Tag Futebol

The count down to the final of ICC World Cup 2003 has started after six weeks of hectic cricket. With only the final left to be played, India are strongly fancied to take the World Cup home.

The general perception is that Australia deserve to win the final. Yes, Australia have played some excellent cricket in this World Cup, but one cannot forget the way India have fought back after their dismal performance against the Aussies at Centurion five weeks ago. Their transformation has been remarkable, and purely on the basis of springing back from that debacle, I think the Indians deserve to win the World Cup. Not too many teams in the world have the ability to comeback from such a situation.The remarkable comeback was made possible thanks to the leadership on and off field of Sourav Ganguly. Indian fans were really down after the defeat at Aussie hands and their reaction back home could have completely demoralised any team. The way Ganguly handled the situation with complete confidence and determination speaks volumes for his faith in his team. The players too responded by backing their captain, and they were cool and calm in their approach. The millions of fans back home and worldwide, who were disappointed after the defeat against the Aussies, were made to realise that it was too early to have written their team off after only the second game.

At the fall of each wicket, the idea of all the eleven players huddling in the middle with hands on the shoulders of each other is more evident proof of the positive body language of the captain and team. Because of this each and every fielder is motivated to perform well and this attitude has improved the fielding remarkably. They have saved many runs and have turned half-chances into dismissals of important batsmen. The result is eight consecutive wins, including victories against top one-day cricket teams like Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England.After the Centurion defeat, without wasting much time, the Indian team management made the necessary adjustment in the opening department of the batting line-up. The strategy they came up with was to open with Sehwag and Tendulkar through this World Cup, while the middle order was left flexible to be adjusted according to the situation in the game.Ganguly has almost perfectly applied the important principle of consistency in the use of team resources. The way he has combined the efforts of the three able frontline pace bowlers, the one leading spinner, with the other part-time bowlers has been virtually faultless.It will be quite unfair if the efforts and sound analysis of coach John Wright are not mentioned. Wright has been the backbone of this outstanding resurgence of Indian team. The recent match against Kiwis was very important to keep the Indian winning streak going and also to boost the self-esteem of players, since Indians recently lost five-two to New Zealand. The strategy of fielding first against New Zealand was an excellent example of the coach and captain putting their heads together and working things out.Wright’s recent interview just before the semi-final sums up what a coach needs to say, especially before important games. “We still have a long way to go and, as is the case against any opposition and in any circumstance, we have to achieve our game plans and play well,” he said. “If we do that the result will take care of itself.”Wright has played a key role in the transformation of Tendulkar’s form in this World Cup. After scoring just 36 against Australia, Tendulkar has gone on to play the most crucial and memorable cricket of his career. His 98 against Pakistan and 97 against Sri Lanka can be rated better than any century he has scored before. Sachin totally surprised Pakistan with the onslaught against Shoaib Akhtar and the two Ws. He is on course to be the Best Player of the Tournament and definitely deserves this distinction. It is his positive approach and almost six hundred runs in just nine games, which has helped India to achieve all these superb wins.Sachin’s positive approach will be the key to negate the efforts of McGrath, Lee and Bichel. India will have to rely on their other batsmen too – Sourav, Dravid, Yuvraj, Kaif and Sehwag have all chipped in with useful scores. Especially Dravid’s fifties against Pakistan and New Zealand helped the slightly turbulent ship to reach a safe haven. His innings reminded me of the fighting abilities shown by Javed Miandad in the 1992 World Cup for Pakistan.Merely batsmen and fielders cannot win cricket matches; one needs good bowlers as well. There has been criticism about the Indians not playing one extra bowler, either Agarkar or Kumble. The superlative performance of the three pacers Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Nehra have made up for all such criticism. They have stuck to an excellent line and length, and have made batsmen earn the runs. Bowling of Srinath and Zaheer Khan was one of the reasons for Pakistan’s defeat, and Nehra single-handedly destroyed the English batting line-up at Durban. Harbhajan Singh too has been effective and efficient.I can clearly hear the “Go India Go” slogans of Indian fans at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, back home and worldwide. What has still to be written into the history books is a win against Australia. Yes, India deserve to achieve that win and lift the prestigious ICC World Cup of 2003.
Feedback

