Cricket Tournaments

Cricket is one of the most beautiful games to watch as well as play and I don’t think being from India, where people consider it as a religion, anyone here will have a doubt about it.  With over more than 100 years since the first ever match was played between England and Australia, this game went on beautifying itself with the way it was played.

Playing in true spirits, I’ve always admired some players. But what hurts my sentiment for this game is the way the beautifying effect has been just torn apart by certain players lacking basic sportsman spirit, money and the politics.

Rest aside, getting politics into cricket, just doesn’t seem to be a good idea. Despite being a ‘gentlemen’s game’, cricket and controversies always go hand in hand. Cricketers and their boards are constantly getting engaged in the mind games and the politics of the game.

Spats between cricketers and their respective boards have been going on since a long while. Right from Greg Chappell-Sourav Ganguly which gave rise to the fact that cricketers are mere employees for the board and nothing more. Chappell’s spat with Ganguly not only saw the worst spat ever occurred between a coach and a player but also showed how a player of caliber like Ganguly was treated in India. BCCI, being the most powerful and financially well-off cricket boards, has its own set of rules and treats players basically like slaves. But what weakens BCCI’s power is the fan base in India. Cricket being considered as a religion, the fans would just protest against BCCI if there’s anything going against a high-profile cricketer. Though media can always turn out to be the culprit.

Nevertheless what people fail to understand, is that politics is everywhere and to think that it’s only in India is just naïve. WICB-Chris Gayle, CA-Simon Katich, PCB-Shahid Afridi and it goes on and on to prove the fact that other boards do get engaged in politics too and it’s just that it hasn’t been openly talked about.

Axing senior players like Chris Gayle, Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, what kind of team were they ever going to make? Others kept aside, Chris Gayle was on a mission to prove the board officials what they were missing on. And what he does is in style! Smashing sixes all over the ground in the just-concluded IPL, he was like a tornado coming towards the other teams. And this obviously infuriated WICB officials that he chose to play for IPL, instead of waiting for WICB officials to respond. Keeping him out of the current squad against India made the matters worse with WIPA supporting Gayle too. As the war of words goes on, who would axe senior players like them without even disclosing it in front of them? Politics plays its role.

Being in India, would you ever think of removing Sachin Tendulkar or for that matter any player who’s in his prime form with just the matter of fact that age is not by his side? That’s what exactly Australian cricket board has done! Scoring with an average of around 50 after his return to international cricket, no-one had ever thought of him being axed. Being in as many as 17 century partnership at the top after his return, Australia’s opening partnership was the most stable and effective. And the reason been given, ‘We want to forge a better opening partnership for Ashes 2013’. Is this a reason to give, when Katich has better averages than anyone else in the team after his return to international cricket? Why would you want to get rid of one of your best players? Just a bit baffled!

Even Stuart Clark was treated in a very much similar way, though he didn’t protest as such. And if two players are talking about this, there has to be some problems on the other side. And i’m sure there will be more players, just going against CA will make life worse for them.

Though PCB-Shahid Afridi tussle has been two-sided, where just because of stripping him from captaincy, Shahid Afridi decided to quit international cricket. Later again he was in a war of words with PCB and coach Waqar Younis which made the matters worse. Pakistan already at a point where their cricket doesn’t look like being stable any-time soon, with his retirement it looks even more awful. Being a two-sided mistake, you cannot just comment on what is it all about.

But what surprises me is that the board officials consider their players as mere contracted players and basically slaves who are supposed to do whatever the board wants when under contract. The politics played is intense and can’t get through it. Though the entire thing isn’t out, but what matters is all this is just affecting the game.

On top of that, with match-fixers and bookies all around, it makes worse. Even the fact that players favoring club over country hurts, but then it’s their own decisions though.

Cricket is to get back to the way it was, when there were no tussles, when every-one played their heart-out to represent their country, when match-fixing was never even a word in dictionary.

The World cup is only half way through but the way the teams have gone thus far tells you a lot about what is to come.

Group A has panned out as expected, the International teams have decimated the Associates. Canada, Zimbabwe and Kenya have only ratified the ICC’s decision of streaming down the number of teams for the next world cup down under. Kenya have been the most impressive of the Associate teams as far as Group A is concerned, improving considerably with every game.

Here is a look at how the top 4 teams have gone (Group A) and what lies ahead:

Australia

- The defending champions came into the tournament on the back of a drubbing that they offered the Poms after an embarrassing defeat in the Ashes. Australia have a lot of things going for them this tournament, decent batting order, potent attack and fabulous fielders.

- However, a few obvious gaping holes do lie in between. Their batting has been suspect this tournament, despite the 320 odd that they scored against the Kenyans. Both the openers have looked sublime but the middle order has not been able to keep the score board ticking. Michael Clarke was an exception today, but, Ricky Ponting and Cameron White have been in woeful touch with the bat. Ponting has still snuck through but White’s form has been real cause for concern.

- On the positive note, Michael Hussey has returned to the Australian side giving the batting much needed potency in the middle order. Hussey always seems to have a calming influence about himself that invariably rubs of on his peers.

- All the talk about the Australian bowling being the best in the tournament, the three pronged pace attack looked ordinary against Kenya and could be exposed against better oppositions in the quarter finals if they fail to hit their lengths. Having said this, I personally do believe that if the bowlers hit their straps soon, the oppositions may be in for some contest. Add to this, their bowling has the best strike rate across all teams this world cup. Australia’s bowling should improve over the next week.

