Chase Your Dreams to make it Become True : Sachin Tendulkar 100th Ton

Mirpur: 

 It's here at last. After a year of keeping India waiting, Sachin Tendulkar has scored his 100th international ton. An entire nation heaved a collective sigh and uncrossed its fingers.

The 100th Sachin ton came against Bangladesh during the fourth match of the Asia Cup on Friday. Immediately after, he quipped that he had shed "50 kilos". The weight of the expectations of millions no doubt. "Enjoy the game and chase your dreams. Dreams do come true," said crickets most prolific run-getter, denying that he was ever under pressure to get here. "When I scored my 99th hundred nobody spoke about it. The 100th hundred was a media creation. I was not bothered," he said. 


But it mattered to his fans. And today, anyone who hesitantly tried to take away from the colossal achievement by pointing out that Sachin’s ton of tons came against minnows Bangladesh, was batted down sharply by ten other people. There is celebration in the air; #sachin is trending at number 1 worldwide on Twitter, pushed there no doubt by the hundreds and thousands of Indians now saying, "Thank You Sachin Tendulkar."


Calm at the crease, Sachin took his time getting to the milestone. No one else was breathing. Especially at 99. First a Suresh Raina single took him to the non-batting end as an over ended. Ten runs came off that over before Sachin got strike. He played two balls for no runs and the over changed again. No one exhaled. So it was Raina on strike again, who took a single on the third ball to give strike to Sachin. The stadium roared. Shakib Al Hasan, now a firm part of history, came in to bowl and Sachin took a single to score his ton of tons.
Then the quintessential Sachin moment. He took off his helmet, looked at his bat, then heavenwards. He then kissed his helmet.

WorldCup 2011 Indian Squad

Ashish Nehra	Gautam Gambhir	Harbhajan Singh
Suresh Raina	MS Dhoni	Yusuf Pathan
Ravichandran Ashwin	Sreesanth	Munaf Patel
Piyush Chawla	Virat Kholi	Sachin Tendulkar
Virender Sehwag	Yuvraj Singh	Zaheer Khan

                                                                 Praveen Kumar

Virat Kohli likes to win WC for Sachin and country

Talented batsman Virat Kohli feels that it would be the best gift to Sachin Tendulkar if the Indian team can win the cricket World Cup which will start in another two weeks time.



“What he (Sachin) has achieved in his entire career, I don’t think anyone else will be able to achieve that. So it will be a great thing if we can win the World Cup not only for our fans but also for Sachin who is a special person,” the youngster commented during an interaction with the media at a promotional event here today.


The U-19 World Cup winning captain feels that the biggest challenge during the cricketing extravaganza will be to keep the external pressures not affect their game.

Tendulkar short-listed for three awards

 Maestro Sachin Tendulkar and dashing opener Virender Sehwag of India, along with South African batsman Hashim Amla and England off-spinner Graeme Swann, have been short-listed for the top honours at the LG ICC Awards 2010.







The votes have now been cast by the independent 25-person academy and one of the four players will receive the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Cricketer of the Year at a glittering ceremony in Bangalore on October 6.






Tendulkar, Sehwag and Amla are also in the running for the Test Player of the Year award, alongside South Africa paceman Dale Steyn.






Tendulkar is in contention too for the ODI Player of the Year award with the Australian duo of Shane Watson (pace bowling all-rounder) and Ryan Harris (paceman) as well as South Africa's A.B. de Villiers (batsman).






The Twenty20 International Performance of the Year sees New Zealand's Brendon McCullum short-listed alongside Australia's Michael Hussey, Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene and South Africa's Ryan McLaren.






Player short-list (in alphabetical order): Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla (SA), Virender Sehwag (Ind), Graeme Swann (Eng), Sachin Tendulkar (Ind).






Test Player of the Year: Hashim Amla (SA), Virender Sehwag (Ind), Dale Steyn (SA), Sachin Tendulkar (Ind).






ODI Player of the Year: Ryan Harris (Aus), Sachin Tendulkar (Ind), A.B. de Villiers (SA), Shane Watson (Aus).






Emerging Player: Umar Akmal (Pak), Steven Finn (Eng), Angelo Mathews (SL), Tim Paine (Aus).






Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year: Ryan ten Doeschate (Ned), Trent Johnson (Ire), Kevin O'Brien (Ire), Mohammed Shahzad (Afg).






Twenty20 International Performance of the Year: Michael Hussey (Aus) for his 60 not out off 24 balls against Pakistan in the semifinal of the ICC World Twenty20 2010 in St. Lucia on May 14, Mahela Jayawardene (SL) for his 100 off 64 balls against Zimbabwe in Guyana on May 3 and his 98 not out off 56 balls against West Indies in Bridgetown on May 2010 both during the ICC World Twenty20 2010, Ryan McLaren (SA) for his five for 19 against the West Indies on May 19 in Antigua, Brendon McCullum (NZ) for his 116 not out off 56 balls against Australia in Christchurch, New Zealand on February 28.






