Hello and welcome to this edition of the I.E.C.C. Newsletter.
As The KCL 2008 started with a bang, literally, when in the first match, Al
Karam's Chula Rodrigo banged a short one in, which, the Toyama captain,
Rizwan Mohammed, tried pull but only succeeded in not connecting it and ended up
in the hospital with a broken nose. The match was eventually won
by Al Karam. Toyama CC: 146 (30 overs) (Amjad Mirza, 3/15) Al Karam CC: 146/2
(15.1 overs) (Hanif Mohammad, 80*; Javed Niazi, 32*). In other
matches so far, new comers Indian Tigers nearly pulled off a coup in their first
match when they had the YC&AC at 92/5 at one stage. A couple of
lives granted to the YC&AC batsmen at that stage helped them post a formidable
257/8. The Tigers, however, could only manage 157 in their chase.
In the third match, the Indian Engineers defeated Shizuoka Kytes by 3 wickets.
In Kansai, the Kansai Cup kicked off as well with various matches being played
in the month of April. Watch this space for more updates.
For Latest results are available here.
Nearly half of the Australian cricketers contracted with their
board are willing to give up their international careers for
playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) or its rival Indian
Cricket League (ICL), a survey conducted by the country's
Players' Association has revealed.
###
A study by the St Andrews University in Britain has revealed
that successful Test cricketers have an average life expectancy
of 80 years – they are happier because of the acclaim they have
received and are therefore less likely to suffer from illness
even in old age. The researchers at the university came to the
conclusion after looking at 418 cricketers who had played for
England between 1876, when the first Test match was played, and
1963. The average life expectancy for those who played more than
25 Tests was 77.95, compared with 73.25 years for the others,
found the study which considered players' social backgrounds,
that influences how long people live
###
The troubled Olympic torch relay run in India suffered yet
another jolt with Sachin Tendulkar pulling out of the event
a day before the event on medical grounds. The master batsman
has been advised by his IPL team physio A Ijaz not to take part
in the run in view of his groin injury, sources close to Mumbai
Indians team said.
###
Federation of International Cricketers' Association (FICA) has
warned that the ICC may be faced with the biggest players'
revolt in the history of the game if it continues to be
"paralysed" by the BCCI and remains "incompetent" in its
handling of issues facing the sport. FICA's international legal
adviser Ian Smith said the resentment among the players against
the ICC's handling of affairs is so strong that they are ready
to break ranks and run the show themselves
###
Security officials posted at the Multan stadium for the fourth
ODI between Pakistan and Bangladesh evicted a man trying to enter
the host team's dressing room posing as senior batsman Mohammad
Yousuf. Mohammad Shafiq, who has a striking resemblance of Yousuf
also styled himself on the batsman with the same flowing beard and
cap.
###
The Vijay Mallya-owned Bangalore Royal Challengers of the IPL have
employed Pompom-wielding cheerleaders from the United States. They
roped in "Washington Redskins Cheerleaders" to be its official
cheerleaders for the first four matches of the tournament. According
to the Redskins' website, 12 of their cheerleaders and two
choreographers will spend 18 days touring the country and
performing at major events, including the first four games of the
Bangalore IPL team.
###
The taxman is knocking on the BCCI's door on IPL windfall they earn
under "business auxiliary service(BAS)". Under the franchise model,
the franchisees have to pay 10 per cent of the bid amount every year
to BCCI, as a franchisee fee. With the auction fetching BCCI $723.59
million, BCCI will get $72.36 million each year. Since players, too,
are not playing for the country, their purchase fees would be liable
to service tax again under BAS. Broadcasting rights for 10 years went
for over $1 billion in addition to their sale of time slots for ads.
Naming Pepsi as the IPL official drink for five years went for a fee
of $12.5 million in addition to the branding of stumps in DLF name.
So the taxman is also laughing on his way to the bank.
###
Source: Various web and print media.
We recently found out that this Newsletter(issue #43) was cited as external
resource in wikipedia for the
definition of
kilikit.
For a detailed information on kilikit, a Samoan national cricket festival, read
our Issue# 43.
Ian Gason Reports:
The 21st Chiang Mai Sixes was held recently and again the Tokyo Wombats made the
tour- all in the name of promoting Japanese cricket, of course.
