Will Pakistan Make it a Repeat of 2006?

India are through to the final of the U-19 World Cup and Pakistan is looking to make it in what would be a rematch of the 2006 U19 World Cup Final.

Pakistan is currently playing its Semi Final against South Africa and the Protea youngsters are off to a very good start - 64-1 off 14 overs.

As Straight Point mentioned in one of the comments section of another post, Pakistan has taken a huge gamble bowling first. Their batting has been their weakness in this tournament and putting that under pressure in a crunch game is a big risk. However, the reasoning behind that was the expected rain, which if happens would make it easier for the chasing side as it makes it difficult for the bowlers to grip the ball - this was evident from the 1st Semi, in which India chased down New Zealand's total relatively easily despite the minor collapse near the end.

The Pakistani bowlers, who have been outstanding in this tournament didn't get any swing this morning, and if it doesn't rain, Imad Wasim's decision to bowl first could backfire.

But the younger Pakistani lot does have a few brilliant batsmen who haven't yet fired during the WC - it could be their day today if SA gets a huge total, which looks highly likely as of now.

Pakistan skipper Imad Wasim and wicketkeeper batsman Ali Asad were both part of the world cuo winning team of 2006 and played instrumental roles in Pakistan's victory in the Semi Final against Australia in 2006 and the Quarter Final against Australia 2 days ago. So they have the experience on their side - Can they grant the Indian boys their wishes of a repeat final?

I sure hope so.

I have my own match in the afternoon, so I won't be able to watch the entire match or cover it. But till then - EYE!

Butting in Again

My previous post below, "Butting in with Boundaries", generated some observations from readers. Soulberry asked how do openers compare with late order batsmen in terms of percentage of runs scored in boundaries, and NAzhar mentioned that number of balls taken for every 4 hit would be a telling statistic.

I've done some work on both. Considering that I concluded in the last post that it was more remarkable to have a higher percentage of runs through 4s in ODIs than in tests, I have restricted this analysis to only ODIs.

First to NAzhar's observation. Using the same database as last time (list of batsmen with most 4s in their career), I calculated how many balls each batsmen faces for every 4 he hits. This is what the top 10 looks like:

I didn't find any batsman that hits a 4 every over. Sehwag and Gilchrist do so every over and a half, while all the big 4 hitters hit one every 2 overs. Another interesting thing to note here is that all the batsmen in the above list, apart from Yuvraj, are openers. Thus, if any of these batsmen bat the full 50 overs, they will hit at least 25 boundaries.

The record for most boundaries in an ODI innings is 24, held by Jayasuriya who averages a 4 every 10 balls. In that innings he faced 104 balls for his 157 - 61.1% of runs through 4s and a 4 hit every 4.3 balls. Remarkable indeed.

Salman Butt, who led me to work all these numbers, averages 10.5 balls for every 4 he hits. That puts him next to Herchelle Gibbs on the above list. Remember he sits only behind Sehwag in terms of percentage of runs through 4s. Thats no measure of greatness, but a measure nonetheless.

As for Soulberry's enquiry, I thought it was woo much work to do. But just from observation, I can safely say that openers have a higher percentage of runs from boundaries than middle-late order batsmen. The difference ranges from 5%-10%. Fielding restrictions in the opening overs is the obvious reason for this.

Salman Butt -we want you to be known as the best left handed opener Pakistan ever had - Go live your dream and become our next Saeed Anwar.

Butting in with Boundaries

There was something I noticed about Salman Butt's 3 innings in the ongoing Pentangular Trophy:

290 (318) - 50 Fours

72 (96) - 13 Fours

117 (157) - 18 Fours

In the 3 innings, he got 69%, 72%, and 61% of his runs through 4s - a collective amount of 68%.

Thats quite a high percentage. I checked his international record and this is how that looks:

ODIs - 52.9% runs from 4s

Tests - 58.5% runs from 4s

Typically in test matches one would expect that the good batsmen get majority of their runs through boundaries, however in ODIs the percentage is usually lower considering the sharp singles, 2s, and 3s. Salman Butt gets a very high percentage of runs in boundaries in ODIs as well.

I then went on to compare these percentages with other international greats. I couldn't find a database that lists the batsmen in order of highest percentage of runs from 4s, however I did find many that list the batsmen with the most number of 4s in their careers. Maybe David Barry or Charles Davis can come up with the accurate database to be used or they may have already, but here's my list:

NOTE 1: 6s not taken into account; only 4s

NOTE 2: List of batsmen with highest number of 4s in career sorted by highest percentage of runs through 4s

What surprises me is that 2 wicketkeepers top each of the lists. Adam Gilchrist can be expected to be at the top, but Alec Stewart? Does anyone even remember him?

I know this not an accurate reflection so I randomly picked some players whom I thought would have a high percentage of runs in boundaries. Here's what I found:

Considering these, Salman Butts 58.5% in test matches is not as remarkable as his 52.9% in ODIs. Virender Sehwag was the only other batsman I found who scores more than half his runs in boundaries (excluding 6s) in ODIs. Even Salman's 58.5% is on the very high side when looking at the other percentages above.

More runs through boundaries in ODIs could also be termed as a weakness of not taking the quick singles or converting 1s into 2s and 2s into 3s, which probably explains why the Australians (apart from Gilchrist) have low perentages of runs in 4s - Hayden (41%), Ponting (35%), Symonds (35%), M. Clarke (34%), MEK Hussey (32%).

This fact about Salman Butt was just an observation that led me to do this post - maybe I've missed out some big 4 hitters in these lists, but if Salman can go on to become even half as good as the names above, Pakistan wouldn't have to worry about who to open their innings with.

Who else comes to your mind when you think of batsmen who seem to hit a 4 of every ball?

Closer Look - Shahid Afridi

It has been quite a while since I have had the chance to meet a cricketer in person. This past weekend I was fortunate to meet one of my favorite current cricketers and definitely one of the most exciting ones the game knows. The experience was rewarding.

Shahid Afridi is currently on a US tour doing fund raising for water projects in Baluchistan. This is a cricket blog and I will not comment on this any further apart from saying that this is a noble cause for which Afridi is passionate and genuinely and whole-hearted involved. For this passion he has even further won my respect and admiration because now it is not only for him as a cricketer but also for Afridi the person.

Afridi agreed to my doing an interview after the fund raising but once the fund raising was over the mood was solemn for both of us as really compared to the plight of the people in Baluchistan without clean water cricket did not seem all that import. Both of us chatted for a bit instead.

Afridi really impressed me as a person. He has a witty sense of humor which was apparent both by his quick-witted remarks in his presentation and his jokes when chatting with me. He is moved by this issue for which he is campaigning and it really reflected a 'seriousness' to his personality which some of his strongest critics have lashed out on. His drive, determination is admirable and I think he has that both in his professional and personal life.

