::: CRICKET ZONE :::

[kudos_utopia]

Is it okay that Dhoni should play at number 5? II

It's true that Dhoni has been outstanding at Nos. 3 and 4 - he first announced himself on the world stage at No. 3, scoring 148 against Pakistan in Visakhapatnam, while his highest ODI score of 183 not out came at the same slot as well. However, in the last couple of years he has modified his game perfectly to suit the requirements of the lower positions: at No. 5, he averages more than 50 at a strike rate touching 88, and he hasn't done badly at six either.


Batting higher up the order is often the easier task in ODIs, which is why Dhoni's numbers at Nos. 5 and 6 are even more praiseworthy. As the table below shows, he is the only player, among those who've scored more than 1000 runs at No. 5, to average more than 50 at that slot. His strike rate is excellent too, 87.65, which gives him a batting index (average multiplied by runs per ball) of 44.45. Andrew Flintoff follows closely, but apart from Flintoff and Andrew Symonds, none of the others have an index in the 40s. And for those who suggest Dhoni hasn't scored enough hundreds at five, you only need to point at Inzamam-ul-Haq's stats - he played 105 innings at that slot, but managed no century despite having gone past fifty 27 times. Shivnarine Chanderpaul hasn't scored a century at that position either, though he has 15 fifties to his name. Batting lower down the order obviously limits the possibilities of getting to three figures, but Dhoni's average and strike rates indicate he has been exceptional at that position.
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[kudos_utopia]

Is it okay that Dhoni should play at number 5? III

What's equally important is the manner in which Dhoni scores his runs. In his early years he was known to biff the ball around, but in his later avatar he has transformed into a far more multi-dimensional cricketer who is comfortable nudging the ball around into gaps and taking most of his runs in singles and twos, which is perfect for a batsman at five.

In 2009, Dhoni has batted at No. 5 in 10 out of 18 innings, and his overall stats for the year indicate he has done very well indeed. The most striking feature of his batting this year has been his exceptionally low boundary percentage - he has hit only 55 fours and 13 sixes this year, which converts into less than 34% of his total runs. It's easily the lowest among all Indian top-order batsmen this year.

In the match against Australia in Nagpur, Dhoni found the ideal partner in Gambhir. They added 119 in 114 balls, but only 24 of those runs came in boundaries, with each batsman hitting three fours. Meanwhile, they allowed only 35 out of the 114 deliveries to go scoreless, and nudged the ball around for 62 singles. Not surprisingly, Dhoni and Gambhir have the lowest boundary percentages among Indian batsmen this year.

On the other hand, the numbers for Virender Sehwag make very interesting reading. Despite opening the batting, his dot-ball percentage for the year is a ridiculously low 39.62 - with the field up close during the first few overs, you'd expect that number to be much higher. Combine that with his high boundary percentage, and it's clear how he has been scoring at nearly eight-and-a-half runs per over this year.

The Man-of-the-Match award in Nagpur was Dhoni's 12th in ODIs, but his first for a batting display at the No. 5 slot. Former players may have their opinions, but looking at the manner in which Dhoni has taken to the task of batting at five, it's unlikely he'll relinquish it and move up the order anytime soon.
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[kudos_utopia]

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[kudos_utopia]

Sanath Jayasuriya's Cricket Future! I

Cricinfo

Sa'adi Thawfeeq

October 29, 2009


Jayasuriya's future under scrutiny



Sanath Jayasuriya's cricketing future has been put in the balance with Sri Lanka's selectors saying today that his days as an opener are effectively over and that following the upcoming tour of India he will be picked on performance alone. Jayasuriya, 40, has been picked in the one-day squad as an allrounder who can bat down the order and bowl left-arm spin.

"What we expect from Sanath is that he should win one in three games for Sri Lanka, which he was doing in the past," Ashantha de Mel, Sri Lanka's chairman of selectors, said in Colombo. "But now that has reduced and we are a little concerned about it. In the Champions Trophy in South Africa his performance was below par .That's the reason why we have gone in with the option of playing him as an allrounder."