Having allowed Gloucestershire batsmen to gain the upper hand with some ordinary bowling, Middlesex, after losing two wickets with 70 on the board, spent the final session of the third day’s play attempting to consolidate their innings but were reduced to 141 for four at stumps.They began reasonably well, putting up 51 when the first wicket fell, Robin Weston top-edging his sweep behind the stumps in the second over from Martyn Ball, but 19 runs later the off spinner struck again, trapping Andy Strauss lbw on the back foot for 38.Owais Shah and Ben Hutton batted patiently for an hour and a half to add 61 when a needless wild slog from Shah resulted in Ball taking a well judged catch, running back at mid-wicket.Finally, in the last over of the day, Mark Alleyne had David Alleyne lbw, leaving Hutton with 29 not out and Middlesex with a lot to do.Earlier, Gloucestershire were able to declare their first innings on a substantial total of 400 for three with the help of a dominating third-wicket stand, between Matt Windows and Ian Harvey, which was broken just seven short of a double century, half an hour after lunch.This was yet another fine partnership in their innings, the first two yielding 88 and 82 runs on the first day before wet conditions at Lord’s wiped out nearly a day and a half’s play.Showing fine batting form, as indeed he did on the first day when he remained not out with 52, Windows reached his second century of the Cricinfo Championship off 211 balls, 13 of which were hit to the boundary. His first hundred was also against Middlesex, in May, at Bristol where he scored 106 not out.Having lost 148 overs owing to rain, Gloucestershire seemed more intent on building a large first innings total rather than opting for quick runs after resuming their innings on 198 for two.Harvey, who was the more cautious of the two batsmen earlier in the morning session, went on the offensive after reaching his first Championship fifty this season. With powerful strokeplay, which brought him 12 boundaries and a six, he was at ease in facing the Middlesex bowling. Along with Windows, who had less of the strike in the period leading up to lunch, he piled on the runs.Five overs into the second session’s play, Middlesex got the breakthrough that they were urgently seeking. After nearly five hours at the crease, Windows’ innings of 123, off 256 balls, came to an end with Strauss taking a brilliant left-handed diving catch at backward point off Angus Fraser.Harvey, meanwhile, reached his hundred, the second fifty of which came rapidly from only 53 balls. At the declaration he was unbeaten on 130 having hit 16 boundaries and a six in a superb innings.

Fine knocks from Amit Nadkarni and Sarabjit Singh lifted Services to264/8 on the first day of their latest Ranji Trophy North Zone leaguetie against Himachal Pradesh at the Palam Ground in Delhi on Sunday.Both teams came into the match after losing their opening encounterslast week.Hosts Services won the toss but began disastrously as both openersNarender Singh and Harish Bhaskar fell for ducks. Nadkarni andSarabjit joined hands when the third wicket fell at 39 and were onlyseparated after adding 138. Nadkarni fell for 84 (183 balls, 12 fours)and twelve runs later Himachal saw the back of Sarabjit for 79 (153balls, 7 fours).An unbeaten 30 from JP Pandey propped up the lower order as Servicesfinished the 90th over at 264/8. Jaswant Rai was the most successfulbowler with 3/53 while Rahul Panta and Amit Sharma snapped up twowickets apiece.

