White Wash
Today New Zealand beat Zimbabwe 3-0 in the ODI series. This season has seen lot of white washes which included, India against England (both Tests & ODIs) and Australia (Tests), England against Pakistan (Tests) and now Zimbabwe. So I went my friend – Stats guru of Cricinfo website to see which country got white washed the most and which country forced the white wash more. Below are the results:
Tests: (Forced White wash, White Washed)
Australia – 19, 3
England – 13, 7
Pakistan – 5, 5
West Indies – 3, 7
Sri Lanka – 3, 3
South Africa – 2, 5
India – 2, 8
New Zealand – 0, 6
Bangladesh – 0, 2
ODIs: (Forced White wash, White Washed)
Pakistan – 17, 6
Australia – 12, 2
South Africa – 11, 2
West Indies – 11, 12
England – 10, 8
Sri Lanka – 10, 4
New Zealand – 9, 11
India – 6, 3
Bangladesh – 6, 21
Zimbabwe – 4, 21
Kenya – 2, 5
Ireland – 1, 1
Bermuda – 0, 2
ICC World XI – 0, 1
Sachin’s Anthem
After Kolaveri Di, Dhanush continued his success by singing about Sachin for Boost Ad.
Pakistan secure series whitewash
Pakistan has won the 3rd and final test of the series against England and have broke many records. This is Pakistan’s first whitewash against England in a Test series. This is an extraordinary achievement for them as they have done this at a neutral venue as they have no home to call its own. Entering the series Pakistan were underdogs as they were going to compete with the world number one test team. Below are some of the records during this series.
- This is Pakistan’s 5th White Wash overall. Previous they have achieved this against Australia, New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh.
- Pakistan scored 99 in the first innings and still won the match. Last time this happened was 105 years back when England beat South Africa after hitting 76 in their first innings. It is also just 9th time overall that a team has won despite a score of less than 100 in the first innings.
- 19.06 was England Team’s batting average in this series. This was their second lowest in a series with 3 or more test matches since 1888.
- 48 wickets at an average of 15.64 were taken by spinners for Pakistan in this series. This is the highest number of wickets taken by Pakistan spinners in a three-Test series.
- Overall 75 wickets fell to spinners in this series. Only twice spinners have crossed this figure in a three match test series.
- Under Misbah’s captaincy this is 9th test win with just 1 loss in 15 matches. He is now the 6th best captain and definitely in race (6 more matches) to become the best captain for Pakistan.
Pakistan team is having a dream run since 2011. They have won 9, lost 1 and draw 3 matches out of 13 matches played since.
The success of Pakistan team is clearly measurable with their team members individual performances in both bowling and batting departments.
3 of the top 5 bowlers in last one year are from Pakistan.
5 of the top 15 batsmen in last one year are from Pakistan.
I wish them good luck and hope with this form they will reach the top.
IPL 2012 Auction: No takers for Laxman
This year’s IPL auction have seen players like Jadeja, Vinay Kumar & Jayawardene get Million dollar figures. Last year we have seen that there were players like Ganguly, Lara, Gayle, Gibbs, Boucher etc going unsold in the auction. This year I was curious to know who would miss the train. So I followed the auction closely yesterday. Good players like Tamim Iqbal, Mark Boucher, Vernon Philander, Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul, Peter Siddle and Graeme Swann have missed this year IPL.
There was one player to be noted as Ganguly from Last Year. Its none other our very own Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman aka ‘Very Very Special’. There were no takers for Laxman. I felt bad for the guy who has been widely regarded as a saviour. Personally I feel that Laxman can never be a good 20-20 player. But for what he has done to this country, he should not simply be ignored.
Last Year when Kochi Tuskers bought him at a price of $400,000, he actually lowered his price to $300,000 to attract the bidders. This year I think he should declare that he would give his services as a mentor to the team members, then some franchise may just recruit him. I am sure that taking him as a full-time IPL player is certainly not a wise business decision.
IPL 2012 – Auction
Kochi Tuskers team has been terminated by BCCI from IPL for breaching its terms of agreement. As we came close to IPL 2012, these players from Kochi are now auctioned and available for other franchises. As always there were some hits and some misses. Some were worth the price while some did not deserve it when compared to their talent.