Jayasuriya scored freely during the World Twenty20 in England this summer, where Sri Lanka finished runners-up, and ended as their joint second-highest run-getter with 177 at 25.28. However, he underperformed in the limited-overs fixtures against New Zealand and India at home and in the Champions Trophy.
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[kudos_utopia]

Sanath Jayasuriya's Cricket Future! II

Sri Lanka's selectors have Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan in mind as the opening pair for the future and Jayasuriya's selection will depend on the requirements of the team depending on where they will play. "We have spoken to Sanath on the role he has to play," de Mel said. "He has the option to play as an allrounder. We have considered him for this tour only, after that his selection will depend on his performance. He has to perform to hold his place in the team for the World Cup."


De Mel said the selectors did not have a settled position for Jayasuriya, who was impressive as an allrounder during Sri Lanka's victorious World Cup campaign in 1996, and that his flexibility worked in his favour. "Especially in the batting power play having a spinning allrounder like Sanath is useful in the subcontinent because he can hit the ball. He might bat in the middle or in the top order depending on the situation," he said. "Also, the World Cup will be held in the subcontinent where his left-arm spin can become useful. He can perform that role because in South Africa in the game against New Zealand when they scored 300 runs he was the one who bowled ten overs for three wickets and 30 runs. He has done well in the subcontinent especially with his bowling."

Jayasuriya is the second batsman after India's Sachin Tendulkar to pass 13,000 runs in ODIs and also holds the record for being the oldest batsman to score a one-day century, at 39 years and 212 days against India in Colombo.

Of the 13,377 runs he has scored in 441 ODIs, 2841 have come in 86 ODIs against India including seven hundreds at a strike-rate of 97.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara felt the main factor in Sri Lanka's poor ODI performances over the past two years has been an inconsistent batting line up. "The biggest let-down we had is our batting. We suffered because we had lots of batting position changes up and down the order," he said. "For the batting to improve you must give the players the confidence. They must know what role they are supposed to play. Role identification has been a big problem. Except for the openers no one knew what their role was in the side.

"We have never clicked in all departments those are things the team ignored for a while. The players have now started to realise that they take a lot of pride not just representing the country but to be up to the task that is required of them by the team."

Fielding was one of the key areas where Sri Lanka suffered during the Champions Trophy and to address the poor standards and improve them Sri Lanka Cricket acquired the services of Gavin Fingleson, a former Olympic baseball player.

"He didn't come and change but showed us how do things right. He showed us little points that will make us better and quick fielders, at the same time we also realized to be quicker on the field you've got to be fitter as a side," Sangakkara said. "We started doing a lot of work on fitness running. Gavin showed us a lot of drills and how you can gain that extra second advantage when going for a catch or trying to stop the ball. At the same time the most important point was to make sure at practice you do everything as perfectly, those are the habits we have to build on."
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[kudos_utopia]

Tendulkar should play fewer ODIs - Border

Cricinfo staff

October 30, 2009



Tendulkar should play fewer ODIs - Border




Former Australian captain Allan Border has said Sachin Tendulkar should play fewer ODIs to prolong his Test career. Tendulkar, who is a few weeks away from completing 20 years as an India player, is one of the senior-most players on the international circuit.



Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya is the only other current international who began his career in the 1980s.



Tendulkar has played 432 ODIs - second behind Jayasuriya's 441 - and 159 Tests since 1989.



Over the last couple of years, he opted out of Twenty20 internationals to focus on the game's longer formats.


He has, however, participated in both seasons of the IPL, as captain of the Mumbai Indians franchise.



"I have high esteem for Tendulkar and his achievements in international cricket," Border told PTI.

"But I think it would be better for him to appear in fewer limited-over matches, including one-dayers. It would help him to prolong his Test career."




Border said it was a remarkable feat for anyone to sustain a 20-year career with injuries on the rise. Tendulkar's career has been plagued by injuries, the most notable being his troublesome tennis elbow. Recently, he had to miss the four-match ODI series in the West Indies due to a finger injury he picked up during the IPL.




"Representing your country for 20 years in international arena is not a small achievement," Border said. "There is always a lot of pressure on an international cricketer and I must say he [Tendulkar] has managed it beautifully. Like many others, his career was also disturbed by injuries. But even after many ups and downs, Tendulkar still has the same passion and love for the game."




