The Cricket Chat Thread !!

[Red]

'There is no excuse for making 237 after winning the toss'
Last updated on: March 5, 2013 16:10 IST

A dejected Michael Clarke was apologetic for letting fans down. Australia's captain, who withstood the Indian spin attack, hopes for a turnaround from his players.

- Scorecard

- Match Report

"It would be more polite of me to not put this performance into words," said Michael Clarke, shortly after Australia suffered a humiliating innings and 135 runs defeat to India, with five sessions left to play, in the second Test at Hyderabad on Tuesday.

It was a result that ensured the visitors can no longer win the series.

In fact, going by their meek capitulation in the first two Tests, Australia will do well if they avoid a whitewash.

Clarke, without doubt the best Australian player in the series -- with 268 runs in four innings (@67.00), was candid in his admission.

 

[Red]

Clarke to bat up the order in Mohali
Last updated on: March 5, 2013 17:07 IST

With the pressure mounting on him, Australia's skipper is left with no choice but bat up the order, says Bikash Mohapatra.

It is a predicament any captain would want to avoid.

Unfortunately, for Michael Clarke the circumstances have become unavoidable.

The performances of Australia's top four has left a lot to be desired. It is one of the major reasons for the quagmire the visitors find themselves in.

- 'There is no excuse for making 237'

The quartet of David Warner, Ed Cowan, Phillip Hughes and Shane Watson have together scored a little more than what their captain has to his credit in the series.

While Warner and Cowan have been guilty of not being able to convert their starts into a substantial score, it is the failure of Hughes – 25 runs in four innings – and Watson – 77 runs in four innings – that has affected Australia the most, while making things easier for India.

 

[Red]

New Ranji Trophy format gets teams' thumbs up
March 05, 2013 16:45 IST

The current three-tier format for the Ranji Trophy got the thumbs up from all coaches and captains, even as a majority of them suggested that the Board of Control for Cricket in India [ Images ] reviews the scheduling of the country’s premier domestic tournament.

“We received a positive feedback. Everyone expressed happiness over the new format. There was consensus over the format. It is pretty good.

"There were some suggestions to have more gap between matches,” said BCCI’s technical committee chairman Anil Kumble [ Images ], a special invitee to the Ranji Trophy captains and coaches conclave, in Mumbai [ Images ], on Tuesday.

The three-tier format was introduced last season. It saw teams being divided into three Groups -- A, B and C -- whereas in previous seasons two groups were categorized as Elite and Plate divisions.

Last season, Services and Jharkhand were the two teams that made it to the last eight from Group C, and all the captains and coaches agreed that the current format is a positive development and big motivation for smaller associations to look after their teams well.

While the new format meant that the number of matches increased from previous seasons, all the teams advocated a bigger gap between fixtures.

Kumble felt the demand is justified, but opined that having a gap of four days between matches would mean that the tournament would take longer to finish, and other tournaments, like the Duleep Trophy, Irani Cup and Vijay Hazare Trophy, would also get affected.

“We could have some matches with three days in between while others could have four days’ gap in between. We will have to see how it works,” he said.

One of the coaches at the conclave said it is very difficult when teams have to travel from one corner of the country to another with just three days’ gap between the games.

“A team from the South -- if they have to play a match in Valsad -- they have to take two flights and even then they can get only to Surat [ Images ] from where they have to take another long journey by road. So, by the time you reach Valsad, you hardly have time to have a look at the wicket and prepare and plan accordingly. This is something that needs to be looked at,” he said.

Kumble added that all suggestions would be taken into account and presented before the technical committee, which will meet later this month. If the changes are accepted by the technical committee, it will then be put forward to the BCCI Working Committee for final approval.

Other suggestions at the conclave included having the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which is the national One-Day tournament in the lines of the Ranji Trophy, with teams being divided into three groups instead of the current zonal system where the teams from each zone play against each other and the best team from each zone making it to for the national round.

