World Cup Cricket 2011

Cricket Tomorrow eMagazine . Issue 03 . February 2011 - Worldcup 2011 Edition© Copyright 2008 - 2011 CricketTomorrowhttp://magazine.crickettomorrow.com

C r i c k e t T o m o r r o w I s s u e 0 3 . W o r l d C u p 2 0 1 1 E d i t i o n . F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 1

Mega EventCricket’s

EditorSaleque Sufi

Technical EditorQuazi Abdullah

Design & Layout Quazi Abdullah

Haseeb Iqbal

Contributing EditorRafiqul Sharif

Rasel KhanHaseeb Iqbal

Shajadur RahmanRoysul Khan

Quazi AbdullahFerdousi Anis

Proof ReaderRoysul Khan

Rasel Khan

Advertising Rasel Khan (0411089447)

[email protected]

Shajadur Rahman (0411441395)[email protected]

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Saddam’s boy leadsBangladesh

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Editorial

Year 2010:Tigers onthe Hunt

Know the leadersCaptain profiles

World Cup 2011Fixture

Important and interestingrules in cricket

Bangladesh chasehistory on home turf

Cover StoryOpen World Cup 2011

Cricket Jokes

Milestone EvenSachin not achieved.

How should Bangldesh use the Batting powerplay

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CT • World Cup 2011 ediTion

Editorial Cricket’s Mega Show

Indian Subcontinent for the third time is staging the mega event ICC World Cup 2011 amidst great enthusiasm and fever. Five teams in nine earlier occasions won the cup so far held in five continents.

West Indies the world leaders in cricket in 1970s and 1980s easily won the first two versions before India upstaged them in the third. Australia won the cup first time when it was held in Indian Subcontinent in 1987.

Imran Khan’s cornered tigers Pakistan won the cup in 1992 when it was held in Australia-New Zealand. In 1996 Sanath Jayasuriya, Aravinda De Silva won it for Sri Lanka.

From 1999 till 2007 redoubtable Australia dominated Cricket World Cup winning it in England, South Africa and West Indies beating Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka comfort-ably. However, this year when Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka are co–hosting the mega event no team appears to be firm favourites.

Experience of IPL T20 gives players of all contending teams advantage to adapt to sub continental low and slow turn-ing tracks. But there is no doubt that leading sub conti-nental teams India, Sri Lanka and even unpredictable Pa-kistan have some advantage.

Even emerging Bangladesh may cause some headache in their own backyards. But judged from recent form England and South Africa are also among the favorites. No one ever keep Australia out of contention whatever be their per-formance in Ashes. It will be suicidal to take West Indies lightly even. Even New Zealand which got white washed by Bangladesh and India in their recent trips to subconti-nent may turn giant killer any time.

Ireland knocked out one of the favorites Pakistan in the last world cup. Hence this time ICC World Cup 2011 ap-pears wide open.

One hopes that the event takes off very smoothly and is completed peacefully in a region where controversy often blots the beauty of the game.

We trust whichever team wins the cup after keen contest, cricketing spirit will prevail at the end and ICC world Cup will create new history. Cricket Tomorrow wishes grand success of ICC World Cup 2011.

Saleque Sufi

Cricket Tomorrow • Issue 3 • World Cup 2011 Edition • Feb 2011 5


Familiar home conditions, fanatical crowd support and a young energetic side give Bangladesh a chance to emerge from the shadows when the World Cup is played in their backyard. The ‘Tigers’

have had a miserable time at the Test level, losing 59 of their 68 matches and winning just three against lowly Zimbabwe and an under-strength West Indies.

But limited-overs cricket is their forte as was evident in the previous World Cup in the Caribbean in 2007 when they knocked out India in the first round and stunned South Africa in the Super Eights.

Now co-hosting the showpiece event with India and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh could not have asked for a better setting to prove they are worthy of a place among the top cricketing nations.

A quarter-final berth is the least millions of fans in the cricket-crazy South Asian nation will expect Shakib Al Hasan’s men to achieve, if not an unprecedented place in the semi-finals.

Bangladesh is drawn with India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Ireland and the Netherlands in the round-robin Group B from which four teams will qualify for the quarter-finals.They must defeat one of the established Test nations and ensure they do not slip-up against Ireland and the Netherlands to advance to the knock-out rounds.

The advantage Bangladesh enjoy is they play all their six league matches at home in Dhaka and Chittagong, where they have won seven of their last 10 one-dayers and lost just once.

The victories include a superb 4-0 rout of New Zealand last October, indicating Bangladesh will be a force to reckon with on their own spin-friendly wickets.

The team suffered a blow when former captain and pace spearhead Mashrafe Mortaza was not included in the squad due to a recurring knee injury.

Mortaza, 27, has been the pivot of the Bangladesh attack with 146 one-day wickets, including a match-winning 4-38 against India in the last World Cup.

The team’s Australian coach Jamie Siddons admitted Mortaza’s absence was a major setback.

“A fit and firing ‘Mash’ was obviously our first preference, and this is a huge disappointment for him and the team as well,” said Siddons.

“The loss of ‘Mash’ will be seen in his leadership and

Bangladesh chase history on home turfPreview . Kuldip Lal

Cricket Tomorrow • Issue 3 • World Cup 2011 Edition • Feb 20116

CT


experience. We cannot cover this aspect of his loss.”

The latest injury follows six knee reconstructions in the space of eight years, but Bangladesh are hoping Mortaza may still play if he recovers fully before the tournament starts.

The ‘Tigers’ will bank on skipper Shakib, the leading all-rounder in the official one-day rankings, veteran batsman Mohammad Ashraful and star spinner Abdur Razzak to lift the side.

Left-hander Shakib is a reluctant captain, but has led from the front with 787 runs in 27 one-dayers last year and picked

up 46 wickets with his left-arm spin.

The openers have also been in dominating form with Imrul Kayes the nation’s top-scorer in 2010 with 867 runs from 27 games and the swashbuckling Tamim Iqbal with 776 from 23.

A key moment for Bangladesh will be the tournament opener against power-packed India at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka on February 19.

A victory -- or even a close loss -- will set the ‘Tigers’ up for the ride of their lives.


CT


West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd was poised to hold aloft the World Cup for a third time, only to see Kapil’s “Devils” from India snatch it away in one of the biggest surprises. The West Indies

were favourites having won the event twice, while India were outsiders having won just one match -- against a lowly East Africa in 1975 -- in the previous two tournaments.

The 17-day event was bigger than the previous ones as there were 27 matches instead of 15, with each side playing against the other twice in the four-team group. The tournament began on a sensational note, with India shocking the West Indies in a group match at Old Trafford and minnows Zimbabwe upsetting Australia on the strength of a superb all-round performance by Duncan Fletcher, who later coached England.

India had already posted a morale-boosting win over the West Indies at Berbice in Guyana before the tournament. “The faith and self-belief in our approach had been born during those two victories (at Berbice and Old Trafford),” Dev said.

“To beat the West Indies in their own country especially was practically unheard of in those days. Yes, these two results were the key to our success.” Australia were to face to the West Indies’ fury in the next match as they were dismissed for 151 chasing a 253-run target, with paceman Winston Davis taking 7-51 -- then a Cup record. The West Indies won their remaining four group matches before putting it across Pakistan in the semi-final.

India faced many anxious moments, losing to the West Indies in their second group encounter and then to Australia before finding themselves in a deep trouble against Zimbabwe. They were 17-5 when Dev played a brilliant innings at Tunrbidge Wells, a blazing 175 not out off just 138 balls with the help of six sixes and 16 fours to help his team post a competitive 266-8.

Zimbabwe eventually lost the match by 31 runs, but won plenty of hearts with their gutsy batting.India beat Australia in the last group match to set up a semi-final clash with England. They again proved their all-round ability to defeat the hosts by six wickets.

It looked a three-in-a-row for the West Indies when India managed only 183 in the final against a formidable pace attack of Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Michael Holding and Malcolm Marshall.

But Indian medium-pacers Madan Lal, Mohinder Amarnath, Balwinder Sandhu and Roger Binny were superbly marshalled by Dev.

If there were one catch that swung the final India’s way, it was Dev’s to account for Richards.

Richards had been dominating the Indian attack before he mishooked a Lal bouncer for Dev, who ran back towards mid-wicket to hold the ball and change the course of the match. “Getting Richards out then was the key for us,” Kapil said, after the West Indies were all out for 140 to hand India a 43-run victory.

The days of favourites had gone as the West Indies never reached the final again. Cricket was never the same in India where players were accorded star status.

1983 World CupKapil’s Indian Devils just magic flashback . Manoj Vatsyayana



Cricket Jokes

On Radio:”.. he runs in to bowl, over the stumps. He has a forward-short leg, a backward short-leg, a square-leg and a deep fine leg”.

Housewife: “Wow! the man must be a monster. No wonder all our boys are scared of him”

Collction

Monster bowler

Best man for the job

The two rival cricketers were talking. ‘The local team wants me to play for them very badly.’

‘Well, you’re just the man for the job.’

Essay writing

The teacher had asked the class to write an essay on cricket. With only a few minutes left, one boy had written nothing. Suddenly, he looked up at the clock, grabbed his pen and scribbled something on the paper.

The teacher read out his essay: ‘No play today. Rain.’

How do you know?

An American had been told to go to a cricket match while he was in England. He watched with pleasure as the teams came out and the batsman scored four runs off the first six balls. Then the umpire called “OVER”.

“Well,” he said, getting up, “it’s a nice game - but it’s very short!”

Divorce court scene

The Judge (J.) asks the little girl (LG):Now that your parents are getting divorced do you want to live with your mummy?

LG - No, my mummy beats me.J. - Well then, I guess you want to live with your daddy.LG - No, my daddy beats me too.J. - Well then, who do you want to live with?LG - I want to live with the New Zealand Cricket team, they neverbeat anybody !!!

I’ll hold

On his way out into the middle to bat, Ricky Ponting gets a call from his wife, and teammate Michael Hussey tells her he’s heading out to the middle.

His wife replies: “I’ll hold, he won’t be long!”



