Hello and welcome to this edition of the I.E.C.C. Newsletter.
As the Spring set in, the Japanese cricket season kick started itself with
friendly matches as the teams prepared for various tournaments for the new
season. While quite a few matches were rained out in March, we have the
information from Kanto, Kansai and Tokai regions:
- Tokyo Giants defeated Ichihara Sharks
- Tokyo Giants defeated Friends XI
- New comers Toyama defeated the Tokyo Wombats
- Tokyo Wombats defeated the Shizuoka Kytes
- Shizuoka Kytes defeated Paddy Foleys
- Kansai Lions defeated Osaka Bulldogs
- Osaka Bulldogs defeated Doshisha
Meanwhile, The Kanto Cricket League will have its first match - 2 matches in
fact - played on April 20. The teams that face-off on the opening day are Al
Karam and Tokyo Giants at Ageo and Indian Engineers and Shizuoka Kytes at
Shizuoka. Two teams that participated in the KCL last year - Tokyo Bay and
Myoden - have withdrawn from the competition this year due to lack of members.
The KCL All Star game that was supposed to be held in March at the new ground at Tsukuba could not be held due to the unavailability of the ground.
Correction: In the previous issue we erroneously reported that KCL this year has 12 teams. The KCL Committee informed us that the KCL this year has 14 teams in two groups as below. The error is regretted.
Group A
CC of Nagoya
Indian Engineers CC
Indian Tigers CC
Lalazar Sports CC
Shizuoka Kytes CC
Tokyo Giants CC
YC & AC
Group B
Al Karam CC
Friends XI CC
Ichihara Sharks CC
Serendip CC
Sri Lanka Lions CC
Tokyo Dragons CC
Toyama CC
During investigations, the Economic Offences Wing has found that
former Indian Cricket Board President Jagmohan DalmiyaDalmiya
diverted funds from a bank account in Kolkata meant for paying
legal fees towards various other expenses.
###
South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher said that sledging was
all about being competitive although the ICC has asked players
to refrain from on-field showdowns.
###
Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful was fined 25 per cent of
his salary for the month of March for hitting a fan during a
practice session in the capital city of Bangladesh, Dhaka. In
addition to Ashraful, three of his team mates were also fined
for breaching the team's code of conduct, a senior Bangladesh
cricket official said.
###
"Bangladesh takes Australia's place" - a headline in Australia's
Herald Sun daily. On a closer look, it turned out that Bangladesh
will only take Australia's place of Pakistan tour, not their ranking.
###
South Africa Test batsman Herschelle Gibbs spent a night in jail
after being arrested following a breath test while driving in Cape
Town.
###
In the wake of the West Indies losing the opening Test of the
two-match series against Sri Lanka by 121 runs, West Indies
legends Desmond Haynes and Deryck Murray have called for a major
shake-up in the structure of cricket in the Caribbean in order to
drag the team out of the doldrums.
###
In an interview to Pakistan's Geo TV, banned Pakistani pacer Shoaib
Akhtar on Thursday said he was approached by match fixers during
tours of India and South Africa but insisted that he never took up
their offer of under-performing for money.
###
New Zealand's Shane Bond feels that his home board did a U-turn on
him by gaving him permission to play in the ICL first and turned
around later and withdrew it.
###
The inaugural DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to become
one of the richest domestic cricket tournaments in the world offering
a whopping winners' cheque of USD 1.2 million and an overall prize money
of USD 3 million.
###
Shane Warne has announced his retirement from first-class cricket,
saying he is leaving Hampshire to concentrate on his business
interests, family and the new Indian Premier League
###
Impressed by numbers of white-clad young players in the city's
parks at weekends, New York's Department of Education has set
up a league, with about 600 state secondary school students
playing on 14 teams. Announcing its decision, the department
said New York was the first and only state school system in
America to offer competitive cricket. Most New York cricketers
are South Asian and Caribbean immigrants or their children.
Around 650 adults already play in six leagues. Plans are afoot
to introduce a league to young children at middle-school level.