“Some of them suggested the one-day tournament should also be held similar to the Ranji Trophy. But it will be a logistical nightmare,” Kumble said.

The former India spinner said that the majority of teams were happy with the standard of umpiring this season.

“Everyone went by their own experiences and then made their own suggestions. The teams who were affected expressed their concerns. But the overall standards of umpiring have improved,” he said.

 

[Red]

HCA to refund Day 5 tickets of 2nd Test
March 05, 2013 16:48 IST

With the second cricket Test between India [ Images ] and Australia [ Images ] ending prematurely on the fourth day in Hyderabad on Tuesday, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has decided to refund the ticket amount for the final day.

- India hand Australia crushing defeat, lead series 2-0

The HCA advised the ticket holders to surrender their tickets for the fifth day at the concerned 'e-Seva' citizen service centre to claim the refund.

Those who purchased the tickets online will have to surrender their tickets at the counters of the Gymkhana Grounds, Secunderabad.

No refund request will be entertained after March 7, the HCA said.

India won the second Test today by an innings and 135 runs and took a 2-0 lead against Australia in the four-match series.

 

[Vadirocks]

Very Good Update Bro!

 

[Red]

Very Good Update Bro!

Thanks Dear Vadirocks!:luv

 

[Red]

MS Dhoni first to register six wins against Aus
Last updated on: March 5, 2013 17:43 IST

Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the first Indian skipper to register six victories against Australia in Tests after India won the second Test in Hyderabad by an innings and 135 runs on Tuesday.

With 22 Test wins out of 45 (success percentage 48.88), Dhoni established an Indian record for most Test wins as captain, eclipsing Sourav Ganguly's tally of 21 victories in 49 (success percentage 42.85).

He has now won all six Tests against Australia on Indian soil.

Check out India's most successful captains.

 

[Red]

Stats: Ashwin has an impressive Test record at home
March 05, 2013 18:08 IST

India [ Images ] took a comprehensive 2-0 lead in the Test series after Australia [ Images ] suffered a crushing defeat of an innings and 135 runs on Tuesday. Here are the statistical highlights from the fourth day’s play of the second Test between India and Australia played in Hyderabad.

# Cheteshwar Pujara [ Images ] was adjudged the Man of the Match for the second time in Tests.

# Ravichandran Ashwin produced his third five-wicket haul (5/63) against Australia -- his eighth in Tests.

# Ashwin has an excellent bowling record against Australia, capturing 27 wickets at an average of 32.11.

# Ashwin's home record in Tests is quite impressive, having scalped 72 wickets at 24.70 runs apiece in only eleven Tests. His overall aggregate of 81 wickets (ave.28.93) is the most by an Indian bowler after 14 Tests. Just two bowlers have claimed more wickets after 14 Tests than Ashwin -- England's [ Images ] Tom Richardson (88) and Australia's C.T.B. Turner (83).

# Ashwin is the leading wicket-taker in the current series -- his tally being 18 at 16.77 runs apiece.

# The top three run-getters in the present series are Dhoni (268), Clarke (268) and Pujara (256).

# As skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni [ Images ] has won all six Tests against Australia on Indian soil. Australia have lost six consecutive away Tests to a captain for the first time.

# Dhoni became the first Indian skipper to register six victories against Australia in Tests. With 22 Test wins out of 45 (success % 48.88), Dhoni has established an Indian record for most Test wins as captain, eclipsing Sourav Ganguly's [ Images ] tally of 21 victories in 49 (success % 42.85).

# India's convincing win by an innings and 135 runs is their second biggest over Australia in Tests, next only to the win by an innings and 219 runs at EdenGardens, Kolkata [ Images ] in 1997-98. This victory is India's sixth biggest in Tests.

# A team lost by an innings for the first time after declaring in the first innings. In the 1981 Headingley Test against England, Australia had declared their first innings and lost by 18 runs.

