Ian Chappell and restricting teams

Ian Chappell and restricting teams

Ian Chappell in his weekly column on www.espncricinfo.com has called for the number of nations playing Test cricket to be reduced to 8. He raises certain pertinent points to justify his argument. He says that only the countries that has got the infrastructure or that can build the infrastructure for Test cricket must be allowed …

One more warning for the administrators

One more warning for the administrators

The mindless schedule is taking a heavy toll on a lot of players. Add the various franchise cricket, it is incredible how busy most of the players are. The strain of such non-stop cricket has already began to tell. Ben Stokes has retired from one form of the game and Trent Boult has withdrawn himself …

The league phase is done and dusted

The league phase is done and dusted

The league phase is done and dusted in the ongoing T20 World Cup. There has been surprising results and some expected ones. Outrageous batting and excellent bowling. Excellent Perth pitch and quite a few close games. This World Cup has so far lived upto the expectations. It again goes onto show that good pitches will …

Cricketing news around the world

Cricketing news around the world

What is happening around the cricketing world? Ofcourse, the World T20 is going on which has thrown up quite a few surprises. Something happened with one of the IPL franchise as well. Cricketing news around the world. Dhawan replaces Mayank as the captain First up is the news that Shikhar Dhawan has been named as …

Sledging has indeed gone too far

Sledging has indeed gone too far

Yes, sledging has indeed gone too far. Why am I raising this now? It is because of an interesting development in the Duleep Trophy finals in India. Ajinkya Rahane, the West Zone captain, directed his team member, Jaisval to leave the field because of constant sledge. Whether this will create a ripple effect, it is …

Surprising South African win at Lord’s

Surprising South African win at Lord’s

It was completely unexpected. I had predicted for England to win the series 3-0 because of past history between the teams that includes 2 series wins for England in South Africa. However, South Africa have left me with egg all over my face. Their performance was incredible. Worthy of them being the top ranked team …

The ICC FTP cycle between 2023-2027

The ICC FTP cycle between 2023-2027

777 games. It simply is mindboggling. This is the total number of games that the ICC expects all the nations to play between 2023 – 2027. It is about 1 game every third day. At a time when players are close to revolting because of the sheer volume of games, the ICC has gone ahead …

The not so much anticipated series

The not so much anticipated series

England vs South Africa has always been a series that is much anticipated. The games were contested keenly with both the teams emerging triumphant in the opponent’s country quite regularly. However, this series, by the looks of it, may not be that much close. It probably is not the much anticipated series. South Africa are …

Some random happenings around the world

Some random happenings around the world

I would just like to write about some random happenings around the world. I will start with Ashwin’s views about the reverse or switch hit, move onto the Aussies slamming Smith for a poor review and Sri Lanka’s win. Switch hit or reverse sweep This bit of batting is an exciting innovation. There were calls …

Indian squad for SA and England

Indian squad for SA and England

The Indian team for the South African T20 series and the England test was announced. As expected, some of the leading figures chose to skip the T20 series. I had written earlier that some of them should not be allowed to skip, especially, Jadeja, Rohit and Bumrah because their franchise never really had a chance …