Cricket Zone http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/ News Columns en-us © 2007 Aprology Solutions Sun, 19 Aug 2007 02:16:20 India's record in England http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-07-18-1019.html In all India have played Tests on British soil and have won just four of them That's an abysmal success percentage And narrow the statistics down to Lord's the number falls further one victory out of Tests A chronological record of India s tour to England since In the year India registered their first overseas Test series win England were clueless against India s three-pronged spin attack of Bishan Bedi wickets B Chandrasekar and S Venkataragahavan And Erapalli Prasanna on the bench was no less a threat The quartet accounted for of the wickets to fall in the series A  [more]
]]> 2007-07-18 22:38 How good is India against England http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-07-16-1000.html India s forthcoming Test series against England will show how they have recovered from the World Cup debacle and how the victories against Bangladesh and against South Africa in Belfast is pepping them up And India do have the arsenal both in terms of experience and capability to beat the English in their own den The collective experience of heavyweights Sachin Tendulkar Rahul Dravid Sourav Ganguly and regulars Yuvraj Singh Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Zaheer Khan totals more than a thousand ODIs Obviously the batting muscle powers the team with the Big Three Tendulkar Ganguly Dravid leading the charge The  [more]
]]> 2007-07-16 22:27 Why VVS Laxman deserves more than a last chance http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-07-13-979.html This England tour may well be the last chance for VVS Laxman to resurrect his Test career But the stylish Hyderabadi deserves more than that Laxman who has been a seasoned campaigner for India and has starred in some of its memorable wins in recent years was left out of the playing eleven in the two Tests against Bangladesh in May Laxman noted for his superb timing and ability to hit against the turn against spinners scored a sparkling in the tour opener against Sussex Laxman's career changed dramatically in the home series against Australia In the first Test at  [more]
]]> 2007-07-13 23:24 Why Andrew Flintoff is important for England http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-07-11-968.html It is not for nothing that Indian captain Rahul Dravid said that the absence of Andrew Flintoff will pave way for an Indian win in the series starting July Flintoff who underwent an ankle surgery was still recuperating and is doubtful to play any part in the three-match series beginning at Lord's on July Flintoff has picked wickets in nine Tests against India and as captain took as England won the final Test in Mumbai to level the series in and is seen as one of the best players in the modern game It was only by that Flintoff started  [more]
]]> 2007-07-11 23:23 Will India ever find the replacements of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly? http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-07-09-956.html Kapil Dev retired in Indian cricket has still not been able to find his replacement and now India is not too long away from trying to repair a big dent in their batting arsenal with Sachin Tendulkar Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly indicating that this will be their last tour to England Not just that the decision of the Big Three of Indian cricket Tendulkar Dravid and Ganguly to opt out of September's Twenty World Cup in South Africa is a clear indication that their era is coming to an end The trio of stalwarts one the current Test and  [more]
]]> 2007-07-09 22:21 Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh – The Starter and the Finisher http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-07-06-943.html The recent series victory over South Africa in Belfast underlined the roles of Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh as the starter and the finisher of the Indian team If Tendulkar hogged the headlines at the start with his two plus knocks Yuvraj put the smiles back on the Indian team by sealing victory in the last two matches While the return of Tendulkar's old brilliance although in flashes would have warmed the cackles of the Indian fans to see Yuvraj play the crucial role of finisher to perfection would be a better reason to rejoice And as if symbolising the  [more]
]]> 2007-07-06 22:41 Dilip Sardesai – A middle order batsman par excellence http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-07-04-928.html Former Test player Dilip Sardesai who died in Mumbai on Monday was the mainstay of the Indian middle order batting in the s combining sound technique and footwork that made him one of the finest players against spin bowling Sardesai one of the fulcrums around which the Indian batting revolved played Tests between and at an average of with five hundreds to his credit and played in the middle order mostly He also opened at times A right-handed batsman possessing good defence the stocky player was a very good driver of the ball and notched over runs in his first-class  [more]
