SA FAREWELL : NOT SO WELL

previousnextHe might have said it in jest but Sports Mini he said yesterday: "Don't be like Shakes [Mashaba]."

Mbalula used humour, at Bafana Bafana's expense, to send the message that the recent 4-1 series win over the West Indies counted for nought now that the World Cup was just nine days away.

Proteas coach Russell Domingo knows that despite the scintillating form shown by batsmen AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Rilee Rossouw, plus bowlers Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir, his mw  will have to bring their best to the contest in Australia and New Zealand.

South Africa are third in the ICC ODI rankings, behind Australia and India, whom they meet in Pool B. Their form is second only to the Aussies, while their major group-stage opponents, West Indies, Pakistan and India, are struggling for wins.

Nevertheless, Domingo left no room for complacency.

"There is no plain sailing when it comes to World Cup games, even in the initial group stages," he said. "All three of those big countries have won a World Cup [in various formats] and they know what it takes to win World Cup games. We haven't done that yet, so there is absolutely no thought of complacency or of any easy games.

"Zimbabwe, whom we play up front, will demand a lot of respect. They beat Australia a few months ago. If you're not atyour bestagainst any of those sides then you could come unstuck."

The Proteas night to Hamilton, where they will prepare for their first match against Zimbabwe on February 15.

Captain De Villiers didn't hide the fact that the squad was under pressure to put to bed the "chokers" tag that has hounded them at ICC events.

"Yes, we are feeling pressure and there is no hiding from that," he said.

"We have never won a World Cup and it is something that's counting against us. People call us chokers and there's no hiding from that either. We just have to stick together, drive each other as a team and make sure we win those big pressure situations.

"Individual performances are driven by the team [goals]. Me scoring the hundred at the Wanderers, Hashim getting hundreds, Imran doing well, those are all team-driven.

"It will be important not to obsess over the mental aspect of the game," De Villiers said.

Fresh from achieving the fastest ODI century (off 31 balls on his way to 149 against the Windies), De Villiers said he was aware that opposing teams probably had their noses pressed against video screens analysing his game-play in search of weaknesses.

De Villiers has scored 879 runs in his last 15 matches, getting 50 or more eight times. He is the heart of the Proteas batting lineup and the golden wicket for opposing bowlers.

The same could be said for the stellar Amla. The trusted opener scored seven centuries between July and the end of January and is second only to his skipper in the ODI batting rankings.

TOP TEST SCORES BY BATSMEN

Sachin Tendulkar may own the record of the batsman with most runs in test cricket (and in one dayers), Brain Lara, former West Indian artist with bat, will take heart from his highest score by a batsman in an innings which he owned for 9 years before Mathew Hayden broke it.

6 months since Hayden's hurricane against Zimbabweans, at same Venue (Recreation ground in Antigua) and against same opposition (England), Brain Lara snatched back his phenomenal record, scoring the first and only 400 in test match cricket till today.

Drawback : Not that Brain Lara's record can't be broken today, but modern day batters have lost the patience with loads of ODI & T20 cricket played around the world and also the teams have become more result oriented than in Lara's days whose best test match score didn't fetch a win for his team (England earned a draw!).

Capables : Virendra Sehwag of India and Chris Gayle of West Indies who like to play their shots when most batsman like to defend in test cricket. 

Note : Double centuries may won a batsman a test match for his country, but not a place in elite list below, which comprises only 300s.

Note : There have been 10 countries to play test cricket. Highest scores by batsman from West Indies, Australia, Sri Lanka, England, Pakistan, New Zealand and India feature in list below. Now among remaining teams, highest test match score by a Zimbabwe batsman is by David Houghton = 266 against Sri Lanka at Bulawayo in October 1994 while top test score by a Bangladesh batsman is 200* by Mushfiqur Rahim against Sri Lanka at Galle in March 2013, the only double century from the nation.