The event organizers were commenting on how at US Airports Afridi has had quite a few spectators waiting to catch a glimpse of the flamboyant celebrity. The interesting thing was that all the fans at the airports were Indian and there were no Pakistani fans at the airport. The author of this blog is also guilty of not being present to receive Afridi at San Francisco airport :-)

In my opinion Afridi is the kind of player that you need to give a free reign to, within bounds of course and I think he does a great job of staying within those bounds. There have been great players in various sports throughout the ages that have had this free flowing style which is difficult to coach. I am sure no other basketball player is or will ever be coached like Michael Jordan; the snippet of Phil Jackson turning to Jordan and simply saying, "Michael" and then giving him the look is being played again in my mind. Then you have Federer who has played for the longest time without a coach and is without doubt the most dominant and the best tennis player in the world!

I am not putting Afridi at the same level as those two athletes who can easily say they are the best in their field, but still feel that Afridi is one of those players that needs to be coached differently and perhaps less than other players. Some of Afridi's centuries have been innings were he has blasted all bowlers all over and out of the ground and then he has gotten out to a forward defensive shot. The century against India when he got bowled by Harbhajan on a forward defensive prod comes to mind.

I think Afridi needs to know which position he is going to be batting - and I for one do not want to see him open and would like to see him come lower down the order. He needs to be communicated what his job/role is and then he needs to be allowed the freedom to get the results as best he sees fit. I think with this formula more often than not he will succeed.

Afridi over the last couple of years has shown determination and has applied that to his bowling. He is one of our best ODI bowlers and I feel warrants a place in the side just on the basis of his bowling and fielding and exuberant on field presence. His clean and powerful hitting is just an added skill he brings to the field.

I end with a warning that if you ever meet Afridi, count your fingers after shaking hands with him; he has got one of the firmest hand shake that I have ever seen!

News from PEACEFUL Pakistan

When I posted after meeting Dr. Nasim Ashraf two weeks ago, I mentioned that I doubt the PCB Chairman met Sheikh Mubarak Bin Nahyan to only discuss human development and a possible series in Abu Dhabi was most probably discussed considering Australia were not going ahead with their tour to Pakistan.

Well, this morning it was reported officially that Pakistan and West Indies will play a 3-ODI series in Abu Dhabi in November. So a series in the desert was discussed but not for March but November. Now just like the big newspapers and gossip magazines, I can also claim - You read it here first!

This is all well and good for the cricket fans in the UAE but I have a concern. In the recent ICC meet of the top men from the various cricket boards, Pakistan managed to add some 38 ODIs to their FTP for 2008 and 2009. But what they didn't manage to do is add any test tours - Pakistan plays a test series against Australia next month if they tour and the next one after that isn't till the end of the year against India. Then there's another gap for a year before Pakistan travels to Australia in Nov 2009 for a test series.

Thats a total of 6 sure tests in the nex 2 years and maybe another 2-3 if Australia travel next month. PCB blame the ICC for getting a raw deal, but is it really that or is the PCB being dollar-hungry and just scehduling ODIs?

How does one then expect Pakistan to ever become a good test team?

How will this ever get Mohammad Yousuf to achieve new heights?

Won't this waste bowlers like Asif and Gul who will play ODIs day in day out and burn out without making an effort to become world class test bowlers?

Where does this leave Danish Kaneria who doesn't play ODIs?

Does this mean Shoaib Akhtar's test career is over?

Someone needs to do something about this.

In other news from Pakistan, the Pentangular match between Punjab and NWFP ended in an expected draw but not before Pakistan opener Salman Butt and Vice Captain Misbah notched up centuries.

Salman continued his fine form scoring 117, following on from his 72 in the 1st innings and record breaking 290 in the first match. Misbah scored an even 100 and remained unbeaten before the match was declared a dull draw. Nasir Jamshed also looked in fine touch hammering 59 with 10 bounaries and a six. Earlier in the day fast bowler Wahab Riaz, who was, one of the umpteen debutants against Zimbabwe, picked up 5 wickets to end NWFPs reply on 446. NWFP's 1st innings lead got them 3 points from the match.

During the Punjab match I read that the PCB selectors were upset with Shoaib Malik for opening the innings with Mohammad Hafeez instead of Nasir Jamshed, whom they were keen on trying as opener. Now someone tell me why weren't these selectors upset with Misbah ul Haq who did that same in Punjab's opening match in Malik's absence? Did the selectors not notice that Nasir had come in at #3 in that match? Or is it just that they want to portray Malik as a captain who doesn't want youngsters to make their mark? Or is the newspaper just spreading hearsay?

I reckon the selectors just want to feel important or rather display their authority.

And finally to the Australians - Its very peaceful and quiet in Pakistan, please tour. I know you will kick our asses but the Pakistan public want some meaningful cricket. And they also want their chance to have a go at Symonds. What do you reckon they'll call him? Bandar?

South Africa & New Zealand Play Spoil Sport to Asian Party in Malaysia

In my previous post I had reported the possibility of an All Asian clash in the Semi Finals of the U-19 World Cup. While defending champions Pakistan and runners up of the last U-19 WC India made it easily to the last 4, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were trounced by New Zealand and South Africa respectively in the quarters.

I had also mentioned in the last post that a repeat of the 2006 WC Final was not possible, however, either I made an error in reading the line up for the quarters or Cricinfo made an error in listing it as the Semi Final line up reads as follows:

Wednesday 27th Feb: India vs New Zealand

Friday 29th Feb: Pakistan vs South Africa

Thus an India vs Pakistan final is very much a possibility and if it happens, it will be a repeat of the final of the 2006 version of the tournament.

In this morning's Quarterfinal Pakistan beat Australia by 6 wickets to make their way into the last 4. Pakitan's bowling lived up to its reputation and bundled the Aussies out for 129. Their bastmen easily got to the target in 28 overs, albeit after an earlier hiccup which had seen Pakistan reduced to 32-3.

India's Quarterfinal against England has been covered in detail by Soulberry at TCWJ. In the other 2 matches South Africa demolished Bangladesh, bowling them out for only 41 after posting 242, while New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 80 runs after scoring 213.

There have been a number of young players that have made a mark in this tournament and I will cover their performances in another post.

Till then lets hope for a subcontinental clash on Sunday, 2nd March and say EYE!

Pentangular Trophy - Sohail Tanvir takes the Capital to Victory & Younis Khan Strikes another Ton.

Sohail Tanvir, who made his international debut last year, led the Federal Capital to a thumping innins win with an exhilirating all round performance on the 3rd day of the match against Baluchistan.

Following his 5 wicket haul in the first innings, Sohail, resuming his innings on 38 marched on to 132 to lead Federal Capital to a massive 597, leading Baluchistan by 344 in the first innings. Sohail hammered the listless Baluchistan bowling and scored his runs at a Strike Rate of over 75 hitting 19 boundaries and a six.

Federal Capital then bowled Baluchistan out for a meagre 132 with the man of the day, Sohail Tanvir, shining again and picking up 3-42 in 11 overs. Sohail finished with match figures of 8-108.

