The Official Cricket Thread

[lifetime fan]

Rohit Sharma became only the third man to score a double century in one-day international cricket, smashing 209 from 158 balls as India beat Australia by 57 runs to win the ODI series 3-2.

His 16 sixes in Bangalore broke Shane Watson's previous ODI record of 15.

Sharma hit the first two balls of the last over for six but was caught at deep square leg off the third, leaving Virender Sehwag's 219 as the record.

Needing 384, Australia fell short despite James Faulkner's valiant 116.

India had finished on a mammoth 383-6, with skipper Mahendra Dhoni run out off the last ball for 62 after he and Sharma plundered 101 from the last five overs - meaning the tourists required the second highest successful ODI run chase of all time to prevent India winning this high-scoring series.

They started slowly and looked dead and buried when Glenn Maxwell was caught in the deep, having made 60 from only 22 deliveries including seven sixes, to leave them 138-6 in the 23rd over.

But all-rounder Watson (49), batting down the order after he had left the field with an injury and was unable to complete his bowling spell, added 67 for the seventh wicket with Faulkner in only six overs to give the innings some impetus.

Watson and Nathan Coulter-Nile fell in quick succession but Faulkner dominated a stand of 115 with tail-ender Clint McKay (18) which was the fourth highest ninth-wicket partnership in ODI history.

Faulkner hit 11 fours and seven sixes and recorded his maiden century in professional cricket while trying to farm the strike, but just when he had reduced the target to 67 from 48 balls, India produced a couple of tight overs, before McKay was bowled by Ravindra Jadeja.

Faulkner then holed out at deep mid-wicket off the very next ball as India clinched victory with just under five overs remaining.

The match brought an exciting end to an enthralling series, which has included the second and third highest successful run chases in the ODI format after India chased down targets in excess of 350 at both Jaipur and Nagpur.

Sharma, who hit 491 runs in six innings at an average of 122.75 to win the man of the series award, said after his marathon knock: "Getting a 200 in the ODI format is a wonderful feeling.

"We knew it's a small ground and runs are easy to come by, so we wanted to stay in and capitalise.

"I was disappointed not getting a hundred in the last game, so I wanted to play big and keep the momentum going."

Sehwag's individual record had looked under threat at one stage, after Sharma took 26 from the 47th over, bowled by spinner Xavier Doherty, who took 2-74.

But the slow left-armer was far from the most expensive Aussie bowler as seamers McKay (1-89), Coulter-Nile (0-80) and Faulkner (1-75) all took heavy punishment in their 10-over spells.

Sharma enjoyed stands of 112 with opening partner Shikhar Dhawan (60), 72 with Suresh Raina (28), and 167 with Dhoni, whose 62 came from only 38 balls.

Watson had limped off after bowling only five overs, aborting the first delivery of his sixth, and batted at number eight instead of his usual number three position - but Australia's fears over an injury to one of their key Ashes Test players will have been assuaged by his batting.

The highest run chase of all time remains South Africa's 438-9 against Australia at the Wanderers, Johannesburg, in 2006.

Match scorecard

[A_S]

Amazing game. Quite simply, it was a series completely and utterly dominated by the bat. Dharma scoring 200 in an ODI. 115 being scored off the last 6 overs of the Indian innings. The fastest ever 50 and 100 by an Australian in ODI cricket were in this game by different players. Incredible.

 

Sadly though, the spite in this game will also be remembered. Now anyone who has read my thoughts on Australian cricket these last few years will know I think Watson is a bit of a twat. That said, Dharwan's mocking of his injury was in extremely poor taste IMO. Hopefully he'll be asked to explain his behaviour by the ICC. Not holding my breath though. This follows Michael Clarke making the 'T' gesture to an umpire in a domestic First Class game this week (where there was no third umpire available, he was clearly showing his dissatisfaction with the decision.) He was charged for dissent and rightfully so. Blatant acts like these need to be frowned upon and always.

[AJBlaikie]

Amazing game. Quite simply, it was a series completely and utterly dominated by the bat. Dharma scoring 200 in an ODI. 115 being scored off the last 6 overs of the Indian innings. The fastest ever 50 and 100 by an Australian in ODI cricket were in this game by different players. Incredible.

 

Sadly though, the spite in this game will also be remembered. Now anyone who has read my thoughts on Australian cricket these last few years will know I think Watson is a bit of a twat. That said, Dharwan's mocking of his injury was in extremely poor taste IMO. Hopefully he'll be asked to explain his behaviour by the ICC. Not holding my breath though. This follows Michael Clarke making the 'T' gesture to an umpire in a domestic First Class game this week (where there was no third umpire available, he was clearly showing his dissatisfaction with the decision.) He was charged for dissent and rightfully so. Blatant acts like these need to be frowned upon and always.

