When he first made his debut against Australia, he was unfortunately given out on 96, missing out on a debut hundred, only one thing was known at that time and that he has promise. Little did he knew that this lad would decimate the attacks world over and become the first Australian batsman to pass the 10,000-run mark in both Test and one-day international cricket. As Ponting Ricky Ponting's ascended to the exclusive 10,000-run club, one just wondered looking at his reaction whether he is unaware of this milestone. .Only Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar have previously posted 10,000 runs in two forms of the game, and both are widely recognized as the greatest batsmen to have represented their countries. That is sufficient to give an idea of what Ponting has acheived

Commended by Academy coach Rod Marsh as the best teenage batsman he had ever seen, Ricky Ponting began with Tasmania at 17 and reached international standards at a young age for a batsman, making his One Day International and Test debuts in 1995 at the age of 20. However, the fairytale rise to the top was not unhindered though. Surely though, it has again sparked a debate which gets more contentious as he continues to pile on heaps of runs at international level

Is he the second best in the all time test annals?
Closer look at this career so far makes an interesting reading. The first half saw him coming in at number six, with not much to offer as he was more often than not batting with the tail and often plagued by disciplinary issues. With the retirement of fellow Tasmanian David Boon, Ponting was elevated to the No.3 position in the Test team for the series against the West Indies in 1996-97 in Australia. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands after initial hiccups. After his first 30 Tests in just under four years his average was a modest 38.62, and after rising into the mid-40s had dipped again to 40.50 after 45 Tests. Since then the average has consistently risen; his averages in recent calendar years are 70.93 in 2002, 100.20 in 2003, 41.00 in 2004, 67.13 in 2005 and 88.86 in 2006 38.6in 2007 and 61.12 in 2008 so far.
To the times in the 1990s there were off-field indiscretions that led him once to admit publicly to an alcohol problem He has had his setbacks, against probing seam attacks and high-class finger-spin, which, when out of form, he plays with hard hands, not to mention to be an LBW candidate early on, as he tries to play across the line, .Not only he has lived through all this but also overcame the issues and became the protagonist of one of Australia's most successful teams. Champion players adapt quickly and learn from their mistakes and emerge as better players with every adversity. Having lost his place in the team several times due to lack of form and discipline issues and with many lessons learned, Ponting's growing maturity was recognized by the CA when he saw off competition from Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist to succeed Steve Waugh as Australia's one-day leader early in 2002. Ponting led the successful 2003 World Cup campaign from the front, clouting 140 not out in the final, and acceded to the Test crown when Waugh finally stepped down early in 2004.
He became the first Australian captain since Allan Border in 1986-87 to taste defeat in an Ashes series. The result hurt and the pain lingered throughout the next summer, but he regrouped to start an amazing streak of 16 wins in 17 Tests, culminating in the 5-0 demolition of England to regain the urn in the most emphatic way. Ponting was Man of the Series as Australia became the first team in 86 years to achieve an Ashes cleansweep and his 576 runs at 82.28 confirmed him as the game's modern master. The summer was tarnished slightly when England handed Australia their first tri-series finals loss for 14 years and he missed the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy defeat with a back injury. Each lowlight was quickly forgotten as he ensured a third consecutive World Cup win and his second as an undefeated captain.
Steve Waugh believes his successor will hold the game's run-scoring record when he retires. The world's leading stroke player, he finished 2005 with 1544 runs and posted twin hundreds three times in five months, joining Sunil Gavaskar on as the only other man to achieve the feat, and the double effort in his 100th Test at the SCG was magnificent. He followed up with another 1333 runs in 2006 and owns more centuries than anyone but Sachin, Brian and Sunny. Frighteningly, he is far from finished.
One days and Tests alike, Ponting dominance grew, as the years went by .The great and perhaps the single most critical factor was his ability to attack the oppositions into submission and back his strengths He has scored over 10,000 Test runs at an average near 60, but since the February 2002 tour of South Africa (when he was elevated to the ODI team captaincy) he has scored 24 of his Test centuries and averaged above 74, leading to comparisons with Sir Donald Bradman.
Following the England tour, Ponting retained the captaincy and began a rich run of batting form. In the 2005-06 season, he scored a century in both innings of a Test match three times and became the first player to score a century in each innings of his 100th Test match. He is only the second player (after Sunil Gavaskar) to score centuries in both innings of a Test match 3 times and the first to do so in a single season. In the first game of the 2007 World cup he made 113 runs against Scotland.
Most significantly he has made a great impact with his batting .In the wins, he averages 64.38, which is decorated by 27 centuries .And add to his role to effecting a run outs with direct hits and his safe pair of hands in the slips .
Just like grades in the management course indicate little about the managerial acumen, statistics are only part of what makes a great player, but if Ponting (59.13) continues on his current run riot, he will soon pass South Africa's Graeme Pollock (60.97) as the owner of the second-best batting average in Test history.Bradman, however, continues to stand apart from the rest in the annals of Test cricket with a record of 6,996 runs in 52 Tests at an average of 99.94
At 34, he is at the acme and is a serious threat to every major Australian record barring the magical Bradman's average of 99.94 and Hayden's highest score of 380.howver Ponting will sit pretty between Sir Don bradman and the all time great Australian batsman.
Critics might then take a recluse to fact that these days averages now are probably five to seven runs higher than they used to be as boundaries have been brought in . Only looks susceptible against quality finger spin, as he suffers in the subcontinent, some feel it’s the final frontier he is yet to conquer. However nobody can dispute his insatiable appetite for runs and ability to convert the starts into big centuries with exceptional consistency.
Given all the facts and the enormous progress he has made taking every adversity in his stride , we must congratulate Ponting for this rare feat .It is the time to applaud , celebrate and take notice of one of the modern greats of the game as the golden 13-year period that has accounted for many Australian victories and every major trophy continues.