The 132 was Sohail Tanvir's 3rd first class hundred - few people knew that when he joined the international team during the T20 World Cup last year, he had a first class batting average of close to 40 and had 2 centuries and a few fifties under his belt. He showed the world his hitting prowess during the T20s and subsequent ODIs, however what he is truly capable of with both bat and ball was witnessed yesterday at the National Stadium in Karachi.

In the other match, skipper Younis Khan hit his 2nd century of the tournament to guide NWFP to a 1st innings lead over Punjab's all star line up. In a match that was billed as Younis Khan vs the rest of Pakistan's middle order, Younis came out on top with a brilliant 117 that was laced with 16 boundaries. NWFP ended day 3 on 392-7, 38 runs ahead of Punjab, and the match is headed towards a tame draw.

The Pentangular Re-Starts after a Break

After a week's break for the elections, which went by peacefully without any bomb blasts (Hint to the Australians), the Pentangular Trophy restarted on Friday with 2 more matches in Karachi and Lahore.

The lead up to the next 2 matches was controversial for a few reasons. Firstly, a number of players that were part of the 5 different squads signed up with the ICL - These were Imran Nazir, Mohammad Sami, Hasan Raza, and Naved Latif among others. While the PCB looked to replace these in the respective squads, the Federal Capital's selectors dropped another bombshell by excluding Shoaib Akhtar from the squad owing to disciplinary reasons. A statement from the PCB said that Shoaib will no longer take part in the Pentangular because of his bad influence on players in the dressing room.

What bad influence is my question? Does he force them into drugs? Does he beat them up? What does this man do in the dressing room that makes him such a disruptive force?

The Federal Capital (FC), led by Naved Ashraf (who has played 2 tests for Pakistan back in 1998), bowled Baluchistan out for 253 on day 1. Pakistan internationals Sohail Tanvir and Yasir Arafat were the wreckers in cheif as they ended with figures of 5-66 and 4-83 respectively.

In response, FC began positively but ended day 1 on 79-3. Resuming the innings on day 2, FC opener Raheel Majeed struck 98 before skipper Naveed Ashraf and domestic prolific batsman Usman Saeed got together to post a partnership of 287 runs for the 5th wicket. Usman scored 109 while Naveed plundered 141 runs of 200 deliveries with 24 boundaries and 2 sixes as FC ended the day on 441-7. Kamran Hussain, who made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in January, picked up 3 wickets for Baluchistan.

In the other match being played at the Gaddafi in Lahore, Punjab posted 354 in their first innings against NWFP. Considering the all star batting line up that Punjab walked out with, one would have expected a much larger total but Salman Butt (72), Mohd. Hafeez (3), Nasir Jamshed (16), Misbah (53), Shoaib Malik (41), and Kamran Akmal (40) managed 222 between them before the tail took them to over 350.

Salman, coming off a career best 290 in the previous game continued his good form, while Misbah, Malik, and Akmal got good scores without converting them into huge ones. For NWFP, former test bowler Fazl-e-Akbar picked up 4 wickets and 2-ODI old Samiullah Khan picked up 2. In response the frontier team ended day 2 on 181-3 with skipper Younis Khan unbeaten on 36.

Shoaib Malik, who missed the first match due to being away in Dubai for an interview with GEO, came back to lead Punjab, while premier batsman Mohd. Yousuf changed roles with him and flew to Dubai, probably also for an interview with GEO.

Where else do players miss domestic matches due to interview obligations in other cities?

The mental pressures of cricket

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

- Dylan

Life at the top is not easy – weeks of touring, living in hotels, not seeing family and friends and carrying the weight of expectation. Playing first class cricket comes with all this mental pressure and as well as physical demands. To this cauldron, add the pressure of trying to make it as a regular on one the best teams of all time and being seen as a comrade and a peer. Finally, when you start questioning your own abilities – whether you are good enough to get to the finish line, when your own perceived inadequacies tip the scale of possibilities, then this mental cauldron reaches a boiling point.

Shaun Tait does not deserve our wrath, nor our scorn; not does he deserve to be labeled a “coward” or “quitter” for “walking away”. He needs to be respected and given the space he deserves because he has made a tough, hard choice. He has had the presence of mind to realize that he is only 24 and that he is suffering from mental issues. He has a bright career ahead of himself if he decides to continue playing cricket. But I fully support his decision to take a break and rethink things.

Test cricketers are not unlike soldiers. They spend weeks on tour, whether it is a home series or an away one. To achieve the best results, total concentration is key and to achieve this concentration they try and create a comfort zone. As Gatting points out, family and friends are deliberately blocked out:

"You also get used to a certain way of life on tour. When you get home that suddenly changes.

"You've been used to doing what you want to do, and then suddenly there are other people in your life again who you have been trying not to think about for four months."

While we have seen an increasing number of international cricketers get injured because of the hectic demands of the cricketing calendar, we rarely see players raise their hands and admit to mental fatigue or depression. As this BBC article suggests, one in 6 of us suffers from mental distress. Further, David Frith’s book on cricket, "Silence of the Heart" suggests that the incidence of suicide among Test cricketers is higher than in the general population. If you do the math, we get to an alarming result – the law of averages suggests that atleast 2 players in a team are experiencing mental distress!

The greater problem, however, is that mental issues are seen as a sign of weakness, especially when compared to physical ones. Fans
find it impossible for a player who does battle in front of thousands of spectators to admit to mental frailties. We first idolize our sporting heroes and then put them on a pedestal which makes it impossible for us to believe that the construct of our fantasy can be flawed. But we must realize that our sporting heroes are only human and are subject to immense pressure. In recent times we have seen Trescothick and now Tait and Lou Vincent speak up. We have seen the symptoms such as Murali not touring Australia last time around. Is sledging just an outlet for all this mental pressure?

More importantly, how many other such players suffer silently?

All Asian Semi Final? EYE!

Cricket's blogosphere space has been dominated by the IPL player auction over the last 2-3 days. On Well Pitched I covered the entire auction and then gave my 2 cents on what I thought about it. The other blogs that I frequent - Soulberry's TCWJ, Uncle J's Cricket with Balls, and Ottayan's midoff, have all shared their views on what went down at the Hilton Towers in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Apart from the blogosphere, the TV channels, newspapers, and other cricket websites on the net have also been driven into a frenzy over the IPL auction that other cricket going on around the world has been slightly ignored. Thus I thought it was a good time to shift the focus from what went down in Mumbai to whats been happening in Malaysia.

The U-19 World Cup enters the Quarter Finals stage tomorrow and this is what the line-up looks like:

QF1: Bangladesh vs South Africa

QF2: India vs England

QF3: Sri Lanka vs New Zealand

QF4: Pakistan vs Australia

Apart from the Windies, all major teams have made it to the knockout stage. Bangladesh's presence in the last 8 may seem like a surprise but their U-19 players managed to get there with an unbeaten record. They managed convincing wins over Bermuda and Ireland and then stunned England with a 13 run win to finish top of their pool.

