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Australia fall short on coaching front too

Tracknfieldgear On December 31, 2010

This Ashes series has exposed the massive gulf among the expertise of the England and Australia coaching staffs. Andy Flower's careful movement has his men purring while Tim Nielsen's home side has spent most of the summer praying for a handful of guys to cover up a glut of mistakes. The stark reality is Australia have been out-batted, out-bowled, out-fielded and out-thought for most of the campaign. Playing strength is obviously the main reason for the result, but the combatants are groomed by the head coaches and their bulging batch of assistants.

Flower, a enormously valued former Zimbabwe batsman, appears like a Godfather over the England side, working out his strategies and speaking simply and sternly. Nielsen is more like a mate to the Australians than a task master, a friend on the training paddock and a sounding board, rather than a master diplomat or tyrant. Since being defeated in the 2009 Ashes, the Australians have beaten West Indies, a questionable Pakistan outfit at home, and New Zealand away. In the past six months there has been a drawn campaign with Pakistan, a 2-0 loss to India and now this fumbling Ashes show.

Australia's summer began with a seven-match losing streak across all competitions and so far the only international successes have been a dead-rubber ODI win over Sri Lanka and the dead-cat bounce in Perth. Changing personnel and under-performing leaders have contributed heavily to the results, but the coaching staff has been unable to give much measurable support. Under Nielsen there is the bowling mentor Troy Cooley, the batting assistant Justin Langer, the fielding coach Mike Young and the analyst Dene Hills. Stuart Karppinen, the fitness and conditioning coach, also has a first-class bowling background.

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Laxman, Zaheer achieve career best Test rankings

Tracknfieldgear On December 30, 2010

V.V.S. Laxman and Zaheer Khan achieved their career best International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings after India's emphatic 87-run victory against South Africa in the second Test at Durban.Laxman's match-winning 96 in the second innings took him to the ninth spot while paceman Zaheer Khan's total of six wickets for 93 took him three places up for the fourth spot.

It is for the first time that Laxman has entered the top-10 rankings.Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar are the other two Indians in the top-10 batting list at the fourth and second place, respectively. Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara holds the top spot and England's Jonathan Trot, who smashed a match-winning century at Melbourne, is in third place.

Besides Zaheer, Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who also took six wickets in the Durban Test, has encouraged up two spots to be at the eighth place in the bowling rankings. South African speedster Dale Steyn is top Test bowler followed by England spinner Graeme Swann. South African pacer Morne Morkel is at the third place.India's S. Sreesanth also jumped six places to 27th position.

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Ponting eager to carry on

Tracknfieldgear On December 29, 2010

Ricky Ponting wants to remain as Australia captain despite weakening to manage the return of the Ashes.After going down by an innings and 157 runs in Melbourne, Australia trail England 2-1 with just the New Year Test in Sydney to come.England hold the Ashes following their 2009 triumph on home soil, therefore the best Ponting's men can now hope for is a share of the series.

The MCG hammering has led to much soul searching among the Australian press with many calling for a youth movement.Ponting, at 36, is the oldest player in the side and his positions as captain and number three batsman are sure to come under inspection at the conclusion of the series.But the Tasmanian does not appear to be contemplating retirement and believes he still has "a lot to offer".

"Whatever decision I make, it's really important it's for the betterment of Australian cricket," he said."I want to keep playing. I would love to keep leading the team. I still think I've got a lot to offer in both those regards - but it's got to be about the betterment of Australia cricket."It's never been about me. It's always been about the team and what's right for the team."I've felt I've led the team as well as I can.

I want to be around the team, helping these young guys through the tougher times and think I still have a lot to offer those younger blokes."I haven't performed the way I wanted to perform. But I certainly haven't done it without trying, that's for sure."I guess there's been a few doubts creep into my mind the last couple of weeks - I'm not going to hide that."I think I absolutely have to reconsider where I'm at as a Test batsman."