Banned !

Revolution in the cricket is not unheard of and the bats haven’t remained far behind too in the race. Certainly, these days even mishits and edges clear the fence comfortably for a six. This is enough to give an idea of the strength of the modern bats.
With the International cricket chiefs have forbidden hi-tech cricket bats, to provide an equal battle between the ball and bat. Bowlers around the world will get a breather, with the odds highly tilted in favor of batsman. The move follows the development of bats that use materials such as graphite and titanium in their lightweight handles, giving extra power to batsmen. “The new rule changes will ensure bat handles are made with cane, wood, twine and rubber”, according to a statement from the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)
The new laws, passed with overwhelming 98.6 percent support, were designed to give a good contest between bat and ball, amidst complains that the game is becoming predictable and has lost the “glorious uncertainty” which it is famous for .In recent times, the game has been transformed completely with unprecedented money pumped, pitches made much more batsman friendly, the boundaries becoming shorter. Whether or not, the extra graphite sticker provides additional strength is uncertain.
However, with increased fitness and emphasis on training methods , the modern batsmen has become fitter and have enough strength to clear the boundary , with the game seeing more hard hitters of the cricket ball than ever .How much of a difference it makes to cricket remains to be seen though .
Interestingly, the graphite coated bats rose into prominence with Ponting hitting the purple patch ,scoring 1,544 Test runs at an average of 67.13 in 2005 - the second highest calendar year tally in history - then opened 2006 with twin centuries in Sydney in his 100th Test. Ponting had run into rough weather, when the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was investigating if his bat was complying with the rules of the game.
In addition to setting out the materials that can be used in bat handles, the new laws also state that the handle cannot exceed 52 percent of the bat's total length. This will have an impact on the batman using to long handle to greater effect, which is an integral part of run feast we see today. It also restricts the thickness of materials that can be used to protect and repair bats. So, we are going to see less strapping over the blade now .
Kookaburra, the manufacturer maintains that the graphite covering acts as a protection against splitting, yorker damage, toe damage. In stark contrast, Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs, who use Gunn and Moore bats have no graphite backings. And still when they play the shots it stays hit .The debate of the graphite coating adds rigidity and strength to the bat is not fully substantiated as the MCC has made no assessment of the power of the bat with graphite coating.
When Dennis Lillee walked out in the middle against England at Perth 29 years ago with an aluminium bat, he was soon told to send it back again. Lillee faced only four deliveries before concern was expressed about the condition of the ball and he was forced to switch to a traditional willow. Unlike Lillee's bat, however, the ball-striking face of the blade is unadulterated wood.
The bowlers meanwhile have a reason to smile.