The other 3 Asian teams also entered the Quarter Finals with an unbeaten record topping their respective pools. Defending champions Pakistan easily beat hosts Malaysia and Zimbabwe and won a close game against the Kiwis. Not surprisingly, all 3 victories were set up by the Paki bowlers.

The Indian young guns won their 3 matches convincingly and topped the toughest pool of round 1 beating Papua New Guinea, South Africa, and the Windies. The Indian U-19 batsmen have looked in devastating form. Any surprise that the Indian and Pakistani U-19 teams are similar to their seniors - one reliant on their batting and the other on their bowling.

The Lankans have looked very impressive easily brushing aside Nepal, Namibia, and a strong Australian side. The Lankan seniors could learn a trick or two from their junior counterparts on how to beat Australia.

The Quarterfinals get underway tomorrow and I'm rooting for an all Asian clash in the semis. Its a pity though that the repeat of the 2006 U-19 WC Final is out of the question because if Pakistan and India win their Quarters, they will come face to face in the Semis as per the tournament format.

All those rooting for an All Asian Semi Final Clash, say EYE!

New Poll - Who was the smartest IPL bidder

Now that Q has enlightened us all with his great coverage of the IPL circus, it its now time for a new poll. Go ahead and exercise your right to vote, just as many other Pakistanis just did (wasnt that great!)

The IPL will be a MiNdBoGGliNg Experience !

I know there is an overdoes of IPL related posts on Well Pitched but the whole auction drama has left me stumped and thinking about all that went down and all that will go down once the competition kicks off is mindboggling to say the least.

Here are some random thoughts that I think will make the IPL extremely exciting to watch.

1. Saurav Ganguly ordering Ponting from one field position to another will be a sight.
2. Same goes for Ganguly and Shoaib Akhtar who have had numerous on field battles but will now turn up for Kolkata and Ganguly will throw the new ball to Akhtar thanking God that he is not the striker this time round.
3. When Ganguly throws the ball to Ishant Sharma, Ponting will be relieved that he is on the same team as the kid.
4. Shane Warne telling Greame Smith to go out there and rip the bowling apart. Now how 'bout that? Smith and Warnie in the same team colours!
5. Dhoni keeping wicket to Murali and Sangakkara doing the same to Lee. That surely is exciting stuff.
6. Mohammad Asif sharing the new ball with his Idol Glen McGrath.

I'm sure you guys can think of more stuff. Here's more:

The best opening combinations - ranked in order of ability at the T20 Level:

1. Gilchrist & Gibbs
2. Sachin & Jayasuriya
3. Ganguly & Gayle
4. Sehwag & Gambhir
5. Hayden & Fleming
6. Smith & Langer

The best new ball attacks:

1. Lee & Pathan
2. Steyn & Bracken
3. Asif & McGrath
4. Shoaib & Ishant
5. Pollock & Malinga
6. RP & Vaas

If that has got you excited, see this.

Hard Hitting Pairs that can turn any match upside down in the middle to end overs of an innings:

1. Afridi & Symonds
2. Micheal Hussey & Oram
3. David Hussey & McCullum
4. Cameron White & Boucher

Aussies working with the Kiwis, Aussies working with the Proteas, Pakistanis working with Indians, Aussies working with Indians - the IPL throws at tou mindboggling and endless possibilities to watch the most exciting cricket ever.

The BID-O-METER - Who were the Smartest Bidders?

The cricket world came to a standstill yesterday as all those who mattered gathered around the Hilton Towers in Mumbai and spent millions on cricketers for their IPL franchises. The media frenzy and crowd pull to the cricketers auction was such that other cricket happenings around the world went by unnoticed.

England and New Zealand played out a 340 run tied ODI match, which was probably the most interesting ODI in recent times, the U-19 world cup marched on with its 4th day of matches, a Duleep Trophy Final was being played at the Wankhede, and the ICC announced a shorter 2011 World Cup.

Despite all this, all eyes were on the auction. So how did the bidders fare? Who were the smart ones? Who got it wrong? My Bidometer answers all your questions.

Team Jaipur
Franchisee: Emerging Media
They picked an able leader in Shane Warne at a good bargain along with a potentially dangerous opening combination in Smith and Langer. The middle order looks good too with Younis Khan and Kaif, however the two may not be suited to the T20 game. In Kamran Akmal they have a valuable late order batsman ideal or the T20 game, however their bowling picks look thin - apart from Shane Warne there is Munaf Patel whose history of breaking down makes him a risky choice. They dished out over a million for Yusuf Pathan and Kaif, which is on the high side in my opinion. Apart from Warne, there isn't much star value in the team either, which is essential to oull the crowd in.
Bidometer: 3/10

Chennai Super Kings
Franchisee: India Cements
They made sure that they pick the T20 world cup winning captain in Dhoni, who along with being a sound leader in the shorter versions of the game, also adds the star value required to pull a crowd and add to the brand equity of India Cements. They also got it right with the openers in Hayden and Fleming and a good looking middle order with MEK Hussey and Raina. Add to that hard hitting allrounders Oram and Albie Morkel followed by Dhoni and the Super Kings' batting line up looks very strong. On the bowling front Ntini and Murali are potentially threatening; and they've also got India's T20 WC star Joginder Sharma to bowl the last overs of the innings. They got a very good deal for Hayden and Hussey but may have over paid for Oram and Morkel - but if those sixes start flowing in the last few overs with these 2 in the middle, $1.3 million for both of them may prove to be worth it.
Bidometer: 7/10

Team Mumbai
Franchisee: Reliance India Limited
Mukesh Ambani and his men were blessed with Sachin as their Icon and they ensured that they get te best opening partner for him - Sanath Jayasuriya. This is a dream opening combination for any team and I reckon the best opening pair that will walk out once the IPL kicks off. Both of them bring ample star appeal to the team as well. With Uthappa in the mix they've got a solid top order but the middle order is missing. As is the wicket keeper. Mumbai missed a trick there but they ended the bidding war on a good note by stocking up their bowling with Pollock, Malinga, Fernando, and Harbhajan. Thats a very varied attack and has the potential to trouble all the oppositions batsmen - probably one of the best bowling attacks picked up at the auction. I think they dished out way too much for Bhajji and Uthappa but it got it right with the other bids.
Bidometer: 6/10

Bangalore Royal Challengers
Franchisee: UB Group
Vijay Mallya had Rahul Dravid by his side during the auction but even he could not help Bangalore pick suitable men for the T20 game. Dravid, Kallis, Chanderpaul, and Wasim Jaffer look more like a test batting line up than one for a T20 match. Moreover, they spent as much as $900,000 for Kallis, who was dropped by his national team for the T20 World Cup played in his own backyard. On the bowling front however, with Steyn, Bracken, and Zaheer they probably picked up the best pace battery out of all franchisees and all at very good prices. They got a very good deal for the best keeper in the world, Boucher, and they gambled half a million on Cameron White. With the 3 pacers, White, and Kumble; Dravid has managed a varied and dangerous attack but the batting is on the weak side and apart from home boy Dravid, Bangalore haven't really managed any crowd pullers.
Bidometer: 5/10