# India posted five consecutive Test victories against Australia in India for the first time.

# Ravindra Jadeja's [ Images ] Test figures of six for 66 are his career-best in a Test match.

 

[Red]

'BCCI discussed concerns over Lorgat with us'
March 05, 2013 19:51 IST

BCCI has discussed its concern over the possibility of former ICC [ Images ] CEO Haroon Lorgat [ Images ] being appointed as chief executive of Cricket South Africa [ Images ], a CSA director said on Tuesday.

BCCI has been at loggerheads with Lorgat during his tenure at the ICC and according to informed sources, the governing body has even threatened to cancel an Indian tour of South Africa if he is appointed to the position at CSA.

"BCCI raised their concerns about Haroon Lorgat," CSA independent director and former President Norman Arendse told the daily Business Day after returning from a meeting in Chennai with BCCI.

"We said to them we had embarked on a process, and that it was premature to discuss him or the outcome of that process because we're waiting for it to be concluded.

"But we said we were keen to discuss the issue because we heard rumours that the tour was in jeopardy if Lorgat was appointed.

"They conveyed to us, with a fair amount of detail, why they would be opposed to his appointment," Arendse added.

Lorgat is believed to be the forerunner for the position of chief executive at CSA, which has been vacant since Gerald Majola was fired a few months ago after an investigation found that he paid himself and other senior CSA staff huge IPL 2 bonuses without the sanction of the board.

IPL 2 was played in South Africa due to security concerns around elections at that time in India [ Images ].

If Lorgat does get appointed, he is likely to face the BCCI at a meeting scheduled for Kolkota in early April where the tour to South Africa will be discussed.

"Hopefully by the end of this month we would have concluded the search for a new CEO. It would be appropriate for the new CEO to be in that meeting," Arendse said.

 

[Red]

Pujara, Ashwin achieve career-best rankings in Test arena
March 06, 2013 08:00 IST

India's [ Images ] middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara [ Images ] and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have achieved their career-best rankings in batting and bowling, respectively in the latest ICC [ Images ] Test Player Rankings released on Tuesday.

They have reaped the rewards for their impressive performances during India's back-to-back victories over Australia [ Images ] in the first two Tests of four-match series.

Pujara, named player-of-the-match for his double-century in the second Test in Hyderabad, has jumped 12 places to a career-best 11th position, while Ashwin, who finished with figures of six for 104, is now at a best-ever eighth spot, having jumped three places.

However, Sachin Tendulkar [ Images ] has lost two positions to be at 19th place, along with Darren Bravo of the West Indies [ Images ].

Murali Vijay [ Images ], the other Test centurion in Hyderabad, has jumped 27 places to 60th position in the batsmen's list headed by South Africa's [ Images ] Hashim Amla [ Images ].

In the bowlers' chart, besides Ashwin, other Indians have also improved their rankings. Harbhajan Singh [ Images ] had gained a point to be in 25th spot, Ravindra Jadeja [ Images ] in 40th (up by 23) and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar in 97th (up by 28).

Pragyan Ojha [ Images ] though has lost a place to be at 9th, while Zaheer Khan [ Images ] retained his 16th position.

South Africa's Dale Steyn [ Images ] still maintains the top spot, while his teammate Vernon Philander is in second place and Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal [ Images ] in third.

Meanwhile, in the ICC Test Championship table, South Africa have already sealed their position as the number-one ranked side at the 1 April cut-off date, which means they would not only retain the Test mace but would also be assured of a reward of $450,000.

The battle for second place is a three-way race, with India, Australia and England [ Images ] having an opportunity to claim the spot in time for the cut-off date.

These three sides are separated by 13 ratings points, with Australia (118 pts) at second place, followed by England (117 pts) and India (105 pts).

If England win their three-Test series against New Zealand [ Images ], starting tomorrow, by any margin, they would retain their second place.

However, if New Zealand win by a margin of 1-0 or better, it could open the door for both Australia and India.

India could then claim the second spot if they were to win the remaining two Tests against Australia, but if Michael Clarke's [ Images ] side manages to level the series then it could displace England.