Sri Lanka

- The last time the World cup was staged in the sub continent, it was the Lankan tigers who walked away with the trophy. Arjuna Ranatunga inspired the Rest of the World as he enabled Sri Lanka announce themselves on the World stage.

- 15 years later, the World cup is back in the sub continent and you would not bet against the Lankans, they are wily at home and looked determined like never before. Muttiah Muralidaran is sure to hang his boots up with the closure of this tournament and would look to bring home the cup after 15 elusive years.

- The Lankan top order looks solid, with Tillakaratne Dilshan taking them of to blazing starts on a regular basis. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene provide the perfect foil in the middle order. It is their lower order batting that is a little questionable, Angelo Mathews does not look good enough to provide the impetus at the fag end of the innings on a consistent basis. They rely on other bits and pieces cricketers in Thisara Perera and co to do the job.

- Nevertheless, you cannot discount them. Just a reminder, Sanath Jayasuriya was an unknown commodity too in 1996, so you never know with the Lankans.

- Their bowling seems very steady with Lasith Malinga and Muralidaran leading the pack. Sri Lanka should make the semi finals and stand a very good chance this tournament if they can sort out their late order batting.

Pakistan

- The only consistent thing with Pakistan is inconsistency. On paper they look a very balanced unit, one that opposition teams must really take seriously. But which Pakistan you get on the day, can never be told. It is a well documented fact, Pakistan on their day can beat the chickens out of their opponents.

- They have looked impressive this tournament barring the outing against New Zealand where they threw away their position of strength and ended up being battered like one of the minnows.

- A steady top order lead by Younis Khan and Misbah ul Haq is followed by a flamboyant middle order in Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi with Abdul Razzaq providing the finishing touch. Perhaps the most efficient lower middle order across all teams, Pakistan is sure a team to watch out for.

- The bowling complements their batting perfectly, 2 front line seamers backed by a steady Razzaq and useful spinners in Afridi and Rehman to do the job. However, Pakistan’s biggest issue for many years now, has been their fielding. The fielding fails to give teeth to the bowling and they tend to put down a couple of catches, least, every match.

- Contenders this year, if only they can shave of the slack and unprofessionalism, Pakistan may just do what they did in 1992.

New Zealand

- New Zealand, workman like, have been very industrious in the way they have gone about things. Nothing flashy in their cricket, steady and stable.

- One feels for New Zealand, with a population under 50 lacs, it must be hard to find full time professional cricketers.

- It has to be Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor who have got to do the bulk of the job with the bat, if New Zealand stand any chance this world cup. Daniel Vettori, by far is their most proficient and experienced player.

- A lot of things have to go wrong for other teams and a lot right for NZ if they have to proceed any further than the quarters this World cup.

- The lack of a game changers with both bat and ball is a huge problem for the Kiwis. They will have to make do without them or hope young guns in Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson come to the fort.
- A good side in decent form but may find it difficult to proceed ahead of the quarter finals.

Following Ireland’s massive upset of England, a lot was expected of the South Africa vs Netherlands tie. Sadly, for cricket fans it turned out to be a completely one-sided affair. The only time Netherlands managed to compete in the game was when Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis fell in quick succession. However, what followed was a wonderfully sensible partnership between two of the best batsmen in modern day cricket – Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers. After getting themselves in following the loss of two quick wickets, both stuck to their natural game and managed to put the Proteas in an extremely healthy position.

The feature of the partnership between Amla and de Villiers was that neither looked in any sort of trouble as the duo set about rebuilding the innings. The boundaries came at will, with de Villiers expectedly playing the aggressor. That said, Amla also rotated the strike well, ensuring de Villiers got enough balls to face. The duo wasn’t separated until the 45^th over. And even after Amla’s and de Villiers’ dismissal, there was no respite for the Dutchmen. Jean-Paul Duminy came in and blasted a cameo which propelled the South Africans to a highly daunting total considering the bowling attack at their disposal. Duminy slammed as many as four sixes in his 18-ball stay at the crease. Netherlands’ limitations and inexperience with the clearly ball in hand clearly stood exposed.

During the chase, the Netherlands batsmen must surely have taken some heart from the fact that Ireland had managed to chase down England’s mammoth target the previous day. But, this was going to be a doubly difficult task considering that the Proteas attack is much more penetrative and lethal. And that’s exactly what stood out as the major difference between the two sides. Apart from Wesley Barresi, none of the Dutch batsmen could stand up to the South African attack. A lot of hopes rested on Ryan ten Doeschate if Netherlands had to put up a fight. But, he was done in by Dale Steyn and no one among the rest were good enough on the day. Netherlands’ weakness against spin was also evident from the fact that more than half the side succumbed to the tweakers. Imran Tahir and Robin Peterson shared the major spoils even as Duminy chipped in with the ball as well. It was a majorly disappointing effort from the Dutch. But, to be fair, South Africa were a far superior side and there wasn’t a good enough arsenal in Netherlands’ kitty to stop the carnage.

Even as Netherlands and South Africa played a one-sided tune, things were much more intriguing in the other contest of the day. Like the abovementioned match, Pakistan vs Canada was also expected to be a one-sided affair. But with Pakistan, always be ready for a surprise or two. Their batting crumbled in the face of some disciplined but far from threatening bowling. And if not for Shahid Afridi’s deadly spell, his third in three consecutive games, we might well have had another upset post the Ireland-England humdinger.