Ricky Ponting has spoken of Australia’s fears over touring Pakistan next month as the country prepares for its elections on Monday. The Australians did not travel there in 2002 due to security issues and a similar decision is likely due to the current political instability.”Look, there is no doubt at all in our dressing room that there are some concerns,” Ponting told the Australian. “Anybody who would be touring Pakistan at the moment, whether you are a cricketer or just a day-to-day citizen, I think you would have some concerns. I don’t think we are different to anybody else.”A security inspection team is supposed to go to the country before the series, but even that is not certain to happen. Cricket Australia is hopeful of a contest at a neutral venue if Pakistan is not deemed safe and the topic will be discussed when the country’s chief executives meet in Kuala Lumpur next week.”We are being kept in the loop daily,” Ponting said. “Cricket Australia is sending an expert group over there in maybe a week’s time, to check things out, so we’ll know more about Pakistan then.”Paul Marsh, the Australian Cricketers’ Association chief executive, told AAP “everybody is concerned”, but said it was committed to assessing the situation after the elections. Phil Jaques, the Australia opener, is also willing to wait before making a decision on whether he will go on the trip.”It’s not a bad place if the environment is right,” Jaques, who visited with Australia A last year, told the Australian. “We’ll just have to see what the environment is like after the election and move from there. I’m keen as mustard to play if it’s safe to tour – and the players deem it safe.”

Do you regret your decision at the toss?
Not really, there was something in the wicket early on. It was the right decision, we bowled quite well. We did not have luck upfront beat the bats a few times, hit the pads a few times. They played well after that to reach 250.What are your plans for the future?
It’s too early really to think about anything. A lot of hard work has gone into the preparation in the last year and to be knocked out of the tournament so early is a huge disappointment for all of us.How emotional are you at this point?
Like I said, very disappointed.Can you say something about the Irfan Pathan mystery? He is always in the squad but never picked in the XI.
I think we picked the team based on what the best combination is for the day. There is a tour selection committee with a lot of experience and we decide who’s going to play and who’ s not going to play, everyone cannot play in the 15, and some guys miss out. He played against West Indies. He was unfortunately injured against Sri Lanka. He played in the Deodhar Trophy, he was declared fit and he came here. At this point we did not think he was in our three best seamers so he did not play.There was a lot of talk about Vision 2007. Where do we go from here?
It’s really early to collect my thoughts. Really disappointing, a lot of hard work has gone into it over the last year. We did not play well in this tournament and did not deserve to go into the second round.Did you think the target was gettable today?
255 was gettable. I’m disappointed with the top order. Definitely I thought it was a gettable target. I think we had the extra batsman. We lost wickets at regular intervals. We needed one big partnership, we did not get that. We definitely should have made a much better chase of it than we did in the end.Do you have any hope that Bermuda can give a shock result over Bangladesh and help you qualify for the Super Eight?
Not really. Well, anything can happen in cricket. To be honest we have not really played well enough. The things which were in our control we have not done well enough.India had a good build up to the tournament. Where do you think it went wrong?
The lead up to this tournament was pretty good. The confidence was quite high and the boys were playing good cricket. That’s the nature of one-day cricket, we had a bad game against Bangladesh where we did not really bat well upfront. That sort of put pressure on us. Today again we did not play well enough. The way the tournament is structured you have one banana-skin game and you can be out of the tournament quite quickly. We started slowly too but had enough games to pull ourselves us back. This time we did not have that, that’s where we fell I suppose. The first game against Bangladesh we did not play anywhere near our potential.