Team Hyderabad
Franchisee: Deccan Chronicle
VVS Laxman withdrew his Icon status so that his team could play with a larger budget. That worked very well for they picked up the most apt batsmen for the T20 game - in Gilchrist, Symonds, Afridi, and Gibbs they've got a hard hitting batting line up that will send shivers down the spines of bowlers, they've got multi dimensional cricketers, and they've got the stars that can fill the stadiums. Add Laxman, Styris, Chamara Silva and Rohit Sharma to that batting line up and you've got the strongest one out of the eight. The bowling picks area a bit weak though with all left armers in RP, Vaas, and Zoysa. They made sure they pay high for the stars, which makes sense but $875K for RP is probably too high.
Bidometer: 8/10

Team Mohali
Franchisee: Preity Zinta led Consortium
They started off with probably the best T20 batsmen in Yuvraj as their Icon and made sure they got one of the best middle orders with Mahela and King Sanga who will get to work with their World Cup coach Tom Moody, along woth Katich and Sarwan who were picked up at good bargains. But they didn't pick any openers. Priety also managed to grab a lethal new ball attack in Lee, Pathan, and Sreesanth who will be well supported with spinner Powar and Chawla - plus all 5 bowlers have the ability with the bat as well. They've got the crowd pullers in Yuvi, Lee, and Pathan but the openers slot is a major issue.
Bidometer: 7/10

Team Kolkata
Franchisee: Shahrukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment
Being the King of entertainment Shahrukh Khan made sure he fills his side with entertainers in Shoaib Akhtar, Ponting, and Gayle - all more than able cricketers. Led by Ganguly, the prince of Kolkata and SRK's managed the players who can fill up the 100,000 plus seats at the Eden Gardens. Shoaib sharing the new ball with Ishant Sharma followed by Umar Gul's toe busting yorkers looks like a solid pace attack on paper which can be ably supported by the spin of Gayle and Murali Karthik. They also gambled by paying a pricey $675K for arguably Australia's best T20 batsman in David Hussey. Add McCullum as the keeper to the mix and Kolkata looks like a well balanced side that could be one of the favorites as well as one of th most entertaining side of the competition. SRK bagged the best bargain in the auction with Ponting, Akhtar, and Gul but may have overpaid for Ishant.
Bidometer: 9/10

Delhi Daredevils
Franchisee: GMR Holdings
They didn't pay over a million, made sure their Icon doesn't go over a million, and made sure they got local stars able to turn the game on smartly using the stipulation that allows only 4 international stars in the final XI. Sehwag, Gambhir, Tiwari, and Dinesh Karthik makes for a solid batting line up and all able to take the field and attract the local crowd. Add to that Shoaib Malik , Dilshan and AB De Villiers and the batting line up seems more than decent. Glen McGrath and the Pakistani version Mohammad Asif make for a dream new ball attack and only had they been aggressive on home by Ishant Sharma it would have been perfect. Mahroof and Vettori provide the support to the bowling and Dilshan, Malik, and Sehwag add variety to the spin department. They didn't over pay for anyone and managed smart deals for all their players.
Bidometer: 9/10

Thats how all the bidders fared in my opinion. How smart they all were will be proved once the competition gets underway and how the teams manage their stars in an XI that allows only 4 non-indian players. Who do you think were the smart bidders? Who do you think got it wrong? Let me have your views.

Welcome to the Cricketer's Trading Floor - IPL Player Auction Summarised

77 out of the 79 cricketers that were up for sale were bought by the 8 IPL franchises on a cricket history defining day at the Hilton Towers in Mumbai for a whopping $42 million. Thats an average of over half a million dollars per cricketer!

Here are 7 points summarising what went down at today's Cricketer Auction.

1. Who didn't make it?

Mohammad Yousuf - pending court case due to ICL contract cancellation.

Ashwell Prince - no one was interested.

2. Who spent the most?

Bollywood King Shahrukh Khan (Kolkata) - $6,072,500 for 11 players.

India Cements (Chennai) - $5,925,000 for 11 players.

Deccan Chronicle (Hyderabad) - $5,885,000 for 11 players.

Point of Interest: The top 2 franchise bidders - Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya who spent $111.9 million and $111.6 million for the mumbai and Bangalore franchises respectively spent less than $5 million each at the player's auction and were among the lowest 3 bidders today.

3. Who made it to the Millionaires Club?

Mahendra Singh Dhoni - $1.5 million by India Cements (Chennai)

Andrew Symonds - $1.35 million by Deccan Chronicle (Hyderabad)

These were the only 2 players who were bid for over a million. The others in the club are the ICON players:

Sachin Tendulkar - $1,121,250 by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance (Mumbai)

Saurav Ganguly - $1,092,500 by Shahrukh Khan (Kolkata)

Yuvraj Singh - $1,063,750 by Preity Zinta (Mohali)

Rahul Dravid - $1,035,000 by Vijay Mallya' UB Group (Bangalore)

4. Who secured the highest bids?

Sanath Jayasuriya - $975,000 by Mukesh Ambani (Mumbai)

Ishant Sharma - $950,000 by Shahrukh Khan (Kolkata)

Irfan Pathan - $925,000 by Priety Zinta (Mohali)

Jacques Kallis - $900,000 by Vijay Mallya (Bangalore)

Brett Lee - $900,000 by Priety Zinta (Mohali)

Point of Interest: Bollywood celebs are BIG spenders.

5. Which were the most overvalued deals?

$950,000 for Ishant Sharma - surely a talented boy but does he seriously command such a price after having played a handful of ODIs and Tests and no T20Is?

$900,000 for Jacques Kallis - undoubtedly one of the best test batsmen in the world, a decent ODI bat, but even his national team dropped him for the T20 world cup that was played in his home country. Is such a price justified?

$675,000 for Mohammad Kaif - Ignored by the national selectors for all forms of the game, untested at the T20 level, why were bidders so interested in him?

6. Which were the most undervalued bids?

$375,000 for Matthew Hayden - are you kidding me? Australia's tour of Pakistan has been given as a probable reason but then team mate Lee who would also be touring fetched $900K!

$400,000 for Ricky Ponting - deserves more doesn't he? Strange that the bidders were not more interested.

$150,000 for Umar Gul - the leading wicket taker of the T20 world cup definitelt deserved more.

If you look at it from the bidders' perspective, they have hit the Jackpot with these undervalued deals.

7. What were the other unexpected bids?

Shane Warne and Glen McGrath went for as low as $450,000 and $350,000 respectively.

