Random Royal Ramblings (RRR)

Unlike previously reported by me, the Australian ODI players are not leaving India just as yet. Which means that James Hopes, David Hussey, and Cameron White are staying put and will play in the Indian Premier League till the ODI leg of the Aussie tour to the Windies starts.

After questioning, recommending to, and pleading Rahul Dravid to include Misbah in the starting line up for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he has finally spoken:

"It was difficult fielding all the foreigners," Dravid said. "We needed an allrounder because our bowling was not strong, so Kallis played. Ross Taylor will leave now and Misbah will definitely get his chance."

Misbah will definitely play against the Deccan Chargers on Saturday then. That should be interesting - Pakistan's most successful 20-20 batsman up against Pakistan's most successful 20-20 bowler, Shahid Afridi. More on that in another post.

Gautam Gambhir showed exactly why he has replaced some seniors in India's ODI team.

I like Shikhar Dhawan. I think he has international potential. I have thought that since I first saw him play for India A against Pakistan A and he along with Robin Uthappa knocked centuries and ripped apart Pakistan's bowling. Maybe the success in the IPL will take him to the next level.

I couldn't help feel sorry for Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis when they were putting together their 87 run partnership. Sure those runs came in about 10 overs at more than 8 an over but the expressions on their faces said it all - How they wished the match had another 3 days to go.

Dravid and Kallis showed that proper cricket shots can bring you runs in 20-20 cricket. But proper cricket shots can't help you chase 190 odd in 20 overs.

At least RCB showed that they were determined this time. And at least Dravid admitted he needs Misbah. (I can see Ottayan grimacing over my mention of Misbah over and over. Ottayan has a good piece on proper cricket and 20-20 right here. Worth a read.)

Kallis picked up 2 wickets and also scored faster than a run a ball half century. Does it make him a world class 20-20 player now?

Glenn McGrath, yet again, showed that the bowlers in the IPL need to stop cribbing and start bowling like the Master.

McGrath's team mate Yomahesh seems to have understood that.
What a great name, Vijay Kumar Yomahesh. Yomahesh! Lovely.

Speaking of lovely, did anyone see Katrina Kaif cheering for Bangalore last night? What a lovely she is. Finaly Priety has competition. Katrina's even appeared in a video for the Royal Challengers, which can be viewed here.

Shoaib Malik will have to stop relying on his "friendship" with Virender Sehwag if he wants to play for the Daredevils again. AB De Villiers is looking for a game and Malik with the bat looks worse than Ponting.

Vettori finally got a game and he showed exactly why he was one of the most successful bowlers at last years 20-20 world cup. Apparently he didn't play the last 2 matches because of food poisining. Pity he has to leave so soon.

ICC definitely need to create a window for the IPL in the FTP.

Speaking about the FTP, it might be re-christened soon and called the FLP - Future Leagues Program.

How ironic is it, that the two most expensive franchises are currently at the bottom of the points table?

I wonder what Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya are thinking.

And I wonder what they're thinking about their respective executives / advisors - Harsha Bhogle and Charu Sharma - maybe the 2 need to go back to commentating.

Oh and the title of this post is so because strangely everything in the IPL seems to be associated with Royalty or abbreviations with the same letters - Royal Challengers, Kings XI, Super Kings, DDD, KKR, RR, you get the gist.

What Does the Future Look Like?

The History:

• The English create 20-20 cricket to bring the crowds back to domestic games.
  
• Pakistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka adopt the game soon after.
  
• In 2004 England holds a 6 team tournament comprising 20-20 domestic champions from Pakistan, SL, SA, and England.

(This was the first sign of 20-20 becoming something on the lines of the football leagues. All those who have apprehensions on 20-20 taking over cricket, should have realised it back then)

• Allen Stanford sees potential to lift the domestic game in the Windies through 20-20 and launches the Stanford series.

The Present:

• Subhash Chandra loses out on a TV contract from the BCCI unfairly and in retaliation launches the ICL.
  
• BCCI in retaliation launches the IPL.
  
• ECB in order to safeguard its players announce plans for an EPL.
  
• Allen Stanford provides his support to the EPL.

