A feeble bowling performance by India A close match had been expected between the strongest sides in the competition
17-Mar-2003Monday, March 24, 2003:::
A feeble bowling performance by India
A close match had been expected between the strongest sides in the competition. Instead, the Indians produced a feeble bowling performance in which their standards fell far below those expected on these great cricketing occasions, writes Peter Roebuck.
Source: Rediff, IndiaBowlers dug their own grave
When Adam Gilchrist sets about, the opposition bowlers come away feeling as though they have spent 10 minutes whirling around in the dryer. The bowlers end up being disoriented and their thinking gets muddled, writes Ian Chappell.
Source: Mid-day, India
How the gamble on Punter has paid off with interest
The journey of life and cricket that took Ricky Ponting to the mountain peak of this popular form of the game had not been either brief or straightforward, observes former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson.
Source: Guardian, England
We were awesome – Lehmann
I said in my column ahead of the final that we were looking to play the perfect match and I think what you saw at Wanderers on Sunday was exactly that, writes Darren Lehmann.
Source: BBC, UK
$500m in illegal bets on final
Cricket’s new anti-corruption czar warned that up to $500 million may have been illegally wagered in Mumbai alone, on Sunday’s World Cup final between Australia and India.
Source: The Age, Australia
Read anything interesting lately? Send us the link for the CricInfo weblogs.Sunday, March 23, 2003:::
Stop this man… or lose cup
There is only one man who stands between Australia and back-to-back World Cups and that is the Little Master, Sachin Tendulkar, writes Shane Warne.
Source: The Herald Sun, Australia
A tale of two captains
As men, Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly, are as different as “meat pies and dhal, writes Peter Roebuck.
Source: The Age, Australia
Ganguly the prince of antagonism
Because of his confrontational style, Sourav Ganguly will not go down as one of the most popular captains in the history of the game, but this is something the Prince of Calcutta will lose little sleep over, writes Angus Fraser.
Source: The Sunday Independent, UK
In the thin air of Wanderers, pace will hold the key
In the 50 years that I have been involved in first-class cricket, this is the first time that have thought pace on both sides would decide an India-Australia clash. It is also probably the first time I have felt that India have had a good enough pace attack to do the job, writes Bobby Simpson.
Source: The Indian Express, India
Ponting targets Ganguly
Ricky Ponting has branded rival captain Ganguly suspect against short-pitched bowling as India promised to counter Australia’s bodyline barrage in today’s World Cup final.
Source: The Australian, Australia
A man’s got to do what he has to: Dravid
Indian vice-captain Rahul Dravid has declined to confirm reports that he will marry after the World Cup. When asked if a report to that effect in was correct, Dravid said bashfully, “Maybe, maybe not.”
Source: Mid Day, India
World Cup win to make Indian players ‘crorepatis’
The Indian team stand to win more than 23 crores in prize money if they lift the World Cup at the Wanderers on Sunday.
Source: The Times of India, India
Read anything interesting lately? Send us the link for the CricInfo weblogs.Saturday, March 22, 2003:::
Iraq campaign won’t stop World Cup – organisers
American planes may be flattening large sections of Baghdad real-estate, but organisers of the World Cup said on Thursday that the final, scheduled for March 23 at Johannesburg, would go ahead as planned.
Source: AP on Sportsillustrated.CNN.com
Article URL sent in by Shabbir ([email protected])Indian companies go cricket crazy
Can India win the World Cup? Profit-hungry companies selling cricket momentos and merchandise are hoping so, because India’s emphatic win over New Zealand and its subsequent entry into the final have made profit charts rise dramatically.
Source: Mid Day, IndiaA man who has recorded more World Cup runs than Tendulkar
For the final countdown on Sunday in Johannesburg, India could have an edge against the formidable Aussies, believes Kunjesh Gupte. His belief is not wishful thinking, but a calculated prediction, for he has been one of the four official scorers of the cricket World Cup tournament for Sony Max.