David Hussey, Cameron White, and Yusuf Pathan, who collectively have international experience of a handful matches fetched bids of $675,000; $500,000; and $475,000 respectively. Looks like the bidders keep an eye on domestic cricket in other countries and their own. Well done.

Shahid Afridi bagged the highest bid ($675,000) for a Pakistani player ahead of Shoaib Malik, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Younis Khan, Umar Gul, and Kamran Akmal.

Ishant Sharma pushes Ganguly over a MILLION...

The IPL got their 6th Millionnaire in Saurav Ganguly who joins Dhoni, Symonds, Sachin, Dravid, and Yuvraj in the elite club. Ganguly achieved the status owing to Kolkata's aggressive bid for India's latest bowling senation Ishant Sharma.

Shahrukh Khan bid aggressively for Ishant Sharma closing his bid at a whopping $950,000! Thats the highest than any Indian fast bowler has got thus far. Irfan Pathan is a 2nd close who bagged a $925,000 deal from Priety Zinta's Mohali. Ponting would not have to worry about facing Ishant now as both of them will turn out for the Kolkata team. Ishant sharing the new ball with Shoaib Akhtar - the could be hell for the opposition batsmen and a treat. RP Singh was the other most valuable Indian pacer who was bagged by Hyderabad for $875,000.

The auction has proved the most beneficial for Indian players as almost all of them have gotten deals in excess of half a million dollars. Gambhir was picked up by his home team Delhi for $725,000 while Mumbai picked up Uthappa for $800,000. Delhi also won the bid for Manoj Tiwari for a high $675,000 while Rohit Sharma ($750,000), Suresha Raina ($650,000), and Mohammad Kaif ($675,000) all got valuable deals from Hyderabad, Chennai, and Jaipur respectively.

In my view the biggest surprise of the day was David Hussey being picked up for $657,000 by Kolkata. Uncle J has been running a petition for David Hussey's inclusion in the Aussie ODI side and his case has been made stronger due to the struggling Aussie batsmen in the CB series and his most recent 113 of 64 balls, the 2nd fastest century in Australian domestic cricket. Hussey junior's bid was more surprising because his elder brother Micheal Hussey, who is a permanent member of the Aussie side, did not attract any bids.

In the most recent round of bidding the franchisees concentrated on tanking up their bowling force with Jaipur picking up Munaf Patel ($275,000), Mumbai bagging the Lankan pair of Lasith Malinga ($350,000) and Dilhara Fernando ($150,000), Bangalore hitting the jackpot with Dale Steyn ($325,000) and Nathan Bracken ($325,000), Hyderabad bidding succesfully for RP Singh and the Sri Lankan pair of Chaminda Vaas ($200,000) and Nuwan Zoysa ($110,000), Mohali settling for the spinning combo of Ramesh Power ($170,000) and Piyush Chawla ($400,000), and Kolkata smartly bagging Ishant Sharma, Murali Karthik ($425,000), and Umar Gul ($150,000).

Stay tuned for the final update.

Rahul Dravid is 5th MILLIONAIRE & Ganguly almost there...

Bangalore bid successfully for Jacques Kallis for $900,000 thus putting their Icon Rahul Dravid into the millionares bracket. But Kallis and Dravid in the same 20-20 team? Not smart I think.

Shahrukh Khan and Saurav Ganguly look like men on a mission - after picking up Shoaib Akhtar, Ricky Ponting, and McCullum they added Chris Gayle to their roster for $800,000. That puts Icon Ganguly at $920,000. Kolkata is turning out to be a strong oufit.

Delhi picked up Pakistani skipper Shoaib Malik and his team mate Mohammad Asif for $500,000 and $650,000 respectively. Shahid Afridi 'Boom Boom' Afridi was bagged by Hyderabad for $675,000 while Younis Khan was auctioned to Jaipur for $225,000.

Hyderabad also picked up Herchelle Gibbs for $575,000. Gibbs joins Gilchrist, Symonds, and Afridi - thats some firepower in the Hyderabad squad.

Gibbs' opening partner Greame Smith was picked up by Jaipur for $475,000, while Chennai added to their impressive star cast of Dhoni, Hayden, Murali, and Oram with the addition of Stephen Fleming for $350,000.

Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth joined the Bangalore and Mohali bandwagons for $450,000 and $625,000 respectively.

The squads are shaping up well at the Hilton Towers. I hear that the number of people present there in the form of journalists, TV reporters, actors, cricketers, and businessmen are more than those present at the Wankhede stadium witnessing the Duleep Trophy Final.

Its clear to me which way domestic cricket is going to go in India and the rest of the world.

Symonds and Yuvraj join the MILLIONAIRES Club...

Andrew Symonds and Yuvraj Singh joined Dhoni and Sachin in the millionnaires club as Symonds was picked up by Hyderabad for $1.35 million. Big bucks being thrown around here. Looks like Symmos spat with Bhajji and the whole racism row didn't have much of an impact on his value. Symonds joins team mate Adam Gilchrist in the Hyderabad Team. Deccan Chronicle have now spent over $2 million on the two Australians.

Brett Lee also went for almost a million as he was auctioned to Mohali for $900,000. By way of that bid, Yuvraj the Mohali Icon, moved into the millionaires category. Lee now joins the Lankans Jayawardene and Sangakkara in a strong Mohali outfit led by Yuvraj and coached by Tom Moody. Go Priety Zinta!!

Shahrukh Khan, aided by Saurav Ganguly bagged another 2 players - Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting for $400,000 and Kiwi keeper Brendon McCullum for $700,000. McCullum valued more than Ponting? Now thats a surprise. Kolkata's team is also shaping up well with Ganguly, Ponting, and Shoaib Akhtar. Bollywood seems to be on a roll.

Delhi bought their first player in the form of Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori for $625,000, while Chennai picked up another two - Matthew Hayden for $375,000 and Jacob Oram for $675,000. Both of them join Dhoni and Murali.

Surprising point to note: New Zealanders are valuable cricketers, even more than the Aussies. Vettori, Oram, McCullum have gone for more than Ponting, Hayden, and Warne. And McCullum equalled Gilchrist's bid.

Uncle J, any comments?

Stay tuned for more.

Dhoni and Sachin go for over a MILLION & Shahrukh Khan and Saurav Ganguly bag Shoaib Akhtar !!!

The day that defines the future of cricket has begun and the 8 IPL franchisees mean business. History is being created right in front of our eyes at the Hilton Towers in Mumbai. The men behind the 8 franchisees along with Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and other cricket advisors and consultants got together this morning to bid for their players.

India Cements, owners of the Chennai franchise dished out $1.5 million for Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni! Thats is $1.5 million for Dhoni's services for 3 years, i.e. approximately 150 days of cricket implying a daily wage of $10,000. How much does Bill Gates earn?

India Cements have also bought Muttiah Muralitharan for $600,000 thus spending $2.1 million or 40% of their maximum budget on 2 key players. Who are the brains behind these numbers?