The Future:

• On the back of the success of Lahore Badshahs in the ICL, PCB announces the PPL.
  
• In fear of losing domestic cricketers, retired cricketers, coaches, trainers, assistant coaches to the IPL and the ICL, CA launches the APL.
  
• South Africa have to do what Australia does and the SAPL is launched.
  
• New Zealand hop on board the APL and it is revamped as the TTPL.
  
• Sri Lanka faces a threat from the IPL and PPL and announce the SLPL.
  
• Bangladesh join forces with the PPL because international stars are unwilling to play in Pakistan or Bangladesh.
  
• Allen Stanford lends a helping hand to all the cash strapped leagues, i.e. all those except the ICL, IPL, and TTPL.

The Result:

• The cricket world in 2010 is comprised of various leagues around the globe including the Stanford WIPL, ICL, IPL, Stanford EPL, Stanford PPL, TTPL, Stanford SLPL, and the Stanford SAPL.
  
• Major bidding wars for the best cricketers result in unprecedented salary packages for the players.
  
• End of season "The Allen Stanford Grand Championship" involving the champions of the 8 leagues is launched at Lords for a prize money of USD 1 billion.
  
• ODI cricket has officially become extinct.
  
• Exchange tours between countries involves only test cricket.
  
• Allen Stanford acquires the ICC.
  
• The FTP is developed for the Whatever PLs and the Grand Championship.

Bright? Dull? Frightening? Crazy? Good? Bad? What does the future look like?

The Aussie Invasion of the IPL Continues...

Yesterday I did a post on the Aussies taking the IPL by storm. Shaun Marsh and Dominic Thornely were the latest signees to the league.

That wasn't the end of the Aussie signing spree though.

One of the commentators on that post mentioned that the dominance of Aussie coaches in the IPL has led a number of domestic players to join the IPL. Very true I think.

The latest Aussies to join the IPL are Micheal Buchanan and Matthew Mott. Micheal is the son of former Australia coach John Buchanan and he joins his father at the Kolkata Knight Riders as the teams strength trainer.

What in the world is a strength trainer? Is he going to train the likes of Saurav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting, and Chris Gayle to become stronger?

Matthew Mott is the New South Wales' coach and he also joins the Kolkata Knight Riders as John Buchanan's assistant.

And so the Aussie invasion of the IPL continues. There could yet be more though.

In a recent survey held by the Australian Cricketers' Association, 47% of the nationally contracted players said that they would consider early retirement to play in the IPL or the ICL. 49% of the players with state deals said the same.

I believe that this is going to have quite an impact on Australian cricket in the future. All the Aussies could well be thinking that this is India's plan to strip them of the world dominance that they have been on for over a decade.

Pakistan's domestic cricket is already suffering with the cream of domestic stars opting for the ICL. Even though this year the Aussies in the ICL were the ageing ones like Jason Gillespie, Damien Martyn, Jimmy Maher, and Micheal Kasprowicz, theres no reason why younger ones won't follow suit in the future.

A weakened domestic structure in Australia is bound to weaken the international team.

I say the ICL because in the same survey, 75% of the contracted players said that the ICL was good for the game. Now this is a surprise! I had thought otherwise since majority of the Aussie bloggers call it evil. The players obviously think otherwise.

Here is a further case for lifting the ban off the ICL and accepting it as an open competitor.

If the best players of cricket in the world feel that a league, labelled as rebel, is good for the game and that they would even consider early retirement to play there, the rebel label needs to go sooner rather than later.

The BCCI and the ICC need to wake up already.

Stand up to the BCCI !!

"The ICL headquarter in Mumbai has been flooded with calls from leading Pakistani cricketers who are willing to join the breakaway league"

- Former Pakistan Captain Inzamam Ul Haq who led the Lahore Badshahs in the ICL Edelweiss 20s Challenge and is leading the ICL Pakistanis in the ICL 20s World Series.

Moin Khan, who is coaching the teams captained by Inzamam, is also the ICL agent for Pakistan. He gets a neat commission from the ICL for every Pakistani player he signs on and has been instrumental in getting together an international looking Pakistan side for the league.

The presence of big names like Inzamam have led a number of Pakistani cricketers to jump ship. Ignorance on part of the PCB is another factor leading players like Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umar, Mohammad Sami joining the ICL bandwagon.

