Historic conviction: Butt, Asif guilty

Banned Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt has been found guilty of two offences and his team-mate Mohammad Asif has been found guilty of conspiracy to cheat in the spot-fixing trial, making them the first cricketers to be criminally convicted.

In the most significant day of the 20-day trial, the jury for the spot-fixing case gave its verdict after nearly two hours of being present at the Southwark Crown Court.

Butt was found guilty on two counts - by a majority on conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and by unanimous verdict on conspiracy to cheat. Asif was found guilty by unanimous verdict on conspiracy to cheat. The jury is still considering the charge of accepting corrupt payment against Asif.

Butt, a former opener and captain, faces a possible jail term of seven years. A decision on his conviction will be taken later this week.

Butt and Asif stood impassively in the dock as the verdicts were delivered.

The pair became the first sportsmen to be convicted of on-field corruption in UK court since the 1960s.

The jurors hearing the trial took five days to reach their verdict on all charges. They resumed their deliberations on Tuesday morning after presiding judge Justice Cooke told them he would accept a 10-2 majority.

Butt, 27, and Asif, 28, plotted to bowl deliberate no-balls during the Lord’s Test against England last August.

The tainted duo was charged after an undercover reporter for the now defunct News of the World recorded sports agent Mazhar Majeed boasting of how he could arrange for Pakistan players to rig games.

Mazhar Majeed was also charged and arrested but was not part of the trial.

Former ICC chief Ehsan Mani termed Tuesday`s verdict as very `sad` day for the world cricket.

"This tells us that Pakistani cricket establishment has failed somewhere," he said adding, "it`s a very sad day for cricket around the world."

source: CricketNext

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India Australia World cup 2011

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Why Sachin is God of Cricket

Remember when you failed an examination. How many people recall that, your class, friends, relatives? You failed to make it to the IITs or IIMs. Who remembers? How many times have you had the feeling of being the best in your class, school , university, state….., you failed to get a visa stamped this quarter…, you missed a promotion this year…, how did it feel when you dad told you in your early twenties that you are good for nothing…..and now your boss tell you the same...

You keep introspecting and go into a shell when people most of whom don’t matter a dime in your life criticize you, back bite you, make fun of you. You are left sad and shattered and you cry when your own kin scoffs at you. You say I am feeling low today. It takes a lot from us to come out of these everyday situations and move on. A lot ? Really?

Now here’s a man standing on the third man boundary in the last over of a world cup match. The bowler just has to bowl sensibly to win this game. What the man at the boundary sees is 4 rank bad bowls bowled without any sense of focus, planning or regret. India loses, yet again in those circumstances when he has done just about everything right.

He does not cry, doesn’t show any emotion. Just keeps his head down and leaves the field. He has seen these failures for 22 years now. And not just his class, relatives, friends but the whole world has seen these failures. We are too immature to even imagine what goes on in that mind and heart of his. That’s why I would never want to be Sachin.

True, he has single handedly lifted to moods of this entire nation umpteen number of times. He has been an inspiration to rise above our mediocrity. Nobody who has ever lifted the willow even comes close to this man’s genius. His dedication and metal strength is unparallel. This is specially for those people who would have made fun of him again last night when India lost. They are people who are mediocre in their own lives. Who just scoff at others to create cheap fun. Who have lived in a small hole throughout their lives and thought they have seen the oceans.

Think about the man himself. He is 37 years of age. He has been playing almost nonstop for 22 years. The way he was running and diving around the field last night would have put 22 year olds to shame. The way he played the best opening quickies in the world was breathtaking. He just keeps getting better which is by the way humanly impossible. It’s not for nothing that people call him GOD.

But still I don’t want to be in those shoes. We struggle in keeping our monotonous lives straight, lives which affect a limited number of people. Imagine what would be the magnitude of the inner struggle for him, pain both mental and physical, tears that have frozen with time, knees and ankles and every other joint in the body that is either bandaged or needs to be attended to every night, eyes that don’t sleep before a big game, bats that have scored 99 international tons and still see expectations from a billion people.