Shahrukh Khan and his Kolkata captain Saurav Ganguly decided on Shoaib Akhtar for $425,000. They surely don't think he's a bad influence on the dressing room. Maybe SRK will cast Shoaib in his next movie.

Adam Gilchrist went to Hyderabad for a whopping $700,000 - no matter how big that amount is, its still less than half that was spent on Dhoni. Justified?

Mukesh Ambani's men from Mumbai dished out large sums of $975,000 and $850,000 respectively for Sanath Jayasuriya and Harbhajhan Singh! This means that Sachin Tendulkar, Mumbai's Icon, will earn atleast $1.1 million and will join Dhoni as the 2nd player to be valued at over a million dollars! Who is doing these valuations?

Preity Zinta's Mohali have also emptied their coffers by over a million spending $700,000 for Kumar Sangakkara and $475,000 for Mahela Jayawardene - The VC is valued more than the skipper! Mohali's Icon and captain, Yuvraj Singh, is set to earn atleast $805,000!!

Jaipur bagged Shane Warned for $450,000 and Bangalore spent half a million on India's test skipper Anil Kumble.

Over $8 million have been spent by the 8 franchisees collectively in the morning bidding session. There's more to come after lunch. Stay tuned for updates.

Political Knockout

All facebook users out there go and add this new cricket game application on facebook called Political Knockout.

The game features various Pakistani politicians and you as the user select one politician and select another politician as your opponent. Each player/politician bats for an over and at the depending on how good the batting/bowling was the total votes for each candidate is computed.

The game is developed by a talented company based in Pakistan - tintash - two of the founders are in the US.

You can add Political Knockout bygoing to http://apps.facebook.com/politicalknockout

Have fun!

Selectorial Headache or a Mathematical Problem?

Come tomorrow and the 8 IPL franchisees will be getting together to bid for the cricketers they want in their teams.

Sounds fun doesn't it? - after all the only thing required is a suitcase full of dollars and knowledge about the players available. That can't be difficult can it? All 8 franchisees have truck loads of dollars and they know their cricketers.

But its not as simple as it sounds. There are certain restrictions in place which have given this IPL player auction the image of a mathematical problem rather than a selectorial headache.

You have to spend a minimum of $3.3 million but can't go above $5 million.

You have to choose 8 international players

You have to choose 4 under 22 players

You have to choose 4 players from the local catchment areas

You can choose as many Indian players as you like

You cannot have more than 2 Australian players in the same team

You cannot choose Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid, or Yuvraj unless you are Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, or Mohali respectively. The same is being requested for Laxman (Hyderabad) and Sehwag (Delhi).

The above mentioned Icon players will earn 15% more than your highest paid cricketer

Not to downgrade the mathematical abilities of the cricketers and bollywood celebrities involved but probably they would be better of hiring an investment banker or a Fantasy Cricket expert.

Those of you who play the several fantasy cricket games on the web would be familiar with such selectorial headaches - fixed budget to use, best players priced too highly to fit into one team, restrictions on number of bowlers, batsmen, and allrounders, restrictions from which country they are from, and so on. Its a dream come true for us fantasy cricket lovers to see the best being auctioned for real dollars unlike the imaginary numbers we play with on ESPN's Super Selector or Cricinfo Fantasy.

An Investment Banker will also be useful - he would develop a model showcasing the different combinations and permutations needed to get the best team fulfilling the whole criteria and one that will ensure returns on the money spent.

Note to SRK and Preity Zinta: I am an investment banker and quite good at fantasy cricket and for you I will work for FREE! (All I require is a visa to India and a flight there tonight, I will pull an allnighter to develop a team and a bid for the auction tomorrow)

So the question is who do you choose? How do you garantee you get the players you want? What is the combination that will get you the crowds and win matches at the same time? Given that its a 20-20 tournament, do you choose senior and exerienced cricketers or rising young ones? Your XI is only allowed to field 4 international cricketers but you can have 8 in your squad - how do you come up with a good mix? How big can you go on your bid for Shane Warne or Glen McGrath given that you have to pay 15% higher to your Icon? Will Hayden make a good opening partner with Saurav or Sachin? Do you want Gilchrist or Dhoni?

What is the Optimal Solution?

I told you, its more like mathematics!

U-19 Young Guns for the Future

The Under 19 Cricket World Cup got underway in Malaysia yesterday. Pakistan are the defending champions and are also looking to win their 3rd consecutive U-19 title. Pakistan's U-19 captains from the 2004 and 2006 campaigns, Khalid Latif and Sarfraz Ahmed respectively, have made their international debuts in the last 6 months. Rohit Sharma and Piyush Chawla, who represented India in the 2006 U-19 WC have also made their international debuts.

I did a post some time back covering players that have represented their teams in U-19 world cups and then gone on to play international cricket. In this post I profile the captains of the 9 major U-19 teams taking part in the current World Cup.

How many of these will play international cricket? How many of these are future stars? How many of these will go on to captain their countries in international cricket? Only time will tell, but taking a look at their profiles and achievements thus far shows a lot of promising young cricketers for the future.

Australia
Micheal Hill - 19 years. Left Hand Batsman, Right Arm Medium Pace Bowler.
Hill, a Victorian, led the Victoria U-19 team to the title in the National U-19 Championship in 2007. That led him to a contract with the Bushrangers for the current season, however he hasn't made his first class debut yet. Hill began Australia's U-19 campaign with a thumping 124 of only 71 deliveries against Namibia yesterday - that innings included 7 hits to the fence and 12 SIXES! The sixes is an U-19 record I think. The ODI record is 11 shared by Jayasuriya and Afridi and Hill bettered that by 1.

Bangladesh
Suhrawadi Shuvo - 19 years. Right Hand Batsman, Slow Left Arm Orthodox.
From Rajshahi, Shuvo was part of the Bangladesh U-19 squad that played the U-19 WC in 2006. In that tournament he impressed with his left arm spin picking up 9 wickets at 14.44 apiece. Shuvo made his first class debut in 2004-05 for Rajshahi - he's played 15 first class game picking up 69 wickets at about 22 runs apiece. The Bengali skipper was wrecker-in-chief picking up 3-9 in 7 overs against Bermuda as Bangladesh romped to victory in their opening game of the WC.

England
Alex Wakely - 19 years. Right Hand Bastman, Right Arm Fast Medium Bowler.
This young English lad made his first class debut for Northamptionshire in the last county season, playing 4 games between July and September 2007. Though his overall figures are not much to speak of, Alex impressed in his debut innings against Somerset scoring a gritty 38 batting at number 6. Slated to come at #3, Alex didn't get to bat in England's 10 wicket rout of Ireland in their first match of this WC, and he didn't bowl either.