You can't blame the cricketers - for apart from being ignored for national duty, they earn more from the ICL than from playing domestic cricket and maybe even earn more than their IPL counterparts.

The PCB here failed on several accounts.

• They failed to provide the 'rebel' cricketers with enough confidence that they still have a future in Pakistan.
  
• They failed to increase pay packages for domestic cricketers. Or at least for those who had represented Pakistan or were on the fringes.
  
• They failed to negotiate IPL packages for these cricketers. The Badshahs were a hit in India so theres no reason why the BCCI would have ignored these cricketers, which have proved to be big crowd pullers.

Where does all this leave Pakistan cricket?

Not in very good shape unfortunately.

The domestic competitions this year, despite having the first choice internationals, lacked subtance due to 18 of the countries' top cricketers playing in the ICL.

If another dozen or 2 dozen cricketers join the ICL it would leave the domestic structure in tatters with only 2nd and 3rd grade cricketers participating in it. Or rather only those whom the ICL are not interested in.

So what should the PCB do about this?

Its quite simple honestly.

Let the cricketers earn their livelihood by playing in the ICL and allow them to play domestic cricket in Pakistan. Its not that these cricketers don't want to play for their regional teams or departments - they do, the PCB has banned them.

Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar have a case filed with the High Court to overturn the bans. Abdul Razzak has filed one as well.

The sooner the PCB realises that the ban is unfair, and its only going to hurt them, the better.

But then if the bans are overturned the PCB will come into the bad books of the BCCI. They can't afford to do that.

Someone then needs to knock some sense into the BCCI. Who can do that? The ICC? CA?

All the national cricket boards need to come together and stand up to the BCCI. They need to let the BCCI know that they are at a loss since they are not getting a share of IPL revenues and at the same time they are losing cricketers to the ICL because of their support to the BCCI.

I hope that sanity prevails and the boards don't go for a cut in IPL revenues as opposed to having their domestic cricketers back.

Steyn Number 1, But Are the Ratings Fair?

3 days ago I asked you "How Good is Dale Steyn?"

Last evening the ICC answered that question when they released the latest international cricketer ratings after the conclusion of the West Indies - Sri Lanka test match.

Dale Steyn is the new number 1 in the test bowler ratings and he jointly leads the table with Muttiah Muralitharan; both having a rating of 897.

Steyn took only 22 matches to reach the top of the ratings, which I reckon is one of the fastest if the not the fastest time to number 1. Please share any facts and figures of bowlers who have gotten to the top of the rankings faster than Steyn.

I believe that the ICC Player Rankings uses the best ratings system around to rank players. Better than ESPN, Samsung, and all the other useless ones that have come up. But even the ICC Rankings seem to function absurdly at times.

Kumar Sangakkara's disappointing performance in the tests against the Windies pushed him down from the number 1 spot to 4 in the batsmen's ratings. Fair enough, that understandable.

But what I find absurd is that Micheal Hussey, without having played a test match for 3 months, is suddenly number 1. Is that right only because Sangakkara slipped down?

How can a player become number 1 without playing a test? Is it fair for someone to be number 1 only because others have not done well enough?

Pakistan Pooled with India

Not only for the Asia Cup in June but also for the Champions Trophy in September.

Both the tournaments are being held in the "safety concerned" Pakistan and Sri Lanka has been named as the alternative venue for both. For the sake of Pakistan Cricket, I hope that Pakistan is declared safe enough for the Asia Cup and the Champions Trophy.

With PPP announcing their candidate for PM and rumours of Pervez Musharraf shifting base to hideout in Turkey, probably a "safe" Pakistan is not too distant in the future.

The more interesting part though is that in both the competitions, India and Pakistan have been pooled in the same group. A garanteed Pakistan-India clash will definitely boost ticket sales and will provide the domestic season the energy it needs.

Is this a casting coup by the adminstracrats or did the seeds actually play a role in this?

For the Asia Cup its Pakistan, India, and Hong Kong in the same pool. With the top 2 going through to a "Super 4" stage the Asian teams shouldn't have a problem here unless HK pulls an Ireland.

