Hello and welcome to this edition of the I.E.C.C. Newsletter.
Robert Walters sponsors Flicx pitch
The Indian Engineers cricket season got off to a thrilling start with a Flicx
pitch sponsored by their sponsor and two back to back wins in pre-season
friendly matches.
Robert Walters, a Global Recruitment company and sponsor of the Indian Engineers
for the past five years has agreed to sponsor a Flicx pitch for them. The
sponsorship offer came after the Engineers found a few grounds in Ibaraki ken
which has easier access and high availability and were looking to make most use
of it. Robert Walters decision provides a fillip to the Engineers ambition to
have a home ground and goes a long way in helping them play more matches in a
year. This is also expected help save a lot of time and money by reducing the
travel to Shizuoka and Fuji for weekend matches.
Robert Walters is already the sponsor of jersey and kit for the Engineers.
In an email letter to the Engineers, David Swan, Managing Director of Robert
Walters Japan wished the Engineers success in their quest for the KCL Cup.
"Robert Walters Japan is proud to sponsor the new Flicx pitch for the Indian
Engineers Cricket Club. Supporting the IECC for the last 5 years has been a
great experience for Robert Walters. We hope that the availability of the new
pitch will help the engineers to play more games in Tokyo and we wish them all
the best in their quest for the KCL trophy.", said Swan.
JCA becomes part of Japan Olympic Committee
The Japan Cricket Association has achieved a great coup with their recent admittance to the Japan Olympic Committee as of 1 April 2010. The news represents a positive step for the Japan Cricket Association.
Neil Harrison's Umpiring Seminar video on YouTube
Japan's international umpire Neil Harrison conducted an umpiring seminar last
month in Tokyo, jointly organised for JCA and KCL clubs with the aim of
improving the standard and consistency of umpiring in Japan. The seminar focused
on the perennial favourites of preparation, dress, no-ball and LBW and also
introduced participants to the Umpire's Pathway, which offers committed umpires
the opportunity to officiate in international tournaments. Finally, there was a
free Q&A session to give participants a chance to clear up those "What if"s that
sometimes stick in the memory.
While it was good to see so many (15) participants, it was notable that all
representatives were members of teams in KCL 2010, meaning a bonus league point
was on offer. Having said that, kudos to Tigers and Sharks for sending 5
participants each.
On a side note, it was disappointing not to see any Japanese faces. It remains
an obstacle to the development of cricket in Japan that almost no Japanese stay
involved in the game once they stop playing (not just umpiring, but scoring,
groundwork and administration, too).
Harrison expressed satisfaction to the high turnout and thanked the Indian
Tigers and Chris Thurgate for their help. "Thanks to the participants for their
enthusiasm, to both leagues for backing the seminar, to the JCA for paying for
the seminar room, to the gents from Tigers for providing the projector and
recording the seminar for the Web and to Chris Thurgate for help with
organisation.", said Harrison.
The video of the seminar is available on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b785Jd1PShY
Indian Engineers on Twitter
Follow the Engineers at http://twitter.com/ieccjapan/ for live match updates and other cricket updates.
Dalai Lama to grace the IPL match to be played in Dharamsala between Kings XI
Punjab and Chennai Super Kings to be played on April 18. This will be first IPL
game to be hosted by the town.
###
Both The Herald and the Zimbabwe Independent reported that New Zealand's
decision to pull out of their scheduled tour of Zimbabwe was taken without the
agreement of ZC - a move that may leave Cricket New Zealand open to ICC
sanction.
The tour is part of the ICC's Future Tours Programme, which member countries are
required to honour unless security issues can be shown to exist. It seems to be
the case that no formal security assessment has been undertaken.
###
Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) will conduct a nationwide search for raw, fast bowling
talent across the country, starting from the 23rd of March to the 10th of April
2010. This campaign will run alongside other development programmes being
conducted to identify and nurture talent. A panel of high caliber selectors will
travel across the country holding one day trials. The panel will also go
'door-to-door' and visit venues where they think they might be potential fast
bowlers. "The trials are non-traditional in that they are taking them to the
people and they will be conducted in much the same way as some of today's famous
talent searches, like 'IDOLS' or the 'X-factor', said ZC spokesperson, Shingai
Rhuhwaya
###
The England bowler Graeme Swann was arrested last week on suspicion of
drink-driving. The off-spinner was stopped as he returned to his home in the
West Bridgford area of Nottingham yesterday morning. He had reportedly been
celebrating his 31st birthday, which was last week, before he was stopped. A
spokeswoman for Nottinghamshire Police said: "A 31-year-old man was arrested
on Byron Road, West Bridgford, at 3.23am on Friday, 2 April on suspicion of
drink-driving."
###
Sania Mirza – a 23-year-old tennis player who in 2009 became the first Indian
woman to win a grand slam title, when she won the mixed doubles at the
Australian Open with Mahesh Bhupathi – has fallen for Shoaib Malik, the bad
boy of Pakistani cricket. The wedding will take place in Dubail and the couple
will live in the same country. Mirza said she will continue playing for India
while Malike will continue to represent Pakistan.
