One-Day Internationals
Highest innings totals
Monday, June 9, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Vaughan has Twenty20 concerns
Champions League plans
Vaughan has Twenty20 concerns
June 8, 2008
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On Saturday, an outline of the tournament was released by the ECB and there will be 15 matches played over 10 days in either the Middle East or India. Only the participants from England have yet to be decided, with the two finalists from the Twenty20 Cup earning the right to play for US$5million.
That level of prize money dwarfs domestic cricket; the winners of the County Championship currently receive £100,000 for a tournament that takes five months and 18 matches to complete.
"It is exciting, it certainly puts a lot more pressure on the county Twenty20 starting on Wednesday," said Vaughan. "My only fear is that it will become the ultimate competition, because it's such a carrot at the end of the summer and counties might start developing the Twenty20 team as the ultimate importance, rather than developing the four-day team. That's my only concern.
"There's a lot of money at stake for both players and counties and authorities, but I just hope by doing these kind of events, that the ultimate [county] team is not the Twenty20 team, but the four-day team and the 50-over team because that's where you get your ultimate test."
England's one-day squad have been made available for the opening round of Twenty20 matches, but will then be absent for the rest of the qualifiers. Vaughan, however, will be available for Yorkshire and has stated his aim of wanting to play more domestic Twenty20.
Gibbs doubtful over international future
South Africa in England 2008
Gibbs doubtful over international future
June 8, 2008
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Herschelle Gibbs has indicated he is contemplating his South Africa career after being left out of the Test squad for the tour of England.
"I've got some decisions to make in the next few weeks whether to carry on at international level," Gibbs told the BBC. "I'm not in the squad and I'm not sure if I'll get back into the one-day team either."
Gibbs last played a Test in January against West Indies but did not feature in the Test teams that recently toured Bangladesh and India. However, he did play in the ODI series in Bangladesh. "I've spoken to the coach and he said I'm first reserve for South Africa in case anyone gets injured. So we'll have to wait and see. But I've been dying for a proper go at an English cricket county for the last few years so maybe me coming to Glamorgan has happened at a good time."
Gibbs will play for Glamorgan in the Twenty20 Cup, which starts on June 11, but said he could stay on for the season as a Kolpak player. "Maybe my appearance for Glamorgan in the Twenty20 Cup could be a sign of things to come."
He replaces Jason Gillespie as Glamorgan's overseas player for the tournament. However, Gibbs hasn't done too well in Twenty20s recently, scoring 103 runs in six matches for the Cape Cobras, and was one of the disappointments of the Indian Premier League, managing just 167 in nine matches for the bottom-finishers Deccan Chargers.
The 34-year-old Gibbs is expected to play a key role at Glamorgan, given the young profile of the squad. "I love Twenty20 cricket and it has certainly set the cricket world alight," he said. "I know Glamorgan's squad is quite inexperienced so I hope my knowledge can rub off on everyone. "
South Africa, who have not yet named their squad for the limited-overs fixtures in England, begin the tour with a game against Somerset on June 29. The four Test-series runs from July 10 to August 11, with a Twenty20 international on August 20 followed by a five-match ODI series.
Countries win out over cash?
Champions League
Countries win out over cash?
June 8, 2008
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Michael Hussey and Albie Morkel, who represented Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, will turn out for Western Australia and the Titans in the Champions League, scheduled to be held in September this year, according to an agreement reached among the national boards before the IPL was formalised.
It is learnt that the English and Australian boards secured a commitment from the BCCI that the internationals players participating in the IPL would play for domestic teams of their home countries in the event of a clash of interests in the Champions League. The agreement was verbal, though, and it is understood the contracts signed by the international players have no clause pertaining to the Champions League. The ECB, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa were among those who had endorsed the IPL before its inception.
However, the situation remains unclear since James Sutherland, Cricket Australia's chief executive, has said that it's likely that IPL teams will get to retain the services of foreign players. This means that Hussey could yet turn out against his state side.
"It [whether players need to play for their IPL side or their state side] is something we need to work out as we determine the regulations, but there is probably a high likelihood that where an IPL team wants those players they will be cleared to play for those IPL teams," Sutherland said in Melbourne. "We need to work out what the terms or conditions are on that release [regarding conflicts of loyalty]."
But Hussey could miss out on the tournament since Sutherland said it was unlikely that players in Australia's Test squad will take part in the inaugural edition of the tournament, since it will precede their tour to India.
Though the itinerary is yet to be decided, it is expected to take place immediately after the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, which be held between September 11-28. "I think leading into the Test series which starts in the first week of October, I think it is unlikely any of our Test players are able to play," he said.
Western Australia and Victoria from Australia, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings from the IPL along with the Dolphins and Titans from the Pro20 in South Africa have already qualified for the Champions League, and will be joined by the two finalists from the English Twenty20 Cup, which starts next week.
Hussey, who played in four matches for Chennai in the IPL before returning home to prepare for Australia's tour of the West Indies, scored 168 runs at a strike-rate of 168, including a 54-ball 116 in their opening game. However, he didn't play in a single KFC Twenty20 match for Western Australia, who lost to Victoria by 32 runs in the final.
Western Australia will also have the services of Shaun Marsh, one of heroes of the IPL, and Luke Pomersbach, both of whom appeared for the Kings XI Punjab. Tom Moody, the Western Australia coach, was also part of Punjab's set-up. Another player who will be available is Luke Ronchi, the Mumbai Indians' wicketkeeper-batsman who was recently called up to Australia's squad in the West Indies.
Victoria, the other Australian team to have qualified, will be up against Shane Warne, the local legend who inspired the victory march of the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. Victoria's victorious squad included three IPL players: David Hussey and Brad Hodge from the Kolkata Knight Riders, and captain Cameron White, who had a disastrous run with the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Greg Shipperd, their coach, had been in-charge of the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL.
Morkel, who played in 13 IPL games for Chennai with moderate success, was part of the core team of the Titans who won the Standard Bank Pro20, and scored a vital 17-ball 33 in the final against the Dolphins. The Titans will have in their ranks two more IPL players in AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn.
There could still be more potential clashes depending on which English teams qualify for the event, as aside from their one permitted overseas player, some counties field as many as six Kolpak players, mainly from South Africa.
Million-dollar Twenty20 Champions League announced
US$5 million on offer for the winners
Million-dollar Twenty20 Champions League announced
June 7, 2008
The inaugural Champions League tournament, involving the domestic Twenty20 finalists from England, Australia, South Africa and the IPL, will take place over a 10-day period in late September and early October with US$5 million on offer for the winners.
The fine detail is yet to be confirmed, but Cricket Australia are currently drawing up the regulations which will deal with the issues of Indian Cricket League players and potential conflicts for players involved with more than one team.
It is possible that the Indian board will be generous towards ICL players after the success of IPL. It was also agreed, verbally, between the boards that foreign players will turn out for their local teams in the tournament. That undertaking was sought by the England and Australia boards at a meeting in Singapore.