Source: The Indian Express, IndiaAfter all our wins, teams are in awe of Australia – Bevan
“There are few greater cricketing moments than playing in a World Cup final. My Test debut for Australia will always rank very high for me, as will the time that I took 10 wickets in a Test against West Indies, but tomorrow’s match against India is the pinnacle as far as one-day cricket is concerned,” writes Michael Bevan.
Source: The Guardian, UKCanada captain blames coach for Cup woes
Canada’s impact on the World Cup, unlike Bangladesh or Namibia, was hardly minimal, with John Davison blitzing top-notch bowlers and the team handing Test team Bangladesh a shock loss. But captain Joe Harris was apparently shooting for more, because he has now blamed coach Gus Logie for internal problems that affected performance.
Source: The Toronto Star, CanadaRead anything interesting lately? Send us the link for the CricInfo weblogs.Friday, March 21, 2003:::
Fast and short
Cricket has long been anticipating a clash between Brett Lee and Sachin Tendulkar taking place on the greatest stage the game can provide, writes Peter Roebuck.
Source: Rediff.com
Ganguly making light of the toughest job in the world
Sourav Ganguly can be haughty, bitchy, even downright rude. But that is not all there is to him. He has an unpretentious warmth, evident in those times where he is not being followed by a million flashlights.
Source: The Guardian, UK
Watching cricket amidst reality TV
After weeks of occupying centrestage in homes across the city, the day of the semi-final between India and Kenya saw Puneites in a dilemma. As George Bush formally declared war on Iraq in the early hours of the day, excitement over the match was clouded by anxieties about consequences of the war.
Source: The Indian Express, India
Ponting to bounce Indians
Australia head for their third consecutive World Cup final buoyed by the knowledge that a hard, fast Wanderers pitch will be ideal for unsettling their likely opponents, India, on Sunday.
Source: Foxsports, Australia
Parthiv hones his skills in the best camp
While most of his friends snatch bits of the World Cup in between studying for, and taking, their annual exams, Parthiv Patel is in the midst of the real drama, rubbing shoulders with his idols, carrying important messages out to them or handing them water bottles on the boundary line.
Source: The New Indian Express, India
Read anything interesting lately? Send us the link for the CricInfo weblogs.Thursday, March 20, 2003:::
Brothers living the dream
Whatever happens in today’s World Cup semi-final against India, three Kenyan brothers will step on to the field in Durban convinced that cricket in their homeland can never be the same again.
Source: The Guardian, UK
The walk that talked
It is too early to tell whether Adam Gilchrist’s voluntary departure heralds a new age of sportsmanship or was merely an aberration, writes Peter Roebuck.
Source: Rediff.com
Indian liquor company to sponsor Kenya’s team
Kenya’s long search for a sponsor has ended with Indian liquor major Shaw Wallace stepping forward and agreeing to sponsor them through the rest of their World Cup campaign.
Source: Mid-day, India
Ganguly eyes opening spot
Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has vowed to open the batting for his country again after the World Cup. “Definitely I will open again – I feel more comfortable there,” Ganguly said.
Source: The BBC, UK
The $1m Aussies
Australian cricket will have its first million-dollar men if Ricky Ponting and his side retain the World Cup. The top three players on the Australian Cricket Board’s contract list – Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Ponting – will break through the magical barrier in playing payments alone, provided the defending champions prevail in the March 23 decider.
Source: Foxsports, AustraliaRead anything interesting lately? Send us the link for the CricInfo weblogs.Wednesday, March 19, 2003:::
No sex please, we’re cricketers
Some blamed the toss at Cape Town. Others blamed the weather at Bulawayo. A couple of experts even blamed Inzamam’s diet. But the real reason for Pakistan’s jaw-achingly bad World Cup has been revealed…
Source: The Guardian, UK
Stirring effort by the Aussies
Scoreboards do not always tell the tale. Winning margins can mislead. Australia had to fight with every power at its disposal to secure a place in the World Cup final for a third successive time. A scrappy match was won by the team prepared to scrap the hardest, writes Peter Roebuck
Source: Rediff.comWalking on a blue moon
Something happened in the fifth over of the World Cup semi-final which happens only once in a blue moon – an Australian batsman walked. “It’s very odd to see an Australian walk, and Gilchrist may face a fine in the evening,” joked Fanie de Villiers.