Track Statistics!


They say the matches are won in the mind and by playing hard competitive cricket. Pitches really do not matter much.

Is it?

In the recently concluded series pitches were different on all three occasions.
Starting the first match with a perfect placid track which became memorable with Sehwags triple century , ended in tame draw , then came the strip where the South African pacemen exploited the conditions which are very similar to what they find at home .So much so that Indians were bundled before lunch on the first day with the match producing the result in three days .There was an anticipation the Kanpur track will be definitely a turning one giving the advantage to the hosts .On the first day it showed signs of up and down with the ball keeping low in the first session itself , really testing the batsman’s judgment about the bounce and adjustment that he is willing to make .

India had to win this game to square the series and hence there was an anxiety to produce a track to suit the hosts. India went into the game relying on their strength that is spin and again almost got into the jail, had Ganguly not played one of his best innings and tail wagging with India gaining a decisive lead
This series also showed Test cricket is all about wining as many as sessions as you can.
Alternately, one bad session can ruin the entire good work done, with South Africa suffering the fate in the last test.
There is no doubt that the home team would like to have the first mover advantage by preparing a track which would suit them .. More often than not captains, coaches and if that is not enough, the media with the traveling team joins in to add fuel to the fire. The touring team should always be prepared for this reality

However ,one must give credit to the Smith for not complaining one bit about the surfaces they got which is in stark contrast to Ricky Ponting’s team which lost the Mumbai test on a dustbowl

Well played South Africa!

Cricket Cricket Everywhere!!

Come April18th, and a new era will be ushered, as the Indian Premier League (IPL) will take the center stage, and with the sport poised to reshape its future .
The Twenty20 competition, promoted by the Indian cricket board featuring stars from world over, has eight teams bought by franchises. Apart from the usual glitter, what it has certainly done is opened avenues for fringe players to make a mark and accomplish financial security.

Playing Test cricket is the cherished dream for most of the players. But now any boy being raised in Kolkata's streets or the chawls of Mumbai will now aim at fighting his way out by playing cricket of 20 overs per side. This revolution has something for every stakeholder involved . The tournament marks the first time that international cricketers will put aside national allegiances to play for privately-owned and city-based teams. This was bound to happen when cricket boards and ICC make massive money and leave the cricketers impoverished with a meager percentage.

Sure! Cricket rules the roost in the subcontinent and hockey as a national sport can be best described as forlorn territory. But does that mean ODIs will strangulate as Test cricket did when the limited over format was first introduced. The emerged money spinner is T20 format with unprecedented investments from all quarters. This will shift the attention completely, with high profile players willing to retire to feature in the multi-million dollar earning potential . This will catalyze a pattern in which players in their prime will opt out of their national sides .Consequently , the 50 over game will be at risk .
Does the ICC have the say in ensuring player do not succumb to tempting contracts.

Where is key to resolve this standoff? The supreme body would have to study and respect the history of the game .In the past, it tried to resist World Series Cricket and lost the battle of the Australian television rights to Kerry Packer. Mere resistance just for namesake would just delay the inevitable i.e. loosing the battle to private entrepreneurs .There is a distinct possibility that too much cricket can be boring and suddenly cricket itself becoming its own enemy .Probably there could be a official duration allocated period for Twenty20 tournaments, leaving enough time to meet rigors of 50-over competitions and tests to be contested between the traditional members .Not only will it ensure in getting the itinerary right but also result in offering greater options for the viewers and players creating a Win -Win situation.

