A nation up in smoke…

Howzaaat!!!
So after Sunday’s game, quite a few (so called) supporters are accusing the Proteas of smoking. At first I thought the accusation had merit, especially since they lost their game against England from a comfortable and commanding position. However, I then realized they are professionals and heroes in the eyes of children around the country; hence the idea of smoking in public seemed ludicrous.

A wounded England was always going to be a challenge; especially after an embarrassing loss against Ireland…a country they normally treat as the bastard child. With the Proteas falling short by 6 runs, a whole nation is now up in arms and anti-smoking campaigns are popping up everywhere.

Even though the Proteas were heavy smokers before, they never chain smoked though…that is left to the All Blacks. Yes, the big occasion got the better of them, especially at World Cups, but this new and vibrant Proteas squad are quite frankly too young to smoke.

With this in mind…England were simply on fire (and no…this is not a case of where there’s smoke there’s fire). After being “spun out of control”, they fought back magnificently and thoroughly deserved their win. Yes…Smith made some surprising bowling changes; the most notable of these was when he removed Petersen from the attack…in spite of the guy being in the spell of his life.

Then there was the batting…Amla was doing his thing, while Smith against Swann looked as odd as a hillbilly on the cover of Wisden. Kallis has yet to find his form, but I know it’s somewhere under his pile of newly bought hair brushes. de Villers tried in vain, while JP was just a victim of a jaffer of a ball. du Plessis and van Wyk were just out of their depth – none of these are signs of smoking – just players up against better players.

In the end…back here in South Africa, quite a few people have started to smoke on behalf of the Proteas. Maybe it’s a case of not being strong enough to fight off the craving, peer pressure or just plain old abuse…all I know is…the Proteas still have a long way to go and if they don’t go all the way, then it’s not because of smoking, but rather not being good enough on the day!

(In case you missed it…I just can’t bring myself to use the “c” word…*cough*)

Sharief ‘Sheriff’ Allie for DieHard Cricket Fans

The Helicopter….Out Of Fuel?

Looks like MSD who used to entertain everyone with his great hits has disappeared with his long hair. Remember that 183 ? That was the time when he was said to be the most dangerous batsman. Those wild swings of the bat! , those hard hits!, Hitting toe-crushers out of the park! Now he fails to hit full tosses the same way. Occasionally gets inspired by the PEPSI ad and shows his brilliance.

Many (almost everyone) and even you all will say that he has developed into a matured cricketer, a responsible captain. But why can’t he hit the ball the way he used to even in the batting PP ? Plays 2nd fiddle there too!

He used to drink 8 litre of milk everyday….looks like he drinks PEPSI now and has really changed completely… Mr. Dhoni you can’t just say : “the middle order not performed” , “batsman disappointed “, “poor performance in the batting department”….. and the one i hate the most : “batting is our strength”. Batting is India’s strength but you gotta contribute too, certainly as a captain. Take examples of Kapil dev, Imran khan. They were responsible for the wins many times. I can’t remember when MSD got the MOM last time!

He says there are many big hitters in our team. Man you are the biggest! ..Don’t you remember ?

Ya ya.. showed some form against NZ but show it when it’s needed. We know you can perform .. just do it. He used to be so aggressive , flamboyant …. now those words don’t go in with dhoni….. he is referred to as cool now .. cool as PEPSI … not hot like milk. I am constantly highlighting PEPSI because of his growing ads. No problem with that until he continues to perform. How many of you think he can still repeat his 183? I do. MSD is a good cricketer, just lacking intent at the moment. He needs to back himself up. Go out there and lead from the front.

I am criticizing DHONI … so that he performs the way he used too! I mean no offense…….. JUST THAT I MISS that MSD … don’t you ?

A.V.S. ADITYA for DieHard Cricket Fans

A Cup for Mr. Tendulkar : But how do we do it ?

