1st August to 12th August, 2007: Big names left out from the big games

Written by HW Edit

Thursday, 16 August 2007

With the Twenty20 World Championship drawing closer, it is not surprising to see the tournament beginning to dominate news headlines. Here’s an update on what’s been happening around the world in this regard, and more. We kick this week’s column off with some news of our own making- since a Wednesday update was considered a little unusual time to be evaluating a week by our general audience, Weekly News Roundup has now been shifted to a more conventional Monday-to-Sunday cycle, and will be updated every Monday - effectively making this particular edition a week-and-a-half's news update. Well...

The wrong ‘Targets’

Selectors of the South African Twenty20 squad will have to now keep the same ‘targets’ in mind that they had for the World Cup. The 15 member squad now has to have atleast 7 black players.

This news comes on the back of allegations that a five member clique – consisting of Captain Graeme Smith, vice-captain Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Justin Kemp and AB de Villiers - controls matters in the dressing room, adding an unhealthy political hue to the way decisions are taken within the South African team. While the authorities have duly ignored these allegations being tossed around in the media, none of this would count as ideal preparation for the upcoming World Championship.

Military anxieties

The Australian National Rugby team, popularly known as the ‘Wallabies’, have been looking towards the Australian cricketers for valuable tips, hints and advice. The reason: they are about to be put through the same military boot camp that the Aussie cricket team went through before the last Ashes.

The Brisbane based BLP group which organized and oversaw the boot camp for the cricketers will be doing the same for the Wallabies, in an attempt to prepare them for the upcoming World Cup in France next month. They might want to avoid having a word at this juncture with Shane Warne, who wasn’t too amused with the boot camp and claimed it was only a twisted way of saying the same stuff.

Too old for Twenty20?

In a trend that seems to be getting increasingly popular amongst selectors around the world, key Test & ODI stars have been ‘rested’, ‘omitted’ or ‘dropped’ – depending on how charitable the respective Board and local media have been – from their respective National squads for the ICC Twenty20 World Championship to be held in South Africa in January.

Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq from Pakistan, Jacques Kallis, Andre Nel, Andrew Hall and Charl Langveldt from South Africa, Stephen Fleming from New Zealand, Mohammad Rafique and Javed Omar from Bangladesh are the chief casualties in a seemingly global ‘ring out the old, ring in the new’ exercise.

Not surprisingly, at least two of these proven International players have expressed their disappointment with this move. Mohammad Yousuf has gone a step further and announced that having being spurned, he is now ‘seriously’ considering the ICL.

Although exclusion of such major players might or might not hamper viewership, the risk would be well worth it if the end result could translate to uncovering of some great new talent. Besides, a closer look at some statistics and analysis of the leading Twenty20 performers would show that given the new format, a team without the ‘stars’ would possibly prove to be stronger and more competitive.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have given further evidence of their Australia-like bloody-mindedness to win everything in sight by announcing a full strength squad, including Muralitharan, despite speculation that he would be rested keeping the forthcoming Australian tour in mind.

The complete squads for the mentioned teams that will be playing in South Africa read as

Pakistan

Shoaib Malik (capt), Younis Khan, Imran Nazir, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, Shoaib Akthar, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi, Iftikhar Anjum, Fawad Alam, Abdur Rehman, Yasir Arafat, Misbah-ul-Haq

South Africa

Graeme Smith (capt), Gulam Bodi, Loots Bosman, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Justin Kemp, Albie Morkel, Mornè Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Vernon Philander, Shaun Pollock, Thandi Tshabalala, Johan van der Wath.

New Zealand

Daniel Vettori (capt), Shane Bond, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Gareth Hopkins (wk), Chris Martin, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum (wk), Nathan McCullum, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Bradley Scott, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Lou Vincent.

Sri Lanka

Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Maharoof, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Hasantha Fernando, Gayan Wijekoon, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Jehan Mubarak

Bangladesh

Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Mashrafe Mortaza, Alok Kapali, Abdur Razzak, Aftab Ahmed, Syed Rasel, Farhad Reza, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Junaid Siddique, Nazimuddin, Nadif Chowdhury, Ziaur Rahman

The wrong man for the right job?

Cricket South Africa saw Norman Arendse ascend to the post of its Presidency. The news assumes significance when some light is shed on Arendse’s past – he was the lawyer representing the Zimbabwe Cricket Board against the rebel Zimbabwean cricketers. The legal wrangle resulted in Arendse and Cricket Zimbabwe winning, and giving Robert Mugabe’s dictatorial regime which was almost singularly responsible for destroying Zimbabwe’s bright cricketing future another shot in the arm.

Some of Andrade’s less heinous past records include allegations of improper business and financial dealings. But what is most distressing is his involvement in destroying an entire country’s cricketing future.

The Scorecard

Meanwhile, needing 4 to score a century of the last ball, Dravid got it short and wide outside the off stump with no cover at Third Man, and he chose to let the ball go. Or maybe he chose not to ask England to follow on after having them 345 runs behind. Amounts to the same thing, at any rate.

Content to play safe and cement their series win which would end a 21 year old drought, the Indian think tank allowed to bat again after notching up 650 in the first innings and bowling England out for 723. Clearly playing with a draw in mind, the Indians batted steadily, giving themselves 110 overs to bowl England out, and giving England 500 runs to level the series.

Predictably, the game ended in a draw. Zaheer Khan rounded up a series which held a distinctly dark shade of purple for him with the man of the series trophy, while Kumble contributed the most dramatic moment of the series, bringing up his maiden Test Century towards the fag end of his career. He reached the milestone in the most eventful manner possible – jumping down the track, completely missing everything except an inside edge, leaving Prior an opportunity to stump him on 97, Prior missing the chance and the ball running away for an inside edged boundary.

While the rest of the world laughed and applauded, Warne nursed a frown and vented his frustration through text messages to Ian Chappell. Warne’s Test highest is 99.

When you are used to get depressing news from a particular quarter, do further updates of the same nature qualify as being depressing? We are not sure, but news that Zimbabwe Select side have once again fizzled out against India ‘A’ (who the opposition are has ceased to matter a long time back), losing by an innings and 223 runs to concede the series 2-0.

Facing a steep Indian first innings total of 524, the Zimbabwean team seemed to have concluded that a fight was not worth bothering about and it was best to collapse and conserve their energies for future challenges.

Piyush Chawla continued a run of happy performances with a 10 wicket haul in the game, while Hamilton Masakadza – a player who promised a very long and prosperous relation with cricket at the time of his entry before politics, destiny and shoddy administration ruined it all – scored 73 in the second innings.

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