Whether or not it is run away hit or an eye opener that nationalism will reign supreme, only time will tell.
Meanwhile, it’s a huge opportunity for ICC to preserve the hen which lays golden eggs!

Making it Big!

Prima facie , the breed fast bowler evokes images of being an aggressive , strongly built with a teasing attitude who is not ready to give an inch .Add to it the tendency to give a stare for every shot hit by the batsman, you have a mould of a fast bowler ready to make life miserable for batsman . The description doesn’t quite match with Ishant Sharma though.
Blessed with a good height, lanky, with tarzensque hairstyle he brings back memories of Javagal Srinath of 1992, when he first broke into the international circuit.


The youngster reposed the faith, the selectors showed in him by picking up wickets of the front line batsman regularly on the tour down under.

The one thing that sets him apart from the present crop of bowlers is the pace at which he moves the ball either ways at speed consistently in excess of 140 Km/h which makes the batsman hurry onto their shots .Clearly, he adapted quickly to the Australian conditions well and pitched the ball up, when a young lad would be tempted to pepper the batsman with short pitch stuff. The height helps him to extract disconcerting bounce from the surface. The run up looks smooth and often one sees the possibility of using the shoulders for getting the ball to jump. As he comes over the wicket and almost a similar style as the Javagal Srinath , he plants doubts in the mind of the batsman whether to leave or to play , and induces the batsman to make mistake . Given the promise that he presents, India have to handle Ishant with care , as one would be tempted to play in every single game .

At the MCG, the cricket lovers watched exhibition of quality fast bowling to the world’s best batsman, Ponting. The spell he bowled to Ricky Ponting was clearly one of the best in quite some time
where troubled him with his immaculate line and angle Ponting was clueless with the deliveries almost pitching at the same spot, with some holding its line and some darting back in towards him .He scratched his way through for a 9 over spell before nicking one to Dravid .What was heartening to see the stamina and the maturity in line and length.
He is only 19, and it is amazing that he is not overawed by the occasion of playing for India .As the time progresses developing a delivery leaving the batsman would make him more lethal .But as his career shapes up, he will have to learn the finer aspects of fast bowling, using the crease judiciously and using the slower ball as a potent weapon, to add variety to his repertoire
Looks like the spin bowlers paradise and land of elegant batsman has got a new exciting fast bowler.
Ishant will have to be carefully nurtured and shielded against huge expectations and injuries
There have been more gains for India on the tour of Australia. The injured Rudra Pratap Singh bowled with great spirit in the Test series. Like Ishant, he can surprise batsmen with unexpected bounce.Zaheer Khan, nursing an injury, is back in with a vengeance and Munaf would only improve from here on.
India’s pace attack which was considered as a Achilles’ heel before the tour began has unraveled a young fast bowler, ready to take on the mantle of a strike bowler. Indian cricket is poised at an interesting juncture with a potent pace attack and healthy competition for places

Shaun Tait decided to quit cricket indefinitely at the age of 24, sounds hard to believe when he should be thinking of giving sleepless nights to batsman around the world .To give credit to Tait he indeed was honest to admit that the motivation has dipped and needed time to rejuvenate. In recent years, Tait has undergone shoulder and elbow surgery as well as suffered a range of hamstring and lower back injuries which have been painful and difficult to overcome.
Constant glare from the media, pressure to perform, recurring injuries and lesser time to unwind have a telling effect on international cricketers and unfortunately more applicable in Tait’s case. Strangely enough, India which is seen as cauldron of expectation because of sheer appeal of the game has not had any victim of the too much cricket or even mental illness.
Gone are the days when an international side used to play 15 ODIs and fewer tests. The modern player doesn't play Ranji or domestic cricket. It has been replaced by an endless round of international matches, so they don't get a chance to unwind. It means players are being worked into the ground and the burden of playing non-stop cricket is taking its toll. While their can be no obvious symptoms, the performance starts to drop and then escape looks an easy option.
Moreover, the amount of cricket that is being played not only poses threat to physical and mental drainage but also runs the risk of getting bored with having too much cricket to watch. In the past players like Boycott, Trescothick, Harmison has had a taste of stress of it in varying measures
It also calls for an unoblivious attitude from the ICC. International cricket brings in million dollars and there is no way the game's administrators will stop their money-grabbing ways. Sure there are commercial interests , but the tight rope walk would have to be done if more international cricketer will have to be protected from burn out . Hence it is imperative for Cricket administrators to take a proactive step sooner than later
What remains to be seen is whether the decision to pack away his kitbag was the right one for Tait. One just gets the feeling that Tait will come more focused and much more improved cricketer post the break .

