World Cup Monitor
Oh Canada! We need to become full-time
After Canada’s second defeat in the tournament John Davison has called on the country’s organisation to become more professional
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
After Canada’s second defeat in the tournament John Davison has called on the country’s organisation to become more professional. "The most important thing for Canadian cricket is that we get some sort of infrastructure in place," Davison told AFP.
"The Canadian Cricket Association doesn't have anyone who is employed by the association. It's basically done on a voluntary basis. If we want to compete at this level we are going to have to be semi-professional at least, if not professional."
Canada, who have one full-time player in Geoff Barnett, lost to England by 51 runs in an improved performance on Sunday. The fork-lift driver Sunil Dhaniram ensured some more fame for obscure left-arm spinners, following in the big footsteps of Bermuda’s Dwayne Leverock, by taking 3 for 41, including Kevin Pietersen.
Full postBangladesh's days of shame are over
A government ban on public gatherings was quickly forgotten in Bangladesh as thousands of jubilant fans partied into the night after their shock World Cup victory over India, according to AFP
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
A government ban on public gatherings was quickly forgotten in Bangladesh as
thousands of jubilant fans partied into the night after their shock World
Cup victory over India, according to AFP. Supporters roared and waved
flags on the Dhaka University campus and elsewhere in the capital to
celebrate.
"We will be the world champions," the student Harunur Rashid said. "The days
of shame are over. It's time to show what our boys can do."
An impromptu party in the heart of the Bangladesh capital defied the interim
government's ban on all marches and processions. "It's a rare day in our
cricket history," the student Rajib Ahsan said. "So who cares if there is a
ban on processions? Even the police officers watched the matches and they
also celebrated this great victory."
**
Full postI do... after the World Cup
India may not be doing marvellously well at the World Cup but there are fans who want to watch the cricket without any interruptions..
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
India may not be doing marvellously well at the World Cup but there are fans who want to watch the cricket without any interruptions... even marital ones. Indiatimes reported the story of Ajit Padwal, who decided to postpone his wedding so that he wouldn't miss any of the action in the West Indies. Padwal, 35, got his wedding pushed back from April 21 to April 30 as the World Cup final is scheduled for April 28. He had a tough time getting his parents and in-laws to agree. Happily, though, his fiancee Rohini was more of a sport; Padwal and her brother are crazy cricket lovers. Game on, then!
Full postWhy India lost to Bangladesh...
Your perception might be coloured by the side you support
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Your perception might be coloured by the side you support. But the teams themselves can no longer afford to take colours lightly. A reason for India’s loss to Bangladesh? Their blue uniforms perhaps? According to Indiatimes’ Astrocricket “Blue is not the right colour for India, blue is a cool colour, but not suitable for aggressive and competitive sports like cricket, it also promotes flights of fancy". Leaders of countries that led their countries to battle used red in banners, flags and uniforms, like Adolf Hitler used Swastika on a patch of white, black and red. Red Indians and Africans used red to frighten their enemies while Aztecs of South Mexico used irritating colours to torture their enemies. So, the West Indies team that wear this colour are traditionally known to be an aggressive team and they are fighters who don’t give up.
“The yellow colour of Australian team activates joy, gives intuitional insight of opponents' weakness and is a colour of destructive decimation. Looking at the colour yellow for more than a minute can cause physiological disturbances to opponents, whereas it helps Australia to activate the motor nerves and generates energy for the muscles. It also drives away exhaustion and arthritis.”
It further advices that since India cannot change their team colours they should at least wear orange during practice as it has an antispasmodic effect on muscle cramps.
Full postUnbelievable. No other way to put it
Ireland's spectacular tie with Zimbabwe has created some ripples in the otherwise cricket-disinterested Irish media
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Ireland's spectacular tie with Zimbabwe has created some ripples in the otherwise cricket-disinterested Irish media.
According to RTE state radio the game has finally arrived as taxi drivers are discussing Ireland's progress at the World Cup.
"The great Irish trait of never giving in earned the cricketers a stunning tie," said the Irish Independent, "It sparked scenes of jubilation both on and off the field." The match, it added, was Ireland's finest cricketing day.
