So, what are the rules of cricket?

Those final moments left me more confused about the rules of cricket than ever before. In particular, the World Cup rain/bad light rules. Surely, the ICC can do much better, at the very least for the showpiece event of the game they administer.

What is a reserve day? When is it used? More importantly, when can it not be used?

Why was the match reduced to 38 overs in the first case? Wouldn't it be a smarter idea to complete the match over 2 days, allowing maximum opportunity for the maximum overs to be played? If, the ICC is okay with that long a World Cup, they can't mind an extra day for the final.

Could the umpires, technically have asked the teams to come back the next day to complete the remnant of the final? Didn't we have a complete match already, as Sri Lanka had already faced the minimum 20 overs?

If it's technically possible for the match to be completed the next day, why was Jayasuriya so worried about the rain clouds hanging over his head? Why didn't Mahela Jayawardene accept the lights that were offered earlier?

If the match could have been completed when it finally was, then why the hurry or need to reduce those 2 overs off the Lanka innings for that very short rain-break?

Wouldn't it have been more sensible to start off with a 35 over match instead of a 38 overs one, allowing for anticipated small-breaks in the middle - those irritating breaks which matter more than the one at the beginning?

A dark, bizzare end to a sad World Cup

The Australians are celebrating their third successive World Cup win, and funnily enough the final match of the 9th Cricket World Cup is still not over. Even as I begin writing this piece, the players are trotting back to the pitch to complete the final rites of this most amazing finale of the final.

What happened was this: It was absolutely dark at the Kensington Oval, Barbados and Sri Lanka needed an impossible 60+ runs to win the match in the remaining 3 overs. So, when the umpires Aleem Dar and Steve Bucknor offered the lights to the batsmen, they took it. Everyone thought the match was over - Ponting and his men began their celebrations, the groundsmen got busy removing the 30 yard markers, the presentation podium was being dragged in - but wait, said Aleem Dar. The match ain't over. 3 overs still left, and with a reserve day left, technically the teams were supposed to come back the next day to finish off the match !!

So, the final 3 overs were played in pitch-darkness, and the saddest Cricket World Cup came to a farcical end. Thankfully, the team which won it wasn't a farce. The Australian team was like a juggernaut, crushing everything that came their way, and they deserved the Cup, like no else has done before, the super West Indies of the 70s included. Congratulations, Rickey Ponting. Adieu, Glenn Mc Grath and Russel Arnold.

Should Sri Lanka bat first, or second?

So i thought Sri Lanka would do it. Then i pined my hopes on Fleming. Then, on Graeme Smith, again. And now, its Sri Lanka once more. Surely, i'm going to get it right, this time round.

In about 48 hours from now, we will have a new World Cup Cricket Champion. Or will we? It's been 18 years now, and it's getting more and more boring to watch the Australians bull-dozer their way over everyone else. It's frustrating to see that one of the top stories on Cricinfo after the semi-final between Australia and South Africa is on "South Africa's lowest ever ODI scores". Can't get worse, can it? Warnie was probably right when he said that the South Africans are too boring to win the World Cup. Which leaves us with Sri Lanka.

In about 48 hours from now, the Jayawardene-Moody strategy of un-exposing Vaas & Muralidharan may be beginning to be hailed as as a master-stroke. Ponting may lose his control over his tongue yet again and tell the world that it was the illegal Malinga who stopped him from emulating Lloyd. BCCI may rue the fact that they chose Greg Chappell and passed the ace to Sri Lanka. Marvan Attapattu's ODI career may come to a permanent close. So much can happen on the 28th of April 2007. Only if everything goes right - that is. Let's look at just one, the first one.

When Jayawardene goes out for the toss with Ponting at the Kensington Oval, Barbados he cannot forget history. Especially, two decisions. One - which Ganguly made in South Africa after he won the toss in the 2003 World Cup Final. No one can forget the carnage that Ponting and Martyn unleashed on the hapless Indian bowlers. Two - the last one, which Graeme Smith made. Australia's weak link is their bowling..if you want to beat them, the only way is to bat first, put up a good score and put some pressure on the Aussie top order. Unfortunately for Sri Lanka and Jayawardene, there are only two options for the guy who wins the toss - and neither seems to be working against the Australians. What should he do?

