West Indies cricket

The West Indies victory over Pakistan on Sunday was a lifesaver for the Caribbean team. If we had lost that match, after keeping the visitors at bay on the first day, and almost throwing it away on the second, leaving us with a sleepless night on the third, it would have been an absolute write-off for the Windies.

Walking through the plaza last weekend, I noticed that nobody was listening to the radio commentary. Stark contrast to earlier times when you could ask anyone, "What's the score?" and earphones would be plugged out to give a fulsome report on the run of play.

Cricket broadcasting serves to raise the level of excitement for the listening audience. We have been blessed with some first-class commentators who have the ability to paint a picture of what is happening on the field, as well as provide the most delightful snapshots of incidents over the boundary.

That magic moment when a truly great bowler starts his run-up is best described by the cricket seer John Arlott writing about one of Australia's greatest bowlers. "From two walking paces, Lindwall glides into the 13 running strides which have set the world a model for rhythmic gathering of momentum, for speed-giving power. Watching him approach the wicket, Sir Pelham Warner was once moved to murmur, 'Poetry.'"

The same for Michael Holding's silent, swift, superb motion as he ran towards the wicket. And who can forget the roar of excitement that always followed Wes Hall as he delivered the first ball from the southern end of Sabina Park?

Our gifted commentators delight in highlighting the peculiarities of the play and teasing our imagination. Ivan Barrow once told us, "It's a shorter ball and it has the batsman doing the hop, step and jump." Roy Lawrence gave us this infamous but delightful gaffe, "He scored six runs out of that over, five of which were singles." Not to speak of the naughty and irreverent mention made (was it by Arlott?) of the number of maidens being bowled all around the ground.

This morning, no matter how we have criticised the team and the West Indies Cricket Board, interest in the WI's fortunes has been revived, and faith and hope are burning in the hearts of cricket fans across the region. The realists will caution and make their sage predictions. They are right. But there is a little blip of optimism, and we have recharged our batteries, tuned the cable channels, phoned friends, and are on our way to, yet again, we know not what.

team spirit resurrected

I make no predictions for the second Test, but we are encouraged by the team spirit which has been resurrected by the clinical victory on Sunday, so ably executed and led by Captain Sammy. Let us hope that this time we don't seize defeat out of the jaws of victory.

Cricket, ah, cricket, once the balm of the troubled West Indian spirit. Those who continue to tinker with and juggle personalities in and out of the team at the expense of our winning ways need to understand what cricket has meant to the West Indian psyche. "What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?" quizzed C.L.R. James in his book, Beyond A Boundary. As we focus on the game and its technicalities, we tend to forget its use and contribution as an instrument of social transformation in West Indian development.

We continue to miss the boat by not utilising our sports achievements, models, stories and legends for nation building. Think of what it would do for Jamaica, and for cricket, especially at this moment of 'who-is-a-don' controversy, if we were to make George Headley a national hero.

His cricket record stands by itself, but it was his dignity, character, talents and selflessness that represented the hopes and aspirations of the masses, as we forged our way towards nationhood and independence. He has been singled out as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, cricketers that ever lived.

Lindell Wright and his new Jamaica Cricket Association board members may want to consider making the name of this icon the game-changer for Jamaica and West Indies cricket.

India’s new cricket coach-Fletcher

Fletcher, who captained Zimbabwe during the 1983 World Cup and played just six one-dayers during the African nation's pre-Test days, had mixed results as England coach. The high points of his career were England's Ashes triumph over Australia in the home series of 2005, England's first series win in West Indies in 36 years and the team earning the third spot in Test rankings. Fletcher was the first foreigner to coach England's cricket team. Known to be a task-master, he guided England to eight straight Test wins. The biggest moment came in 2005 when England bested a star-studded Australian team to win the Ashes for the first time since 1987. The Zimbabwean was honoured by Britain's Royalty with an OBE. But later, England's form slid and his performance came under the scanner. England managed to draw series in India and Pakistan but the 0-5 whitewash in the 2006-07 Ashes series in Australia led to widespread criticism of Fletcher, who refused to step down at that stage. England's early exit from the 2007 World Cup forced him to quit. Fletcher, whose name was reportedly suggested to the BCCI by Kirsten himself, has a tough job on hands as the amiable South African has set a high benchmark and finished the stint with the World Cup win. With Kirsten at the helm, India reached the top of Test rankings and number two in the ODIs. He gave up the job to spend more time with his family.

