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Posts Tagged ‘Australia’
Sat, November 15, 2008 5:52 am By James Coolridge  Printer friendly version
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 Rahul Sharad Dravid, the former Indian cricket team captain, who is also known popularly among the cricket lovers as the Great Wall, was born on 11 January, 1973in Indore, Madhya Pradesh into a Maharashtrian family living in Karnataka. Dravid is an integral part of the Indian squad since 1996 and has scored 10,000 runs in test cricket. He is also the sixth player in history and the third Indian to score 10,000 runs in One-Day Internationals.
Dravid began playing cricket at the age of 12, and was a part of the state team at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 level. He made his Ranji Trophy debut in February 1991 against Maharashtra alongside future Indian team mates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath.
Dravid made his debut into international cricket in the Singer Cup in 1996 in Singapore. He made his entry into Test cricket against England in 1996. He made his maiden century with 148 against South Africa in 1996-97. He became the third Indian batsman after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar to hit tons in both innings of a match. This happened in the 1999 New Year’s Test match against New Zealand with massive 190 and 103*. Dravid’s first double century came against Zimbabwe in Delhi.
In 2002, Dravid emerged as the top batsman of the Indian side with continuous massive performances against West Indies, England, New Zealand, Australia and Pakistan. Dravid was the top run scorer in the 1999 World Cup scoring 461 runs. He led the Indian side in for the 2007 World Cup in West Indies.
Dravid follows a batting style that is unique. He is considered as the back bone of the Indian side and is nicknamed ‘The Wall’. Dravid has 25 centuries in his kitty which include 5 double centuries. He has an average of 39.49, and a strike rate of 71.22 in One- Day Internationals.
He had often stood as wicket keeper in both Test matches and One-Day matches. He was replaced by Anil Kumble as skipper in Test matches and M.S. Dhoni in ODI matches.
Tags : Cricket, World Cup, England, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, India, MS Dhoni, Anil Kumble, test, Australia, West Indies, century, Javagal Srinath, Vijay Hazare
Fri, November 14, 2008 5:52 am By James Coolridge
 Known as the greatest spinner, ever produced by the Indian sub continent, Anila Kumble is also known as the gentleman of the game. This magic leg spinner of Indian side was born on 17 October 1970 in Banglore, Karnataka. The former Indian cricketer is a right-arm leg-spinner and a right-hand batsman, who is also the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day Internationals. Holding more than 600 Test wickets in his kitty, Anil Kumble is the leading wicket taker after Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.
Kumble was appointed as the captain of the Indian Test cricket team on 8 November 2007 for the three-test home series against Pakistan that India won 1-0. He led the Indian side against Australia for the 2007-08 four-test series, which India lost 1-2. He was appointed the captain afetr the resignation of Rahul Dravid in September 2007. Kumble made his debut into international cricket on 25 April 1990. He has taken 619 Test wickets and 330 ODI wickets in his credit. He is one of only two bowlers in the history of cricket to erode all 10 wickets in a test innings. Kumble was honoured with the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honours in 2005. Kumble retired from international cricket on 2 November 2008.
Born in Banglore, Kumble began his cricket career with a club called Young Cricketers when he was 13. The right-arm leg spinner with an unorthodox style started his career as a medium pacer. His first-class debut for Karnataka was in November 1989 and became a part of the India Under-19 squad against Pakistan, the same year. He made his ODI debut on 25 April 1990 at Sharjah agaist Sri Lanka. He also made his Test debut in the same year against England. In 2006, he became the second player in the history of the game to score 2000 runs and take over 500 Test wickets.
Anil Kumble announced his retirement on the last day of the 3rd Test match against Australia at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, New Delhi after continous injuries, which were causing him to miss matches from time to time.
Tags : England, retirement, India, Sri Lanka, Anil Kumble, test, Australia, batsman, Banglore, wickets, cicket, Shane Warne, Ione- Day Internatioanals, leg spinner, Padma Shri
Mon, November 10, 2008 7:52 am By James Coolridge
 Oops…. At last Michael Hussey did it. He made his maiden ton on Indian soil. His dream has at last become fruitful. By taking the score Australia to a commanding 416 for seven at tea on the second day of the first cricket Test at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, Hussey fulfilled the distant dream.
