The name's Warne..Shane Warne 700

What a moment!! What an occasion!! What a player!! 700 wickets!!!! Shane Warne has just done it at the MCG in front of around 90000 people, on his home turf.But, If you are a cricket lover, this is the worst day to be at office working..I am unfortunately one of them and I envy all those who are in front of their television sets sipping hot coffee and enjoying watching one of all the greats in action.Boxing Day has kicked off with the 20-20 action between SL and NZ(NZ has won it comfortably), the Ashes 4th Test is going on, and in few hours, India will take on SA at Kingsmead,Durban. Ahh!!! Its really sickening to be at office, sitting in front of the computer and working.
One last word, On this second anniversary of the dreadful Tsunami, I pray for all the victims and their families.

Super Shots Series (The Square Cut )

In my second of the super shots series, I focus on the square cutters..

Here are the Top 5 (based on average runs on the shot since Sep 2001)

1. Adam Gilchrist (283 runs)

2. Michael Vaughan (166 runs)

3. Mahela Jayawardene (150 runs)

4. R Sarwan ( 124 runs)

5. Sachin Tendulkar (117 runs)


Coming up next in this series....Who has the best defense??? Watch out folks!!

Stats Courtesy: http://www.cricinfo.com

RD is an aggressive captain..no doubt!!

"A defensive captain", "dominated by Greg Chappell", "captain of the 70s", were some of the statements made by former players and media on Rahul Dravid.According to me,these comments are 'utter rubbish'. Does stripping shirt off and waving in the pavilion means aggression? Does fighting with the umpire and getting a ban means aggression? Does being very expressive means aggression? Absolutely NO.Setting aggressive fields,taking bold decisions,trusting the players to the fullest are some of the qualities of a true aggressive captain. Rahul Dravid has shown all these qualities in the Joburg match, won the toss and chose to bat which is very brave and as Ganguly mentioned, field-settings were superb and aggressive.And whats wrong if Greg dominates things off the field?? Rahul Dravid is the boss on the field, it is his team.This victory is a great answer to all the critics including Mr Kapil Dev.He might be a great player but his comments on Dravid and Chappell duo were not great,in fact very disappointing.

Some facts :

India's first series victory in WI was under Rahul Dravid
India's first test win in PAK was under Rahul Dravid
India's first test win in SA was under Rahul Dravid


I hope India registers its first series win in SA under RD too.
Keep going RD!!!

History about to be made...

In all probability, India should register their first test win in SA today i.e 18th Dec,2006. Truly, it would be a great moment for Indian cricket.

Here is a list of first victories on foreign soils:

1. Against New Zealand in Feb,1968 in Dunedin under Nawab of Pataudi Jr

2. Against West Indies in March, 1971, Trinidad under Ajit Wadekar

3. Against England in August, 1971 in Oval,London under Ajit Wadekar

4. Against Australia in 1977/78 in Melbourne under Bishan Singh Bedi

5. Against Sri Lanka in Jul,1993 in Colombo under Mohammed Azharuddin

6. Against Bangladesh in November,2000 in Dhaka under Sourav Ganguly

7. Against Zimbabwe in 2001 in Bulawayo under Sourav Ganguly

8. Against Pakistan in 2003/04 in Multan under Rahul Dravid

In a few hours from now, i would like to add

9. Against South Africa in Dec 2006 in Johannesburg under Rahul Dravid

So, lets wait for the moment...

Super Shots Series ( The Cover Drive )

In this series, I will be posting images of various shots played by various batsmen. I will start with 'The Cover Drive'.So, Who are the best in the business???

Here goes the Top Five
(based on the runs scored on the shot since Sep 2001)


1. Lara (652 runs)


2. Kallis (335 runs)

3. Dravid (306 runs)

4. Kirsten (207 runs)

5. Trescothick ( 203 runs )


Watch out for more shots...coming soon!!!


Stats Courtesy: http://www.cricinfo.com

Selection Problems for India

In 4 days time, first test between India and SA starts and India are no way close to finalising on the playing eleven.With Rahul Dravid now certain for the first test, who will give way to him is a big question.



The Certainities...