 

That is funny in many different ways especially after how Clarke used the review system in the summer to great comic effect.

 

Does anyone else think the rule changes to the ODI have made it a lot easier for teams to score loads of runs?

[A_S]

That is funny in many different ways especially after how Clarke used the review system in the summer to great comic effect.

 

Does anyone else think the rule changes to the ODI have made it a lot easier for teams to score loads of runs?

A combination of the 2-new ball rule not being as effective in India, the extra fielder inside the circle outside of power plays, plus the simple part about India having a fucking awesome batting lineup.

[lifetime fan]

As Sachin Tendulkar retires, shed a tear for the great Malcolm Marshall, who died 14 years ago aged 41 As we mark Tendulkar’s exit we should also think of the wonderful bowler who died 14 years ago at 41

 

By Steve James

11:00PM GMT 11 Nov 2013

 

 

 

It is an emotional time for cricket, with the Sachin Tendulkar farewell preparing to enter its last lap on Thursday with his 200th and final Test, against West Indies in Mumbai.

 

A player’s retirement is always sad, especially that of a giant of the game, even if he has stood so small at the crease, but it is nothing compared to the grim realisation that it was 14 years ago last week that another relatively short colossus of the game was laid to rest.

 

Malcolm Marshall was just 41 when he passed away in 1999, taken cruelly early by colon cancer.

 

With 376 Test wickets, he stands 14th in the all-time list, but his average of 20.94 is better than all those above him.

In my opinion he is the greatest fast bowler who has ever lived.

 

Such declarations are easily shot down, with Dennis Lillee used as the obvious counter argument.

Ray Lindwall, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Dale Steyn, still in his pomp, deserve a mention.

So, too, Glenn McGrath, Richard Hadlee, Curtly Ambrose, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Harold Larwood, Frank Tyson, Courtney Walsh, Shaun Pollock, Fred Trueman. On and on you could go.

 

But I will use as my ally in this statement a chap by the name of Richards. Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, that is.

In a quiet moment when our careers crossed at Glamorgan, I once asked Viv whom he considered the best.

It was a rather awkward question, rather like a schoolboy asking any professional batsman of the identity of the fastest bowler he has faced.

 

In my case that is Allan Donald, by the way.

 

I faced him many times in county cricket when he was rapid, but when he bowled at me in a Test match at Lord’s in 1998, he bowled like the wind; a vivid demonstration of the yawning gap between domestic and international cricket.

 

Anyway Viv had no hesitation in answering, despite having played with and captained a bevy of other West Indian quicks: Roberts, Holding, Walsh, Ambrose, Colin Croft, Patrick Patterson, Joel Garner, Ian Bishop, Ezra Moseley, Wayne Daniel et al.

“Maco,” he replied. And that is good enough for me. “He had everything,” Richards said.

Well, everything apart from height.

 

And even that was not really a disadvantage to Marshall, as he used his skiddiness to devastating effect, producing some remarkable results on slow sub-continental pitches, most notably in India in 1983-84.

 

His bouncer was devilishly difficult to duck underneath.

 

He was quick, courtesy of a waspishly fast arm, but it was his range of skills that set him apart.

He could swing the ball both ways, even from an open-chested action, and it was almost impossible to pick which way that swing was heading.

 

I was rather fortunate to catch him at the end of his career, but still unfortunate enough to have played against his Hampshire side once in the sylvan surroundings of Ynysangharad Park in Pontypridd.

 

Some of the old-timers have always reckoned that tree-lined grounds aid swing bowling, and that was certainly true in that game, in which Marshall took 11 wickets.

 

That was in 1990, and I was playing only because Richards had pulled out on the morning of the match.

 

Earlier in the season there had been another encounter between the teams at Southampton, which is still recalled in Wales as one of the great Glamorgan games.

 

It was a special match not just because Glamorgan won it against the odds, but rather because of the compelling battle between Richards and Marshall that eventually ensured that victory.

 

I spent two wonderful years at Cambridge University but, if there is one small regret, it is that I was still a student when this match took place.

It is the one Glamorgan match I always wish I had played in.

 

It was won in the last over, and Richards made 164 not out, hitting Marshall for four, six and four in that final over so that Glamorgan won with two balls to spare.

 

Wisden called the innings a “masterpiece of aggression and timing”.

 

Over a beer after the game Marshall apparently told Richards that the six, hooked to a long boundary away from the pavilion at the old Northlands Road ground, was the biggest that was ever hit off his bowling.