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Construction of cricket stadium halted

Tracknfieldgear On December 28, 2010

The construction of an international cricket stadium, allegedly in violation of surroundings norms by the Goa Cricket Association (GCA), has been halted following a public interest litigation filed in the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court Tuesday.GCA secretary Prasad Phatarpekar has certain the court that all work undertaken to create the stadium at Thivim would be closed until further court orders.The NGO Goa Foundation had claimed in the court of Justice A.P. Lawande that more than 100 trees had been felled without permission by contractors employed by GCA.

It also alleged that the construction of the stadium was being carried out without the mandatory permissions. "The Goa Foundation challenged commencement of work on the sports ground site... The GCA admitted it also did not have panchayat license for its operations which, according to PWD, was in the region of Rs.40 lakh," Claude Alvares of Goa Foundation said. "The EIA (environment impact assessment) notification of September 2006 does not permit even land preparation work at any site until project authorities have obtained an surroundings permission order," he added.

The Goa Foundation and several residents of Thivim had filed a PIL challenging the permissions granted for felling of a forest at the future site. The petitioners had also challenged the project on the ground that it had not procured mandatory environment clearance.In the court, GCA had filed two affidavits in which it stated that it had already got in touch with a party in Mumbai to assist it with the processing of environment clearance.It also gave an undertaking, which the court accepted, that it would not commence work on the project till it had all the obligatory statutory clearances.The court fixed the matter for Dec 31 for further orders.

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A lifelong pursuit

Tracknfieldgear On December 27, 2010

Sir Donald George Bradman and Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar have more in common than just their batting styles. Not only did they show aggressive and enjoyable cricket, drawing audience in record numbers, the two also stood out as icons that brought solace to their respective nations in difficult times. Sir Don became Australia's sporting icon at the height of the Great Depression. In the post-war years he captained an Australian side who were called 'The Invincibles'. And while he accumulated that statistically incredible average, he did so because of his obedience. He was not of the manor born, but there was an exuberance that was intensely appealing. And they went to watch him because he believed in the joy of giving.

Four decades after the Don had called it a day, it was exactly this strongly appealing exuberance that shone through from the blade of Sachin Tendulkar. It is exactly this quality that made Tendulkar India's 'middle-class hero'. In an era where icons were few and far between, Tendulkar was the torchbearer for an entire generation who had begun to believe that dreams did come true. It was the discipline and the joy of giving that involved everyone towards him. And it was exactly this reason that prodded The Don to include Sachin as the only playing cricketer of this generation in his best-ever lineup.Bradman ranked Tendulkar above Brian Lara, Graeme Pollock, George Headley, Wally Hammond, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh, Viv Richards, Everton Weekes, Stan McCabe, Charlie Macartney, Neil Harvey, Greg Chappell, Denis Compton, Peter May and Victor Trumper.

The Don, in fact, went on record to say that he felt he was looking at a 'mirror-image' of himself when he watched Tendulkar play. It really is, therefore, nothing short of blasphemy when the two are compared time and again and polls are conducted to find out who is better than the other. The what-if scenarios constructed by those fixated by sheer numbers is a hollow homage that they pay to either of these players. It is a obsession on the parts of the intensely capitalistic who believe in mass invention. Maximisation of runs and minimisation of balls faced is their only way of appreciating their greatness.But they fail to see what The Don and Tendulkar stand for. Numbers, for them, is a by-product of their endeavour to create a welfare state of mind.

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Seven Indians in dream chase

Tracknfieldgear On December 23, 2010

India's top order trio over the history decade Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Saurav Ganguly dominate nominations for the openers' slot to pick the greatest One-day International team of all time. The International Cricket Council's official website,www.icc-cricket.com, has asked fans to vote for their all-time favourite line-up as well as their vision game, to mark the 40th centenary of the first-ever ODI game played between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Club on January 16, 1971.Seven Indian players are among the 48 and three India games are featured in the 10 matches shortlisted for the purpose.