RS Dravid (reasons not needed)
SC Ganguly (looked close to his best in the tour game, made a great comeback and looks determined)
Zaheer Khan (been India's best bowler throughout the tour)
MS Dhoni (first choice keeper, if he fails Karthik should be given a chance in 2nd Test)
VVS Laxman (the vice-captain, looked quite good in the 1st inngs and fought it out in the 2nd)
SR Tendulkar (terribly out of sorts, but who will make the bold decision of dropping the legend? )
V Sehwag (his test record helps him hang on to his place, only just though)
A Kumble ( will be picked ahead of Harbhajan i guess, after all he is India's leading wicket-taker)

Now then, 3 more places...

The Contenders..

Irfan Pathan (batted beautifully but his bowling was below par)
Sreesanth (bowled very well)
VRV Singh (impressed one and all)
W Jaffer (totally out of form, nothing to show)

So, based on form, W Jaffer should be dropped. But, who will open the innings with Sehwag? Its highly unlikely that Gambhir who is short of match practice will get the nod.Will one of Sreesanth and VRV Singh be dropped for Pathan? Will they drop Jaffer and go in for a non-regular opener?
So, Which three of the above four will be picked?
Lot of problems....poor Dravid..

5-0 ??

Glenn McGrath's predicitions may have gone totally wrong in Ashes 2005 but things look good this time. Looking at the way Aussies are playing and more than that, the mistakes England are committing, 5-0 whitewash looks very much possible.
For me, the first person (and the only person? ) to blame for England's Adelaide debacle is their coach Duncan Fletcher.Selection of Giles, opting for Geraint Jones instead of Chris Read are the two main reasons.Here is a list of reasons..

1) Selecting Giles because of his great batting skills at No.8 is truly inexplicable. For me, Giles did nothing to justify his selection.Not Boycott's mom, even my mom would smash Giles all over the park.

2) Any match, Any team, Any pitch, I will play Monty Panesar. He is a genuine attacking leftarm spinner who always looks for wickets.

3) I am a great Ian Chappell fan and I totally agree with his views. In todays commentary he doubted Geraint Jones' temperament and he is absolutely right.Chris Read should have been picked instead of Jones.

4) Why James Anderson??? Sajid Mahmood or Jon Lewis would have been a better choice.

I dont see England retaining the Ashes.
Ashes 2006 would be a very one-sided affair.

Fantastic Victory for the Aussies..

Who after Sachin and Lara???

'TEST CRICKET'

We are unfortunately close to the end of the great Sachin-Lara era, and its time to look forward to the next contemporary great. And, there are quite a few contenders too although they might not match up to the greatness of Lara and Tendulkar.

The race...(Upto Aus-Eng 2nd Test, End of Day 3)

TOP 5 (Runs)

	Matches	Runs	Average	Tons
R Ponting	107*	9190	58.96	33
R Dravid	104	9049	58.75	23
Inzamam-ul-Haq	116	8615	50.38	25
J Kallis	102	8033	55.78	24
J Langer	102*	7579	54.07	23

TOP 5 (Average)

	Matches	Runs	Average	Tons
R Ponting	107*	9190	58.96	33
R Dravid	104	9049	58.75	23
M Yousuf	73	6402	56.65	19
J Kallis	102	8033	55.78	24
M Hayden	86*	7396	52.45	26

So, from the above stats, its pretty obvious that R Ponting is winning the race.
In todays morning commentary, I heard them(Channel 9 commentary team) calling Ponting the 'Bradman of the Modern Era'..I am not pretty sure of that!

India appointing Bowling Coach??

With Indian Chief Selector Dileep Vengsarkar stating that India needs a bowling coach, let me chalk out who could be the possible candidates.

1) Fanie de Villiers : Openly expressed his interest to coach India

2) Bruce Reid : Helped out Indian bowlers in the last tour to Australia. With India having left-armers Zaheer and Irfan, could be an option.

3) Venkatesh Prasad : Expressed his interest and also has undergone many Coaching classes. But, how good can he be??


Disclaimer: All these views are my original and not copied from any other Website. In fact, published well before other sites.