However, it has been confirmed the event will feature 15 matches over 10 days, and will take place in either the Middle East or India. Alongside the huge sum for the winners, there will be significant prize money for the teams finishing second, third and fourth.
Stuart Broad, the England quick bowler, is excited by the move. "It's certainly an incentive for domestic sides to take Twenty20 seriously which can only help the international team," he said after the third day's play against New Zealand. "I've always thought Championship cricket is the priority because it develops players for Test cricket and that's the ultimate. But this could change the emphasis."
Western Australia and Victoria from Australia, Rajasthan and Chennai from the IPL along with the Dolphins and Titans from the Pro20 in South Africa have already qualified. They will be joined by the two finalists from the English Twenty20 Cup, which starts next week.
Following meetings late last week between the ECB, represented by chairman Giles Clarke and chief executive David Collier, Cricket Australia's chairman Creagh O'Connor and chief executive James Sutherland, an agreement was reached yesterday between Clarke, IPL commissioner and BCCI representative Lalit Modi, and Cricket South Africa president Norman Arendse.
"We are extremely grateful to our great friends from Australia, India and South Africa for their hard work and determination to get this tournament off the ground," Clarke said. "The Twenty20 Cup will be even more fiercely contested this season in the knowledge that the two teams who reach the final will qualify for the Champions League and the chance to win US$5 million."
This event throws up a number of potential conflicts, not least involving an players linked to the unofficial ICL. Chris Read, Vikram Solanki, Stuart Law, Niall O'Brien and Paul Nixon all appeared in the ICL, and if their counties qualify their inclusion will be a major conflict with the Indian board.
The other issue that will occur is involving players who are contracted to more than one of the teams involved, for example Mike Hussey who played for Chennai in the IPL and is also from Western Australia. The clash could also happen with overseas players in county cricket, for example David Hussey, who plays for Nottinghamshire and Victoria.
Somerset chief executive Richard Gould admitted to Sky Sports News: "We've already had some discussions and we're basically looking to mirror what the IPL contracts are. It was first mooted at the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa and it's taken a while but now it's there, I think it's brilliant for club cricket. It gives it much more juice."
IPL teams to get first pick on players - Modi
Indian Premier League
IPL teams to get first pick on players - Modi
June 8, 2008
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Franchises from the Indian Premier League will get first priority over players for the proposed Champions League, and any team that fields a cricketer from the unofficial Indian Cricket League will be automatically disqualified from the international Twenty20 competition, Lalit Modi, the chairman of IPL, has said.
However, Modi told Cricinfo that the Champions League was "still a long way away" and what has been agreed upon by various boards so far is "only an in-principle agreement" to host such an event. "The venues have not been decided, the dates are still open and we are trying to host the event this year," Modi said.
The England and Wales Cricket Board had on Saturday issued a press release which said that the ECB, Cricket Australia, the BCCI and Cricket South Africa had "reached an agreement for the staging of the inaugural Champions League this autumn" for a top prize of US$ 5 million. However, Modi said he would be able to provide a clear picture only after the BCCI's working committee discusses the issue during a meeting scheduled on June 22.
Asked about the Champions League's regulations, Modi, who is also a vice-president of the BCCI, said that "it had been clearly resolved earlier" that the IPL franchises would get priority over cricketers in their team. But the franchises will have to pay a "relieving fees" to the player's state team if both have qualified for the event, he said.
Elaborating on the case of Michael Hussey, who is caught between Western Australia and Chennai Super Kings for the Champions League, Modi said, "In the case of Michael Hussey, Chennai Super Kings has the option to keep him and pay a relieving fees to Western Australia. The option is with Super Kings."
However, players like David Hussey, whose IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders, failed to qualify for the Champions League, will have to play for Victoria, he said. "In case of David Hussey, he has to play for his home team if his IPL team has not qualified. If his home team has qualified, which it has, then he plays for them. The county option is his third fall back," Modi said.
Modi also clarified that "any ICL player playing for any team automatically disqualifies that team from participating" in the Champions League. "No exceptions will be made under any circumstances," Modi said.
Currently, about 24 ICL players have been signed up to play for various English counties - the top two Twenty20 teams from England will join Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings from India, the Titans from Pretoria and KwaZulu Natal Dolphins representing South Africa and Western Australia and Victoria from Australia in the Champions League.
Pakistan crush hopless Bangladesh
Bangladesh v Pakistan, 1st match, Kitply Cup
Pakistan crush hapless Bangladesh
June 8, 2008
Pakistan 233 (Butt 70, Yousuf 59, Razzak 3-35, Kapali 3-49) beat Bangladesh 163 for 8 (Ashraful 56*, Afridi 3-19, Riaz 3-22) by 70 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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Pakistan opened the Kitply Cup with a comprehensive 70-run victory, their 12th straight win equalling the joint second-longest ODI streak. They had won all five in an ODI series against Bangladesh in Pakistan recently, and home advantage didn't make a difference as hosts Bangladesh once again could not match up against a tougher opponent.
After a series of short, sharp showers curtailed the match to a 40-over affair, half-centuries from Salman Butt and Mohammad Yousuf took Pakistan to a commanding 233. In reply, Bangladesh were rarely in the hunt - Wahab Riaz and Shahid Afridi took three wickets each as the hosts crawled to 163 for 8 in their allotted overs. Mohammad Ashraful made a fighting, unbeaten 56 but it came at too pedestrian a pace to be a serious threat.
Bangladesh were on the back foot right from the time Pakistan were put in by Ashraful in conditions which were expected to be more conducive to the bowling side. Butt continued his irrepressible form against the hosts, making his fifth consecutive score above fifty, while Yousuf played a classy, composed knock before Pakistan lost their way in the final ten overs.
The visitors got off to a steady start with Butt, who amassed 451 runs in the recent five-match ODI series, scoring the bulk of the runs. After a cagey beginning, he provided the innings impetus. Shahadat Hossain's short deliveries were tackled with a rasping cut and a mistimed pull, and after nearly holing out to cover, Butt confidently reeled off four boundaries in a short span, pushing the run-rate to nearly six.
The other opener Kamran Akmal was subdued until the ninth over, when he shuffled across the stumps and dispatched an off-stump delivery to midwicket for four. An imperious six over long-off followed and with Butt scoring freely at the other end, Pakistan raced to an ominous 69 for no loss after 11 overs.
Debutant Dolar Mahmud provided the first breakthrough as an Akmal flash, devoid of any footwork, took the outside-edge and wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, making a comeback, took a sharp diving catch. It became 75 for 2 the next ball, as Younis Khan was run out thanks to an athletic effort from Raqibul Hasan at midwicket.
