Posts Tagged ‘Cricket’

Rishabh Pant behaved like a spoilt brat. Needs sacking from the captaincy.

April 22, 2022

Update!

Well they were fined as expected.

But Pant needs a public spanking.

Watching the IPL from far-away Sweden is wonderful escapism for me.

But there were ugly scenes today as Rajasthan Royals and Butler took Delhi apart. Delhi fought well on the field but a wonderful game was ruined by the antics of a spoilt brat.

Rishabh Pant is an exciting cricketer to watch. But as a captain of Delhi Capitals he comes up wanting – and badly wanting. His behaviour today was not just disgraceful in itself but he was encouraged by a bunch of idiots in his dugout. I note that Ricky Ponting was not there. Perhaps he might have prevented Pant from bringing the game into disrepute. But he could not have stopped Pant from bringing himself into disrepute.

No doubt there will be some nominal slapping of wrists and some fines levied. But what he needs is a real spanking and to be sacked from the job of captain. He is certainly no role model as captain.

ESPN

Ugly scenes as Rishabh Pant sends off Pravin Amre onto the field after threatening to call his players off. What has happened is this: with 36 runs required off the last over, Rovman Powell has hit the first three for sixes. The third one is a high full toss, which has not been called a no-ball on the field, but the DC dugout is remonstrating immediately. The replay shows it is touch and go, possibly high, but not blatantly so. But the laws and the rules say you can check no-balls only if a wicket has fallen of the ball. DC want it referred.

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The real reason why India was eliminated from the T20 World Cup

November 8, 2021

India will play its last, inconsequential match against Namibia today and then they will all go home.

For the first time in about 9 years India has failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.

There will be much analysis by idiot experts and expert idiots, by journalists and sociologists, by coaches and hangers-on, by talk-show hosts and politicians, by pundits and imams, by celebrities and other ignoramuses, and sometimes by the knowledgeable. We will hear variously that:

    1. the IPL is prioritised over playing for the country,
    2. the BCCI failed,
    3. the BCCI is only interested in money
    4. Ravi Shastri had no interest,
    5. there is too much cricket,
    6. team selection was wrong,
    7. the timing was wrong for the tournament,
    8. it was not an auspicious time,
    9. the batsmen failed,
    10. the bowlers had too much to do
    11. it was bad luck or bad karma
    12. India team players are not hungry enough,
    13. the matches were fixed,
    14. Virat Kohli is well past it,
    15. Rishab Pant is a buffoon,
    16. Harthik Pandya is crude and over-rated,
    17. …………

The real reasons claimed might seem quite simple. (more…)

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1200 years after the Vikings invented krykket, cricket comes of age in Sweden

June 1, 2015

The theory is that cricket was actually first invented, not by the Saxons or even the Normans, but by the Vikings in Britain about 1200 years ago. It is said that as they raided, injured Vikings started whiling away their time by using their crutches (krykka) in a game to knock the skulls of their victims around. It was played on the beach where the injured Vikings were left to guard their ships. Perhaps it was markings on their ships which provided the first “wickets” and the notion of “guarding your wicket” originated there. For Viking warriors it was a game only for the weak and the crippled. The practice ceased as Vikings started to settle in Britain and playing with the skulls of victims became politically incorrect. The krykket games sank into disrepute and into the subconscious, only to surface again in the 16th century in England, and the rest is history. The game of skulls and crutches was never taken back home by the Vikings for want of non-Viking victims’ skulls. (Viking victims were sent off to Valhalla, with their bodies intact, on their burning ships).

(It is worth noting that Viking raids – on average – planned for 5 day forays inland, limited by the provisions they had to carry. So possibly the beached Vikings ensured that their games were completed within 5 days before the raiders returned – and somehow this time limitation has survived the centuries!)

The Swedish Cricket Federation was founded in 1990 and now at 25 years of age was accepted into the Swedish Sports Federation on 30th May.

There are some 3,000 active cricketers in Sweden in 55 clubs, with 42 clubs participating in a national league. The clubs are located all over Sweden with the northernmost club probably being the Skellefteå Cricket Club. The Skillinge Ladies & Gentlemen’s Cricket Club is one of many holding fort in the south.

The SCF became a member of the International Cricket Council in 1990 and played its first international match in 1999 against Portugal. In May 2011, Sweden won the ICC Europe Division 3 tournament and participated in the ICC Division 2 Europe 20/ 20 tournament.In 2012 Sweden participated in the European Division 2, 20/20. Sweden finished in 2nd place in the tournament and advanced to ICC Europe Division 1. In 2013, the Swedish national team traveled to England where it took part in ICC Europe Division 1 and competed against teams like Italy, Germany, Belgium, Guernsey, and Norway.

