Dr Sport

After losing the first ODI to the South Africa, the West Indies were hoping for improvements in all departments of the game. Their batting, bowling and fielding needed serious improvement for them to stand any chance against the disciplined South Africans. South Africa was looking a different side from the one that disappointed many fans in the World T20 held earlier in the Caribbean. The second match of the Digicel ODI Series was at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, where all matches took place so far. For the first time on the tour, South Africa won the toss. Their captain, Graeme Smith, elected to bat first. Hasim Amla, the centurion from the first match, and Graeme Smith opened the innings...

Cricket is more popular than any other game. This might be considered to be a bit of a random question, but it many Asian countries it is true. However, Test Cricket is now being superseded by limited overs cricket and it was hoped by the ICC that the new ranking system would help maintain interest in Test cricket in nations where one-day cricket is more popular. There are many forms and grades of cricket especially those played professionally at an international level including test cricket, one-day international and most recently, Twenty-twenty cricket. Would it not be better though for cricket to have fewer international matches, a slightly smaller ICC and less money, where a cricket world in...

The first one was a cliffhanger. The second one was history. And the third one was a pride restoring exercise. The three match One Day International (ODI) Cricket series between India and South Africa concluded at Ahmedabad, India on February 27, 2010. It had been a series to remember for cricketing and for many other reasons. The first ODI at Jaipur had all the suspense fluctuation of fortunes and twists. For reasons unknown South Africa chose to field first after winning the toss and decided to drop Hashim Amla, the batsman in devastating form fresh after the test series. With typical uncertainty and jerks India managed to score a big 298/9 after 50 overs and looked like clinching the match midway...

Run Length Mechanics: Mass of human * Velocity of stride = Mass of ball * Velocity of release --- (Law of conservation of momentum)--(1) For a release velocity of 140 Km/ hr on the ball Mass of ball = = 1.5 Kg Mass of human = 70 Kg Going by equation (1) 1.5 * 140 = 70 * V stride V stride required of 70 kg human = 3 Km/hr V stride required of 60 Kg human = 4 Km/hr V stride required of 80 Kg human = 2.5 Km/hr The run length is a critical factor because of the following reasons. The velocity of stride near the crease will depend upon the acceleration provided by the bowler and the length of his run up. V * V = 2 * a * S ( 2) ( Newton's laws of motion) For a 140 Km/hr release of the ball at a human...

What a dream run! Indian Premier League (IPL) has taken centre stage in the world of cricket. Who would have believed that a couple of years ago? Indian Club Cricket holding sway in global arena!!! The second installment of IPL drama had cricket aficionados crying for more. The runaway success of the tournament was there for all to see. Global audiences watched scintillating cricket thoroughly mesmerised, while we in India rejoiced that our religion (cricket) has finally got global recognition. Full credit goes to Lalit Modi and his IPL management who made this dream come true. What did one like most about the tournament? The first answer that jumps to mind is "everything". If you fail to agree with...

Forum is a medium where people with similar interest and hobbies come together to discuss about their favorite sport, game, film, books or any other thing. Cricket forum, as the name itself suggests, is platform where cricket enthusiasts can discuss about anything under the sun related to cricket. Fans that are passionate never get tired of talking and discussing things related to their favorite game. Fans always manage to find out something on which they can discuss and find out how their favorite batsman, bowler or the team is doing. Fans just need to find out a tiny cause and this will be discussed at length in all cricket forum and many other forums as well. Cricket forums can be found in...

The champion West Indies teams of the late 70s to early 90s premised their success on a quartet of pace bowlers. Every fast bowler used in that quartet was genuinely fast and difficult to negotiate. One quick bowler managed to stand above the rest- as a fast bowler and cricketer. The late Malcolm Denzil Marshall is the fast bowler whom cricket pundits generally regard as the best West Indian fast bowler- if not the best quick bowler to play the game. Born in Bridgetown, Barbados on April 18th, 1958, Malcolm Marshall took only 20 years to make his First-class debut in the 1977/1978 season. His Test debut came in the following season- owing to defections of the leading West Indies players to Kerry...