Butt, who had been rampant against the faster bowlers - racing to 48 off 43 balls - was tied down by Bangladesh's trio of spinners. Kapali, in particular, kept him quiet as his last 22 runs came in singles before hitting one straight to long-on. At the other end, Yousuf made a circumspect start against Razzak before upping his scoring-rate with a bunch of leg-side boundaries. The fours were interspersed with numerous risk-free drives for singles as he smoothly progressed to his 62nd ODI fifty.
Pakistan were poised for a massive total with the score on 178 for 3 after 30 overs. Kapali, however, dismissed both Yousuf and Shahid Afridi in an over as only 13 runs came off four overs. Misbah-ul-Haq's big-hitting fetched him 39 off 22 balls, but after he fell on the first ball of the 38th over, only six runs came off the final three overs as Pakistan collapsed dramatically from 229 for 6 to 233 all out.
The Pakistan new-ball bowlers, getting a hint of movement, consolidated the advantage their batsmen had provided by keeping the scoring-rate down. Just as Bangladesh thought the main threats, Sohail Tanvir and Umar Gul, had been seen off, Riaz struck with his second ball - Shahriar Nafees edging a full delivery to the wicketkeeper. Tamim Iqbal was foxed by a loopy delivery from Afridi - who was getting the legbreak to turn appreciably - as he tried to up the tempo.
Afridi has not been in the best of form with the bat but underscored his effectiveness as a bowler with a superb spell, finishing with 3 for 19. When he removed Mushfiqur in the 27th over, Bangladesh's slim hopes evaporated. Ashraful battled on but scored at an inexplicably slow pace even as the wickets tumbled and the asking-rate climbed alarmingly. With just one other batsman crossing 20, Bangladesh never mounted a serious challenge and dawdled along till the end of their quota of overs.
Given the short duration of the tournament, it's very tough for a team to recover from a slip-up, and the huge margin of defeat dents Bangladesh's net run-rate, making their route to the final even more arduous.
Sidebottom wraps up series victory
England v New Zealand, 3rd Test, Trent Bridge, 4th day
Sidebottom wraps up series victory
June 8, 2008
England 364 (Pietersen 115, Ambrose 67, Broad 64) beat New Zealand 123 (Anderson 7-43) and 232 (McCullum 71, Oram 50*, Sidebottom 6-67) by an innings and nine runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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Sidebottom has been a frustrated, and often angry, participant during this Test as he watched James Anderson and Stuart Broad claim the bowling honours. He hasn't quite been at full pace - the back spasm on the first day may have played a part - but, with conditions better for batting than at any stage during the game, Sidebottom showed why he has taken on the mantle of England's premier bowler.
Gareth Hopkins fought hard on his debut in both innings, showing a better technique than many of the top order against the moving ball. But he was the first to depart when Sidebottom found his outside edge with one pushed across the batsman. In his next over, Sidebottom removed the last major obstacle to a swift finish for England, when Daniel Vettori lofted a skewed drive to Kevin Pietersen at point. From then on it was only a matter of time.
The lower-order showed little desire to hang around as they flayed at Sidebottom's probing line. Kyle Mills edged to Andrew Strauss at first slip, then Iain O'Brien was smartly taken by Paul Collingwood at second slip, diving sharply to his left. Collingwood's batting is in a slump, his bowling is hindered by a sore shoulder, but he can still catch.
Jacob Oram offered the lone resistance, finally coming out of his shell and showing what a threat he will be in the forthcoming one-dayers. Instead of ducking the short ball on a slow pitch he took it on, launching a couple of huge sixes over deep midwicket, once off Broad and then a repeat off Anderson.
He reached an entertaining half-century off 39 balls, but in the process exposed Chris Martin to four balls of Anderson's over. It took just one, a thick edge to second slip where Collingwood pouched another neat catch. Anderson deserved to wrap up the match, claiming his ninth wicket, after putting England in such a strong position with his memorable burst on Friday.
Anderson also helped spark England's resurgence in New Zealand, when he took a five-wicket haul in Wellington, as the team recovered from their embarrassments in Hamilton. The bowling attack was changed, freshened up by youth, and in four of the last five Tests they have responded for Michael Vaughan. There is a long way to go for this England team, and some tough questions still to answer, but they at least have the winning feeling to build on ahead of greater challenges.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Lee sparks Australian surge
West Indies v Australia, 2nd Test, Antigua, 4th day
Lee sparks Australian surge
June 2, 2008
Australia 479 for 7 dec and 244 for 6 (Jaques 76) lead West Indies 352 (Chanderpaul 107*, Sarwan 65, Marshall 53, Lee 5-59) by 371 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out
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Brett Lee breathed life into a meandering match with a masterful spell of fast reverse-swing that overshadowed Shivnarine Chanderpaul's second century of the series and significantly increased the chances of a final-day result. Lee's strikes ensured Australia's first-innings lead of 127 and by the end of the fourth day Phil Jaques had run with the momentum, posting 76 and setting up the visitors' advantage of 371.
At the close Australia had reached 244 for 6, with Andrew Symonds unbeaten on 43 after Lee fell from the last ball of the day. Their lead appeared to be more than adequate to secure the Frank Worrell Trophy - they only need a draw - but there was no indication as to when Ricky Ponting would give his bowlers a chance to push for the victory.
Despite their deteriorating position, West Indies refused to be dictated to, and gradually picked off Australia's batsmen. Jerome Taylor grabbed a couple of wickets, trapping Ponting lbw for 38 and drawing an edge behind from Jaques, while a sharp throw from Chanderpaul ended Michael Clarke's stay on 10. But Australia had such a lead that they were not under any real match pressure, although there was some physical pain when Lee took a nasty blow to the helmet from a cracking Fidel Edwards bouncer.
Jaques battled through a scratchy opening and started to find some form, compiling his first half-century in a Test without Matthew Hayden by his side. He put on a 74-run opening stand with Michael Hussey, who was sent out first as Simon Katich was still nursing a bruised rib sustained during his first-innings century. Hussey looked confident while driving his way to 40.
While Jaques and the rest of the top order improved Australia's buffer with relative ease, it was Lee who gave them the opportunity. On a pitch that appeared deader than Stuart MacGill's Test career, Lee located the defibrillators that no other fast bowler could find. He shocked West Indies' middle order into an early exit following a productive 132-run partnership between Dwayne Bravo and Chanderpaul - whose consistency continues to astound - and grabbed five wickets thanks to his venomous late swing.
Lee did benefit from some poor umpiring decisions but he worked hard for the results in a vicious six-over display. The spell, which was broken up by a one-over break to change his shoes, earned Lee 5 for 11, including three wickets in four balls as the lower order battled to deal with his bending of the ball. The major blow came when Bravo, who had compiled a proper Test innings of 45 by controlling his aggressive urges, was adjudged to have feathered a catch down leg side to Brad Haddin. Bravo was clearly disappointed and the replays were inconclusive - it may have come off his thigh pad - but Denesh Ramdin certainly suffered from an umpiring lapse next ball.
