A thing of Beauty is a Joy forever... Cricket is a Beautiful Game ! This Weblog is dedicated to this Wonderful game which has billions of passionate followers.

 

posted by Venkatachalam Krishnan at 2:38 AM

 
Saturday, February 08, 2003

Hi Friends !


GREAT NEWS !!



I have been selected as the Online World Cup Correspondent for CRICKETNEXT.COM, the OFFICIAL INTERNET PARTNERS for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 in South Africa.




It is indeed a proud moment for me considering that the other panelists are


Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Richard Hadlee, Jaques Kallis, Saurav Ganguly, Dilip Vengsarkar,


Anil Dharkar, Sanjay Jha, S S Ramaswamy, Tapan Joshi and Miling Rege !!!





I will be writing throughout the duration of the tournament and I hope I will be successful in this assignment.



Watch out for more at www.cricketnext.com



Best regards



Venkat.



Venkatachalam. A. Krishnan
Director - Sales
Inca Tech Solutions
A-4, Madhuban Apartments
Adugodi, Hosur Road
Bangalore - 560 030.


Mobile: +91 98 45 46 44 77
DID: +91 80 5506568
Phone: +91 80 5531641
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Email: venkii76@hotmail.com


Internet: www.cricketnext.com


http://southafrica2003.blogspot.com

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- Venkatachalam, 12:37 PM


Thursday, February 06, 2003

by Steven Lynch
Wisden, Saturday, February 1, 2003

Here's a selection of ten half-forgotten - or best-forgotten - moments from the rich history of the World Cup, starting with one from the first match ...


Sunny’s go-slow
As pipe-openers go, it wasn’t a great advert for the festival of cricket to follow. In the very first match of the very first World Cup, at Lord’s in 1975, England dashed to 334 for 4 in their 60 overs. Dennis Amiss amassed 137, and Chris Old smacked 51 from just 30 balls. In response, India managed only 132 for 3. Sunil Gavaskar seemed to be playing for a draw as he blocked his way to 36 not out after opening. He actually faced 174 balls and – presumably accidentally – hit one four. One disgusted spectator marched out to the middle and threw his lunchtime sandwiches at Gavaskar’s feet.


Canada v England
After a rain delay at Old Trafford in 1979, Canada’s eager amateurs survived 40.3 overs against England’s canny pros. But survive was about all they did – they managed only 45 runs in total. Bob Willis took 4 for 11 and Chris Old 4 for 8 as only Franklyn Dennis (21) reached double figures. England knocked off the runs in 13.5 overs. In all the entertainment lasted only three hours and 35 minutes. Back in the World Cup after 24 years, Canada will be desperate to avoid a repeat. At least they’re not playing England this time, but you fear for them against South Africa’s bowlers ... and Sri Lanka’s batsmen.


The dream final
As the 1987-88 tournament chugged along, it looked more and more likely that the co-hosts India and Pakistan would meet in a final to delight the subcontinent. But then Australia outfumbled Pakistan at Lahore, and England swept India to defeat at Bombay. The World Cup’s only Ashes final was a bit of a Calcutta party-pooper, and local heroes Sunil Gavaskar and Imran Khan decided to end it all, as far as international cricket was concerned. But for Imran, retirement was short-lived: he bounced back and won the Cup in 1992.


Gatt’s reverse sweep
England were on top in that Calcutta final in 1987, reaching 135 for 2 in good time in response to Australia’s unimposing 253 for 5. Allan Border brought himself on, after his five regular bowlers hadn’t made much of an impression. Mike Gatting tried an ambitious reverse-sweep off his rival captain’s first ball, and the resultant top-edge was eagerly swallowed by Greg Dyer, the wicketkeeper. Top-scorer Bill Athey (58) was run out soon afterwards, and England clattered to defeat. The final margin was seven runs, the closest World Cup final of them all – this by an England side lacking David Gower and Ian Botham, who both gave the tournament the thumbs-down.