The contest is also likely to give early momentum to the build-up for the World Cup, which kicks off on Feb. 19. "Supporters can vote on www.icc-cricket.com until Jan 2 to make their selections. They can also send in their dream teams and favourite matches via www.facebook/cricketicc or www.twitter.com/cricketicc," ICC said in a statement.Fans can vote in six categories - openers, middle-order batsmen, all-rounder, wicketkeeper, fast bowlers and spinners. No Indian finds mention in the nominations for picking three middle-order batsmen and among the eight nominations of fast bowlers to choose three.

Kapil Dev is among the eight competing for the lone all-rounder's slot and MS Dhoni is in the race with seven others for the wicketkeeper's position. Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh are in the estimate for the single spinner's berth although Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan are in the eight-man list.Two of India's unforgettable victories find mention - the stunning 43-run upset over West Indies in the 1983 World Cup final and the 5-run thriller versus Pakistan in Karachi in 2004. The other India game is the final heartbreaker Pakistan's one-wicket win following Javed Miandad's last ball six, at Sharjah in 1986.

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Tendulkar's way of getting basics right

Tracknfieldgear On December 22, 2010

A little past the nightfall hours in mid-October, Sunil Gavaskar was full of cheer, getting guests on the lawns of the Wellington Golf Club, Mahalaxmi. He had thrown a party to celebrate Professional Management Group's silver jubilee year and he turned out to be the perfect host.He also appeared to be pleased with the way in which India had prevailed over Australia in the two-Test series with Sachin Tendulkar running up scores of 98, 38, 214 and 53 not out. Gavaskar appeared to be in awe at the manner in which Tendulkar prepared for a Test and One-Day International.

As part of the commentary team for the official broadcasters in India and on occasions elsewhere in the world, Gavaskar has his duties on the eve of the match at the venue and also hours earlier than the start of each day's play. Obviously he makes it a point to see the way the teams prepare, particularly the way the Indian team goes about its business while training.The party at the Wellington Club was yet to warm up and the discussion, for a good 20 minutes, revolved around how to face short-pitched bowling.

Of course, Gavaskar was the one who occupied centrestage and the rest were all ears listening to the nuggets of wisdom from a batsman who was the first to break the 10,000-run barrier in Test cricket.Gavaskar talked at length about the nuances of batting and especially the way Tendulkar geared up at the nets singling out a scrupulous aspect.“His preparation is different from most others. Tendulkar never tries to hit fours or sixes when he goes out to bat at the nets. For a good deal of time Tendulkar practices the defensive shots first. He makes sure that his bat comes down as straight as possible with the full face while meeting the ball.

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Lara, Gilly in top bracket for IPL auction

Tracknfieldgear On December 21, 2010

Brian Lara and Adam Gilchrist have been placed in the top bracket for the Indian Premier League auctions to be held on January 8 and 9 in Bangalore.The IPL Governing Council has sent a list of all the players offered for the auction to the franchises along with their base prices. This list does not include Australians Ricky Ponting, Mitchell Johnson and Michael Clarke.Close to 400 foreign players will be available for the auction and the maximum base price is 4,00,000 USD and the minimum is 2,00,000 USD.

While Gilchrist's name in the top bracket is not very surprising though he did not have a great IPL last year, he is still the captain of the Deccan Chargers.But Lara's name among the top draws was a little unexpected allowing for that he has not played competitive cricket since 2007.Apart from the batting great, Chris Gayle is the only other player from West Indies in the top bracket.England, who won the World T20 crown earlier this year, have as many as six players in the top bracket, the greatest for any country apart from India.

Stuart Broard, James Anderson, Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright and Michael Yardy are expected to be among the top draws at the auction.Another surprise was that Kings XI Punjab captain Kumar Sangakkara was not positioned in the top bracket with only Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakeratne Dilshan being the only Sri Lankan players with maximum base price.

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'Record crowd' expected for fourth Test

Tracknfieldgear On December 20, 2010

The fourth Ashes Test could attract a record crowd of more than 90,000 to the Melbourne Cricket Ground later this week after Australia's dramatic third Test victory in Perth.The record verified audience for a cricket match was the 90,800 who turned out to watch Australia play West Indies at the MCG in 1961, although unverified crowds at Kolkata's Eden Gardens are believed to have reached 100,000.The first day of a Melbourne Test match, traditionally played on December 26 or Boxing Day, is one of the great occasions of Australian sport and so hopes are high that a bumper crowd will pitch up.