Ramdin's eyes had hardly adjusted to the sunshine when he received a startling inswinging yorker from Lee. He jammed the bat down too late and was given lbw by Russell Tiffin, although the ball had struck him outside the line of off stump. Darren Sammy survived the hat-trick delivery but with Lee's next effort became another victim of the reverse swing and Tiffin's misjudgement. Like Ramdin, Sammy was hit outside the line trying to defend and was sent on his way regardless.
West Indies got the worst of the decisions but Lee created the opportunities by sending down hand-grenades. He varied his attack by pushing Taylor back with fast stuff before bowling him with a slower ball, and swung another in to Daren Powell, who was correctly judged lbw to give Lee figures of 5 for 59. Mitchell Johnson ended the innings at 352 when he had Edwards caught behind and it was a relief for Johnson, who was partly responsible for allowing Chanderpaul and Bravo to build such a strong partnership earlier in the day.
Strangely, Ponting opened the morning with his two weaker bowlers and Johnson sprayed deliveries alternately wide of leg and off stumps as he failed to find the late swing that Lee mastered. MacGill was also having problems with his line and length and allowed Bravo to release his aggression with a couple of full tosses that disappeared over midwicket. Chanderpaul, who was largely content to score through well-guided late cuts and nudges, also put MacGill away on his way to an unbeaten 107. When Ponting turned to his part-timers to race through some overs - perhaps wary that he had lost half his match fee in Kingston for slow over rates - Chanderpaul brought up his hundred with an uncharacteristic slog sweep over midwicket off Symonds.
It continued Chanderpaul's remarkable year - in the past 12 months he has made five Test centuries and averages 98.50. He survived the Lee onslaught but as his partners rapidly departed, it became increasingly unlikely that Chanderpaul could carry the hopes of an archipelago on his tiny shoulders as officials began polishing up the Frank Worrell Trophy in anticipation of a possible presentation to Ponting on Tuesday.
Quote Unquote: IPL edition
June 2, 2008
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"I'm getting a little too old for so many close finishes."
Shane Warne on Rajasthan Royals' final-ball win over the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL final
"I think I will donate the money to Mother Teresa or something like that."
Shoaib Akhtar explains what he will do with the proceeds after auctioning his Kolkata Knight Riders helmet
"My team told me that they have yet to meet a better human being than me. This is a huge compliment."
Kolkata franchise owner Shah Rukh Khan doesn't have time for false modesty
"Had I been 21, I would easily have cracked this."
Rahul Dravid, 35, wishes Twenty20 had existed earlier
"I am as dedicated to my Knights as I am to my kids."
Shah Rukh Khan plays dad to his side
"I want to thank the crowd for their support. It was pretty one-sided for Mumbai. Just don't forget some of the Punjab boys also play for India."
Yuvraj Singh, the captain of the Kings XI Punjab, isn't pleased with the Wankhede crowd's behaviour
"I hope the national selectors were watching."
Sourav Ganguly responds to Ramiz Raja's suggestion that he was like an energetic schoolboy in the field during the Kolkata Knight Riders' stirring defence of a low total against the Delhi Daredevils
"The IPL has taken the game to virtually every house in the world."
Sachin Tendulkar holds forth on globalisation
"Once Shoaib sees the crowds, and of course the babes around, I think he will be able to perform."
Wasim Akram has a dig at Shoaib Akhtar
"This is not cricket. This is the greatest divide between the rich and the poor. With that kind of money, you could have built another cement factory."
Jaswant Singh, leader of the opposition, criticises the IPL in the upper house of the Indian parliament
"It must seem like volunteer work to those who have drunk from the IPL's ruby-encrusted goblet."
Journalist Peter Lalor on what it will be like for the IPL set to return to international cricket
"Violence between players? Scantily clad cheerleaders? Toss in a rant by Charles Barkley and three minutes of commercials for every 45 seconds of actual game time and cricket may finally be ready for a mainstream American audience."
The Los Angeles Times warms to the idea of Twenty20 cricket
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"The phrase 'he had it coming' has rarely been so close to everyone's lips."
A lack of sympathy for Sreesanth from journalist Lawrence Booth
"He is [the] Moses of the game who has shown the path to blazing success."
Ravi Shastri decides it's time to praise IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. Presumably he was referring to Edwin, the hurdler
"The last time there were issues of this nature, Mr Greig gave up playing for England, probably because he thought he could get back in easily, and then Ian Botham appeared."
ECB chief Giles Clarke expresses his view that no England player would risk his place for a quick payday in the IPL. The fact that Greig and Botham played together in the 1977 Ashes is, presumably, neither here nor there
"We are trying to dehumanise the opposition as much as possible so that we can concentrate on what we can do and try to knock off as many colours as possible! We are not too much into reputation."
Martin Crowe on the Bangalore Royal Challengers' strategy for the next game; India might have just found their next Greg Chappell
"I've probably bowled the worst last over in Twenty20 history. Twenty20 is good for the game but not for the ego."
Andrew Symonds reveals it was not just his bowling that took a beating in the game against the Rajasthan Royals
"I'm going to tell all my producers to not release any movie between April 19 and May 30. It will be suicide."
Preity Zinta, Bollywood actress and joint-owner of the Kings XI Punjab franchise, is convinced the IPL is going to be a big success
"It's really unusual to come to Bombay, hit a four and see nobody clapping for you."
Rahul Dravid jokes about his experience in Bangalore's match in Mumbai in the Indian Premier League
"I fear the day is approaching when a high-profile, televised cricket match will see an outbreak of physical violence on the field."
Scyld Berry, editor of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2008 is ominously prescient weeks ahead of Slapgate
"I never lasted more than 20 overs. Did I?"
Kris Srikkanth tries to justify why he's the perfect brand ambassador for the Chennai Super Kings
"It's like three-minute Maggi noodles. Bang, bang, and it is over. For me, it is not cricket."
Arjuna Ranatunga isn't too impressed with the IPL
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"In terms of sporting endeavour and prestige, the IPL is to cricket what diarrhoea is to dodgy curry houses - an unfortunate byproduct."
Paul Lewis, in the New Zealand Herald, clearly doesn't care much about developments in India
"There was a little element of feeling like a cow."
Getting auctioned for US$700,000 got Adam Gilchrist in touch with his bovine side
"The expenses involved are huge, and I am not doing the figures. I will see what it is like at the end of the year and then, depending on the balance sheet, I will have to dance at a few more marriages."
Shahrukh Khan is ready to go the distance to make his IPL franchise, the Kolkata Knight Riders, a success
"John's last visit to Kolkata was not very memorable. But we assure you this time you'll leave with happy memories."
Sourav Ganguly, the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, tries to exorcise any demons John Buchanan, the coach, might be carrying from the Test in 2000-01, which Australia famously lost to Ganguly's Indians. Buchanan was Australia's coach then
"I could end up being the bargain buy of the tournament, you never know."