One way or the other, I'd go with Ganguly unless there is a threat of the wicket crumbling in the second half. The World Cup final is a big thing, Australia or not. What happened on that day in South Africa cannot be allowed to terrorize the progeny for ever. Gilchrist is not in the best of nick, and Hayden and Ponting will not want to miss out now. Let them face the heat, first. If they come out trumps, well they are good, and you will have to give it to them. But make it more difficult for them - let Ponting and Buchanan worry about what a good score is going to be. Let them worry about making the most of the powerplay overs - before Murali comes in. Batting first, Lanka would be chasing )(an imagined) 300. Batting second, it's unlikely to get much worse. And if it does, there will be the inspiration of the 1996 chase to look upto.

Australia vs Sri Lanka: Detailed Forecast

Here goes my next round of predictions, as the Cricket World Cup jamboree reaches its final phase:

April 16: Australia vs Sri Lanka, Grenada

Mahela calls it right, and elects to bat. (enough people have told him by now that it's the only way to beat Australia, so he just ignores the damn pitch and everything...)

Jayasuriya is dropped on the very first ball of the match. Ranjit Fernando tells everyone who are watching Set Max a brand new thing: 'this may be a very costly mistake.' (do non Set-Max watchers also have to bear Fernando?). Jayasuriya plays the same shot again on the very next ball, and the same fielder makes the same mistake again. Ponting can't believe that Hussey has dropped dangerman Jayasuriya twice in two balls and our man in the commentary box gets more excited. "This is surely going to be a costly mistake." Jayasuriya gets more excited, the bowler bowls a similar length again but the batsman is cautious this time - he plays a defensive shot, and there is no need for Hussey to hold or drop a catch. The ball hits the inside edge of the bat, and deflects to the stumps. Fernando is quiet.

Tharanga plays the innings of his life, and Jayawardene plays his best innings in the last year. Chamara Silva and Vaas chip in with quick 30's as Lanka post an imposing 312. Mandira Bedi is very happy - she looks nice n chirpy in her yellow n brown Satya Paul sari. ( the sari has large motifs of a lion holding a knife or something in its paws. Satya Paul is going crazier.) Ian Chappell bears the brunt of her chirpiness as Mandira is sure that the Aussies are surely going to lose the match now, and she wants Ian to say that and provide some logic to that end. Chappell thinks that Hayden and Ponting hold the key, but Mandira doesn't like that comment so he quickly adds that Murali and Vaas are the keys too.

Well, Ian was right. Ponting and Hayden were the important guys indeed. Both scored fine centuries, and the score stood at 235/4 at the end of over no.40. Mahela had delayed taking his final power play and he had taken the last one only at the end of the 36th over. Play is held as there ensues a serious conference on the field between the Lankan top guns. The captain throws the ball to Murali, who has just an over left. Gamble.

And how it pays. Magician Murali snares two wickets off his penultimate balls, and Lanka is strong favourties now. Just 4 wickets left and an asking rate of 8.5. It's too much, even for the Aussies, as they finally capitulate, bringing an end to their defeatless streak since 1999.

to be continued

Bangladesh face their first upset

It's funny: after ejecting India out of the World Cup, and then upsetting the Protean apple-cart, Bangladesh are now struggling against Ireland. As I write this, Banladesh are reeling at 169/8 and still 75 runs away from victory. Captain Habibul Bashar still stands as his side has disintegrated at the other end against Ireland, their easiest opponents in the Super-eight.

Is it the pressure of playing a match as the favourites? Bashar's men also struggled against Bermuda, and for a brief period during that match, coach Whatmore was a very worried man. To have allowed India to sneak in through the back door would have been too much to bear, even for Bangladesh.

Well, this defeat doesn't matter in the larger scheme of things - both Ireland and Bangladesh are well and truly out of reckoning. But it would be a dent for the tigers, as a victory here would have meant Bangladesh would finish with a minimum of 4 points - at par or may be over West Indies. But no one can take away the fine performances the young Bangladeshis put up in this World Cup.

Bashar and Whatmore should relish the fact that a Super-Eight defeat for their team is being branded as an 'upset' - that's quite a distance that the Bangladesh Cricket team has travelled in four years.