For the Champions Trophy its Pakistan, India, Australia and the West Indies. This pits the Asian sides against the defending champions (the Aussies), and the winners and runners up of 2004 and 2006 (the Windies). Only 2 teams will go through to the semis - tough one there for the Asian sides.

Scheduled or June and September, its high time top internatonal cricket returns to Pakistan.

Here come the Lahore BADSHAHS!

Team: Lahore Badshahs (Translation: Lahore Kings)
Coach: Moin Khan
Captain: Inzamam Ul Haq

The Squad
Openers: Imran Farhat, Imran Nazir, Taufiq Umar
Middle Order: Inzamam, Naveed Latif, Hasan Raza
Allrounders: Azhar Mahmood, Abdul Razzak
Wicketkeeper: Humayun Farhat
Fast Bowlers: Mohammad Sami, Rana Naveed Ul Hasan, Shabbir Ahmed, Riaz Afridi, Shahid Nazir
Spinners: Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq, Arshad Khan

Reading those names as part of a Pakistani squad would seem that a Pakistan A side is touring for a series of matches. This is not Pakistan A, its the Lahore Badshahs team taking part in the 2nd edition of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) that gets underway in a weeks time.

Apart from the 6 teams that participated in the 1st edition of the ICL, the 2nd edition, "ICL 20s Grand Championship" will feature another 2 teams: Lahore Baadshahs and Ahmedabad Rockets.
In the last 2 days Osman Samiuddin, Ian Chappell, and Asif Iqbal have raised their concerns regarding the bans placed on the cricketers joining the ICL. I did the same a few weeks back demanding the rule of the free economy in cricket - Read here and here.

There is a clear distinction between the IPL and the ICL - the former boasts of current international stars, while the other of retired or ignored ones. Then why are these national boards depriving these cricketers of their livelihood?

Moreover, the ICL 20s Grand Championship will run from 9th March to 7th April, thus concluding over a week before the IPL gets underway. ICL has smartly scheduled its competition so it doesn't clash with the IPL and even then the BCCI seems to have a problem with it. They have left no stone unturned in trying to block it with barriers of all forms -including support from the ICC and other national boards.

As has been mentioned in the articles I linked above, the key question here is what are the ICC and the national cricket boards getting out of this? The IPL benefits only the BCCI, the franchisees, and the auctioned cricketers - the other cricket boards get nothing out of it and neither does the ICC.

This just makes the BCCI the big bully monopoly earning billions and the ICC, PCB, CA, ECB, etc its partners in crime who get what?

Intriguing I think.

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!

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!

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!

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 banning one league because it is not run by the national cricket board, trying to schedule another when no cricket tours are taking place, or seeking to cancel a tour so that national players can take part in the IPL is all too monopolistic and against the best interests of the game.

In a capitalist, or rather an ideal world the ICC's FTP, the counties, IPL, and the ICL should be able to coexist and the professional cricketers should be allowed to choose whom they want to play for. You will find some cricketers who would give up millions to represent their country, and on the other hand, you will also find some who will give up playing for their country for a few hundred thousands. Its exactly the same situation as an employee choosing a higher pay for long and stressful work hours as opposed to one opting for a lower salary for a more relaxed job. Thats called being professional and choosing your employer and not being a traitor.

Competition never hurt anyone. Not only the cricketers will be the ones benefiting - all those ruling the game, i.e. the ICC, the national boards, the I whatever Ls, the broadcasters, the advertisers and sponsors all stand to benefit. Imagine the increase in the pool of cricketers these people will be able to choose from. Imagine the range of talent that could be unearthed. Imagine the amount of cricket that will be shown on TV. Imagine all the money that will be generated from the game.

Why try eating more from the same pie? Work on expanding the size of the whole pie and let everyone eat as much as they can!

And all this without calling anyone a traitor.

Give us more Monday Night Wars!