A smiling Ricky Ponting brushes off his comparatively low IPL price tag
"He actually sent me a text message this morning and said, 'I can't believe you're worth double what I am'."
David Hussey got one-up on brother Michael in the IPL players' auction
Next steps for IPL
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"The last couple of years were hellish as I missed the Ashes, and it's been a pretty long process since then. But I have been lucky to have one person, my guiding light, who has simply been amazing. Popov [sports physiotherapist] did quite a few different things with my body, he shook it up. And the guidance, time and the knowledge he has given me have been vital in me being where I am now."
In the same paper Anand Vasu writes that IPL will change the way the game is governed and consumed around the world.
The IPL has been a wild success, according to Rahul Bhattacharya, but such success can be disquieting, he adds. The cricket is a bit like video-game cricket, he writes in the Guardian.
The best games had a kind of compressed intensity where each delivery held the weight of an entire match... A six in the IPL, every 622 of them, was no longer a six, it was a 'DLF Maximum.' A sharp catch came branded as a 'Citi Moment Of Success'. Commentators tripped over each other to make these plugs. A future where a batsman executes a Toyota Front-Foot Drive against an Intel Faster One may not be the stuff of satire.
In the same paper, Randeep Ramesh ponders whether the IPL is a sign of a nation breaking free of a colonial legacy or just a crass money-making machine.
Cricket historian Boria Majumdar is convinced the IPL has been a resounding success. In the Times of India he lists out what the franchises have planned over the next year:
There’s talk of some franchise owners speaking to Australian state sides like Victoria to organise home and away games during the IPL off-season. If such plans are successful, we might soon see Rajasthan or Punjab taking on Victoria or New South Wales in attempts to keep the brands alive. Shah Rukh’s opening of an exclusive store in Kolkata to sell Knight Riders apparel is another such attempt. If industry estimates are to be believed, Knight Riders merchandise worth more than Rs 5 crore have already been sold from the Kolkata store since its opening on May 12.
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It should not have taken the IPL to reveal this. And the next step in nurturing this talent after the conclusion of Lalit Modi’s extravaganza need not necessarily be the squeezing in of a bi-annual Twenty20 competition. The capacity of Yusuf Pathan and Shikhar Dhawan, to name just two of IPL’s biggest stars, to hold their own against the best must focus the BCCI on making the domestic circuit more competitive and marketable. Those who play for the country must be made more involved with domestic cricket.
Meanwhile, over in the Telegraph, Nick Hoult reveals some of the franchises' ambitious plans to extend their interest beyond cricket.
If a match against a top (English Premier League football) side gets off the ground, the (Deccan) Chargers will look into creating their own football team, comprising recently retired players. The prospect of a team of travelling all-stars, made up of the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, is being explored.
The IPL and the art of captaincy
Different strokes
June 2, 2008
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The irony was striking. The IPL was supposed to symbolise cricket's future, but the winning captain openly sniggered at laptops. Twenty20 was supposed to be an instinctive form that didn't offer much time for thought, but the finalists were led by the two most charismatic leaders.
"If you walk up to a bowler and look worried, it gets to him," said Mahendra Singh Dhoni after the second semi-final. "So I act as if I'm not." At once it conjured up images of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar - anxious, nervous and hoping for the bowler to hold his nerve while appearing to be losing theirs. There was Yuvraj Singh, who seemed to holler louder as the tension increased, and Harbhajan Singh made a habit of chewing his fingernails.
Dravid made an interesting point after the daylight robbery Bangalore pulled off in Chennai, when an inexplicable collapse helped his side to a win against the odds. When asked about how well he had led, Dravid blushed. "When you win, every captain looks good. When you lose, whatever you do appears wrong."
Admittedly a lot of analysis of captaincy relies on hindsight, but the IPL made one thing clear: the shrewdest survived. Kolkata's John Buchanan wanted his side to approach every game as if they were confronting 240 individual battles, one for each ball. The depth of the planning was evident. Added to that was a demand for quickly adapting to the conditions and changing plans accordingly.
Shane Warne imposed himself. While hailing his leadership skills nobody should forget the value he offered as a player - no other captain played as many match-winning hands. More than one Rajasthan player has spoken of the boost the side received after Warne's sensational finish against Deccan Chargers, when he carted Andrew Symonds for 17 off the final over. One team-mate has said how his faith in the captain increased ten-fold that evening. Warne was in the middle in the final too and the crack through covers in the penultimate over, when 12 were needed off 7, set up the finish.
Rattling the Bangalore top order with a bouncer barrage on a lively Chinnaswamy pitch was a classic case of astute planning coming off. The sight of Warne alerting the fielders at fine leg to anticipate a catch will stick in the mind. So also, Warne giving his faster bowlers one-over spells against Chennai, in the second match between the sides, was another one of those little surprises that had a big impact.
Warne was also blessed with that enviable quality good captains usually need - luck. He won 10 of his 15 tosses, and even when some of his gambles misfired - like the promotion of Sohail Tanvir up the order - it didn't cost them too much. The punt on Swapnil Asnodkar came off spectacularly. And whenever a match went down to the wire, Rajasthan found that extra bit of magic to pull it off.
Dhoni was the other captain team-mates swore by. His batting made a difference in a few games but it was his ice-cool demeanour that stood out. His side were unstoppable at full-strength, but even after their Australians left, Chennai continued to upset strong teams in close finishes. The decision to hold back L Balaji for the final overs in the second game against Punjab proved a masterstroke, and the faith he placed in Joginder Sharma to bowl the last over in Chennai's first few games never backfired. Maybe he missed Joginder in the final over of the final too.
| Mumbai's three captains came with contrasting styles: Harbhajan impulsive, Pollock measured, Tendulkar fidgety | |||
One wonders how things would have panned out if Dhoni had kept wicket in the second half of the tournament - he has admitted he leads better when he keeps, standing in a position where one can read the game best. He also might just have been more efficient than Parthiv Patel behind the stumps, especially when it came to batsmen taking off for byes to the keeper.
Yuvraj never really inspired with the bat but was fortunate to have Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene by his side - two allies he regularly turned to. Where Yuvraj did inspire, though, was in the field - he was at the centre of the cliffhanger in Mumbai, lambasting his fielders for every minor lapse. He bowled a tight over and clinched the win with a diving run-out straight out of the Jonty Rhodes album.
The decision to give James Hopes the final over against Delhi - in the rain-curtailed game - was a brave one, and one that made the eventual difference. And the continued faith Yuvraj reposed in VRV Singh was as surprising as it proved effective. Yuvraj was also fortunate to have the most balanced side in the tournament - one where overseas batsmen and Indian bowlers went about their jobs efficiently. Rarely did Shaun Marsh let them down, and the rest of the order always had a launch pad in place.
