Ajantha Mendis,the Sri Lankan Kumble

Pride of Sri Lanka Army ! Ajantha Mendis the Man of the match and the Man of the series of Asian Cricket Cup -2008
Originally uploaded by menik 04

Ajantha Mendis is Sri Lankan cricket 's new " Kumble "

Ajantha Mendis has suddenly burst into the world cricket scene through his mesmerizing display of spin bowlers against the Indian cricket team. Ajantha Mendis is however more similar to Anil Kumble than his idol, Muthiah Muralitharan

Ajantha Mendis is not a typical spinner like Muralitharan or Shane Warne but relies on his incredible accuracy to always be a threat to a batsman, irrespective of whether the batsman is batting on 0 or on 176.

Like Anil Kumble, Ajantha Mendis relies on his subtle changes of pace, direction and length to fox the batsmen

Ajantha Mendis ' real challenge is test cricket matches

There are huge expectations from Ajantha Mendis among Sri Lankan cricket fans and cricket enthusiasts such as myself. Its only once in a generation that a classy spinner emerges

Recently, there have been fears that there wouldnt be any near term replacements to Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble

If Ajantha Mendis does well in this test cricket series against the touring Indian cricketers, his future is almost assured, since the Indian cricketers are reputed to be such great players of spin bowling

Ajantha Mendis has a real challenge in the current test cricket series against the visiting Indian cricket team, but he seems to have the talent to justify his top billing

Virender Sehwag ,the best captain that the Indian cricket captain neverhad

Virender Sehwag Indian cricketer
Originally uploaded by Neeraj Yuvraj

Virender (Virendra) Sehwag is the best cricket captain that the Indian cricket team never had

Virender or Virendra Sehwag is the inspirational captain of the Delhi Daredevils Twenty20 cricket team in the IPL.

Sehwag probably realizes that having an incredible cricket talent is often a liability as people start questioning his attitude and his style of batting as soon as he fails in a couple of innings

As a result, Sehwag , who has a sharp cricketing brain , a never-say-die attitude and an ability to get along with his teammate is never considered for the captaincy role

Not having Sehwag as captain is a great loss for Indian cricket

Sehwag is easily the best Indian test opening batsman after Sunil Gavaskar, and given his cool demeanour will not mind never being the captain of the Indian cricket team. But the Indian cricket team would have missed having this cool technician as the Indian cricket team 's captain

Sehwag ,with his earthy commonsense and great team building skills, would have been a great Indian cricket captain

The wide smiles of the Delhi Daredevils cricket team when they see Sehwag, demonstrate the trust Sehwag 's teammates have in their captain

What do you need from a cricket captain? Someone you could trust, someone who could motivate you when you are down and someone who truly cares about the Indian cricket team and wants it to succeed

Sehwag, as his stint with the Delhi Daredevils cricket team shows, satisfies all the above criteria, and should be given the mantle of captaincy of the Indian cricket team before his retirement

Ricky Ponting| A disaster for Australian cricket

Ricky Ponting claims not to have grounded the ball
Originally uploaded by sehwag

Ricky Ponting and the damage he has done to Australian cricket

Ricky Ponting is recently back to Harbhajan bashing,but that doesnt exonerate his disastrous influence on Australian cricket

Ricky Ponting admits to "minor errors" during the India Vs Australia Sydney cricket test series

Apart from violating the spirit of the game, creating a new era of verbal abuse,encouraging his fellow cricketers to act like a pack of wild dogs and generally denigrating Australian cricket, Ricky Ponting hasnt done anything wrong.

One wonders what damage Ricky Ponting would do to world cricket when he is guilty of "major errors"

Ricky Ponting is representative of all thats wrong with world cricket, with players like Symonds,Harbhajan, Hayden and Ricky Ponting damaging this noble game,which was played by people like the Don

Malcolm Speed,ICC cricket CEO,Good Riddance

Malcolm Speed speaks to Guyana media
Originally uploaded by caribbeancricket

Malcolm Speed , good riddance

Andrew Miller,writes in Cricinfo magazine that the ousting of Malcolm Speed as ICC CEO is an admission of the factionalism in the ICC

I am glad to see Malcolm Speed go as ICC CEO

Malcolm Speed has often be seen to be partisan and has made almost as many gaffes as Ray Mali.