Border himself lasted 16 years as an international player before retiring in 1994. His 156 Test appearances was a world record before Steve Waugh overtook him.


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[kudos_utopia]

Sachin Tendulkar

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[kudos_utopia]

Allan Border

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[kudos_utopia]

Kohli cracks unbeaten ton as India ease home

India 249 for 4 (Kohli 102*, Gambhir 41, Naeem 2-35) beat Bangladesh 247 for 6 (Shakib 85, Mahmudullah 64*, Nehra 2-58) by 6 wickets

With a place in the final already clinched and nothing much at stake, most of India's batsmen batted sloppily. However there was no such charity from Virat Kohli as he struck a mature unbeaten century to ensure that India went into Wednesday's game on the back of three successive wins.

Shakib Al Hasan's 85 and a 106-run partnership with the lively Mahmudullah had lifted Bangladesh from a dismal 95 for 5 to 247 for 6, but on a placid track and against a line-up in form, it was nowhere near enough. India cantered home with seven overs to spare.

Kohli played with commendable concentration until victory was in sight, driving and cutting beautifully even as wickets fell around him. He got his first reprieve on 83, when Mohammad Ashraful put him down at deep midwicket off Syed Rasel, and the butter-fingers epidemic appeared to catch on, with Mushfiqur Rahim fluffing a stumping off Shakib in the next over. Ashraful's woeful outing continued when he dropped Suresh Raina two balls later. It summed up Bangladesh's evening in the field though the match was as good as over by then.

The only interest towards the end of the game centred around whether Kohli would get to his second century. The first 50 had taken just 47 balls, and he was especially severe on Shafiul Islam in his final spell, off-driving and pulling with authority. Naeem Islam was punched off the back foot for four and when Rasel decided to test him with a short one, he pulled it behind square for four. Victory and three figures were completed in a hurry, with an off-drive and a leg-side swish off Shakib.

Bangladesh needed early wickets to send any tremors through the Indian ranks but they didn't get them. Shafiul bowled some fine deliveries, but also offered width that Dinesh Karthik was quick to capitalize on, cutting powerfully past the inner ring for fours. With Gautam Gambhir glancing anything directed at his pads and Karthik easing one through the covers, India were off and away.

When Abdur Razzak came on, Karthik greeted him with a fierce heave over midwicket, but his cameo ended on 34 when he under-edged Shafiul to the keeper. Shafiul continued to be expensive though, with Gambhir taking three fours in an over, and it was left to Naeem to strike in his first over and give the team some hope.

Gambhir sauntered down the track to Naeem and swiped airily, only to see his stumps broken. But with Kohli cutting Shakib for boundaries and playing a gorgeous on-drive, the asking rate was in no danger of climbing. Yuvraj Singh was becalmed against spin though, and after a superb cover-drive, Naeem had him playing down the wrong line to be trapped in front. MS Dhoni glimmered briefly for 32 before clipping Shakib to mid-on, but there were no further alarms as Raina and Kohli saw it home in dew-heavy conditions.

Naeem had contributed a brisk 22 late in the Bangladesh innings as they took 47 from the batting Powerplay and 95 from the final 10 overs to reach a respectable score. Mahmudullah continued his good form against India, remaining unconquered on 64. Shakib was dropped by Dhoni off Yuvraj when he had made just 38 and he took advantage with some punishing strokes in the final stages of the innings. A huge six over midwicket off Ravindra Jadeja started the acceleration, and he took Amit Mishra in the same direction when he dropped short.

There was some fortune, with a top edge clearing Dhoni for four, but there was also plenty of ability, with Sudeep Tyagi being pulled for two fours and then scooped impudently down to fine leg. But when he tried to repeat the stroke off Ashish Nehra's slower ball, he only found Dhoni's gloves.

Mahmudullah had started off with a thump over cover off Mishra, and he then lofted Nehra to long-off for four more. Sreesanth was cut powerfully to the ropes and Mishra hit over long-on for six as the runs came far more freely in the final stages. Naeem swung Nehra for a six at the end and slashed another four as the sparse crowd celebrated a frenetic finish to the innings.

