Cricket weds Tennis – new hope for peace!

| at 8:54 PM


A ROMANCE believed to have started in Australia has led to the impending wedding of two of the biggest sport stars on the sub-continent.
Indian tennis darling Sania Mirza and former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik will marry on April 11.
Think of Romeo and Juliet with a dash of Posh and Becks and a heavy dose of Bollywood melodrama and you have the ingredients for these nuptials.
Their romance is a rare union of the rival nations' most popular and controversial stars. They are believed to have met in January when Mirza was playing in the Hobart lead-up tournament to the Australian Open and Malik was on duty with Pakistan in the Bellerive Oval Test match.
Their romance developed during a tournament in February in Dubai, where Malik lives, and Mirza broke off her engagement to a childhood sweetheart.
Malik was once accused of marrying another Indian woman and then dumping her for being fat.

"My wedding is going to be the biggest day of my life," Mirza said in a statement yesterday.
"I have been in the media glare for too long and would appreciate a little privacy at this personal moment."
Mirza, last year's Australian Open mixed doubles champion, said she and Malik (pictured right) would settle in Dubai and she would support both India and her husband-to-be in India-Pakistan cricket matches.
The call made front-page news, some saying it could bring peace between the feuding nuclear-capable neighbours.

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The impact of IPL on cricket, players etc.

| at 12:34 AM



If things pan out as planned, youngsters in India will get the opportunity to play with/against some of the world’s best cricketers
Overseas cricketers will get a better sense of playing conditions in India, which will help them when they tour India as part of their national teams (this won’t affect cricketers that have already retired or are close to retirement)
Infrastructure at grounds across the country will improve
It will give T20 cricket a well-defined structure in India and help identify talent



Cricketers may prefer the IPL to playing for their countries- more money for a much less strenuous schedule, something that is sure to appeal to a lot of cricketers in the 30+ age group.
The IPL format is only T20, and thus youngsters may not develop the temperament and skills needed to succeed in test matches. “Wham bang, thank you mam” techniques will never yield consistent results in test cricket.
Players’ privacy is already impacted as the whole world now knows who got how much. This could well affect players’ inter-personal interactions, which may cary forward when they play for their county/state/national teams.
There is also the larger question of whether this capitalist orgy in cricket will be the last nail in the coffin for other sports like hockey and soccer. Let the games begin!

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Aussie team full of idiots whats ur opinion

| at 12:14 AM


This follows Mitchell Johnson’s headbutt of Kiwi batsman Scott Styris during a recent ODI. Styris was wearing a helmet at the time and Johnson was not. Did this prompt Reid’s remark?“Generally the Australian team looks good but there are a handful of idiots who need to be reined in. Do your work with the bat and the ball, not your mouth. It’s not necessary,” said Reid, also a former ICC match referee, known for his toughness.Reid, who captained a New Zealand touring team to South Africa in the early sixties, said that in his experience the Aussies were also the worst sledgers.“I’d consider the Chappell brothers (Ian and Greg) to be its architects back in the 1970s. In my time as a referee, I dealt with barging by Glenn McGrath, bowlers standing in the way of a runner — like Johnson did to Styris — and Curtly Ambrose knocking the stumps out of the ground.”Reid said the match referee in the Johnson incident should have come down harder on the culprit. Ranjan Madugalle slapped both players with fines for the dust-up.Former Kiwi great Mark Greatbatch, recalling the sledging of his playing days, said that Merv Hughes once spat at him. Now Greatbatch is the Kiwi coach and Hughes an Australian selector. The met at the teams’ hotel this week (both sides are sharing digs).“The last time I played against Australia, Merv Hughes spat on me,” Greatbatch said, grinning. “But we had a beer at the end of the day.”

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what do u think the board decision is right or not and what are the effects of that on pak cricket

| at 11:53 PM


PCB committee recommends fine, bans on players
LAHORE: A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) inquiry committee, formed to look into the national team’s disastrous performance Down Under, has proposed hefty fine of Rs 3 million each on wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and all-rounder Shahid Afridi for violating the player’s code of conduct during the winless tour. “The inquiry committee, headed by PCB chief operating officer Wasim Bari, has also recommended Rs 2 million fine and one-year ban each on former captain Shoaib Malik, pace bowler Rana Naveedul Hasan and batsman Umar Akmal,” sources added. The committee has recommended action against Afridi on ball tampering, against Kamran and his brother Umar for giving statements to media and against Malik and Naved on disciplinary grounds.

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what do you think can pakistan defend the title of T20 champion

| at 12:05 AM




Karachi, Nov 16 (ANI): Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi believes that his team was right on course in its preparations for a successful title defence in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean.
After leading Pakistan to a comfortable 2-0 series triumph over New Zealand in Dubai on Friday, Afridi said that the Greenshirts are working hard and will go on to defend their crown they won in England last June.
“We’ve been working really hard and I’m sure that the boys will be fully ready to defend the title in the Twenty20 World Cup next year,” The News quoted him, as saying.
Afridi, who will spear head Pakistan’s campaign in the 2010 World Twenty20, said that his team was perfectly suited to the fastest version of the game.
He also praised the way his players performed to win both the T20 games against New Zealand.
“As captain, I tried to boost the morale of the boys and they responded perfectly,” he said.
Afridi blamed a complete batting failure for Pakistan’s stunning defeat in the one-day series against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.
He hoped that Pakistan will bounce back by beating New Zealand in the three-match Test series getting underway in Dunedin from November 25.
Afridi said that Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan’s captain for the Test series, was an experienced campaigner and will be able to get the best out of his players in New Zealand.
“Yousuf is a very senior player and I’m sure he will lead the team to victory in the Test series against New Zealand,” said Afridi.

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