.

(NOTE: listen very carefully to the commentary of Yuvraj’s footage and Ravi might get onto this video reel after all )

Yuvraj Singh – 6 Sixes in an over for India vs England in the Twenty20 World Cup, Kingsmead 2007

Yuvraj Singh’s feat overshadows everything that has gone before it in breathtaking fashion. The increasingly notable feature of batsman clearing away their front foot and having a free flowing swing of the blade in the shorter form of the game could not have been more superbly illustrated. Impeccable timing, proper cricket shots and hefty, hefty blows. It could be an advertisement for the modern game.

Spare a thought for Stuart Broad the unfortunate bowler. To be dealt with so savagely at the start of an international career then requires a lot of character to perform once more in the future. A couple of questions have to be asked though which could have changed the course of the events – Why did Flintoff have such heated words with Yuvraj before the over? Why didn’t Broad throw in the short ball if the yorker was misfiring?