"We knew that day one would be very strong, the ticket sales have indicated a plus-80,000 crowd," Cricket Victoria chief Tony Dodemaide told the Sydney Morning Herald."But we will now do all we can to ensure that all seats that are available are taken. I think the high 80s, perhaps even up to 90,000, will certainly be a chance."The first day of the Melbourne Test always attracts good crowds but with an fascinating Ashes series now tied at 1-1 and Australia riding high in confidence, interest could reach "fever pitch" for the match against England, Dodemaide said.

"Well we hoped - expected, really - that Australia would fight back hard and that's what they have done," he said. "The occasion on Boxing Day is something that is now embedded; people do come along for the occasion of the event."The success of the match is so much more enhanced when there's context. If the series had've been gone, Australia not being able to win the Ashes, then it would have affected the appeal of the match in total, aside from the first day."Australia is now going in with momentum, I think it will create a lot of buzz."Attendances in the first three Tests have been good with Brisbane recording the second-highest after the 2006-07 Ashes series and both Adelaide and Perth attracting their highest crowds of the century for day one of their Tests.

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Practice match before Test would have helped India

Tracknfieldgear On December 18, 2010

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly feels that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team should have at least played a practice match ahead of the first Test that’s underway at the Centurion.“It was an important toss to lose if you take the environment under consideration. Also the fact that you entered straightaway into a Test match without playing a practice game made things even more difficult”, Ganguly said.“The pitch was a bit damp after rain and it was complicated conditions for batting,” Ganguly said at the end of Bengal’s Ranji Trophy match against the Railways at the Karnail Singh ground today.

Ganguly, who scored a gutsy half century in Johannesburg in India’s only Test victory in South Africa during the 2006-07 tour feels that the Indians need to get their act quickly in order to make a comeback.“They have already had their backs to the wall in this Test match. So the quicker they can apply themselves and make comeback, it’s better for the team. Remember one thing, after Centurion, they would be next playing in Durban which is another fast deck,” he said.When asked whether Zaheer Khan’s absence in the Test match is hurting team’s bowling, he replied, “Zaheer is only human.“

He will get injured. But I look at it from a different perspective. If someone gets injured, it means that it’s an opportunity for another player to make a mark. Even if Zaheer would have been there, Ishant and Sreesanth need to bowl well from the other end to keep the momentum going. Tomorrow, Harbhajan might get injured. Then one would expect Ravichandran Ashwin to do well just the like the young Tamil Nadu offie did against New Zealand in the recently finished ODI series.”Incidentally, the pace trio of Sreesanth, Ishant and Jaydev Unadkat went wicketless on the second day as South Africa smashed their way to 366 for 2.

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Steve Waugh debates Ricky Ponting's future

Tracknfieldgear On December 17, 2010

Former Australia captain Steve Waugh believes current skipper Ricky Ponting will quit international cricket if he loses the captaincy.Ponting, who made 12 on Thursday as Australia scored 268 all out in Perth, is under increasing pressure following his side's poor start to the Ashes. Waugh told the BBC's Test Match Special it would be "very hard" for Ponting to continue if he was no longer captain.



"I don't know what would motivate him in that situation," added Waugh. Australia suffered a run of seven straight defeats in all forms of the game in the build-up to the start of the Ashes and headed into the third Test in Perth 1-0 down in the five-match Test series.They were outplayed again by England on the first day at the Waca on Thursday and Ponting faces becoming the first Australia captain in 120 years to lose three Ashes series.

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Not thinking too much about 50th Test ton

Tracknfieldgear On December 16, 2010

Despite standing on the threshold of history, Sachin Tendulkar seemed unfazed by the media attention and the expectation around his 50th Test century.“I believe it is destiny. When it is destined to happen it will happen. I am not thinking too much about it. My focus is on preparation,” Tendulkar said.Tendulkar, however, chosen to focus on the match and not personal landmarks.“For me one thing is very important and that is to get acclimatised to local weather conditions,” he said.