I had written why India will struggle to win the ongoing World Cup. I know it was a little too dark and gloomy. I too want India to Win a World Cup for Mr. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. But how do we manage do it ? Just look at the Ireland match. Zaheer sizzled up front. But the bowling fizzled thanks to ineffective Munaf and defensive Bhajji. For the umpteenth time, it is the part-timer and sixth bowler who bailed India out. Yusuf Pathan was far better than the main off-spinner. One bad day in the office got Sreesanth dumped. I am inclined to ask in Gabbar Singh style, “Ab tera kya hoga Chawla ?”

If Dhoni is serious about winning, Chawla will have just one job from here. Carry the drinks and nothing more. He should not even bowl at the nets, lest it make our batsmen over confident going against Afridi and Tahir !

But we all want India to win and win it badly… Right ? So what are we going to do ?

Get Chawla declared unfit. Send him home. Ask for replacement with Rohit Sharma. Play with Bhajji, Zaheer and 9 batsmen.

Score 400 runs in every match, nothing less and any thing more !

So this should be the team:

1] Sehwag: continue Sehwagging, come what may. Bowl in case of a calamity !
2] Sachin: can score 3 more centuries to make a grand 50 !
3] Gambhir: can keep his elbow ready for Watson !
4] Kohli: in form, especially while chasing. He will open the bowling.
5] Yuvraj: some kind of form going, keep going now. And can he chuck the pie ?
6] Raina: will relish the low bounce and slog overs and will bowl at death
7] Dhoni: can bat lower to absorb the shock in case of a collapse
8] Rohit: will bowl and bat as a specialist partnership breaker.
9] Bhajji: he will bat and bowl as a specialist slogger
10] Pathan: A floater, will bat low, because he can win from any position !
11] Zaheer: will carry no pressure, no competition to his place !

Pathan, Rohit, Yuvi, Raina, Virat and Sachin can share the 30 overs.
We have Zaheer and Virat to share the new ball.
Pathan, Raina and Rohit to bowl different shades of Off-spin.
Yuvi will do the Left arm pie chucking.
Tendulkar is the Leg Spinner [better than Chawla], Off spinner and third medium pacer.

If anyone has a bad day, Viru will chip in, in spite of his shoulder.
[Remember Bedi believes Viru is the best off spinner in India]

With this batting, we are more likely to post totals of 400 plus every time we bat.
And the bowling can’t do any worse than what is already happening.

See, how we have a perfect formula to win the World Cup for Mr. Tendulkar !

Govind Raj Shenoy for DieHard Cricket Fans

Don’t forget the Kangaroos in this World Cup!!

With just 9 days to go for the much awaited cricket event – The World Cup,  and the super interesting thing being that it is being hosted in the cricket lovers nations, everyone is looking forward to this mega event and the biggest question on everyone’s mind is who will be the next ??? A big question certainly.

No one knows the answer and neither do I. This time everyone is talking about India & Sri Lanka and a bit of South Africa too but hey where has Australia gone.

Recent loss of Ashes & some other series losses have put them down on the favorites list but they are not out. Winning the Commonwealth Bank Series 6-1 is a big answer to all those who think that they can’t win this time. I still remember the 2007 WC time.  Aussies were not as strong at the time as compared to 2003. They lost the Chappell-Hadlee Series to New Zealand just before the World cup 2007 & everyone was saying that they were a “Dad’s Army”, ”A bunch of old cricketers” but this bunch of old cricketers took the game away from all the teams & yes they won it for the 3rd consecutive time!

So my friends, they are here to prove that they can win this time too. Shaun Tait, Brett Lee & Mitchell Johnson have that stamina to bowl great spells and having men who can bowl close to 150 kmph is always an asset. They have a great all rounder in Shane Watson and some good valuable batsmen. Ricky Ponting, the skipper can’t be forgotten. The World Cup trophy is always being attracted towards him!

So they are as much in the competition as every other good team. Waiting anxiously for the start of the World Cup. May the best team win!!