Malcolm Speed may have had issues with the BCCI, but that didnt mean that he could make nasty , gloating comments about India and the inability for a country with a population of 1 billion to win the cricket World cup..

I may not be a great fan of the BCCI, but Malcolm Speed, as ICC CEO, was far worse- Malcolm Speed 's nasty comments don't exactly inspire any confidence about his leadership skills and people from the subcontinent are bound to view Malcolm Speed , as more of a representative of England & Australia cricket boards

A CEO needs to be at least seen to be bi-partisan, but Malcolm Speed 's nasty comments about India did let the cat out of the bag about his biased views

Goodbye and good riddance to Malcolm Speed, his seven years as ICC CEO, have resulted in the ICC organization being reduced to a toothless organization, viewed with suspicion by every cricket playing country of the cricket world

Sachin Tendulkar is 35 today-What the world thinks of Sachin Tendulkar

sachin tendulkar
Originally uploaded by pigmediacraft

Sachin Tendulkar - what people are saying about Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar turns 35 today and a good way to appreciate what Sachin has achieved for Indian cricket is to read what other cricketers,mostly his opponents have said about him

"Sachin Tendulkar was destined to be a great" -Barry Richards.

"Sachin Tendulkar is 99.5 percent perfect. I'd pay to see him" - Viv Richards.

"Don't bowl Sachin Tendulkarbad balls, he hits the good ones for fours - Michael Kasprowicz.

"It's scary, where the hell do we bowl to Sachin" -Allan Border

.

"There is no shame being beaten by such a great player as Sachin Tendulkar. We didn't lose to
Team India. We Lost to Sachin Tendulkar" -Steve Waugh.

"If I've to bowl to Sachin, I'll bowl with my helmet on. He hits the ball so hard" - Dennis Lillee.

"I'd like to see Sachin go out and bat one day with a stump. I tell you he'd do okay" -Greg Chappell.

"Cricketers like Sachin come once in a lifetime and I am privileged he played in my time" - Wasim Akram.

"The pressure on me is nothing as compared to Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin,
like God, must never fail. The crowd always expects him (Sachin Tendulkar) to succeed and it
is too much pressure on him" -Mark Waugh

"Everybody gets 15 minutes of fame. But if there's one person I've admired over a 15-year of period, it's definitely Sachin." - Brian Lara

"I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player" -Shane Warne.

"I saw Sachin Tendulkar playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two... his compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel" -Sir Donald Bradman.

"In an over I can bowl six different balls. But then Sachin looks at me with a sort of gentle arrogance down the pitch as if to say 'Can you bowl m another one?'" - Adam Hollioke

Sachin Tendulkar is cricket's God? Barry Richards.

You might pitch a ball on the off stump and think you have bowled a good ball and Sachin Tendulkar walks across and hits it for two behind midwicket. His bat looks so heavy but he just waves it arounad like it's a toothpick? -Brett Lee

You have to decide for yourself whether you're bowling well or not. Sachin Tendulkar's going to hit you for fours and sixes anyway? -Micheal Kasprowicz

Technically, you can't fault Sachin. Seam or spin, fast or slow ? nothing is a problem? -Geoffrey Boycott.

Sachin Tendulkar's life seems to be a stillness in a frantic world... [When he goes out to bat], it is beyond chaos - it is a frantic appeal by a nation to one man. The people see him as a God... ? Mathew Hayden, on Sachin Tendulkar.

I (Embarrassed laugh) am a normal person who plays cricket. I am nothing more than that? Sachin Tendulkar, on being told of above quote.

"The fact of the matter is that India still need Sachin in a big way. All this talk of the youngsters taking over is very foolish. The reason why Tendulkar is so important for the team is because of his ability to inspire others and make them perform under pressure" - In the "Times of India" of the infamous "End"ulkar fame

"Sachin has everything a top batsman needs. Tendulkar is a classic example of a player being so good that his age is an irrelevance" Akram says in his autobiography titled "Wasim". He also stated a number of examples when he and his team were frustrated by Tendulkar's batting prowess.