“Preparations have been spot on and the lengthy practice session has given us that opportunity (to get acclimatised).“We have had good net sessions under the guidance of coach Gary (Kirsten),” he said.Tendulkar pointed out that like India, South Africa will also have their task cut out as the series heralds the opening of the season for the Proteas.“In South Africa, players and critics always talk about getting used to pace and bounce of wickets here. For them this is going to be the start of the season, so wickets are going to be a lot fresher,” Tendulkar said.

“While playing in Johannesburg you have to be extra careful. That is in high altitude area, so supply of oxygen is a bit of a problem,” he said.Asked how difficult it is to get used to foreign conditions, Sachin explained: “When tour starts and we step on the cricket field for the first time we usually start running. While finishing first lap one can easily feel that the body is not getting enough oxygen. “Once you get used to that kind of conditions then there is no problem.”

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Sachin Tendulkar praised by Smith

Tracknfieldgear On December 15, 2010

Sachin Tendulkar has been termed as the gaming ambassador by Graeme Smith.the captain of South Africa for playing as an motivation to many and even for Smith who watched him play at a young age and it was because of him that he got the desire to play this game at a young age of 11.When Tendulkar toured the country after the readmission of the nation after a long break due to apartheid, Smith was 11 then and a little boy in the making to be a great cricketer one day.

Smith will be on his first Tour dated the 16th of December to India while this may be Sachin’s last tour to the nation on the other hand.Smith happily proclaimed that Tendulkar is the gaming ambassador for cricket and he is a player with world class standards on the whole.By seeing Sachin play Smith got his early concentration to the game and this leaded on to become motivation.Seeing Sachin over the television set made him feel that he wanted to be someone like him one day.

Smith also talked about Gary Kirsten the present coach of India and also the former South African opener saying that his play is still respected all across.Kirsten also became a point of appreciation from the mouth of young player S. Sreesanth who said that the coach was a great inspiration to play with.It was Sreesanth speaking on behalf of the Indian cricket team at the official reception while Smith spoke for the South African team.

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Warne return ‘fanciful

Tracknfieldgear On December 14, 2010

Talk of Shane Warne coming out of retirement to rescue Australia’s stumbling Ashes battle is “fanciful”, according to Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland. Australia’s comprehensive innings and 71-run defeat by England in Adelaide last week sparked media calls for the recall of the retired 41-year-old spin bowling great.Sutherland, however, said octagenarian television commentator Richie Benaud, who last bowled a ball on the test stage in 1964, was as likely to pull on the baggy green cap again.

“Shane retired from Test cricket almost exactly four years ago and, by his own admission, he hasn’t touched a cricket bat or ball since the (Indian Premier League) IPL early this year,” Sutherland told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.“CA hasn’t spoken to him about playing and, while the selectors work independently of CA management, I am not aware of them having any purpose of talking to Shane.England coach Andy Flower laughed off suggestions Warne could make a shock Ashes comeback as Australia become increasingly anxious to find a way to win back the prized urn.

Warne has been romantically linked to English model and occasional film star Liz Hurley and also announced that he had again split with his wife Simone, with whom he has three children. Speaking ahead of the third Test at the WACA ground in Perth, starting on Thursday, Flower laughed off any thought of Warne resuming his 145-Test career after almost four years out of the game.“I am not surprised that it won’t go away,” he said of the Warne conjecture with a broad grin. “But it is not going to happen.”

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DRS could undergo changes: ICC

Tracknfieldgear On December 13, 2010

Changes could be made to the contentious Decision Review System for a "near to ideal" final model which would be satisfactory to all, International Cricket Council CEO Haroon Lorgat said on Sunday.The DRS has been opposed by a few Boards, including India, and some top cricketers such as Sachin Tendulkar, and Lorgat said some changes could be made to the innovation to convince the sceptical lot."From the start we've always had a very open mind about the referral system and we are always open to changes that can make the system better," Lorgat told 'The Australian Associated Press'.

