Hello and welcome to this edition of the I.E.C.C. Newsletter.
Time to get started
This is the time of the year when pre-season activities of cricket, such as teams recruiting members, tournament committees plan for the upcoming season and clubs get started on ground reservations as well as other resource planning etc. get started. And indeed they have. KCL is said to be planning to hold its AGM this month or early next month while the JCA has started sending out invitations for the new season. While the JCA league may have the same number of teams as it had last year, it may be likely that KCL may see their numbers drop by one or two after one or two teams dropped hints that they may either withdraw or put in a joint teams with other teams. It is not quite clear who the teams are or the reasons behind it but the talk of joint teams indicate a lack of available players to form a full team. Additionally, it is quite apparent that some of the teams are aging with almost no new faces inducted in the past few years. We hope that as the seasons warms up we will see more teams springing up and a lively tournament may be played out.
Indian Engineers on Twitter
Follow the Engineers at http://twitter.com/ieccjapan/ for live match updates and other cricket updates.
New Zealand's Tim Southee was accused of behaving in a lewd manner towards
a female co-passenger when he took her to his seat at the business class
cubicle after having drinks together in the flight from Sydney to Dubai en route
to Mumbai. Another passenger on the Emirates flight described the incident
between Southee and the woman as the "worst possible sort of lewd behaviour".
Team manager Dave Currie said the reports were incorrect and that the woman
didn't lodge a complaint. He said the matter has been closed. "At some stage
she came to Tim's seat and perhaps spent a maximum of 30 seconds with Tim,
and there may well have been, dare I say it, a kiss on the cheek, but that was
it.
She went back to her seat, and Tim is adamant nothing inappropriate, nothing
untoward, occurred," said New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan.
###
Cricket has become an unlikely saviour for a bunch of Los Angeles gangsters who
have turned to the game for salvation from violence. This unusual team is all
set to
tour Australia in February. This 12 unlikely cricketers from Compton, in Los
Angeles
County, began their cricketing journey in a parking lot with trash cans for
stumps
more than a decade ago, according to a feature in the Times, London. Now they
will
take on Aussie teams in Melbourneand Sydney. The Compton Cricket Club, known
as The Homies and The Popz, have already toured England thrice, and even crossed
swords with cricket legend Shane Warne at Lord's. 'I guess you could say we
switched our guns for bats," a formerly convicted mechanic said. 'I probably
woulda
ended up in jail if I didn't play cricket. Or worse. But now we're making
cricket
history. I'm looking forward to Australia.' 'When I played my first game, I saw
the
difference between soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, which all have
sportsmanship rules, but don't have an etiquette like cricket. In cricket, you
don't
argue with the umpire, you don't show dissent, you don't ridicule your
opponents, or
your team-mates if they make a mistake. Cricket teaches you to play the game in
a
respectful manner. It teaches you discipline. And I believe that when the
players go
beyond the boundary, they live a better life with their family, their siblings,
the
police.' A plumber who was in and out of juvenile prison, said of cricket: 'At
first
I wasn't so sure. I remember thinking it sucks that you've got to give all
authority
to the umpire, because what if he messes up? I was like you think I'm gonna bow
down
to him and do whatever he says? Yeah right. But after a while you think about
it.
And it helps to use those rules in real life, because in real life you go
through so
many things. You can't go arguing and fighting about every bad decision that's
made.
You gotta learn to live with it sometimes.'
###
A former IPS officer-turned-lawyer Y P Singh alleged that Mumbai's Wankhede
Stadium,
which will host three World Cup matches, including the final, do not conform to
safety standards. The stands' height has been increased illegally from 16 metres
to
29 metres without conforming to the rules of having compulsory open space, he
alleged. "There is zero open space, which is a risk at the stadium, due to which
if
there is a problem of a fire or a bomb blast, then there could be a catastrophe,
as
the spectators cannot be evacuated quickly. "People will not be safe if there is
any
incident in the stadium. The stands have to be evacuated in two minutes, but it
will
take at least half an hour," claimed Singh. He also said that there is no
provision
for open space, and in case of an emergency no fire brigade engine would be able
to
reach the stadium.