Women's Cricketer of the Year: Katherine Brunt (Eng), Shelley Nitschke (Aus), Ellyse Perry (Aus), Stafanie Taylor (WI).






Umpire of the Year: Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Tony Hill, Simon Taufel.






Spirit of Cricket: India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe.

"Cricket's biggest chance to clean itself' - Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid, the India batsman, has called the ICC's move to hand out first-ever suspensions to three Pakistan cricketers for "irregular behaviour" under the Anti-Corruption Code a positive step but wanted the inquiry against the trio to be taken to its "logical conclusion". The spot fixing controversy, Dravid told ESPNcricinfo, "is cricket's biggest chance to clean itself".

"The last thing we need is for the events of this week to be swept under the carpet. No guilt must be attached until the investigations are complete, and everyone deserves a fair chance to defend themselves. But the process must be thorough and comprehensive."

Dravid said that he wanted the investigation of the anti-corruption unit to be completed before the matter moved on to, "a proper inquiry carried out by investigators with the law of the land behind them." He said the most necessary outcome of the entire episode, "which has been a horrible scar on cricket, cricketers and fans," would be "swift and strong punishment to anyone found guilty."

In the past, Dravid said, "people once judged guilty turned up after a few months just because time had passed. It was as if everyone had forgotten what days like these feel like for the majority of honest players in the game".

What makes Pakistan produce so many fast bowlers?

Mohammad Amir is the latest in the lineage of quality fast bowlers from Pakistan© Getty Images

Watching young Mohammad Amir make Ricky Ponting dance to his tunes was both a sight and a statement. Despite the turmoil in Pakistan cricket, the crop of quality fast bowlers has rarely, or never, seen a downswing. Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar -- the lineage is potent and the character entrenched in their cricket.

Pace bowling continues to absorb Pakistan like nothing else. So what is it about Pakistan that ensures their supply line is never dry? After all, fast bowling is one of the most gruelling aspects of the game.

It ought to do something, or a lot, with their genetics. They come across as a tough race with an aggressive streak, which is an indispensable factor to bowl quick. They are born fighters and that streak ensures that they keep coming back at you. If cricket is just the expression of your true self, fast bowling exposes that vein better than anything else.

Then there’s a strong culture of playing tennis-ball cricket in Pakistan. But unlike the usual tennis ball, they tape the ball to make it slightly heavier. Now, you can either be a fast bowler or a batsman to survive in that format, for spinners would be ineffective with a tennis ball. And if you choose to bowl quick, then you must develop a quick arm action, strong shoulders and an even stronger back to generate pace with a ball as light as a tennis ball. That’s their first lesson in fast bowling but one which keeps them in good stead in the future.

The fearsome fifteen: a look at the great bowlers

Muralitharan: statistically the best bowler© AFP

As I had mentioned in my recent article on Muralitharan, this is the right time to have an in-depth look at the great bowlers of our times and before. We have just seen the retirement of one of the all-time great bowlers and the next active bowler is, in Formula-1 parlance, three laps behind.

I have selected the following fifteen bowlers for analysis. Readers might have their own favourites. However I believe that this collection contains the best ever bowlers, barring personal preferences. I have also tried hard to have as wide a selection as possible, covering all the major test playing countries. I did a Test bowlers analysis last year. However this one has removed all the warts from that and is also at the career-end stage for all the fifteen bowlers. I have a major advantage in doing this analysis. Since the analysis is limited to 15 bowlers, I do not need to worry about the wide disparity which existed between around 60 bowlers who were part of my previous analysis.

Australia:      Shane Warne
                Glenn McGrath
                Dennis Lillee
West Indies:    Malcolm Marshall
                Curtley Ambrose
                Joel Garner
Pakistan:       Imran Khan
                Wasim Akram
                Waqar Younis
India           Anil Kumble
                Kapil Dev
Sri Lanka:      Muralitharan
New Zealand:    Richard Hadlee
South Africa:   Allan Donald
England:        Fred Trueman.

A few notes on the selections. I did not select any pre-WW2 bowlers since their figures would have distorted the numbers considerably, especially Sydney Barnes. The three Australian bowlers select themselves. For West Indies I selected their three best bowlers over the past 30 years. Holding for Garner could be an option. However Garner has a bowling average of 20.98 against Holding's 23.69. First I had selected only Imran Khan and Wasim Akram for Pakistan. Then I realized that Waqar Younis led in one key measure (strike rate) and there was no way could miss him. I did not want to drop Wasim Akram since he is the only left-hander in this group.

Kumble selects himself while Kapil Dev, although he has average overall figures deserves a place since he was the leading wicket-taker for quite some time and changed the face of Indian fast bowling. Shaun Pollock is the only one who could challenge Donald's place. I selected Fred Trueman to represent the period between 1947 and 1969. He is also the best modern English bowler. I also followed the basic principle that any bowler who was the best in a key category (wkts/strike rate/rpo) cannot be left out. One could find justifications for including Walsh, Holding, Shaun Pollock, Willis et al. However this is my selection and not a bad one at that. Let me also add that this is not necessarily the top bowlers list. I am sure Holding, Roberts, Pollock et al would be placed higher than a few in this list. However I wanted to have as wide a representation as possible and restricted one country to 3 bowlers.