"There may still be changes to the system, I can't say what those changes might be, but we are open-minded. More and more people are being won over to the system after having seen it or used it. There are still a few people who are not supportive of it," he added without specifying the the exact nature of changes that could be made.Lorgat said players are becoming increasingly confident about the system with the increasing frequency of its usage.Lorgat cited Alastair Cook's referral to correct a wrongful dismissal during the Adelaide Ashes Test agianst Australia as an example of the players' rising faith in the system.

"It is not there to get a wicket when you are struggling to find one, it is there to fix the obvious errors - Alastair Cook's referral on the fourth day when he was given out caught behind off his arm was a classic instance," he said."That's exactly what it is for, and I'm quite confident we are near to the ideal. We will never have it 100 per cent right."Lorgat said those opposed to DRS would also be convinced once its usage is increased at the international level."It is just an issue of them experiencing its use more often," he said."Likewise there was a fair amount of scepticism among a lot of countries two years ago, but the more they have used it the more they have liked it."

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Kapil sowed India's winning habit

Tracknfieldgear On December 10, 2010

Vivian Richards has once again reiterated Kapil Dev’s status as one of the world’s best all-rounder ever. Speaking at the ESPN-STAR Sports-organized World Cup promotional event in New Delhi on Thursday, Richards said, “Kapil, in my opinion, created the winning habit in the Indian team. You always felt you never really had the better of him. He was as much determined as his opponents to do well.”Recalling the events of the 1983 India-West Indies World Cup final at Lord’s, Richards said the catch that Kapil took to dismiss him would always remain special.

He reminisces: “There were no other Indian fieldsmen (on that day) who would have taken that catch. The minute the ball went up in the air and I saw Kapil getting underneath the ball, I knew my time was up.”Queried on West Indies’ chances in the upcoming World Cup, the charming 58-year-old Richards said, “The team has the capacity but needs to get themselves organized and play together as a group more often. The recent Test series against Sri Lanka should have helped them in this regard. We are hoping and praying in a big way that they do something special in the World Cup.”

Known for his destructive strokeplay and commanding presence at the crease, the dashing Caribbean hero of the past said every time he walked out to bat, he felt he belonged there.Former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan said the ability of Richards to dominate bowling attacks and not let himself get frightened by the bowlers made him stand out from the other batsmen of his era.Richards also paid glowing tributes to Virender Sehwag, saying the Indian opener is the most destructive player in world cricket at the moment.

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ICC to use DRS from knock-out stage of World Cup

Tracknfieldgear On December 8, 2010

The International Cricket Council has decided to introduce the highly debated Decision Review System (DRS) from the quarterfinal stage of the World Cup, scheduled to be held in the Indian sub-continent in Feb-April 2011."The DRS will be used in the four quarterfinals, two semifinals and the final, a total of seven matches, in the ICC Cricket World Cup," an ICC spokesperson told reporters here on Wednesday.He added that the DRS would be used only in the later stages of the tournament, to be jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from February 19-April 2, because of scarcity of enough number of correct tools for it to be used during the league phase too.

The four quarterfinals are scheduled for March 23 (Dhaka), March 24 (Colombo), March 25 (Dhaka) and March 26 (Ahmedabad).The two semifinals are scheduled be held on March 29 (Colombo) and March 30 (Mohali), while Mumbai will host the final on April 2.Meanwhile, ICC's venue check squad comprising seven groups, visited the Wankhede Stadium here, which is to host the grand finale."The seven groups are dealing with cricket operations, commerce, grounds, legal, security, broadcast and media. They had an inspection of the stadium and whatever they saw today will be shared with the Tournament Director (Prof. Ratnakar Shetty)," he said.

The renovation work in the stadium that commenced more than two years ago is still to be completed but officials of Mumbai Cricket Association, which owns the venue, are confident everything would be finished, barring some finishing touches, by the end of this year."Everything would be ready by December 31 and by January 15, 2011 the final finishing touches would also be finished," said an MCA source.As per ICC's requirements, the organisers are yet to play a few matches on the newly laid pitch and the renovated outfield to test their readiness for hosting World Cup matches.