Preview: Newzealand vs Sri Lanka

The Fleming-os takes on the Lankans at the National Cricket Stadium in Guyana tomorrow, and this match may be important in more ways than one. The semi-finalists for this World Cup have more or less been decided, so there shouldn't be too much excitement on that front. However, tomorrow's match may be important for a more important reason.

Newzealand is currently at the top of the Super Eight table, with 4 victories and a net run rate of +1.728. Australia are close behind, with equal number of points but a slightly lower run rate. Both these teams are yet unbeaten in this 9th World Cup, and close on their heels on the points tally is Sri Lanka. They have lost that one match to South Africa, by the narrowest of margins and are currently at 6 points and a NRR of +1.549, actually a wee bit better than Australia's.

From whatever we have seen so far in this World Cup, the Australians definitely look a class apart - the ghost of the VB series has well and truly been buried, and I don't know if it's possible, but they look better than they have ever before done in the World Cup. Australia hasn't lost a World Cup match since 1999, with 2003 being a clean run, but even then, they didn't look as convincing. This time round in the West Indies, besides being convincing, they give you that feeling of a juggernaut - unstoppable and crushing.

Well, if this Aussie juggernaut is to be halted, I think either of Fleming or Jayawardene will have to raise their hands. The Sri Lankans have that right variation in their bowling arsenal, and if Hayden and Ponting could be removed early, Lankans are in with a chance. On his day, Malinga can irritate the best of batsmen with his awkward line and pace. Vaas is always good, and so is Murali. If Lanka bats first and can get 260-280, it will all boil down to Hayden and Ponting. Remove them early, and the advantage is with you.

I fancy the Kiwis for a wholly different reason - because they are indeed a bunch of Fleming'os. Stephen Fleming is the best captain in the cricket world, almost without argument and he has built a team of world-beaters out of a collection of some otherwise very average cricketers. What Fleming has instilled in his men is a sense of fearlessness, which has stood them in good stead. Whether Australia set 280 or 320 as a target, if there is one team which has the best chance of reaching it, it is the Kiwis. Here's one team which doesn't get bogged down by the loss of an early wicket or two. (keep telling my friends that here's a team of 10 irfan pathans + 1 fleming, and since they don't have a tendulkar or a ponting, there is no fear of him getting out, so if 2 pathans go, they know that there are 8 more to follow. this is an exaggerated simplification, but not too far off the mark either). Plus, they have the astute Fleming - he is bold enough to delay the power-play till the 30th over if need be, yet not silly enough like Lara, to wait till the 44th. He's smart, and uses his resources in the most efficient manner. What he will need is a bit of luck, and a bit of Bond - to rattle Hayden and Ponting.

When Sri Lanka takes on Newzealand tomorrow, we may find out who is going to be the likely challenger to Australia. This may even be a rehearsal for a likely semi-final match between the two. Either ways, it's going to be an important affair - and more than anyone else, it's John Buchanan and the Aussies who would be following the match with the greatest interest.

Cricket World Cup : The biggest con job ever

Jack Warner call this World Cup in the West Indies the biggest con job ever.

“The biggest con job ever passed off on a region is this Cricket World Cup and it is one of immense proportion - not just by the organisation but by the governments as well - that have taken limited resources of their people’s money and put it in a dying sport. If there is anything that this World Cup has done well is it has shown people what not to do in the future. Imagine in Antigua for a public holiday a brand new stadium is half-filled. This has been a World Cup for the organisers, the visitors and the players but certainly not for the people. That’s why the stadiums are empty and that in itself is a con job.”

Source: CarribeanCricket.com

Twenty/20 World Cup pools announced: India & Pakistan together

So, the ICC has ensured that what happened at the World Cup in West Indies will not happen in the Twenty/20 World Cup, only a few month later in the year in South Africa. India and Pakistan have been put together in the same group alongwith Scotland, and since the top 2 teams qualify into the next round, there is no way that both the sub-continental power-houses can make an early exit, upsets or no upsets.

Group A: South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh
Group B: Australia, England, Zimbabwe
Group C: New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Kenya
Group D: Pakistan, India, Scotland

The top 2 teams from each group will proceed to the Super-Eight round, followed by the semi-finals on 22nd September and the final on the 23rd September. The first World Twenty-Twenty Championship starts 11th September, and just like the first match of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, this one too starts with a South Africa - West Indies match.