Sheffali Chugh for DieHard Cricket Fans

Imran Tahir - The Journeyman Cricketer

Imran Tahir, a Pakistan-born leg-spinner, who would think that at age 31 would be playing rather for South Africa then his home country? His emergence as a quality leg-spinner can be seen in his statistics  ; 535 First-Class wickets at an imposing average of 25 and participating in 96 Limited Over Matches has brought him 140 wickets at an average of just 22.

Tahir is also something of a journeyman of a cricketer plying his trade from the dusty pitches in his ex-home Pakistan to England and finally now to South Africa. He made his First-Class debut back in 1996/97 but never shone out and was nothing more than any other average 'leggie. However, he was signed by Middlesex in 2003 and played a bit of County Cricket there. He returned back to Pakistan where he played for the Water & Power Development Authority until he was signed in 2007 by Yorkshire and the Titans from South Africa who had observed his meteoric rise was whilst playing county cricket and a few successful seasons on the Pakistani circuit.

Tahir was released by the Titans in 2009 as he never got much gametime, rather being preferred to rookie leg-spinner Shaun von Berg. He returned back to County Cricket in England and played for Hampshire and Warwickshire albeit for being picked in the South Africa Test Squad to v England in early 2010 but was not eligible at that time even though he was married to a South African woman.
In mid 2010, the Kwazulu-Natal based Dolphins franchise contracted him up and immediately was successful for them claiming bags of wickets to make him comfortably ahead of other bowlers in the Supersport 4-day First-Class series.

His dream came true in late 2010 when it was announced that he was eligible to play for South Africa. The convener of selectors, Andrew Hudson, was said to be "considering him" for the ODI series v India. As I write the news has just come in that Tahir has been picked for the ODI series against India.

The news came out in delight for South African fans who were monitoring his progress of recent times but bad news for fellow and up-and-coming South African spinners. So let's wait and see if Tahir is all that people talk about.

-Jonathan Amler for DieHardCricketFans

An overview of the teams part of CLT20 2010

Group A:

Central Stags (Kiwi T20 Champions) : Central Districts is a good team with some good young talent. But they are surely going to miss their most destructive players Ross Taylor who will be turning out for the Royal Chllengers Bangalore and Jacob Oram who is injured. Without them their chances of lifting the trophy seem bleak unless they produce something special.

Chennai Super Kings (Indian T20 Champions) : The only team to make it to the semi-finals of each of the three seasons of the IPL, the CSK make it to this edition of the CLT20 by winning IPL 2010. Led by the flamboyant and charismatic MSD, they have some of the fiercest strikers of the cricket ball in their line-up like Matthew Hayden, Albie Morkel, Michael Hussey , Dhoni , Raina and Murali Vijay. The bowling department appeared to be Chennai Super Kings' weak-link in the initial stages of the IPL 2010. However, Doug Bollinger, called in as a replacement player, together with the spin trio of Murali, Shadab Jakati and R Ashwin turned it around. Also the Kemp will give them an option in SA conditions. Despite their bowling department lacking the big names like some of the other competing teams, CSK will be keen to replicate their performances in the IPL and add the CLT20 title to their name.

Victorian Bushrangers (Australian T20 Champions) : Having won 4 KFC Big Bash Twenty20 finals in 5 seasons, the Victorian Bushrangers will no doubt be one of the most feared teams in CLT20. The Melbourne-based team boasts some prolific players in their line-up - Brad Hodge and David Hussey are among the top two run-getters in T20 cricket, while Cameron White (who will be playing for RCB though) is among the few batsmen around the world to have scored 2 or more hundreds in the 20-over format, Dirk Nannes , Siddle among others. It will be the second appearance in two editions of the CLT20 for them so that will help. They look a strong team and will be hoping to go the full distance this season.