Now for the measures on which the rating work is done. First let me clarify two fundamental differences to the way I have done such exercises before.

The first is that I have selected ten measures and given equal weight to all. That way I reduce the chances of subjective valuations.

The next is that for each measure, the best gets the maximum points, viz., 10.0 and the others get proportionate points. This reduces the possibility of differential weights and ensures a fair allocation of points.

The following measures are used.

1. Wickets captured.
2. Bowling strike rate (Bpw).
3. Bowling accuracy (Rpo). 
   (These two are components of the Bowling average, but have been considered 
    independently).
4. Quality of wickets captured (Average of dismissed batsmen's batting averages)
5. Away bowling average.
6. % of top order wickets captured.
7. Team load borne by bowler (balls bowled and wickets captured).
8. Ratio of bowling average to peer bowling average - all teams.
9. Ratio of bowling average to peer bowling average - other bowlers of own team.
10.Win index (Combination of two ratios)- (% of win wickets to career wickets 
     and % of win wickets to team win wickets).

Just to summarize, Muralitharan leads in 2 measures (Wickets and Team load factor). The other 8 measures are led by Ambrose (RpO), Garner (Away bowling average), Imran Khan (Dismissed batsman quality), Waqar Younis (Bowling strike rate), Marshall (Peer comparison to all bowlers), Hadlee (Peer comparison to own team bowlers), McGrath (Top order wickets ratio) and Warne (Win index). A very fair distribution of the top positions with nine bowlers leading in one or more measures. There is no domination by one bowler.

There is one point worth mentioning here. There have been a number of comments about the wickets captured by Muralitharan against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. I have thought long and hard and decided not to do anything about it. What is the definition of a weak team. India against Trueman in 1952 were much worse than Bangladesh against Muralitharan. England in 1984 were the rabbits against Marshall. How do we value the English wickets against Australia in 2006. It pains me to say this, what about Pakistan during the past few months. And finally where do we place Sri Lanka itself during its first 10 years. Let us not forget that Warne did not bowl against the strong Australian batsmen, nor Kumble against the great Indian line-up and so on. However the fact that the bowlers in the strong batting lineups did not bowl against their own lineups does not make them any less bowlers. Let Muralitharan not get penalized for playing in a weaker team.

If Muralitharan captured wickets against a team including the Flower brothers, Campbell and Goodwin, how can anyone downgrade these wickets. Where do we draw the line. A test wicket is a test wicket. There are enough measures built in to take care of wickets of batsmen of lower quality. If we start down-valuing performances against Bangladesh, what about Tendulkar's recent 105 out of 243, one of his best ever. For that matter, Gilchrist's 144 or Inzamam's 138 were all truly great match-winning innings. So let us put to rest this red herring, once and for all.

A final point to ponder for those doubting Thomases. Zimbabwe have won 8 of their 83 tests played. India won 8 out of their first 83 tests and New Zealand won 4 of their first 83 tests. Nice to remember that the first away test India won was past the 100th test they played (during 1968). Both Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have won away tests well before this number.

I understand that this analysis favours the fast bowlers slightly. This is primarily because fast bowlers' strike rates are lower and they have a better chance of capturing top order wickets. However we have to consider the contribution to team causes and taking top order wickets and having lower strike rates are very essential to the team cause. As far as Strike rates and Rpo are concerned there is no need to do any adjustment since these are all great bowlers. Only two of these bowlers, Kumble and Kapil Dev have strike rates exceeding 60. Muralitharan and Warne have strike rates comparable to the pace bowlers. Surprisingly the bowler with the best Rpo figure is Ambrose. This clearly shows that there is no need to do any special adjustment.

Now for the tables.

1. Career wickets captured

Bowler            Value   Points

Muralitharan M      800   10.00
Warne S.K           708    8.85
Kumble A            619    7.74
McGrath G.D         563    7.04
Kapil Dev N         434    5.43
Hadlee R.J          431    5.39
Wasim Akram         414    5.18
Ambrose C.E.L       405    5.06
Marshall M.D        376    4.70
Waqar Younis        373    4.66
Imran Khan          362    4.53
Lillee D.K          355    4.44
Donald A.A          330    4.12
Trueman F.S         307    3.84
Garner J            259    3.24

This table is self-explanatory.