###
Singer Bryan Adams will perform at the opening ceremony for the ICC World Cup to
be held in Dhaka. A television audience of 200 million people will get to watch
the
performance. The performance, scheduled for February 17, will mark the fag end
of
Adams' tour of India that begins February 11th in Pune. And Adams will remain
one
more day in Dhaka for a special acoustic concert featuring songs from his
current
CD, Bare Bones, before finishing up this leg of the tour in Kathmandu, Nepal.
###
Cricket Canada has urged the International Cricket Council to help its three
Pakistan-born players obtain visas to enter India for the World Cup, which gets
underway in the sub-continent on February 19. Vice-captain Rizwan Cheema,
Khurram Chohan and Hamza Tariq are still awaiting visas. Cricket Canada is
hoping the ICC would alter the tournament schedule, which sees Canada playing
four of their six group games in India. The Canadian team wants get the games to
move Bangladesh and Sri Lanka if visa woes continue for their players. Cricket
Canada president Ranjit Saini said all efforts should be made to solve the
problem
immediately.
###
Tournament Director of World Cup and Indian Cricket Board's CAO Ratnakar
Shetty today admitted that World Cup fixtures have been made in order to
favour co-hosts Team India and other top teams make it to the knock-out stage.
Shetty also said that organisers did not want to take a risk with the format
unlike
2007 when India and Pakistan made exit in the opening round. Asked whether lot
of matches featuring minnows have been scheduled in order to tweak it in favour
of
India, Shetty replied, "I will not be honest if I say no. Economically, we all
know
that India is the financial powerhouse of cricket. The exit of India and
Pakistan
from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 was a disaster for the tournament. The
sponsors,
broadcasters, tour operators, West Indies board - all lost a lot of money,"
Shetty s
aid. "The format was changed in such a way that it gives all the top teams a
chance
to compete. We have gone back to the same format that was used in 1996," he told
espnstar.com.
###
Next week the ICC Europe Men’s Academy gets underway at the ICC Global Cricket
Academy (ICC GCA) in Dubai Sports City; where 12 of Europe’s finest young
cricketers will embark on a specialised programme with several leading coaches
including that of ex-England Assistant coach Matthew Maynard. The facilities
include
turf and indoor pitches which replicate the varying playing surfaces found in
cricketing nations around the world and an integrated technology suite
comprising
of digital data capture, video and digital analysis providing real-time
playback.
The ICC Europe coaching team led by Academy head coach Maynard will deliver a
multi dimensional programme of cricket coaching and education with assistance
from the renowned ICC GCA academy director, Rod Marsh and coach Dayle
Hadlee.
###
MCC has awarded The Most Reverend Desmond TuTu, and former England and
Lancashire all-rounder, Andrew Flintoff, Honorary Life Membership of the Club.
The Most Reverend Desmond TuTu rose to prominence in the 1980s with his
vigorous anti-apartheid activism in South Africa. He was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1984 and became the first black South African Anglican
Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986. Widely known as a cricket enthusiast,
Dr TuTu was the first speaker to be drawn from outside the circle of
international
cricket to deliver the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture in 2008. His
invitation to Honorary Life Membership further acknowledges his tireless work
for
truth and justice in all walks of life, and accompanies over fifty honorary
degrees
from academic institutions around the world.
###
Two persons sustained "minor" injuries when a portion of a compound wall caved
in
at M A Chidambaram stadium here on Wednesday during sale of tickets for the
2011 ICC cricket World Cup matches on February 20, police said. The incident
occurred following a melee amongst the ticket-seekers, they said. TNCA officials
described the incident as "minor" and said ticket sales were not disrupted due
to
the mishap. They said about 50 people of the nearly 3,000-odd strong crowd
suddenly pushed towards the wall, resulting in a portion of it caving in.
Comment: This is the second report of accidents involving the sale of
ticket.
Earlier in Bangladesh police had to use force to keep the order.