Australian cricketers

While big money has come to dominate the game, it remains the diversion of choice for millions of fans in some of the world's poorest regions. For them, to borrow a sentiment from the great English football coach, Bill Shankley, cricket isn't a matter of life and death, it's more important than that. The truth of this is confirmed in Zimbabwe

As such, the proposed tour of the Australia A test cricket team to Zimbabwe in July looms as a shining light on the horizon for many of Zimbabwe's suffering population. It is true that our country still struggles to reconcile the notions of democracy with the atavistic remnants of dictatorship. No one is more frustrated and disappointed by such a situation than me. Yet, for this, we cannot punish the vast majority of Zimbabweans who look forward to the simple joy of watching top-class international cricket and whom, as was proven in the 2008 elections, support democracy.

In this light, attempts to force Australia out of the tour, coming from those within Australian cricket, are perplexing and damaging to the collective heart of most Zimbabweans. In fact, they are wrong. Many Zimbabweans, including myself, have the greatest admiration for the former Australian test player Stuart MacGill, and especially for the principled stance he took in 2004 to not tour Zimbabwe as a member of the Australian test squad. Then, the situation demanded such a response. He has now become the highest profile nay-sayer in regard to the up-coming tour. He is wrong.

Cricket in Zimbabwe is in a vastly improved state and the nation as a whole has made significant strides forward, despite hardliners within Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party who have caused such turmoil. While no one would argue that the situation in Zimbabwe is perfect, it is unrecognisably better than when MacGill chose not to tour. In many ways the situation in Zimbabwe is similar to pre and post-1990 South Africa. Before the release of Nelson Mandela, it was wholly inappropriate for sporting teams to have anything to do with the apartheid regime. After Mandela's release, however, it was entirely appropriate that, for example, an all-white test team should tour the West Indies in 1991, well before the conclusion of the transition to democracy.

At the time the South Africans toured the West Indies, South Africa was still in a very fragile state. The entire country was wracked by violence and was being ground in the machinations of extremists. The international community supported these tentative steps to reintegrate South Africans into international sport because it was recognised that sport could be a force for good and could help the country reconcile. Zimbabwe today is in a similar position. Our transition is fragile and uncertain. There are extremists who would like to derail the transitional government. But progress is being made, albeit slow. A constitutional reform process is under way, independent newspapers are back on the streets, health clinics are being refurbished, schools are reopen, the economy is stabilising, hyperinflation has been dealt with.

Finally, the issue of safety for such a touring party must be addressed. As I know from bitter personal experience, Zimbabwe can be a very dangerous place if one is a politician or activist opposed to Zanu PF. However, for most Zimbabweans and for those visiting Zimbabwe, the country is one of the most peaceful, violence-and-crime-free countries in the world. Zimbabwe is certainly far safer than India or South Africa, regular venues for Australian touring cricketers. We do not have the bomb threats India has and our crime levels are way below that of South Africa. The New Zealand ''A'' side toured Zimbabwe late last year and remarked how welcomed they were and how peaceful the country was.

Indeed, there is much to celebrate in today's Zimbabwe and there is is much to underpin the support of international sporting teams to aid in the process of further unifying the country via the ''soft'' nationalism of international sporting competition. People who have opposed Mugabe's Zanu-PF regime for decades such as Morgan Tsvangirai and myself have personally asked the international community to assist this fragile process through tours of this nature. Likewise, resolute campaigners for freedom and democracy in Zimbabwe, including well-known figures such as former Zimbabwean cricketers Henry Olonga, Heath Streak, Andy Flower (now the England cricket coach) and Alistair Campbell have all backed foreign tours to Zimbabwe. Have those who would seek to spurn all these efforts spoken to such experts regarding the role of cricket in Zimbabwe's progress to freedom?

Lifeline Match for Pakistan!

 

For Dr Sohail Saleem, the medical fitness expert of Pakistan cricket Board, the match felt like a lifeline for his beleaguered nation. For, that country has been in turmoil since 2009 in the arena of cricket. This victory could have become a face saver for Pakistan, diplomacy has triumphed. "This match was very crucial for us. Anyway, it will be an all-Asian final. Back home, everyone had lot of expectations as cricket and patriotism was almost synonymous." Hailing the Indian hospitality, he added, "We had been warmly greeted and given complimentary food right from Amritsar to Chandigarh."

Dr Saleem decided to stay at his hotel room, wearing his Team Pakistan T-shirt. He watched each bat-to-ball moment as he did not want to show his emotions to his team manager. "The defeat is acceptable as it is a game and the best team will take away the cup. But as a Pakistani, I feel disturbed." Streaks of hope interspersed in his comments, he said, "In the last world cup, we could not make it to the semi finals. This time, at least we have managed to elevate ourselves to this level."