David Boon "Technically Sachin Tendulkar stands out as the best because of his ability to increase the pace at will"

Ted Dexter: (who chaired the panel, the Coopers & Lybrand award as the International Test player of the year)
"This year Tendulkar has been the batsman nobody wanted to bowl at. He took Shane Warne apart in India, which illustrates his genius."

M. L. Jaisimha "The more I see of Sachin Tendulkar the more confused I'm getting to which is his best knock."

Cricket Historian Vasant Raiji "I have always felt C. K. Nayadu was the best. I now think Sachin has the honour of being the most outstanding batsman of all time."

Mike Selvey
"Tendulkar is the supreme right hander on the planet, a focussed technician who offers a counterpoint to Brian Lara's more eye catching destruction."

Jeff Thompson "Sachin is an attacker. He has much more power than Sunny. He wants to be the one to set the pace. He has to be on top. That's the buzz about him."

Asif Iqbal: (after India won at Sharjah)
"He has given a new dimension to batting. Such dominance can break the heart of the best of bowlers. I was never tired of watching this wonderful batsman."

Peter Roebuck "Sometime back I had written a piece that said that Sachin's the master and Lara a genius with his head high up somewhere. That's it."

Steve Waugh "You take Don Bradman away and he is next up I reckon."

"It was one of the greatest innings I have ever seen. There is no shame being beaten by such a great player, Sachin is perhaps only next to the Don''.

"When it comes to judging the best among these fabulous band of batsmen, my vote goes to Tendulkar. He has an uncanny ability to come out on top under different circumstances and under different conditions, whether it is Test cricket or one day internationals. And more importantly, he has done this so young. "
Allan Border: (after India won the Coca-Cola cup in Sharjah)
"Hell, if he stayed, even at 11 an over he would have got it."

Greg Chappell , who successfully destroyed India's chances in the last World cup says "He is a perfectly balanced batsman and knows perfectly well when to attack and when to play defensive cricket. He has developed the ability to treat bowlers all over the world with contempt and can destroy any attack with utmost ease. "

Tony Greig "He is cool, has magnificent temperament, and is so mature you tend to forget his age. I can't think of any other example of a player who has so dominated the world before the age of 25."

Paul Strang "What we (Zimbabwe) need is 10 Tendulkars."

Australian Media "The most exciting batsman of his time because he finds the right balance between reason and passion, technique and power, nerves and placement and judgement that applies to all tastes."

Malcolm Speed,ICC cricket,Mickey Arthur so hypocritical!

Malcolm Speed speaks to Guyana media
Originally uploaded by bajanreporter

Malcolm Speed and Mickey Arthur shoot themselves in the foot

Malcolm Speed , the ICC and the South Africa cricket coach Mickey Arthur are incredibly hypocritical.

Reports suggest that on the basis of Mickey Arthur's protest, the ICC, led by Malcolm Speed, has asked the BCCI for an explanation for the spinning track prepared for the Kanpur cricket test match , which ended in three days

Mickey Arthur, the South African cricket coach, is simply not grateful for the "South African cricket pitch" provided at Ahmedabad

Why is Mickey Arthur, the South African cricket coach and the ICC not asking for an explanation for the pitch for the Ahmedabad test match which also ended in three days

The fast and green Ahmedabad cricket match was simply a gift given by the pitch curators to the South African cricket team, but Mickey Arthur is simple not grateful

No country will be as stupid as to provide a cricket pitch that is favorable to the opposing cricket team, but the pitch curators at Ahmedabad managed to do just that

The Ahmedabad cricket pitch was tailor made for the South African cricket team's fast bowlers and not surprisingly, the South African cricket easily won the Ahmedabad cricket test

Is the ICC ask forl a spinning track to be prepared at the Centurion Park or at Perth?

The ICC's comments on the pitch for the Kanpur cricket test sparks of such hypocricy- has Malcolm Speed's ICC or Mickey Arthur ever asked the Australian cricket board for an explanation for the fast cricket pitch at Perth or Centurion Park?