Back in the early to mid 1990s the WWF used to be a leader in sports entertainment. It used to kill its competition (WCW, ECW, etc) in TV ratings and Pay Per Views till Ted Turner brought on board Eric Bischoff to compete with Vince Mcmahon's empire. Bischoff, a smart businessman with buckets and buckets of Turner's money, lured in the top WWF stars and by the mid 90s the likes of Hogan, Hall, Nash, and Bret Hart were seen in the WCW rings. WCW started to beat WWF in the ratings and built a larger fan following for a good 2-3 years largely because the WWF stars of the early 90s had jumped ship. The best part was that it gave us the best every Monday Night Wars in the history of wrestling! WCW remained #1 before a Stonecold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon changed the fortunes for the WWF. A few years on the top and an IPO later the WWF bought out WCW and ran as a monopoly before the TNA emerged. Today, known as the WWE due to a lost law suit against the panda foundation, the WWF remains largely popular despite a tussle for wrestlers with the TNA.

Now what does this have to do with cricket? It does. The same could be happening with the ICL and the IPL.

The IPL has been able to sign on many more international stars than the ICL but that has largely been due to the 'unoffcial' tag given to the ICL. Would it have been different if it wasn't deemed an unofficial league and if the national boards did not ban players joining the ICL? Surely. Remember that Shane Warne and Glen McGrath were first linked to the ICL and the only thing that made them change their mind was 'unofficial'.

What if a few years down the line the ICL and the BCCI reach an understanding? What if the ICC decides to sanction the ICL? What if the Indian Govt. decides that a BCCI monopoly is no good and that a free economy in Indian cricket is needed thus making ICL 'official'? What if the national boards show compassion towards the banned domestic cricketers?

Surely there are a lot of 'what ifs' but they are all very probable. If these what ifs happen, then instead of the cricketers auction set to take place between the 8 IPL franchises, you could be witnessing a bidding war between the ICL and the IPL ala WWF and WCW in the mid 90s.

As of now the IPL is sitting on BCCI's riches while the ICL is backed by ZEE which is by no means a pushover, it is the largest listed media company in India. Both have the money to attract high profile stars, both have the infrastructure to hold matches and telecast them live. Both have the sponsors to back them up. The IPL has the edge right now only because of its status as 'official'. I say grant the ICL the same status and let the 2 leagues compete. It can only be good for the game.

There would have been no Stonecold Steve Austin had there been no Eric Bischoff. Vince Mcmahon would have never gotten off his lazy @$$ had Ted Turner not pulled him down.

The IPL has a succesful model in place but no monopoly is good for the economy. Let competition prevail I say and give us a war of words between Kapil Dev and Lalit Modi; give us some bidding wars between ICL's Kolkata Tigers and Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata team; give us some media wars between ZEE and Sony for advertisements and sponsorships; give us some tussle between ZEE and BCCI for rights to using stadiums. Give us some more Monday Night Wars!

Not that all this is not happening right now but the IPL has that unfair advantage, that 'official' tag. Despite that the ICL has been able to attract stars but mostly retired cricketers while the IPL has signed on current internationals. The IPL's magnitude has also led the ICL to rethink their competition - they had a regional competition in their first year, this year they are planning to field full international sides. An Indian squad will not be difficult to build but the others would be a challenge. The ICL will live up to that challenge as well as they have just announced their first international squad:

Pakistan's latest ICL signees: Mushtaq Ahmed, Rana Naveed, Imran Nazir, Humayun Farhat, Riaz Afridi, Mohammad Sami, Shahid Nazir, and Hasan Raza. Add them to last year's signees Inzamam, Razzak, Mahmood, Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umar, Shabbir Ahmed, and you already have a 14 man squad coached by ICL agent Moin Khan. To me that looks like an international squad, only that it includes retired cricketers and those out of favor with the selectors. Mohammad Yousuf would have been there had it been 'Official'.

I think both the leagues can prevail 'officially'. The BCCI and the ICC can sanction both. Subhash Chandra and Sharad Pawar will have more thinking to do. Kapil Dev and Lalit Modi will have more recruiting to do. Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara will have more options to think of. Zee and Sony TV will have more ratings to vie for. At the end of it all, it adds up to a lot more dollars for everyone involved and ultimately a lot more dollars for India.

It can only be beneficial to the ICC, cricket, the players, the media, the TV channels, and everyone involved. It can only be beneficial to the one stopping it from happening at the moment, India.

It will fast track their 20-year process of becoming the largest economy in the world!