Early in the tournament Virender Sehwag appeared to have netted the best side among the eight. He had a new-ball pairing to die for and a top three that fired in every match; Sehwag could really run the ship on auto-pilot. But things started getting tough when Plan A didn't fall into place.
His move to bowl Amit Mishra in the final over against Deccan was inspired, and produced a hat-trick. While a smile was never too far from his face, even when the rest were suffering palpitations, Sehwag might look back on a couple of key moments - giving Shoaib Malik the final over against Chennai and bowling himself, instead of Glenn McGrath, in the crunch against Punjab. Both games slipped away and the road to the semi-finals got rougher.
The excessive faith placed in Malik was intriguing, especially when there was Tillakaratne Dilshan waiting in the wings. Sehwag could possibly have rejigged the batting order once it was clear that the middle four weren't striking the high notes.
Mumbai's three captains came with contrasting styles: Harbhajan Singh impulsive, Shaun Pollock measured, and Tendulkar fidgety. In a team with a number of unheralded players, Pollock and Tendulkar were figures to look up to. Abhishek Nayar and Rohan Raje spoke about how eager they were to pay back the faith that a legend like Tendulkar had placed in them.
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Close finishes, though, were a bugbear for Mumbai. While Harbhajan entrusted bowlers who appeared off-colour - his confidence in Ashish Nehra proved costly against Bangalore - Tendulkar occasionally also under-used those who appeared on song: he left Pollock with one over to bowl against Punjab and not bowling Nehra in the final over against Rajasthan. "We didn't show enough common sense" was how Tendulkar summarised the last-ball defeat to Rajasthan. The same could have been attributed to several other close misses.
How Sourav Ganguly would wish he had found some form early in the tournament, especially after he inspired Kolkata to two wins late in the piece. Ganguly the captain is usually at his best when his batting clicks. He turned it on when he could with the ball, notably in his spell to thwart Bangalore.
What Ganguly might regret, though, is not getting his combination right for most of the tournament. Chris Gayle's injury was a big blow, especially after Ricky Ponting and Brendon McCullum left, but the amount of confidence reposed in Mohammad Hafeez was slightly baffling. Ajit Agarkar started well but didn't deserve the long rope he got. It was probably in their very last game that Kolkata got their right combination. By then it was just a bit too late.
Dravid, surprisingly, finished among the top 12 run-getters but it was never going to be enough with a faltering team. He did try and put up a brave fight and ended the campaign with a few smiles, but these were just a few positives from a forgettable campaign.
He may introspect on how Bangalore won just one game among the five where he won the toss. He said they were trying to come to grips with the nuances of the format and didn't really have a preferred option at the toss. The selections of a few XIs were puzzling, and they also made a habit of choking when the target was in sight.
Neither VVS Laxman nor Adam Gilchrist will look back on the IPL too fondly. Both watched one close loss after another and by the end one could almost see them coming. Laxman veered from too conservative to too experimental - against Punjab at home no bowler got to bowl two overs in a row - but struggled to strike a balance. Things might have turned around had Warne not smashed Symonds for 17, but when it came to close finishes Deccan were always second best.
Gilchrist couldn't really express himself, with the knowledge hanging over him that a collapse was likely just round the corner. The rest of their overseas players sleepwalked through the series and it was left to Rohit Sharma and Venugopal Rao to earn a few consolation prizes.
Dot balls, boundaries, and the luckiest captain
IPL stats review
Dot balls, boundaries, and the luckiest captain
June 2, 2008
Cricinfo looks back at some of the important stats from the 45-day IPL tournament.
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The toss factor
Most captains struggled to make the right decision through the early part of the tournament, but in the end, 28 out of 58 games were won by the team calling correctly at the toss - through the first 17 games, only five were won by the side winning the toss, a percentage of just 29.40. In the last 41 games, the percentage almost doubled to 56.10. This was largely because of the fact that most captains realised that chasing a target was the better option, with teams often unsure of what a competitive target could be when batting first.
Through the first 24 games, 14 times the captain winning the toss decided to bat. In the next 34 matches, only 12 times did they bat first. That was clearly the right way to go about it, for 36 out of 58 matches were won by the team batting second.
Rajasthan Royals were the luckiest team with the toss, winning it 11 times in 16 games. They made good use of it too, winning nine of those 11 matches, and didn't do badly when the coin didn't fall their way either, winning four out of five. Deccan Chargers, on the other hand, frittered away the toss advantage - they called correctly nine times, but only won two of those games.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the unluckiest captain, winning just five tosses out of 16. Rahul Dravid was almost as bad, with five from 14 games, while Virender Sehwag managed six out of 15. Bangalore Royal Challengers, though, were the worst in utilising the toss advantage, winning one of those five games.
| Team | Tosses won | Toss & match won | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rajasthan Royals | 11 | 9 | 81.82 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 5 | 3 | 60 |
| Kings XI Punjab | 8 | 4 | 50 |
| Mumbai Indians | 8 | 4 | 50 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 6 | 3 | 50 |
| Delhi Daredevils | 6 | 2 | 33.33 |
| Deccan Chargers | 9 | 2 | 22.22 |
| Bangalore Royal Challengers | 5 | 1 | 20 |
How the runs were scored and conceded
Deccan managed the highest percentage of runs in boundaries, but they played a fairly high number of dots. Their running between the wickets wasn't great either, with just 73 twos, 47 fewer than Rajasthan, who relied more on singles, twos and threes than on finding the boundaries.
| Teams | Dots | 1s, 2s, 3s | 4s | 6s | Dot % | Boundary % (as factor of total runs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi Daredevils | 584 | 691 | 218 | 54 | 39.06 | 56.60 |
| Kings XI Punjab | 691 | 721 | 231 | 95 | 41.18 | 60.63 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 767 | 750 | 258 | 85 | 42.99 | 59.28 |
| Deccan Chargers | 715 | 654 | 205 | 92 | 44.33 | 61.55 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 796 | 748 | 244 | 86 | 44.49 | 59.23 |
| Bangalore Royal Challengers | 723 | 690 | 187 | 59 | 45.16 | 55.57 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 715 | 603 | 162 | 75 | 47.83 | 56.54 |
| Mumbai Indians | 745 | 564 | 197 | 76 | 49.83 | 59.81 |
Rajasthan also bowled plenty of dot balls - their percentage of 45.81 was next only to Kolkata's 48.83. Deccan were the worst in terms of applying pressure on the batsmen - their dot-ball percentage was only 41.59, the least among all teams.