2. Bowling strike rate (Bpw)

Bowler            Value   Points

Waqar Younis      43.49   10.00
Marshall M.D      46.77    9.30
Donald A.A        47.03    9.24
Trueman F.S       49.44    8.72
Hadlee R.J        50.85    8.42
Garner J          50.87    8.41
McGrath G.D       51.95    8.18
Lillee D.K        52.02    8.17
Imran Khan        53.75    7.79
Ambrose C.E.L     54.58    7.62
Wasim Akram       54.66    7.60
Muralitharan M    55.05    7.52
Warne S.K         57.49    6.99
Kapil Dev N       63.92    5.61
Kumble A          66.00    5.16

Waqar Younis is the bowler with the lowest strike rate. It is not surprising to see that the three spinners and Kapil Dev prop up the table, although Muralitharan and Warne are not too far from Wasim Akram.

3. Bowling accuracy (Rpo)

Bowler            Value   Points

Ambrose C.E.L      2.31   10.00
Garner J           2.47    9.12
Muralitharan M     2.48    9.10
McGrath G.D        2.50    8.98
Imran Khan         2.55    8.74
Wasim Akram        2.59    8.49
Trueman F.S        2.62    8.35
Hadlee R.J         2.63    8.29
Warne S.K          2.65    8.18
Marshall M.D       2.69    7.99
Kumble A           2.70    7.95
Lillee D.K         2.76    7.61
Kapil Dev N        2.78    7.49
Donald A.A         2.84    7.19
Waqar Younis       3.25    5.02

One would have expected a spinner like Murali to head this table. It is a surprise that the often-underrated Ambrose is on top with a Rpo value of 2.31. Waqar Younis has topped the previous table and is propping up this table.

4. Average quality of wickets captured

Bowler            Value   Points

Imran Khan        25.76   10.00
Lillee D.K        24.58    9.54
Kapil Dev N       23.83    9.25
Hadlee R.J        23.64    9.18
Marshall M.D      22.97    8.92
Garner J          22.18    8.61
Kumble A          20.51    7.96
Waqar Younis      20.34    7.89
Muralitharan M    20.27    7.87
Donald A.A        20.06    7.79
Ambrose C.E.L     20.01    7.77
Wasim Akram       19.56    7.59
McGrath G.D       19.22    7.46
Warne S.K         18.48    7.17
Trueman F.S       17.80    6.91

Imran Khan's wickets were of high quality as proved by his high placing here. Warne's and McGrath's low placing is the result of many late order wickets and the fact that they played for a very strong batting lineup. Muralitharan is also pulled down by the number of wickets against the weaker teams. However his figures are still higher than those of Warne.

5. Away wicket bowling average

Bowler            Value   Points

Garner J          20.33   10.00
Ambrose C.E.L     20.39    9.98
McGrath G.D       21.23    9.70
Marshall M.D      22.25    9.35
Hadlee R.J        22.37    9.31
Donald A.A        23.51    8.93
Wasim Akram       23.97    8.77
Lillee D.K        24.18    8.70
Warne S.K         25.27    8.33
Trueman F.S       26.16    8.04
Imran Khan        26.29    7.99
Waqar Younis      26.29    7.99
Muralitharan M    27.02    7.74
Kapil Dev N       32.69    5.83
Kumble A          37.36    4.26

Garner has captured his away wickets at an incredible average of 20.33, closely followed by Ambrose with an away average of 20.39. In fact Garner, Ambrose, McGrath and Warne have an away bowling average which is better than their home bowling average. Kumble's away bowling average was abysmal. Look at the huge daylight which exists between Murali and Kapil/Kumble.

6. % of top order wickets captured

Bowler            Value   Points

McGrath G.D       0.501   10.00
Donald A.A        0.497    9.92
Kapil Dev N       0.494    9.84
Ambrose C.E.L     0.475    9.46
Lillee D.K        0.468    9.33
Imran Khan        0.462    9.21
Trueman F.S       0.453    9.04
Marshall M.D      0.445    8.87
Hadlee R.J        0.439    8.75
Waqar Younis      0.437    8.72
Garner J          0.406    8.09
Wasim Akram       0.394    7.86
Kumble A          0.383    7.64
Muralitharan M    0.350    6.99
Warne S.K         0.318    6.35

Just over half of the wickets captured by McGrath are top order wickets. The three spinners prop up the table, with figures around a third of the total wickets. This is to be expected.

7. % of team load borne

Bowler            Value   Points

Muralitharan M    0.361   10.00
Hadlee R.J        0.298    8.26
Kumble A          0.296    8.21
Warne S.K         0.281    7.77
Lillee D.K        0.275    7.62
Imran Khan        0.267    7.40
Donald A.A        0.253    7.01
Wasim Akram       0.250    6.92
Marshall M.D      0.249    6.89
McGrath G.D       0.247    6.85
Ambrose C.E.L     0.244    6.76
Garner J          0.243    6.74
Trueman F.S       0.242    6.71
Waqar Younis      0.239    6.63
Kapil Dev N       0.222    6.14

This is a composite value taking into account the work load in terms of balls bowled and the resultant wicket captures. Muralitharan is way out on top having shared captured 39% of his team wickets and bowling 33% of his team balls. 6 of the pace bowlers fall below 25%.

