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Memorable incidents of ICC World Cup 2007

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 18:26:00 +0000

Lots of happenings in ICC World Cup 2007. Some astonishing happenings mixed with few sad incidents. Let’s recap some of the memorable one.

Zimbabwe vs. Ireland match ended in a draw.
Bangladesh’s maiden win against India in one day international.
Pakistan’s defeat against novice Ireland.
New World Cup record had been set by India by scoring 413 against Bermuda and win in highest margin of runs.
Bob Woolmer’s murder after Pakistan got out of the World Cup.
Herchelle Gibbs thrashed six sixes in an over against Netherlands.

Please add if I miss any incident, guys. Lots more to come I hope.

I’m very shocked at Woolmer’s death. It’s really a pity that Pakistan cricket is under pressure again and Woolmer’s death will definitely be a great loss to Pakistan cricket. I don’t want to hurt anyones feeling but I have to say that the Pakistan cricket board and the team failed to utilize his concepts and thoughts in real cricket. We shouldn’t forget that he was the man who made the dream South Africa team together with Late Hansie Cronje.

Today I’m looking forward to India vs. Srilanka match. I’m sure that India will make it to the 2nd round by comprehensive win over Srilanka. I’m also interested in the battle between Australia and South Africa tomorrow. Hope everything goes well from now on.

Memorable incidents of ICC World Cup 2007, world cup news

Technorati Tags: Memorable incidents of ICC World Cup 2007, world cup news

Ideal Indian team combination for this match would be?

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 07:30:00 +0000

My choice (in batting order)

Sourav Ganguly
Virendra Sehwag
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
Yuvraj Singh
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Irfan Pathan
Harbhajan Singh
Anil Kumble
Zaheer Khan
Munaf Patel

I have selected Irfan Pathan there because if he is in the team it brings a balance in the team and India can then play 5 front line bowlers.

What would be your team?

WOOLMER WAS MURDERED…

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 06:46:00 +0000

picture changed on request, thanks

Just a day after I asked you all whether it was Death, Murder or Suicide, comes the shocking revelation that “WOOLMER WAS MURDERED”.

And I am writing this on the basis of The full police statement that came from Lucius Thomas, the commissioner of police for the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

“Consistent with our approach from the time Pakistani cricket coach, Mr Robert Woolmer was found in his hotel room on Sunday, March 18, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has updated the media on all developments concerning our investigations of this case. The Jamaican police are in a position to inform that it is now in possession of the official post-mortem report from the government pathologist who conducted the autopsy on the late Mr Woolmer.

The pathologist report is now available and states that Mr Woolmer’s death was due to asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation. In these circumstances, the matter of Mr Robert Woolmer’s death is now being treated by the Jamaica Police as a case of murder. Steps are being taken to conclude these investigations, which include collecting statements from all persons who in the opinion of the police can be of assistance to these investigations.

In due course further announcements will be made as to the progress of our investigations of Mr Woolmer’s murder. The JCF is making an appeal to anyone who may have information that would help us to identify Bob Woolmer’s killer or killers to come forward in order that his wife, Gill, and his family can begin the process of healing.

It is our belief that those associated with or having access to Mr Woolmer may have vital information that would assist this inquiry. We appeal to these individuals to come forward now to assist us with our investigation. Our condolences go out to Gill, Bob’s widow, and their sons, friends and members of the Pakistan team.”

Seriously, I dont have words to express the disgust and anger that is burning inside me after coming to know about this shocking news. I mean, “How can a human being be so cruel and take the life of an innocent man who had never even thought of hurting anyone in his entire life.” I am sorry to say, but I feel ashamed to be a Cricket Fan and not only that I feel ashamed to be a part of a society where such cold blooded murderers are making hay, going unpunished.

If anyone has any information regarding this, please do come forward and help the police in putting the culprits to task.

Bottomline, SAD SAD DAY FOR WORLD CRICKET……

P.S. Please excuse me if I might have said anything that hurt the sentiments of anyone.

Technorati Tags: Cricket, Cricket World Cup, Bob Woolmer, Woolmer was Murdered

India’s chances of making it to the super eight.