###
Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden has re-opened a seven-year-old
controversy by claiming that ex-India captain Sourav Ganguly and off-spinner
Harbhajan Singh chickened out of the series-deciding 2004 Nagpur Test due to
a fear of the green-top pitch there. In his autobiography 'Standing My Ground',
Hayden writes that the Australians felt at that time that the nature of the
pitch
had led to the sudden withdrawal of Ganguly and Harbhajan from the Test,
which the visitors eventually won to clinch a historic series win. "The curator,
a famously single-minded character with no love of the Indian hierarchy, ignored
pleas to shave the deck and left a healthy covering of grass. It reminded me of
Gabba (In Brisbane). To have that sort of wicket for the deciding Test of an
away series - particularly in India - was the most pleasant surprise
imaginable,"
Hayden wrote. "When Ganguly and Harbhajan went out to see the deck a couple
of days before the game, they looked like farmers inspecting crops after a hail
storm. We predicted neither would play, and they did not. Ganguly withdrew with
a leg-muscle injury that flared up suddenly, and Harbhajan had an even more
sudden dose of food poisoning. We put their ailments down to acute cases
of 'greentrackitis', where you develop a severe intolerance to green wickets
likely to give you nothing as a spin bowler and plenty of headaches as a
batsman," wrote Hayden, who retired from international cricket in 2009.
###
Source: Various web and print media
Afghanistan emerges ACC U19 Elite champions
Afghanistan won the ACC U19 Elite Cup tournament after beating Nepal by 61 runs
at the Thailand Cricket Ground in Bangkok. Afghanistan opted to bat first and
posted 200 for nine in its 50 overs. In its reply, Nepal was bowled out for 139
in 43.1 overs. Earlier, thanks to Man of the Match Pradeep Airee's 5-43 Nepal
managed to restrict Afghanistan. Mohibullah Paak (36 not out), Noorulhaq
Malekzai (34) were the major contributors for Afghanistan. In the chase it was
once again down to Airee (59) as Nepal lost wickets at regular intervals and
eventually lost the game.
PNG Win Under 19 Cricket Trophy; Japan has one win
PNG have defeated Vanuatu by 5 wickets to take out the ICC East-Asia Pacific
Under 19 Cricket Trophy at the Maroochydore Cricket Club recently. Indonesia
also walk away from the tournament with a victory after surviving some nervous
moments to defeat Japan by 2 wickets. Vanuatu won the toss and elected to bat on
a fine Sunshine Coast morning. For the first 15 overs it appeared as though they
had made the right decision as Callum Blake and Jaxies Samuel saw off the
opening bowlers on their way to a partnership of 35.
Vanuatu 105-10, 39.2 overs (K Kenneth 29, C Blake 22; C Kent 3-26)
PNG 106-5, 35.2 overs (D Bau 28; J Samuel 3-36) PNG won by 5 wickets
Japan 116-10, 41.1 overs (T Takada 42; R Rubbi 4-24)
Indonesia 117-8, 37.2 overs (Muhaddis 22; R Kano 3-26) Indonesia won by 2
wickets
Japan had its moment of glory when they defeated Fiji by 24 runs on the opening
day of the tournament. Japan cautiously saw out their 50 overs to finish with a
score of 9-138 thanks to some patient batting from Takumi Nomura who top scored
with 34. For Fiji Noa Acawei was outstanding with the ball finishing with
figures of 5-29 off his 10 overs. "We really attacked well in the field today,"
said Japan captain Raheel Kano. "I think that was probably what won us the
game." In reply Japan applied terrific pressure throughout the innings denying
Fiji any opportunity to put together an extended partnership. Only Toko Bogidrau
(29) and Josefa Gauna (20) kept Fiji in the contest until man off the match
Raheel Kano cleaned up the tail in quick succession to have Fiji all out for
114.
Results as of January 31:
There is no change in rankings this month. Here is the latest top 10 (last
month's ranking in brackets):
1 Lalazar (1)
2 Tokyo Giants (2)
3 Tokyo Wombats (3)
4 Al Karam (4)
4 Adore (5)
5 Indian Engineers (5)
6 Serendib (7)
7 Wyverns (7)
8 Shizuoka Kytes (8)
9 MAX (10)
10 YC&AC (11)
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.
Is Australia on decline like the West Indies experienced?
Yes 60%
No 20%
Can't say 20%
Take the new poll:
Who is your favourite to win the World Cup?
Visit our home page today to vote!
Best of the Web
Top batmaker Gray-Nicolls is unbeat about the challenges facing the British
family business - hopefully with the help of Ashes success.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
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.
I play my cricket like a boxer" - India's Yusuf Pathan.
India's Gautam Gambhir and West Indian legend Vivian Richards' share the world record of most fifties (11) in consecutive Tests.
That's all in this edition ! !