Cricket is an exciting game that brings smiles on your face whenever you happen to know that a tournament is going to start. If it is world cup tournament then it is time to celebrate for the cricket fans. World cup is one of the most happening events in the world of cricket and so it is awaited by the cricket lovers. They are so excited that they do not miss out even a single match. But if in case a fan happens to miss out any match then world cup current stats will make him know all the facts. Mostly business professional miss out live telecast of match but not to worry because there are different sources through which they can get all the details of the match. You can get each and every...

The show has begun with Indian premier league carnival in Cape Town. Due to the security reasons and elections in India, IPL has chosen a new destination- South Africa. It was started by Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) last year. It is new format of cricket called Twenty 20. It is a multi-billion dollar affair, which is not all about cricket. It is also loaded with glamour, entertainment and passion. This provides the ultimate fiesta to all the cricket fans in India and abroad. There are eight teams representing various regions of India, participating in the league. The team is combined with the stars from around the world and the boys of Indian domestic cricket. Each team includes eight...

T20 has given a new meaning to cricket. Cricket started with test matches and went till one day and now, its brand new format is twenty20. With the victory in Twenty20 World Cup Cricket Tournament in South Africa, this format has become India's beloved game. After seeing so much praise, BCCI has tried and given it a new dimension in India with IPL T20. Indian premiere league proved itself last year. In order to start this idea BBCI has taken the support from cricket boards of various countries, so that they allow their players to play in the IPL Cricket League. They are being paid heavy sums for doing so. Auctions of the players and the state teams have attracted many big business houses, bollywood...

Cricket has always been considered as the god of all sports by its fans. With the advent of tournaments, the entire atmosphere changes to cricket mania. Adjustments of the daily schedule starts and cricket enthusiasts stick themselves to either television or websites for catching the live action. After all, keeping themselves abreast of all the detailed happenings of the tournament is mandatory for ardent cricket fans. No one wants to miss out the spinning of ball or smashing shots or centuries made by their favorite player. Cricket and only cricket has become the need of cricket lovers. Cricket world cup history is mandatory for the cricket fans. It is because world cup is one of the most renowned...

The use of technology in sports has been the subject of intense debate. The governing bodies of rugby and cricket have acquiesced to the use of technology for purposes of officiating. However, cricket includes technology in a limited way. Television replays are used for stumping decisions, run outs and boundary calls. Cricket's reality is that several umpiring errors are highlighted by comprehensive television coverage with cameras at all angles. Therefore, it is no surprise that some quarters are clamouring for the use of technology to assist umpires. On the other side of the continuum, there are those who insist that the status quo should be maintained. There is the view that increased technology...

With less than 50 days to go to the Ashes it's hard to envisage an England XI any different to what I'm gonna show you. Events have conspired so that all the ifs, buts, and maybes are seemingly set in stone. Prior to the series against the West Indies in our colder climates some dark grey clouds loomed over our proud cricketing nation and echoes of a 5 0 repeat whitewash were ringing around our shores. Hopefully the echoes have now died out. SO WHAT'S HAPPENED? 3 Consecutive tons from Ravi Bopara have put an end to the number 3 quandary . . . After 3 ducks in his first 5 test innings in Sri Lanka Ravi has really shown his metal in scoring 3 consecutive tons in his last 3 innings (granted against...

After losing their opening Group B games, Asian rivals India and Pakistan faced a must-win situation against each other. India Women lost to New Zealand Women by 10 runs, while Pakistan Women had an even narrower margin of defeat against Sri Lanka Women - one run. Pakistan had a tougher route to the semi-finals, even if they won this game. With the match against the Kiwis behind them, India Women were in a better position to capitalise on a win. Pakistan batted first in this crucial fixture, with Nain Abidi and Sajjida Shah opening the batting. The Pakistanis lost their first wicket with the score on 13; Gouher Sultana dismissed Sajjida Shah for two runs. Nain Abidi continued to do the bulk of the...