It’s not happened for the first time, the batsmen crumbling, choking under pressure…
Some of these guys have had success before as well. It’s a question of may be the guys going back and looking at their performances, how they performed in the important games and critical games. Yes, we have not batted anywhere near our potential. We picked what was the best batting line-up in the conditions but I guess we were the best batting line-up in India, but we did not bat well enough in these two games. It is definitely something to think about.Is this the worst defeat of your career?
It’s disappointing. It’s not a nice thing to lose in the early part of the World Cup. We have invested a lot of time and effort in it and it has not gone our way. It’s a big event and you really want to do well. Sports is like that, sometimes your best plans and all your ideas just don’t work.Both Pakistan and India have crashed out despite the conditions being similar to that in the subcontinent…
Both the teams did not play good cricket. I think Pakistan stumbled against Ireland and we stumbled against Bangladesh. In a tournament like it is, you have one bad day and you could be in big trouble and that’s what happened to Pakistan and India. I am sure there is a lot of thinking to do in both the countries.Is it time to look at the entire system?
I have just come out of a game and I have had no time to collect my thoughts and think about these things. But when you lose like this, that is what you should do. When you have a few setbacks, when there are disappointments, or when things like this happen, then it’s time for the people concerned to sit back and look at the whole issue and see how we can go forward and how we can g et better and keep improving, and perform better in the tournaments to come. So, yes it is obviously time for people who make decisions to sit back and reflect, and look at how we can make things better. We have to think about it rationally. I guess there is always a lot of emotions that gets involved in all these things. But it is time to look back rationally and see how we can move forward.Are you worried about security back home?
Not really. I hope the players wouldn’t be under any physical danger. To be honest, I don’t expect that to be the case. I am sure people will be disappointed, and fair enough. They have invested a lot of hope in this team and we haven’t delivered. So, they are entitled to be disappointed. But I just hope that no-one in is in any physical danger.Are you happy with the effort of the players in the tournament?
We put a lot in this game. Definitely against Bangladesh, I was pretty disappointed with just the all-round effort. But today I thought we put in hard in the field. The boys were up for it, they came out really hard and tried their best. I just think we didn’t execute well with the bat. I think 254 was a very gettable score on that wicket. We didn’t execute our plans well with the bat. We just kept losing too many wickets and that’s never a good thing when you are chasing a score like 250 at five runs and over.Do you realise the enormity of this defeat?
Nobody realizes the enormity of the defeat than the players. The players are the one who put in a lot of time. They worked really hard for this. It is an opportunity they get once in four years. It is something that you really look forward to in your career. So no-one understands the enormity of this more than the players. Definitely there is a lot of introspection and disappointment in the dressing room.It’s been difficult for India in the Caribbean…
We have done quite well in the Test matches here. Yes, we haven’t done well in the one-dayers in the last couple of series. It just hasn’t worked out for us. We, as batsmen, have just not been able to adapt to these wickets. The nature of these wickets somehow has been that, as a group, we haven’t been able to adapt to and score the kind of runs that we should.Have some players overstayed their welcome?
It is too early, and it is not for me to say these things. I am just out of a grave game of cricket. I have just lost a game of cricket. I guess there is a month now and obviously the people who make decisions will have to sit down and think about it and see what they feel is the best way to take things forward or how they felt that things should move forward.Shouldn’t some one stand up and take responsibility?
We definitely do take the responsibility. I am not sitting here and trying to shirk responsibility. I am the first one to stand up and say that we should have done better, and it starts with me. I am not trying to put the responsibility on anyone. People are asking me what’s the way forward and what do we do. I haven’t really thought about stuff like that. Till about 24 hours ago, I truly believed that we will still be in this tournament. I didn’t have the time to think what’s ahead of us. But I am not trying to say I don’t take any responsibility. I take full responsibility for the fact that we haven’t progressed to the next round.

Will you continue as captain?
I was appointed captain till the World Cup. So I am not even the captain at this point of time. So it’s not my decision to make.How does it feel for the senior members to never have won a World Cup?
It will always be a disappointment. I have played in three World Cups, and we did well in one of them. So, yeah it’s not an ideal scenario. It’s not something that, if you were writing a fairy tale, you wouldn’t write it this way. But that’s\ what sports is about. Sometimes, you don’t get to choose the way everything works out for you. That is the beauty and cruelty of sport.Can you compare this campaign with the one in 2003?
I just think we probably had a little more breathing space there to regroup there and bounce back. The way the format was in the last World Cup, it guaranteed you five or six games. So it gave you an opportunity to get into a bit form. I thought we batted a lot better in the last World Cup. We got some good scores, we chased down some good scores. I think we just adapted better to those conditions in the last World Cup then we did here, in this first week that happened so quickly for us.The captain and coach keep saying ‘everything is fine, we are going to win.’ Why doesn’t it happen?
I haven’t come across a single captain or coach as yet, who starts before a match saying we are going to lose it. Nobody will come to a press conference and say that we are going to lose the match. That’s not what you do. Definitely, we expect our batsmen and our bowlers and everyone to do well.Where did you lose?
We didn’t play good cricket. Where did we lose? We gave them 254 runs and we didn’t chase it down. We ended up with 180. No one-one feels worse about it than the players. I know you guys feel bad and disappointed about it. The players also feel disappointed. It’s a lot of time invested by the players. It’s a lot of their dreams, a lot of their hopes that go into tournaments like this. When it doesn’t work out for them, they feel it more than anyone else.

