World Cricket II

[ajithfederer]

1997 England tour of New Zealand - test series review

[ajithfederer]

India need to prove its Test status in England: Botham

India achieved the numero uno Test status primarily by virtue of their triumphs at home but the forthcoming away series against England will be the real test for the visitors, said legendary cricketer Ian Botham.

“India are currently ranked No 1 in the world and they got there by playing some decent cricket, mainly at home. But when you consider that they have only beaten Bangladesh and New Zealand in their last six away trips, then you realise that they have got a bit to prove to people this summer,” Botham wrote in his column for Mirror newspaper.

The battle for Test supremacy begins this summer when world number one India face number three England in a four-match series starting July.

During the tour, India will play four Tests -- the first of which starts at Lord’s on July 21 -- five ODIs and a one-off Twenty20 match.

Botham also showed scant respect to ICC’s ranking system, and rated England as the best team in the longer version of the game at present.

“The England Test team is the best in world cricket and they will prove it beyond doubt this summer,

“Forget the rankings designed by men with computers who believe that logarithms can tell us who is playing the best cricket more accurately than we can see with our eyes,” the former English captain insisted.

“England are unbeaten in seven series with six of them ending in victory for Andrew Strauss’s side, and the pinnacle of these was the magnificent Ashes campaign last winter. That sealed it for me. Not just because it was the Ashes and winning them in Australia is notoriously difficult, but because they did it so comprehensively and in such style,” Botham said.

“It takes something special to win Down Under, but it takes a rare gem of a side to do it with three innings defeats and leave the Australians floundering around looking for someone to blame before turning on each other,” he reasoned.

He said what augurs well for England is the mixture of youth and experience of the present team.

“The real beauty of this England team is their age and their experience. They have nearly all played enough Test cricket to be considered old pros, yet most of them are still so young,” Botham wrote.

“Unlike the 2005 team that reached a peak and was then ravaged by retirements and injuries, this England side has plenty of cricket left in it. Only Strauss and Graeme Swann are over 30 and I can see the England skipper continuing to lead the side into the next Ashes series,” he added.

Botham said with two important series lined up this summer -- against Sri Lanka and India, England’s target should be “world supremacy“.

“Between now and then, the target is sustained world supremacy. Outside the great Australian and West Indies teams, no other side has dominated the game and England have the chance to put themselves in that position,” the former all-rounder added.

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricke...?homepage=true

[ajithfederer]

Basil D'Oliveira Trophy (South Africa in England) 2008 South Africa 2-1 (4)
England in India Test Series 2008/09 India 1-0 (2)
The Wisden Trophy (England in West Indies) 2008/09 West Indies 1-0 (5)
The Wisden Trophy (West Indies in England) 2009 England 2-0 (2)
The Ashes (Australia in England) 2009 England 2-1 (5)
Basil D'Oliveira Trophy (England in South Africa) 2009/10 drawn 1-1 (4)
England in Bangladesh Test Series 2009/10 England 2-0 (2)
Bangladesh in England Test Series 2010 England 2-0 (2)
Pakistan in England Test Series 2010 England 3-1 (4)
The Ashes (England in Australia) 2010/11 England 3-1 (5)
Sri Lanka in England Test Series 2011

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/englan...id=1;type=team

[ajithfederer]

2000/01 Pakistan vs England TEST SERIES REVIEW

[ajithfederer]

Ashes 2010/11 - Hugh Jackman vs Shane Warne

Woohoo

[Plum]

Botham is right. England are the best currently. With Indians including Test stalwarts focussing on easy IPL money, England are the deserving team for #1 test team. Cricketing Gods will reward one or more of Cook, Trott, Swann, Anderson, Tremlett, Bresnan, Onions, Broad, Bopara, Davies, Prior, Panesar, Rashid, Stokes, Hildreth, Woakes, Finn, Strauss, Pietersen, Bell, Shahzad and England potentials among English Cricketers and Saffer Cricketers who play or might play for England. They'll be rewarded with a series win or draw against India in England this year and a #1 ranking later this century.

Tendul, Dravid, Laxman and greedy IPL indians will be punished by Gods with humiliating - in spirit if not margin - losses against England and possibly windies.
See what happened to IPL greedy Sanga, Mahela and Dilshan?

[ajaybaskar]

Annan Afridi quits Int'l cricket

[19thmay]

Annan Afridi quits Int'l cricket

All funny things happening in PCB. I bet no one can predict their playing XI! Not sure what happened to Sohail Tanvir or Azhar Mahmood or Mr.Sania Mirza!

[ajithfederer]

It's Simmy anderson's turn now.

James Anderson eye whitewash against India and Sri Lanka

England pacer, James Anderson, has made his intentions clear that his team will be looking to get to the top of the Test rankings by beating Sri Lanka and India in the upcoming Test series at home.

The English team is scheduled to play three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, starting from May 26, 2011, followed by four Tests against India in July, later this year.

“To do it, the minimum requirement against Sri Lanka and India is to win, but if you want to move up the rankings you need to win convincingly. So, we will set out to win 3-0 and 4-0,” said Anderson.

The pace bowler added that the victories in the next couple of series will help them improve their rankings who are currently at the third place in the standings behind India and South Africa.

Citing the English team as capable of producing good results in the forthcoming matches, the fast bowler made it clear to the Indian team and the Lankan Tigers that the Poms will come hard at them and they should be ready for a tough clash.

Anderson further uttered that the first Test against Sri Lanka at Cardiff (beginning on Saturday, 26th May) will be a ‘massive one’ as it will set the tempo for the rest of the matches in the series.


“The first game in Cardiff this week will be massive. We don`t want to give Sri Lanka a sniff or let them settle into the series. We want to hit them hard from the moment we get on the field either with bat or ball,” said the pacer who has 212 Test wickets to his credit in 57 matches for England.

Meanwhile, Anderson aimed to deliver his one hundred percent every time he will be given a chance to represent his country in the next series.

http://cricketdaily.in/news/more-new...-and-sri-lanka

[littlemaster1982]

Whitewash eh Anga vandhu pesikkarom