21 off 1 ball
If you think Duckworth-Lewis is complicated, try the bizarre rain rule that was in force during the 1992 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. It was a countback system that disposed of the batting side’s least-productive overs in the event of weather interference. It stymied England at Adelaide when, after bowling Pakistan out for 74, rain meant there was time for only another hour’s play. England had bowled 14 maidens, for start, which actually counted against them: after the overs had been slashed from 50 to 16, their target came down from 75 to 64. It rained again after eight overs, which saved some embarrassment ... or rather postponed it to the semi-final. Now it was England’s turn to gain: a brief shower, with South Africa needing 22 to win from 13 balls, lopped off a couple of overs. The least-productive overs included three maidens, so suddenly SA needed 21 from one ball. Not surprisingly, they didn’t quite get there.


Neil Smith’s pizza
England’s second match of the 1995-96 World Cup was against the unfancied United Arab Emirates. Neil Smith, who had earlier taken three wickets, was tried as a pinch hitter, with unexpected results. After he’d made 27, Smith was spectacularly sick on the pitch, and had to retire ill. Ray Illingworth, England’s manager, was dead-pan (or possibly deep-pan): “He ate a pizza last night and now it’s out there.” There was a consolation for Smith: his allround performance won him the Man of the Match award. Not in the groundsman’s book, though.


The riot
Despite losing both openers in the first over, Sri Lanka ran up 251 for 5 in the 1996 semi-final against India at Calcutta. Sachin Tendulkar made 65 for India, but no-one else contributed much – there were three ducks – and defeat was inevitable at 120 for 8. The crowd of around 110,000 was unimpressed, and started lobbing missiles onto the pitch. One bottle zoomed out from the members’ stand over the sightscreen. A few bonfires made things worse, and eventually Clive Lloyd, the referee, called the match off and awarded it to Sri Lanka.


The national anthem
For the final at Lahore in 1996, the teams dutifully lined up for the national anthems. “Nkosi Sikelele Afrika” blared out round the Gaddafi Stadium – a proud moment for all the South Africans present. Unfortunately there weren’t that many, as the final was between Australia and Sri Lanka, whose players mostly thought they were listening to the other side’s anthem.


The trophy presentation
The end of the 1996 final was almost as much fun as the beginning, as officials, sponsors and the occasional player jostled for prized positions on the dais as Arjuna Ranatunga sidled up to collect the World Cup. It got even more crowded as the media closed in for interviews. Ian Chappell, spotting Ranatunga not too far away, grabbed his microphone and made a beeline for his man. On his way he elbowed aside just about the only woman on the stage, with a cheery “Excuse me, love.” Her expression suggested that Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan’s prime minister, wasn’t exactly used to such offhand treatment.


The 1999 opening ceremony
England didn’t pull out all the stops for the start of World Cup 1999. A few fireworks left smoke hanging around St John’s Wood on an overcast May day at Lord’s. The dodgy weather meant that the dancers on the grass for the opening ceremony had to look lively to avoid the groundstaff dealing with the covers. And the welcome address by Tony Blair was hamstrung by a microphone that spluttered into life halfway through his address (MCC committee-man John Major has an alibi, apparently). England did beat Sri Lanka on that opening day, but they crashed out of the competition the day before the official World Cup song – a Dave Stewart number that wasn’t written specially and didn’t mention cricket – was released to yawns all round in your local record megastore. It hurtled in at No. 184 in the charts and hasn’t been heard of since.
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posted by Venkatachalam Krishnan at 10:25 AM

 
A Beautiful Dream !


By: Venkatachalam. A. Krishnan

Umpire in the State Panel of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association


`NASA loses Columbia: the world loses 7 Astronauts’



`Ilan Ramon: A Beautiful Dream !’



These were the headlines in a British and an Israeli Daily respectively on February 2, 2003. The same day, a `National Newspaper’ in India SCREAMED with the banner-headline `We are Fit and raring to go: Sachin Tendulkar’.



If one is familiar with the passionate way the game of Cricket is followed by the Indian public, this would have been no surprise at all.



With the 8th edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup competition in South Africa barely a few days away, the game is well and truly all-pervasive.



Add to it the hype generated by the corporate world wanting to cash in on this quadrennial opportunity, Cricket is on every Indian’s mind. It is almost omnipotent.



Every Indian worth his salt is WILLING the Indians to return home with the coveted prize. Tens of thousands of Indian supporters are traveling to South Africa to be part of the action, albeit from the sidelines and Millions more have conveyed their best wishes to the team through various activities – from signing `Good-luck’ bats to sending e-mails.