Experts, analysts, bookies are making several permutations and combinations. Historians are looking back in retrospect the past performances to identify the favorites but the difference in quality

and class of the top teams of ICC World cup 2011 are so minimum that any of the top 6 out of 14 can win the cup. Only five of the 14, Australia, West Indies, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka won the cup before. Only West Indies and Australia won it more than once. But given the presence trend of major changes in limited over version of the game fast and furious T20 avalanche it will be unwise to tag favorites on any particular team although sub continental conditions, wickets, climate and environment are bound to provide distinct advantages to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. But in ODI these days better team on the day win. Reputations and past proven track records here hardly play any role. Even Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Ireland are capable of upsetting the strongest opposition on their day.

India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are co-hosting the cricket bonanza. Pakistan has been kept of the mega show for its unfortunate poor records of terrorists’ avalanche.

Wickets in subcontinent are traditionally slow and low. These favor spinners and reverse swing. Players like Shewag, Yuvaraj, Pathan, Dilshan, Afridi, Razzak, , Pollard, Gayle, Allis, Deveilliers, Watson, White McCollum, Tamim may find these much easier to blast bowling. Hence the world cup is expected to be very entertaining. Fast bowlers may find the wickets relatively difficult to adjust. Teams having variety in their attack and having sharp agile fielding skills may thrive.

Given the present form many think India as strong favorites. There is no doubt it has the best batting strength on their known surfaces. Players like Shewag, Gambhir, Tendulkar,

Yuvaraj, Raina, Dhoni, and Yusuf Pathan on song can cause major damage to any attack anywhere. But Indian bowling resource does not look match winning. Other than Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan the rest looks pretty ordinary.

The fielding is also not world class. Indian batting may also panic if Shewag and Tendulkar for any reason are removed early. But these two are world beaters. Sachin in his possibly last World Cup will be keen to get his untouched glory. On home soil there will be tremendous pressure on Indians to do well. Sometimes home team crumbles under pressure of expectation. But this Indian team looks different.

Open World Cup 2011Cover Story . Saleque Sufi



Cup Holder Australia is in all short of trouble. In recent times they look vulnerable. Many leading players match winners retired almost simultaneously. There is no dearth of talents in domestic cricket. But for strange policies of Australian selectors Cricket Australia failed so far to find and mature match winners. Ace batsman Ponting is just recovering from injury. He has lost his vintage touch. Ponting no longer dominates bowling and has become a bit predictable. Dependable Mike Hussey is out of this world cup because of his injury. Watson is only batsman in top gear. He along with Haddin will open the batting Michael Clark, Cameroon White, David Hussey, Mike Haddin are not in great form. Australian batting may struggle on subcontinent.

Australian new ball attack looks menacing. Anyone of Rejuvenated Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Doug Bollinger, Mitchell Johnson can turn match winner. But spin bowling looks pretty ordinary. But recent form and Ashes performances must not give false hope to others. Australians are still a formidable opposition. They need a spark to rekindle. Australians are grouped with South Africa, Pakistan, and Srilanka. The group is the group of death.

South Africa always looks championship potential. Yet they never won it embracing the tag of choker. The South Africans are great all round unit. Like the past they can blast all in early rounds and stumble at the knock out rounds. Smith, Amla, Kallis, Deveiliers and Duminy can set the tune for a sizeable total. But late middle order and tail enders crumbles too often. Proteas have genuine weakness against quality spin attack. In recent times they have faltered in batting power play. We do not understand why blaster Abbie Morkel is not included. They have very strong bowling attack. Dayle Steyn, Morne Morkel, Parnell and Tsobe form lethal combination. Presence a high quality all rounder Kallis gives proteas

additional edge. Botha, Duminy can fill in spinning options. Young Pakistan Born Left Arm spinner Imran Tahir may be a surprise package. Proteas will provide serious challenge this time.

Sri Lanka on known surface is also strong favorites. Tharanga and Dilshan may lead them to strong opening. Shangrakara and Jayawardena are two class acts. Srilnkans has reasonably good middle and late order batting. Silva, Samraweera, Matthews and Kapugedra can turn good start into formidable innings. Perahps Srilanka has the most versatile bowling attack suitable for subcontinent wicket. Fernando, Perera, Kulashekera are good enough bowlers to support match winners Malinga, Murali and Mendis. Matthews is a brilliant all rounder. Sri Lankans are well prepared for the world cup and looks to be a strong contender.

Pakistan is as always most unpredictable team. On their day they are world beaters. But controversy always follow them Loosing Ameer and Asif is a big blow for their cause. Yet they have several match winners in their ranks. Batting appears a little thinner. But with seasoned campaigners like Yunus Khan, Misbah and with brilliant youngster like Umar Akmal and master blaster like Boom Boom Afridi and Bang Razzak Pakistan may still spring surprise. They have balanced attack to suit condition as well. Shoiab Akhter still bowling fast and furious. Umar Gul is one of the best in the business. Sohail Tanvir and Wahab Raiz are good support bowlers. Saeed Ajaml. Afridi and Abdur Rehman can more than capably handle spin attack. Pakistan team has its back to the wall. The situation is almost like 1991 when Imran Khan’s cornered tigers roared. Afridi may inspire the team to new glory who knows

West Indies has some match winners but in recent times it



did not win many matches. It will be fascinating to watch traditional West Indies bounce back under captain Darren Sammy. Explosive Chris Gayle, Cool customer Chandrapaul, classy Sarawan, Blaster Pollard, all rounder Bravo are assets of any team. If the team play well they can beat any side. Bowling looks a bit unbalanced .But West Indies like Pakistan is unpredictable. Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Barvo will lead pace attack. Sulaiman Benn and K Nikita Miller are specialist spinners. But Chris Gayle will also be regularly used. If West Indies play to win it may spring major surprise this time.

Many consider T20 World Cup Champion England has good opportunity this time. Mother country has never own it. After its sterling performance in Ashes England looks a different team. But it is struggling in ODI series. Playing 7 ODIs after taxing Ashes is taking toll on them. Some key players are injured. Many question the necessity of so many bilateral ODIs on different kind of surface so close to ICC World cup.

Andrew Strauss, Jonathon Trott, Kevin Peterson, Ian Bell, Matts Prior, Ian Morgan makes the batting very capable Only Paul Collingwood is not in form..But on slow surface against quality spin attack English team may suffer. Bangladesh may cause greatest problem for them in Chittagong stadium. English bowling looks good if not great. Anderson, Stuart Broad . Shehzad, Tredwell may struggle of Subcontinent wickets. Graeme Swann is the best bet. He along with

Michael Yardy will have to win matches for England.Among the lesser fries Bangladesh may surprise a few. Bangladesh as host will play all their matches in home ground. In last world cup Bangladesh surprised India and South Africa. This time it plays the cup opener India at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium Dhaka. Bangladesh now has some world class players. Saquibul Hasan is the number 1 ODI all rounder; Tamim Iqbal is world class batsman. He bats like Shewag, Gayle and Dilshan. Razzak is a world class left arm spinner. Several other batsmen- Imrul Kayes, Raqibul, Mahamudullah Riad, Naeem Islam, and Mushfique Rahim are also useful Shahriar Nafees and Ashraful back in the side will play major role. But may feel non inclusion of all rounder Alok Kapali is a mistake. He could be more than useful at late middle order batting and leg spin bowling.

Bangladeshi new ball bowlers are improving match after match. Injured Mashrafee is racing against time to get match fit. Otherwise Shaifiul, Rubel and Nazmul will have to shoulder the responsibility. If Bangladesh dream to repeat performance of 2007 it has to strike early and remove batsmen like Shewag, Gambhir and Tendulkar. If Bangladesh can score 250+ consistently spinners on spinning track may create serious challenge for rivals.

Although many experts consider India as runaway favorites, we feel there is no clear favorite in ICC World Cup 2011. India, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Pakistan - anyone can win it.


CT

1987 World CupAustralia master sub-continent flashback . Manoj Vatsyayana


When the 1987 World Cup arrived in the sub-continent, Australia were definitely not the favourites to win it in front of 70,000 spectators at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta.

The unthinkable happened when Allan Border’s young side posted a stunning seven-run victory over Mike Gatting’s Englishmen in the final. Australia emerged the best in the contest, their discipline and determination being the talking points. Led by a strong captain, they held their nerve when it mattered most.

Border summed up his team’s successful campaign when he said: “We unearthed players like Steve Waugh, Dean Jones, Simon O’Donnell, Geoff Marsh and Bruce Reid who all blossomed over the next few years.”

Australia opened the tournament with a one-run win over

India at Madras (now Chennai). The ability to win close matches stood them in good stead, culminating with winning the Cup after another tight finish against England. It was not the only thriller on low, slow sub-continental pitches where spinners also played crucial roles, with Pakistani leg-spin wizard Abdul Qadir often grabbing the headlines.

But it was not the tournament for the hosts who had left the party in the semi-finals, leaving millions of fans in India and Pakistan disappointed.

Australian paceman Craig McDermott stopped Pakistan with a five-wicket haul to lead his team to victory at Lahore. He was also the tournament’s most successful bowler with 18 wickets.

India were in the mourning the following day at Bombay when England’s Graham Gooch swept the hosts’ spinners on way to a superb century which led to his team’s win in the other semi-final. The Bombay match was also Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar’s last international appearance.

Australia enjoyed the crowd support at the neutral Eden Gardens venue after England had knocked out the hosts. They were also fortune’s favourites as an ill-timed reverse-sweep by Gatting suddenly made their fortune. Australia rode on David Boon’s 75 to post 253-5, a total which never looked safe during the Bill Athey-Gatting partnership. England was strongly placed at 135-2 before disaster struck.Gatting (41) attempted a reverse-sweep off his counterpart Border, an occasional left-arm spinner, only to give wicket-keeper Greg Dyer a simple catch. England eventually fell short in their second appearance in the final.


How should Bangladesh use the Batting powerplay


Recently in the news media (specially in Bangladeshi newspapers) we have had a lot of talk about the batting powerplay being Bangladesh’s notable problem. However, I think it could turn out to be

the extra advantage for Shakib’s men in the upcoming world cup competition to be held on their home soil. Before you raise your eyebrows over the above comment, let me assure you that I have been in my senses and haven’t gone insane. While some people might not believe it but I have always been in the sane side! Or at least most of the times!

The simple fact is that, since in the last few years and until now Bangladesh has been really poor using the batting powerplay and still played well, it is common sense that if they can even maintain their performance level on the other areas, and can improve their powerplay handling, that would be an extra boost. Now personally I think that it is nearly impossible to handle the batting powerplay any worse than the way Bangladeshi think tank currently handles it. However, they might have other ideas and it is very much possible that I might have under-estimated them in that matter. I just hope that they don’t prove me wrong in the coming matches!