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 10:06:00 +0000

The million doller question for millions of indian fans around the world is whether india can make it to the super eight.

Answer is yes or no…jokes apart we need to do some serious mathematics staff
After Sri Lanka’s win over Bangladesh on Wednesday, India now just needs to beat Sri Lanka without worrying about the net run-rate.

A victory by even one run (batting first) or off the last ball (batting second) over Sri Lanka will take India through to the next stage.

Suppose Sri Lanka scores 250 and India successfully chases the target off the last ball, then in such a scenario Sri Lanka will end up as the Group leader with a NRR of +3.0136. India will end up with a NRR of +1.6730.

Since Bangladesh will be playing its last league match against Bermuda after India-Sri Lanka game, theoretically it will have a chance to better India’s NRR, but to do this Bangladesh has to produce something unthinkable.

If India beats Sri Lanka under the circumstances mentioned above, then to beat India on NRR the target for Bangladesh in the match against Bermuda will be:

If Bangladesh bats first
Bangladesh has to score 600 and restrict Bermuda to 168
Bangladesh has to score 550 and restrict Bermuda to 117
Bangladesh has to score 500 and restrict Bermuda to 67
Bangladesh has to score 450 and restrict Bermuda to 16

If Bermuda bats first

Bangladesh can not overhaul India’s NRR even if it bundles out Bermuda for a total of 50 and achieves the target in first over itself!

India’s NRR will remain around +1.65 even if it registers a win over Sri Lanka off the narrowest margin possible - batting first or second.

There will be a slight change in Bangladesh’s target in the last league match depending upon the victory margin for India, but it is obvious that the target will only become more difficult for Bangladesh as the victory margin for India increases.

India can still make it to Super-8 despite losing to Sri Lanka on 23rd. But for that Bangladesh has to lose to Bermuda.

Technorati Tags: worldcup cricket, cricket, cricket news, world cup news

Death, Murder or Suicide?? The Mystery Deepens….

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 08:52:00 +0000

More than 3 days after Bob Woolmer’s death, the police are still not sure as to what led to this tragic incident. Making matters even worse for the authorities, the autopsy report came out inconclusive making it more confusing as to what did actually happen on that fateful day.

The most natural questions that would come to a normal person’s mind are,

Was it a natural death, a cold-blooded murder, or suicide from a man who was all lost after his team’s shock defeat at the hands of minnows Ireland. The questions remains unanswered, though….

A complete investigation would hopefully give way to the exact cause of the death of one of Cricket’s most dedicated servant.

Deputy commissioner of Jamaica Police, Mark Shields said there was

“now sufficient information to continue a full investigation and that investigation will be “into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Woolmer which we are now treating as suspicious,”

Ok lets hear to what the police and his family had to say on this,

Was Woolmer murdered??

Police:

“No, we’re not saying that.”

Suicide??

Police:

“It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time”

This is what Woolmer’s wife, Gill had to say to an Indian news station referring to the last email that she received from her husband,

“He did mention that he was really depressed and could not believe how this could have happened.”

Natural Death??

Family:

“He had been suffering from stress and believe this may have brought on a heart attack.”

I am also confused, as is the whole world.. so lets keep our fingers crossed and await for the investigation to be completed at the earliest.

Police:

“It’s the old adage - we have to keep an open mind and that is exactly what we are doing. We are conducting an investigation.”

According to reports, Woolmer, who played in 19 Tests for England during his playing days, had diabetes and rumors were rife that he had to wear a special mask while sleeping to help his breathing problems.

May the “laptop-coach” rest in peace…………..

Technorati Tags: Cricket, Cricket World Cup, Cricket World 2007, Bob Woolmer, Pakistan, Ireland

Google cricket blog contest disappoints

admin — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:20:00 +0000

I think we all will agree to the fact that Cricket is now something more than just a game to us. Corporate houses are busy to get their ads telecast during intervals; television channels are active to increase their T.R.P rating, film producers are releasing cricket based films during World Cup! Surprisingly Google is not sitting idle. Google has chosen this as the right time to introduce blogging in a country like India where a handful of people have their own blog.

