Archive for December, 2010

  • India will need to take Bangladesh game in Cricket World Cup seriously

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    India’s best chance to better their two semi-finals in home Cricket World Cups will be to not take their batting too complacently. They will be taking on Bangladesh in the very first game of the tournament and will beware of the manner in which not only were the beaten and ousted in the previous Cricket World Cup but also the 4-0 result that Bangladesh had against New Zealand recently.

    No longer can Bangladesh be treated a minnow and the Indians will need to prepare against spin bowlers with as much vigour as they would prepare against pace while going abroad. In fact, India may find the going very difficult in the middle overs against spin bowlers in the Bangladesh game and will need to ensure that they are well-prepared.

    Where they also need to have a closer look is at two of the Bangladeshi batsmen – Tamim Iqbal and Shakib al Hasan – both of whom have been in scintillating form. How the opening bowlers bowl at Iqbal and how the spinners control Shakib in those spin-friendly conditions in Dhaka will go a long way in deciding the winners.

  • Potential Indian Cricket World Cup Squad

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    The Cricket World Cup approaching quickly and it will be interesting to see what is the line-up that the Indians will want to go in with. The teams are expected to announce 15-member squads for the Cricket World Cup and apart from 2-3, most of the spots are taken in the Indian team.

    It is those last two-three spots that there will be a debate for.

    First of all, here is the list of those that have definitely made it to the squad. Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh.

    These are 11 of them. A decent series in South Africa should seal Yusuf Pathan’s place in the side as well. That means that there are three slots remaining. One of them needs to go to a pace bowler, and for now, it is a straight battle between Munaf Patel and S Sreesanth. My vote is for Munaf given that Sreesanth is wayward and will be a better bowler on tracks where there is more seam.

    The last two slots need to go to Parthiv Patel and another spinner – mostly R Ashwin.

  • India give indication of their Cricket World Cup squad

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    India gave their first indication of what their squad for the Cricket World Cup could be when they named a full-strength squad for the ODIs for South Africa.

    This will include the likes of Sachin tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag at the top three, Zaheer Khan to lead the bowling attack, apart from the likes of Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Yuvraj in the middle-order.

    Yusuf Pathan also makes it to the squad, though it will be interesting to see how he plays on those hard, bouncy tracks where the ball will be banged into his chest, while the spinning department will consist of Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin and rather surprisingly Piyush Chawla. That could meant that Ojha may not play in the Cricket World Cup either.

    The pace bowling consists of Zaheer, Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar as expected, apart from Sreesanth and Munaf Patel, one of whom should make it to the World Cup as well.

  • Teams Squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

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    India Preliminary Cricket World Cup 2011 Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, S Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar, M Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Saurabh Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, Wriddhimaan Saha, Dinesh Karthik, Shikhar Dhawan, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla, Cheteshwar Pujara, Pragyan Ojha, Praveen Kumar. (No Dravid, Pathan in India’s preliminary World Cup squad)

    South Africa Preliminary Cricket World Cup 2011 Squad: Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Alviro Peterson, Loots Bosman, Jacques Rudolph, Morne van Wyk, Jonathan Vandiar, JP Duminy, David Miller, Colin Ingram, Albie Morkel, Robin Peterson, Mark Boucher, Thami Tsolekile, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Heino Kuhn, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Johan Botha, Ryan McLaren, Charl Langeveldt, Rusty Theron, Ethy Mbhalati, Roelef van der Merwe, Johan van der Wath

    England Preliminary Cricket World Cup 2011 Squad: - Andrew Strauss (captain), James Adams, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Steven Davies, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, James Hildreth, Craig Kieswetter, Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Liam Plunkett, Matthew Prior, Adil Rashid, Darren Stevens, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Chris Tremlett, Jonathan Trott, Chris Woakes, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy

    Australia Preliminary Cricket World Cup 2011 Squad: – Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke (vice-captain), Doug Bollinger, Daniel Christian, Xavier Doherty, Callum Ferguson, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, John Hastings, Nathan Hauritz, Brad Hodge, James Hopes, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, Andrew McDonald, Clint McKay, Stephen O’Keefe, Tim Paine, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Shaun Tait, Adam Voges, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White