Now, let’s talk about the small matter of how to handle the powerplay itself. To be honest, there is no set rule when to take it, but there is certainly one rule about how NOT to take it. It should not be taken in negative mindset, and should not be feared (like a man eating tiger). For the confused, the clue is in the name – batting powerplay! So, it is meant to be a beneficial item for the batting team. It is not a curse, nor a wicket losing session as possibly considered by the Bangladeshi think tank. This is the main reason that Siddons and his men fail to capitalise on it and the problem is not in the technique as much as it is in the mindset for them.

The technique does come into question though, and Siddons’s men find themselves in deep sea in this question. To my analysis, there are 3 aspects of using the batting powerplay:

1. Taking it at the right time;2. Having skilled men in the team to utilise it most; and3. Hitting strategically (or wildly, whichever suits best) to

get the most out of it.

While it is easier said than done, it’s not rocket science. The 3rd aspect is the most straightforward, the 2nd is a matter of resources which may not be available to every team, and the 1st is a combination of cricketing knowledge and luck! For Bangladesh, getting on top of aspect no 2 might be hard, as the average build of their cricketers is small and the team does not feature big hitters like Yousuf Pathan or Pollard. But they can train people like Mushfiqur Rahim, Ashraful, Mahmudullah or Nayeem, and the tail-enders to make the most of the fielding restrictions.

On that note, Ashraful might not need to be trained about the hitting as he is capable of a lots of shots (don’t forget his 90 off 52 against England in England just for an example) but he needs to make sure that he loads some brain into his usually empty scull before leaving home for the match.

Expert’s Voice . Rafiqul Sharif


CT


That would also account for aspect no 3 partially, because when you train people for powerplays, you train them how to clear the in-field, how not to pick the 3 fielders positioned in the deep when going for big hits, how to rotate the strike often to give more strike to the better or in form hitter, how not to try to hit every ball desperately to emphasise that there is a powerplay going on, etc.

However, the most important part is aspect no 1, when to take it! It is also the million dollar question around the world! My answer is (like everyone who answers), it depends on the situation and the team formation. General idea is that it is best to take it at any time from the 33rd over to the 42nd over when couple of set batsmen are at the crease. After the mandatory change of ball, the ball is a little harder and it is easier to score off from big hits. And also it should not be left for too late when not enough suitable batsmen are left. This is where Bangladesh suffers.

They have tried once or twice to take it before the 46th over and when that didn’t work (due to other factors, not necessarily for taking it early), they got scared and now they don’t take it before 46th over (not that they take it now really wilfully, it is mandatory from there).

I personally believe that it is highly unlikely Bangladesh would go for taking it as early as the 33rd over, and it would not work for them. Sometime it’s better to take it as early as 26th over but these are rare occasions. When you are chasing a total of 350 and are 145 for the loss of 1 or 2 wickets after 25 overs, you may even fancy taking it straight away and 60

runs of 5 overs there would put you in a good position to win the game. However, on some days, you might lose lots of early wickets and survival is the main thing, then as late as 46th over for powerplay would be a sensible option.

In usual circumstances, Bangladesh should aim to take the powerplay between the 38th and 43rd over of the innings depending on the pitch, wickets in hand, batsmen at the crease and opposition bowlers. For example, if Bangladeshi batsmen are finding it hard to score off the pace-men of the opposition then they are better off taking it early when there are spinners in operation. Even if the opposition brings on their strike pacers to stop the run flow during the powerplay, you have the last five or six overs outside the powerplay to score off the lesser bowlers. If you leave it too late and take it in the 46th over, you would be up against their best bowlers with lesser batsmen in hand. It’s usually the case.

However, there are other tricks such as promoting pinch hitters up in the order at certain cases or shuffle the batting order according to the match situation. These are not outdated tricks and could be very useful means. Powerplays are not the only way to score heavily.

But they are there to benefit from! And if Bangladesh could use them a little more sensibly, and don’t forget the other parts of the game (which is Batting, Bowling, Fielding and catching), they would do much better than they have been doing in the last 12 months. And we know how good Bangladesh can be even without using the powerplay! And New Zealand also knows!



If one asks what in cricket the greatest batsman ever to play cricket will love to achieve, even Indian Cricket legend will tell you before dask drops win world cup. In four world cups that Sachin played India could only

reach the final of 2003 although he played some glorious ctricket in some world cup innings.

There is no doubt Indians have several match winners who alone can win any ODI single handed. Viredra Shewag alone can take awy any match out of opponents grasp if only he bats one hour in his own belligerent flamboyant style.

His avalanche can break the heart and soul of any bowling. Sub continental wickets will be ideal for his stroke play. His partner Gautam Gambhir is his ideal foil. Cool and calculative yet very classy Gambhir is a silent killer. Tendulkar is cricket legend.

When in mood his every stroke is a new creation. Perahpas this world cup will be his last even he desires to quit in his own term. So he will definitely make it very special for world wide fans. Virat Kohli, Yuvaraj Singh, Dhoni, Raina, Yusuf Pathan all are explosive batsmen in own right.

These days Bhajji Haerbhajan has turned into a useful batsman. Indian batting is very very strong and on their own environment is almost impregnable. It will be extremely difficult for Dhoni to pick the first eleven as in middle order there are galxy of attacking stroke makers.

If home crowd and pressure of expectation do not prove counterproductive Indians have little to worry as one or two in the talented bayting treasure will cash in.

Bowling and fielding may worry a bit. Zaheer Khan will lead the attack. Nehera and Praveen Kumar are not of sdame calls. Harbhajan and Chawla may create pressure.

But India does not have 5 match winning bowlers. Whatever bowling lacks batting shoud provide the cushion. India plays its first match against Bangladesh in the cup opener.

In 2007 Bangladesh not only beat them but effectively knocked them out.

Milestone Even Sachin not achieved.Speceial Story . Saleque Sufi



No one makes Bangladesh favorites but India will be under tremendous pressure in the match. Other teams in the group are England, West Indies, Ireland, Canada . India should not have much difficulty to move to second round where challenges will be much tougher.

Perhaps this is the best chance for India to win World Cup in recent times. If they do that will be the best parting kiss for its greatest soldier one and Only Sachin Ramesh Tendukar=Cricket legend of India.

“He is 99.5 percent perfect. I’d pay to see him” - Viv Richards. “It’s scary, where the hell do we bowl to him” -Allan Border.

“There is no shame being beaten by such a great player. We didn’t lose to Team India. We Lost to Sachin Tendulkar” -Steve Waugh.

“He is a perfectly bal-anced batsman and knows perfectly well when to attack and when to play defen-sive cricket. He has developed the ability to treat bowlers all over the world with contempt and can destroy any attack with utmost ease.”

“The pressure on me is nothing as compared to Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin, like God, must never fail. The crowd always expects him to suc-ceed and it is too much pressure on him” -Mark Waugh.

“In an over I can bowl six different balls. But then Sachin looks at me with a sort of gentle arrogance down the pitch as if to say ‘Can you bowl me another one?’” - Adam Hollioke

Quotes on Sachin Tendulkar by Legends

CT

Tendulkar - At a glance

Full name Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

Born April 24, 1973, Mumbai

Current age 36 years

Major teams India, Asia XI, Mumbai, Mumbai Indians, Yorkshire

Nickname Tendlya, Little Master

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak, Legbreak googly

Best Performances 119 not out v England, Old Traf-ford, 1990 114 v Australia, Perth, 1991-92 169 v South Africa, Cape Town, 1996-97



CT

Bangladesh has ordered electricity companies to show World Cup cricket matches on generator-powered public screens in a bid to prevent protests by irate fans if power cuts disrupt TV broadcasts.

Cricket-mad Bangladesh is a co-host of the World Cup, which starts February 19, and Dhaka is keen to prevent a repeat of the unrest during the 2010 football World Cup when fans rioted after power cuts interrupted viewing.

“We have been told to show World Cup matches on generator-powered wide-screens. We are going to organise this because of the prevailing power shortages,” said Manzur Rahman, head of state-owned power company DESCO. The World Cup cricket matches will last about eight hours, which makes ensuring uninterrupted power supply during the matches in energy-starved Bangladesh an almost impossible task, Rahman said.

“Our priority will be to ensure a non-stop power supply during the Bangladesh matches,” he told AFP, adding the wide-screens would be set up in public spaces so that hundreds of cricket fans could watch the matches. Bangladesh has chronic power shortages, producing about 4,500 megawatts of power a day against demand of around 6,500 megawatts a day.

During the football World Cup in June and July, thousands of angry fans stormed local power offices and attacked state electricity officials after the power supply went off during matches. The cricket World Cup’s first game is on February 19, when Bangladesh will take on India at the Mirpur stadium in Dhaka. Local sports fans are desperate to see their team play on home soil.

Riot police were called in earlier this month to control fans who had grown frustrated in huge queues to obtain tickets. The national side, captained by superstar all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, have enjoyed a recent improvement in form and hopes are high for success in the group stage matches against major teams such as India and England.

After the opening ceremony in Dhaka, the capital will host six games and the port city of Chittagong will host two matches. India and Sri Lanka are the other co-hosts.

World Cup Power riots worry dhakaSpecial . AFP Report



CT

1992 World CupImran’s ‘cornered tigers’ roar flashback . Manoj Vatsyayana

south Africa would have contested the 1992 World Cup final on their maiden appearance after more than two decades of isolation due to apartheid if it were possible to score 21 off one ball. The tournament was

jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand and had all the trappings of a modern event -- colored clothing, floodlights, white balls and black sightscreens.

But Kepler Wessels’s South Africans were not amused because it also had a strange ‘rain rule’. Rain halted South Africa’s chase when they needed 22 to win off 13 balls against England in the semi-final. The target was revised to a ridiculous 21 off just one ball when the game resumed.South Africa had no option but to accept their fate. The

tournament had a new format with a then record 39 matches. Nine teams played each other in the league phase, with the top four advancing to the semi-finals. The first day-night game was played at Perth, where England beat India to begin their march towards the final before finishing runners-up for the second successive time, this time to Pakistan.