]]> 2007-07-04 22:34 Chance for Uthappa and Gambhir to make a mark http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-06-22-858.html Young openers Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir will finally have the opportunity to fight for the opening slot without the shadow of Virender Sehwag looming large over them Earlier during the absence of Sourav Ganguly from the one-day scheme of things the Indian think-tank experimented with Uthappa Gambhir Wasim Jaffer and even skipper Rahul Dravid in the opening position even as Sachin Tendulkar had expressed his desire to return to the top of the order After a series of failures in those experiments with the return of Ganguly and the axing of Sehwag the scope of experimenting with the opening  [more]
]]> 2007-06-22 23:00 Can India turn the wheel of fortune after the World Cup debacle? http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-06-20-845.html India may have beaten Bangladesh but the real test of redemption is the UK tour as Rahul Dravid and Co face South Africa in three ODIs in Ireland Pakistan in one ODI in Glasgow and England in three Tests and seven ODIs A new manager in former captain Chandu Borde and a comparatively young team with Mahendra Singh Dhoni as new vice-captain for the Ireland series India will aim to turn the wheel of fortune after the World Cup debacle Post World Cup India under a stopgap manager Ravi Shastri did well in Bangladesh winning both the Test and the  [more]
]]> 2007-06-20 23:18 Sir Ian Botham - the greatest English cricketer ever? http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-06-18-830.html Compared with many of cricket's greatest players most of whom were specialists Sir Ian Botham's averages are fairly ordinary but this overlooks the fact of his all-rounder status which is uncommonly achieved at world-class level Of note Botham's first wickets came at per wicket while his final cost on average a piece the first figure one that would make Botham one of the greatest bowlers of the modern era ranking alongside the West Indian greats Curtley Ambrose career average Malcolm Marshall career average and Joel Garner career average but the second number depicts a player who as a specialist bowler  [more]
]]> 2007-06-18 22:38 Monty Panesar and the art of appealing http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-06-15-812.html Eyes wide jaw open almost in a war cry Monty Panesar takes a high leap in the air before charging down the wicket after taking a wicket for England This exuberance coupled with astounding success on the field has made Monty one of modern cricket's leading characters But on the final day of the third Test at Old Trafford against the West Indies Monty was spoken to by umpire Aleem Dar who told the Northamptonshire slow bowler to observe cricket etiquette by appealing to him first before charging down the pitch to celebrate a wicket Under the International Cricket Council's  [more]
]]> 2007-06-15 22:04 The meteoric rise of Mahendra Singh Dhoni http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-06-13-802.html From being the first player from Jharkhand to play for India to being named the ODI team's vice-captain the career of Mahendra Singh Dhoni has witnessed a meteoric rise That Dhoni beat Yuvraj Singh in the race of vice-captaincy shows the amount of faith the selectors have put in the aggressive wicket-keeper batsman The fact that helped Dhoni in getting the nod for vice-captaincy is his ability to play according to the situation nowadays A powerful hitter of the cricket ball Dhoni has shown the maturity to reign in his aggressive nature to play responsible knocks when the team experienced  [more]
]]> 2007-06-13 22:52 Graham Ford could have been the apt replacement for Greg Chappell http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-06-11-783.html Had Graham Ford accepted the BCCI s offer of coaching the Indian cricket team he could have been the apt replacement for Greg Chappell Ford respected for his cricket onus and behind the scenes' work culture could have been the right choice as coach of the Indian team post World Cup The year-old South African was an anti-thesis to his predecessor Chappell whose poor man management skills had left the team's unity and players' morale severely damaged Ford was Proteas' coach during and after the match-fixing scandal and his motivational skills could have been put to good use as the  [more]