Only 3 venues will be used for this inaugural 20-Twenty Cup: Durban, Johannesburg and Capetown.

****

Click here for a List of Live Streaming Sites for Twenty20 Cup

Click here for a Schedule of the Twenty20 World Cup with the added fun of some predictions.

An Empty Feeling

The most worrying facet of this World Cup has been the empty stadiums. Even for matches involving the home country, a full house has been a far cry. As I write this, England plays Ireland in a ground, more empty than full. With the sub-continental powerhouses already packed and gone, and now West Indies on the way out, there is a very real danger of the emptiness increasing. It won’t be a pretty sight for Cricket, were the semi-finals and final to be played in less than fully filled-up stadiums. Remember NKP Salve? If the story is to be believed, the denial of an extra pass for the 1983 final, to the then BCCI President is what firmed up his resolve to work towards shifting the base of Cricket from England to India. The rest, as you know, is history.

That in just 24 years, things should have come to such a pass – I don’t think even the P.A of the Dutch Cricket Board’s secretary will be denied an extra admit for the final this year, were he to bother asking for one. For all the hungama about the globalization of cricket, this is indeed a sad state of affairs.

If the ICC President were to be quizzed on this, his only likely defense would be – “That was England, this is the West Indies. There is a difference.” There is a difference indeed, but in circa 2007, at least the more important of the Cricket World Cup matches should see a full house, shouldn’t they? The second and probably more valid argument would be based on the pricing of the tickets. The ticket prices start from no less than 25$, which may be on the higher side for the local fans, and the pricing has been devised by the local organizing committees and not the ICC. But it’s called the ICC World Cup, ain’t it?

When the shop floors churn out defective products which somehow manage to reach the retail floors, the CEO of a company doesn’t blame the foreman or the distribution manager – he accepts it as his failure. That’s what the second of the 2 C’s in ICC all about. The word “committee” means - a person or group of persons elected or appointed to perform some service or function, as to investigate, report on, or act upon a particular matter. That particular matter, in general, is Cricket, and in particular, right now, is the World Cup. This Committee has been an abject failure on both counts – this one is just a new addition to their long list of failures.

******

As a fan, the empty seats hurt. When you are awake at 3 in the night watching a West-Indies match, you can't help wondering if there are not even 10,000 West Indians interested in following the fortunes of thier team. This has rankled Lara himself, who has been left wondering where the fans are. If it's the price thingey, someone needs to look into it, and soon.

(: Team India :)

Indian News Channels (especially the Hindi ones), the Men in Blue, Indian cricket fans and the Board of Control for Cricket in India together make for one heady combination. Together, they have currently produced the world's most interesting and active rumour mill !! Rumours, especially when they come very cleverly mixed with facts sell like nothing else - and we are all buying them, big time now.

- "Dravid and Chappell will be sacked": unconfirmed BCCI sources. This easiest of the guesses has been mentioned in various media, some also going further mentioning the names of Yuvraj or Sachin, depending on whom they fancy.

- "Chappell bids adieu to Team India. He had an emotional good-bye chat with the guys in Trinidad." ( Aaj Tak)

- Sharad Pawar says strong action will be taken, and strong decision too.

- Sharad Pawar says everyone is over-reacting. It's just a match lost, nothign more. Do the English fans react like this after their team loses? "Media responsible for the team's loss." ( This one I heard myself, again on Aaj Tak)

- Just saw it on the telly: An Aaj Tak reporter on the Mumbai streets provoking fans. Guess what he asked? " Aap log cricket team ka kaise swagat karenge?" (How do you plan to welcome the Indian cricket team?)

- Suddenly today I noticed unusual interest in my blog on the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy. Apparently Pawar mentioned on TV about the Indian cricket board thinking of the idea of 2 cricket teams - India Seniors and India Blues. So there were quite a few people looking for the composition of the India Blues and that's how they reached the section on the India Blues team in the Challenger।

- On India TV, a footage from somewhere in central India showed a cricket fan frantically beating his chest, mourning the death of Indian cricket। Also the expected calls for boycotting products endorsed by cricket celebrities.