Pakistan’s recovery from the brink to win the title under inspirational skipper Imran Khan and New Zealand captain Martin Crowe’s shrewd tactics of using off-spinner Dipak Patel in the early overs were among the highlights. Pakistan were facing elimination after winning just one of their first five matches. Luck also smiled on them when they shared points with England in a rain-ruined match they were poised to lose.

Imran’s instructions to his team to fight like “cornered tigers” produced the desired results as his side won their last five matches, including the final against Graham Gooch’s Englishmen. Crowe defied conventions, giving the new ball to spinner Patel to surprise the opposition. New Zealand pulled off an upset in the tournament’s opener when Patel conceded just 36 in 10 overs in his team’s win over Australia. The in-form New Zealand kept playing impressively to move into the semi-final at Auckland where they ran into an unpredictable Pakistan. They rode on Crowe’s superb 91 to post a competitive 262-7.

Pakistan found a match-winner in young Inzamam-ul-Haq when the asking-rate was climbing. Inzamam, his captain’s choice, announced his arrival in international cricket with a 37-ball 60 to help his team win.

Imran led from the front in the final against England, top-scoring with 72 to help his side post 249-6. Javed Miandad (58), Inzamam (42) and Wasim Akram (33) also chipped in useful runs. England then floundered against the leg-spin of Mushtaq Ahmed, who removed Gooch, Graeme Hick and Dermont Reeve. Left-arm paceman Akram also grabbed three wickets as England were all out for 227. Neil Fairbrother top-scored for England with 62 before Imran sparked celebrations in his team’s camp by taking the last wicket. “By playing under so much pressure for so long in the run-up to the final, we were far better equipped to handle it than England who had cruised into the last four,” said Imran.


India need to deliver for Tendulkar Preview . Manoj Vatsyayana


Sachin Tendulkar has been winning matches for India with his amazing batting exploits for more than two decades, and it’s time his team clinched the World Cup for him. Tendulkar, who turns 38 in April, makes

his sixth and probably the last appearance in the showpiece event with one notable omission from his eye-catching CV -- a World Cup.

The ‘Little Genius’ may have amassed a record 17,629 runs in 444 one-dayers with 46 centuries -- the highest by any batsman -- but will be pleased more if the team win the Cup in front of his home crowd in Mumbai on April 2. “I sincerely wish this would not be Sachin’s last World Cup and he would play one more. All members of the Indian side would like to win it for him,” said India opener Gautam Gambhir.

India, champions in 1983 in England, runners-up in 2003 in South Africa and semi-finalists at home in 1987 and 1996, have the resources to triumph despite injury worries over some of the players. Batsmen Virender Sehwag, Gambhir and Tendulkar, and paceman Praveen Kumar were all injury scares before or during a recent one-day series in South Africa, but are expected to be fit.

India open their campaign on February 19 against Bangladesh in Dhaka in what many believe is more than just a match as the visitors will be determined to settle a score or two with the hosts. Bangladesh exceeded expectations when they upset India in the opening match of the 2007 tournament in the Caribbean, the defeat eventually leading to the former champions’ first-round exit.

Things have improved since then, especially with the appointment of South African Gary Kirsten as coach in 2007. All players, including Tendulkar, have lauded his role in making India a competitive unit at home as well as away.

Tendulkar is expected to lead the charge as batting will be the key to India’s fortunes. With an explosive Sehwag as his opening partner, the fireworks are bound to come from both the ends.

The pair are a bowlers’ nightmare and spectators’ delight, capable of dominating any attack with exciting stroke-play and providing a blistering start. Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh,

Virat Kohli and Yusuf Pathan can also step up the run-rate with brilliant improvisation, while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s power-hitting in the closing overs has often stood the team in good stead.

India are in Group B along with South Africa, England, the West Indies, Bangladesh, the Netherlands and Ireland and should face no difficulty in making it to the quarter-finals as four sides advance to the next round. But India need to be disciplined in their bowling.

Zaheer Khan is renowned for providing early breakthroughs, while fellow-seamer Praveen Kumar is able to keep the batsmen guessing with his deceptive bowling. Their fitness and form will be the key. Fans’ expectations will be high, but India need to focus on their game and not put pressure on themselves.


CT


Duncan Fletcher, the former England coach, was not off the mark when he said handling pressure would be the key for India. “India must be favourites at this stage, especially on their home grounds. But they must be under enormous pressure. Whether they can handle that pressure from the home crowd will be significant,” Fletcher said.

Although India, missing key players due to injuries, lost a recent one-day series on lively South African pitches, Dhoni was confident of an impressive show from his side in the World Cup. “The conditions (in India) will be different and it’s just a matter of one or two innings (for batsmen). Things will fall in place.”


There are only 11 players in a team, one of whom is the bowler, and usually another as the wicket-keeper, which leaves at most nine other fielding positions to be used at any given time. Which positions are filled by players and which remain vacant is a tactical decision made by the captain of the fielding team. The captain may move players between fielding positions at any time except when a bowler is in the act of bowling to a batsman. There are a number of named basic fielding positions, some of which are occupied very commonly and others that are used less often. However, fielding positions are not fixed, and fielders can be placed in positions that differ from the basic positions. Most of the positions are named roughly according to a system of polar coordinates - one word (leg, cover, mid-wicket) specifies the angle from the batsman, and is optionally preceded by an adjective describing the distance from the batsman (silly, short, deep or long). Words such as “backward”, “forward”, or “square” can further indicate the angle.

The image shows the location of the commonly used fielding positions. This image assumes the batsman is right-handed. The area to the left of a right-handed batsman (from the batsman’s point of view) is called the leg side or on side, while that to the right is the off side. If the batsman is left-handed, the leg and off sides are reversed an d the fielding positions are a mirror im-age of those shown.

1.First Sl ip2.Second Sl ip3.Third Sl ip4.Fourth Sl ip5.Gully6.Backward Point7.Point8.Cover9.Short Cover10.Exra Cover11.Mid Off16.Si l ly Point25.Deep Mid Off26.Deep Extra Cover27.Deep Cover Point28.Deep Point29.Deep Backward Point30.Thirdman31.Deep Thirdman

Position Index (Off Side)

Learn CricketFielding Position . RafiquL Sharif

12.Mid On13.Mid Wicket14.Short Mid Wicket15.Short Leg17.Square Leg18.Leg Sl ip19.Fine Leg20.Deep Fine Leg21.Deep Square Leg22.Deep Mid Wicket23.Deep Sweeper Cover24.Deep Mid On

Position Index (On Side)

B. BowlerW. Wicket Keeper

Position Index (General)


CT

If Saddam Hossain had not intervened, Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh’s World Cup captain and leading all-rounder, may have been lost to football. Growing up in Magura, a small town away from the capital Dhaka,

Shakib was hooked on football, a game his father played at the club level while a cousin had represented the country.The only link with cricket was an occasional game with a taped tennis ball, but it was enough for a local official named Saddam Hossain to see the potential Shakib had with both bat and ball. Saddam invited the young lad to play for his club in the Magura cricket league and Shakib responded by claiming a wicket off his first delivery with a normal cricket ball.

Shakib’s career took off and he is now top all-rounder in the official one-day rankings ahead of stalwarts like Jacques Kallis of South Africa, Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi and Australian Shane Watson. This when Bangladesh continue to languish at number nine in the rankings ahead of only Ireland, Zimbabwe, the Netherlands and Kenya.

In 102 one-day internationals since his debut in 2006, the left-hander has scored 2,834 runs at 34.98 with five hundreds and 17 half-centuries. He has also claimed 129 wickets at 28.80 with his left-arm spin, with a best of 4-33 against New Zealand in Christchurch last year. Shakib, who turns 24 on March 24, has loads of self-confidence and is determined to outdo the other, whether a team-mate or rival.

“Whenever anyone outperforms me, whether in academics or sport, I tell myself that if he could do it, so can I,” Shakib told Cricinfo in a recent interview. “If someone from the team is adjudged man of the match, I feel the honour could have been mine as well. It’s not jealousy - my team-mates’ success obviously gives me a lot of joy - but if he could, why couldn’t I?”

Often asked if he was a batting or bowling all-rounder, Shakib has one answer, as simple as his game in the middle. “I am a cricketer,” he says. Shakib was a star performer for Bangladesh in the last World Cup in the Caribbean, where the minnows knocked out India in the first round and then stunned South Africa in the Super Eights.

But he goes into his second World Cup a reluctant leader,

having publicly denounced the responsibility thrust on him since he wanted to concentrate on his batting and bowling. The Bangladesh Cricket Board deliberated hard on the captaincy before appointing Shakib after senior pro Mashrafe Mortaza went down with a recurring knee injury.His cricket-crazy nation, which co-hosts the World Cup with India and Sri Lanka, will hope Shakib continues to lead from the front.

Saddam’s boy leads Bangladesh chargeSpecial . Kuldip Lal


Don’t win World Cup, Columnist urges Sri Lanka Murali hopes to end on

World Cup highReport . CricketTomorrow ReporterReport . CricketTomorrow Reporter

While the media of every country usually backs its team, a Sri Lankan newspaper columnist has urged the national squad not to win the World Cup -- for the greater good of the nation.

“Call me a traitor, a quisling... anything. I don’t want Sri Lanka to be the champions of cricket World Cup 2011,” the sports writer of the privately run The Island daily said.

“Want to hang me, come catch me,” Russell Palipane wrote Saturday.

“Just imagine what will take place if Sri Lanka emerges champs. D. S. de Silva (President of Sri Lanka Cricket) and his cronies will say it was because of their organisation skills.”

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) was recently described as “one of the most corrupt organisations in the country” by former sports minister C. B. Ratnayake. SLC is also the country’s richest sports governing body.

The Island newspaper, which usually supports the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse, also raised fears that ruling-party politicians will exploit a cup victory to bolster their own image.

The scathing report comes despite a government appeal to the local media not to hurt the morale of the national squad ahead of the World Cup, of which Sri Lanka is a host, along with India and Bangladesh. The columnist goes on to beg Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara not to win the tournament, which runs from February 19 to April 2.

“Kumar dear, please spare the country. Don’t win it for the majority of this country are nothing but a pack of jokers, like the former chairman of selectors (Asantha de Mel), about whom (former skipper) Marvan Atapattu had a few things to say, before he retired,” the paper said.

