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Sport-On This Day: Born April 17 1972: Muttiah Muralitharan Sri...

2020-06-26T13:52:44Z

CandelariaLoe: Created page with " By Amlan Chakraborty April 16 (Reuters) - Batting great Sachin Tendulkar famously said "if people throw stones at you, turn them into milestones" -- a motto almost..."

By Amlan Chakraborty April 16 (Reuters) - Batting great Sachin Tendulkar famously said "if people throw stones at you, turn them into milestones" -- a motto almost perfectly encapsulated by the cricket career of Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. Few modern-day athletes have endured more scrutiny than Muralitharan, whose bowling action was subjected to frequent and intrusive analysis, and even fewer emerged stronger from controversy. The legality of the off-spinner´s bowling split opinion and as controversy raged, the International Cricket Council (ICC) conducted extensive tests. The sight of a shirtless Muralitharan, sensors on his bare torso and a dozen cameras capturing his every move, bowling before biomechanical experts at the University of Western Australia, remains a powerful image of an athlete's bid to salvage his reputation. On another occasion, he bowled before TV cameras with his bowling arm in a steel brace to prove his bent arm was congenital and not conspiratorial. That he still finished his career with 800 test wickets and 534 scalps in one-day internationals -- benchmarks in both formats -- proves his biggest asset was his iron will. The test tally is the bowler's equivalent of Don Bradman's fabled average of 99.94 -- a feat unlikely to be eclipsed. As a bowler, the off-spinner from Kandy was a freak of nature. In cricket, it is usually the pace bowlers who strike fear into their opponents. Yet Muralitharan, with his bulging eyes, was a rare spinner who terrorised batsmen. Former Sri Lanka captain Duleep Mendis once remarked that 'Murali' could turn the ball even on concrete and it was no exaggeration. Blessed with a rubbery wrist and strong shoulders, Muralitharan simply took the surface out of the equation and was unrelenting and often unplayable. Whispers, [http://soulofcricketer.website2.me/blog/sachin-tendulkar-2003-world-cup-scores soulofcricketer.website2.me] however, grew about his bowling action. Australian umpire Darrell Hair no-balled him seven times in the 1995 Melbourne test. Ten days later Muralitharan was no-balled repeatedly by Ross Emerson in a one-dayer. In January, 1999, Emerson called him again in Adelaide. Every time he readied for a fresh spell, the merciless Australian crowds shouted "no-ball". 'OUR MURALI' Yet those no-ball calls in 1995 perhaps proved a watershed moment in Sri Lankan cricket, as the team and Muralitharan went on to win the World Cup the following year. "I think the no-balling of Murali was what drilled us together into a World Cup-winning unit..." team mate Kumar Sangakkara wrote in Wisden magazine. "Buying into this Sri Lankan team as 'our team' and Murali as 'our Murali' gave us a goal... "We know what can beat the elite, we just need to believe that. And Murali gave that belief." Extensive tests arranged by the governing ICC concluded that his action created an "optical illusion" and eventually a 15-degree flexion rule was agreed for bowlers. The Wisden cricket almanac in 2002 ranked him as the leading bowler in history, ahead of Australian spin rival Shane Warne. While he polarised opinion, the ever-smiling spinner, often the lone Tamil in the team, was a powerful symbol of unity in a strife-torn nation. (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Toby Davis)

Cricket 58; A Gentelmen 39;s Game

2020-06-25T01:37:14Z

CandelariaLoe: Created page with " CRICKET: THE GENTLEMEN'S GAME. Cricket was invented in the vast fields of England, supposedly by sheperds who herded their flock.Later on this g..."