Source: The BBC, UKKarim spreads belief in Kenyan uprising
Asif Karim keeps a recording of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech on his computer. “It is always inspiring to listen to,” says Karim, the father figure of Kenyan cricket, whose team are staging their own revolution.
Source: The Daily Telegraph, UKSoaps? Nights out? Life can wait till March 23
India is on a knife-edge. Life, unofficially, has been suspended until Australia and, hopefully, India clash in the World Cup final in South Africa.
Source: The New Indian Express, IndiaSrinath as Indian bowling coach?
It is common knowledge that the Indian team management has been — for a while now — asking for a bowling coach. Names like Fanie DeVilliers, Terry Alderman and John Lever have popped up now and then. But word is that if Javagal Srinath retires from international cricket after the World Cup, he might be asked to continue with the team as the bowling coach.
Source: Mid Day, IndiaRead anything interesting lately? Send us the link for the CricInfo weblogs.Tuesday, March 18, 2003:::
The dream is not yet over
For all their lives, the Kenyans have wistfully watched cameramen chase the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Adam Gilchrist. Not any more. Today, they are the real stars – being chased and sought after by a media desperate to know something about them so that the story of Kenyan cricket can be pieced together and told to a largely admiring world.
Source: The Hindustan Times, India
Article URL sent in by Kumud Mehta ([email protected])Khan and Nehra open up new angles of attack for India
For a country that has produced very few high-quality fast bowlers – only Kapil Dev, with 434 Test wickets, stands out – Srinath and the two left-arm quicks, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, are providing India with the best pace attack in their history, and they have benefited from working under a new fitnessoriented regime.
Source: The Independent, UK
Article URL sent in by Rohit ([email protected])ICC to discuss Kenya’s Test appeal
The ICC is likely to consider Kenya’s application for Test status during the March 21 ICC meeting. Kenya’s performance in this World Cup should fetch them a lot of support now. ICC President Malcolm Gray had stated that countries would be closely scrutinised before being given Test status in future.
Source: The Gulf News, UAESri Lanka’s elegant master prepares for a final bow
Aravinda de Silva’s 19-year international career will end in the coming week, either when Sri Lanka meets Australia in the first World Cup semifinal Tuesday or, if it wins, in the tournament final. Either would be an appropriate conclusion to a distinguished career.
Sourc: The International Herald Tribune, FranceSmiling all the way to a win
Lee, now 26, embodies one of cricket’s great pleasures, the sheer joy of being able to bowl about as fast as seems humanly possible. There is probably no peer in this World Cup at wrapping up tails, as he demonstrated so vividly in blasting away the bottom of the New Zealand batting at St George’s Park last week.
Source: The Natal Witness, South AfricaRead anything interesting lately? Send us the link for the CricInfo weblogs.Monday, March 17, 2003:::
Mad about Mandira
Having stayed away from home for more than a month-and-a-half, newly famous cricket anchor Mandira Bedi now yearns to return home. Her SMS to husband Raj Kaushal says it all: “I want lots and lots of bhel puri, bikaneri sev and vada pav.”
Source: Rediff.comThe mystery of the Indian Huddle
Investigation has revealed that the huddle has its roots in a session from sports psychologist Sandy Gordon, who addressed the team soon after the defeat to Australia. He had talked personally to each and every player, and the players were a different lot after the session.
Source: The Gulf News, UAEGanguly lifted by the Wright stuff
After India’s stuttering start to the competition, former captain Bishen Bedi was typically provocative. “We don’t even have a five percent chance of winning the World Cup,” he said. Three weeks on, the odds have changed a little. Australia remain the team to beat, but India are recognised as the only side who can do it.
Source: The Observer, UK
Article URL sent in by A Harish ([email protected])Beware India, complacency can be dangerous
India should not take the Kenyans too lightly, as they have improved in leaps and bounds through this tournament, feels former Indian skipper Ajit Wadekar.
Source: The New Indian Express, India
Article URL sent in by Harjit ([email protected])Read anything interesting lately? Send us the link for the CricInfo weblogs.