Atapattu retired in 2008 after serious differences with the cricket administration. Sri Lanka, who won the World Cup in 1996 and finished runners-up to Australia in the last event in

2007, are currently placed third in the ICC one-day rankings and among the favourites to win the title this time.

They open their campaign against cricket minnows Canada at Hambantota on February 20.

“My role for this World Cup is to take as many wickets as posRecord-breaking Sri Lankan bowler Muttiah Muralitharan goes into his fourth and final World Cup praying that he ends his glorious international career on a high.

sible,” says the 38-year-old off-spinner. “I just want to focus on my performance and not think about anything else.

“My aim is to put up my best for Sri Lanka.”

The world’s leading wicket-taker in both Tests (800) and one-dayers (517), Muralitharan bowed out of Test matches in July last year after the opening game against India in Galle.

He recently announced that he would quit one-day interna-tionals as well after the World Cup, which starts on February 19 in Dhaka.

Sri Lanka, co-hosting the showpiece event with Bangladesh and India, last lifted the World Cup in Lahore in 1996 and were the losing finalists of the 2007 edition.

Muralitharan admitted there had been growing pressure from home fans to repeat the 1996 feat.

“A win would be a memorable one for me and for Sri Lankan fans,” he said. “A winning team is made up of players who have that mindset. It ultimately rests in the players’ hands, how well we play and how well oppposing teams play.” He declined to compare the present team with the one that won in 1996, saying playing technique and conditions had changed over time. Looking backwards, he says, won’t help.

“1996 was one of the greatest moments for us. It put Sri Lanka on the world map. The cricket world started to take us seriously. The team has now got more professional and expectations are much higher,” he said.

“This time, from the first step onwards, things have to work for us, whether it’s our performances, confidence levels or even peaking at the right time. I also believe we need bless-



Giants wary of underdogs’ bite

Report . CricketTomorrow Reporter


ings of the gods and a little bit of luck too.”

Sri Lanka have been placed into Pool A with defending champions Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Ke-nya and Canada.

The island will host 12 World Cup matches, including three at a new 22,000-seater stadium in Murali’s home district of Kandy.

The other nine matches will be played at the renovated Pre-madasa Stadium in Colombo and a new cricket facility in Hambantota in the island’s south.

Muralitharan said Sri Lanka had the advantage of playing at home and players were accustomed to the wickets and weather conditions.

“The disadvantages are minimal, unless we go out and play badly.”

He declined to pick favourties for the tournament, saying all the 14 teams in fray had enough experience of playing in the sub-continent.

“In the end, it boils down to the team that takes it one match at a time.”

Bangladesh’s win over a big team was no flash in the pan as they went on to defeat South Africa in a Super Eights game in Guyana.

The tournament saw one more surprise result, with 1992 champions Pakistan losing to Cup debutants Ireland before bowing out of the competition in the first round itself.

The underdogs have added spice to the mega-event with their ‘everything to gain and nothing to lose’ attitude ever since non-Test-playing nation Sri Lanka shocked India in a 1979 Cup match at Old Trafford.

India, led by all-rounder Kapil Dev, were credited with the biggest upset when they beat Clive Lloyd’s West Indians at Lord’s.

A West Indies hat-trick looked on the cards when they re-stricted India to a modest 183, with pacemen Andy Roberts (3-32), Malcolm Marshall (2-24) and Michael Holding (2-26) playing key roles.

India, who had won just one match against lowly East Africa in the first two editions of the tournament, turned the Cup fi-nal on its head with their disciplined medium-pace bowling.

Mohinder Amarnath (3-12), Madan Lal (3-31) and Balwinder Sandhu (2-32) were India’s bowling stars as the West Indies collapsed to 140 despite having excellent batsmen in Viv Richards, Lloyd, Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes.The 1983 tournament also saw non-Test-playing nation Zim-babwe suprise 1975 runners-up Australia by 13 runs at Trent Bridge, with Duncan Fletcher (69 not out and 4-42) being the star performer with an all-round show.

Zimbabwe were to pull off another upset, this time in 1992 when they beat England by nine runs at Albury. Their match-winner was chicken farmer Eddo Brandes, who bagged 4-21 off 10 overs.

Non-Test-playing nation Kenya enjoyed a moment in the sun when they shocked two-time champions West Indies by 73 runs in a group match in Pune in 1996 despite posting a modest 166 after being put in to bat.

The West Indies had talented batsmen in Brian Lara, Richie Richardson and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, but crashed to 93. Kenyan off-spinner Maurice Obumbe was named man of the match for taking 3-15 off 10 tight overs.

Kenya were to stun the world again with their fairytale run in 2003 when they made it to the semi-finals before falling to eventual runners-up India.Match-fixing allegations surfaced after Bangladesh pulled off an upset 62-run victory over eventual runners-up Paki-

When India did the unthinkable with an upset win over West Indies in the 1983 World Cup final in England, little did they know they would also fall prey to minnows’ hunger for suc-cess in future.

India were rank outsiders in 1983 when they denied two-time champions West Indies a hat-trick with a 43-run win at Lord’s, but were favourites when stunned by Bangladesh in the Caribbean in 2007.

India boasted exciting batsmen in Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly but soon re-alised reputation alone was not enough to win matches at the showpiece event.

Dravid’s Indians made a horror start when they lost to Ban-gladesh by five wickets in their opening match in Trinidad, the defeat eventually leading to their ouster in the first round.


stan at Northampton in 1999. Seamer Khaled Mahmud was named man of the match for 3-31 off 10 overs.

Bangladesh were to make their Test debut a year later.

Cricket was again pushed into the background as Zimbabwe-ans Henry Olonga and Andy Flower wore black armbands to protest the “death of democracy” in their country. Both were later driven into cricketing exile.

England boycotted their match at Harare on political grounds, while New Zealand refused to play in Nairobi due to security concerns. The forfeited games helped both Zim-babwe and Kenya to advance to the next round.

Controversies had been shadowing the World Cup ever since South Africa were asked to score 21 runs to win off just one ball in the 1992 rain-hit semi-final against England at Sydney.

The controversial rain-rule was later replaced with the Duck-worth-Lewis system.

In 1996 in the sub-continent, Australia and the West Indies boycotted their opening games in Sri Lanka due to security fears.

So unsatisfactory was the tournament format then that the forfeitures did not affect the qualifying chances of either team, with the West Indies going on to make the semi-finals and Australia the final.

The 1996 edition also had a dubious first to its credit -- an abandoned match due to riots in the stadium.

India were facing defeat at 120-8 chasing 252 in the semi-final against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata when the riots broke out, forcing match-referee Clive Lloyd to award to game to Sri Lanka.

The spectators, annoyed with the hosts’ dismal batting show, threw missiles on to the field and lit fires in the stands.

Sri Lanka, who had already won two matches by forfeit, eventually lifted the Cup with with an emphatic victory over Australia in the final at Lahore.

It’s more than just cricket at World Cup

Report . CricketTomorrow Reporter

From an absurd ‘21 runs to win off one ball’ equation in 1992 to a final played in virtual darkness in 2007, the World Cup has had more than its fair share of controversies.

Rows threatened to overshadow the game in the 2007 Cup in the Caribbean, starting with the death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer and ending with a farcical semi-darkness fin-ish to the final due to a blunder by match officials.

The showpiece event was in its initial stages when Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica.

His death was initially the subject of a murder investigation before it was eventually announced that the former England Test star had died of natural causes.

Woolmer’s death came just after favourites Pakistan had suffered a shock defeat against newcomers Ireland, the loss eventually leading to the ouster of the 1992 champions.Surprise was in store for fans in Barbados when the match of-ficials stretched the rain-hit final between eventual winners Australia and Sri Lanka into semi-darkness.

They believed that 36 overs had to be completed in Sri Lan-ka’s innings after Australia had posted 281-4, apparently for-getting a minimum of 20 were required to obtain a result.

“It was a mistake,” match-referee Jeff Crowe said after the match, the first of the nine Cup finals to be abbreviated.“I should’ve known the rules. It was a human error, I guess, at the end of the day.”

The 2003 edition, jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya, began with a drug-ban involving ace Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne.

Australia got the news before their opening match against Pakistan that the spinner had been ruled out after testing positive, but it was a tribute to their mental toughness that they did not allow it to affect their performance.

Warne was handed a 12-month ban and never played one-day cricket again for Australia.



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1996 World CupStrife-hit Sri Lanka on top flashback . Manoj Vatsyayana

The 1996 World Cup in the sub-continent will be remembered as much for Sri Lanka’s victory with bold and innovative batting tactics as for boycotts and riots. Arjuna Ranatunga’s Sri

Lankans celebrated when Aravinda de Silva cracked a classy hundred to steer his team to a seven-wicket victory over Mark Taylor’s Australians in the day-night final at Lahore.

It turned out to be a minor aberration when compared to the riots at the same venue during the semi-final between India and Sri Lanka. India, who had beaten Pakistan in the quarter-finals, were facing defeat against Sri Lanka at 120-8 chasing 252 when disturbances began.

The spectators, annoyed with the hosts’ dismal batting show, threw missiles on to the field and lit fires in the stands, forcing match-referee Clive Lloyd of the West Indies to award the game to Sri Lanka. India had lost not only a game of cricket, but also much of their reputation as a sporting nation because that was the first match in the World Cup history to be abandoned due to riots.

Hansie Cronje’s South Africans had been moving menacingly before running into in-form Brian Lara, who hammered a brisk century to set up the West Indies’ victory at Karachi. New Zealand threatened Australia when they rode on Chris Harris’s century to post a challenging 286. But Australian Mark Waugh made his third hundred of the tournament at the right time to script his team’s victory.

Sri Lanka were the deserving winners of the riot-marred semi-final, but Australia looked a beaten side in the other last-four tie against the West Indies until leg-spinner Shane Warne weaved his magic.

The West Indies were 165-2 chasing a modest Australian total of 207 before Warne turned the match upside-down with four wickets to bowl his team to a five-run victory.

Sri Lanka played the final as if they had to settle a score with Australia. Ranatunga defied history when he put the opposition in after winning the toss, for no team had previously won the Cup chasing a target. Australia were 137-1 after a century stand between Taylor (74) and Ricky Ponting (45) before Ranatunga restricted them to 241 by

cleverly using his spinners.

Australia dismissed the Sri Lankan openers cheaply, but Aravinda received valuable support from Asanka Gurusinha (65) and Ranatunga (47 not out) to steer his team home.