It was an atrocious batting display from Pakistan and a definite wake up call for them going into the bigger contests. None of their batsmen could register a half-century, with only Umar Akmal getting close. But even he and the in-form Misbah-ul-Haq, the next highest scorer for Pakistan, threw their wickets away as the mercurial side capitulated inexplicably. To their credit, the Canada bowlers stuck to their guns. Harvir Baidwan was the most impressive and also the most successful. But, the others also gave him ample support. Rizwan Cheema, Balaji Rao and Jimmy Hansra all troubled the Pakistan batsmen, who were adamant on committing hara-kiri, and were suitably rewarded. Having bowled out the dangerous Pakistan for a score on under 200 would have given Canada mighty confidence to chase down the target. And they tried the level best to do it. Unfortunately for them, Afridi completed a hat-trick of sorts, standing in the way of a Pakistan defeat for the third game in a row.

While the Pakistan skipper’s batting has gone down by miles, his bowling has risen in an equally steady manner. And he is using it to lethal effect in this World Cup. Nothing changed in the game against Canada. Unlike the earlier matches, Afridi was assisted by the opening bowlers in this game. Not only did Abdul Razzaq and Umar Gul strike early, they also maintained an extremely tight leash on the batsmen during their spell. Even so, with such a meagre total to defend, all the batting side needed was one decent partnership to see their team through. The run-rate wasn’t a concern too, so Canada had everything going for them. And when Zubin Surkari and Hansra joined forced in a sensible partnership, hopes of another upset in the tournament were raised immensely. That was until Afridi took over and turned the game on its head.

After Saeed Ajmal broke the dangerous partnership getting rid of Surkari, Afridi rolled over the rest with his fastish leg-breaks, to which the inexperienced Canadians had just no answer to offer. Three of his five victims were bowled, a clear indication that they were beaten for pace and, from a seemingly safe position, Canada plunged to what at the start of the match was an expected defeat. Despite the loss, Canada can take heart from the fact that they managed to run their much more fancied opponents so close.

In the end, no surprises were reserved for Thursday. But while the South Africans would be buoyed by their thoroughly professional effort, Pakistan have a lot of work to do to ensure that they do not have to depend on Afridi’s bowling in every game to bail them out. After all, even the Pakistan skipper is bound to have a bad day with the ball, and if the rest do not rise to the occasion, it can put Pakistan in serious trouble in the matches ahead.

Till a few months back, Shahid Afridi was nowhere in the reckoning for Pakistan’s captaincy. However, a tumultuous tour of Australia changed it all.

With the PCB getting into punishment mode, a number of senior players, Afridi included, were reprimanded; some harshly and others let off lightly. And while some of the bans were upturned by an arbitrator following appeals filed against them, the leaked video fiasco, which revealed another murky side of Pakistan cricket, with back-biting and camp-culture being prominent, has only made things worse.

And so as Afridi leads his side into the Asia Cup, it is of utmost importance that, first and foremost, he wins the confidence of all the players in the side.

There has never been, and will never be, a lack of talent in a Pakistan cricket team. But while past teams have managed to put behind their individual differences and play as a team on the field, recent evidence has suggested that the current bunch of players are heading in the other direction.

The disaster in Australia was a culmination of all things wrong with Pakistan cricket. Since then, a number of changes have been affected in the hope that things can change for the better. The Asia Cup will determine whether they, indeed, will.

The newly-married Shoaib Malik, who has taken most of the brickbats in recent times for his divisive tactics both as captain and player, has been included in the squad of the four-nation series in Sri Lanka, as has been the other Shoaib (Akhtar), whose made news more for his misbehaviour and freak injuries.

Afridi couldn’t have asked for a bigger challenge so early in his leadership career. Not only will be have to prove himself as a tactician, but he will even have to deal with the likes of Malik and Akhtar in such a subtle manner that they are made to feel wanted in the team, so that they can put their best foot forward for Pakistan’s sake.

This will be far from easy task. But then that’s come with responsibility of leading a side like Pakistan.

Apart from uniting the team, Afridi’s needs to lead from the front himself. And this too will be an equally challenging task since accountability and Afridi have never met each other in the swashbuckler’s 15-year international career.

This is one of the prime reasons why he was not a certainty in the side at one point of time. In fact even these days he is more in the team as a highly-effective and sometimes match-winning leg-spinner.

While his bowling has turned into his greater strength, it is of utmost importance for Afridi to bat with a lot more responsibility now that he is the skipper. One is not saying that he should change his natural gave but if a sense of restraint can aid Pakistan in these times, then it is definitely worth it.

In short, the time has come for Afridi to take on the role of senior statesman now that there are enough mavericks to replace him in the likes of Umar Akmal and Mohammad Aamer.

All the other Asian sides are viewing the tournament beginning on Tuesday as the first step towards finalizing the squad for next year’s World Cup. It’s the same case with Pakistan as well, but they have an additional headache of putting together a ‘team’ first.

Afridi may seem the most unlikely man to reverse the damage done to Pakistan cricket. But responsibility makes people act in peculiar ways. Who knows Afridi, the captain, might be the Man Friday Pakistan have been so desperately seeking. At least the fans would be hoping so.