8. Peer comparison of average to all peer bowlers

Bowler            Value   Points

Marshall M.D      1.550   10.00
McGrath G.D       1.527    9.84
Ambrose C.E.L     1.514    9.76
Garner J          1.509    9.73
Muralitharan M    1.478    9.53
Hadlee R.J        1.447    9.33
Trueman F.S       1.435    9.25
Donald A.A        1.433    9.24
Imran Khan        1.410    9.09
Waqar Younis      1.363    8.79
Wasim Akram       1.361    8.77
Lillee D.K        1.332    8.59
Warne S.K         1.295    8.35
Kumble A          1.107    7.14
Kapil Dev N       1.085    7.00

This is a comparison of the bowler's bowling average with that of his peers, exactly measured from his first test to last test. Marshall, McGrath and Ambrose stand at over 150%. Kumble and Kapil Dev just about stay either side of 110%.

9. Peer comparison of average to own team peer bowlers

Bowler            Value   Points

Hadlee R.J        1.534   10.00
Muralitharan M    1.418    9.25
Imran Khan        1.377    8.98
Ambrose C.E.L     1.233    8.04
Donald A.A        1.197    7.80
Lillee D.K        1.188    7.74
Kapil Dev N       1.181    7.70
Marshall M.D      1.170    7.63
Trueman F.S       1.169    7.62
Garner J          1.156    7.54
Wasim Akram       1.151    7.51
McGrath G.D       1.149    7.49
Kumble A          1.125    7.33
Waqar Younis      1.123    7.32
Warne S.K         1.017    6.63

This is a comparison of the bowler's bowling average with that of his peers, from his own team, exactly measured from his first test to last test. As expected, the two so called weak-team bowlers, Hadlee and Murali are on top, Hadlee exceeding 150%. Warne just about goes past 100%, which is understandable. A surprise is Kumble's somewhat low figure. This is a reflection of Kumble's somewhat high bowling average nearing 30. This is not too different from his contemporary bowlers.

10. Performance in won matches

Bowler            Value   Points

Warne S.K         0.500   10.00
McGrath G.D       0.492    9.84
Marshall M.D      0.486    9.73
Muralitharan M    0.477    9.54
Lillee D.K        0.451    9.01
Waqar Younis      0.440    8.81
Donald A.A        0.426    8.51
Trueman F.S       0.419    8.38
Ambrose C.E.L     0.414    8.27
Kumble A          0.401    8.01
Hadlee R.J        0.398    7.96
Garner J          0.393    7.86
Wasim Akram       0.384    7.68
Imran Khan        0.364    7.27
Kapil Dev N       0.198    3.96

This is done by doing a composite calculation involving two ratios. The first is the ratio of the bowler wickets in won matches with his own career wickets. The other is the ratio of the bowler wickets in won matches against the team wickets in won matches. This rewards success and as expected, Warne and McGrath lead the pack. Not so surprisingly Kapil Dev is last, indicating that the Indian wins were probably crafted by the spinners during Kapil's era. The presence of Hadlee, Akram, Imran and Kapil in the last five also indicates that their contributions to their team wins was also with the bat. These four are the best batsmen in this elite group of bowlers.

Now for the summary table.

                Total  Wkts BowSR  RpO  WkQty AwAvg TORto  TmLd Peer1 Peer2 WinId

Muralitharan M  87.54 10.00  7.52  9.10  7.87  7.74  6.99 10.00  9.53  9.25  9.54
McGrath G.D     85.38  7.04  8.18  8.98  7.46  9.70 10.00  6.85  9.84  7.49  9.84
Hadlee R.J      84.89  5.39  8.42  8.29  9.18  9.31  8.75  8.26  9.33 10.00  7.96
Marshall M.D    83.36  4.70  9.30  7.99  8.92  9.35  8.87  6.89 10.00  7.63  9.73
Ambrose C.E.L   82.72  5.06  7.62 10.00  7.77  9.98  9.46  6.76  9.76  8.04  8.27

Imran Khan      81.00  4.53  7.79  8.74 10.00  7.99  9.21  7.40  9.09  8.98  7.27
Lillee D.K      80.76  4.44  8.17  7.61  9.54  8.70  9.33  7.62  8.59  7.74  9.01
Donald A.A      79.75  4.12  9.24  7.19  7.79  8.93  9.92  7.01  9.24  7.80  8.51
Garner J        79.34  3.24  8.41  9.12  8.61 10.00  8.09  6.74  9.73  7.54  7.86
Warne S.K       78.63  8.85  6.99  8.18  7.17  8.33  6.35  7.77  8.35  6.63 10.00

