World Beyond the Cup - Tete-a-tete with Federazione Cricket Italiana

First of all we would like to thank Mr. Kelum Asanka Perera, Member of the Italian Olympic Committee, Director of Cricket - Federazione Cricket Italiana and also the head coach of the Italian national team, for taking time out to answer our questions.

DHCF: Italy is usually associated with Football but what people don’t know is that cricket has a rich history in Italy. Even the famous clubs like AC Milan were initially cricket and football clubs. With Italy now been granted T20I status and International cricket action on the horizon, what does it mean for the future ?

Kelum: T20I status obviously means a lot, as all the matches played against other countries will have an impact on our global ranking. It is definitely a positive move taken by the ICC.

DHCF: Italy’s recent performances in the previous WC and WT20 qualifiers had been exceptional and beyond expectations for a few. Italy is now regarded as one of the strongest teams in mainland Europe after the Dutch. How is Italy planning to build on it? What is the next target for Italy?

Kelum: The performances have been good so far, but we have not achieved our final target. We want to create a professional and healthy environment around the team. The target is far ahead and we keep taking one step at a time..

DHCF: What is the domestic cricket structure like in Italy?

Kelum: There are many different competitions.
The first division, called SERIE A is the 50 over competition, played by 6 teams.

Emerging Cricket : Home of Cricket's New World

Cricket is one of the most watched and popular sports in the world after football. With ICC opening the gates for its member nations by giving them the T20I status, the interest levels have risen in the non traditional cricketing countries.

Who would have thought a couple of years back that we will witness Germany and Belgium play an international cricket match !

The multi-level league structure to determine the participants at the ICC marque events, the WT20 and the CWC, will ensure that there are a plenty of international cricket matches played by the new teams and they improve over time. We already see players from associate nations making their mark in the various T20 leagues.

But where do I get know about the exciting upcoming talent from the associate world? 

With so many teams, where do I get to know who is playing who and when? 

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Where do I get all the news and insights on this cricket's new world? 

The answer is Emerging Cricket. 

Quoting EC - "By providing meaningful content from those at the coalface; players, coaches, administrators and fans  – where every corner of cricket’s new world is represented and celebrated – our mission is to be the trusted voice of the emerging cricket world, the go-to place for cricket fans to be engaged and inspired by stories from the Associates and beyond."

Let's spread the word and engage with Emerging Cricket to help it grow and make it an even more vibrant community. 

Yuvi: The Rajnikanth Of Cricket

Rajnikanth is that eternal hero who beats the villains and defies death to emerge victorious in the end, in movie after movie after movie. Rajni cannot die, Rajni won't die. He might get battered, bruised, tortured and killed but he won't die. Bleading, soiled and tottering, he will stand up one more time, toss his hair off his forehead and declare, "Kanna Panninka Thaan Koottama Varum. Singam Singallaa Thaan Varum." Kid, the pigs come in a herd, the Lion comes alone !

Yuvraj Singh fondly known as Yuvi was the Rajnikanth of Cricket. He won the Under 15 World Cup, Under 19 World Cup, the T20 World Cup and the 2011 CWC. He carried a tumour in his chest and batted in pain to see India home to glory in 2011, rightfully named the Man of the Tournament.

Yuvi was the epitome of style. He was the Style Icon. When he drove through the covers, it was like Rajni's cigarette flick. It set the stadiums ablaze. When he pulled over midwicket, it contained the punch. When he played those gigantic lofted shots, they were statements like those famous Rajni one-liners.

Yuvi dived and plucked catches from thin air, pretty much like Rajni snatched guns from the hands of villains. Yuvi was dismissed as pie-chucker when he bowled but he would catch the big fish with the same stealth and felicity as shown Rajni when he misleads villains with his wits.

World Cup Cricket : India vs Australia

Matches against the Aussies are never easy specially when there is a burden of history to be overcome. India vs Australia has been one of the most celebrated cricket rivalries in recent times. In pure cricketing terms, it has surpassed the India vs Pakistan matches.

Australians have won 8 of the 11 World Cup matches between the two nations. There have been some very close encounters - Chennai (1987) and Brisbane (1992). Australia won both by one solitary run.

Who can forget the match in 1996 when the Indians snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Indian batting collapsed after Sachin Tendulkar was stumped off a wide ball and left the Indian fans in

World Cup 2019: Opening Salvos

Finally, everyone has got a game in the World Cup. Even India! Fans were worried for a while that Team India might not have been a part of tournament. But worry not we are still there! 

So what can we take away from the opening salvos of the tournament? 

• India let everyone have a go before turning up and showing they are in the game. For the first time in history, have a more exciting bowling options than the batting ones. 
• New Zealand have been resilient and winning. They are still very likeable but also getting a tad boring. 
• Pakistan have shown they are the unpredictable (how predictable is that statement). Blown away against the West Indies and then smashing almost 350 against England 
• England have settled on the formula that they perfected over the last 4 years. Keep smashing the ball. Strong batting with a not so strong bowling. Can deliver most games but you can’t account for the maverick factor, that is Pakistan. 

World Beyond the Cup - Tete-a-tete with Cricket Namibia

DHCF: Namibia caught the eye of the cricketing world when they qualified for the 2003 WC. With a solid showing in the WCL Div 2, how confident is Namibia going forward and of making it to the 2023 edition. How is it planning to conquer the challenge?

CN: It is still a long way to go to the 2023 World Cup. It is however the ultimate goal over the next 4 years and we will look to build step by step. We need to consistently play good cricket, under a strong culture with emphasis on our training. We can't just be a one-tournament-wonder kind of team to make it up the rankings and compete at ODI level with the full members.

DHCF: Finally winning an ODI must have been really satisfying. It shows that Namibia is on the right path. How is Namibia planning to build on it ?

CN: We’ll have to improve our skill sets, improve our professionalism even more. With a good structure and culture in place we’ll continue to try and do these things over the next few months.