Cricket is a popular sport all over the world and one day cricket is arguably the most exciting form of the game. The one day game involves matches that are much shorter in duration compared to test cricket. This is why players who feature in the test side do not always get in the one day team and vice versa. There are numerous qualities required for one day cricket. A successful one day player needs to be able to improvise and think on his feet. It does not matter as much if a player has technical deficiencies as these are not exposed in the shorter form of the game. Batting in one day cricket usually involves lots of big hitting with the ball disappearing to the boundary on a regular basis for...

There are not many instances where you find three generations of cricketers in a family who played Test cricket. In the case of George Headley, Ronald Headley and Dean Headley, they all bear the same surname. Dean "Frog" Headley is the grandson of legendary West Indian batsman, George Headley and the son of Ronald Headley. Of the three Headleys, Dean is the only bowler. The tall, right-arm fast bowler also represented England-not the West Indies as his father and grandfather did. He managed to play 15 Tests for England, making him the second most successful Headley to play Test cricket. Born on January 27, 1970 in Worcestershire, England, the 6' 5" bowler was raised in England as well. As such, he...

Having brought the game of Twenty20 cricket to a wider audience, cricket administrators in England must now be concerned that this form of the game may be about to change the entire landscape of the sport. What does the future hold? When cricketers are paying paid more than a million dollars to play for a few weeks of the year then we know that times are changing. The launch of the Indian Premier League, backed with plenty of finance, is changing things at a rapid pace. Many note that India has quickly become the centre of the cricketing world, although it's been noticeable that the English authorities have been keen that England players should not compete in the new competition in India. Despite...

It is common knowledge amongst cricket followers that the Stanford Millions could revolutionise the sport in a way that five years ago was unthinkable. The offer from the Texas Billionaire, Alan Stanford guarantees a million dollars for each player in the winning team of an invitational match arranged between a team of Caribbean Super Stars and an England Xl that that is to be played in Antigua on November 1st; there will be nothing for the losers. The offer from Stanford is part of his proposal to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to launch their own version of the Indian Premier League of Cricket that has attracted players from all over the world on highly lucrative contracts. Stanford is...

Cricket technology is starting to be used in the game. Such cricket technology however, is being employed wrongly. It's a sad state of affairs when it looks like the only way England will snaffle 20 wickets in a Test is by the TV Umpire getting things continually wrong. Ramnaresh Sarwan, in the form of his life, reaching 184 not out at the close of play on day 3 has been somewhat overshadowed by some howlers from TV umpire Daryl Harper. Whilst 'immovable force' Sarwan continues his imperious form with the bat drama transcended from the other end with Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Brendan sent wrongfully packing. First, he sent Shivnarine Chanderpaul on his way for 70 to a delivery that would have...

Brian Lara is undoubtedly one of the best batsmen of all time and certainly one of the best of the modern era. The former left-handed West Indian batsman mesmerised cricket fans and bowlers alike with his batting ability. You know that a batsman has left an indelible mark on the game when he has a signature shot. In Lara's case, he had a few signature shots. Brian Lara will be remembered in the cricketing world for much more than his unique, stylish batting and huge scores. As at 2010, he is the world record holder for the highest individual scores in both Test and First class innings. His Test-best is 400 not out, while his First Class best is 501. What is even more remarkable is that he reclaimed...

Merv Hughes was not exactly the typical fast bowler. He had the stature but was marginally overweight, loved beers and had a strange, shuffling run-up. Big Merv's signature moustache made him look less like a player of the "gentleman's game" and more like a pub specialist. Those qualities made Hughes quite a character in the game and a crowd favourite in Australia. However, the big Aussie was more than that; he was a successful bowler for Australia between 1985 and 1994. Born on November 23, 1961 in Victoria, Hughes waited only 20 years to make his debut for Victoria in the 1981/82 season. The big fast bowler's first opportunity for Australia was in 1985 against India at Adelaide Oval. Hughes took...

Indian cricket team finished 2009 on a very high note. It became no. 1 in test matches and won the series against Sri Lanka convincingly in December 2009. This led to high expectations on the first ODI of the tri-Series being played in Bangladesh currently. Much to the Indian fans' disappointment, the team lost to relatively inexperienced Sri Lankan team today. Let us dig out what went wrong. Toss? Well, winning tosses definitely gives an edge and the team can take first batting/ bowling decision based on pitch and weather conditions. Winning toss today was really important as bowling in 2nd half of the game was a fight against dew too! India lost the toss and was forced to bat first and experienced...