India had started much the better. After a maiden from Tyagi, Imrul Kayes had flailed twice through the off side as Sreesanth pitched too wide, but when he tried the same approach against Tyagi, Kohli snaffled him at point. Ashraful had no thoughts of consolidating - after playing one reckless shot to third man, he decided to give Sreesanth the charge and played on via the pads.

Raqibul Hasan played some chancy strokes, and a delightful pull off Tyagi, while Tamim Iqbal, after a cautious start, lofted Sreesanth over mid-on and then pulled him for four. But again, a wicket fell when they could least afford it, with Tamim driving Nehra on the up to mid-off, where Tyagi took an excellent catch on the run.

Raqibul was then run out as Yuvraj managed to deflect a Shakib drive on the stumps, and though Shakib gave the fans something to cheer with some crisp strokes through the off side, Mushfiqur lobbed a slower one from Yuvraj straight to the man at cover to leave the side in disarray with half the overs remaining. Honour was partially restored by the end, but once again India were just too strong, even with Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan not taking the field.


From Cricket Info​

 

[iRule]

nice thread
Useful info

 

[kudos_utopia]

Low winning totals, and identical scores
The smallest winning first-innings totals, two 49s in a Test, and Tendulkar's lowest match aggregates

Australia won the amazing Sydney Test despite being bowled out for 127 on the first day. Is this the lowest first-innings score to win a Test? asked Gagan from the United States
Rather surprisingly, perhaps, there have been 23 lower first-innings totals by winning teams than Australia's 127 in Sydney last week (plus two others of 127). The lowest of all is England's 45 in Sydney in 1886-87, a match they went on to win by 13 runs. Twelve of the lower totals came before the Second World War, but recent ones have included New Zealand's 94 against India in Hamilton in 2002-03 (they eventually won by four wickets), India's 104 against Australia in Mumbai in 2004-05 (they won by 13 runs), and Australia's 120 against Sri Lanka in Kandy in 2003-04, when they went on to win by 27 runs. These numbers exclude the controversial match in Centurion in 1999-2000, which England won after actually scoring no runs at all in their first innings, which they forfeited.

Umar Akmal was out for 49 in both innings of the Sydney Test. Has anyone ever done this before? asked Tahir Masood
No, the performance of Umar Akmal in scoring 49 in both innings in Sydney is unique. The nearest approach was by South Africa's Gary Kirsten, who made 49 and 47 not out against New Zealand in Port Elizabeth in 2000-01, and by Rajin Saleh of Bangladesh, who made 49 and 47 against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2003-04. And to answer several other correspondents, the highest score made by a batsman in both innings of a Test is a pair of 105s, by Duleep Mendis for Sri Lanka v India in Madras in 1982-83.

Who has the most Test caps without ever scoring a hundred or taking five wickets in an innings? asked Jack Dennison
I thought the answer to this one would turn out to be a wicketkeeper, and it is: Wasim Bari played 81 times for Pakistan with a highest score of 85, and he never took a wicket. If you exclude keepers then the leader is the Indian opening batsman Chetan Chauhan, who scored 2084 runs in 40 Tests, but never did make a century, and took only two wickets.

Tillakaratne Dilshan scored 10 centuries in one-day internationals in 2009. Is this a record for a calendar year? asked Skanda Murthy from India
Well, it would have been a record - except Tillakaratne Dilshan actually only scored four centuries in one-day internationals in 2009. I think you might have misread a line somewhere, as Dilshan scored exactly 1000 runs in ODIs last year. The record for a calendar year is nine ODI hundreds, by Sachin Tendulkar in 1998. Next comes another Indian, Sourav Ganguly, with seven in 2000. For a full list, click here.

I was surprised to be told that no woman has taken 100 wickets in Test matches. Is this true? asked Thomas Franklin from Southampton
It is correct: the leading wicket-taker in women's Test cricket remains England's Mary Duggan, who took 77 wickets in 17 Tests between 1948-49 and 1963. The low figure reflects the small number of women's Test matches that are played, especially nowadays. The Australian fast bowler Cathryn Fitzpatrick, who retired after a long career in 2007, is in joint-fourth place with 60 wickets. For a full list, click here.