India
Virat Kohli - 19 years. Right Hand Batsman.
This Delhi boy made headlines with his 251 for the Delhi U-17 side in the National U-17 Championships in 2005. Form there, Kohli went on to make his Ranjhi debut in the 2006-07 season and has thus far played 11 first class matches for Delhi scoring 630 runs in 17 innings at an average of 45.00. He has hit 2 first class centuries and a fifty with a highest score of 169. Batting at #4, Kohli hit a 49 ball 40 against Papua New Guinea in India's opening match of this WC.

New Zealand
Kane Williamson - 17 years. Right Hand Batsman, Right Arm Offspinner.
The youngest of all captains in the U-19 WC, Kane from Tauranga made his first class debut for Northern Districts before he played at the U-19 level. He is more of a batsman but bowls handy offspin and was adjudged player for the tournament at the Gillette Schools Competition in 2007, which led him to captaining the NZ U-19 side. Batting at #3, Kane managed only 13 in the Kiwis' first game of the WC against Zimbabwe.

Pakistan
Imad Wasim - 19 years. Slow Left Arm Orthodox, Left Hand Batsman.
This young Islamabadi boy was a member of the U-19 world cup winning team in 2006. Named captain of the U-19 side in July 2007, Imad led Pak U-19 to a 1-1 draw in the youth tests and 3-1 win in the ODIs against England in England last summer. This was followed by a thumping 5-0 whitewash of the Australian u-19 team in Pakistan in which he took 12 wickets at 13.00 apiece. Primarily a left arm spinner, Imad is also a hard hitting lower order batsman, a skill he displayed in his first class debut for Islamabad where he scored a run a ball 88 against Quetta in January 2007. He has played 7 first class games scoring 201 runs in 8 innings at 50.25 and picking up 6 wickets. Imad was a spectator in Pakistan's opening match against Malaysia as he saw his pacers bowl them out for 75 and his top order easily knock off the runs.

South Africa
Wayne Parnell - 18 years. Left Arm Medium-Fast Bowler, Left Hand Batsman.
From Eastern Province, Wayne was a member of the U-19 team that took part in the 2006 WC. Primarily a pacer, he has an impressive first class record having played 6 matches picking up 17 wickets at 22 apiece with a best of 4-7. Wayne impressed with the ball in the Proteas' first match of the WC against the Windies where he took the new ball and ended with figures of 3-37 off his 10 overs.

Sri Lanka
Ashan Priyanjan - 18 years. Right Hand Batsman, Right Arm Medium-Fast Bowler.
This young boy from Colombo impressed selectors with some allround performances for a club side in Sri Lanka. Ashan is yet to make his first class debut, however he has represented bloomfield in a couple of Domestic One Dayers. A top order batsman and a lively pacer, he was also a member of the team that took part in the 2006 U-19 WC. In Sri Lanka's opening match against Nepal, Priyanjan scored 46 with 5 boundaries batting at number 4 in a battling innings that saw him come out at 13-2.

West Indies
Sharmarh Brooks - 19 years. Right Hand Batsman, Right Arm Leg Spinner.
An allrounder from Barbados, Brook was a member of the Carribean team during the 2006 U-19 WC and made his first class debut last year. In 5 first class games he is yet to pick up a wicket, however he has impressed with his leg breaks at the U-19. Brooks managed only 7 in the Windies' first game against South Africa but he shone with the ball picking up 4-39 in 9 overs and running through the Proteas middle order.

IMO, that is a very talented bunch and some of them have a very bright future. Imad Wasim and Virat Kohli would probably make their international debuts earlier than the rest because of the subcontinents' nature of throwing the young ones at the deep end. Micheal Hill may take another 10 years to bag the green cap but he would have probably scored over 15,000 first class runs for Victoria by then, while Wayne would probably join the never ending South African pace bandwagon in the next 2-3 years. Brooks could be the spinner the West Indies have never had, while Shuvo could join the long list of left armers to represent Bangladesh.

But then again, maybe all of them could go the Reetinder Singh Sodhi way! I hope not though.

Stay tuned for more updates from the U-19 world cup from Malaysia.

Of Traitors, Capitalist Cricket Economies, Cricket Television, and Eating More Pie...

In Dubai, I have come across a high number of British, Australian, and Canadian expats employed in high profile consulting firms, investment banks, and law firms. While these Western expats is a more recent phenomenon, I know thousands of Pakistanis and Indians who have spent the best part of their lives making a living in the Middle East.

I also know many Pakistanis who grew up in Pakistan, went to the US for college, and have stayed there working for the Microsofts, Googles, and Amazons of the world. And, I recently read that a number of American IT and Finance professionals have relocated to India, where they are employed as directors, CFOs, and CEOs in leading Indian companies or MNCs with offices operating out of Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangalore.

Out of the 7 bloggers on wellpitched, 3 are part of the US workforce, 2 work in Dubai, 1 lives and works in London, and another is pursuing his MBA in France. All 7 are from Pakistan.

All these people who are working in countries which are not their countries of origin are doing so for their own reasons but ultimately it all boils down to one factor - a better lifestyle / a higher standard of living as compared to their home country.

Are we all traitors? Just because we have left our country of origin in pursuit of higher salaries doesn't make us traitors, does it? Surely not!

So why is it that when a cricketer decides to quit playing for his country to pursue an offer from a county or a club or decides to skip a test tour for the same, is he branded a traitor? Isn't he also looking for a higher salary, a better lifestyle, a secure future? Surely he is. They call them professional cricketers and yet they expect them to dedicate their lives to a single employer. How unfair is that?

The launch of the IPL has led all national boards to express concerns regarding players choosing Indian clubs over their test teams. Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds have been the most vocal cricketers raising concerns of how the IPL could lure away test cricketers on the fringes of retirement. The ECB have voiced concerns about the impact the IPL will have on county cricket.

Pakistani cricketers have already accepted bans from their domestic teams to take part in the ICL. Justin Langer and Shane Warne have informed their counties that they will be missing the initial part of the season cause of the IPL. Australian cricketers are hoping that they don't have to tour Pakistan so they can take part in the IPL. They even waged a contract dispute with their employers so they could accept IPL offers.

No one denies that earning half a million to a million dollars for 2 months of playing 20-20 cricket in one country is more lucrative than earning half of that for playing a full season of tests and ODIs in 4 different countries. Then why not allow the cricketers a higher standard of living?

Just like the best Pakistani bankers maybe cutting deals in Dubai, the best American IT professionals maybe developing softwares in India, the best Australian cricketers could be hitting fours and sixes elsewhere. When the former are not labelled traitors why the latter?

As it happens in the corporate world where Goldman Sachs and Merrl Lynch vie for the best finance professionals by making counter offers, Microsoft and Google introduce new employee benefits to retain their best developers, McKinsey and Booze Allen fight it out to get hold of the top MBAs from Harvard and INSEAD, why can't the national cricket boards, the English counties, the IPL, the ICL, and other cricket leagues coexist and vie for the best cricketers without branding them as traitors?

Maybe there has to be a middle ground but I think banni