In spite of losing his two late middle order partners to the massive attack of Ishant Sharma (4-77), Hussey continued his fire against Indian pace attack. He made the bright, belligerent and benevolent ton in his 383-minute stay at the wicket. He drove an inside edge off Ishant to reach up the hundred, his ninth in 27 Tests.
His technique was impeccable, that really worried the Indian side. Hussey had made his debut at debut at 30 when most Indian cricketers prepare for their retirement, and he always has felt of losing a lot of matches in his career. It seems as if he is determined to garner as many runs as he could in the opportunities offered to him. Now we know why his average in Test cricket is over 80.
Hussey reached on the crease after the dismissal of Simon Katich (166 for two) on Thursday evening. He punished the bowlers with rage taking the Aussies to safe position after the tea session.
Hussey with Brad Haddin (33) raised 74 runs for the sixth wicket before the latter was made to leave the crease by a slower delivery from Ishant which directly went into the hands of VVS Laxman who was guarding the short extra-cover. Ishant also made the debutant Cameron White to hit the ball directly into the hands of Harbhajan Singh at cover. Later Hussey with the company of Bret Lee (26 not out) made 54 runs for the eighth wicket and was seen continuing their tirade when the game for the day was called of.
Tags : Cricket, India, test, wicket, VVS Laxman, Australia, Michael Hussey, century, batting, score, Ishant Sharma, Bret Lee, tea session, Brad Haddin, Cameron White
Fri, November 7, 2008 8:15 am By James Coolridge
 Now the BCCI and Indian cricket selection board selection is in aggressive mood. The accusation of Sourav Ganguly, Indian star batsman of humiliating him from time to time has really made the cricket authorities angry. The outburst of former Chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar is a clear sign of the board losing temper over Ganguly’s statement. Vengsarkar but took a strategic stand by saying that Ganguly will get the answers for his questions after the series with Australia is over. He wants Ganguly to be patient until then. Vengsarkar justified his statement by adding that any response to Ganguly’s accusation may create turmoil in the dressing room that may result n the performance of the team in the series. He said that he doesn’t want to divert the attention of the players from the game to mud sledging. But Vengsarkar stressed on the point that he won’t shy away from giving fitting reply to the former Indian captain.
Sourav Ganguly had stated in Bangalore two days back that the selection committee is prejudiced against him and is behaving with a grudge. He also had added that he was humiliated from time to time in spite of scoring well form series to series. He had mocked at selectors for selecting players who are concentrating more on hair style than playing cricket.
Dilip Vengaskar, who is also a former captain, with a mockery tone added that Ganguly will get more than what he asked for. He was satirically responding to the statement of ‘Dada’ that the retirement was forced on him by the management by continuous humiliations. He had also said the he was made a “sacrificial goat” many times.
Vengsarkar also added that the BCCI will be looking into the matter and will be checking out what Ganguly had told the Bengali daily. As a conclusion Vengsarkar had asked Ganguly to stay away from making any statements till he is a part of team as it may create unnecessary controversies. BCCI may be otherwise forced to take action against him for creating a fuss and destroying the morale and spirit of the whole squad”.
Tags : retirement, Dilip Vengsarkar, test, Australia, Sourav Ganguly, captain, Bangalore, team India, controversy, statement, morale, fuss, spirit
Thu, November 6, 2008 8:12 am By James Coolridge
 If you ask any cricket lover, who his favourite batsman or bowler is, I am sure he may fumble over whom among his list of favourite he shpiuld pick out. But if he is asked who his favourate fielder is; wthout wasting a second, the aswer will come- Jonty Rhodes. He is undoubtedly the greatest fielder ever cricket history has seen. Never need an introdution for him. He is someone who gave a new dimension to the fielding.
Jonathan Neil Rhodes, popularly known as Jonty Rhodes was born on 27 July 1969in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The fielding demigod of South African team excelled in both One Day Internationals and Test matches for South Africa in his career ranging from 1992 to 2003.