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Sehwag will leave for South Africa on Wednesday morning

Tracknfieldgear On December 7, 2010

Stylish Indian opener Virender Sehwag will be leaving for South Africa on Wednesday, 8th of December. BCCI decided to send a batch of players a bit earlier to South Africa to get acclimatized with the environment over there as the tourists would not have even a single warm-up game in front of the three-Test series which commences in Centurion on December 16.The sources within Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) told media reporters that originally Sehwag planned to leave for South Africa on Monday along with coach Gary Kirsten and three other players including Jaydev Unadkat, Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav but the plan was changed as the opener sustained a viral infection.

"Sehwag pulled out late as he was not well, down with viral infection, and will be leaving on Wednesday morning with eight other cricketers and manager Ranjib Biswal", said the BCCI source.The other players, who will also be joined by Sehwag on the same flight, consist of the Indian captain Mahindra Singh Dhoni, batting Maestro Sachin Tendulkar, the spearhead spinner Harbhajan Singh, middle-order batsman Suresh Raina, reserve wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, pacers S Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma along with Pragyan Ojha and the team manager Ranjib Biswal.

The sources also revealed that the former captain and prolific middle-order batsman Rahul Dravid left for South Africa on 6th of December from Mumbai, the same day when VVS Laxman departed from Hyderabad.Stand-in captain Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay and the spearhead pacer Zaheer Khan, who are also part of the Test squad, will join the team on 12th of December after concluding the current One Day series against New Zealand on December 10.India has won its recent two Test series against Australia and New Zealand while South Africa is coming after drawing a Test series against Pakistan in United Arab Emirates.

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Former Bengal captains desire Sourav in KKR

Tracknfieldgear On December 6, 2010

Amidst the reports of Sourav Ganguly's possible release from Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL IV, former Bengal captains Sambaran Banerjee and Gopal Bose have said that the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchise might lose its support base in Kolkata in absence of its most popular sporting icon."Sourav is the best option to lead KKR in the upcoming IPL. I don't understand the rumours about his possible release by the team management. It is really needless and unwanted. Team needs him the most," Sambaran Banerjee, a former national selector and under whom Ganguly made his first-class debut told PTI Bhasha from Kolkata.

There are rumours that KKR have decided to let Kolkata's favourite son be up for auctions and not retain him. More significantly, they won't retain any player although they are keen on retaining explosive West Indian opener Chris Gayle."If Sourav is not there, KKR will lose the sentimental attachment that people of Bengal share with the team."I doubt whether they will be able to attract good crowds during IPL matches if Sourav is not there. KKR will face a lot of problems in his absence," said the veteran who was instrumental in Ganguly's comeback in the Indian team in 1996.Similarly another former captain and staunch Ganguly backer Gopal Bose, has said that Ganguly is to Bengal what like Sachin is for Mumbai.

"We cannot imagine the Mumbai team in the absence of Sachin.Similarly Sourav is the face of Kolkata. He is the biggest sporting icon Bengal has ever produced. People are emotionally attached with him. The team management can conduct polls and more then 90 percent people will vote for Sourav," he said."He played well in the previous season and the most amazing part was his fielding."Banerjee has said that Ganguly does not need to prove anything to anybody. He also hoped that KKR can reach the semi-final in the coming season under his captaincy."It was under Sourav's captaincy that we saw a revolution in the Indian team. He has brought the aggression in Indian team as well as in KKR.

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Boxing Moments

Tracknfieldgear On December 4, 2010



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Lara wants to play in 2011 IPL

Tracknfieldgear On December 3, 2010

Former West Indian batting legend Brian Lara has expressed his want to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but said he has to be match-fit to stand a sensible chance of featuring in next year’s Twenty20 event.Lara, who made a comeback to competitive cricket two months ago by playing in the Zimbabwe T20 league after a three-year hiatus, said he needs to get into the groove as soon as possible to give himself a chance to be picked for the 2011 IPL season.“I tried negotiating with Surrey in May and that fell through. I am not going to say that I am ready for the IPL.