In the times of the modern era, in the advent of T20 scores of players come and go. These days national caps are distributed to easily thus lowering the sense of pride that one is supposed to wear it with. It might be easy to burst on to the scene on the international arena but hard indeed to stay there. Several players after struggle or talent have eventually come of age. Some of them are:

Australia:

Shane Watson:

Shane Watson

After making his debut in the Australian summer of March way back in 2002, Shane watson’s career is one to have changed dramatically. From starting off as a fast bowler with more than lively pace who could hold the bat at number 7 his roles in the current Australian team are completely different.

Watto Watson is one of those players who is always seemed to be plagued with injuries. After several rehabilitations and becoming the perfect replacement for a certain Ian Harvey the Australian selectors finally lost hope with this talented blonde bombshell from Queensland. Shane was struggling to make his career.

Strangely, the problem with Watson was not about talent or performance it was his fitness that was an issue that deprived him of so many international years of his playing career. Watson was nowhere near being considered for a return to the Australian side. After being picked in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League, Watson single handedly with both bat and ball carried the Rajasthan Royals towards the championship gold.

He ended up becoming man of the tournament with over 450 runs and a handful of wickets. The Australian selectors took note of this and immediately drafted him to the Australian side to tour the Windies. Ever since then there has been no looking back for Shane as he has made his mark in the international arena and is a feared competitor by all other nations.

Watson played the 2009 ashes and scored half centuries in what seemed like every innings. He has become fitter and has understood his role in the Australian team well. He now opens for Australia and generally bowls in the mid 130’s. A very handy cricketer as long as he stays fit. After 8 long years, Shane Watson finally seems to have come of age.

Cameron White:

Cameron White

Whitey or bear as he is known by his team mates has recently become an integral part of the Australian limited Overs squad. Cameron white has always been a major performer for his state side, Victoria. He is currently the vice captain of the Australian T20 side and should be the skipper in reckoning if Michael Clarke is done away with.

For a man who was not even a part of the original Australian T20 World cup squad in 2009, white has come a long way and has established himself as the Australian number 5. White was called in after Andrew Symonds was sent back home due to off field issues. White is soon filling the huge void left by Andrew Symonds. He is a brilliant fielder and is soon becoming one of the feared hitter on the international scene.

Whitey was given a long run after Australia’s ashes defeat to England in 2009. He stepped in for ponting at number 3 and played exceptional cricket which included one fifty and a century in 3 matches. From then on in there was no looking back as he helped Australia retain the champions trophy (2009) in South Africa and played some crucial knocks on difficult conditions in India. White had a brilliant 20-20 world cup this year and ensured Australia reached the finals for the first time in this tournament.

Cameron white’s reputation is rapidly building on the world stage and the owners of the IPL franchisees are now aware of the talent that the man possesses. With the fresh IPL auction that is to take place this July, one can be certain that white could be in for some big bucks and even captaincy considering he’s captained Victoria to several big bash victories down under. White is still a young man and would be ambitious to return to the test arena once again.

Nathan Hauritz:

Nathan Hauritz

Hauritz very similar to Watson made his debut for Australia way back in 2002. He was young (20) and wasn’t too successful at the international arena. He played his first test in 2004 and didn’t do too well then either. The Australian selectors weren’t too worried and dint have to look too far considering SK Warne was still in the ranks. However, the rise of Hauritz began after Warne, McGill and Hogg stepped down from international test cricket.

This left Australia with no other option but Nathan Hauritz. Hauritz wasn’t seen as a wicket taking bowler, he was more a container and this proved to be fatal for the Aussies. It was at this time only (late 2008- early 2009) that Australia began to hit rock bottom where they lost a test match series in India and went on to lose on their home turf against the mighty Proteas after 16 long years.

The lack of a quality spinner was becoming a major problem and several concerns were being raised about who would play come the ashes. The Australian selection committee decided to go with Nathan Hauritz and stuck with him throughout the South African tour in both Test and one day internationals. Hauritz proved his worth and was handy. However, his success was hugely regarded to

Mitchell Johnson:

Mitchell Johnson

Johnson was enjoying a purple patch back then and he often broke the back bone of the South African team before Hauritz came into bowl. Nevertheless, it was the best that Australia had and they decided to go ahead with Nathan for the ashes. As soon as the news was out that Nathan would be the spinner that the Australians would be carrying with themselves to defend the ashes, comments came rushing in.

Most notable amongst these was that of former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott made a scandalized remark after Hauritz got pietersen out to an infamous sweep in the first test at Cardiff. He said “It wasn’t an off-spinner. Hauritz doesn’t look like he could bowl my mum out, then he gets the best batsman out.”

Hauritz proved all his critics wrong and slowly developed into a very fine bowler for Australia. Eventually, he proved to be the difference (Not picked on a turning track at the oval) between Australia having the ashes and not. Hauritz’s growth as a spinner continues as he remains a steady part of the Australian line up. Hauritz will have to be on his toes as the Australian selectors seemed to have taken a liking towards upcoming leggie Steve Smith.

India:

Suresh Raina:

Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina is the star out of India’s huge pool of rising talents comprising the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Robin Uthappa and so on. On his debut way back in 2005 raina only managed a duck; he was trapped LBW by a Muttiah Muralidaran doosra of his first ball. Ever since then Raina has changed his game immensely. All the hard yards, extra hours of practice against spin and pace is now seen where he seems to be shining on the international stage.