Trueman F.S     76.86  3.84  8.72  8.35  6.91  8.04  9.04  6.71  9.25  7.62  8.38
Wasim Akram     76.37  5.18  7.60  8.49  7.59  8.77  7.86  6.92  8.77  7.51  7.68
Waqar Younis    75.84  4.66 10.00  5.02  7.89  7.99  8.72  6.63  8.79  7.32  8.81
Kumble A        71.40  7.74  5.16  7.95  7.96  4.26  7.64  8.21  7.14  7.33  8.01
Kapil Dev N     68.24  5.43  5.61  7.49  9.25  5.83  9.84  6.14  7.00  7.70  3.96

It does not matter which route is taken, be it the high road or low road, be it the country road or the highway, be it the scenic route or the road through the concrete jungle, there is only one destination. The one which proclaims Muralitharan as the best amongst the equals. Let no one forget the X-factor here, the impact Muralitharan has had on Sri Lankan cricket. Glenn McGrath comes in next, a well-deserved place for this outstanding metronome. Richard Hadlee, the legendary fast bowler from down under clocks in the third position. Malcolm Marshall, that fearsome Bajan fast bowling "giant" is in fourth position, closely followed by the other Caribbean giant, this time physically also, Curtley Ambrose.

Imran Khan follows next, a well-deserved position for this wonderful bowler, batsman and born leader of men, despite playing in quite a few tests as a batsman. Dennis Lillee, one of the all-time greats, follows next. He is the highest placed bowler who does not lead in any category. Alan Donald is in seventh position, closely followed by the other West Indian giant, Joel Garner. Now comes Shane Warne, a well-deserved top-10 position for this magician.

The third section of the table is led by the fiery Englishman, Trueman. Now we have arguably the best fast bowling pair ever, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, paired together here also. The two Indian bowlers come in next. First, Anil Kumble, whose contributions to Indian cricket can be matched by only one player, the little master. One could say the same of Kapil Dev. The fact that these two Indian stalwarts come in at the end indicates that India has traditionally relied on its batting. However these two are definitely India's best bowlers ever.

Postscript:

In response to the readers' requests I have added Holding, Botham, Underwood and Shaun Pollock (my choice) and presented the revised table below. Surprisingly, it is Shaun pollock who comes into the table in the 11th position, followed by Holding in 12th position. Underwood comes in the 16th position and is followed by Botham.

I have since added Gibbs and Walsh in response to a few readers' requests. They have not exactly moved the world. Walsh splits the Pakistani pair while Gibbs has taken over the last place from Kapil dev. I have steadfastly not included SF Barnes since he changes the whole dynamics since he leads in couple of meaasures. This rounds off such requests.

                Total  Wkts BowSR  RpO  WkQty AwAvg TORto  TmLd Peer1 Peer2 WinId

Muralitharan M  87.54 10.00  7.52  9.10  7.87  7.74  6.99 10.00  9.53  9.25  9.54
McGrath G.D     85.38  7.04  8.18  8.98  7.46  9.70 10.00  6.85  9.84  7.49  9.84
Hadlee R.J      84.89  5.39  8.42  8.29  9.18  9.31  8.75  8.26  9.33 10.00  7.96
Marshall M.D    83.36  4.70  9.30  7.99  8.92  9.35  8.87  6.89 10.00  7.63  9.73
Ambrose C.E.L   82.72  5.06  7.62 10.00  7.77  9.98  9.46  6.76  9.76  8.04  8.27
Imran Khan      81.00  4.53  7.79  8.74 10.00  7.99  9.21  7.40  9.09  8.98  7.27
Lillee D.K      80.76  4.44  8.17  7.61  9.54  8.70  9.33  7.62  8.59  7.74  9.01
Donald A.A      79.75  4.12  9.24  7.19  7.79  8.93  9.92  7.01  9.24  7.80  8.51
Garner J        79.34  3.24  8.41  9.12  8.61 10.00  8.09  6.74  9.73  7.54  7.86
Warne S.K       78.63  8.85  6.99  8.18  7.17  8.33  6.35  7.77  8.35  6.63 10.00
Pollock S.M     78.05  5.26  6.91  9.52  7.86  8.21  8.82  6.42  9.28  8.18  7.58
Holding M.A     77.60  3.11  8.40  7.45  9.81  9.19  9.14  6.37  8.59  6.95  8.58
Trueman F.S     76.86  3.84  8.72  8.35  6.91  8.04  9.04  6.71  9.25  7.62  8.38
Wasim Akram     76.37  5.18  7.60  8.49  7.59  8.77  7.86  6.92  8.77  7.51  7.68
Walsh C.A       76.07  6.49  6.91  8.80  8.02  8.20  8.77  6.59  8.42  6.94  6.92
Waqar Younis    75.84  4.66 10.00  5.02  7.89  7.99  8.72  6.63  8.79  7.32  8.81
Underwood D.L   71.74  3.71  3.52 11.06  8.97  7.62  8.34  6.59  7.78  7.71  6.43
Kumble A        71.40  7.74  5.16  7.95  7.96  4.26  7.64  8.21  7.14  7.33  8.01
Botham I.T      70.06  4.79  7.10  6.38  8.76  7.08  8.08  6.67  7.24  6.84  7.11
Kapil Dev N     68.24  5.43  5.61  7.49  9.25  5.83  9.84  6.14  7.00  7.70  3.96
Gibbs L.R       65.08  3.86  0.48 11.68  7.79  6.30  6.33  7.00  7.12  6.94  7.57

The baker's dozen again: Bowler performances in fourth innings

Bob Willis: remarkable spell at Headingley© Getty Images

As a follow-up to the epochal fourth innings batting performances, this analysis covers the great bowling performances. Again let me emphasize that this is a predominantly objective selection, based loosely on the Wisden-100 tables, but also incorporating my own perceptions. Let me also emphasize that this covers only individual bowling performances, not team bowling performances. That is for a later article.