Special prayers are scheduled in many Temples, Churches and Mosques while many more are promised by the loyal fan if his God makes his Dreams come true.



The Indian Team, as many believe, can indeed pull it off. Although coming out of the recent poor form and going all the way will be a Miracle.



Miracles do happen. The young Turks Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif proved it one sunny mid-summers day at Lords. But Cricket, the game, is a Great leveler. Ask Steven Fleming, Andre Adams, Jacob Oram and Darryl Tuffey and they will vouch for it. And so will Saurav Ganguly and Co., even if not so openly.



Yes, this team has the `potential’ to go all the way. But this the MOST abused word in Sport. Every team has the `Potential’ but few convert it into reality.



One cannot rely on Miracles to happen every time. A few teams, like Australia, have made it a HABIT. They perform miracles so very regularly that it just ceases to be seen as a Miracle. Ask Steve Waugh and Herschelle Gibbs about a dropped catch; Michael Bevan and the Newzealanders about Jan 29, 2002; Andy Flintoff and Brett Lee about the recent VB Series Finals; VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid about the Kotkata test Vs Australia.



Teams like Australia seem to have an unlimited supply-chain of talented Cricketers. They are able to say NO to the Waugh twins, Stuart Mcgill, Love, Blewett and many more who will be able to walk into any other international playing eleven.



Even the Indian selectors have said NO to some talented cricketers – VVS Laxman has been miles ahead in terms of performance in the recent past than Dinesh Mongia (We are talking about contrasting batting averages of 46+ and 10 respectively in their last 10 ODIs). And Hemang Badani has better averages (with great fielding to boot) than either of the two. Or consider Murali Kartik who is left wondering what more he has to do.



Setting all these aside and coming to the team selected, there is an air of unpredictability surrounding the Indian team. They are Certainly NOT the favorites but they are most definitely one of the dark-horses.



On their day, if they are able to put their act together, they can surprise any other team on show. For that to happen, first and foremost they have to BELIEVE that they can win. This is where teams like Australia score over most others. Right from the word go, their positive body-language radiates high intensity and the hunger to win.



The Indians are in the tougher group and they cannot afford to relax as points are carried forward to the next stage. Winning eleven matches on the trot is a Huge ask for any team and that is why NO team is seen as a Clear-favorite.



A lot depends on Sachin Tendulkar who will be hungry after a rare lean-patch and who, when on song can decide any match single-handedly. And if Ganguly regains his magical touch, the opponents are in for a leather-hunt.



Not to forget Sehwag, who is probably the most explosive customer in world cricket at present. The popular opinion is that Ganguly and Sehwag must open the innings with Tendulkar coming in at number 3 and Dravid, arguably the most underrated cricketer today, following at number 4.



If Kaif and Yuvraj also get going, the Indians definitely have one of the best batting line-ups. But a lot will depend on their seventh choice – A wicket-keeper, a batsman, an all-rounder (if we indeed have one) or an additional bowler. No team can afford to have a dummy in the eleven. Whoever gets to play, he better perform if his team is to win.



The bowling department indeed looks weaker than some other teams but India never had an explosive bowling attack. With Srinath, Zaheer, Kumble, Harbajan, Nehra and Agarkar, the attack is quite experienced, and if they have learnt from their past and put their thoughts into action, they can indeed create problems to any batting lineup.



Another important factor will be Fielding. In today’s cricket, fitness and endurance play the most-important role in any team’s success. I am sure John Wright has worked very hard on this aspect and we will have to keep our fingers crossed till they deliver.



Let us all understand that Cricket, today, is Technology-intensive and every team will come out with an action-plan to counter every individual in every other team. Ultimately it will boil down to converting these plans into ACTION.



A lot of self-belief and a generous dose of Miracle are required now. Let us all hope that the Indians can play `out of their skins’ for the entire duration of the tournament and indeed emerge victorious.



Like every other Indian who has been associated with this great game, I too have a dream - about India winning the world cup. And I cherish every moment of the dream.



Oh, What a Beautiful Dream!!!
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posted by Venkatachalam Krishnan at 12:06 AM