- Lots more. Just tune in to India TV / Aaj Taj / Star News or any other hindi news channel that you get. If not, try the world wide web.

Australia through to the Semis....

With Bangladesh and Ireland through into the Super Eight, the World Cup Cricket 2007 may have lost more sheen than it's obvious.

- For one, 11 out of the 24 matches in the Super Eight will feature either Bangladesh or Ireland. These teams may have qualified for the next stage, but are not expected to give any serious competition to the big 6. Except for another surprising day in case there is an upset, you can expect lots of non-matches.

- Under most likely scenarios, it's likely that at least one team will go into the semi-finals carrying 8 points and one more may carry just 10 points. What this means is that Newzealand and Australia, which carry forward 2 points and are expected to defeat Bangladesh and Ireland may get to the semis by winning just one of their big games. Effectively, you could almost be sure that Newzealand and Australia are as good as through to the semis.

So that leaves England, West Indies, South Africa and Sri Lanka to fight out for the remaining 2 slots. So much so for the Super-eight! - Just one victory against SA and England for Australia and NZ respectively have as good as guaranteed them a passage to the semis. The ICC needs to look into the format yet again, I think! May be a super-ten now so that commercial favourites India can somehow make it to the second round at least!!

An outside chance?

Bangladesh have lost 3 quick wickets, the score 37/3 and the batters are looking real shaky। Can India sneak in through the back door?

***

Abhi and Vinod - just the other day we were talking about upward revision of totals following the employment of Duckworth-Lewis. And it's happened today - Bermuda scored 94, but Bangladesh need 96 to win. (For Net Run Rate calculations, Bermuda's score will be treated as 95 now.)

World Cup Cricket: Super Eight Matches Schedule

In brackets, find the names of the TV Channels which will telecast the match live in India. While you can tune in to Sony Max for English and SAB TV for Hindi Commentary. While the pre-match programme, Extra Innings starts off at 5 pm India time ( 1130 am GMT), matches start at either 7 pm or 8 pm depending on the location.

March 27: West Indies vs. Australia (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
March 28: South Africa vs. Sri Lanka (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
March 29: West Indies vs. New Zealand (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
March 30: Ireland vs. England (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
March 31: Australia vs. Bangladesh (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 1: West Indies vs. Sri Lanka (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 2: Bangladesh vs. New Zealand (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 3: Ireland vs. South Africa (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 4: England vs. Sri Lanka (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 7: Bangladesh vs. South Africa (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 8: Australia vs. England (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 9: Ireland vs. New Zealand (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 10: West Indies vs. S Africa (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 11: England vs. Bangladesh (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 12: Sri Lanka vs. New Zealand (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 13: Australia vs. Ireland (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 14: S Africa vs. New Zealand (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 15: Bangladesh vs. Ireland (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 16: Australia vs. Sri Lanka (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 17: South Africa vs. England (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 18: Ireland vs. Sri Lanka (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 19: West Indies vs. Bangladesh (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 20: Australia vs. New Zealand (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)
April 21: West Indies vs. England (Live on Set Max and SAB TV)

इंडिया need 255 to stay afloat (Match Fixing Contd..)

In case that headline looks latin to a few of you, let me clarify - that's India in Hindi and I've not done it deliberately. Thrice i tried writing India in the Roman script, but to no avail. Blogger translated that to Hindi each time, so I finally gave up.

Tony Greig has just disappointed Mandira Bedi with this bit of info - "Only twice before on this ground (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad) has a score in excess of 250 been successfully chased." From the look of things, there ain't much reason to disagree with Tony. Sri Lanka were in a spot of bother early on, and they recovered well to attain that score of 254. At one point, 240 looked the highest possible score they would reach and John Wright, commentating on Set Max had even sounded the possibility of 200. What John also said was that 240 was a 50-50 score which only suggests that anything over that should definitely provide the Lankans with an edge.

*****

I just checked out William Hill - one of the top betting sites on the Internet. (no, no I didn't place any bets - that's illegal in India) What surprised me is that Will Hill is offering 1.66 for every buck placed on India but 2.10 for Sri Lanka. So, the bookies think that India are favourites to win. In the current muddled atmosphere, that leaves me with more than some food for thought.