West Indies look to close out their limited-overs international series with Zimbabwe when the two sides meet for back-to-back contests on Saturday and Sunday in Guyana. West Indies lead the seven-match series 2-0, after back-to-back victories by five wickets and 98 runs last weekend at the Antigua Recreation Ground.Brian Lara, the West Indies captain, has already indicated his intention not to play all the matches in the series, and this would be a big motivating factor for him to get his troops primed for battle. “We weren’t as convincing as we should have been in the first two ODIs, but don’t take anything away from our guys, to complete a victory is important,” Lara said. “We’ve got to go back in the classroom and work on it. The Zimbabweans, I think they’ve got hope, it’s a situation where it’s unfortunate with the exodus of players, but they have to work with what they have and I’m seeing one or two bright lights.”Lara is, however, worried about his side’s batting which has failed to dominate so far. “The batting is not as solid as we would have hoped,” he said. “I am just a little bit worried about the batting, but I sense that the guys are just getting themselves back in, and that we can expect better as we go on. We know for a fact that if we are going to play against better teams that we’ve got to score a lot more freely and make a lot more runs.”West Indies have fortified their side with an additional three players: Tino Best, the fast bowler, Dave Mohammed, the left-arm chinaman bowler, and Sewnarine Chattergoon, the uncapped left-handed opener, now have raised the squad strength to 14.This follows a policy of rotation that the Caribbean side hopes to adopt over the rest of the year, as they seek to overcome the spate of injuries that have set back the side from time to time and prepare themselves for the 2007 World Cup in their backyard.Zimbabwe did not have the ideal mental preparation for this weekend’s match in a midweek scrimmage with the University of the West Indies Vice Chancellor’s XI in Antigua. Though the visitors’ batting did well to mount a serious target of 325 to the home team, the manner in which the university side approached the target, not to mention achieving it, would further deflate Terrence Duffin’s young and inexperienced side.The Zimbabweans, however, showed great fight in the first two ODIs, with Justice Chibhabha distinguishing himself as a batsman with some promise, Edward Rainsford, the medium-fast bowler, bowling with control, and Prosper Utseya offering plenty of guile with his off-spin.They would need for the others around them – particularly Duffin, Piet Rinke, fellow opener, Brendon Taylor, the wicketkeeper-batsman, and Blessing Mahwire, the fast bowler – to show similar or greater levels of effectiveness if the visitors are to burst Lara’s bubble. Squads: West Indies (from): Brian Lara (capt), Tino Best, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Dave Mohammed, Runako Morton, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor. Zimbabwe (from): Terrence Duffin (capt), Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura, Charles Coventry, Keith Dabengwa, Ryan Higgins, Anthony Ireland, Blessing Mahwire, Keegan Meth, Tawanda Mupariwa, Edward Rainsford, Piet Rinke, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Gregory Strydom, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya. Umpires: Billy Doctrove, Billy Bowden

The Women’s Cricket Association of India is undeterred by the BCCI’s postponement of the impending merger between the two boards. The BCCI failed to discuss the matter in the working committee meeting in Thiruvananthapuram last week, but Shubhangi Kulkani, the secretary of the WCAI, remained positive about the issue. “I haven’t heard directly from the BCCI yet,” Kulkarni told Cricinfo, “but from the reports that I have heard they are considering the merger, and are looking into how other countries have merged and they are going to put it up in the next meeting.”According to the Indian board, though they are considering the merger, the matter has been put on hold. SK Nair, the secretary of the BCCI, was quoted by The Indian Express as saying, “The recent performances [of the women’s team] have been exceptional and we want to give them due credence. The BCCI will soon allow itself to take a decision on this.”However, contrasting comments have come from the board. “The BCCI has enough on its plate as it is,” a senior official said, according to the daily. “Women’s cricket can wait, currently that’s not the priority.”The ICC has granted time till March 2006 for boards of all countries to complete the merger. Kulkarni informed, “It’s up to the BCCI. The International Women Cricket’s Council had asked all countries to start the merger process in 2003 and it was to be completed by 2005. India is the only country where it has not happened, so that is how we have got this extension of time. It has already taken two years, so [it’s] difficult to say how long will it take.”Kulkarni was also considering contacting Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the BCCI president, to take the matter further. “I have talked to the president and asked him if we can meet and discuss the things in person. They were busy with the meeting and after the meeting they said we would meet, so I have to get in touch with them again.”