This turn of events was noticed in the first edition of the Indian premier league where raina was one of the top scorers in the competition and enabled the Chennai Super Kings make the final of the tournament. He has been the most consistent performer in the IPL and is the highest scorer across all three years of the tournament with 1311 runs. Suresh raina has matured a great deal by playing under the likes of greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

He was recently included in the test squad against South Africa. Raina is now able to handle responsibilities of carrying the team forward at a tender age of 23. Raina has also been chosen as captain in the on-going series in Zimbabwe as original skipper Mahendra singh Dhoni has been given a rest. Clearly raina is seen highly by the BCCI and they would want to ensure that the young man doesn’t fall ahead of himself and continues to perform the way he has been performing in the last couple of years.

England:

Graeme Swann:

Graeme Swann

The biggest revelation in the cricketing fraternity over the last year, Graeme Swann has been labeled by fellow spin legend Shane Warne as the most improved player in recent cricket. Swann is one of the few Englishmen (literally) who has been successful over the last year considering most others have been imports from either South Africa or Ireland.

He made his debut way back in 2000 but wasn’t a regular part of the side as England’s first choice spinner at that point in time still remained Ashley Giles. Swann never really knew what his role was, whether he was a batsman who could bowl or the other way around. He found himself wanting on the international stage and soon realized it was the latter that would take him to the top rung. He worked on his game tremendously and the change was to be seen.

He had a brilliant series against the West Indies leading up to the ashes and since then there has been no looking back for the man from Northampton. Swann, often the most notorious in the team and tends to calm down the dressing room atmosphere with his pranks. The ashes that went by in 2009, was where Swann was noticed by the international audience.

From then on in he helped England reach the semi finals of the champions trophy in 2009 and eventually help the Englishmen win their first ever ICC trophy, the Twenty 20 world cup in the Caribbean a fortnight ago. Swann is soon becoming an integral part of this England line up and a major part of whether England are able to retain the ashes later this year would be subject to the way he performs.

Stuart Broad:

Stuart Broad

Son of former English batsman and current commentator, Junior broad is one of the fastest improving cricketer’s going around. Stuart made his debut in 2006 and saw the up hills and down hills of international cricket. He was hit for a record six sixes in an over by Yuvraj Singh during the inaugural twenty 20 world cup in South Africa. However, since then a lot seems to have changed for this lanky pacer.

He seems to have become physically fitter, has worked on his batting and more importantly he is no more the bowler who would just run in. There is a plan, a methodology on how to go about things that is seen. He is seen as a replacement to Freddie Flintoff who retired a year or so ago. A lot is expected from Stuart and he is still just 23 years of age and has a good number of tests and one day internationals behind him and seems to understand the game better with every passing day.

He still tends to concede a bit too much when it comes to runs per over but he is a wicket taker and that’s what it comes down to in the end. A very handy cricketer and one to certainly watch out for in the future, as he seems to be improving very quickly.

Pakistan:

Saeed Ajmal:

Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistani off spinner has captivated international cricket ever since he burst onto the international arena. More than coming of age Saeed has been one of those late bloomers in international cricket where in which the team regrets the fact that they couldn’t go on a bit longer. Ajmal is very similar to Michael Hussey in this regard.

(Talking about Hussey the duo have a bit of a history after this year’s world T20 in the Windies). Ajmal albeit at the age of 30 made his debut and turned out to be a replica of spin legend and the ‘doosra’ inventor Saqlain Mushtaq. Ajmal is able to disguise and bowl the doosra with similar effect and has always managed to keep the wood on the batsman.

Ever since Akmal joined the Pakistani team they have made it to two semi finals and one championship victory in the three ICC events to have taken place. In spite of all the unpredictability that Pakistan have to offer, Ajmal seems to have brought a bit of sense in the spin bowling department and he along with fellow spinner Shahid Afridi now form a formidable pair and curtail the batsman from scoring freely in the middle Overs of a limited over international.

Ajmal was turning out to be the star for Pakistan in the recent twenty 20 world cup that was held in the West Indies. However, Australia’s Michael Hussey had different ideas. He went on to slaughter Saeed Ajmal in the semi final which enabled the Aussies get to the final for the first time. The match which was being labeled as the best Twenty 20 match had already seen loads of thrills and spills before Ajmal came on to bowl.

Ajmal had brilliant figures up to his 3 over mark and was turning out to be the difference between the two sides but the last over where in which Michael hussey hammered three sixes changed the course of the match. Nevertheless, Ajmal remains a key armoury that Pakistan possess and how he develops in the next six months could be critical for Pakistan’s chances in the world cup which is to be played in the Indian subcontinent (barring Pakistan) where in which the pitches are low and slow.

Shahid Afridi:

Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi has been around since an age now and he’s still just over 30 years of age with a trunk load of experience behind him. Shahid Afridi made his debut way back in 1996 and its amazing in spite of being a member of the team for such a long time he comes under this category.

For a long period of time Shahid Afridi did not really know where his forte lied, in other words he never really knew his role in the team; whether it was to go and bludgeon the bowlers and chip in with a couple of tidy Overs or be a mainstream spinner thus providing perfect foil to the fast bowling greats of yesteryears.