And he just converts those expectations into reality. We watch in awe, feel privileged.

Well I think it’s time that his team realizes that enough is enough. They have an obligation, not towards their country alone but towards him. They need to win this one for him. Stay assured that he himself will still deliver and leave no stone unturned to make sure India wins this cup.

This is not just a game, and he is not just a sportsman. It’s much more than this. Words fail here.....

--- HARSHA BHOGLE

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Legendary Umpire David Shepherd dies of cancer

London: Legendary England umpire David Shepherd died after a long battle with cancer on Wednesday. He was 68.

Shepherd, an international umpire, officiated in 172 ODIs, three consecutive World Cup finals and 92 Test matches from 1983 to 2005. He made his international debut in the 1983 World Cup.

Only Steve Bucknor and Rudi Koertzen have stood in more Tests than Shepherd.

Shepherd was a first-class cricketer and during his 14-year-long career played 282 first class matches for Gloucestershire.

His umpiring career started in 1981 from first-class matches. His last Test appearance was in June 2005 between the West Indies and Pakistan in Kingston and his final appearance was in an ODI at The Oval in 2005.

The good-humoured Englishman was known for his superstitions - most notably his little hop when scores reached 111 or a multiple thereof. He was a favourite with the players and was respected world over.

International Cricket Council (ICC) president David Morgan expressed grief over the death of one of the greatest umpires of all time.

"David was a true gentleman of the game," said Morgan. "He was a fine player and a match official of the very highest quality. He will be remembered fondly by players, spectators and administrators who saw him as a great entertainer but also as one of the best umpires the game has ever seen," he said.

"The example he set as someone who took the art of umpiring very seriously while also enjoying what he did immensely will leave a lasting legacy for the game. He was an engaging character which meant players and other umpires were always delighted to be around him. We have lost someone whose positive influence on our great sport has been immense."

Source: msn

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SACHIN, we miss you.

We miss Sachin. We miss him more in 'Tests' than in ODI. One great performance with the bat or ball by a player can invariably take a team to victory in ODIs. But in test matches, most of the time, it is the 'Sustained Brilliance' of the stars that can take you home. Ebbs and tides can be experienced in the longer version where a genius with experience can help 'in resisting the ebb' and 'riding over the tide' to take his team towards safety. Here Greats like Sachin count. Let us see how Team India has performed in the two versions when it missed him (Of course stats alone do not tell you everything, but it helps).
India without Tendulkar

In all, injury has kept Tendulkar out of seven Tests and 69 ODIs.
A look at the matches missed because of injury.

Tests:
1. vs Sri Lanka - Galle (Aug 2001); SL won by 10 wickets
2. v Sri Lanka - Kandy (Aug 2001); Ind won by 7 wickets
3. v Sri Lanka - Colombo (Aug/Sep 2001); SL won by inns & 77 runs
(Reason: Hairline fracture on right toe).
4. v Australia - Bangalore (Oct 2004); Aus won by 217 runs
5. v Australia - Chennai (Oct 2004) Drawn;
(Reason: Tennis elbow).
6. v Zimbabwe - Bulawayo (Sep 2005); Ind won by inns & 90 runs
7. v Zimbabwe - Harare (Sep 2005); Ind won by 10 wickets
(Reason: Opted out of the series because of the elbow surgery)
Out of these seven matches, India won three (Zim2+SL1) and lost three (Aus2+SL1).
One match was drawn.