Comment: Everything is fair in war and love.
###
Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik who is in Hyderabad, India currently to marry
the Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, is in a legal soup owing to a past affair
with another Hyderabad girl Ayesha Siddiqui. Ayesha claimed Shoaib married her
over phone, according to Islamic custom, before dumping her due to her weight
problems without a divorce. But Shoaib maintains that the Ayesha who is making
these allegations is not the one he committed himself to during an internet
affair that grew over telephone conversations.
###
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) announced that it would be sponsoring the Test
and one-day series between Pakistan and Australia in England in July. This will
be the first time MCC, the owners of London Lord's Cricket Ground where the
first
of two Tests between Pakistan and Australia is due to start on July 13, has
sponsored an international series in its 223-year history. The series comes at
a time when Pakistan, who will also be playing a Test and one-day series
against England this English season, has become a no-go area for international
cricket following a terror attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore last year.
"We often speak about Tests being the pinnacle of the game -- now we are acting
to back up those words," MCC's Australian secretary, Keith Bradshaw, told a news
conference.
###
If Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, who is under the scanner for match-
fixing charges and being quizzed by the Essex Police on the issue, is found
guilty of the match-fixing charges and banned this summer, the implications for
English cricket would be financially disastrous, The News reported. Relations
between the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB) have been cordial since the forfeited Oval Test of 2006, but speculations
are rife over the implications if Kaneria is publicly accused of wrong-doing in
England, The News reports. Moreover, it’s the broadcasting deals in which the
ECB
will lose millions of dollars if the series are cancelled. One of the
broadcasting
deals for the rights to screen cricket matches played and televised in England
(except for ICC events, like last summer’s Twenty20 World Cup) is a four-year
deal
with ESPN Star worth 80 million dollars.
###
Source: Various web and print media
Australian Indigenous team to tour PNG
Cricket Australia announced that it will be sending its Australian Indigenous National Team to play a four match Series with two One Day Internationals and two Twenty 20 Internationals in July this year to Papua New Guinea. "The Cricket Australia Australian Indigenous X1 will be an exceptionally strong and experienced XI" said Cricket PNG General Manager Bill Leane. They will be captained by Dan Christian, who recently made his Australian debut in a Twenty 20 International against the West Indies.
Advanced Coaching & Development Seminar in Indonesia
The seventh EAP Advanced Coaching and Development (AC & D) Seminar will take place in Jakarta Indonesia, the first time that the event has been held in an EAP member country outside of Australia and New Zealand. The seminar brings together individuals from across the region to promote their education in coaching and allows participants to learn from each other, along with leading coaches from the region.
Beers for Books, a concept and idea supported by the Indian Engineers, has created 50,000 books for children in the developing world since it started in February 2009. "We quickly made our way to the 50,000 book milestone thanks to a bunch of events over the last month including 640 from a private birthday party for Hong, 400 at the St. Louis launch, 874 from the SF event at Bin38, 165 and 121 in Tokyo at Craftheads and 148Hiroo, 157 in Yakushima at Moss Ocean House, 989 in San Diego at Toronado, 63 from the salsa event in Tokyo at Costa Latina, and 498 in Yokohama at The Full Monty. Great job everyone!", said its founder, Gary Bremermann.
Beers for Books recently celebrated their first anniversary in Tokyo.
Links:
Room to Read - http://www.roomtoread.org/
Beer for Books- http://www.beersforbooks.org/
Gary Bremermann - gary@robertleonard.jp
Results as of March 31:
Here is the latest top 10(last month's ranking in brackets):
1 Tokyo Giants (1)
2 Tokyo Wombats (2)
3 Lalazar (3)
4 Wyverns (4)
5 Serendib (5)
6 MAX (6)
7 Indian Engineers (7)
8 Shizuoka Kytes (8)
9 Adore (9)
9 Nagoya (9)
10 Paddy Foleys (10)
See the full list here.
We encourage all teams to send us your result statistics regularly so that your team's rankings remain as accurate as possible. We are in a position to obtain the results of the official tournament matches on our own but we are looking for the results of the friendly matches.
Here is the last poll result:
Do you think the the PCB took the right decision in punishing its players?
Yes 47%
No 32%
I don't care 21%
Take the new poll:
Do you think the the holding the T-20 World Cup immediately after IPL is a good
idea?
Visit our home page today to vote!
Best of the Web
Mitchell Johnson headbutts Scott Styris with Styris helmet on
Doug Bollinger's outstadning catch to dismiss Yusuf Pathan in the IPL
David Hussey catching Paul Collingwood in IPL
Note: Beginning the Issue #39 (May 6, '04), we bring you some interesting snippets from the cricket world, to celebrate the fourth anniversary this Newsletter and first anniversary of our popular "Trivial Facts" series. The same will be published on the front page of our website too.
"He has cheated before, he has cheated in this instance and I'm sure he will again. He is no angel." - Former Australian umpire Darrell Hair gives a damning verdict on Shahid Afridi over Afridi's ball-tampering act.
India's Sachin Tendulkar has bagged most man of the match awards in ODIs - 60.
That's all in this edition ! !