However, only recently has Shahid Afridi grown, he has become one of the most difficult bowlers to get away in the middle Overs in limited Overs cricket. He seems to have cemented his place as a bowling all rounder. Ever since becoming vice captain and now captain in all forms of cricket Afridi has taken the extra mantle of responsibility on himself and this seems to be helping not just him but Pakistan cricket as well. Afridi recently came out of his retirement from test cricket and was made captain.

It will be interesting to see how he goes in the longer form of the game as his quick balls at 120 kmphs will not be as big an issue as it is in other forms of cricket. Shahid Afridi finally seems to have found his game and if he works on his batting, he could become one of the best spin bowling all rounder to have played the game (only in the shorter formats).

South Africa:

AB De Villiers:

AB De Villiers

Most AB fans wouldn’t agree me placing Abraham in this list and might find it a little harsh. But it’d be better to agree to disagree. This 26 year old South African made his debut in the 2004/2005 season and only recently that is ever since 2008/09 has he become one of South Africa’s mainstays in the middle over. He is a very talented cricketer and on his day could tear apart any attack put in front of him.

De Villiers, a very under estimated cricketer on the international stage is set to take over the gloves once Mark Boucher decides to call it quits. However, de Villiers seems quite reluctant to take up the job as he not only enjoys his fielding but is also worried that it would affect his batting adversely. De Villiers is proving to be a wonderful find for the proteas and is becoming ever so reliable with consistent performances in the last year or two.

He is ready to carry the mantle forward and could become South Africa’s Jacques Kallis once the latter decides to put up his feet. All this could be very soon as Kallis and boucher both are very likely to step down from limited Overs cricket after the 2011 world cup which is to be played in the Indian subcontinent.

Like all other players mentioned above AB de Villiers too holds the key to South Africa’s chances in the upcoming 50 over world cup. He seems to be the man for the occasion as he’s had a lot of experience here and has tasted success on very similar wickets.

Sri Lanka:

Angelo Mathews:

Angelo Mathews

Young Sri Lankan all rounder has cemented his place in the team’s One day international and test teams ever since he made his debuts in the formats. He has never had to face the axe, which is very rare for a young cricketer especially in the early goings in his career.

The young 23 Year old all rounder has replaced Chaminda Vaas to very good effect. The only difference between the two being that Mathews is more of a batsman than a bowler which was not the case with Vaas. When I mean come of age it doesn’t necessarily mean people who have spend a lot of time in cricket and have eventually found their spot.

It basically refers to those cricketers who have/are now matured enough to carry the mantle forward. In his short career Mathews has already established himself on the world stage. This could be seen when he was picked up by Kolkata Knight riders (one of the IPL franchisees) to participate in the league. The only worry remains his bowling, more so in test cricket as it doesn’t seem to have that nip or extra bit of pace that could either facilitate him to get the ball go past the bat or trouble them with speed.

His variations help him get through the limited Overs format quite adequately. His batting and fielding are of top notch and is a very good sign for things to come in all three forms of the game. Mathews could also be the captain in standing once current skipper Kumar Sangakkara retires.

The only other real prospect seems Dilshan, but his temper and his age (wrong side of 30) lowers his prospects of becoming skipper. As a result of this Mathews could be well groomed under experienced players like Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. This lad has sure already made a name for himself in international cricket. One bloke to certainly look out for in the future!

Bangladesh:

Shakib Al Hasan:

Shakib Al Hasan

Current Bangladeshi skipper, Shakib Al Hasan made his debut against Zimbabwe at the Harare sports club. His debut itself marked the sign of things to come in his career. He impressed one and all with his performance as he made an impressive 30 not out and bowled his quota of 10 Overs under four an over with a wicket against his name. However, he seemed to have fizzed out a bit only to have redeemed himself in recent months.

He has come back strongly and for a long time now has been right on top of the all rounder charts in one day cricket. He was soon appointed captain and he seems to be taking Bangladeshi cricket to newer heights unseen before. The man is just 23 and has a lot to promise. The Bangladeshi cricket board need to nurture their talent and ensure that their players don’t fizz out and become an Ashraful.

Certain teams namely West Indies and New Zealand don’t have players featuring on this left. With west indies their trunk load of players just aren’t able to convert it big to the international level thus underlining their poor performance in world cricket in recent years. As far as the Kiwis are concerned they don’t seem to have enough of resources.

Hence, their players don’t seem to feature even in the list of players who have promised but not delivered. Getting players to grow and mature at the world stage is highly dependent on how the national board of the respecting country helps nurture and groom young players so as to convert them to international starts. This is very similar to the business concept of converting Problem child who have the talent and potential to Stars and eventually cash cows.
Indeed, the responsibility does lie with the boards…

The Asia Cup is one of the most highly-awaited events in the international cricket calendar. After all, it is this ODI tournament which decides who are the champions of Asian cricket. Asia is the world’s biggest continent and contains some of the biggest cricketing superpower nations. This time around, the tournament would only be played between India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Sri Lanka is the confirmed host of this tournament with Dambulla hosting all the matches.

The matches would be day-night starting from June 15 and ending on June 24, when the final takes place. All teams will play each other once, and the top two teams in the points table will qualify for the final. However, all the 4 teams have enough in them to win this tournament. Let’s have a look at their prospects –

Sri Lanka

Alongside India, Sri Lanka has the fire-power to go all out at the Asia Cup. Being the home team can be tricky as there will be a lot of support, yet extreme pressure of winning to satisfy the home crowd. However, Sri Lanka can gain solace that they have been the defending champions of the crown since 2004. They beat India comprehensively in the finals of the last two editions. Unlike their opponents, Sri Lankan cricket is in a good state. The team did very well in the World T-20 by entering the semi-finals. They also discovered the USA by playing New Zealand in 2 T-20s in that country, which resulted in a 1-1 level.