Why should a spinning track be unfriendly, but a green top like Perth be fair?The ICC, led by Malcolm Speed,is plain stupid and biased

The ICC should be dismantled as soon as possible- the ICC 's decisions are really biased against the subcontinent

The Oval fiasco and the reinstatement of Darrell Hair is another slap in the face for the subcontinent, and it is high time the Asian cricket boards support each other in the face of such blatant bias against them

Malcolm Speed, the ICC and Mickey Arthur should refrain from stupid statements that display jealousy about the BCCI 's monetary influence over world cricket

Robin Uthappa: Australians are sore losers"

Robin Uthappa
Originally uploaded by zahidul islam

Robin Uthappa has called the Australians "sore losers"

In yet another interesting interview, Robin Uthappa has given interesting insights on the Australian cricketers and the Australian cricket media.

In a move that is assured to ruffle the Australian media 's "thin", he has called the Australians "sore losers"

Robin Uthappa says that Australian media coverage of the CB cricket series finals was so very weird

Robin Uthappa uses the Australian cricket media's coverage of the CB cricket series finals to make his point- The Australian cricketers were beaten squarely by the Indian cricket team but the Australian cricket media only covered the cricket series results sparsely in a couple of short notes

The Australian cricket media instead focused on Harbhajan Singh again and his alleged bad behavior

Robin Uthappa suggests that the Australian cricket media was only interested in raking up unnecessary controversies and was not even sporting enough to acknowledge the fair defeat of the Australian cricket team

Robin Uthappa suggests that he and his fellow young cricketers dont believe in taking the abuse of the Australian cricket players

Any international cricketer would acnowledged the tremendous abusive behavior of the Australian cricket team, dirty comments about the players' immediate family are always on the cards when the Australian cricketers are around

Robin Uthappa suggests that he and his younger colleagues are not prepared to take the nonsense talked by the Australian players without hitting back and letting the Australian cricketers get a taste of their own medicine

Mahendra Singh Dhoni even recently underscored this when he said that his cricket team "learnt" a lot about sledging without being punished from the Australian cricket team

What Robin Uthappa did not mention was that the Australian cricket media should probably be commended for supporting their own team so well, but did the Australian cricket media go too far this time?

Sourav Ganguly was missed in CB one day series in Australia

Sourav Ganguly is thrilled
Originally uploaded by nimitimin

Sourav Ganguly was missed by the Indian cricket team during the CB one day cricket series in Australia

Sourav Ganguly was really missed by the Indian cricket team in the CB cricket series. Surprised?

There is so much said about the youngsters in the Indian cricket team being responsible for the Indian cricket team's win- but did the young Indian cricket batsmen do better than Sourav 'Dada' Ganguly?

The answer is a resounding "No"- Sourav Ganguly had a batting average of over 60 in one day international cricket matches over the last year of so- but all the Indian cricket batsmen in the CB series barring Mahendra Singh Dhoni had averages of less than 50.

The only batsman who came good in the CB finals was Sourav Ganguly's erstwhile senior partner, Sachin Tendulkar

In the absence of Sourav Ganguly, there were only two opening partnerships greater than 50- both of the partnerships had the greatest one day international "senior" batsman in the world- "Senior" Sachin Tendulkar play a major role

Sourav Ganguly was unfairly dropped from the Indian cricket team and his replacements are simply not good enough

Sourav Ganguly was treated badly by the Indian cricket selectors and Mahendra Singh Dhoni- We seem to be getting back to the bad old days, when the whims and fancies of selectors and Indian cricket captains decided the composition of the Indian cricket team

Sourav Ganguly's absence underscores that Youth is not important, only performance should the criteria for selection

Sachin Tendulkar said it best when he said that the seniors still have a role to play and the Indian cricket team should be selected based on performance rather than whims, fancies and age

Sourav Ganguly is a better fielder than a lot of "young" players in the Indian cricket team

Sourav Ganguly is a better fielder than at least Suresh Raina and Munaf Patel,who let a lot of balls slip under their feet-

Sourav Ganguly is supposedly a bad fielder and thats the reason he was dropped- but compared to the leaden footed "young" fielders in the CB cricket series such as Munaf Patel and Suresh Raina, Sourav Ganguly is definitely better