These are players who were sold in this auction
Ravindra Jadeja – Maximum purse of $2 million bid by Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers. It goes to a tiebreaker. Bought by Chennai Super Kings for an undisclosed amount (base price $100,000). He is definitely a good player but I feel 2 million is a bit exaggeration.
Mahela Jayawardene – $1.4 million to Delhi Daredevils (base price $300,000). I dont know what Delhi Daredevils were thinking.
Vinay Kumar – $1 million to Royal Challengers Bangalore (base price $100,000). He has proven in the domestic cricket and I wish he will continue his good bowling in IPL and get a place in Indian Team.
Brendon McCullum – $900,000 to Kolkata Knight Riders (base price $400,000). Perfect bet for his explosive batting.
Sunil Narine – $700,000 to Kolkata Knight Riders (base price $50,000). This is a surprise.
Thisara Perera – $650,000 to Mumbai Indians (base price $50,000)
Parthiv Patel – $650,000 to Deccan Chargers (base price $200,000)
RP Singh – $600,000 to Mumbai Indians (base price $200,000). Hope to see him back in Indian Team.
Brad Hodge – $475,000 to Rajasthan Royals (base price $200,000).
Andre Russell – $450,000 to Delhi Daredevils (base price $50,000)
Sreesanth – $400,000 to Rajasthan Royals (base price $400,000)
Mitchell Johnson – $300,000 to Mumbai Indians (base price $300,000). His stats would definitely say he deserves more.
Muttiah Muralitharan – $220,000 to Royal Challengers Bangalore (base price $200,000). Never expected this low price.
Azhar Mahmood – $200,000 to Kings XI Punjab (base price $100,000)
James Faulkner – $190,000 to Kings XI Punjab (base price $100,000)
Brad Hogg – $180,000 to Rajasthan Royals (base price $100,000)
Ramesh Powar – $160,000 to Kings XI Punjab (base price $100,000)
Robin Peterson – $100,000 to Mumbai Indians (base price $100,000)
Darren Bravo – $100,000 to Deccan Chargers (base price $100,000)
Daniel Harris – $70,000 to Deccan Chargers (base price 50,000)
Kevon Cooper – $50,000 to Rajasthan Royals (base price 50,000)
Marchant de Lange – $50,000 to Kolkata Knight Riders (base price $50,000)
Doug Bracewell – $50,000 to Delhi Daredevils (base price $50,000)
Dinesh Chandimal – $50,000 to Rajasthan Royals (base price $50,000)
Herschelle Gibbs – $50,000 to Mumbai Indians (base price $50,000)
Retained
(Players who were signed last year as a replacement for injured players and then retained by the franchise for this year)
Chris Gayle – Royal Challengers Bangalore, $550,000
Sourav Ganguly – Pune Warriors, $400,000
David Miller – Kings XI Punjab, $100,000
Transferred
(Main players signed during the IPL’s trading window between December 15 and January 20)
Kevin Pietersen – Deccan Chargers to Delhi Daredevils
Andrew McDonald – Delhi Daredevils to Royal Challengers Bangalore
Dinesh Karthik – Kings XI Punjab to Mumbai Indians
Pragyan Ojha – Deccan Chargers to Mumbai Indians
R Sathish – Mumbai Indians to Kings XI Punjab
Harmeet Singh – Deccan Chargers to Kings XI Punjab
Unsold – Highlighted people, I feel deserve a place in teams.