This right-handed batsman was noted for his quick running and ground fielding. He was adored all over the world for his throwing from his most common position of backward point. He holds the record of the ninth highest number of run-outs in ODI cricket of any fieldsman, with the third highest success rate. Jonty Rhodes has also batted for Irish cricket team and has been a part of Glocestershire County Cricket Club and Kwazulu- Natal in first class cricket. Rodhes bid farewell to one day cricket in 2003 after an injury.
Rhodes was also a part of the South African hockey team and was selected for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games squad, but could not qualify to go to the tournament because of a hamstring injury Rhodes made his debut in Test cricket against in 1992 against India in Durban. His first century was born at Moratuwa, Sri Lanka in 1993-94 season. He retired from Test cricket in 2001. Rhodes began his one-day international career in 1992 World Cup against Australia in Sydney. In his retirement life, he is an account executive at Standard Bank. He is also currently the fielding coach of the South African national cricket team.
Tags : Cricket, Sydney., catches, India, Sri Lanka, Hockey, Australia, South Africa, debut, Jonty Rodhes, fielding, Durban
Tue, November 4, 2008 7:31 am By James Coolridge
 This time BCCI wants no stone unturned. They are making all efforts to ensure a peaceful and cordial cricket series with Australia. India’s last visit to Australia is remembered for the controversies and mud slugging between both sides. The racial abuse between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds even went to ugly extends crossing the limits of sportsman spirit. This time BCCI is taking extreme precautionary efforts. The cricket regulatory board of India is in all efforts to ensure that the series is played in the best possible spirit. As an anticipatory move the BCCI has written to series broadcasters Neo Sports, asking that they should not air provocative commercials promoting the series.
A top BCCI official confirmed the news and said that they don’t want any move from television channels or advertisement agencies that will disrupt the relation between both the countries. This decision is taken keeping in mind the advertisement that was aired during the Sydney Test in January which had racial remarks in it. The Indian skipper Anil Kumble after the Test told in a press conference that only one team was playing in right spirit.
An advertisement that was telecasted recently has made BCCI furious. In a letter to Digvijay Singh, chief executive of Nimbus, N. Srinivasan, BCCI treasurer, has asked to withdraw the advertisement that showed the pictures of newspapers showing the spat between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds with “Maa ki - Monkey” quotations. It further had a caption “It’s time to pay back”,” which simply is condemnable. The BCCI feels that the advertisement is in wrong taste and may harm the interests of game. The cricket board never want anyone to repeat any such incident or any incident that will spark a wild fire between two countries. But with Virender Sehwag and Ricky Ponting again making comments on the Sydney Test, let us now wait and see what will happen now and how far BCCI will be able to go ahead with its efforts.
Tags : Cricket, Sydney., India, Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble, test, Australia, BCCI, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, advertisement, January
Sun, November 2, 2008 6:57 am By James Coolridge
 Ricky Ponting is really sick of hearing the questions on his performance in India. He has been quizzed by the media over his potential in facing the balls on Indian grounds. His otherwise unblemished Test record is shadowed with unimpressive performance on India fields. His attempts to bring out scores never found good results on India soil. In the past few years Ponting was seen to be more aggressive of grounds with a few couple of massive tons taking his overall runs to new heights. He even garnered a space in Aussies cricket same to Steve Waugh, Allen Border and Mark Taylor. With a series of mind blowing performance in past two-three years, he has gained an authority over Aussies batting side.
This time Ricky Ponting found time to explain the media the reason that he found was behind poor performance. Ricky Ponting says that he never had trust on himself. He was able to take his technique to confidence. Ponting feels that the dismissal in the first Indian Test would have been the cause of the problem. The effort to play different at every delivery is the result of that fear. But they made things more complicated. Things used to end up at stumping or caught at bat-pad sweeping.
Ricky Ponting says that he is this time in India after a thorough home work. He has learned the lessons care fully and have reached a conclusion that even if you get out; you should stick on the style of batting. This may bring runs, he believes. Ricky Ponting added that he never found Harbhajan Singh as a big threat.