ScorecardDay 3
Bulletin – Hoggard hat-trick triggers another rout
Verdict – Hoggard points the way to history
Roving Reporter – Bajans bank the bucks
Quotes – ‘It was a team effort’Day 2
Bulletin – Thorpe swings the balance England’s way
Verdict – Thorpe does it again
Day 1
Bulletin – Flintoff’s five give England the edge
Verdict – From Kennington to Kensington
The Paper Round – Going with the flow
News – Unprecedented security at Bridgetown

LAHORE, March 13: Opener Saeed Anwar has deferred his retirement from international cricket strengthening the speculation that all the senior players of the Pakistan team have joined hands against the PCB Chairman , Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia, who has opted to oust them all from the cricket.”I have made up my mind for the retirement but my friends included Test cricketers and religious leaders advised me to continue playing international cricket as enough game is left in me” Saeed told journalists on Thursday.It is learnt that senior cricketers had set aside their own differences to make a joint force against PCB chairman and that prompted Saeed to defer his decision of retirement which he was likely to announce on Thursday in Lahore.Some senior players are likely to be ousted on the disciplinary charges and some like Waqar Younis and Inzamam-ul-Haq are facing the axe due to their performance in the World Cup.

The Editor
Postbag
Somerset County Gazette
St James Street
Taunton
Somerset23 July, 2001Dear Sir,I am sorry that your correspondents Mr Foyle and Mr Wight feel grumpy about the side selected to play the Australians. The Club has made it quite clear that its base priority is to maintain Division I status in both leagues. To do that, the bowlers have to be protected and kept fresh because to win, a side obviously has to plan to take 20 wickets in any match. The recent victory over Lancashire is a splendid illustration of this which I hope lifted the spirits of even Mr Foyle and Mr Wight.Tourist matches are spread around non-Test Match grounds on a rotational basis. They are non-competitive matches which most counties lucky enough to stage them look upon as a chance for supporters to just see the Tourists and to make some money for the benefit of the Members.As the Chief Executive, I try to put pressure on the Coach and Captain to field our best side but invariably lose that discussion. The side included seven capped players, two imported international players and two who have made first team appearances this season. Hardly an "invitation" side then as asserted by Mr Wight. The Captain did not wish to play against his fellow countrymen and the Club has to respect his wishes.In his grumpiness, Mr Foyle has forgotten that Somerset has continually called for centrally contracted players to be released more often to play for their counties. He has also conveniently forgotten that at the Club AGM of five years ago, a mandate was given by the members authorising the Club to investigate the possibility of selling the ground. His assertion that it is not on the agenda of any members is clearly wrong. What he means is that it is not on his because living in Taunton the future loss of car parking around the Ground, which will happen, will not affect him. Our supporters are geographically spread throughout the South West and maybe, just maybe, Mr Foyle is not listening to members from those areas. I am!The playing of the two Pakistani Internationals did not undermine team confidence. What Mr Wight could not know is that sensibly, the proposition to play them was put to the first team squad who endorsed the decision to do so.Finally, it seems okay in the minds of your correspondents that Both England and Australia can rest key players ahead of Test Matches but not okay for Somerset to do the same ahead of key county matches. Doesn’t add up, does it!Yours sincerely,P W Anderson
Chief Executive
Somerset County Cricket Club