| Teams | Dots | 1s, 2s, 3s | 4s | 6s | Dot % | Boundary % (as factor of total runs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 625 | 500 | 176 | 48 | 48.83 | 57.74 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 837 | 757 | 218 | 86 | 45.81 | 57.76 |
| Mumbai Indians | 700 | 656 | 204 | 66 | 44.84 | 57.82 |
| Kings XI Punjab | 760 | 689 | 227 | 93 | 44.76 | 60.65 |
| Bangalore Royal Challengers | 687 | 641 | 219 | 75 | 43.79 | 60.16 |
| Delhi Daredevils | 690 | 678 | 204 | 86 | 43.15 | 59.92 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 777 | 809 | 233 | 88 | 42.48 | 56.85 |
| Deccan Chargers | 660 | 691 | 221 | 80 | 41.59 | 59.25 |
Powerplays, slog overs, and more
Rajasthan's strength was their ability to outperform their opponents through the middle and final stages of the innings. During the Powerplays, Mumbai Indians were the best side, losing just 18 wickets and taking 26. Their average runs scored and scoring rate were both higher than what they conceded, while Kings XI Punjab were pretty impressive as well. At the other end of the spectrum were Bangalore, who were woeful with both bat and ball during the Powerplays - they averaged 18.82 per wicket when batting, and conceded 55.08 per dismissal when bowling. Clearly, their performance when facing and using the new ball needs huge improvement next season.
| Team | Bat Ave | Bat SR | Bowl ave | Bowl SR | Ave diff | SR diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mumbai Indians | 38.11 | 8.21 | 22.92 | 7.09 | 15.19 | 1.12 |
| Kings XI Punjab | 40.73 | 8.60 | 25.07 | 7.80 | 15.66 | 0.80 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 35.80 | 7.83 | 31.04 | 7.43 | 4.76 | 0.40 |
| Delhi Daredevils | 33.90 | 8.47 | 34.65 | 8.25 | -0.75 | 0.22 |
| Deccan Chargers | 33.26 | 7.52 | 36.33 | 7.78 | -3.07 | -0.26 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 36.10 | 7.52 | 33.43 | 8.01 | 2.67 | -0.49 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 18.41 | 6.84 | 21.88 | 7.34 | -3.47 | -0.50 |
| Bangalore Royal Challengers | 18.82 | 6.50 | 55.08 | 7.86 | -36.26 | -1.36 |
In the middle overs, though, Rajasthan and Delhi Daredevils were the leading teams. Rajasthan scored at 8.7 runs per over during this passage, and only conceded 7.42 per over. Delhi are close behind, while Chennai Super Kings' high batting average is offset by an even higher bowling average. Bangalore continue to languish at the bottom.
| Team | Bat Ave | Bat SR | Bowl ave | Bowl SR | Ave diff | SR diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rajasthan Royals | 32.76 | 8.70 | 24.97 | 7.42 | 7.79 | 1.28 |
| Delhi Daredevils | 35.76 | 8.27 | 26.74 | 7.82 | 9.02 | 0.45 |
| Kings XI Punjab | 33.78 | 8.31 | 31.63 | 8.11 | 2.15 | 0.20 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 41.83 | 8.22 | 43.00 | 8.07 | -1.17 | 0.15 |
| Mumbai Indians | 29.92 | 7.78 | 26.12 | 7.82 | 3.80 | -0.04 |
| Deccan Chargers | 32.46 | 7.66 | 39.90 | 7.90 | -7.44 | -0.24 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 27.27 | 6.66 | 29.95 | 7.65 | -2.23 | -0.99 |
| Bangalore Royal Challengers | 22.74 | 7.10 | 39.60 | 8.13 | -16.86 | -1.03 |
During the last six overs, Rajasthan were clearly head and shoulders above the rest. Their ability to take wickets was most impressive - they took 48 during this period, the highest among the eight teams. Chennai and Delhi were among the wickets too, while Bangalore managed to lift themselves from last place, which went to Deccan - they lost 48 wickets during the last six overs.
| Team | Bat Ave | Bat SR | Bowl ave | Bowl SR | Ave diff | SR diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rajasthan Royals | 22.27 | 10.02 | 15.41 | 9.17 | 6.86 | 0.85 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 21.02 | 10.64 | 21.90 | 10.03 | -0.88 | 0.61 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 22.65 | 9.89 | 16.67 | 9.46 | 5.98 | 0.43 |
| Mumbai Indians | 17.23 | 9.47 | 18.22 | 9.66 | -0.99 | -0.19 |
| Kings XI Punjab | 23.25 | 9.81 | 20.70 | 10.07 | 2.55 | -0.26 |
| Delhi Daredevils | 16.35 | 8.86 | 15.57 | 9.16 | 0.78 | -0.30 |
| Bangalore Royal Challengers | 15.26 | 9.04 | 21.06 | 9.64 | -5.80 | -0.60 |
| Deccan Chargers | 15.68 | 10.08 | 28.51 | 11.07 | -12.83 | -0.99 |
The opening gambit
As you'd expect in a 20-over contest, a good start was crucial to the fortunes of most teams. The sides that won games averaged 42 for the opening partnership, while the losing sides managed just 23.
| Runs | Average stand | Runs per over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winning teams | 2352 | 42.00 | 8.65 |
| Losing teams | 1343 | 23.16 | 7.18 |
Though Graeme Smith missed the final, he had a huge role to play in Rajasthan's success. His opening combination with Swapnil Asnodkar was the most successful of the tournament, in terms of runs per partnership (among pairs with at least five partnerships). Mumbai's heavyweight pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar had a rollicking time too - thanks largely to Jayasuriya's stunning form - while Delhi's pair of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag aggregated the most number of runs for the first wicket.
| Pair | Innings | Runs | Average | Runs per over | 50/ 100 p'ships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith-Asnodkar | 7 | 418 | 59.71 | 8.96 | 2/ 2 |
| Jayasuriya-Tendulkar | 7 | 400 | 57.14 | 9.23 | 4/ 0 |
| Gambhir-Sehwag | 14 | 529 | 37.79 | 9.80 | 3/ 1 |
Pace or spin?
The fast bowlers and the slow ones both had plenty to celebrate over the last 45 days. If Sohail Tanvir, Sreesanth, and Farveez Maharoof were some of the stars for the seam bowlers, then Shane Warne, Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla kept the spinners' flag flying high. As the table shows below, there was little to separate the spinners from the fast bowlers.
| Wickets | Average | Economy rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pace | 470 | 28.54 | 8.07 |
| Spin | 134 | 30.38 | 8.19 |
The death of the ODI?
The success of the IPL has made it clear that something has to give to accommodate it, and on the current evidence that something will be the 50-over game
June 2, 2008
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When you consider how much the Indian Premier League borrowed from World Series Cricket, it¹s quite ironic that its success might lead to the eventual extinction of the pajama cricket that was the cornerstone of the Packer revolution. As much as World Series cricket was about fair pay, improved TV coverage and superior marketing of the sport, it was also about establishing one-day cricket as a distinct entity, played in coloured clothes, under lights, and in front of crowds that came expecting to be entertained.