]]> 2007-06-11 23:44 Bangladesh will only move up under Mohammad Ashraful http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-06-04-738.html By naming the flamboyant talented batsman Mohammad Ashraful as captain Bangladesh cricket has taken a step in the right direction The last time that Habibul Bashar performed is distant memory and once he announced his intention to quit captaincy Ashraful was the only right man for the job and he was also being groomed for it as he was the vice-captain for some time Ashraful is by far Bangladesh s best batsman and his flamboyant strokeplay coupled with his wide array of shots is testimony to it Ashraful holds the world record for the youngest batsman to make a Test  [more]
]]> 2007-06-04 23:06 Kevin Pietersen – firm on the path of greatness http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-06-01-717.html With West Indian legend Sir Vivian Richards comparing him with himself and Justin Langer wishing him to be an Aussie South African-born Englishman Kevin Pietersen is firm on the path of greatness In his first Tests Pietersen has scored runs at an average of second only to Sir Don Bradman who scored runs at an average of Pietersen's maiden double century against the West Indies has catapulted the year-old flamboyant right-hander to an elite club of Test batsmen who have earned more than rating points in the ICC Test players rankings Pietersen became st batsman of all time to pass  [more]
]]> 2007-06-01 23:55 The end of Indian opening blues? http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-05-28-698.html With the advent of Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik India seems to have finally solved their perennial problem of a stable opening partnership in Test cricket Ever since the retirement of Sunil Gavaskar India have not really had good openers to whither out the red cherry The Little Master of course did much more than that The names of Sadagopan Ramesh Shiv Sunder Das Devang Gandhi Deep Dasgupta Sanjay Bangar Aakash Chopra come to mind instantly when one thinks of the previous openers that India used and dumped some for not performing to full expectations like Ramesh Das Gandhi and  [more]
]]> 2007-05-28 22:57 India should be looking to whitewash Bangladesh http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-05-09-573.html Rahul Dravid should aim to do to Bangladesh what West Indies did to India immediately after the World Cup The mighty West Indies whitewashed India in the ODI series with the spirit of revenge writ large on their faces Just a series win against Bangladesh will not do It should be more emphatic Only a ODI result will go on to soothe India's hurt pride Bangladesh have beaten India just twice in attempts A success rate of only per cent And before the upset World Cup win that success rate was just half a measly per cent World Cup may  [more]
]]> 2007-05-09 23:14 Indian tour to Bangladesh - a new beginning http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-05-07-543.html Rahul Dravid would be looking to put behind the World Cup disappointments as India gear up for a crucial tour to Bangladesh If India was not so talented that it could bring home the World Cup it was not so pedestrian that it was meant to return after the first round But it has happened and the aftermath is evident A new cricket manager in Ravi Shastri bowling coach in Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach in Robin Singh have been appointed The tour is the first assignment for Dravid after the World Cup debacle that triggered nationwide protests a slew  [more]
]]> 2007-05-07 22:37 Glenn McGrath - An impressive end to an impeccable career http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-05-04-560.html Australian pacer Glenn McGrath s impeccable career ended on a glorious note with record wickets and wins for the team and self at the game's highest stage of the cricket World Cup Unlike some other players in the World Cup's farewell bandwagon who bowed out with their unrealised dreams the year-old finished his year-long career with a run win over Sri Lanka to clinch the unprecedented third straight World Cup title for his team The stalwart set up a record of claiming wickets in a single World Cup to tally in his four Cup performances and overtake former Pakistani pacer  [more]
]]> 2007-05-04 22:14 Cricket World Cup: The domination of Australia http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_columns/2007-05-02-531.html Australia dominated the Cricket World Cup in such a manner that no other team came even close to challenge them forget beating them In reaching four consecutive World Cup finals and winning three successive titles the Australians cricket supremacy that other nations can only dream of The closest victory margin for Australia in terms of runs was in the rain-marred final that ended in a tragic-comedy While chasing Australia never lost more than three wickets Such was the dominance of their batsmen that their bowlers Glenn McGrath Nathan Bracken and Shaun Tait didn t have to bat during the entire  [more]
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