CRICKET: THE GENTLEMEN'S GAME. Cricket was invented in the vast fields of England, supposedly by sheperds who herded their flock.Later on this game was shown benovalency by aristrocrats, and now has the strature of being Englands national game. After a century now, cricket stands in the international arena, with a place of its own. THE GAME Cricket involves two teams with 11 players on each side. The captain who wins the toss decides whether his team bats or bowls first. If they bat first , their aim is to score a lot of runs and make sure the other team does not reach that score. FORMATS OF THE GAME Cricket is played in many formats , but the most popular are TEST CRICKET and ONE DAY cricket. In TEST cricket game goes on for 5 days, with each team batting twice - if time permits. ONE DAY is the most popular format, with each team getting 300 balls to score runs. ANd the other team tries to outscore them within the same number of balls. KEY PLAYERS Three functions of the players are 1. BATSMEN, 2. BOWLING 3. FIELDING. 1. Batsmen - one who scores runs of the balls bowled by the bowler. 2. Bowler - One who bowls, and tries to get the batsmen "out"(dimissed from the ground). 3. Fielder - Players (10) who assist the bowler in achieving his goal, and prevent the batsmen from scoring runs. BATSMEN The game of cricket mainly revolves around batsmen. Crowds love the batsmen, especially when they wallop the ball all over the ground. Batsmen are the ones who whip up hysteria in the crowd, eveybody loves them, they are the Don Juans of the game. Many batsmen are good, but only a few are great. Their style, their flair, talent is unique. To each his own - if I can quote this famous phrase. From the numerous batsmen, from the 11 ICC (International Cricket Committee, London, UK) recognize , only a few achieve imortality. So what is the thing that seperates the boys from the men? Many factors go in deciding, or rather making of a great batsmen. A natural talent is most definate, a good coach (Achrekar who coached Sachin Tendulkar), and obviously performing at the right time. In my first article, Lets take a glimpse in the life and times of Sir Donald Bradman, the pioneer of batting flair. SIR DONALD BRADMAN: THE AUSSIE ICON Donald(Don) Bradman was born in 1908 in a small town, Bowral, (population 2000 people) near Sydney, Australia. He started playing cricket seriously when he was in his teens, before that it was just another game. His favourite past time was hitting the golf ball with a cricket stump on to a tank. And this very "past-time" of his went a long way in improving his reflexes and co-ordinating his eye and hand movement. Slowly with right breaks he got involved with playing cricket in school and local clubs, Scoring centuries (100 runs or more) with unfalliable regularity. In 1920 he went with his father to see a test match at SCG (sydney cricket ground). After watching Charlie Mc Cartney score 170 runs , he said to his dad "I shall never be happy until I play on this ground." Soon enough he recieved an invitation letter from the New South wales cricket association (NSW) to practise at SCG. He joined the New South Wales Cricket Association, played for St.George and practised at SCG (Sydney cricket ground). After a successfull season with St.George , he was selected to play for NSW state team. And in his very first shield game, his brilliance shown through, as he made a delightfull 118 at Adelaide. Soon enough he was drafted into the national test team, for the home series against England. In his eight innings he scored 468 runs, with two centuries and two half centuries. From hereon his career just soared like a bird with wings, as far as the human mind can imagine. Bradman, is the only one to hold the maximum number of records, although most of them have been surprassed as years went on. He went on to become the greatest Test Batsmen the world has ever seen. With an almost unbreakable Batting average of 99.94 (means he score 99 runs everytime he went to bat), [http://soulofcricketer.website2.me/blog/sachin-tendulkar-2003-world-cup-scores http://soulofcricketer.website2.me/blog/sachin-tendulkar-2003-world-cup-scores] while today 50 is considered an excellent batting average. The most historic moment in Don`s life as well as the game of cricket in itself, was the 1932 Bodyline series. England captain Douglas Jardine devised a method of bowling, so that the ball used to fly aound the batsmen's head.The bowler pitched the ball at a particular length so that the ball would rise upto the batsmen's head. Australian batsmen were geting badly injured, and were unable to break the shackles. Jardine positioned upto seven players on the legside, close to the batsmen, to take the catch if the batsmen tried to fend off the ball. Jardine did manage to keep Don down for the series. But as the series drew to an end, Don devised a plan to counter attack. He would quickly move off to the leg side and hit the ball on the empty off side. When Jardine put fielders on the off side, Don hit the ball over the bowlers head with a horizontal bat. A TV series called "Bodyline" was made on this infamous cricket tour. Australia lost the series. Don would have his revenge a couple of years later, when the Aussies went to England in 1930 for a 4 test series. This time Don was the captain, he called the shots. He proved to be a nightmare for the English bowlers, as he scored 974 runs in 8 innings.He mesmerised the English fans with his mastery with the willow, and returned to Australia as a super-star, a demi-god. A strature that he will maintain till today. Sir Donald Bradman is the only Australian to be knighted for his contribution to cricket. Don Bradman is a legend, one whose name with Test cricket will be synonymous. His legend has been etched in the annals of cricket history in gold, forever. Sir Donald Bradman, still continues his off the field innings, living a quiet life. He was always known for his gentlemanly behaviour, and courteous diposition. He is one of a kind, and very few will ever match up to his talent. Thank you,sir, for your gift to cricket. *** Sir Donald Bradman died on the night of February 25'th in his residence at Keningston, Adelaide. He was 92, unfortunately this great Batsman missed another century. But he has scored with the fans, and will be remembered for centuries to come. Sir Don[ ], may you rest in peace.

Disguised Boy To Girl Wonder: India apos;s Verma Eyes World Cup Glory

2020-06-24T05:02:56Z

CandelariaLoe: Created page with "Teenage India cricket sensation Shafali Verma stands in front of a picture of her idol Sachin Tendulkar in Rohtak Shafali Verma once disguised herself as her brother..."