One-Day Internationals: India Won/Lost
1 match vs New Zealand in New Zealand (Jan 1999) lost1/won0
5 matches - Pepsi Cup in India (Mar/Apr 1999) lost3(pak/won2(SL)
5 matches - Coca Cola Cup in Sharjah (Apr 1999) lost2/won3
1 match - Aiwa Cup in Sri Lanka (Aug 1999) lost1/won0
1 match - Coca Cola Cup in Singapore (Sep 1999) lost1/won0
3 matches - DMC Cup in Canada (Sep 1999) lost1/won2
4 matches - LG Cup in Kenya (Sep/Oct 1999) lost1/won3
7 matches - Coca Cola Cup in Sri Lanka (Jul/Aug 2001) lost4/won3
5 matches vs Zimbabwe in India (Mar 2002) lost2/won3
1 match vs West Indies in West Indies (Jun 2002) lost0/won1
7 matches vs West Indies in India (Nov 2002) lost4/won3
4 matches vs New Zealand in New Zealand (Dec 02/Jan 03) lost4/won0
5 matches vs TVS Cup in Bangladesh (Apr 2003) (NR1)/ lost1/won3 (BD2) 3matches - VB Series in Australia (Jan/Feb 2004) lost2/won1zim
2 matches - Videocon Cup in Holland (Aug 2004) (NR1)/ lost1/won0
3 matches - NatWest Challenge in England (Sep 2004) lost2/won1
2 matches - ICC Champions Trophy in England (Sep 2004) lost1/won1
5 matches - Indian Oil Cup in Sri Lanka (Jul/Aug 2005) lost3/won2
5 matches - Videocon Tri-series in Zimbabwe (Aug/Sep 05) lost2/won3Zim2
(*NR-No Result) TOTAL:(NR2)/lost36/won31

Out of these 69 matches, India won 31 and lost 36. Two were abandoned.
Of the 31 matches won, 5 were against Bangladesh & Zimbabwe

(fished out from 'Statsguru' at cricinfo.com) Source taken from an email

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Who is the Right choice to coach Indian cricket team?
Indian Coach or Foreign Coach

There is yet again a controversy. It happened before two years and it is happening again this year. Who is the right choice to coach Indian Cricket team? An Indian coach or a foreign Coach

Well this is one of the most famous controversies in India during the selection of coaches and the support staffs who will help those coaches. Always there are some people who bats for foreign coaches and there are some who bats for Indian coaches. Who is best for Indian Cricket team? In the past decade we saw coaches from both India and also abroad. The supporters who support cricket coach from India put forth a major point to all selection committee. The strong points of those supporters are

• Indian coaches can only understand the work culture of India.
• Indian coaches can communicate well with team due to the same culture
• Indian coaches can only understand the strengthens of the Indian cricket team and board
• Due to these understanding only Indian coaches can take the team to win the major events

These three are the major points that are put forward for selecting Indian coaches by these supporters. The qualities which was put forth by supporters of foreign coaches are

• New methodologies and game plan for the team.
• Can workout various strategies based on player's strengths
• Can bring out a new skill from the cricketer by providing opportunities
• Bold to take any decisions without looking to past records

Both side look more or less balanced in their stand points but how can we decide whether the Indian cricket team coach is Indian or a foreign player. To look into this, let’s go to yet another game which is more popular and played in more number of countries than cricket. Let’s go to European leagues of Football. If you see those teams (Madrid, Manchester etc) all will have at least one foreign player in the team and they recruit foreign players in their coaching squad too. From India only Baichung Bhutia played in those clubs. They strengthen the team by introducing the new techniques, which was used in the foreign teams. How this is useful for them.

Those players who are playing for European leagues will represent their nation in events like world cup. Due to those the attack techniques that they understood in league matches; they were well defended and also make their national team to understand the techniques followed by the European opponents. On the other hand, lets take our Hockey team, which is coached by Indian coaches and not accepting the foreign coaches. It is struggling to gain a 4th place in any event.

we are not saying just by bringing the foreign coach there will be a magic within the team. It is in the hands of players who are taking field on the particular game. For Indian cricket team both Indian and Foreign coaches took the team to Finals in world cup. This shows that the foreign coaches too can perform their jobs well in Indian soil. Ashuman Gaekwad took the team to finals during 1999 world cup and John Wright took the team during 2003. With this kind of result, supporters of foreign coaches attack all the supporting points of Indian coach supporters. Supporters of Foreign coaches put forth some record statistics in front of everyone.