The Ashes series in 2009 has been widely anticipated ever since Australia regained the urn in 2007 with a 5-0 demolition job on England. Such an emphatic margin of defeat will be a painful memory for England's senior players who will be keen to extract some form of revenge this time around. After an indifferent period, the England team now seems to be heading in the right direction once again under the leadership of Kevin Pietersen who has quickly settled into the role of skipper. The Ashes 2009 series will be the ultimate test of his captaincy skills and his cricket brain. Senior players like Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison will have a major role to play if England is to triumph. Flintoff is a...

Its a formidable challenge for cricket fans to agree who are the best teams in the world, and who are the best current and past players. You might think that a sport that generates so many statistics could easily provide the facts and figures to solve this challenge, but it isn't so easy. The test playing nations don't play the same number of games; opponents vary in strength, and there's no set representative period for calculating ranking points. For example, a strong side like South Africa might easily beat a developing team like Bangladesh in a 5 match test series. But, how should that compare with a hard fought series between say, India and Pakistan? Sir Donald Bradman had a test match batting...

Leg-spin in cricket is a difficult art to master. For this reason, there were very few world-class exponents of leg-break/ googly bowling in cricket since the inception of the international game in the 19th century. Pakistan's Mushtaq 'Mushie' Ahmed was one such leg-spinner. With an energetic action reminiscent of his mentor, Abdul Qadir, Ahmed mesmerised batsmen at the highest level with his clever deception and variety of deliveries. Born in Punjab, Pakistan on June 28th, 1970, Ahmed developed into a quality right-arm leg break/ googly bowler and the heir apparent to Abdul Qadir. The diminutive spin wizard made his First class debut while still a teenager- in the 1986/1987 First class season...

"A great bat alone doesn't make a great batsman". I believe most would agree with me on this. Even though a talent of a batsman plays an important role in his performance a wrong choice of bat can certainly affect even the most talented batsmen. When choosing a bat different people would look at different factors. But I believe these are the four main factors you need to consider while choosing a bat especially if you are relatively new to cricket. 1) Size of the bat: I have seen many parents making the mistake of buying a adult bat for their kid when there are junior bats available especially for kids. In cricket size of a bat plays an important role. In fact there is a standard that's followed...

When India won the cricket worldcup in 1983 under the leadership of Kapil dev Nikhanj, I was barely fifteen years old. Cricket was a passion during those times and the Indians who were the underdogs for the tournament turned out to be the dark horses of the hour at Lords. These heady days of cricket were the times when the West Indians ruled the roost. The famed pace battery of the Windies were held with respect and fear even by the best of the batsmen. Even test cricket was played with pride and passion. It is debatable if test cricket is needed at all, at this time of twenty twenty era of hit out or get out attitude. It must be said that 20-20 matches have opened up a plethora of opportunities for...

There are a numbers of speculations and anticipations before the start of World cup 2007. As the cricket world cup is mostly loved & viewed game world over. World cup is organized in every fourth year. Last time world was cup held in South Africa in the year 2003. This time West Indies has got honor to host World Cup 2007. The fever or mania for cricket world cup is so intense that can be seen even in layman who has least knowledge about it. Every one is trying to have accessibility to the medium of media to enjoy the uninterrupted and unrestricted coverage of cricket. West Indies world cup 2007 is inviting huge viewer ship whether it for television or readership of newspaper. The ongoing world...

World cup is one of the most important tournaments for all the teams. In the history of cricket world, this tournament gives the title of being world champions to a particular team. It is this reason that all the teams participating in this tournament keeps on practicing and polishing their batting or bowling or fielding skills. After all, it is their sharpened skills and efforts that will give them positive results. Since the world cup tournament started, eight tournaments have been played so far. Cricket World Cup 2007 is the ninth tournament in this race and West Indies is going to host it. Lots of preparations have been made by this Caribbean country for giving a wonderful experience as gift to...