The fourth innings bowling performances are quite different to the batting performances. The alternatives in front of the batting teams in the fourth innings are two-fold. Whether the target is 100 runs or 500 runs, the objective is to win if one can or go for a draw. It allows batsmen to play pre-dominantly defensive innings, help their team to draw the matches and be recognized. The bowlers have very few choices. Whether they are defending 100 runs or 500 runs, they have to go for a win. It is not possible to bowl for a draw other than the rare instances of, say, 100 runs in 15 overs or so. Bowlers win matches and this dictum is all the more true in the fourth innings. Truly great teams have invariably had great bowling attacks. Whether the attack is dominated by one great bowler or 3/4 equally great bowlers, this is true.

This also makes the search for non-winning great performances in fourth innings quite difficult. After searching far and wide, I have been able to locate two such performances. Consequently 11 of these 13 performances have been winning ones. Only one has been in a dead rubber situation. There is a fair distribution over the years. One pre-WW1, two are bowling performances in between wars and the rest after WW2 including one during the current decade. The countries are well-represented.

The richest Test teams ever

ICC World XI: top team based on runs scored© AF

Ah! I fooled you, didn't I. You must have thought that I have sent an article meant for Fortune or Forbes magazine by mistake to Cricinfo. First let us put that matter to rest. The richest team must be the Indian team which collectively must be earning more than the rest of the teams together. Not that I care two cents about what the players earn. By "richest team" I mean, cricketing riches, in other words, the sum total of matches, runs and wickets which the team members take on to the field. It is also a lighter piece, coming in the wake of some serious and heavy analysis which have been done by me recently.

When a match is being telecast, the broadcasters talk about the experience behind a team in terms of matches played. However the real measures in this aspect are the number of runs scored and wickets captured by the concerned players.

I had done a sub-set of this article for another blog. I used the career figures. As I finished the article I realized that the career-to-date figures are the more appropriate figures to be used. So I applied the career-to-date figures, expanded the scope to matches also and have come out with a more comprehensive article here.

Since it usually happens that these analyses develop further based on user comments, I have done a simple accumulation of career-to-date figures of all 11 players. It certainly will give us some insight into the richness of teams in terms of the aggregates. I could look at the following options in later articles. I would also like the readers to come in with their own takes on these numbers and how these could be interpreted.

- Adding only the runs of the first 7 batsmen
- Add only for career-to-date runs greater than a certain value
- Add the wickets for the best 5 bowlers
- Do a comparison of the two team aggregates and analyse the most matched or ill-matched pairings.

Innovations overshadow cricket( USING PINK COLOR BALLS)

The traditional curtain-raiser to the English domestic season begins on Monday as county champions Durham play MCC. But while the fixture conjures up genteel images of flannelled gentlemen opening the season under heavy April skies at HQ, the details of the match represent a significant break from convention. The game is to be played well over 3,000 miles away from Lord's, at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, under floodlights, and with a pink ball.

The conditions will be a far cry from those Durham will encounter in their opening Championship game against Essex on April 15, and despite captain Will Smith's recent assertion that his team are heading for a "golden age" as they chase a hat-trick of Championship titles, the buzz ahead of the game is all due to the innovations being trialled. Never before in the history of English first-class cricket has a game been played at night with a pink ball, although the novelty has been tested in limited-overs games, and in a first-class match in the West Indies.

Past Innovations to Recent Innovations in CRICKET BAT

The concept is simple, and one that is tried and tested in other sports such as tennis and golf.   Wood is fragile and there are far smarter materials available - ones that are stiff or absorb shock better.   In step with these scientific principles, manufacturers of tennis racquets and golf clubs have shifted to carbon fibre and titanium - lessening vibrations and in some instances, enabling an increased sweet spot.
In cricket, different materials were tried over the years and have met with stiff resistance by the guardians of cricket laws.  It was in 1977 that early research revealed that the batted ball speed of an aluminum baseball bat was about 3.85 mph faster than a wood baseball bat.  Before long, an aluminum cricket bat, the ComBat, was in production.