Warriors (South African T20 Champions) : With a squad that consisted of Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Makhaya Ntini, Ashwell Prince, Johan Botha and Nicky Boje, it wasn't really a surprise that they won the Pro20 tournament. They only lost 1 out of their 8 matches in the competition and went on to clinch the title. While they have a strong batting lineup , on the bowling front, the Warriors have a very mean attack - Ntini, Botha and Boje have all successfully proven their skills at the international level. They also have Juan Theron, a bowler who relishes bowling at the death and is capable of guiding his team to nail-biting victories. The Warriors have all the ingredients - players with skill, class, experience, temperament and ability to perform on the big stage and also not to forget the home advantage.

Wayamba Elevens (SriLankan T20 Champions) : Will be making their second appearance in the CLT20. They don't seem to be serious contenders for the title but they have some experienced internationals in their ranks. It would be interesting to see, how they cope up with the South African conditions. They will need some strong performances from Mahela, Mubarak, Mahroof,etc. They do have some really good young t20 players. Also Perera will be quite confident

after his recent performances for SriLanka.


Group B:

Mumbai Indians (Indian T20 Runners up) : Led by Sachin Tendulkar, the Mumbai Indians was the most consistent team in the IPL 2010 in the league stages, the Mumbai Indians have a great mix of experience and youth. While Tendulkar, Harbhajan and Zaheer bring in all their years of experience of playing at the international level, the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, R Sathish, Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary bring in the much-needed zeal and hunger for achievement on the big stage. On the bowling front, Malinga's toe-crushing yorkers are simply too hot for most batsmen to handle and he will be a major cog in the MIs' plans, while Harbhajan and Zaheer will be hoping to draw on their experience of playing in South Africa to the advantage of their team. Also bring in Pollard, Bravo and Duminy in the picture and you get an idea of their might.

HighVeld Lions (South African T20 Runners Up) : They don't have many international stars, with players from Gauteng and North West provinces in South Africa. Among the players to look out for in the Lions' squad are captain Alviro Petersen, the ever-dependable Neil McKenzie. The Lions' Vaughn van Jaarsveld finished as the team's top run-getter (249 runs in 8 matches) - second in the list of the top run-getters in the Pro20 2009/10, while Robert Frylinck finished as the tournament's leading wicket-taker. They will also be hoping to make most of the home advantage.

South Australian Redbacks (Australian T20 Runners up) : They made it to the final of Australia's KFC Big Bash T20 for the first time and were the most consistent side in the KFC Big Bash last season, registering 4 wins in 5 matches, before ending up second best in the title clash. The Redbacks might not have too many superstars in their midst, but they certainly have someone who can lay claim to being the fastest bowler in the world today, Shaun Tait. Tait apart, the Redbacks also have consistent performers like skipper Graham Manou and the returning Callum Ferguson. But the Redbacks cruised into the final on the back of splendid performances from their overseas signing - Kieron Pollard - among others who will be turning out for his IPL side Mumbai Indians.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (Indian T20 2nd Runners up) : They are making their second CLT20 appearance. The Anil Kumble-led outfit figured in the inaugural CLT20 too thanks to their runners-up position in IPL 2009. From being chided as a 'Test team' in coloured clothing in the inaugural season of the IPL, it has been some transformation for RCB who have made it to two consecutive CLT20 competitions. Former South African coach Ray Jennings coaches a side with a strong South African flavour - a fact that will no doubt assist RCB in CLT20's African sojourn. With the rock solid Anil Kumble as captain and several other proven Twenty20 performers in their squad, the RCB surely start as one of the favourites to clinch the title this season.

Guyana (Caribbean T20 Champions) : Another team without many international stars. But last year also nobody expected much from the T&T team and they provided some expectional entertainment and played some exceptional cricket. Guyanese team has qualified for this year's CLT20 defeating that very team. But on paper their chances seem thin.




PS: The views above are mostly based on the impression given by the teams on paper. Also having relativley unknown players in the team can also be an advantage as their strengths and weaknesses are relativley unknown. In T20 nothing can be said for sure , anyone can beat anyone and much can be acheived by the teams who play with spirit ,passion and unity. We have already witnessed quite a few examples of it in the past.