Highest Individual scores by a batsman in test matches
Batsman (Country)	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	Versus	Mon/Yr
Brian Lara (West Indies)	400*	582	43	4	England	Apr 2004
Mathew Hayden (Australia)	380	437	38	11	Zimbabwe	Oct 2003
Brian Lara (West Indies)	375	538	45	0	England	Apr 1994
Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)	374	572	43	1	South Africa	Jul 2006
Gary Sobers (West Indies)	365*	---	38	0	Pakistan	Feb 1958
Len Hutton (England)	364	847	35	0	Australia	Aug 1938
Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)	340	578	36	2	India	Aug 1997
Hanif Mohammad (Pakistan)	337	---	24	0	West Indies	Jan 1958
Wally Hammond (England)	336*	---	34	10	New Zealand	Mar 1933
Mark Taylor (Australia)	334*	564	32	1	Pakistan	Oct 1998
Don Bradman (Australia)	334	448	46	0	England	Jul 1930
Chris Gayle (West Indies)	333	437	34	9	Sri Lanka	Nov 2010
Graham Gooch (England)	333	485	43	3	India	Jul 1990
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan)	329	436	38	9	New Zealand	May 2002
Michael Clarke (Australia)	329*	468	39	1	India	Jan 2012
Adam Sandham (England)	325	640	28	0	West Indies	Apr 1930
Virender Sehwag (India)	319	304	42	5	South Africa	Mar 2008
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)	319	482	32	8	Bangladesh	Feb 2014
Chris Gayle (West Indies)	317	483	37	3	South Africa	Apr 2005
Younus Khan (Pakistan)	313	568	27	4	Sri Lanka	Feb 2009
Bob Simpson (Australia)	311	740	23	1	England	Jul 1964
Hashim Amla (South Africa)	311*	529	35	0	England	Jul 2012
John Edrich (England)	310*	450	52	5	New Zealand	Jul 1965
Virender Sehwag (India)	309	375	39	6	Pakistan	Mar 2004
Bob Cooper (Australia)	307	589	20	1	England	Feb 1966
Don Bradman (Australia)	304	473	43	2	England	Jul 1934
Lawrence Rowe (West Indies)	302	430	36	1	England	Mar 1974
Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)	302	559	32	4	India	Feb 2014
Don Bradman (Australia)	299*	---	23	0	South Africa	Jan 1932
Martin Crowe (New Zealand)	299	523	29	3	Sri Lanka	Jan 1991

      WC 15 FAVORITES

It won’t be an easy task to win the WC 2015 for any team whether it is India, Australia, South Africa, Pakistan or Sri Lanka. After rewinding the past I can see Pakistan has won a World Cup in Australia back in 1992. But it doesn’t matter at all –‘records are meant to be broken’.
One of the biggest things in this WC will be that there will be no Sachin Tendulkar or Ricky Ponting in either of sides. We all know how big players they were. Lets look at how the top 5 teams look at this time for the tournament ahead.

1. AUSTRALIA

It is a well known fact that playing in Australia is always difficult task for any team in the world both physically and mentally. And any team which will be facing OZ will find it tough. Australians are always different in World Cups. This time too like always they have more than a decent team who especially in home conditions could turn lethal. Players like George Bailey, Michael Clarke , Mitchell Johnson, David Warner can change any scenario easily.

2. INDIA

Reigning World champions will be the most favourite team for cricket lovers, spectators, experts and bookies. The pressure will be at its peak on Dhoni’s men. More than 121 crore of cricket lovers will be eyeing the men in blue once again to repeat the feat of 2nd April 2011.
Key players would include the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami and the boss M.S.Dhoni.

3. SOUTH AFRICA

If this team would not choke in semis they will be the champions. They have to change the history of losing in semis and have to get rid of the title of chokers. No one can believe that they have ABD Villiers , Hashim Amla, Jaques Kallis, Dale Steyn (best bowler in past 5-7 years), Morne Morkel and they still lose.

4. PAKISTAN

Pakistan are the most uncertain team of the world. They can change the game at any point, for both, their good and bad. The fast bowling attack which they command can destroy any kind of batting line up. They though will need to manage and take care of irresponsible batting from few players.
Player like Nasir Jamshed, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Saeed Ajmal, Misbah-ul- Haq can shine like stars.

5. SRI LANKA

Last but not the least. This team is like slow poison. You can’t beat them easily. You will not see a lot of great in their bowling attack but they will still tighten the noose when needed. Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakarra are amongst the most respected cricketers in the world and they have to blast for a Lankan win.
Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath and yes captain Angelo Mathews can win from any situation.

FORMATION OF WORLD CUP...

The History of the Cricket World Cup dates back to 1975, when the first of its kind known as The Prudential World Cup was played in England.

The first cricket Test match was played in 1877 between Australia and England. Cricket was contested at the 1900 Summer Olympics where Great Britain defeated France by 158 runs. However, the International Olympic Committeecancelled cricket as an Olympic sport afterwards.

The first attempt at arranging an international cricket competition was the 1912 Triangular Tournament. It was a Test cricket tournament played in England between all three Test playing nations at the time; England, Australia and South Africa. Due to poor weather and a lack of public interest, the experiment was not repeated. From then on, international Test cricket teams only generally engaged in bilateral series as opposed to tournaments or leagues involving more than two nations.