Posing with the ComBat
In 1979, in a test against West Indies, Dennis Lillee used the aluminum ComBat.  That was not against the rules and this particular bat was already being bought by schools because of its durability.  12 days later, he used it again, this time against England on the fourth day of the first test at Perth.  When he straight drove a ball by Botham for 3 runs, Greg Chappell thought it would have gone for a 4 with a conventional bat, so he brought out a wooden bat for his mate.  Meanwhile, English captain Mike Brearley complained to the that the metallic bat was damaging the cricket ball.  This led to a heated discussion following which Lillee, in apparent disgust, threw "the offending lump of metal fully 40 yards towards the pavilion."  An act for which he was let off with a warning.   [Click here for a video of the incident.]

Knight Riders begins well

Deccan Chargers stumbled at the first hurdle, stunned by Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening game of the DLF-Indian Premier League 2010.

The 2009 champion lost the way despite a superb 54 from captain Adam Gilchrist, scoring 150 for seven in the face of a spirited show from the Knight Riders bowlers.

Chargers lost by 11 runs chasing the 162-run target set by Sourav Ganguly's side. Ganguly used six bowlers, all of them chipped in with wickets at the D.Y. Patil stadium.

Charl Langeveldt got two for 26 and the others managed a wicket each as KKR held its nerve when defending.

Taking into account the dropped catches under pressure and lapses in the field, the turnaround was remarkable against a side boasting of big-hitting batsmen.

V.V.S. Laxman, opening for Chargers, tried to tune into the T20 wavelength with a swatted six over long-on, then let captain Gilchrist show how bowlers can be tamed. The Aussie got cracking with two sixes, number one off Langeveldt over mid-wicket and bettered the effort next time with a straight six, stepping out against L.R. Shukla.

Gilchrist's mastery

Two dropped catches did not diminish Gilchrist's mastery, spotting the length early for clean hits, sending the ball soaring in a 35-ball 54 (3x4, 3x6). Hodge got him eventually, caught by Manoj Tiwary on the fence. Rohit Sharma (13 off 12 balls) took on the scoring duties, a late cut to third man and an on-drive. He fell for the bait from Mathews, chopping a short delivery towards short mid-on for Hodge to run across and do the rest. Knight Riders recovered from early upsets to post 161 for four. Mathews flexed his arms for an unbeaten 65 (46b, 5x4, 4x6) and saved his team from embarrassment.

The Sri Lankan, taking charge at number six, put on 130 runs in a fifth-wicket stand with England's Owais Shah 58 not out (46b, 3x4, 3x6). Shah used the pace of the wicket to stroke the ball, Mathews re-arranged his footwork to smash anything within range.

Muralitharan wants to end his last tour abroad with win

Sri Lankan spin-legend Muttiah Muralitharan on Saturday said he would like to complete his possibly last assignment abroad by beating India in their den, which his team has never done before.

The three-Test series between India and Sri Lanka will start on Monday here.

“I have played enough cricket over the years. This could be my last tour overseas. Sri Lanka has not won a Test series in India, so it would be great if my team won the series this time,” Muralitharan, the highest wicket taker in the world told reporters here.

The legendary off-spinner’s comments indicate that sooner than later he would announce his retirement from international cricket.

Sreesanth, Zaheer recalled for Sri Lanka series

Temperamental paceman S. Sreesanth, whose on-field antics have often landed him in trouble, was on Tuesday surprisingly included in India’s 15-member squad for the first two cricket Tests against Sri Lanka starting on November 16 in Ahmedabad.

Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan expectedly returned to the squad after recovering from a shoulder injury, which had kept him out of the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the ensuing Champions Trophy in September.

The team to be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni also includes Tamil Nadu players opener Murali Vijay and middle-order batsman S. Badrinath, while pacers Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel were ignored.

Nehra who has done reasonably well in the ongoing one-day series against Australia, failed to find a place in the squad announced by BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan after a meeting of the selection panel here.

The selection of Sreesanth raised eyebrows as the Kerala pacer has not really done anything significant in the domestic circuit since recovering from a back injury.

The selection seems all the more baffling given the fact that the bowler, who has a history of disciplinary indiscretions, was only last month given a final warning by the BCCI to mend his ways.

The 26-year-old Sreesanth will return to the Test fold after more than a year having played his last Test in April 2008 against South Africa in Kanpur.

India last played a Test match in April this year against New Zealand and the players to miss out from that squad are pacer Laxmipathy Balaji, wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik and Dhawal Kulkarni.

Batsmen Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pacer Praveen Kumar, who are playing in the ongoing series against Australia, were not considered for selection for the three-match Test series.

As expected, the veteran batting duo of Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman retained their places.

Barring Sreesanth’s comeback, there were no major surprises in the squad, which has eight specialist batsmen, three pacers, three spinners and one wicketkeeper in Dhoni.

Zaheer’s return will bolster the pace department which also has an off-colour Ishant Sharma, who has been retained despite his indifferent performance in last few months.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will lead the spin attack with leg-spinner Amit Mishra and young left-armer Pragyan Ojha supporting him

 

Team: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Pragyan Ojha, S Sreesanth and S. Badrinath.