The option is around the corner, and I have put my name in the hat. But I need to play cricket regularly from now till then to get fit and capable of doing justice to the game and to my form in such a highly spirited league,” he said.The 41-year-old southpaw said he wants to take a mentor-cum-player role in the profitable competition, same as Rajasthan Royals’ Shane Warne or Chennai Super Kings’ Stephen Fleming.“I see myself in that light as well. I don’t want to be fighting with the youngsters for a game ... left out today, playing tomorrow.

I would like to see myself as someone who can make a contribution even if I am not in the final XI. I would like to get involved in a holistic way and not just as a player,” said Lara, who scored 11953 runs in 131 Tests.Lara, who played in the now defunct Indian Cricket League for one year, said he does not regret the decision.“Well, when the ICL first came to me, it was not a rebel league. It had the likes of Tony Greig and Kapil Dev (associated with it).

That was a league that was trying to bring the game forward,” said Lara, who turned out for Mumbai Champs for one season.“I put my name in ink, which was obviously a mistake at the end of it. But I have no regrets. That’s gone. I played one season and I asked them to excuse me, because obviously after having such a long career, you don’t want to be playing ICL cricket and considered a rebel and banned from all levels of cricket,” he added.

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UDRS can be used in bilateral ODI series - ICC

Tracknfieldgear On December 2, 2010

The ICC has extended the use of the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) to bilateral one-day internationals to help teams get used to the technology ahead of the 2011 World Cup in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The system has been used in Tests since 2008, and the board has already accepted its use in the World Cup, along with Hot Spot, the imaging technology, which will used for the semi-finals and finals.However, the use of UDRS in the World Cup does not mean it will continue following the event.The ICC cricket committee will evaluate its long-term use only after the World Cup.

While several international teams and captains have called for the UDRS to be implemented equally, and come out in strong support of the system, India have not warmed to it. India have played a series in which the UDRS was used only once - in Sri Lanka in 2008 and struggled with their referrals on that tour.Since then the UDRS has been used in Australia, South Africa, England, New Zealand and West Indies and has establish favour with several captains and players.The Indians and the BCCI, however, are firmly opposed to the system, even though the ICC have approved its use in principle during the 2011 World Cup.

Officials of the Indian cricket board agreed to take a closer look at the UDRS system and how it worked, and are scheduled to watch the system in action at some point during the ongoing Ashes series. ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat announced in October that he "had agreed with Cricket Australia to attend the Ashes matches ... with representatives of the BCCI, to understand the successful application of the skill and its contribution to correct umpiring decisions."India captain MS Dhoni, recently reiterated his reluctance to accept the system during the recent home series against New Zealand, calling for the standard of on-field umpiring to be improved instead.

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Tendulkar is today’s Bradman, says Lara

Tracknfieldgear On December 1, 2010

Saluting the longevity of Sachin Tendulkar, West Indies great Brian Lara has described the Indian batting legend as the ‘Don Bradman’ of modern era.Lara, himself a famous left-handed batsman from the Caribbean, said what astonishes him the most about Tendulkar is his longevity.“I don’t think there is any race. Both are great players", Lara said in a question comparing Sachin Tendulkar with Ricky Ponting. "Tendulkar has shown the world what he is capable of and his longevity in the game is something to be really appreciated.”

“The time he will spend in the game, records are going to tumble. The fact that someone can be there from the age of 16 and still at the age of 37 perform brightly is something that I cherish more than anything else,” he said.The West Indies player is of the opinion that Australian great Don Bradman, who ended his career with an incredible Test average of 99.96, and Tendulkar should not be compared as they played and flourished in different eras.

“He is our period’s Don Bradman. Forget the dissimilarity in averages with Bradman but whoever I have spoken to who have seen very old players in action, they believe that he [Bradman] would not have averaged 99 in today’s cricket.“So I believe that Sachin is our period’s Bradman,” Lara, who visited Dubai for a jewellery brand endorsement. Lara said he has just got back into cricket by playing three games in a Twenty20 tournament in Zimbabwe.

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