Know the leadersCaptain profilesStatistatics . Roysul Khan

RICKY PONTING

Full name Ricky Thomas Ponting

Nick Name --DOB 19-12-1974

City Launceston

Teams Australia, ICC World XI, Tas-mania, Somerset

Test Debut Against Sri Lanka at W.A.C.A. Ground on 08-12-1995

ODI Debut Against South Africa at Basin Reserve on 15-02-1995

Batting Style Right-hand bat

Bowling Style Right-arm medium

Batting Statistics

Test ODI

Matches Played 152 352

Innings Played 259 343

Not Outs 28 37

Runs 12363 13082

Highest 257 164

Balls Faced 20827 16226

200+ 5 0

100's 39 29

50's 56 79

4's - 1166

6's - 157

Avg 53.52 42.75

St/R 59.36 80.62

Bowling Statistics

Test ODI


Overs 89.5 25.0

Maiden 23 0

Runs 242 104

Wickets 5 3

Best Bowling 1/0 1/12

Avg. 48.40 34.67

Eco. 2.70 4.16

St/R 107.80 50

3 wickets - --

5 wickets in

an innings

0 -

10 wickets in

a match

0 -

Catches / Stumps 178 / 0 152 / 0


responsible leader always keeps the team ahead of him. A leader takes care of himself while improving his team mem-bers.

The third important thing is experience as a leader to control the team as well as lead the team in a right way.

Being a leader one gets to know about the issues to be solved in the team, which gives exposure to problem solving skills and gain experience from them.

As a leader one can get a closer look about the success and failures and further, the reasons behind them. These in turn help a lot in the improvement of ones personality.

Cricket is a bat and ball sport played between two teams of eleven players each. Cricket has been an established team sport for hundreds of years.

A captain in a cricket team plays an important role in the suc-cess of his team. A captain can turn the tables of the match.

Lets start to get to know the team captains.

Leaders are born and not made. Leadership qualities in a person come by ones nature and cannot be imbibed. It is the leader who is solely responsible for a team’s performance in any field. Hence, I prefer

being a leader than being a member in a team. The first reason is Bringing desired change. Being a leader one can make certain changes for the betterment of a team, whereas as a team member one would not get such opportunity to make changes though they are aware of it.

The second reason is responsibility as a leader of the team. It is always desirable to take responsibility and fulfil it with tremendous dedication. Bearing responsibility makes one think selflessly and motivate yourselves towards improving the skills of not only oneself but also of the entire team. A


ANdREw STRAuSS

ShAKIb AL hASAN

Full name Andrew John Strauss

Nick Name Straussy, Levi, Mare-man, Muppe

DOB 02-03-1977

City Johannesburg

Teams England, MiddlesexTest Debut Against New Zealand at

Lord's on 20-05-2004ODI Debut Against Sri Lanka at Rangiri

Dambulla International Stadium on 18-11-2003

Batting Style Left-hand bat

Bowling Style Left-arm medium

Full name Saqibul HasanNick Name --

DOB 24-03-1987

City Magura, KhulnaTeams Bangladesh A, Bangladesh

Cricket Board XITest Debut Against India at Chittagong

Divisional Stadium on 18-05-2007

ODI Debut Against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on 06-08-2006


Bowling Style Slow left-arm orthodox

Batting Statistics

Batting Statistics

Test ODI



Not Outs 6 8

Runs 6084 3808

Highest 177 154


200+ 0 0

100's 19 5

50's 24 25

4's - 415

6's - 22

Avg 43.15 34.94

St/R 50.21 79.88

Test ODIMatches Played 21 102


Not Outs 2 17

Runs 1179 2834

Highest 100 134 *


200+ 0 0

100's 1 5

50's 5 17

4's - 258

6's - 19

Avg 31.03 34.99

St/R 55.53 77.54

Bowling Statistics

Bowling Statistics

Test ODI


Overs 0.0 1.0

Maiden -- --

Runs 0 3

Wickets 0 0


Avg. N/A N/A

Eco. N/A 3

St/R N/A N/A

3 wickets - --

5 wickets in

an innings

0 -

10 wickets in

a match

0 -



Overs 846.7 873.2

Maiden 172 53

Runs 2410 3716

Wickets 75 129


Avg. 32.13 28.81

Eco. 2.85 4.26

St/R 67.77 40.62

3 wickets - --

5 wickets in

an innings

7 -

10 wickets in

a match

0 -




CHRIS GAYLE

MS dhONI

Full name Christopher Henry GayleNick Name --DOB 21-09-1979City KingstonTeams West Indies, ICC World XI,

Western Australia, Ja-maica, Kolkata Knight Riders, Worcestershire

Test Debut Against Zimbabwe at Queen's Park Oval on 16-03-2000

ODI Debut Against India at Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curl-ing Club on 11-09-1999


Bowling Style Right-arm offbreak

Full name Mahendra Singh DhoniNick Name MahiDOB 07-07-1981

City RanchiTeams India, Jharkhand, Chennai

Super Kings, Asia XI, BiharTest Debut Against Sri Lanka at MA

Chidambaram Sta-dium on 02-12-2005

ODI Debut Against Bangladesh at Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on 23-12-2004

Batting Style Right-hand bat

Bowling Style Right-arm medium

Batting Statistics

Batting Statistics

Test ODI



Not Outs 6 15

Runs 6373 7885

Highest 333 153 *


200+ 2 0

100's 12 19

50's 33 42

4's - 919

6's - 165

Avg 41.38 39.42

St/R 59.10 83.78



Not Outs 9 39

Runs 2925 5808

Highest 148 183 *


200+ 0 0

100's 4 7

50's 20 37

4's - 446

6's - 119

Avg 40.07 48.81

St/R 60.32 87.80

Bowling Statistics

Bowling Statistics

Test ODI


Overs 1142.5 1135.6

Maiden 224 37

Runs 2995 5395

Wickets 72 156


Avg. 41.60 34.58

Eco. 2.62 4.75

St/R 95.24 43.69

3 wickets - --

5 wickets in

an innings

2 -

10 wickets in

a match

0 -



Overs 3.0 2.0

Maiden -- --

Runs 19 12

Wickets 0 1


Avg. N/A 12

Eco. 6.33 6

St/R N/A 12

3 wickets - --

5 wickets in

an innings

0 -

10 wickets in

a match

0 -

Catches / Stumps 148 / 25 174 / 57



ShAhId AFRIdI

dANIEL VETTORI

Full name Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi

Nick Name --DOB 01-03-1980City Khyber AgencyTeams Pakistan, Asia XI, Griqualand

West, Habib Bank Lim-ited, ICC World XI, Ka-rachi, Leicestershire

Test Debut Against Australia at National Stadium on 22-10-1998

ODI Debut Against Kenya at Aga Khan Sports Club Ground on 02-10-1996

Batting Style Right-hand batBowling Style Right-arm medium,

Legbreak goo

Full name Daniel Luca VettoriNick Name --DOB 27-01-1979City AucklandTeams New Zealand, ICC World XI,

Northern Districts, Not-tinghamshire, Warwick-shire, Delhi Daredevils

Test Debut Against England at Basin Reserve on 06-02-1997

ODI Debut Against Sri Lanka at AMI Stadium on 25-03-1997


Bowling Style Slow left-arm orthodox

Batting Statistics

Batting Statistics

Test ODI



Not Outs 1 18

Runs 1716 6539

Highest 156 124


200+ 0 0

100's 5 6

50's 8 31

4's - 598

6's - 286

Avg 36.51 23.86

St/R 86.97 113.66



Not Outs 23 50

Runs 4167 2052

Highest 140 83


200+ 0 0

100's 6 0

50's 22 4

4's - 150

6's - 14

Avg 30.20 17.24

St/R 57.72 81.46

Bowling Statistics

Bowling Statistics

Test ODI


Overs 531.8 2215.8

Maiden 1 54

Runs 1709 10292

Wickets 48 292


Avg. 35.60 35.25

Eco. 3.21 4.64

St/R 66.54 45.54

3 wickets - 5

5 wickets in

an innings

1 -

10 wickets in

a match

0 -



Overs 4475.0 2107.3

Maiden 1108 86

Runs 11724 8725

Wickets 344 279


Avg. 34.08 31.27

Eco. 2.62 4.14

St/R 78.05 45.32

3 wickets - --

5 wickets in

an innings

19 -

10 wickets in

a match

3 -




GRAEME SMITh

KuMAR SANGAKKARA

Full name Graeme Craig SmithNick Name --DOB 01-02-1981City JohannesburgTeams South Africa, Africa XI, Hamp-

shire Cricket Board, Gauteng, ICC World XI, Rajasthan Royals, Somerset

Test Debut Against Australia at New-lands on 08-03-2002

ODI Debut Against Australia at OUTsur-ance Oval on 30-03-2002


Bowling Style Right-arm offbreak

Full name Kumar Chokshanada San-gakkara

Nick Name --DOB 27-10-1977City MataleTeams Sri Lanka, ACC Asian XI,

Nondescripts Cricket Club, ICC World XI

Test Debut Against South Africa at Galle International Stadium on 20-07-2000

ODI Debut Against Pakistan at Galle International Stadium on 05-07-2000

Batting Style Left-hand batBowling Style Right-arm offbreak

Batting Statistics

Batting Statistics

Test ODI



Not Outs 9 9

Runs 7457 6097

Highest 277 141


200+ 4 0

100's 22 8

50's 29 43

4's - 709

6's - 38

Avg 49.71 39.59

St/R 60.16 82.70



Not Outs 12 28

Runs 8244 8624

Highest 287 138 *


200+ 7 0

100's 24 10

50's 34 58

4's - 857

6's - 37

Avg 56.86 36.70

St/R 55.96 75.34

Bowling Statistics

Bowling Statistics

Test ODI


Overs 223.8 171.0

Maiden 28 --

Runs 832 951

Wickets 8 18


Avg. 104 52.83

Eco. 3.72 5.56

St/R 168.25 57

3 wickets - --

5 wickets in

an innings

0 -

10 wickets in

a match

0 -



Overs 11.0 0.0

Maiden 0 0

Runs 38 0

Wickets 0 0


Avg. N/A N/A

Eco. 3.45 N/A

St/R N/A N/A

3 wickets - 0

5 wickets in

an innings

0 -

10 wickets in

a match

0 -

Catches / Stumps 163 / 20 275 / 70



CT

1999 World CupWaugh’s Australians hold nerve flashback . Manoj Vatsyayana

Steve Waugh’s Australians held their nerve in testing conditions to lift the 1999 World Cup in England, while South Africa continued to wrestle with their fate. South Africa bowed out of the 1992 Cup semi-

final because of a ‘rain rule’ that reduced their target to an absurd 21 runs off one ball against England.