    Sri Lanka Cricket World Cup 2011 Squad: – Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal, Tharanga Paranavitana, Lahiru Thirimanne, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Thilina Kandamby, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Farveez Maharoof, Jeevan Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath, Malinga Bandara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilhara Fernando, Suranga Lakmal, Dammika Prasad, Chaminda Vaas, Chanaka Welegedara, Nuwan Pradeep, Thilan Thushara

    Kenya Preliminary Cricket World Cup 2011 Squad: – Raghab Aga, Duncan Allen, Runish Ghadka, Jimmy Kamande, Irfan Karim, Karun Kaul, Peter Kituku, Alfred Luseno, Tanmay Mishra, James Ngoche, Shem Ngoche, Alex Obanda, David Obuya, Collins Obuya, Nehamiah Odhiambo, Nelson Odhiambo, Thomas Odoyo, Lucas Oluoch, Peter Ongondo, Joseph Onyango, Lameck Onyango, Elijah Otieno, Morris Ouma, Ken Owino, Rakep Patel, Vinit Shikotra, Steve Tikolo, Hiren Varaiya, Seren Waters, Dominic Wesonga

    Bangladesh Preliminary Cricket World Cup 2011 Squad: –  Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Raqibul Hasan, Alok Kapali, Nazimuddin, Shamsur Rahman, Shuvagoto Horn, Jahurul Islam, Mushfiqur Rahim, Saghir Hossain, Mithun Ali, Nasir Hossain, Naeem Islam, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Nazmul Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel, Shahadat Hossain, Mahbubul Alam, Dollar Mahmud, Enamul Haque junior

  • Six umpires to partner with ICC Elite Panel for Cricket World Cup 2011

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    The International Cricket Council (ICC) Elite Panel of Umpires will be officiating with six other umpires for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

    Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena, Australia’s Bruce Oxenford, India’s Amiesh Saheba and Shavir Tarapore and England’s Richard Kettleborough and Nigel Llong are the six outside the panel that have been chosen to officiate in the tournament that begins in February next year.

    “These six have been identified as emerging and talented match officials, who have already officiated at international level with experience of conditions in the Asian subcontinent and are now ready to umpire at cricket’s flagship event,” an ICC media release stated.

    The umpires who form the ICC’s Elite Panel are: Billy Bowden, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Billy Doctrove, Marais Erasmus, Ian Gould, Daryl Harper, Tony Hill, Asad Rauf, Asoka de Silva, Simon Taufel and Rod Tucker.

    Bangladesh’s Enamul Haque Moni has been named as reserve umpire for the tournament.

    The match referees for competition are: Madugalle, Chris Broad, Jeff Crowe, Roshan Mahanama and Andy Pycroft.

  • Sri Lanka will be favourites to win World Cup

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    It is difficult to call the favourites in the Cricket World Cup 2011, but it must be said that there has been only one team in the history of World Cup cricket to have won the tournament while hosting it. Sri Lanka. And one gets the feeling that they could be the team to watch out for.

    Sri Lanka loves their home tracks. On most occasions they fill up their playing eleven with a barrage of spin bowlers – one or two main guys and the rest of them are their part-time ones who can bowl their quota of six or seven overs on a regular.

    And that is enough to make things difficult for the opposition what with the run-scoring becoming difficult in the middle-overs and sometimes, leading to collapses as well.

    This means that the sides will need to be very wary of the Sri Lankan side, who may even end up being the toppers of the group. What will be interesting is that if Sri Lanka don’t play India, they will play their quarter-finals and semi-finals at home as well – making it difficult for the opposition. This is why one gets the feeling that they will be favourites to win it.

  • Will Ponting captain Australia in the World Cup?

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    It will be interesting to see who the captain will be for Australia in the 2011 edition of the World Cup. The reason one thinks it could get interesting is because of the fact that it looks highly likely that the side may end up losing the Ashes.

    Now, if they do lose the Ashes, and the chances of that look bright, it will only mean that the side would have lost three Ashes under Ricky Ponting. The captain will be a disgruntled man and the faith that the team, selectors and the fans would have in him would erode gently.

    This will mean that there is a good chance that the selectors may look around for the role.

    Whether they will actually go on to give it to someone else needs to be seen given the importance of the tournament and the fact that Michael Clarke doesn’t seem too ready now. It could also mean that Ponting may have to retire from the game, something that most captains do in Australia.

    The best part will come if the Aussies lose the WACA Test – which will mean they don’t win the Ashes for sure. The question then is whether he will give up on the captaincy then?

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