Co-incidentally, Sri Lanka will play in the tri-series in Zimbabwe with a young team, just as India. And also a new captain in Tillakratne Dilshan. Sri Lanka has their sights on the World Cup next year. So Sri Lanka would definitely give everything to win this tournament, that too, at home. Having said that, Sri Lanka would be tired of looking at the faces of the Indian players because both the countries have played each other so many times in the last two years!

India

Definitely, the favourites to win the tournament. The second-best ODI team in the world would look to move one step further after making the finals in the previous two editions of the tournament (2004 and 2008). Indian cricket is on a low at the moment, with various issues to tackle with from the IPL mess to India’s below-par performance at the World T-20 in the Caribbean. Yet a month or two is a long period of time for matters to get normal. Before the tournament, India will play Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in a triangular ODI series in Zimbabwe, under the leadership of Suresh Raina.

Raina will be leading a young, inexperienced team as all the seniors have been rested. So, expect the youth to flourish in Zimbabwe, as the selectors are looking at the formation of the World Cup 2011 squad. The youngsters can get an opportunity in the Asia Cup as well, as a test of their consistency at the international level. A rejuvenated India would look to gain their lost confidence and pride, which they need in order to prepare well for next year’s world championship in the Indian sub-continent itself!

Pakistan

Undoubtedly, Pakistan are the dark horses to win this tournament. It’s an unpredictable team even in 50-over cricket. However, Pakistan cricket is in complete turmoil at the moment due to the match-fixing allegations rising during their ill-fated, winless tour of Australia. In fact, they haven’t even announced their new ODI captain as yet. Although it is likely that Shahid Afridi would be given the responsibility to lead the side in the Asia Cup as his first assignment, yet it seems that the PCB is hell-bent on wasting time by sitting in meetings and criticizing players for their poor performances in Australia earlier this year. Instead, the future is not being looked at.

In this state of darkness, the only bright spot to be seen is Pakistan making it to the semifinals of the World T-20 this year. Afridi lead a young team exceptionally well as they beat Bangladesh and South Africa in the tournament and qualified for the semis with a good net run-rate. All this considering the ban of senior players such as Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan. Perhaps, the bans could be a blessing in disguise for Pakistan as the new team will have 9 months in hand to prepare for the World Cup next year, with the popular and ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi as their leader.

Bangladesh

A very under-estimated team and the minnows of the tournament, Bangladesh hasn’t had many great cricketing moments ever since a successful tour of the West Indies back in July last year. Though the team is improving slowly, yet a question mark remains on whether it can compete at the international level with the top 8 ODI teams. A first-round exit at the World T-20 did them and the game no good, although they did bowl well against Australia.

Their run-up to the Asia Cup will depend to a certain extent upon their performances in the Test matches in England, although ODIs is a different format altogether. They desperately need Mohd. Ashraful to bring back the spark that he had produced at the beginning of his career. And a raging Tamim Iqbal can also be dangerous prospects for the opponents. If Bangladesh performs as a team on the whole, then at least the team can get a berth in the finals, although there is less chance looking at the opposition Bangladesh are up against.

Pakistan won the toss and from the outset looked a different unit today largely due to change in captaincy. It was Shahid Afridi who was captaining Pakistan in place of Mohd Yousuf who was rested due to a niggle. The Pakistani’s decided to bat on a good looking pitch but, Ryan Harris continued his golden rise in international cricket as he got Salman Butt poking at one away from his body.

Harris struck in the first over itself. As if that was not enough Mitchell Johnson bowled a delightful over and got rid of Khalid latif caught and bowled again for a duck. Pakistan were caught reeling at 2 for 0. Younis khan and Shoaib Malik hung around for quite a while before Younis khan fished at one from McKay only to be caught by Haddin. Pakistan were in dire straits at 17 for 3 in 10 Overs.

The next 3 Overs were maidens. Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik stitched a 60 run partnership before Mitchell Johnson put on show a brilliant bit of athleticism to run out Shoaib Malik. Fawad alam was next in; and the duo just like the last two matches put on a decent partnership of 82. Wickets fell in a hurry soon then after with Akmal, Afridi and Ahmed all departing in a space of 5 Overs. In the end it was Fawad alam’s brilliance that enabled Pakistan to reach a fightable score of 212. Alam made 63.

It was a pretty modest total and the Aussies looked pretty upbeat about the task ahead of them. They lost Haddin and marsh pretty early on in the piece. Cameron white soon followed suit. But, the trend of the summer continued as it was a culmination of contributions that won Australia the match and not a single stand-out performance (barring Cameron white’s scintillating 100 in the 1st ODI). Today, it was ponting and hussey who were to steer the ship home. Ponting made 55 before he holed out to Umar Akmal at long on. Australia looked a little skeptical in their approach and were continually losing wickets.

Michael hussey has been instrumental in winning Australia the series. He’s made decent contributions in all the matches and his versatility must be lauded. Put the man in at number 4 or 6, over number 20 or 45—Michael Hussey seems to have the game to do it for Australia.