*****

Uthappa has failed twice in two attempts but if he could come good today, all will be forgiven. Sehwag is a defending centurion, Ganguly, Yuvraj and Sachin are in good nick. Dravid hasn't done much yet but he looks alright. What will be required is for 3 of the 7 batters to come good - that ways it doesn't sound a bad prospect. My feeling is it's going to be either Tendulkar or Ganguly who will put their hands up for India this night, though I don't mind anyone else joining in in the fun. There's a case for holding Ganguly back so that he could tackle the spinners in the middle overs but it's unlikely that Dravid will experiment today - after all his captaincy is at stake today.

If India wins today, they carry 2 points to the Super Eight plus they have at least one easy match against Ireland. All that they will need to do then is to win two of the remaining 5 matches and I'd fancy India's chances against England, Newzealand and West Indies. That's if we can first cross the Palk Strait successfully.

Match-fixing is driving me crazy

Have you ever wondered why the TV cameras never zoom in onto the coin after it completes its quick two-way journey and comes to a rest on the ground?

Dawood Ibrahim may be involved in Woolmer Murder

source: Sahara Samay

Giving a new turn to Bob Woolmer's death under mysterious circumstances, underworld don Babloo Srivastava has said that D-company head Dawood Ibrahim might have been involved in the suspected murder of Pakistan cricket coach, Sahara Samay sources said.

Talking to Sahara Samay, he said that Dawood is the biggest fixer of international matches. He further said that Dawood might have put on stake huge sum of money ranging between Rs 400 to 500 crore.The channel's correspondent told from Lucknow that even earlier Babloo had told that all unimportant matches of the world have been fixed.Babloo also told that this was the biggest reason why Pakistani players played under immense pressure and lost to minnows Ireland.

It is also speculated that Woolmer's book was in the last stage and match-fixers might have got some air that the Pakistani coach may reveal more about the betting blot in the game after Pakistan's shameful defeat at the hands of Ireland.

(Had never in my wildest dreams thought Babloo Srivastava's name would figure on my cricket blog. Shucks.)

Cricket's First Murder?

(This post is based on various thoughts building up in my mind, which are getting further support from recent media news related to Bob Woolmer's death. I may be stepping into factually incorrect territories at times. For the sake of cricket, I hope my fears are misplaced.)

The worst possibility is getting confirmed (see excerpts from various media below) - Bob Woolmer's death was not natural, but in all likelihood a murder. The intent too seems to be very clear - Bob was in the know of the various elements involved in the sordid match-fixing deeds. The bookies and other involved parties feared Bob would say it all - he was also in the midst of writing a book, which could have included enough details of cricket's ugliest faces.

According to various souces, the number of people who sold their souls for money may be far more than ever anticipated, and it may not be restricted to just active cricketers. Umpires, match referees, other cricket officials and of course, the players themselves - if the rumours (so far) are to believed, they are all involved. Though, no one is yet giving out any names of people involved, but as the police dig deeper into the Bob Woolmer case, the Jamaica Police and Scotland Yard should be able to unearth more than a few ugly facts - we can only hope that the culprits will finally be revealed and punished.

It gives me jitters to even think that the entire World Cup may be fixed. Is that possible? I'm sure you have heard such stories yourself - friends call up and tell me that money has reached the Lankan camp, as there is no way that the various stakeholders in the game of Cricket can afford an India loss - the biggest stakeholders being the bookies!! Previously, I used to dismiss it as a figment of their imagination or a rumour, but now it's different. I'm finding it more and more difficult to shrug them off. The faith has been eroded - for ever, perhaps.

But even if lots and lots of people are involved in match fixing, I refuse to believe that everyone is - and it's a fair conjecture lots of such innocent people who are in close contact with the culprits would have adequate knowledge of the evil. Why don't they come forward and spill the beans? Or do they fear that, they might be silenced just like someone recently was.

(from thisislondon.co.uk )

Medical experts have confirmed that top cricket coach Bob Woolmer was strangled. As Jamaican police launched a full-scale murder investigation, a highly-placed source said: "The only question is whether it was done manually or with some kind of cord."

