Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Hot, Not, Needs a Rethought: CT 2009 Final Edition

OK, here's the final list. Thanks for the discussion so far! I've added in a couple of suggestions, and took out Mohammad Aamer's haircut - perhaps I was too harsh on the teenager!

Great tournament overall. It seems ICC might actually be learning something. Pretty good and meaningful cricket among the top teams in just two weeks. That's the way to go.

Hot: ODI Cricket; Pakistan's bowling; South Africa as a host country for any cricket event; female support staff (e.g. NZ physio); white blazers for the victors.

Not: Indian team spirit; ODI World Cup format; South Africa as a host team; finals on a Monday; pitch invasions.

Needs a Rethought: Strategy for taking the batting powerplay; that horrible sounding bugle; the continued absence of the referral system; long bilateral ODI series; being denied a runner for cramps.

Make your pitch on this post...



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22 Pitched:

  1. Unknown said...
     

    Haha, perfect list, it should be mailed to the board!

    I think the Indian team were overall just "off"--you know, like Pak during the Sri Lanka games. It's a temporary thing. We recovered, so can they!

    Sad thing is all my fave Indian cricketers no longer play (e.g Balaji)..the ones that got high on cricket..

    & lol@ female support staff. Why are male cricket fans so....inappropriate word..but it rhymes with corny. :P

  2. LiB said...
     

    Husha,

    the male cricket fans are not so.. inappropriate word.. they are just stating the obvious.. ;)

    almost perfect list sledge, though i lovd the bugle, planning somthing on those lines for the upcoming Pak vs NZ series in UAE! ;)

  3. SledgeHammer said...
     

    @LiB: Thanks! Got no problem with the idea of a bugle. But the noise it makes just sounds horribly out of tune. I guess melody lies in the ears of the beholder!

    Absolutely go for it for the Pak-NZ series! Just make it sound a little nicer, if possible! :)

    Here in the US, this is what they play at baseball and basketball games. At the end of it, everyone screams "CHARGE!!!" Often, they just play the last bit. (personally, I find it extremely irritating!)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb19d08Lnec

  4. Anonymous said...
     

    Q, over at 99.94 we are wondering why there are no Pakistani teams in the Champions League. Do you know the definitive answer?

  5. SledgeHammer said...
     

    @nestaquin: It's because Modi decided not to include Pakistan in the tournament.

    I think he was pissed that Pak govt didn't allow Pak players to play in IPL this year out of safety concerns (at that time it was to be held in India, and it was just a few months after the Mumbai attacks. It was a decision by the Pak govt, not the PCB or the players). So Modi made some bogus claims about Pakistan not returning the CL application in time, blah blah.

    That's why Pakistan, the T20 World Champions, do not have a team in the Champions League.

  6. Anonymous said...
     

    Thanks Sledgehammer.

    It is a shame that Pakistan is not represented. They are undoubtedly the kings of T20 cricket being unfortunate runners-up in the World T20 of 2007 and champions of the last event a few months back. That being said, the winners of this tournament may claim to be the best domestic T20 outfit on the planet but without Pakistani representation it is, and always will be, a questionable boast.

  7. Homer said...
     

    Sledgehammer,

    "It was a decision by the Pak govt, not the PCB or the players). So Modi made some bogus claims about Pakistan not returning the CL application in time, blah blah."

    As I write this, the Pakistan Government has yet to revoke its ban on its players traveling to India.

    So you would be better off taking your case to the GoP rather than blaming Modi for "bogus claims".

    Cheers,

  8. Homer said...
     

    "There is a definite smell of match-fixing coming from the IPL where strange things are happening," - Javed Miandad

    India were miffed at not qualifying for the semi-finals after Pakistan lost to Australia and they took their revenge in their own way. They influenced the umpires to favour New Zealand. - Muhammad Ali Shah

    Asked to comment on allegations that India might have had a role to play in the poor umpiring in the semifinal, Imran said he couldn't say anything for certain but alleged that India in the past had tried to undermine Pakistan cricket.

    "The truth is that it is hard for the Indians to digest the fact that this year in two major tournaments their team, whom they tagged as favourites, was eliminated inthe first round and our team not only won the Twenty20 World Cup but also reached the semifinal of the Champions Trophy," - Inthikab Alam

    "In a calculated manner, India is trying to isolate Pakistan from international cricket. No board is willing to support us and we have no inputs coming from other boards." - Ehsan Mani

    Cricket is in danger of overkill, and the IPL and its imitators in other countries are playing a major part. We require a formula that preserves the novelty of encounters. The familiarity of combatants will breed contempt among viewers. - Kamran Abbasi

    Since the opinion makers and moulders of opinion in Pakistan hold the BCCI and its organized tournaments in such high esteem, surely there is a case for Pakistan not parading its teams in a BCCI organized tournament? After all, you would want to keep the players from the "Land Of the Pure" just that, no?

    So why seek vindication about how good your teams are in a BCCI organized tournament in front of Indian crowds, both of which you ( the Pakistan establishment) so obviously scorn?

    Cheers,

  9. Anonymous said...
     

    Thanks for the view from the other side of the fence Homer.