Ricky Ponting stressed on the statistics to show that his performance in Sri Lank, which is the most difficult place to face spin bowling is excellent. This proves that he could face spin bowling without any difficulty. Ricky Ponting expressed confidence in his team. He said they are well equipped and has enough ammunition against the hosts.
Tags : Cricket, statistics, India, Sri Lanka, test, Australia, Ricky Ponting, century, Mark Taylor, spin bowling, Harbhajan Singh, home work, ammunition, Steve Waugh, Allen Border
Sat, November 1, 2008 6:49 am By James Coolridge
 The Caribbean batsman Brian Lara, who currently holds the record of maximum runs in test cricket, feels that it’s Ricky Ponting to hold the record now. For the past three years, the world was waiting for Sachin Tendulkar to break Lara’s record. But now Lara bats for Ponting, whom he foresees of rewriting the batting records in the near future. Lara justifies his feeling by quoting Ponting as a very special player who is consistent for the last 10 years. Ponting is seen to be scoring runs all the time. The faith in him became stronger after watching him hitting century in Bangalore in the latest Test against India. This is the 36th century in Ricky Ponting’s career.
Lara calls India a difficult place to score runs. He regrets of not scoring a century on Indian grounds. By this century, Ponting has taken an additional step towards the record. Brian Lara, the retired West Indies batting god, didn’t hide his feelings for Sachin Tendulkar. Lara is known to be close with Master Blaster. Lara feels that Sachin is a great player and a player should be judged for the performance, not for the wins.
Sachin Tendulkar is just 77 runs short of Lara’s world record. The 39-year-old Trinidadian said he is extremely happy to be among an elite group of cricketers, including Gavaskar, Border, and Sachin. While Lara is confident that Sachin will cross him in a few days but said that it is not sure how long he will be able to hold this record.
He recalls the innings at the Skydome in Canada between the Rest of the World and the then world champions Pakistan, where he played in partnership with Sachin. He remembers it as one of the best moments in his career. Lara even clarified that he is not a part of ICL, the rebel cricket anymore. He also will not be coming to India to attend the ICL series.
Tags : Cricket, India, Pakistan, Sachin Tendulkar, Australia, Brian Lara, West Indies, Ricky Ponting, Canada, ICL, career, Rest of the World
Wed, October 29, 2008 6:32 am By James Coolridge
 VVS Laxman is a prominent figure among India’s fab four. Considered as Test specialist, the Hyderabad batsman is part of the Indian Test cricket team for the past 12 years. Born on November 1. 1974 in Hyderabad, Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman, popularly known as VVS Laxman is apart of Hyderabad in domestic cricket. He also had taook the bat in hands for Lancashire, the English county club. Laxman has also led Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premium League. VVS Laxman is a right-handed batsman who also occassionaly tries spin bowling. For Laxman, former Indian captain, Mohammed Azharudeen is the role model and like Azhar, he is also famous for his superb timing and the ability to hit against the spin.
Laxman began his Test career in 1996 in Ahamedabad against South Afria with an amazing fifty. But he foud it hard to find a regular berth in th Indian middle order, and was asked to open the innings in the South Africa series in 1997. Laxman took it three yerars to prove his caliber in batting. It was in January 2000 in Sydney, he got a chance to knock out 167 against Australia resucing the Indian side from a diasateral defeat.Laxman was not happy with his position as an opener, rather he prefered to play in domestic cricket. He was out squad for nearly a year until got a space in the home series against Australia in late 2000. It was this series that changed the cricket life of this Hyderabad batsman. With a massive and destructive score of 281 in the second Test in Kolkata, he rose to stradom. This is the highest test score ever made by an India batsman. With this performance, Laxman cemented a permanmant seat in the India Test team.
In his twelve year long Test career he have played 96 matches and has scored 6000 runs, including 12 centuries. He also have played 86 One-Day Internatonals scoring 2500 runs including six centuries. He is married to Shylaja and stays in Hyderabad. Laxman is looking forward to the upcoming Australian series, which is another litmus test for him after the retirement announcement of Saurav Ganguly.
Tags : Sydney., test, VVS Laxman, Australia, Hyderabad, South Africa, India cricket, One-Day International, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Saurav Ganguly, | | | | |
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