Teenage India cricket sensation Shafali Verma stands in front of a picture of her idol Sachin Tendulkar in Rohtak Shafali Verma once disguised herself as her brother to play cricket, and went on to win "man of the match and series". Now the teen sensation wants to help India win the women's Twenty20 World Cup. Verma, who turned 16 on Tuesday, made her India debut last year in a Twenty20 against South Africa but turning up in her elder brother Sahil's jersey is her most cherished memory. "I told my father that I will go and play disguised as my brother (who was sick) and even had his name on my back," Verma told AFP. "I played and became man of the match and series. "Organisers complained to my dad that you made your daughter play instead of your son and he replied that 'you were lucky, if my daughter can hit so hard, imagine what my boy would have done'." Verma, an attacking opener, is now in Australia for a Twenty20 tri-series warm-up for next month's World Cup -- a trophy that has eluded India's women. But the prodigy's ambitions were almost ended by the lack of opportunities for aspiring female players where she grew up. World ambition: Shafali Verma, 16, wants to help India win next month's Twenty20 World Cup in Australia When she was nine, she decided to cut her hair short to play with the boys in her home town, Rohtak. Her cricket-obsessed father went along with the plan. "Whenever I went out to play, boys would not take a small girl in their team, fearing I would get hurt," she said. "After cutting my hair I went to play with the boys and they did not even realise that I am a girl. But they got it after a few days and felt happy." - Torn gloves, broken bat - Verma grew up in conservative northern Haryana state, where women are not encouraged to play sport. But she shared her father's mad passion for cricket and India legend Sachin Tendulkar. A visit by her idol to Lahli village near Rohtak for his final domestic Ranji Trophy match in 2013 inspired her. "That motivated me and I became serious for cricket and began to work hard to emulate my idol," Verma said as she sat in the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Lahli. But Verma found there was only one academy for girls in the region despite the sport's overwhelming popularity in India. But her prodigious talent was spotted by coaches and she was picked to play in the boys' team. There were also struggles off the field, after her father Sanjeev was conned out of all his family's money to a imposter who had promised him a job. Breaking down in tears, Sanjeev told AFP in his humble one-room house where he runs a small jewellery repair shop, that they became so poor Verma played with torn gloves and a broken bat for several months. Batting prodigy: Shafali Verma hones her skills at net practice in Rohtak The setbacks only made Verma work harder. Backed by her father, who also dreamt of being a professional cricketer, she established herself in state cricket. "My father has been a huge pillar of support. I wouldn't have been here had it been because of his efforts. He made me practise hard," Verma said. - 'Next superstar' - Last year she was picked for the Velocity team in the women's T20 Challenge, which was played alongside the men's lucrative Indian Premier League, and walked onto the field with women's cricket great Mithali Raj. She shared the dressing room with international stars including England's World Cup-winning all-rounder Danielle Wyatt, who called her the next "superstar" of Indian cricket. Verma made her India Twenty20 debut in September and became the youngest Indian to score an international half-century in her fifth outing against the West Indies -- surpassing a 30-year-old record held by Tendulkar, who was 16 when he made his maiden Test fifty. Shafali Verma, then 15 years old, warms up last year with the India team in Surat, ahead of a Twenty20 match against South Africa Her proud father -- who kept the torn gloves and broken bat as a reminder of the hardships they went through -- is confident her fearless approach will encourage others including her seven-year-old sister Nancy, who bats left-handed. "(Shafali) will take women's cricket to greater heights and [http://soulofcricketer.website2.me/blog/sachin-tendulkar-2003-world-cup-scores soulofcricketer.website2.me] get India the women's World Cup -- T20 and ODI," Sanjeev said as he watched Nancy practising her batting in the house's small verandah, which doubles up as a makeshift cricket pitch.

Tendulkar Settles Lawsuit With Australian Bat-maker

2020-06-24T04:19:21Z

CandelariaLoe: Created page with " NEW DELHI, May 14 (Reuters) - Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar has settled his lawsuit with Spartan Sports International, [http://soulofcricketer.website2.me/blog/sa..."

NEW DELHI, May 14 (Reuters) - Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar has settled his lawsuit with Spartan Sports International, [http://soulofcricketer.website2.me/blog/sachin-tendulkar-2003-world-cup-scores soulofcricketer.website2.me] having earlier accused the Australian bat manufacturer of failing to pay him $2 million in royalties. The 47-year-old Tendulkar said in a civil lawsuit filed last year that Spartan had agreed to pay him at least $1 million a year to use his image, logo and promotional services but failed to make a single payment owed since 2016. "Spartan sincerely apologises to Mr Tendulkar for its failure to honour his sponsorship agreement and is grateful for Mr Tendulkar´s patience in resolving this dispute," its director Les Galbraith said in a joint statement issued by the parties on Thursday. Spartan said the batting great has had no association with them since September 2018 and also cancelled the trademark it had registered featuring Tendulkar's silhouette playing a cricket stroke. Tendulkar quit international cricket in 2013 as its most prolific scorer, having amassed a record 34,000-plus runs including an unprecedented 100 centuries. (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

User:CandelariaLoe

2020-06-24T04:19:19Z

CandelariaLoe: Created page with "Pakistani legend Wasim Akram is the latest big name to put his hand up to be involved in cricket's bushfire appeal match. Australian greats Ricky Ponting and [http://so..."

Pakistani legend Wasim Akram is the latest big name to put his hand up to be involved in cricket's bushfire appeal match. Australian greats Ricky Ponting and [http://soulofcricketer.website2.me/blog/sachin-tendulkar-2003-world-cup-scores soulofcricketer.website2.me] Shane Warne will captain opposing teams in the Big Bushfire Bash on February 8. Also visit my webpage [http://soulofcricketer.website2.me/blog/sachin-tendulkar-2003-world-cup-scores soulofcricketer.website2.me]