###
Australian cricketer Michael Clarke and his model wife-to-be Lara
Bingle celebrated their engagement at a VIP party at the famous Luna
Park on April 4. However, the New South Wales cricket officials were
privately fuming over the timing of the party - on the same night as
the team's Steve Waugh Medal presentation night. The clash meant a
number of players cancelled attending the prize night in favour of
the glitzy invitation to party at Luna Park's function room, Crystal
Palace.
###
West Indies captain Chris Gayle blames Chaminda Vaas' lack of pace in
his deliveries for his poor record of averaging 5.28 against Vaas.
###
Source: Various web and print media
Cricket Indonesia have capped off an outstanding 2007 by winning the Best Junior Cricket Initiative Program for the Tetra Pak Cricket Development Program. Launched in June 2007 after much planning and development, the program was based around introducing Indonesian children to cricket while also ensuring health and well-being and a positive attitude towards the environment. This was done through the promotion of milk within schools, and the health benefits of regularly drinking milk as part of a balanced diet. This included many free samples that were distributed amongst the participating schools. Also included in the program, in conjunction with EcoBali, was the promotion of disposing of waste responsibly through recycling.
The first match in the revamped Pacific Friendship Cup saw the Shizuoka Kytes defeating the Paddy Foleys by 54 runs. Batting first, the Kytes scored 214 runs but the Paddy Foleys could only score 160 in return. Arbab Mohammed was the star bowler for the Kytes with 4 wickets, adding to his 23 runs he scored during the Kytes' innings.
As reported in the last issue, the PFC underwent a complete revamp this year to accommodate 8 teams. The members participating this year are:
Tokyo Wombats CC (2007 winners)
Shizuoka Kytes CC
Tokyo Britsh Embassy CC
Tokyo Indian Engineers CC
Adore CC
CC of Nagoya
Paddy Foley’s CC (The oldest Tokyo Irish Pub Cricket Club)
Tokyo Giants CC
A brief history of the PFC is available here.
Robert-Gills Martineau reports:
The Junior Cricket Development Program will be the 4th year this year. I
continue to coach at Miwa Primary while Peter Timmings will start his third year
at Tokoha Primary. I helped Peter start everything 2 years ago. Peter has
achieved great progress with his program on his own last year. Ryunan Primary
will also start a club this year thanks to Mrs. Kazuko Nishida who transferred
there from Miwa Primary. It has been decided that We shall have an interschool
cricket day in the Fall this year in Shizuoka.
In a major achievement by us, the Japanese board of Education has decided that When the National Sports Meet will be organized in Shizuoka Prefecture in 2 years time, cricket will be featured as a demonstration sport!
Results as of March 31:
There were a few changes in the ranking last month based on the few friendly
matches played in March.
Here is the list of the top 10 teams(last month's ranking in brackets):
1 Tokyo Giants (1)
2 Osaka Tigers (2)
3 Wyverns (4)
4 YC&AC (5)
5 Serendip (5)
6 Tokyo Wombats (3)
7 MAX (8)
8 Kansai Fighters (9)
9 KRAC (11)
10 Osaka Bulldogs (10)
See the full list here.
Here is the last poll result:
The Australians copped with the flak in Sydney as much as they did simply
because it was Australia. Had it been between India and any other country, the
criticism would have been milder. Do you agree?
Yes 80%
No 0%
Somewhat 20%
Take the new poll:
In your opinion what should the the IPL and ICL players choose?
Country (and less money)
Financial Security
I liked the new addition to dictionary section in the last issue. Very funny!
- Bobby Philips
No happy 'families' in this bitter Asia squabble
Pakistan quick is slow to recognise his disgrace
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.
"You don't make any changes in this club, players don't make any changes. It's me who make the changes" Middlesex captain Mark Ramprakash to the then coach John Buchchanan.
1. The First Test between Young Sri Lanka and Young England at Colombo in
1987 was held up when a large iguana crept across the wicket.
2. Rawl Lewis of the West Indies whose three match test career saw a bowling
average of 318 at a strike rate of 585 has the worst bowling figures in Test
history. However, Roger Wijesuriya of Sri Lanka has the worst strike rate of 586
- though he has a better average of 294.
That's all in this edition!