Tour Diary
Déjà vu for Ali Asad and Imad Wasim
Imad Wasim and Ali Asad have been here before: winning a knock-out match against Australia at an Under-19 World Cup by bowling them out for a low score
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
When the dust settled on the quarter-final between Australia and Pakistan, Imad Wasim and Ali Asad might have felt a bit of déjà vu. They had been here before: winning a knock-out match against Australia at an Under-19 World Cup by bowling them out for a low score.
In 2006, Pakistan qualified for the finals by scuttling Australia for 124 after setting a target of 288. Wasim took 3 for 16 with his left-arm spin in that match while Asad had helped rescue Pakistan from 80 for 5 with 69 from 86 balls.
Full postHowzat? <i>Nicht aus</i>
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
On one of my first days in Kuala Lumpur, I met a man who said he was an umpire at the Under-19 World Cup. His name was Paul Baldwin and he said he was from Germany. An umpire from Germany? Paul Baldwin certainly wasn’t a German name. I had to wait nearly a week and made a trip to Penang to find out more.
Paul’s father was in the British Royal Air Force and he was posted in Germany so Paul moved there when he was 17. He didn’t play cricket for about five to six years because he says he just wasn’t interested.
Full postWill the press descend again?
The press box gradually filled up as India advanced in the tournament and it was a packed house for the finals.There's no reason to believe that 2008 will be any different if India make the finals
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
The deputy president of the Malaysian Cricket Association, P Krishnaswamy,
who is also the chairman of the organising committee of the Under-19 World
Cup, had told me that he expected crowds, relatively speaking, to turn up
from the quarter-finals onwards. And sure enough, apart from the school
children who were being brought to the game to spread awareness, there was
a sizeable Indian contingent cheering their team on in the match against England.
There were a few English supporters as well but you had to search for them
because they weren't heard. They didn't have much to cheer about all day.
I haven't been to a Bangladesh game in the tournament but word is that
their support has been strong.
The press box at the Kinrara Oval has also been sparsely populated during
the first round of the tournament. Apart from the ICC officials,
television, and radio commentary crews, there are only a handful of
journalists: three from India, one from South Africa who works for the
official website, and a few from Sri Lanka. I've heard that there were
several Pakistan journalists in Johor so they should arrive at the Kinrara
for their quarter-final against Australia tomorrow.
However, there was a stack of uncollected media passes in the press box. I
spotted one belonging to a Mumbai journalist, who had applied for
accreditation but not yet made the trip to Kuala Lumpur. While travelling
by taxi, the journalist I was with got a call from a TV reporter in India
asking for sound bytes from Malaysia regarding India's progress. I had
heard that in 2006, the press box gradually filled up as India advanced in
the tournament and it was a packed house for the finals. There's no reason
to believe that 2008 will be any different if India are one of the teams
playing on March 2.
Full postThe World Cup beckons
I may have had to give up the stumps, but I am so proud of the fact that nobody will ever be able to take away from me the fact I have led my country to qualification to the Women’s World Cup
Urooj Mumtaz
25-Feb-2013
It’s still hard to believe that we’re going to be on the plane to Australia for the Women’s World Cup next year.
It was a World Cup win for Pakistan’s men team in Australia back in 1992 that inspired me to take up the game, so to think that I am going to follow in the footsteps of some of my cricketing heroes is amazing.
I don’t think anybody in my family would have thought that when I first picked up a cricket bat aged six-and-a-half and played against my brothers and cousins in the backyard that I would go onto lead my country in the sport. After yesterday’s result, when we beat Netherlands by 94 runs, even Dad might forgive me for all the plants we used to destroy in those backyard games. I don’t think there could have been prouder parents in Pakistan last night.
Full postHappy and relieved
The players came into this tournament knowing qualification was an absolute must for South Africa
Cri-Zelda Brits
25-Feb-2013
The players came into this tournament knowing qualification was an absolute must for South
Africa, so I'm almost as relieved as I am happy that we are going to the Women's World Cup in 2009.
I expected a slightly tougher game against Ireland in our semi-final, but once again we put in an outstanding team effort, with our bowling attack in absolutely superb form.