    Although, I now understand that the Pakistani Government is not allowing their players to perform as far as I know they weren't invited anyway.

    Also, Arafat is playing for Sussex and he has a Pakistani passport so there is an exception.

    Regardless, from a neutral's perspective it is still a shame that Pakistan isn't represented.

    Putting politics, innuendo and slander aside for a moment, when all is said and done, the tournament is poorer without their inclusion.

  10. SledgeHammer said...
     

    @Homer: What you have just proved is that Modi decided to ban Pakistan because he was upset at one comment from an ex-cricketer, Javed Miandad.

    The rest of the statements you posted were all made in the last few weeks. So they have nothing to do with Modi's little bitchy-fit.

    Also, Pakistani players are not banned from playing in India at all. They were restricted from traveling to India for the IPL specifically. Like Nestaquin said, Arafat is playing. So that claim is absolutely false.

    So please come back with something other than fake stuff to try to justify your Lord Modi. He acted like a little child with nothing but hatred toward Pakistan and Pakistanis.

    Naturally, it means nothing since he's minting his millions and hosting a great tournament. But what he did was completely wrong and unjustified. Only someone with complete tunnel vision can justify what he did.

  11. Homer said...
     

    Sledge,

    Yet Arafat had a smooth entry into India; he said he got his visa at the Indian High Commission in London - where he was playing county cricket - without any fuss. "The Champions League organisers helped with a letter and I got it immediately," Arafat told Cricinfo. "The PCB gave me the permission immediately."

    Not Karachi or Lahore , but London.

    May 24, 2009 - "Unfortunately, the Pakistan government won't give them clearance to come to India, and since yesterday was out cut-off date, it's not possible to have a team from Pakistan this year," said Modi. "Delhi Daredevils this year have highest points from the league. But from next year, the third team from India will be decided from a play-off between the two losing semi-finalists."

    May 27, 2009 - The Pakistan Cricket Board is hoping that an improvement in bilateral relations with India would pave the way for its local Twenty20 champions Sialkot Stallions' participation in the Champions League in October.
    "If political and diplomatic relations improve before October, anything is possible and we can press the Indian board to include our national champions in the league as well," a PCB official said in a report.
    Though the PCB officials were silent on the Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi's statement that Pakistan would not be represented in the lucrative Champions League this year, sources said a change in
    decision could not be ruled out.
    "The fact is that the Champions League is being held in India and given current situation only the government can decide when sporting ties will become normal with India," the report said.
    The reports further said that the issue of the Champions League would be discussed when the board officials of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh meet in Dubai on June with ICC officials to discuss the World Cup affairs.


    So what happened? Did the PCB raise the subject with the BCCI? And here is the other thing - IPL 2 happened in South Africa, right? Has the Pakistan Foreign Ministry issued any release revoking the ban on its players from traveling to India? I did not see anything of the sort on the MoFA website. And has the PCB clarified its governments stance anywhere? If so, can you post the links?

    "What you have just proved is that Modi decided to ban Pakistan because he was upset at one comment from an ex-cricketer, Javed Miandad.

    The rest of the statements you posted were all made in the last few weeks. So they have nothing to do with Modi's little bitchy-fit." - so let me understand this - the then Director General of Pakistan cricket indulges in innuendo and slander and that is somehow justified?

    "Modi's little bitchy-fit" - isnt that what the entire Pakistan establishment is doing post the Champions Trophy? But that must be justified too, no?

    "So please come back with something other than fake stuff to try to justify your Lord Modi. He acted like a little child with nothing but hatred toward Pakistan and Pakistanis.

    Naturally, it means nothing since he's minting his millions and hosting a great tournament. But what he did was completely wrong and unjustified. Only someone with complete tunnel vision can justify what he did." - very classy Sledge!

    Cheers,

  12. SledgeHammer said...
     

    @Homer: You just keep proving my points. Pak players were banned from the IPL.

    Also, it doesn't matter where Arafat got his visa from. If there's a ban on Pakistanis to visit India (which there isn't, it was specific to IPL), then I assume Arafat will go to jail.

    BTW, unlike you, I don't justify silly decisions. Pak's decision to ban the players from the IPL was wrong. And it actually worked against them since the tournament was eventually held in SA. Wrong decision, should be criticized, and the people who suffered the most were the Pak players.

    But for the Modi worshipers out there, there is nothing but justification for his small-mindedness. So go ahead and keep trying to unsuccessfully prove your point, but it's an unjustified exclusion of representation from the world's best T20 team by someone with a whole lotta power and money throwing a petty temper tantrum.

  13. Homer said...
     

    "the world's best T20 team" - The Sialkot Stallions??? What are you smoking my friend?

    or is the Pakistan team the same as the Sialkot Stallions and vice versa?

    You are welcome to your delusions.. I am out of here.

    Cheers,

  14. SledgeHammer said...
     

    @Homer: Nice try, but fail!

    I said: "representation from the world's best T20 team"

    Yes, Pakistan is the world's best T20 team.

    Yes, Sialkot would be a representative from Pakistan.

    Fail! Epic Fail! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!