Sourav Ganguly could also have contributed with the ball in the CB cricket series

Sourav Ganguly is definitely an asset to any Indian cricket team - he would have been a valuable all-rounder in the Indian cricket team, and allowed the Indian skipper to even play an additional batsman

Sachin Tendulkar did bail out Dhoni's "youngsters", but the Indian cricket selectors should realize their mistake, and reinstate Sourav "Dada" Ganguly in the Indian cricket team

Allan Border praises Harbhajan Singh for restraint

Allan Border defends Harbhajan Singh
Originally uploaded by mickeyjuice

Allan Border has praised Harbhajan Singh for showing restraint in Sydney CB series cricket one day international

Allan Border, the former Australian cricket giant, has praised Harbhajan Singh for his incredible restraint

Contrary to the reports in the Sydney Morning Herald and other sections of the Australian media, Allan Border said that he appreciated Harbhajan Singh 's restraint in the face of some really abusive behavior from the Sydney cricket spectators

Allan Border was in the section of the crowd which was resorting to such unpardonable behavior

Apparently, Allan Border was close to the crowd that was resorting to racist comments about Harbhajan Singh - comments about his religion and his "patka" were apparently freely being bandied out by the Sydney spectators. Allan Border mentioned that Harbhajan Singh handled himself well, in response to some really persistent abuse

These Sydney cricket spectators obviously need some education, but sections of the media such as the Sydney Morning Herald, need to cop some of the abuse, for their one-sided media reporting and their part in inciting the Sydney spectators

Sydney Morning Herald media coverage of India Vs Australia cricketseries:One sided and sickening

Harbhajan Singh begins his exuberant celebrations after removing Ricky Ponting, Australia v India, 2nd Test, Sydney, 4th day, January 5, 2008
Originally uploaded by malvinder_4u

The Australian media coverage of the India Vs Australia one day international CommonWealth Bank cricket series (CB cricket series) is hopelessly one-sided and biased

The Australian media especially, the Sydney Morning Herald,has been incredibly disappointing.

Its one thing to support the Australian home team,but to run fake campaigns,denigrate the opposition players and cast a blind eye to the doings of the Australian cricket payers is simply not done, at least by a leading national newspaper

Sydney Morning Herald is abusing the power of the media

By its one-sided reporting,the Sydney Morning Herald has been abusing its power. In this one-sided article about the first final of the India Vs Australia CommonWealth Bank cricket series, the hopelessly biased article talks about Harbhajan Singh 's alleged behavior, but fails to mention the abusive and racist remarks by the Sydney cricket crowd

The Sydney spectators abused Harbhajan Singh by making racist comments about Harbhajan Singh 's Sikh religion and this was not even mentioned in the article

The abusive words used by Hayden, Ponting, Symonds and the rest of the Australian cricket team were ignored

In the cricket article, there is some mention about Pathan and Harbhajan walking down to Hayden and making some comments, but the dirty, abusive comments used by Hayden,Symonda and the rest of the Australian cricket team are not even mentioned

My biggest fear- Soon, the Indian, Pakistan,Sri Lanka,Bangladesh,South African and West Indian cricket media would follow the example of the Australian cricket media

There is no barrier to entry for nastiness in media- what if the rest of the world cricket media behaved in the same despicable manner as the Sydney Morning Herald?

The good old days of the cricket columnist is now being abused by these so-called cricket writers who are bringing decency in the cricket game to its knees

Mathew Hayden,an obnoxious big weed?

Mathew Hayden, an obnoxious big weed?