In 1999, South Africa failed to qualify for the final despite not losing their semi-final against Australia - they tied the game before bowing out on inferior net run-rate to Australia in the Super Six.

The 1996 format of playing quarter-finals straight after the group games was abandoned. Twelve teams were now divided into two groups, with the top three advancing to the Super Six.

It nearly came against South Africa at Headingley chasing a stiff 272-run target. Steve Waugh was on 56 when he offered a simple catch to South African century-maker Herschelle Gibbs, who held the ball before dropping it in premature celebrations.

The Australian captain needed just that slice of fortune to steer his team to a crucial win with an unbeaten century.

South Africa had lost an opportunity to knock Australia out of the competition. The final was an anti-climax, with Australia thrashing Pakistan by eight wickets.

Leg-spin magician Shane Warne grabbed four wickets in what turned out to be his last World Cup match.



New Dhaka City – A proposed city only 13 km away from the zero point but far away from creping traffic jam of Dhaka city and its deadly polluted air where you will enjoy fresh breath and charming natural beauty at the vicinity of the Dhaleswary River.

New Dhaka Alliance Ltd(A Consortium of Premium Properties & Kheya Properteis

15/5 Bijoynagor, Akram Tower (5th Floor/ Suit # 7), Dhaka 1000 ~ Te: 8391363, 8391375, 0119048850, 01190408851, 01190408852

Location of the Project After crossing the Bangladesh-China Moitri and the Buriganga Bridge, it is adjacent to the Dhaka -Mawa highway and ahead of the first Dhaleswary bridge. Salient Features of the Project New Dhaka City project area is excluded from DAP but as it is adjacent to t5he DAP, it’ll enjoy each and every facilities of DAP. Educational institutions both English and Bengali medium, universities and modern hospitals.Park place, playground for the children with up to date services.Zone basis community center, shopping mall/center, goods market, separate health club and swimming pool both for males and females. Fixed location for mosque, Eidgah, graveyard in the project.Designed walkway at the side of river

World Cup 2011 Fixture

Group A

Australia (1)

Pakistan (3)

New Zealand (5)

Sri Lanka (7)

Zimbabwe (9)

Canada (12)

Kenya (14)

Group B

India (2)

South Africa (4)

England (6)

West Indies (8)

Bangladesh (10)

Ireland (11)

Netherlands (13)

Date & Time Match Venue

19 Feb,2011 08:30 GMT IND vs BAN Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

20 Feb,2011 04:00 GMT NZ vs KEN MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

20 Feb,2011 09:00 GMT SL vs CAN Mahinda Rajapaksa International

Cricket Stadium, Hambantota

21 Feb,2011 09:00 GMT AUS vs ZIM Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, Motera

22 Feb,2011 09:00 GMT ENG vs NED Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium,

Nagpur

23 Feb,2011 09:00 GMT PAK vs KEN Mahinda Rajapaksa International

Cricket Stadium, Hambantota

24 Feb,2011 09:00 GMT SA vs WI Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

25 Feb,2011 04:00 GMT AUS vs NZ Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium,

Nagpur

25 Feb,2011 08:30 GMT BAN vs IRE Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

26 Feb,2011 09:00 GMT PAK vs SL R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

27 Feb,2011 09:00 GMT IND vs ENG M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

28 Feb,2011 04:00 GMT ZIM vs CAN Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium,

Nagpur

28 Feb,2011 09:00 GMT WI vs NED Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

01 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT SL vs KEN R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

02 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT ENG vs IRE M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

03 Mar,2011 04:00 GMT SA vs NED Punjab Cricket Association Stadium,

Mohali

03 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT PAK vs CAN R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

04 Mar,2011 04:00 GMT NZ vs ZIM Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, Motera

04 Mar,2011 08:30 GMT BAN vs WI Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

05 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT AUS vs SL R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

06 Mar,2011 04:00 GMT SA vs ENG MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

06 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT IND vs IRE M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

07 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT CAN vs KEN Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

08 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT PAK vs NZ Pallekele International Cricket Stadium,

Kandy

09 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT IND vs NED Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

10 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT SL vs ZIM Pallekele International Cricket Stadium,

Kandy

11 Mar,2011 04:00 GMT WI vs IRE Punjab Cricket Association Stadium,

Mohali

Date & Time Match Venue

11 Mar,2011 08:30 GMT BAN vs ENG Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium,

Chittagong

12 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT IND vs SA Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium,

Nagpur

13 Mar,2011 04:00 GMT NZ vs CAN Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

13 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT AUS vs KEN M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

14 Mar,2011 03:30 GMT BAN vs NED Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium,

Chittagong

14 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT PAK vs ZIM Pallekele International Cricket Stadium,

Kandy

15 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT SA vs IRE Eden Gardens, Kolkata

16 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT AUS vs CAN M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

17 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT ENG vs WI MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

18 Mar,2011 04:00 GMT NED vs IRE Eden Gardens, Kolkata

18 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT NZ vs SL Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

19 Mar,2011 03:30 GMT BAN vs SA Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

19 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT AUS vs PAK R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

20 Mar,2011 04:00 GMT ZIM vs KEN Eden Gardens, Kolkata

20 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT IND vs WI MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

23 Mar,2011 08:30 GMT A1 vs B4 (1st

Quarter Final, C)

Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

24 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT A2 vs B3 (2nd

Quarter Final, D)

Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, Motera

25 Mar,2011 08:30 GMT A3 vs B2 (3rd

Quarter Final, E)

Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

26 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT A4 vs B1 (4th

Quarter Final, F)

R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

29 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT

Winner C vs Win-

ner E (1st

Semi Final)

R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

30 Mar,2011 09:00 GMT

Winner D vs Win-

ner F (2nd

Semi Final)

Punjab Cricket Association Stadium,

Mohali

02 Apr,2011 09:00 GMT SF1 vs SF2 (Final) Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

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CT

2003 World CupAussies get over Warne shameflashback . Manoj Vatsyayana

The 2003 World Cup was not only about Australia’s triumph over adversity, but also about protests, boycotts, a drug-ban and some big players’ farewells. Australia suffered a blow even before

the show had begun when leg-spinner Shane Warne was ruled out of the tournament after failing a drugs test. He was not to play for his team in one-day cricket thereafter.

Such was the depth of Ricky Ponting’s side that they managed to find players to deliver in critical situations, like hard-hitting batsman Andrew Symonds and all-rounder Andy Bichel. England boycotted their match in Zimbabwe and New Zealand refused to play in Kenya on safety and political grounds. The points earned by defaults helped Zimbabwe and Kenya make it to the Super Six stage.

When South African wicket-keeper Mark Boucher hit the penultimate ball off what turned out to be the final over for a six to level the scores, he thought the job had been completed. But his team still needed one more run to win. The West Indies began impressively when they beat South Africa, courtesy of Brian Lara’s masterful century.

Kenya made a surprise semi-final appearance but did not have the resources to stretch India who qualified for the final. Sourav Ganguly’s Indians won eight successive matches to emerge deserving challengers to Australia in the final.

Sachin Tendulkar’s form was the highlight as he amassed 673 runs with one hundred and six half-centuries to become the tournament’s top scorer.

Australia marched on relentlessly despite losing Warne and then in-form paceman Jason Gillespie to an injury after early matches. They survived a few anxious batting moments before beating Sri Lanka in the semi-final.

Ponting (140 not out) hijacked the final with a gem of a knock. He received valuable support from Damien Martyn (88 not out) to virtually put the match beyond India’s reach as his team set a stiff 360-run target.

Fast bowler Glenn McGrath rocked India with the prize wicket of Tendulkar (four) in his opening spell. India seemed to be chasing a mirage thereafter despite Virender Sehwag’s 82 and were bowled out for 234. The tournament saw the last Cup appearance of South Africans Jonty Rhodes, Allan Donald and Gary Kirsten, Pakistani fast bowling great Wasim Akram, and Sri Lankan batsman Aravinda de Silva.




A cricket team consists of eleven players, including a captain. Outside of official competitions, teams can agree to play more than eleven-a-side, though no more than eleven players may field.

The pitch is a rectangular area of the ground 22 yards (20 m) long and 10 ft (3.0 m) wide. The Ground Authority selects and prepares the pitch, but once the game has started, the umpires control what happens to the pitch. The umpires are also the arbiters of whether the pitch is fit for play, and if they deem it unfit, with the consent of both captains can change the pitch. Professional cricket is almost always played on a grass surface. However, in the event a non-turf pitch is used, the artificial surface must have a minimum length of 58 ft (18 m) and a minimum width of 6 ft (1.8 m).

There are two umpires, who apply the Laws, make all necessary decisions, and relay the decisions to the scorers. While not required under the laws of cricket, in higher level cricket a third umpire (located off the ground and available to assist the on-field umpires) may be used under the specific playing conditions of a particular match or tournament.

The bat is no more than 38 inches (97 cm) in length, and

no more than 4.25 inches (10.8 cm) wide. The hand or glove holding the bat is considered part of the bat. Ever since the Heavy Metal incident, a highly publicized marketing attempt by Dennis Lillee, who brought out an aluminium bat during an international game, the laws have provided that the blade of the bat must be made of wood (and in practice, they are made from White Willow wood).

A cricket ball is between 8 13/16 and 9 inches (22.4 cm and 22.9 cm) in circumference, and weighs between 5.5 and 5.75 ounces (155.9g and 163g). Only one ball is used at a time, unless it is lost, when it is replaced with a ball of similar wear. It is also replaced at the start of each innings, and may, at the request of the fielding side, be replaced with a new ball, after a certain number of overs have been bowled (80 in Test matches, 34 in ODIs). The gradual degradation of the ball through the innings is an important aspect of the game.