Enlisting some data on the suicide rate in Pakistan in 2001, which has increased to manifold in 2010, the physician said, "The victory could have brought a smile on the face of our almost gloomy nation. Both natural calamities and terrorism have hit our country hard. Entering the finals could have provided some succour." Appreciating the decision of Shoaib Akhtar to retire before this match, Dr Saleem said, "Fast bowlers like him are prone to injuries. He took the right decision."

Lorgat reveals Cricket can bring India and Pakistan closer

 

International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat hopes Wednesday's World Cup semifinal clash between India and Pakistan would bring the two countries closer. Cricket has again brought together the two countries, who have not played on each other's territory since the 26/11 Mumbai at tack.

Lorgat said he was delighted that cricket diplomacy has encouraged the two countries to come together. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has accepted his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh's invitation to witness the match. "There is nothing quite like nation versus nation cricket. But in Mohali there will be another massive factor that will add to the notion. I hope to see the mighty power of sport and the great spirit of cricket providing a platform for the two governments around this semifinal.

"Certain countries, when they play, it's romanticism, it's massive and wherever they play it's big, so we like to see cricket providing that platform for India and Pakistan. "Cricket diplomacy is better than no diplomacy," Lorgat said while addressing a press conference Monday at the Sri Lankan Press Club here on the future of the 50-over format. The Indian and Pakistani governments have often used cricket to improve relations. It was first in 1987 that then Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had invited Pakistan president General Zia-ul-Haq to witness a Test match in Jaipur.

In 2005, at the invitation of Manmohan Singh, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf had visited Delhi to watch an India-Pakistan one-dayer. Lorgat also reiterated that the success of the 50-over format has given a new lease of life to the shorter format of the game. "The more we talked of a game in crisis the more we created the crisis and more it fuelled the talk of doom and despondency," Lorgat said. "And all the time there was no real evidence of crisis." He said ICC's market reasearch on the game will surprise everyone.

"We tested five key markets to look at trends around the three international forms of the game--Test, 50 overs and Twenty20 cricket," he said. "The result were interesting to say the least. Some might even find them hard to believe. What it has showed is that the fans still have an apetite for the 50-over format. "A total of 676 million people in the five markets, England, New Zealand, India, South Africa and Bangladesh expressed not just an interest but a passion for the ODIs."

Murali changes from match-saving to nation-saving

 

As his cricketing career winds down, Sri Lanka's superstar Muttiah Muralitharan, the man who can spin a cricket ball like magic, is turning his sights on dragging war-shattered youngsters out of poverty and nurturing the country's next generation of athletes. Who else but Murali, as he's known to the whole country, could persuade the Sri Lankan president to donate a 50-acre parcel of land in the northern region that has been devastated by 20 years of civil war.

But Murali hasn't given up on cricket yet. He's hoping for two more games in the next few days to bring the World Cup home. "We have a good team with good ability but we're also going to need some luck," Murali said after a day spent touring the project. Murali got up early for the helicopter trip from Colombo a few hours after helping Sri Lanka beat England and qualify for the World Cup semifinal.

With his 39th birthday coming up next month, Muralitharan is counting down the days to his retirement from all cricket, which will happen at the end of Sri Lanka's World Cup campaign. Struggling for fitness, he is determined to play in Tuesday's semifinal against New Zealand in Colombo and then possibly the final in Mumbai. Muralitharan took 800 test wickets and carried on a rivalry with Australian spinner Shane Warne for several years over who was the better bowler before the Sri Lankan retired from the five-day format last year.

Muralitharan outlasted Warne, but both men now co-operate on development projects. Now only a maximum of two ODIs remain to cap his career. But the disasters that have struck Sri Lanka, civil war and then a tsunami that killed more than 30,000 people in 2004, have thrust Murali to the forefront of global efforts to raise money to lift Sri Lankans out of poverty — and cricket is often the best currency to use. "Cricket is the most important game in this part of the world," he told a news conference Sunday held to announce a $5 million project to build a new school as well as a "Learning and Empowerment Institute," which will include sport.