In an interesting interview, Mathew Hayden has justified his calling Harbhajan "an obnoxious little weed" by producing his own latest photograph and his new pineapple weed look

Mathew Hayden suggests that "weeds" are not all that bad

Mathew Hayden points at his own photograph and indicates that the "pineapple weed" is quite cool and has a lot of perfume to go with it. When Hayden called Harbhajan Singh a "weed", he actually wanted to say good things about him by comparing him to a perfumed "pineapple weed"

Mathew Hayden suggests that being "obnoxious" is fine- after all Hayden has demonstrated that he is the most obnoxious person around by making those nasty Harbhajan Singh statements

Mathew Hayden has mentioned in his recent interview that there is nothing wrong about being obnoxious, and that he is proud of being obnoxious and nasty and is probably the most obnoxious person around

Mathew Hayden also referred to Steve Waugh's recent statements about the "cultural differences" between Australians and Indian cricketers and suggested that taking offense for Mathew Hayden's statement could just be a cultural thing

Ishant Sharma giving Ricky Ponting a hard time

Ishant Sharma,Indian cricket's latest find is giving Ricky Ponting a hard time in India Vs Australia test and one day cricket series

Ishant Sharma, India's latest cricket sensation has been troubling Ricky Ponting in the India Vs Australia test and one day international cricket series

Ishant Sharma's pace and bounce are ideally suited to Australian tracks

Ishant Sharma has the ability to bounce the ball off almost good length- and that has ensured that Ishant Sharma has troubled all the Australian cricket batsmen including Ricky Ponting in this India Vs Australia test and one day cricket series

Ishant Sharma Vs Ricky Ponting cricket Video

In this cricket video excerpt from the India Vs Australia cricket test match at Sydney,Ishant Sharma gives Ricky Ponting a torrid time and ultimately even grabs Ricky Ponting's wicket

Sachin Tendulkar Vs Brett Lee video- See God in action

Sachin Tendulkar Vs Brett Lee cricket Video- God in action

If you ever doubted that God existed, you should see this Sachin Tendulkar Vs Brett Lee cricket video. Sachin Tendulkar hit three amazing boundaries off Brett Lee including two breathtaking straight drives that scorched the MCG

Sachin Tendulkar's straight drives off Brett Lee were nothing short of cricketing perfection, as the MCG spectators were treated to almost a religious miracle- the most mesmerizing straight drives almost in the history of cricket

Brett Lee bowled at 150 mph and Sachin Tendulkar hit a straight drive at 250 mph

As you can see in the Sachin Tendulkar Vs Brett Lee video below, Sachin Tendulkar slams the ball back to the boundary with majestic power that seemed to signal that he is almost back to being the best bastman in the cricket world today

Harbhajan Singh appeal to be tried by controversial judge of New Zealand, John Hansen- a ploy by the ICC

Harbhajan Singh 's appeal to be judged by John Hansen, the controversial judge of the New Zealand High court- another sinister ploy in this critical cricket incident?

Harbhajan Singh's appeal will be judged by John Hansen, a really controversial judge who is known to give rather "blinkered" decisions.

According to Kiwifirst, John Hansen, the New Zealand high court judge is known to make rather controversial judgements.

John Hansen's appointment is probably a bad choice in this most important judgement for world cricket, the ICC and the BCCI

John Hanson has been described by this Kiwifirst website as someone who is "unable to apparently separate his personal bias and interests from his arbiter's job" and someone who is "Prone to take a blinkered approach in proceedings and in his written accounts of proceedings and rulings, providing inordinate focus on the arguments of the litigant (or counsel) he personally fancies"

In the context of the Oval cricket test controversy, the ICC and world cricket authorities are often seen as being against the teams of the subcontinent and appointing this "blinkered" judge for such this important Harbhajan Singh - Andrew Symonds cricket controversy smacks of really poor taste and a touch of the sinister

Ricky Ponting lacks integrity in Sydney test match

Ricky Ponting claims not to have grounded the ball
Originally uploaded by sehwag

Ricky Ponting lacks integrity as shown by his appealing when the ball is grounded

Ricky Ponting surely lacks any semblance of integrity. The two appeals , one off Dhoni, where he claimed to have perfectly (!) taken the catch (see attached photo) and the catch by Clarke perfectly sum up his integrity or lack of it

As Prem Panicker writes in Rediff.com, Ricky Ponting should be banned until Ricky Ponting improves his behavior

Ricky Ponting drops gamesmanship, takes on cheating

Ricky Ponting said "There is no way I grounded the ball". What do you think, is Ricky Ponting grounding the ball or is the ground rising up to meet the ball ?

Get rid of Ricky Ponting and his kind of cheating in the name of gamesmanship