  15. Homer said...
     

    Sledge my friend, someday I hope you will read your own words

    "So go ahead and keep trying to unsuccessfully prove your point, but it's an unjustified exclusion of representation from the world's best T20 team by someone with a whole lotta power and money throwing a petty temper tantrum."

    And if you are done with your infantile posturing, you will also do well to remember that just because people do not agree with you does not give you the right to pigeon hole them into your stereotypes (your Lord Modi,Modi worshipers etc).

    Here are the facts, in chronological order

    Fact - 26/11 happened.
    Fact - The Indian Government forbade the Indian team from traveling to Pakistan ( even though the BCCI was keen)
    Fact - The PCB was okay with Pakistani players traveling for the IPL. So was the Sports Ministry. It was then that the Foreign Ministry jumped in and issued a blanket ban on Pakistani players traveling to India, subject to relations between the two countries.
    Fact - between then and now, no Foreign Ministry or PCB official has made any clarification on the travel ban.
    Fact - Modi specified this as the reason for not inviting the Sialkot Stallions in the Champions League
    Fact - During the ICC conference to discuss the modalities of the World Cup arrangements, no PCB official made an effort to follow up on the status of the Sialkot Stallions participation in the Champions League. Instead, Ijaz Butt sought to equate the security situations between Pakistan and the other host nations, going so far as to call for moving the WC from the subcontinent.

    All of this happened much before Pakistan won the T20 World Cup. And in all of this time, no Pakistani official sought to clarify Paksitan's stance, either towards the Champions League or travel to India.

    And for your assertion of Yasir Arafat traveling to India, it is imperative to note that he had his visa stamped in London, not Karachi.

    And you will do well to note that all the clamor of the Stallions non inclusion in the Champions League comes on the back of Pakistan's T20 win, not before.

    Now, you are welcome to your juvenile laughter, or you could use your time better to provide concrete evidence on how the Pakistanis did everything possible to ensure the Stallions participation and how it was Modi's intransigence that prevented this from happening, or you can continue to make straw man arguments, in which case the joke's on you.

    Cheers,

  16. SledgeHammer said...
     

    Homer: Not denying Pak did a poor job, but Modi did too. I and many other Pakistanis have the objectivity to criticize Pakistan; however, you have no objectivity and refuse to criticize your lord and master Modi.

    And anyway, you have lost all credibility because of your epically failed attempt to twist my words. So really, anything else that you spew is falling on deaf ears now.

    Plus, I thought you were "out of here" before the last post. Seems like someone feels the need to keep clarifying himself after digging a deeper and deeper hole.

  17. Q said...
     

    Hi Nesta and others,

    Sorry for a late response but I've been a bit tied up.

    About this whole thing...

    The only reason Pakistan is not a part of the Champions League is Lalit Modi and that is fact.

    The PCB were not informed of the Champions League when it was launched.

    Modi assumed that since the Pakistani players were not allowed to travel to India for the IPL they will not be allowed for the CL either. Hence he just decided to exclude them.

    As they say, assumptions is the mother of all f*ck ups.

    As for Arafat, it doesn't matter where he got his visa stamped. The fact that he is a Pakistani passport holder and has an Indian visa stamped on it and is in India means that there is no ban on Pakistani players to travel to India.

    As simple as that. Arafat got the letter to travel to India from the PCB and the PCB would not have given it to him without the approval of the foreign ministry.

    If you want to talk abt process then there was no official blanket ban from the foreign ministry to ban Pak players from travelling to India.

    It was a decision made at the time of the IPL.. it wasn't for a certain duration or anything like that.

    As for the Sialkot Stallions, they are arguably the best T20 team in the world... they've won the domestic title more times than any domestic team.. and I can go on but the CL is surely poorer without their inclusion.

    I can go on but I think Jrod's piece on Cricinfo summed it up really well.

  18. Anonymous said...
     

    Thanks Q. I hope you are well, mate.

    As someone who sees almost nothing of Pakistani cricket I would have loved to have to have seen the Stallions against NSW or Victoria. Maybe next year I'll have that privilege.

    Not to worry the Pakistanis are coming Down Under soon and are even playing a Test in Hobart!

    I think it is the final Test and hopefully the series will still be alive when Younis and his men arrive to enjoy our hospitality and great facilities.

    Unlike in India they will be most welcome!

  19. PSK said...
     

    Q,

    On the Sialkot team not being invited to the CL.

    "Modi assumed that since the Pakistani players were not allowed to travel to India for the IPL they will not be allowed for the CL either. Hence he just decided to exclude them."

    The above is probably not entirely right. The Pakistan players not participating in the IPL did not really affect the tournament. However, Modi could not have taken a chance at inviting the Sialkot team and having the Pakistan govt. prevent their participation at the last moment. That would have really affected the CL, as he could not have got another team - not even an IPL team, at short notice.

    Hence he took the call upfront to have Delhi rather than Sialkot, as a pure business decision in eliminating risk. As Arafat's case showed, no one in BCCI is against Pakistan cricketers playing here.

  20. Homer said...
     

    Hey Sledge,

    http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/current/story/433071.html

    When ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise!

    HA HA HA HA HA!

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