While the entire cricketing fraternity was showering rich accolades on Adam
Gilchrist, cricket lovers around the world were shocked by his decision to quit international cricket . The Adelaide Oval looked like an arena where he would run the show, that he exhibited for nearly a decade one last time.

Undoubtedly, Adam Gilchrist was the most breathtaking cricketer of his generation combining freedom to play strokes and entertainment to the public matched by very few at the highest level. Irrespective of the clothing Adam Gilchrist wore he had a very uncomplicated “hit the ball” approach. It’s a sight to cherish Gilchrist in his elements with that tremendous bat speed and top handed grip which intimidates the opposition to submission with an uncanny ability to hit the good balls, with steady head and sublime balance. In slog overs he abandons the textbook, whirling his bat like a gladiator, caring only for the scoreboard and never his average Amidst the breed of wicket keeper batsman Gilchirst clearly is a run away success with the ability to change the complexion of the game and also evoke intimidation .Alternately, he changed the way the wicketkeeper are looked at , getting the side off to flier and putting more pressure on the bowling attacks and keep wickets.

If Sanath Jayasuriya revolutionized batting at the top of the order in ODIs ,Adam just took that to a different level, and made indelible mark in the longer version coming in at number 7 .
It was not the amount of runs Gilchrist scored or the records he set behind the stumps but the manner he achieved them that will leave a enduring impression. In simple words, he changed the face of cricket .In the era of the wicketkeeper-batsman, Andy Flower, Alec Stewart, Mark Boucher and, most notably, Kumar Sangakkara have all given their captain lot of options to play with, but none of these has so obviously dictated matches in the way the unparalleled left-hander did.
Scoring at a strike rate of 82 per hundred balls is unprecedented in Test Cricket , achieved by Gilchrist - and none has launched as many as 101 sixes. His range of stroke are beyond imagination , as England were on the receiving end in Perth last winter when he blasted a quite extraordinary 57-ball hundred, just a single delivery outside the world record held since 1986 by Sir Vivian Richards. Unbelievably, he has played his 96 Tests consecutively. Icy reception at the Gabba did not faze him on debut against Pakistan as he took five catches , scored 81, hasn’t missed a single match since then.
Voted Australia's greatest one-day cricketer an year ago and, as if to acknowledge that, he sent a good Sri Lankans on leather hunt at the World Cup final last April with a vintage display of stroke-making. The 149 he made is the highest score in a final and none who saw the innings will ever quite be able to believe its dazzling display of class and power.
More importantly, he was a gentleman who respected his opponents and the game in equal measure. He clearly understood its origin and his willingness to walk if he knew he was out was admirable
Disadvantaged by his relatively tall stature for a pure wicket-keeper Gilchrist's skills as a wicket-keeper are sometimes questioned .Keeping wickets to Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath is a tribute to his skill behind the wicket, managing many stumpings, missing few catching chances, and letting through few byes.as he went past Healy's 395 dismissals in 26 fewer matches
The chasm will be immeasurable and may haunt the game. For the game to lose both him and Warne in the space of a year is a dreadful blow. Warne is a maverick; Gilchrist was revolutionary. Both though have been such special cricketers that it is hard to get these in a long long time to come







One more pearl has gone from the Australian string