Flawed yet fascinating

Filed under: Australian cricket — @ 2:37 amPopularity: 1%

Of Steve Waugh’s 32 Test centuries, 25 led to victories, yet Shane Warne called him a match-saver, not a match-winner © Getty Images

Tim de Lisle
Cricket generates a lot of lists. So do the modern media. There are now so many lists coming at you that even a list-lover may be left feeling a little listless. But Shane Warne’s list of the top 50 cricketers of his time, published last week in The Times, bucked the trend. It was everything a list ought to be: provocative, surprising, talked-about, and, in places, plain wrong.
Most players who have columns are about as good at writing as journalists are at batting and bowling, but Warne is one of the exceptions. He always has opinions and where others might soften them to spare their fellow pros’ feelings, he is more […]

Original post by Ashok Ganguly and powered by Img Fly

Add comment October 19th, 2007

A matter of formats

Filed under: Analysis — @ 2:37 amPopularity: 1%

More one-day matches should be linked to a prestigious tournament involving the stronger nations
© Getty Images

Ian Chappell
I’ll bet the administrators wish they possessed a reliable crystal ball that would provide a glimpse of cricket’s future. Especially when it comes to Twenty20, the shortest but suddenly most desirable form of the game.
The fans can’t get enough of Twenty20, the players are starting to embrace it, and private promoters are spending millions in the hope of cashing in on the popularity of the sport’s latest entertainment craze. The question the administrators would love to have answered by that crystal ball is: “Does it have a long and viable future?” If they knew the answer to that question, they would know what approach to take in regard to the 50-over game.

Original post by Ashok Ganguly and powered by Img Fly

Add comment October 19th, 2007

Muddy waters run deep

Filed under: Pakistan cricket — @ 2:37 amPopularity: 1%

Osman Samiuddin

Mohammad Yousuf’s potential loss will be a big blow to the PCB
© AFP

Rare is the issue in Pakistan cloaked in black, white and little else. The deeper you delve, the more complex it gets; contradiction, hypocrisy, incompetence, lies, and sometimes facts, happily swim together in this cesspool, where nothing is really right or wrong. So it is with the decision of four active internationals to sign up with the Indian Cricket League, and maybe sign away what remains of their Pakistan careers.
What you also find is bristling diversity of opinion here. So for every person who says the PCB is incompetent, uncaring, and has driven its players away, another will chip in about the mercenary nature of the modern cricketer. The media, newly loud and proud, captures it best; one article in The News vented fury at the greed of the […]

Original post by Mathew Varghese and a wordpress plugin by Elliott

Add comment October 19th, 2007

Neil Manthorp - Kallis and Harris made all the difference

Filed under: Expressions — @ 2:37 amPopularity: unranked

This may hurt as much as the series result itself, but Pakistan weren’t just beaten - they were out-spun, by one man against two, on pitches prepared to favour spinner.

Original post by Cricinfo cricket features and plugin by Elliott Back

Add comment October 19th, 2007

Andrew Miller - Flaccid finish tarnishes England win

Filed under: Expressions — @ 2:37 amPopularity: unranked

In the end the allure of history was no match for the futility of dead-rubber syndrome.

Original post by Cricinfo cricket features and plugin by Elliott Back

Add comment October 19th, 2007

Osman Samiuddin - Blinded by spin, Pakistan lost the contest

Filed under: Expressions — @ 2:37 amPopularity: unranked

Blind to South Africa’s success against Pakistan and India last year on turning tracks, and their minor victory in slowing down Muttiah Muralitharan before that, many faultily assumed the visitors would struggle against spin.

Original post by Cricinfo cricket features and software by Elliott

Add comment October 19th, 2007

Anand Vasu - Basic mistakes cost India dear

Filed under: Expressions — @ 2:37 amPopularity: 1%

Against most teams, a start like one Tendulkar and Ganguly got off to, would have been enough to secure victory. Against Australia, however, you have to be playing at your best for all 100 overs.

Original post by Cricinfo cricket features and software by Elliott Back

Add comment October 19th, 2007

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