The sensational development came after it was reported that the 58-year-old Briton, found collapsed in his Kingston hotel room at the weekend, had a broken bone in his neck and gashes and blood on his face.

(source: Guardian)

Sources said Woolmer apparently had a fracture in a neck bone, which could be consistent with being strangled.
The claims emerged as Channel 4 News reported it had been told by a senior Jamaican policeman that Woolmer had been murdered and had a broken neck.

(source: IOL.co.za)

Pakistan cricket player's finger prints taken )

Assistant Police Commissioner Les Green, formerly of Scotland Yard, confirmed that members of the Pakistan cricket team were fingerprinted.

The Jamaica Gleaner newspaper, citing an unnamed high-ranking police officer, reported that authorities found a broken bone in Woolmer's neck and that investigators were treating the case as a homicide.

A former Pakistani player speculated that the coach was killed by gambling interests and a Pakistan team official said there was blood and vomit in the room when Woolmer was found.

(Channel 4)

Senior Jamaican police sources have told Channel 4 News a murder inquiry is imminent into the death of cricket coach Bob Woolmer.

What will be India's XI for today's match against Bermuda?

Virender Sehwag failed yet again, and aginst Bangladesh he got out playing the one shot which he is now left with, the one stroke that has fetched him the most runs in this most miserable phase of his career. His hinded loft shots over the 3rd man boundary have already been effectively controlled by every opposition in the world. Sehwag needs to go back to domestic cricket, to work out his weaknesses against lesser attacks and widen his repertoire to be competitive again - at the international level. Most of all, Rahul Dravid needs to realize that.

There's a thin line between reckless and rational aggression, and Dravid, at this moment looks unsure and is stepping across to the irrational side all too often. Even if he is too keen on Sehwag, he should haven't sent him in at the top, after electing to bat on a wicket that was bound to offer assistance to the seamers in the first hour. In this, lies the root cause of Dravid's failure.

"Form is temporary, Class is important." That's an adage we have all been hearing since we started following this beautiful game in our childhoods. Unfortunately, the Indian captain has taken it all too seriously. How else do you explain Sehwag's inclusion, and Pathan's? Going by form, Karthick deserved a place in the India XI - it was not to be. A 300 scored by Sehwag in a test match more than 2 years back was cited by Dravid in the batsman's defence. Pick up the record books and give me a reason for selecting Harbhajan over Kumble. Only the Indian captain, who is too mesmerised by Bhajji's class could have given the current form of his a overlook. In his last 20 one-day internationals, Harbhajan has picked up 16 wickets at an average of 44.50. Bring that down to 10 matches, and his average increases to 47.80. But, i guess Dravid is going by Bhajji's career average of 32.

In at least two of my earlier posts on this blog, I've made a case for Irfan Pathan. While it may be a bit unfair on my part to advocated an out-of-form Pathan's case, there is more than one reason for that. For one, you may be surprised to note that Pathan's bowling averages in his last 10/20 one-dayers are better than Harbhajan's. If you combine this with the fact that Pathan is a far more accomplished batsman, we have a very logical reason for Pathan's inclusion for today's match against Bermuda. In his last 10 matches, his batting average is a healthy 21. Any international team needs at least one genuine bowling all-rounder in its ranks to provide a balance to the team. It was not for nothing that we won the World Cup in 1983 and then the Benson & Hedges World Championship in Australia two years later. Kapil Dev, Madan Lal and Roger Binny were all bowling all-rounders and Pathan is the only one we have today.

Please Dravid please, for India's sake let go off your idiosyncracies for the time being - experiment all you want on the Bangladesh tour just after the World Cup. Spare us for the duration of the Cup, and give us a team which can propel us out of this darkness.

Sehwag or Uthappa or Karthick ?

Sehwag / Uthappa / Karthick ?

Sehwag / Uthappa / Karthick ?

Sehwag / Uthappa / Karthick ?

Sehwag / Uthappa / Karthick ?

Sehwag / Uthappa / Karthick ?

There's just an outside chance that I'm getting perturbed over this unnecessarily, probably far more than Rahul Dravid or Greg Chappell or anyone else in the Indian camp. But that's just an outside chance. In all likelihood, this selection conundrum must be causing the Indian captain and coach sleepless nights, or worse.

Let's look at the likely candidates for each position.