And so he did today. Hussey saw Australia through with the tail ending up on 40 of 46 balls. Australia needed 12 of 12 at the end of the batting power play with Hussey and Hauritz at the crease. Hussey took rana for 9 off the pen ultimate over with some positive running and lusty hitting. It was 3 off 6 when Hauritz was trapped LBW by Rao.

Ryan Harris was Australia’s number ten and he seems to be doing nothing wrong at the moment. He had a swipe at his first ball and managed to clear wide mid-on for a couple.

A lot of drama was seen in the finale of the match. Firstly, it was Shahid Afridi who was seen biting the ball twice which was caught on camera. Reports later suggested that Afridi pleaded guilty to the charges laid down by match referee Ranjan Madugalle. Afridi has been banned for two T20 internationals which means he will miss this Friday’s clash at the SCG as well as the one against England.

The act was caught on camera and the umpires were informed so on their microphones and the ball was immediately changed. Another striking incident was when one of the spectators charged at Khalid Latif. Thankfully, for latif there were no injuries. A very embarrassing moment, for Cricket Australia considering such incidents have been happening quite often. Australia won the match when Harris was caught off a waist high no ball at mid off.

Australia clean swept the Pakistani’s not just in the ODI series but also in the test series. What remains to be seen is whether Pakistan would be able to manage a single win on this tour?

The IPL auction was perhaps the most awaited event of 2010 in the world of cricket. This is due to the fact that 66 players from around the world confirmed their availability for playing in the lucrative competition to be held in March and once again in India.

The excitement was growing within the owners of the 8 franchises of the IPL as they checked in the Trident Hotel on a sunny, sultry day in Mumbai. The auction began in unceremonious fashion when Shahid Afridi, arguably Pakistan’s star player in the T-20 format, had no takers even at a base price of $250,000.

What a shock that must have been for Pakistan’s cricket lovers! Next up was Kieron Pollard, West Indian all-rounder who impressed the cricketing world with his all-round antics in the 2009 T-20 Champions League, while playing for Trinidad and Tobago as well as recently in the Big Bash tournament representing the South Australian Red Backs.

He was a hot, hot buy with his bid going easily to $750,000 due to demands of the Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore franchises respectively.

In an edge-of-a-seat silent tiebreaker, Mumbai Indians captured Pollard and their chances of going a step further are said to have increased significantly ever since then. After the Pollard mania, it was the turn of the Brad Haddin, the Australian wicket-keeper and he too like Afridi was rejected perhaps due to availability issues.

Graeme Swann, England’s recent spin sensation surprisingly suffered the same fate. As the first pool of players were dealt with, the atmosphere in the auction room could have been cut with a knife.

Uncertainty prevailed as it was the turn of the young South African bowling all-rounder Wayne Parnell. Fascinating for many, Parnell was also sought after by the defending champions Deccan Chargers as well as Delhi Daredevils. Delhi, eventually got Parnell for a massive $610,000.

Shane Bond was in contention for a place in the IPL after his remarkable comeback in international cricket a year back. For Bond too, there was heavy bidding with Chennai and Deccan interested in buying him initially but it was down to Deccan and Kolkata in the end when his bid reached up to $750,000.

Astonishing, because his base price was just a mere $100000! He was in the end sold to the Kolkata Knight Riders at an undisclosed amount, showing that experience is required in the shorter version of the game. Mohd Kaif, the Uttar Pradesh captain went unsold in the first round but was wanted a little later by the Bangalore and Punjab franchises respectively.

He turned out to be the highest paid Indian player in the auction when Punjab bagged him for $250000. The young and pacey Kemar Roach had made a name for himself in Australia when he injured Ricky Ponting and got him to retire hurt for the first time in his career.

So, Roach too was an attractive investment for several franchises, especially those who desperately needed a fast bowler and who had missed out on Bond. However, Roach was grabbed by the Deccan Chargers for an astronomical price of $720000.

Eoin Morgan is undoubtedly, England’s new find along with Graeme Swann. The young 23 year old impressed in the NatWest series against Australia and at the Champions trophy. However, he beat Swann when it comes to playing in the IPL as Bangalore made their first inroad in the auction by pouching him for $220000.

As the first half of the auction ended, it was expected that the future of many young players from around the world was to be decided as the star players were already auctioned. It was a further shock to many when Darren Ganga, the Trinidad and Tobago captain as well as leading Bangladesh all-rounder, Shakib al Hasan went unsold, perhaps due to the $750000 cap being completed by most of the franchises.

Australian fast bowler Doug Bollinger too wasn’t considered as an attractive option despite his recent exploits in international cricket. However, controversy was further created when Pakistani players Sohail Tanvir, Umar and Kamran Akmal, Rana Naved-al-Hasan and Imran Nazir were overlooked.

A significant bid was that of Damien Martyn, the Australian ICL returnee, who was bought by the Shane Warne led Rajasthan Royals at the base price of $100000. After another long wait, it was the turn of Chennai Super Kings to enter in the action when they managed to purchase Sri Lankan allrounder Thisra Perera for just $50000 as well as Justin Kemp, the South African batsman for $100000 in a span of a few minutes.

The Royals once again showed their loyalty to Shane Warne when they bought Adam Voges, Australian batsman for $50000. The auction ended in style when 3 Indian U-19 players were sold to Mumbai, Bangalore and Deccan franchises, showing that the teams respected talent despite many players remaining unsold after the two rounds of the auction.