The wickets. The wicket consists of three wooden stumps that are 28 inches (71 cm) tall. The stumps are placed along the batting crease with equal distances between each stump. They are positioned so they are 9 inches (23 cm) wide. Two wooden bails are placed on top of the stumps. The bails must not project more than 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) above the stumps,

Important and interestingrules in cricketLearn Cricket . Roysul Khan



and must, for men’s cricket, be 4+5⁄16 inches (10.95 cm) long. There are also specified lengths for the barrel and spigots of the bail. There are different specifications for the wickets and bails for junior cricket. The umpires may dispense with the bails if conditions are unfit (ie it is windy so they might fall off by themselves).

The decision by field Umpire is the final one. Sometimes the decision taken by the field Umpire may be wrong but still his decision is valid and will be considered as final one. But in recent days since there is a third Umpire, if a player appeals against the field Umpire, he can raise a clarification to the third Umpire.

Deciding whether to ask Third Umpire or not for a decision is also a decision of field Umpire.

If a bowler continuously bowls no balls which pitch and raise too high and if it possibly cause injury to batsman, then the field Umpire can warn the bowler and can call no ball.

Causing damage to balls through any external objects is illegal and the bowler will be fined in such cases. Any team should not waste the time in field in any case. If the players of a team waste time in any method, then they will be warned by the Umpire and if it continues then the opposite team will be awarded five runs.

In test matches, the Umpire has the power to decide on extension of time for the final day of the match if he thinks that the match can come to a decision in favor of any one team. The extension time can be a maximum of 30 minutes.

A batsman will be declared out if he hits the ball more than once in a single ball bowled by bowler.

Once a wicket falls, a maximum of 3 minutes is allowed for the next batsman to come inside the field for batting. If he did not come inside within that stipulated time, he will be declared as out by the Umpire.

Umpire will not declare out if there is no appeal called by a single player from the bowling side. A new ball can be called by a bowler in a test match after the bowling side bowls 80 overs. Before that it is not possible to ask for a new ball unless otherwise the ball really causes problems to any side.

A field Umpire will not be changed during a match unless otherwise he is in a injury or ill condition.

In case if a bowler unable to complete his full over, then the same over can be continued by another alternative bowler.

The Duckworth cricket rules (more commonly called Duckworth-Lewis method) are a system used to help decide the result of one-day cricket matches that are interrupted by rain.

Named after the men who devised the mathematical formula Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis, it means that a result can always be generated in a game that has its overs (stages of play) reduced by rain.

When It Is Used

1. In cricket, opposing teams start with the same number of resources. They receive the same number of overs and have 10 wickets in hand. If the match is shortened by rain once it has started, these resources have to be reduced. An example of this is if the team who bats first had its innings interrupted by rain; in that case, the team batting second would be set a higher target to win. Conversely, if the team batting second suffers a rain-interrupted inning, its run (points) target will be reduced. The mathematical equation devised by Duckworth and Lewis determines how much the run target should be.

Example Scenario

2. An example is a team that, after 25 of the allotted 50 overs have been played, is five wickets down when rain stops play. Using the Duckworth and Lewis method, the team’s remaining resources are valued at 42.2 percent. But if another 15 overs were to be lost to the weather, then there are only 10 overs left of the innings to play. Example Calculation

3. According to the Duckworth and Lewis method, with only 10 overs left and five wickets lost, the team has 26.1 percent of its resources left; to compensate, the percentage of resources lost must be calculated. Subtracting 26.1 from 42.2, we are given the answer of 16.1. So if 16.1 percent of resources have been lost, only 83.9 percent of resources should be available to the other team. So if the batting team had been chasing a total of 250 runs, then to calculate an adjusted target which accounts for the rain interruption, multiply 250 by 0.83, which rounded to the nearest whole number equals 210, the new target.

Duckworth Cricket Rules

Learn Cricket . Roysul Khan



Bengal tigers are no longer strangers to world cricket. They grew wisdom teeth over 2010 and learned to hunt the prey. Cricket world now believes that Bangladesh is no longer an easy hunt to pray. In

2010 Bangladesh cricket really matured. Beating England in England in ODI completed the whole circle. Bangladesh has now beaten all tests playing countries at least once in ODI. Towards the end of the year it Bangla Washed strong New Zealand and later got the better of emerging Zimbabweans in successive series. With World Cup round the corner in its own premises many experts have started considering Bangladesh as dark horse of ICC 2011.

The year 2010 started with three nation ODI tournaments in Bangladesh featuring India, Srilanka and Bangladesh. Bangladesh lost all matches but in almost all matches they stretched their opponents to the limit. This was followed by two match test series against mighty India, the no 1 test team in ICC ranking. Indians gave occasional scare. Tamim, Mushfique and Riad played exceptionally well.Greats like Tendulkar were full of praise of Bangladesh progress. But consistency was missing. Bangladesh tried to play Tests in ODI style. The young team lacked patience and always tried to play too many strokes which brought their downfall. But still Tamim , Shakib started emerging as world class performers.

The most unfortunate development of this time was recurring injury of ace strike bowler Mashrafee and unfortunate development leading to premature announcement of retirement of promising young batsman Roquibul Hasan. BCB maltreatment of younger cricketers was the blame. However good senses prevailed and Roquibul soon returned. But injury kept returning to Mashrafee. Masrfaee also blamed of indifferent attitude of officials.

England visited Bangladesh. Tigers lost all matches but gave good account of themselves in almost all of the matches. . They made England to struggle. For lack of good match winning pace bowlers Bangladesh failed to win matches despite creating opportunities on some occasions.

The return visit to England in its early summer was poorly planned. In early summer in heavy English condition ball seams and swings prodigiously .The touring teams struggles

to adjust to alien condition. Yet in two tests Bangladesh did not look all that bad. Tamim scored two centuries. Century at Lords placed him on board beside illustrious century makers. The name of Shahadat Rajeev also featured there as 5 wicket taker in an innings. But in second test Bangladesh batting was crushed by Swinging Anderson and Broad under cloudy sky. Bangladesh won one of the three ODI and created contest in the other two. This English tour did world of good for Bangladesh cricket. Talented all-rounder Shakib got opportunity to play for English county. Tamim redeemed himself. Unfortunately talented Ashraful failed to regain his form and wasted the opportunity.

A full strength New Zealand came to Bangladesh to acclimatize themselves with ICC World Cup in view. The test series was converted to 5 ODIs on mututal consent. One ODI was washed out. Bangladesh created new cricket history in winning the remaining four and inflicting white wash on a major opposition. All Bangladeshi cricketers played to their potential. Bangladesh spinners led by Abdur Razzak and redoubtable Shakib mesmerized kiwis.

Unfortunately injured Mashrafee could not play his role. But in his absence Shafiul and Rubel looked good. Imrul Kayes, Junayed Siddique, Shakib,Mushfique Roquibul , Riad batted with maturity. There was always someone to bat Bangladesh out of trouble.. Prime Minister of Bangladesh acknowledged the performance of Tigers and accorded reception for the team.

The following series against Zimbabwe started disastrously with Bangladesh losing the first ODI but it own the reaming convincingly stamping their superiority over minnows in cricket arena. Zimbabweans had no answer to brilliant bowling of Abdur Razzak and his spinning partners. Razzak could create world record of maximum wicket in ODI series if one of the ODI at Chittagong was not washed out.

Tigers are not getting ready for World Cup playing domestic cricket. But its preparation got a blow as the strike pacer Mashrafee again got injured while batting in domestic cricket. Mash was just getting his top gear.

Perhaps the team management was a little callous. Mash is our main hope of springing some surprise in World cup against major opposition. He should not have been risked in domestic cricket. He has nothing to prove to anyone. A full fit Mashrafee gives Bangladesh edge .Bangladesh has India, Africa and England in the group. One hopes that Mash gets back in time. Bangladesh will desperately need early inroads into opposition top order .Who can do it better than Mash?

Year 2010 brought lot of Joy for Bangladesh. Tigers put Bangladesh brightly in World Map. Let us hope that year 2011 brings greater glory .

Year 2010: Tigers on the HuntReport . Saleque Sufi


CT

2007 World CupTragedy, then triumph in darknessflashback . Manoj Vatsyayana

The 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean had what every glamorous event would like to avoid -- the death of a coach, a final completed in darkness, early exits of favourites and only a few close

matches. The 47-day event was not even a one-week old when Pakistan’s coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica. He was initially thought to have been murdered before it was announced he died of natural causes.The former England batsman’s death came hours after Pakistan’s shock defeat against debutants Ireland, the loss eventually leading to the exit of the 1992 champions.

Rahul Dravid’s Indians made a horror start, losing to Bangladesh in their opening match despite having exciting

batsmen in Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh and the captain himself.

Adam Gilchrist dominated the final, hammering a 104-ball 149 with a squash ball in his left glove which seemed to help him hit straight.

Australia were virtually assured of a record third successive title after posting 281-4 off 38 overs, thanks to wicket-keeper Gilchrist’s blitz which contained eight sixes and 13 fours. Sri Lankan veteran Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara made bold half-centuries but their team finished at 215-8 as their target was revised to 269 off 36 overs following a rain interruption.

Australia were involved in a few tight matches in the 2003 tournament in South Africa, but so dominant were they in the Caribbean that they hardly gave any chance to the opposition. Four Australians -- Matthew Hayden (659), skipper Ricky Ponting (539), Gilchrist (453) and Michael Clarke (436) -- were among the tournament’s top 10 run-getters.

Australian pacemen Glenn McGrath (26), Shaun Tait (23), Brad Hogg (21) and Nathan Bracken (16) were among the top six bowlers. McGrath, on his last appearance, also surpassed Pakistani paceman Wasim Akram’s Cup record of 55 wickets. Sri Lanka deserved to be in the final for their consistency, Jayawardene (548) being the second-highest scorer after Hayden and Jayasuriya (467) the sixth.

Off-spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan was had 23 wickets and paceman Lasith Malinga was the fifth best with 18. Malinga also became the first to bag four wickets off as many balls, against South Africa. Stephen Fleming’s New Zealanders impressed but yet again failed to cross the semi-final hurdle, while South Africa fell to Australia in the penultimate round.While Bangladesh and Ireland exceeded expectations by advancing to the second round, England and the West Indies failed to make the last-four.

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff was dismissed as vice-captain and banned for one match after capsizing a pedalo in the sea after his team’s defeat to New Zealand.



Cricket Tomorrow eMagazine . Issue 03 . February 2011 - Worldcup 2011 Edition© Copyright 2008 - 2011 CricketTomorrowhttp://magazine.crickettomorrow.com

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