The Swedish Cricket Federation now becomes the 71st member of the the Swedish Sports Federation (Riksidrottsförbundet).

SCF comes of age

SCF comes of age

 

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Dutch beat England AT CRICKET!

March 31, 2014

In the cricketing world this must be the equivalent of a magnitude 9 earthquake or of Jamiaca beating Canada at ice hockey.

Except that this happened 5 years ago as well.

Cricket has in fact been played in the Netherlands for over 150 years – mainly by expats. Their first recorded match as a national team was in 1881. A number of Dutch cricketers have also played at the first class level in England, Australia and India.There is even a Dutch women’s team.

BBC:

England ended their winter of discontent on a new low as they were beaten by minnows Netherlands at the World Twenty20 in Chittagong.

With neither side able to reach the semi-finals, the Dutch raced to 84-1 in 11 overs before Ravi Bopara’s stint of 1-15 limited them to 133-5.

In reply, England were all out for just 88 as Bopara top-scored with 18.

England’s 45-run loss echoed the four-wicket reverse they suffered at the hands of the Dutch at Lord’s in 2009.

 

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Waiting for a new Tendulkar

November 20, 2013

An almost necessary requirement for anyone to be a credible successor to Tendulkar will be for him to enter into Test cricket by the age of 17 or 18 at the latest (Tendulkar joined the Indian Test team at 16).

Two years ago Arman Jaffer exploded into cricket consciousness with 498 runs for his school Rizvi Springfield in a Giles Shield match. He was only 13 at the time. He was selected this summer when he was still 14 as a probable for Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy squad.  He is still only 15 and remains on course to emulate Tendulkar’s particular brand of divinity.

ToI: Veteran opener Wasim Jaffer will welcome the introduction of his 14-year-old nephew Arman Jaffer, who was included in a 30-man probables list named by the new panel of Mumbai selectors, ….. Having scored heavily in junior cricket in the past few years, Arman has already made a name for himself as a batting sensation. He slammed a record 498 for Rizvi Springfield in the Giles Shield final back in 2010, and almost broke that mark by rustling up 473 this February in the Harris Shield final at Matunga Gymkhana. This season, Arman steered the Mumbai U-16 team to the Vijay Merchant title by scoring 1046 runs with four hundreds and eight fifties — in six games. It was the first time a batsman had scored more than 1,000 runs in that tournament.

But there are others who could push Arman Jaffer hard. His record of 498 in schools cricket has already been broken, once again by the captain of Rizvi Springfield.

ToI: Mumbai’s under 16 and Rizvi Springfield captain Prithvi Shaw created the world record by becoming the first batsman to score 500 runs in inter school tournament. The 14 years old Prithvi achieved the milestone against St. Francis D’Assisi in the Harris Shield tournament match on Wednesday. 
Prithvi’s marathon 546 runs knock that came off 330 balls was studded with 85 fours and five sixes.The Mumbai teenager broke Armaan Jaffer’s record of 498 runs. On Tuesday, Prithvi was unbeaten on 257 to put Rizvi Springfield (Bandra) in command against St. Francis D’Assisi (Borivali).

First Post: …. Shaw has amassed 4000 runs in the last three years across the circuit — mainly in school cricket competitions. …… Shaw has already played abroad in England for the Gloucestershire second team — which is just one level below first-class cricket. ”I am a professional and when I see talent I know it. If he keeps up the work, in five years he will arguably be the best batsman in the world,” former English county cricketer and the founder JW cricket academy Julian Wood said about the teenager.

The vintage Tendulkar will be sorely missed of course – though I think he should have retired 4 or 5 years ago. But his straight driving between mid-on and cover came straight from heaven. But there is new talent making itself known. Jaffer and Shaw will be names to watch and I am quite sure they will not be without rivals.

For all schoolboy cricketers it will be a worthy ambition to try and follow in Sachin Tendulkar’s footsteps. But to actually succeed Sachin will not be easy and it may never happen.

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Arman Jaffer – a successor to Tendulkar?

December 23, 2010

From the Mumbai Mirror:

Arman Jaffer: image Mumbai Mirror

Arman Jaffer etched his name in the record books by scoring an incredible 498 runs against IES Raje Shivaji in the Giles Shield. The youngster, who plays for Rizvi Springfield, helped his team reach 800 for eight in the process but yesterday was all about him as he became the holder of the highest individual score in Mumbai schools cricket. The ease with which the 13-year-old batted revealed an instinct that cannot be coached. Perhaps the fact that he is former India opener Wasim Jaffer’s nephew has started to show. The Rizvi batsman broke his teammate Sarfaraz Khan’s record of 439 runs which was recorded in last year’s Harris Shield.

 

Sachin Tendulkar started his phenomenal Test career at the age of 16, so Arman has another 3 years to emulate his hero and get into the Indian Test team.

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