• 2001 - India won after a follow on in Kolkatta
• 2002 - Nat west Trophy was won by two youngsters which none thought as a winning game
• 2004 - Went Australia and made Australia to struggle for a draw to save the series
• 2004 - Won the First test in Pakistan soil against Pakistan after 18 years
• 2004 - Dependable duo (Rahul and Laxman) showed yet another fight back against Australia.
• 2005 - 2006 (Aug) Won 13 matches by chasing without loosing one.

If we see the statistics most of the win came in foreign lands than in home ground. It was a biggest achievement of Indian cricket team under foreign coach. During the start of 2006 where the experiments of Greg are on peak India achieved a much bigger victories which looked like hungry beast waiting to be unleashed. Suddenly there were internal troubles and lot of changes in management made the team to get shuffled which lead to a disaster which was never seen before during world cup 2007. During the coaching of Anshuman Gaekwad, team was elephant in home and rats when away. That is because India's strength was in spin and players had lot of spin game than a pace game. Under the foreign coaches team was playing with pace bowlers than a spin bowlers which gave the confidence to play against the pace.

But does appointing a foreign coach make the team to win all matches like Australia. No we don't think so. It is player’s capability which will make the team win. During 07 world cup Indian cricket team had a bunch of individuals who plays for country. During 03 world cup we had a bunch of players who played as a team. We cannot blame a coach for the non performance of the team. Coach has only 5% of responsibility on a game. Remaining 95% of responsibility lies within the players not with a coach. A coach can only create possibilities not they can go down for play.

I Bat for a foreign coach who is creative and constructive, whom do you bat for?

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McGrath to coach Indian youngsters this month

Retired Australian pacer Glenn McGrath will take his first step towards a coaching career when he arrives in India to share his experience with young cricketers here and Hyderabad later this month.

McGrath will interact with around 300 junior cricketers selected by Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) during his day-long stay in Kolkata.

The World Cup's Most Valuable Player will also visit Hyderabad and conduct a similar session with junior players there.

An excited CAB President Prasun Mukherjee said he wants the selected juniors to learn as much as they can from the legend, who finished his career as one of the leading wicket-takers of all time.

"From the CAB point of view I am very excited about Glenn McGrath coming here. All the bowlers from right from Ranji to under-15 level should take maximum advantage of this opportunity," he said.

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India keen to win series against Bangladesh: Dravid

Burying the World Cup debacle as a "thing of past", skipper Rahul Dravid Wednesday emphasised that India is keen to win the three-match One-day International series against Bangladesh starting Thursday. "The boys are very keen to get out and play some good cricket, especially after the World Cup, which had been a disappointment. We are very keen and we all want to win the series here," he told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, the match venue. Dravid didn't comment whether it was a fresh beginning for his team after the first-round exit at the World Cup in the West Indies in March. India lost two of the three matches, including one to Bangladesh, in the tournament.

"We are going to play a lot of cricket. We can't pick a team for one event. We have to keep a lot of things in mind and consider the whole scheme of things to see how we get the best out of each player to win. And that's the way we are looking at it," he said. Dravid pointed out that this was not the "end of something and beginning of something". "It's an on-going thing," he said of the increased number of matches played all round the year. The captain stressed that Bangladesh have shown some good results recently, not only against India but also against other teams.

"They have been getting a consistently good side and they no longer can be called minnows or anything. Now, everyone knows that if you want to beat Bangladesh we will have to play really well and to our best," he said. Dravid, who will be playing his 314th ODI, said that India also have good players who can cope with the local Bangladeshi conditions and perform well. He said that left-arm pacer Rudra Pratap Singh, leg-spinner Piyush Chawla and batsman Manoj Tiwary, who has been ruled out for five days with an injured right shoulder, have been left out, leaving XII for the match.