It was razzmatazz with some substance. Packer¹s focus was on gladiatorial fast bowlers, and the strokeplayers that could take them on. Three decades later, the IPL advertised its players as warriors. When Andy Roberts fractured David Hookes¹ jaw with a vicious bouncer, people knew that the World Series wasn¹t some hit-and-giggle enterprise. The IPL had a similar moment, when Zaheer Khan left Dominic Thornely looking like a young Mike Tyson had seen to him. Packer was a pioneer and an original, and the IPL¹s copycats succeeded because they took his blueprint, adapted it to an Indian context, and threw in a dash of Bollywood for good measure.
This year, after an uninterrupted run of 28 years, Cricket Australia pulled the curtain down on the annual tri-series. It¹s fair to say that its decline had mirrored that of the one-day game. After the spectacular success of the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa, and the inaugural IPL season, the one-day game is on life-support, and it may only be a matter of time before the plug is pulled. Crowds and television audiences caught in the thrall of the Twenty20 game are unlikely to shed a tear.
It¹s amusing to hear greats of the past talking of how the IPL¹s success could have dire consequences for Test cricket. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Test-cricket constituency is a distinct one, and it generally consists of people who have played the game at some level, whether that¹s back garden, park, first-class or international. More importantly, it¹s a group of people that appreciate what Milan Kundera called Slowness, those not obsessed with instant gratification.
Such fans will never abandon Test cricket for the crash-bang-wallop thrills that Twenty20 offers. He or she may go and watch Dumb and Dumber, but it¹s never going to replace 400 Blows or In the Mood for Love in his affections.
Sadly, one-day cricket has no identity. In that respect, its like your stereotypical Bollywood movie with the hackneyed script that tries to have something for everyone, and ends up having nothing. It says much about the lack of imagination of those that administer the game that the 50-over game has evolved so little since the Packer years.
Compare that with Lalit Modi. You may not like the man or his hubris, but he has taken an existing concept, fine-tuned it, and ensured that the cricket world will never be the same again. After Sunday night¹s final, which could have been scripted by Gregory Howard of Remember the Titans fame, Modi and the IPL hold all the cards, while the ICC and other boards have next to nothing to bargain with.
The last World Cup in the Caribbean was a fiasco, an object lesson in how not to organise an event. Poor crowds, overpriced tickets, a lack of atmosphere and an interminable schedule all combined to make it perhaps the worst of all major competitions. In contrast, the IPL¹s head honchos didn¹t behave like stentorian schoolmasters, and the entertainment package that accompanied the games attracted everyone from five-year-olds with temporary tattoos to middle-aged women who had decided to forego a staple diet of TV soaps.
Where now for the IPL? After what happened on Sunday night, there¹s little doubt that the second season will be huge. Despite the concerns of the ECB and others, every single one of the world¹s top players is likely to take part. If they do try to prevent the likes of Kevin Pietersen from playing, they¹ll only end up being checkmated like the Australian Cricket Board were after Packer¹s bold gambit.
What is likely to happen is this: Both England and Australia, and perhaps South Africa and Pakistan too, will endeavour to jazz up their own T20 events so that they can at least compare to the IPL. A Champions League will surely result from it, because the stupendous response in India has confirmed that people are ready to invest both time and money to watch the best play the best, even if it's only over three hours.
The franchises, none of whom are likely to be too perturbed by the huge amounts invested in the first year, also have a role to play. Manoj Badale, of the Emerging Media group that owns the Rajasthan Royals, reckoned that it would take a couple of years for the club culture to truly take root, but you can rest assured that teams like Rajasthan won¹t be spending the next 10 months idle.
The reality is that no league can prosper if it operates only over six weeks. American Football has the shortest season of any major sport, but even that lasts 16 weeks, and then a month of play-offs. The football [soccer] seasons in Europe, the NBA in North America and Major League Baseball all last much longer, which is why they become such an integral part of fans¹ lives.
What does the Indian cricket fan do now? Next up is a tri-series in Bangladesh, followed by an Asia Cup that features teams like Hong Kong. It¹s the classic champagne-followed-by-flat-beer scenario, and it will be interesting to see what the TV ratings are like. Back when Doordarshan, the national broadcaster was all we had, everyone watched it. Then, with the onset of cable TV, no one bothered.
| Where now for the IPL? After what happened on Sunday night, there's little doubt that the second season will be huge. Despite the concerns of the ECB and others, every single one of the world's top players is likely to take part. If they do try to prevent the likes of Kevin Pietersen from playing, they'll only end up being checkmated like the Australian Cricket Board was after Packer's bold gambit | |||
The IPL has created a revolution, especially in the fan demographic, but has now left town. For the moment, the talk is of creating a four-week window, most likely in April. It¹s only a band-aid solution. In the long run, we¹re looking at a three-month season where teams play weekend games and the occasional midweek one as they do in the major football leagues. Those will alternate with Champions League games featuring the top sides.
A six or eight-month period might be set aside for Test cricket and other bilateral contests, but the fact is that cricket needs a 50-overs-a-side game between India and Hong Kong like it needs a hole in the head. After watching McGrath against Jayasuriya and Warne against Ganguly, why would anyone settle for such mediocrity? Unless one-day cricket can reinvent itself, and four innings of 20 overs each is the best suggestion I¹ve heard, it has one foot in the grave, with the fact that the World Cup is the jewel in the ICC crown being the only thing keeping it alive.
It¹s an opinion that even players share. Stephen Fleming was New Zealand¹s finest captain, the one who led them to their only major one-day triumph, the ICC Knockout in 2000. ³I am worried about the amount of one-day cricket, how much appeal one-day cricket is going to have with tournaments like this,² he said. ³I think the majority feels that it could cause a problem for the international calendar.²
The response to the first season of World Series Cricket, with the forces of orthodoxy ranged against it, was so lukewarm that a desperate Packer was reduced to counting the cars in the parking lot. No one saw Modi doing anything similar, and the perfectly scripted final has guaranteed that all the franchises will be counting next year are even bigger gate receipts. As for one-day cricket, the message has been bellowed out through a foghorn. Transform or perish.
IPL is Over now: Mukesh Jha
As I am also a very Big Cricket Lover...But I found some Good & bad drawbacks of IPL which found more popularity in very short time as little as in 6 weeks.According to duration of the game , Its absolutely perfect game to watch But In the other hand I can say this is not the type of cricket, Anyone can be the best player or worst player within few hours then look at the performance of Sachin,Dravid,Lara,Ponting,Ganguly ..Anyway everyone has their own thought against anything ....But I think its very bad for 50 overs game & test matches. I don't think anyone will like to watch the test game or even the 50 overs ODI from now on....
Relationship between Bollywood stars & players now has been very close but this is also not in the favor of good cricket.game can not be a business of millionaires...
Anyway it was fun to watch!!!
Relationship between Bollywood stars & players now has been very close but this is also not in the favor of good cricket.game can not be a business of millionaires...
Anyway it was fun to watch!!!
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