Full postRival fans make their presence felt
It wasn’t all one-way traffic
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
I’ve been to a fair number of grounds at the Under-19 World Cup so far and
there haven’t been many fans coming to watch the cricket. The few that do
show up are mostly schoolchildren who have been brought in for their first
cricket experience, or the families of players who have traveled to
Malaysia to follow the cricket.
So when I saw a few people coming in nearly an hour early to the
Australia-Sri Lanka game at the Penang Sports Club, I assumed they were
related to the Australian cricketers. They had come well equipped with two
massive Australian flags, an over-sized ice box full of beer and soft
drinks – but mainly beer – an inflatable Wallaby and a pump to inflate it.
They were enthusiastic enough to haul a football goalpost about 50 yards
towards their tent so that they could drape their flags from it. I went up
to ask which cricketer’s family they were.
It turned out that they weren’t family. There’s a Royal Air Force base in
Butterworth, Penang and these fans were stationed there. There were about
ten before the start of the match but Grant, who appeared to be the chief
enthusiast, said he expected about 80 to come in. They have an Australian
Defence Force (ADF) cricket team and its banner, which has a pouncing tiger with
claws bared for a symbol, was signed by all the U-19 cricketers and hung
over the tent. The icing on the cake, however, was a “Bay 13” sign which
hung between the Australian flags, in honour of the famous stand at the
MCG which is renowned for its not-so-sophisticated behavior.
Full post'Let’s hope for the best'
At 20 years, Paras Khadka is playing his third Under-19 World Cup
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Nepal finished third in Group C after a thrilling three-run victory against Namibia at the University Sains Malaysia. It was a finish meant for packed stands yet there were only a few Nepal supporters cheering on every dot ball towards the end of the Namibian run-chase. Overs were not an issue but the pressure had been mounting because the Namibian batsmen were simply not able to get Nepal’s spinners away. They were chasing a target of 165 and the equation had boiled down to six runs to win with two wickets in hand.
Morne Engelbrecht, the No. 9 batsman, swept the spinner in the air towards midwicket but the ball fell safe. The batsmen ran one but wanted another, the second run was fraught with risk. The throw at the bowler’s end was good and No. 10 batsman Elandre Oosthuizen was run out. The last pair added two more but with three runs to get, Engelbrecht was bowled by Gyanendra Malla. Nepal’s players converged on each other and celebrated in a heap before getting up to shake hands with the Namibians. As the jubilant Nepal players walked off, it was hard not to feel for their young opposition.
Full postMalaysian kids make cricket-watching debut
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
University Sains Malaysia in Penang is one of the biggest educational institutions in the county: it has about 20,000 students and is spread over 500 acres. And nestled on the border of its campus, by the main road, is the cricket ground where the Under-19 World Cup matches are being staged.
Nambia are playing Nepal today, a match which will decide the third and fourth spots in Group C. There are between 100-200 schools kids in the tents so I head over to have a chat. Malaysia beat Zimbabwe on Wednesday so I assume they'll be pretty excited about it.
Full postA good beginning
They are really great girls, who are trying their very best at the event, and it is a massive thing for them to even be playing here considering many of them only took up the game in the last couple of years
Urooj Mumtaz
25-Feb-2013
I couldn’t have dreamed for a better start to the tournament – played two, won two, and confidence in the side is sky high.
We have a really strong side – we have a very good bowling attack, with pace and spin options, and we have worked really hard on our fielding which has been good in this tournament so far. We know we have some more work to do on our batting, especially after six run outs in opening game against Ireland, but we showed some good form in our victory over Zimbabwe.
I am really enjoying the playing conditions in Stellenbosch, although the strong winds are a bit different to those back at home, but I have tried to use that to my advantage when I have been bowling. I also love the fact the outfield is soft – it hurts a lot more to dive around on the hard, dusty fields of Pakistan.
Full postJames' i-Touch and Einstein's letter
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Starbucks has been a haunt on the tour so far, mostly because of the free internet which is great when you need to email stories the end of the day. It's not just the odd journalist who spends quality time there, several of the players go there too, to use the internet to keep in touch with people at home. It's a long tour with plenty of action happening so the families want constant updates.
"I spend a lot of time here communicating on the internet," says James Taylor, the England opening batsman, who hasn't been giving his middle-order team-mates a chance to bat. "It's free here. So I keep in touch with people back home on my i-Touch. It's the easiest way to communicate and it's cheap."
Full post