On Sunday, Murali was accompanied by his friend and former cricketing foe Sir Ian Botham, who has joined the project, for a tour over the land near the northern town of Mankulam, ravaged by the war that ended in 2009. The land dedicated to the new centre first has to be cleared of explosives, Murali said. Botham said it was "mind-blowing" to see the extent of devastation left behind in northern Sri Lanka. High-profile cricketers like Botham, ex-England captain Michael Vaughan and Australians Steve Waugh and Warne have been major contributors to the project, which has seen one centre already built in the south of the country that was ruined by the tsunami.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, also a supporter of the charity, said Muralitharan had been an advocate of ethnic harmony in a country often divided between Tamils and the majority ethnic Sinhalese people. Murali is a Tamil. "Cricket is a social panacea in Sri Lanka and Murali is an icon, not just as a cricketer but as an advocate of racial harmony," Sangakkara said. The centre already built in the south of Sri Lanka had become "a vibrant hub," Sangakkara said.

Sri Lankan government forces, dominated by the Sinhalese, are suspected of shelling that killed thousands of minority Tamil civilians, and the Tamil rebels are suspected of using civilians as human shields. Amnesty International says between 7,000 and 40,000 are estimated to have died in the final five months of the conflict.

Nike introduces 'Bleed Blue Pledge,'

 

Today Nike announced the release of “Bleed Blue Pledge,” a new ad campaign where the pride, passion, and fearless soul of Indian cricket brought to life through the voice of the elite athletes of Team India. During the 60-second ad the members of the Indian Cricket Team articulate the passion for cricket in this country, pulling back the curtain long enough for the viewer to witness how the game is played, loved and revered from the perspective of the athlete.

“Bleed Blue Pledge” is not just the voice of the professional athletes who play the game; it’s the voice of the sport as it exists inside the hearts and minds of millions of Indian fans and players. In India, the cricket that’s played in the streets of the cities gives birth to the cricket played on the fields of the stadiums. In turn, the dreams held by the streets are inspired by the realities of the arena. It is this reciprocal relationship that leads to the edicts of “Bleed Blue”, words that have become more like codes of honor to Team India and the fans that support them.

Meshed with scenes of real match play, “Bleed Blue Pledge” features elite cricket athletes like Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, S. Sreesanth, Sachin Tendulkar, M.S. Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir describing the tenets of their game. They dominate to the point where their opponents fear them. They approach the game head on. They break boundaries and achieve dreams. They banish fear, pain, and most of all: excuses. They give their heart and soul to the game of cricket, understanding that they are not only representing their team, but that they are speaking for entire nations who have become unified by a common love.

“There is no better voices to speak to the fervor and love for cricket held by this nation than those of the incredible athletes of Team India,” said Sanjay Gangopadhyay, Marketing Director, Nike India Pvt. Ltd., “’Bleed Blue Pledge’ is unique because it allows these players to express their passion and commitment to the game in their own words. They are testifying to what they believe in. And their beliefs come from the pride and culture of India. This ad  demonstrates Nike’s deep connection to the sport, and to Team India, because there is no script. This is their moment to talk about their game.”

By utilizing both social and broadcast media, “Bleed Blue Pledge” will reach millions of India’s devoted cricket fans and allow them to share their passion for the sport/team. The teaser makes its world premiere March 23, 2011 on Nike’s Cricket Facebook page. The broadcast premiere of the spot then takes place during quarterfinal play on ESPN, the next day, March 24, 2011. The spot will also air on Star Sports, Star Cricket, and other sport, entertainment, and news channels.

The commercial was created by JWT of Bangalore, India and can be viewed on the Nike Cricket Facebook page (http://facebook.com/nikecricket).

“Bleed Blue Pledge” marks the latest opportunity for fans to “Bleed Blue” in support of Team India.  “Bleed Blue,” Nike’s current cricket brand campaign, brings to life the passion and obsession for the sport shared by Team India’s players and their fans through consumer events, grassroots outreach, and social networking. “Bleed Blue” has encapsulated the fervor for cricket in India by collecting over 11 million handprints via an innovative digital and events campaign that asked fans to express their loyalty to the team by simply marking their handprint in blue. Fans were then able to post their unique handprint to their Facebook page to share with friends and with India’s men in Blue.

Fans can continue to “Bleed Blue” and follow the latest on Team India through Nike’s YouTube channel (http://youtube.com/user/nikeindia) featuring candid interviews with Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, and Sreesanth and through the Nike Cricket Facebook page.

As the sporting world prepares for cricket to enter quarter final round play, Team India will be seen sporting Nike’s Considered team kits made from recycled plastic bottles. Nike, the official apparel sponsor for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), introduced its considered design ethos in Team India’s game day apparel in September 2010. The team began wearing this kit for the first time on pitch this spring.