Google has started Cricket Blog Contest to popularize blogging. The story was going good, but it won’t. Google has limited this contest for Bloggers.com users only. What a blunt strategy to bring in the New Blogger! Google could show up the real chivalry by making this event available for the bloggers from different platforms.

I feel pity for Google; they are going to miss cricket.hedir.com.

Technorati Tags: cricket, blogging, world cup 2007, icc world cup

Cricket World Cup preview

admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 20:42:00 +0000

It's hard to get too excited right now - this bloated tournament runs for longer than two Tour De Frances, and with 6 'minor nations' joining the test playing ones, making 16 teams - that's a hell of a lot of minnow flogging before the real action begins (Hands up if you even knew Bermuda had a serious cricket team? Hands up if in the last two weeks considered moving to Bermuda in a late bid for playing in the World Cup yourself?).

New Zealand are (of course) Dark Horses for the competition. We've got a long, proud history of making semi finals, and a long, embarrassing history of farking it up once we get there - can we go one better? Two even? Our key men will be:
- Brendan McCullum is being talked up as one of the best 'finishers' around, referring to his ability to push singles and hit boundaries to keep up with a required run rate, not cleaning up Macca's plate when he's full
- Shane Bond - if you've ever played an EA Sports Cricket game, you know how good Bond is, and now we've got the real thing - he took a bit of tap in the CB series, but came back spectacularly in the Chappell Hadlee - if he's fit, he'll win us games
- Macca is a man reborn, making the greatest comeback since David Tua (if David Tua ever becomes THE CHAMP!). His vast experience and enthusiasm will be invaluable, and he's bound to get one or two vital wickets at vital times and look delighted / sheepish afterward
- Taylor - the great white hope. There's been a lot of talk about how the young players will be the stars at this tournament - let's hope he's one of them, there's no doubt he's got the ability and temperament
- Oram - on the small West Indian grounds he's in with a real chance to become St Lucia Glaziers Association Man Of The Year. He's vital to our chances
- Vettori - still the best left arm offy around, and he ties batsmen into indecisive knots, keeping them from scoring, kind of like Winston Peters faced with a choice of mirrors
- Fleming - he's the best captain around, and usually puts the fear of god into his opposite number by looking fucked off most of the time. He was in crap form going into the last World Cup, but wound up scoring a lot of runs, including that majestic century against the hosts. It would be fitting for him to go out with a bang, if he is at last coming to the end.

I fancy our chances, considering the conditions are not dissimilar to those found in say, Eden Park or Hamilton with the slow pitches and short boundaries. First up is England, and while defeat isn't a compete disaster, it would be heaps better to win it. England are even more of an enigma than us, with a bunch of county cricketer journeymen along for the ride with the world class Flintoff and Pieterson (and Collingwood to a lesser extent). It should be a great match - pity the time difference makes viewing this World Cup in NZ as shithouse as it possibly can be, with the first innings in the middle of the night, and the second while you're at work - make the most of England v New Zealand falling on a weekend.

Have a great World Cup - stay tuned to your ever lovin' sport review nz for coverage that's sporadic, scattergun and stupid. Good luck

Black Caps PR meltdown

admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 20:42:00 +0000

Links on Friday

admin — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 20:29:00 +0000

- Public Address has Cricket World Cup coverage - That's me farked then. Those bastards have even set up a sport satire blog that's actually funny. *Sigh*
- Curtly Ambrose - too cool for school. Compare this to, say, Brett Lee's wicket celebrations. To mangle Pinetree's quote, it's still called cricket, but it's just not the same...
- Valencia v Inter rumble midweek - Arsenal. Heh
- Jonty Rhodes - bless. I remember that World Cup of 92 and how cool and novel it was seeing the South Africans for the first time. They even had the aging Barry Richards, didn't they?
- This is wrong on so many levels - I could imagine Sharon off Kath and Kim getting one, though.
- Frank Worthington - great goal

Fire incident: Inzamam chill fellow, Afridi an idiot

admin — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 15:30:00 +0000

Not terribly newsworthy, but the recent evacuation, at the hotel housing the South African and Pakistani teams, is the only thing exciting happening right now in world cricket. (Sorry Bangladesh and Scotland!) Needless to say, Inzamam was really chill and nonchalant about the evacuation.

Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq was unfazed by the evacuation, saying he had been told that the team had had to leave the hotel "as a precautionary measure".

Inzi's response, actually reminded me of an amusing King Cricket post, which is quite apt. Afridi, of course, followed his own rules...

Afridi added: "I have no idea what happened. I had just woken up when the security man knocked on the door and said 'get out of the room'. But I went back to sleep. Then he knocked again, and said 'get out of the room'. Then I did and went downstairs."

Idiot!

Pakistan unconvincing in victory over Canada

admin — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 02:42:00 +0000

Which is perfectly fine, because I feel that's all we're going to get from Pakistan if they're going to win games this World Cup. It's hard to analyze the result from the scorecard itself, without watching it live, so I'm not going to indulge in reading between the lines of their performance too much. It was a warm up game for sure, but Pakistan will be concerned that their openers couldn't last 10 overs. But there is a bright side...

Younis Khan has been promoted to opener, which is about bloody time. I think it solves a key issue. For one thing, What is interesting is that YounisYounis Khan has played pretty much as an opener anyway, since our actual openers don't seem to last very long. Secondly, this means we're sending our best players first. I like how Mohammad Yousuf went one-down and Inzi went two down. Not only is this a confidant message to the opposition, but it means our best players get the most time out there in the middle.

Strange that we're experimenting so close to the WC. I would have hoped that we had these plans setup prior to the warm ups.

Anyway, another positive is that Pakistan still bats pretty deep. The loss of Razzaq will be effectively nullified by Azhar Mahmood. Mahmood may not have Razzaq's penchant for the big shots, but Mahmood can be pretty handy himself late in the game.

The negatives are obvious. Rana Naveed sucks and I have no clue what is wrong with him. If our opening bowling can't pierce Canada's armor, then what hope do we have against the rest of the countries? Umar Gul, should have bowled more than 4 overs. I hope he isn't injured. The bulletin didn't say anything though.

We also lost 4 wickets under 100 runs. That isn't cool. Its a nice strategy to send our best players first, but the buggers need to bat the first 10 overs out.

Pakistan and India most misbehaved teams in World Cricket

admin — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 21:33:00 +0000

What a rubbish report.

Pakistan and India are also the worst-behaved sides with 53 and 44 reports, ahead of South Africa (41) and Australia (38). That the West Indies have received just 13 reports confirms the widely held belief that, despite their at-times sorrowful playing form, they have a deep-rooted respect for the way the game should be played.

More proof that umpiring is biased. Australia is without a doubt, the worst team in terms of behaviour. Yet, they are never fined or pulled aside for dissent as much as the South Asian teams...

Inzy is the most reported captain, while Lara the least. Hmm.

The rest of the story as reported...

TEST skipper Ricky Ponting remains a minor-league miscreant in world cricket compared to Pakistan's controversial Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Inzamam, who was once described as a "potato'' by a Canadian spectator, and feisty Indian captain Sourav Ganguly are officially the worst-behaved players of their generation, according to an ironclad source ... the International Cricket Council's code of conduct rap sheets.

Since the code was introduced under the supervision of match referees in 1992, Inzamam and Ganguly, whose international career appears to be over, have been reported 12 times each, seven times more than Ponting.

Pakistan and India are also the worst-behaved sides with 53 and 44 reports, ahead of South Africa (41) and Australia (38). That the West Indies have received just 13 reports confirms the widely held belief that, despite their at-times sorrowful playing form, they have a deep-rooted respect for the way the game should be played.

It starts with captain Brian Lara who, for all of his occasionally selfish and disruptive ways off the field, is renowned for accepting the umpire's decision. Lara is not perfect - he has one dissent charge for disputing an umpire's call against England - but generally accepts what he gets.