James Anderson, Tamim Iqbal, Adrian Barath, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Ian Bell, Owais Shah, Upul Tharanga, VVS Laxman, Matt Prior, Brendan Taylor, Mark Boucher, Justin Kemp, Marlon Samuels, Steven Smith, Ravi Bopara, Luke Wright, Kevin O’Brien, Dwayne Smith, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, VRV Singh, Vernon Philander, Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul, Peter Siddle, Tim Southee, Graeme Swann, Rangana Herath, Ajantha Mendis, Steve O’Keefe, Xavier Doherty, Michael Klinger, Richard Levi, Alviro Petersen, Lendl Simmons. Farveez Maharoof, Jacob Oram, Moises Henriques, Ben Laughlin, Ryan McLaren, Nicky Boje, Jacques Rudolph, Andy McKay, Alister McDermott, Michael Neser
Best Test Bowler Debuts of the Year 2011
Recently when Marchant de Lange took 7 wickets against Sri Lanka in Kingsmead test, my brother tweeted about the debutants coming into the arena with a bang. I got curious and wanted to write about the debutants who have taken five wicket hauls in their first test.
Elias Sunny
96/6 vs West Indies – Chittagong Test
Being part of a team where we always here only one name Shakid Al Hasan, Elias sunny is a bright prospect to give the ex-captain some support with his performances. This Left arm spinner has claimed six wickets in the first innings of the first Test against the West Indies. This performance of his has helped Bangladesh in dismissing West Indies for 244. He was deservedly named man of the match
Nathan Lyon
34/5 vs Sri Lanka – Galle Test
Other than Shane Warne, we have hardly heard about any spinners in Australian side. Nathan Lyon who debuted for Australia against Sri Lanka has taken five wickets in his first Test. The icing on the cake for him is wicket of Sangakarra with his first ball of his debut over. He has shown some strong performances and as of now he is the best option for spin for Australia.
Doug Bracewell
85/5 vs Zimbabwe – Bulawayo Test
Doug played his first match against the minnows Zimbabwe. He took his first five wicket haul in the second innings of his first test. He came into limelight for his splending performance against Australia which helped Kiwis to win a test match against Australia since 1993. His devastating spell of 6-40 has overshadowed David Warners century in the match. This was also first victory for Kiwis in Australia since 1985.
Ravichandran Ashwin
47/6 vs West Indies – Delhi Test
Ravichandran Ashwin who has been quite successful in IPL and ODIs made a similar start to his test career. He had a memorable Test debut, claiming 6 wickets for 47 runs in the 2nd innings of the first Test against the West Indies in Delhi. He finished the match with the figures of 128/9 and went on to be named MOM on debut.
Vernon Philander
15/5 vs Australia – Cape Town Test
For me he is the best debutant bowler of the year. He started off with a devastating spell against Australia in the first test which was over in 3 days. It was a remarkable Test debut for South Africa seamer Vernon Philander in Cape Town, where Australian wickets tumbled and Proteas scoring an eight-wicket victory. Australia were shot out for 47 in the second innings, the country’s lowest completed Test innings total since 1902. From there he took 4 five wicket hauls in 2 months.
James Pattinson
27/5 vs New Zealand – Gabba Test
The 21 year old James Pattison has been the fastest of the debutant bowlers of 2011. He is able to get the pace and bounce and the swing at the same time. He showed the world his arrival by getting 5 wickets for 27 runs against New Zealand in the first test in Brisbane. He has added lot of strength to the inexperienced and vulnerabale Australian line up.
Pat Cummins
79/6 vs South Afirica – Wanderers Test
Australia always had very talented fast bowlers. Pat Cummins made a dream debut with a haul of 6 for 79 against South Africa in the second innings of the second Test. Being the youngest in the team the 18-year-old New South Wales right-arm fast bowler has a very bright future. With three young and talented youngters Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc in Australian team, I look forward to see yet another dominant side in near future.
Marchant de Lange
81/7 vs Sri Lanka – Kingsmead Test
After Vernon Philander, Marchant de Lange did his debut against Sri Lanka in the second test. He finished the first innings with seven wickets for 81 runs and became the eighth bowler to take a five-wicket haul on debut this year. South Africa team now has a very strong bowling department with Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Kallis and the latest addition Marchant de Lange.
Reign at the Top is Over
We have seen lot of records getting tumbled every day in all forms of Cricket. We have also seen rankings of countries and players change a lot after each and every series that they play. But there is one place which was not touched for a long time now. Number One Test Allrounder spot has been unchanged for last 3696 Days which is more than 10 years now. Its none other than the greatest allrounder of all time Jacques Kallis.