Japan's World Cricket League participation (Jersey, May/June) cost them 2
players, so re-inforcements were called in: Robin, from Somerset via
Chiang Mai, and Sri Lankan Test player Ravindra Pushpakamara. "Pushy" provided
some big hitting and one memorable moment when a hard night saw him
walking a single, only to be run out when a Thai lad's return from cow-corner
rolled into the stumps! Pushy's heavyweight support was matched by
internationals such as Trevor Chappell, Amal Silva and a few ex-Bangladeshi
players too, and Tokyo early losses saw them qualify for the Bowl, 3rd
of 4 divisions.
Running around Chiang Mai's many bars in traditional Japanese yukatas, and other
nocturnal activities which hark to an era before dietitians and
conditioning coaches, left the Tokyo Wombats in less the prime condition.
Despite the 8am start, TW won their semi-final on the last ball and took
on Amal Silva's Silva Stars in the final. A late flurry of runs saw TW post 82,
a challenging score. Sadly, for the 2nd time in a row, TW stumbled
on the final hurdle, after an errant opening over handed Silva Stars 42 runs!
The loss hardly dented the memories of another fantastic week in Thailand.
Chiang Mai Sixes is one of many 6s in Asia, all working on the theme of
making friends through playing cricket. Thanks to the organisers and sponsors,
and we will see you all next year!
Photos: http://www.tokyowombats.com/gallery.html
http://www.cricketsixes.com/index.htm
The ICC EAP office has reconstituted the EAP Umpires Panel and Supplementary
Umpires Panel recently, the first revision since it was first formed in
2005. The Umpires Panel includes two of Japan's most experienced and widely
respected umpires, Neil Harrison and Anton McCloy. While McCloy was part of the
Umpires Panel since its inception, for Harrison this a promotion from the
Supplementary Panel. The Supplementary Umpires Panel included Japan's Chris
Thurgate for the first time.
Here is the list of the Panels:
2008 EAP Umpires Panel
Geoff Clelland (Vanuatu)
Clive Elly (PNG)
Shahul Hameed (Indonesia)
Neil Harrison (Japan)
Grant Johnston (Vanuatu)
Anton McCloy (Japan)
Lakani Oala (PNG)
2008 EAP Supplementary Umpires Panel
Sachin Gopalakrishnan (Indonesia)
Ioane Henry (Cook Islands)
Raka Ipi (PNG)
Nigel Morrison (Vanuatu)
Peter Poulos (Samoa)
Walesi Soqoiwasa (Fiji)
Chris Thurgate (Japan)
While there are no EAP tournaments scheduled for 2008, both the panel members
will be considered for other tournaments including ICC World Cricket League
events and domestic competitions in Australia and New Zealand. The ICC Associate
& Affiliate International Umpires Panel was established in 2005 and umpires on
this panel officiate in ODIs involving Associate members, Intercontinental Cup
matches and other ICC events such as the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup. Brian
Aldridge of New Zealand and New Zealand Cricket provides a lot of resources to
assist the development of panel
members with the delivery of Introduction and Level 1 Umpiring Courses.
Results as of April 30:
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 YC&AC (4)
4 Wyverns (3)
5 Serendip (5)
6 MAX (7)
7 Kansai Fighters (8)
8 Tokyo Wombats (6)
9 Al Karam (11)
9 KRAC (9)
10 Osaka Bulldogs (10)
See the full list here.
Here is the last poll result:
In your opinion what should the the IPL and ICL players choose?
Country (and less money) - 71%
Financial Security - 29%
Take the new poll:
Judging by the media coverage IPL receives, do you think IPL has long term
prospects or will it be short-lived?
I liked the new addition to dictionary section in the last issue. Very funny!
- Bobby Philips
Andrew Symonds pushes his coach during a shake hand session
Mainichi Shimbum report on Japanese Cricket
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.
"It was a shake hand at the wrong place" - Sreeshant about the alleged slap by Harbhajan Singh.
1. In ODIs, Pakistan's Saeed Anwar holds the record for hundreds in
successive innings(4). In Tests, Sanath Jayasuriya and Brian Lara share the
record with 3 hundreds in 3 innings.
2. In Tests, Don Bradman scored back-to-back hundreds on as many as nine
consecutive Tests - easily the best effort by any batsman so far.
That's all in this edition!