Inzamam, a normally self-contained man who spent the first decade of his career not saying boo, has a series of dissent charges, starting with an incident in Canada when he stormed into a crowd wanting to throttle a spectator who called him a "potato''.

He talks slowly and quietly and for the first half of his 14-year international career often used to say little, claiming he knew little English. That amused former captain Wasim Akram, who once laughed outside a hearing and said, "he understands every bloody word that is said''.

Speaking through an interpreter in Hobart in 2000, Inzamam said: "I am a very humble man, even in my own house.'' But he knows how to find controversy. His most high-profile crime is his recent decision not to return to the field on the fourth day of the fourth Test against England at The Oval.

Ponting's most recent indiscretion was when he questioned a wide call by Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf in Malaysia recently and was fined $4900. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has expressed concern at a stream of Australian reports over the past year.

"My strong feeling is that the bar has been raised a little bit by the ICC over the last 18 months,'' Sutherland said.

Champions Trophy: India vs England - India win, but not very convincingly

admin — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 21:33:00 +0000

I thought India bowled extremely well. Pathan was right on the money and Munaf was quick. Definitely wasn't the best of pitches, and the ball kept rising and sinking at times. However England's first 3 batsman feel to LBW's, which indicates poor form and technique rather than anything else. I felt Ian bell's LBW was extremely unfair. Darryl Harper made a mistake as the ball was going about 6 or 7 inches above the stumps.

As far as Flintoff goes, I think its silly to waste a batsman like him by sending him one down. He is not anew ball batsman and Munaf and Pathan exploited his nervousness.

England is such a weak side on paper. Owais Shah or Alistair Cook should have been in the side. Dalrymple and Yardy are decent players, but they certainly don't seem like the kind that can score the big runs when it matters.

This is a terribly weak England side. They really need to figure out their technique before they match Australia. The Aussies will not just try to beat them, but they will make every effort to humiliate the English by thrashing them convincingly. There is no doubt in my mind, that Australia will retake the ashes unless things improve drastically for England.

As far as India goes, I fell asleep after they bowled out England, so I can't vouch or comment on their batting. But I was impressed with Dravid's field settings in particular. Munaf bowled well and the rest of them did not try anything funny or fancy. They kept their line and length, kept things tight, and waited for the English batsman to make mistakes. It was easy to see that England had lost all hope while they were batting. Perhaps they should have played out their overs and made the most of the game, but towards the end, they just kept throwing their wickets away and getting caught out on long on.

I also thought it was a cool decision by Dravid to bowl first. He said that since they were playing 2 spinners, it would be easier to grip the ball in the first inning rather than deal with the dew at night. That's pretty sweet reasoning.

During the game, it was also funny how the camera kept focusing on Shahrukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra. I know they are celebrities and all, and they have to be different. But what the hell are they wearing. Shahrukh, especially, looks so cheap...

Help the Police!

admin — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 19:10:00 +0000

Adam (or Joe) from the late 90's Adam and Joe Show turns everyone's favorite gangsta rap on its head. Everyone can enjoy that.

Links on Friday

admin — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 01:57:00 +0000

- Dropkicks Podcast - If you haven't already, check out the Dropkicks podcast, a run through of the week's sporting action in a 'mates sitting around talking shit' kinda way. Last episode saw the lads engage in a Mee Goreng eating competition while making their picks. Recommended, both spicy noodle dishes and the Dropkicks. You can even thrash them in the Super 14 picking if you fancy it - I'm 'richirvine73' if you need another easybeat on your list
- Rugby Dump - I found this link on the above website - it's basically a blog of youtubed high tackles, stiff arms and fights, the web equivalent of legendary 80's VHS Footy Brawls
- Shane Warne in SloMo - 'cos we miss that peroxided scallywag already
- Matt Sinclair's catch - super stuff
- Billitees - They're a little pricey, but. I just got the Hamiltron one, it's rather nice
- Glen & Garry & Glen & Ross - Har
- Talking on the phone while driving is now banned in the UK. Tough to enforce? Nah...