"Unbelievable. No other way to put it. Ireland's cricketer's came back from the dead to tie their first ever World Cup game," gushed the Irish Times. According to the newspaper while most people in Ireland hadn't known, prior to the match, that the country had a cricket team, Ireland in fact has 18,000 registered players and officials.
Full postKervezee wants shirt off Ponting’s back
Alexei Kervezee, the 17-year-old batsman from Netherlands, is so young he says he could call Glenn McGrath “Dad”
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Alexei Kervezee, the 17-year-old batsman from Netherlands, is so young he says he could call Glenn McGrath “Dad”. However, McGrath is not the man Kervezee wants to meet when he plays Australia on Sunday. Ricky Ponting is his hero and he is desperate to swap shirts at the end of the game.
Kervezee says he is not worried by the challenge of facing the defending world champions. "I get anxious but I don't get too fazed about things,” he said in The Australian. "Shaun Tait will be among the quickest I have faced. But I spoke to the Scottish batsmen and they said Lasith Malinga from Sri Lanka is quicker than Tait. I have faced Malinga and he has decent wheels and bowls around 150km/h so that was good to know."
Full postThe tie-ups of Irish cricket
Ireland's tie with Zimbabwe involved three Australians - Trent Johnston, Jeremy Bray and Dave Langford-Smith
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Ireland's tie with Zimbabwe involved three Australians - Trent Johnston, Jeremy Bray and Dave Langford-Smith. But what ties them to Irish cricket? Three Irish girls - Vanessa, Geraldine and Maebh - it seems.
Johnston met Vanessa when he was playing club cricket in Leinster but they then moved back to Sydney. However, the couple returned to Ireland where Johnston found he could get an Irish passport through marriage. "Ireland is home now. I love the lifestyle - the weather's different but the people are just as laid back," Johnston told the Sunday Tribune.
Bray played for New South Wales but went to Ireland when girlfriend, Geraldine, returned to care for her seriously ill father. Langford-Smith arrived in Ireland for Bray's wedding and met Maebh. "We went home for our honeymoon in December 2005 and after a few weeks I started to feel homesick - for Ireland," said Langford-Smith.
Full postA broken nose and Scottish swim tops
Pakistan's bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed, the former legspinner, was taken to hospital with a suspected broken nose
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
Pakistan's bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed, the former legspinner, was taken to hospital with a suspected broken nose. Mushtaq was hurt during fielding practice when he was hit by a throw. "He is in hospital and we are waiting for X-ray reports," Pervez Mir, the Pakistan media manager, told AFP.
Scotland might have been whacked by Australia in their game on Thursday but the team received some colouful support from the stands. The cricketer's girlfriends delighted the crowd by turning up at the Warner Park ground in blue and white swim tops.
Full postAussies and Proteas too mature for food fights
Australia and South Africa might be staying in the same St Kitts hotel, but don’t expect the fierce rivals to share breakfast
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Australia and South Africa might be staying in the same St Kitts hotel, but don’t expect the fierce rivals to share breakfast. The verbal barbs over choking have not been flying during meal times as the teams’ food rooms are 30 metres apart.
The squads arrived in St Kitts on the same flight from the opening ceremony, with Ricky Ponting placed next to South Africa’s coach Mickey Arthur, and they will stay in the hotel throughout the group phase. There is no way of escaping meetings in lifts and the lobby before their crucial game on March 24, but Graeme Smith is not bothered by the sleeping and eating arrangments.
"It hasn't been a problem running into them,” Smith said in The Australian. “Relationships are good and we are pretty mature about it. The hotel is pretty big."
Full postSize does matter
To say that cricket is merely popular in Bangladesh would be an understatement
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
To say that cricket is merely popular in Bangladesh would be an understatement. Akiz Group, a Bangladesh-based company, claims that it has built the world’s biggest bat, big enough to gather at least one million signatures from fans across the country to inspire the national team. The bat, 70-foot (22-metre) long and eight-foot wide, began its journey on Wednesday in Rangpur in the north, and will continue till the southern city of Cox’s Bazar. A company official told AFP that that the bat was bigger than one made to inspire India in the 2003 World Cup. With a bat so massive, the players might just spot it somewhere in the horizon when they take guard at the Queens Park Oval on Saturday.
Full post