Has Sachin Tendulkar ever got a pair in Test cricket? If not, what is the lowest score he has made over two innings of a Test? asked Karn Sohal
No, Sachin Tendulkar has never bagged a pair of ducks in a Test (not yet, anyway!). The fewest runs he has made in a match in which he was dismissed twice is six (6 and 0) against South Africa in Port Elizabeth in 1992-93. He also had match aggregates of eight (0 and 8) against West Indies in Bridgetown in 2001-02, and nine (0 and 9) against Pakistan in Kolkata in 1998-99. In all Tendulkar has now been out for a duck on 14 occasions in Tests.

Cricinfo

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[kudos_utopia]

nice thread
Useful info

Thanks bro!!

 

[kudos_utopia]

The best by 10 and 11, and young 200s
Tenth-wicket century stands, the total number of Test runs scored, and a debut hundred in the second innings

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[kudos_utopia]

What are the highest partnerships for the 10th wicket in Tests and ODIs that involved the Nos 10 and 11 batsmen?
asked Stefan Hemmings from the West Indies


The record in Tests by a No. 10 and No. 11 is 128 (there have been five higher last-wicket partnerships, but none of them involved the No. 10 batsman). This was scored by Ken Higgs (63) and John Snow (59 not out) for England against West Indies at The Oval in 1966. For the full Test list, click here. In one-day internationals, the record was broken very recently: in November 2009, against New Zealand in Dubai, Pakistan's Mohammad Aamer (73 not out) and Saeed Ajmal (33) put on 103 for the last wicket after their side had been 101 for 9. That was only the second century stand for the last wicket in ODIs, after Viv Richards and Michael Holding put on 106 without being parted for West Indies against England at Old Trafford in 1984. The previous record by Nos 10 and 11 was also held by Pakistan - 72 by Abdul Razzaq (46 not out) and Waqar Younis (33) against South Africa in Durban in 1997-98. For the full ODI list, click here.​

 

[kudos_utopia]

[

B]Who is the youngest batsman to score a double-century in a Test? [/B]

asked Jawaid Khawar from India

The only teenager to score a double-century in a Test is Pakistan's Javed Miandad, who was 19 years and 141 days old when he scored 206 in only his third Test, against New Zealand in Karachi in 1976-77. The only other man to pass 200 in a Test before turning 21 is George Headley, with 223 against England in Kingston in 1929-30, still the highest individual score in the fourth innings of any Test. For the full list, click here (note that this list shows the players' ages at the start of the match in question).​

 

[kudos_utopia]

What is the total number of runs scored since the first Test was played, and for how many wickets? asked Rabi Dutt from the United States
The total number of runs scored in the 1942 Tests played between March 1877 and December 30, 2009 (I'm writing this after the Boxing Day Tests in Melbourne and Durban), was 1,899,965. There had been 59,496 wickets, so that gives an average of 31.93 runs per wicket all told.​

 

[kudos_utopia]

What are the best bowling figures by someone making their ODI debut? asked Bharat Ramesh from Chennai
The only bowler to take six wickets in his first one-day international is Fidel Edwards, who started with 6 for 22 for West Indies against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2003-04. It completed a notable double for Edwards, who also took 5 for 36 on his Test debut, against Sri Lanka in Kingston earlier in 2003. Five others have taken five wickets in an innings in their first ODI, not many of them household names: Tony Dodemaide of Australia, South Africa's Allan Donald, Austin Codrington of Canada, and the Sri Lankan pair of Charitha Buddhika Fernando and Shaul Karnain. For a full list, click here.​

 

[kudos_utopia]

How often has a team scored 400 or more in its first innings yet gone on to lose the Test? asked Dev Oza from New Zealand
This has now happened on no fewer than 57 occasions in Tests. There have been 12 instances of a team scoring more than 500 in their first innings yet still losing, with the highest of all being Australia's 586 against England in Sydney in 1894-95, in the first Test ever won by a team who had to follow on. The most recent instance as I write was also in Sydney: in January 2008, India scored 532 in their first innings but still went down to Australia by 122 runs.​

 

[fazil00789]

aye star kara wage ela ela

 

[kudos_utopia]

aye star kara wage ela ela

hehe yes bro
eth kammali affa post karanna