After the recent test of Bangladesh against Pakistan, Shakib Al Hasan has captured the spot of Kallis. His Century and 6 wicket haul has got him to the top spot. Shakib has always been in the race for this position, its just that he does not have the same kind of support from the team that Kallis gets.
I feel that Shakib can definitely become the next best allrounder after Kallis and I wish him good luck.
One Day Cricket in 2011
As all the One Day Internationals for the year of 2011 are over now, I felt that it is apt time to look back at matches played this year and how teams fared.
A total of 146 ODIs were played during the year (2 more than last year), a number that is significantly inflated due to the exhaustive One Day cricket. This year is also special for Sachin and India as they have won ICC World Cup. This high number has also contributed to some of the great performances and outstanding records. Virender Sehwag’s double ton and Shane Watson’s 15 sixes are couple of them which I cannot afford missing out without mentioning here.
Even though Australia did not show their dominance in Test Cricket but has fared very well in ODIs this year. On the other side, England has dominated Test Cricket but couldn’t show the same dominance in ODIs. This year of cricket belongs to Pakistan as they have fared well in all forms of cricket. India has also played well, but the X-Factor was missing for India. Below is the summary table of ODIs for this year.
If we look at the ranking, there is no much change in them. The top 3 from last year has continued to show their strength and retained their spots. Other are still fighting to go up the ladder.
Australia (M-25,W-18,L-6,T-0,NR-1)
After losing Ashes at home, Australia came hard on England and won the 7 match series with 6-1. They also went on to win the only match against New Zealand played as part of Chappel – Hadlee Trophy. Australia lost to Team India in quarters of World Cup while the later went on to win the cup. Australia did clean sweep 3-0 against the minnow Bangladesh. They also won the 5 match series 3-2 against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. One more major success came as a 3 match series win 2-1 against South Africa in South Africa. Overall this year was good in One Days for Australia.
India (M-34,W-21,L-10,T-2,NR-1)
India’s biggest success came as World Cup win this year. After 28 years, India went on to win their Second World Cup. India started this year with a 5 match series loss 2-3 to South Africa. After World Cup, India toured West Indies and won the 5 match series 3-2. The most forgettable series ever with England resulted in a clean sweep 0-5. India came hard against England and did a clean sweep 5-0 at home. This was when India has for the first time seen empty stadiums when India was playing. You can blame too much of cricket and especially too much of England. Later India continued its dominance at home by winning the 5 match series 4-1 against West Indies.
South Africa (M-15,W-9,L-6,T-0,NR-0)
Overall South Africa played very less cricket this year in both ODIs and Tests. They started the year with success against India at home. In World Cup they reached Quarters but yet again they chocked and couldn’t go further. After world cup they played again in November against Australia at home and lost the series 1-2.
Sri Lanka (M-28,W-14,L-12,T-0,NR-2)
Sri Lanka started their year on a great note winning the home series 2-0 against West Indies. They also reached the finals of World Cup. They then lost to England 2-3 in England. They lost to Australia at home 2-3. Their rues continued and lost badly to inform Pakistan 1-4.
Pakistan (M-32,W-24,L-7,T-0,NR-1)
Pakistan had a great run in ODIs this year. They started off with a series win against New Zealand 3-2. They also reached Semi-Finals of World Cup and lost to their Arch Rival India. Pakistan went on to win their next series 3-2 against West Indies and then 2-0 against minnow Ireland and then 3-0 against another minnow Zimbabwe. Pakistan won their next series against Sri Lanka 4-1 and then against Bangladesh 3-0. Overall Pakistan team has performed exceptionally well, though 8 of their matches were against teams like Ireland, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
England (M-30,W-11,L-16,T-2,NR-1)
The only series worth mentioning for England would be their World Cup performance which made them reach Quarter Finals and their clean sweep 5-0 against India. They have faced heavy losses against Australia 1-6 and India 0-5. Their only other series win was against Sri Lanka 3-2.
New Zealand, West Indies & Bangladesh have had mixed results and are yet to improve and show their presence in the elite group of cricketing nations. The performances from other countries are not worth mentioning.