1. Ganguly - confirmed

2. Sehwag / Uthappa

3. Dravid / Tendulkar / Sehwag / Uthappa

4. Dravid / Tendulkar / Yuvraj

5. Dravid / Yuvraj

6. Sehwag / Karthick

7. Dhoni

8. Ajit Agarkar

9. Harbhajan / Kumble

10. Zaheer Khan

11. Munaf Patel

Whatever permutation and combination (sensible ones) you do, one situation is very clear - India can play only play 2 of these 3 players against Bangladesh. Going by form, that shouldn't be a very tough decision - Sehwag should sit out - but Vengsarkar knows it, and we all know about Dravid's fondness for Sehwag. No, i'm not subscribing any ulterior motives on Dravid, just that the captain sees enough reason to continue with Virender Sehwag. That's where the twin selections on 17th March will pose a challenge - there will also be that second layer to the challenge, if Sehwag then who to drop - Uthappa or Karthick. Most of the world thinks that's easy - it has to be Uthappa, but I'd have gone with Dinesh Karthick. We need a couple of finishers out there and right now I can't see too many in the India XI.

I'm not very sure about the magnitude of Dravid's love for Irfan Pathan, though if past stories are to go by, Greg Chappell is. Again, on form Pathan doesn't seem to be a candidate and it's unlikely his case will be pushed. Maybe he may get a look in against Bermuda. But against Bangladesh, who are fresh from their upset win** over the Kiwis, the Wall may just want to play safe. And, yet again I agree.

**Bangladesh 230 for 8 (Iqbal 46, Omar 45, Mortaza 30*) beat New Zealand 226 (Oram 88, Mortaza 4-44, Razzaq 4-26) by 2 wickets

*******

Group B: Saturday, 17th March 2007: India vs Bangladesh, Queen's Park Oval, Trinidad

Catch it live in India on Sony Set Max (English), SAB (Hindi) and Doordarshan. Audio Commentary will be available on All India Radio.

Preview: Pakistan vs West Indies, 13th March 2007

How rapidly things change in the fickle world of one-day cricket – in less than a month, Australia has been almost completely diminished – at least they now look as beatable as any other good team. What has changed even more rapidly than that are the prospects of the two teams which meet in the inaugural match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.

Pakistan, for whom nothing could have gone right in the past couple of months have suddenly been uplifted out of their morass. Two victories in two matches, including a seven wicket win over top ranked South Africa; Inzamam-ul-haq couldn’t have asked for a better start to his team’s campaign. Don’t even bother telling the Pakistan captain that the two victories had come in just warm-up matches – Inzy’s team badly needed a morale booster and they have got it.

Someone else may though need the “It was just a warm-up match” excuse. Brian Lara’s team were handed a thrashing by India – after dismissing West Indies for all of 85 runs, India reached its target losing just the solitary wicket. It may have been just a practice match alright, but when that match is your last match before your first match in the World Cup, it matters. Don’t forget that Lara’s men had been soundly beaten by the Indians in a one-day series less than a month back. West Indies, which had been on an upswing this past one year, have been suddenly grounded.

Let’s look at another interesting bit of statistic – the hosts have had a terrible record in the inaugural matches of the previous World Cups, and Lara would be the last person to forget that bit. After all, West Indies had beaten hosts South Africa in the 2003 opener and it was Lara himself who had scored a fine century to bag the MOM award. The West Indian captain would be hoping to repeat this performance against Pakistan on Wednesday. What he wouldn’t want is to let the rest-of-history repeat itself too.

****
Players to look out for:
Chris Gayle, Brian Lara, Dwayne Bravo ( all West Indies)
Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Rana Naved ( all Pakistan )

****

Pakistan vs West Indies, Group D ( 1st match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, West Indies)

Venue: Sabina Park, Jamaica

Match scheduled to begin at 14:30 hrs GMT

In India, catch the Windies - Pak match on Set Max from 7 pm. Of course, Mandira Bedi and the rest of Extraa Innings start off much earlier, at 5 pm.

Next match: Scotland vs Australia, Group A at Warner Park, St. Kitts & Nevis

* That picture above is of the Sabina Park, Jamaica - final preparations are on in full swing for the World Cup opener.