The XII are: Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthick, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, Ramesh Powar and Dinesh Mongia

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Take A Break - Indian Cricket Team style!

This time let numbers do the talking. Take a look here on the extraa in(come)nings of our star cricket players -

M.S Dhoni - 8 Crores!
Days spent in Advertising: 75 days
No of Brands - 15 [Reebok, Reliance Comm, TVS, GE Money, Siyarams, Brylcreem, Titan Sonata, Exide, Castrol, Pepsi, Seagram etc]

Rahul Dravid - 13 crores
Days spent in Advertising: 60 days
No of Brands - 12 [ Bank of Baroda, Max New York, Hutch, Britannia, Pepsi, Reebok, Citizen etc]

Virender Sehwag - 5 Crores
Days spent in Advertising: 40 days
No of Brands - 8 [ Adidas, Pepsi, Boost, Hero Honda, Sahara, Britannia]

Yuvraj Singh - 8 Crore
Days spent in Advertising: 40 days
No of Brands - 8 [Microsoft, Pepsi, Seagram, SBI Cards, Reebok, Marico, Trent etc]

Sourav Ganguly - 5 crores
Days spent in Advertising: 35 days
No of Brands - 7 [TCL, Hero Honda, Tata Indicom, Sahara, Puma etc]

Dinesh Karthik - 40 Lakhs
Days spent in Advertising: 5 days
No of Brands - 1 [Nike]

And brace yourselves for the heartstopper of them all:

Sachin Tendulkar - Whopping 40-45 crores
Days spent in Advertising: 70 days
No of Brands - 14 [Pepsi, Cannon, MRF, Adidas, Pantaloons, Sunfeast etc]

So they have all the time in the world to endorse and make money but have nothing but lame excuses when it comes to performing for the country. Remember folks this money is apart from the hefty retainer fee from BCCI and per-match fee's they get.

Why Should India Be "Grateful" to Sachin Tendulkar?

CNN IBN runs an article - 'India ungrateful to Tendulkar'. Pray, tell me why in the name of the good Lord should India be grateful?

He sure has played some good cricket and he has received loads of accolades as well as compensation for the same. He is treated nothing less than a demi god in this part of the world. So if he has given his all to cricket, so has cricket given him everything be it fame or money. So where does the question of being grateful arise?

Sachin does not even bother to play domestic cricket. He has the audacity to ask for a tax waiver for his Ferrari!. And our government hands it to him in a silver platter and makes a proud statement of it to the media too!.

Wow, it surely pays to be a cricket star in India!

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Indian leads West Indies

When Brian Lara retired from cricket after the cricket world cup 2007, there was a big vaccency for the leading West Indies in future games. Problem with West Indies cricket team is, there are lot of efficient stars which performes in the games. It is not a single stared cricket team like India, but a multi stared team like South Africa. Every player plays with his own ups and downs. It was a close contest between Ramnaresh Sarvan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle for the captain post.

Chanderpaul is an ageing legend who has lot of potential in both test and ODI but with two main problems, like Rahul Dravid he is an slow starter in any match and his physical fittness is not upto the mark. Once settled chanderpaul is a free flow player who can divert the course of play from any odd situations. On the other hand Chris Gayle is an opening batsman, explosive on a good day who can provide a rapid fire for the score card. Chris Gayle is youngest talent in West Indies who can be considered for leading the team in future.

What West Indies needs now is a player who can lead from front with good experience in hand and must be young. The situation of the selection is more like Indian team selection in which an Indian got a chance to lead the West Indian cricket team. Ramnaresh Sarvan was offered with captaincy of West Indian cricket team. Ramnaresh Ronnie Sarwan, who has his roots in India, an elegant player who maintain his cool during testifying times named as West Indian captain. There are some Non resident Indians in other cricket teams but what makes this as big is that, an Indian is now on a place where legends of cricket like Clive lloyd, Alvin Kallicharran, Vivian Richards, Desmond Haynes and others.

All the best Saravanan oops sorry Sarvan

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