Thursday, June 30, 2005
One day Cricket match will try out new rules
Even though Cricket is a game which you could consider to be "conservative", it does have its own share of experimentation and evolution. Why am I referring to "conservative" here ? To put things in perspective; it is a game where the "body of cricket" is traditional, in trying to preserve the evolution of the game. Even though the shorter version of the game (One day match) has soured in popularity, many critics (who happen to be the cricket pundits and former cricketers) have trouble accepting this. Another area, is the use of "technology", with TV instant replays and Hawk-Eye (a system which tracks the path of the ball and then predicts its trajectory had it not been intercepted by the batsman), only recently was a third umpire allowed to look at close decisions and that too in a limited way (review run outs mostly). Umpires are humans after all! For many, use of technology seems to take away the credibility of the umpires. For some introducing these new "unknown" gadgets seems to be polluting the "game of cricket". If one looks at the "LBW" rule of the game (which has changed over the years) has a very complicated set of guidelines ( if I may use this word here), that ultimately the decision hangs in the "eyes of the umpire" only. The bigger version (test cricket) of the game has bearly evolved over the years. Imagine former cricket players used to be injured, since they were "not allowed" to wear protecting head gears many years ago. There are many who have been disabled because of this. I am sure the reader if not convinced before reading this, should now be convinced about why I used "conservative" in the beginning. So much on this sub topic.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Natwest Series in England for the year 2005
The Ongoing Natwest triangular series at England between the hosts, Australia and Bangladesh has spurred lots of interest, predications and comments from the cricket pundits. Seeing the line ups of the 3 countries one would be tempted to predict a one side match with Australia beating both their opponents by huge margins and Bangladesh struggling to keep their face or is it! If we look at the where the teams stand as of now; England leads the table with 4 wins and 1 loss, the aussies are second with 2 wins and 2 losses. And the Bangladeshi's with 4 losses and a win are out of the finals at Lords, to be played on July 2nd.
Mohammad Ashraful is elated
The Most interesting fact was the Bangladeshi win at Cardiff where Bangladesh won by five wickets wow! The other highlight is the return of the England team with just one loss. Much of the focus has been on the Aussies loss; the next day headlines read something like the following:
"Bangladesh humble sorry Australia" BBC . "Australia are now officially in disarray," The Guardian "Disgraceful on the field. Disgrace off it," wrote The Sydney Morning Herald. "The most embarrassing defeat in our sports history" Sydney's Daily Telegraph.
Ponting's remarks after the match was also along similar lines which is as follows : "This is probably one of the biggest upsets in the history of cricket and my worst defeat as captain. "If this doesn't shake us up, nothing will," Ponting commented. But focusing on the positive side of this outcome, full marks to the Bangla's for a superb performance. This was truly a great moment for them, beating the number one cricket team is not an easy feat. The Aussies put up a meager total of 249-5 in 50 overs, thanks to some sensible bating by Damien Martyn. The Bangladeshi's bowled well to restrict the Aussies; with Tapash Baisya's superb bowling and bagging 3/69. A Superb century knock from Mohammad Ashraful ( 100 runs of 101 balls ) saw the Bangladeshi's to victory. Well done Tigers, a close cricket match against India which almost went their way and now beating the world champions.
Even though the Aussies came back strongly in the next match beating Bangladesh at Old Trafford by 10 wickets, it remains to be seen how Australia would perform in the next matches, especially the finals at Lords. The English have been on a roll with only one loss; their confidence running high. Some pundits say the following: The English team is what the Aussies were a few years ago young, competitive and talented. If England wins the final at Lords it would be certainly a turning point for the Australian and English cricket. Watch out Baggy greens!