In the early 1960s, English county cricket teams began playing a shortened version of cricket, which only lasted for one day. Starting in 1962 as a 4-team knockout competition known as the Midlands Knock-Out Cup, and the Gillette Cup in 1963, one-day cricket grew in popularity and in 1969 a national league called the Sunday League was created. The first One Day International came about from a rain-aborted Test match at Melbourne between England and Australia in 1971 and was played on the final scheduled day. The forty overmatch (eight balls per over) was used to fill the time as compensation for the frustrated crowd.

The success and popularity of the domestic one-day competitions in Englandand other parts of the world as well as the early One-day Internationals prompted the International Cricket Council to consider organising a Cricket World Cup.

ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF CRICKET

The origins of cricket lie somewhere in the Dark Ages - probably after the Roman Empire, almost certainly before the Normans invaded England, and almost certainly somewhere in Northern Europe. All research concedes that the game derived from a very old, widespread and uncomplicated pastime by which one player served up an object, be it a small piece of wood or a ball, and another hit it with a suitably fashioned club.
What is agreed is that by cricket had evolved far enough from club-ball to be recognisable as the game played today; that it was well established in many parts of Kent, Sussex and Surrey; that within a few years it had become a feature of leisure time at a significant number of schools; and - a sure sign of the wide acceptance of any game - that it had become popular enough among young men to earn the disapproval of local magistrates.
This said, it has been the evolution of one of the most talked-about sport ever...

WORLD CUP 2015 : DO OR DIE FOR INDIA

The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the 11th ICC Cricket World Cup, scheduled to be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand from 14 February to 29 March 2015. 49 matches will be played in 14 venues with Australia staging 26 games at grounds in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart,Melbourne, Perth and Sydney while New Zealand hosts 23 games in Auckland,Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Napier, Nelson and Wellington. The final match of the tournament will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It will be one of the world's largest international sports tournaments, with 14 competing teams and more than 400 accredited players and officials taking part in it.

The hosting rights were awarded at the same time as those of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, which Australia and New Zealand had originally bid to host, and the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, which was awarded to England. The 2011 tournament was awarded to the four Asian Test cricket playing countries, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, in a 10 to 3 vote (Pakistan later lost the co-hosting rights due to a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team). The International Cricket Council were sufficiently impressed with the trans-Tasman bid that it was decided to award the next World Cup to Australia and New Zealand. This is the second time that the tournament will be held in Australia and New Zealand, with the first being the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Sachin Tendulkar has been named as the 2015 Cricket World Cup Ambassador by the ICC for the second time, after 2011 Cricket World Cup where he was the ambassador.

India are the defending champions, having won the tournament in 2011 when it was held in the Indian subcontinent, defeating Sri Lanka in the finals by 6 wickets. Tickets for the Pool B match between India and Pakistan scheduled on 15 February 2015, were reportedly sold out within 12 minutes.

VIRAT KOHLI : THE PINNACLE OF TEAM INDIA

. Virat Kohli's pressing task as the new Test skipper is to arrest India's woeful away record, starting with Tuesday's final Test against Australia in Sydney.

Kohli assumed the mantle as India's new captain following the sudden Test retirement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni after last week's Melbourne Test, opening debate on whether his aggressive approach will energise the team. 

India have already lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with Australia holding an unassailable 2-0 lead heading into the fourth Test, but there is much interest in how Kohli's volatility will impact on the team's fortunes.

India have won only one of their last 22 Tests overseas and have been successful in only one of their 10 Tests at the Sydney Cricket Ground, that sole victory coming 37 years ago.

Kohli has been tagged a firebrand, a "spoilt brat" but has been long viewed as the natural successor of Dhoni, who was the most successful Test match skipper in India's history, winning 27 of the 60 Tests he led with 18 losses and 15 draws. 

Now that Dhoni has moved on, India's immediate Test future lies in Kohli's hands and it will be a fascinating sub-plot to this week's Sydney Test.

Australia will be weakened by the loss of ICC Cricketer of the Year and pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson with hamstring trouble, opening the way for Kohli and his other in-form team-mates Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane to get among the runs again.

All are averaging above 58 in this series, with Kohli matching his Australian counterpart Steve Smith with three centuries, and only brittle tail-end batting has been the key difference between the two sides.

"Captains have their own personalities and the best ones make players adapt to their thinking and methods," India team director Ravi Shastri said...