 

It was a rare occasion on which Marshall was bettered, probably an innings that only the great Richards could have conjured. It truly was greatness against greatness.

 

 

[Guest LFD]

Great blog on Tendulkar here, can't really paste it all so best to read it from source:

 

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2013/nov/12/sachin-tendulkar-india-retiring?CMP=twt_gu

[A_S]

Fantastic achievement from Tendulkar to reach 200 Tests. Even playing 15 Tests a year (does any country do that ever??) that is over 13 straight years of playing without missing a single game. Given that T20 cricket is taking up more of the cricketing calendar nowadays, it is hard to imagine anyone else ever remaining at the top level long enough to reach this incredible milestone.

 

He has represented India over 660 times, made over 34,000 international runs, including 100 centuries and even taken 201 wickets and over 250 catches for a laugh. Stupid numbers.

 

Hats off to the Little Master, the best since Bradman.

[Champ]

Anyone got it on at the moment? You cant fault the Indians for their support. Unbelievable atmosphere. Pity the player who gets him out to bring it all to a close

[Guest LFD]

38 not out at the moment.

[Guest LFD]

Cricket might have attendance problems at times, but this is crazy.

 

19 million hits, in an hour?!
 

Sachin's 200th Test: 19 million hits in first hour sent ticket website KyaZoonga.com for a toss

Online ticket website KyaZoonga.com crashed as fans seeking tickets for Sachin Tendulkar's 200th and final Test match were left in the lurch on Monday. Only 6000 tickets in the 32,000-capacity Wankhede Stadium are available to the public

ndia's 'internet' generation were left in the lurch when the website selling tickets for Sachin Tendulkar's 200th and final Test at the Wankhede Stadium from November 14 crashed in the very first hour when sales went online at 11 am on Monday. The website KyaZoonga.com was unable to respond to the massive online requests and according to its owner Neetu Bhatia, the site got 19 million hits for a paltry 6000 tickets available for the public. Attempts to open the site during the afternoon did not prove successful as well.

Till late on Monday evening, the website was slow and Bhatia told NDTV the problem will be fixed "in a couple of hours." Fans can only buy tickets online. KyaZoonga.com is the official ticket partner for the second India versus West Indies Test in Mumbai from November 14.

Apart from digital concerns, there was chaos at the Mumbai Cricket Association office at the Wankhede Stadium today as well as over 5000 fans gathered to purchase tickets. Fans began creating a commotion when they were told that tickets would only be sold online. However, the crowd was disbursed after police used force. Fans had come from all across Maharashtra and neighbouring states as well.

Kolhapur's Narayan Dev Gautam was one of the thousands of fans who have travelled to Mumbai to buy a ticket. "I've come from Kolhapur, and I have been waiting since yesterday morning, I haven't had anything to eat so far. We were told the ticket counters here (at Wankhede Stadium) would open at 8:30 am, but nothing of that sort happened. I have come only to watch Sachin, I wanted only two tickets", Narayan told NDTV.

MCA had earlier issued a statement that the online ticket sales for Tendulkar's 200th Test in Mumbai would start from Monday. Around 3,000 tickets will be available for sale, excluding the 1,500 special tickets priced at Rs 10,000. The price category for the online sale is -- Rs 500, Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,500. The Wankhede has the capacity to seat 32,000 people.

 

http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/sachin/news/216832-sachins-200th-test-19-million-hits-in-first-hour-sent-ticket-website-kyazoongacom-for-a-toss

[Yozzer]

Gutted he didn't get his century. End of an era for Indian cricket, luckily for them they seem to have 3 or 4 very good prospects to take his place.

[A_S]

Former Aussie keeper Matthew Wade has been found guilty of pitch tampering- when still batting! Not only that, he made a crucial century to give Victoria an outright victory against title holders Tasmania. No penalty runs were awarded to the opposition, no warnings were issued during the match, nothing was made formal until after the match.

 

How utterly bizarre. Not to mention simply HOW??

[lifetime fan]

A Cricket Australia statement read: "Both umpires considered the change to the pitch, which resulted in the creation of a long valley within the protected area, had been created by means other than natural wear and tear."

[A_S]

A Cricket Australia statement read: "Both umpires considered the change to the pitch, which resulted in the creation of a long valley within the protected area, had been created by means other than natural wear and tear."

 

Which still says SFA really. Again though, how does something that is apparently quite sizeable get 'created' without any mention of it anywhere until after the match? Very strange.

[lifetime fan]

Which still says SFA really. Again though, how does something that is apparently quite sizeable get 'created' without any mention of it anywhere until after the match? Very strange.

God knows mate. Was the game televised?

[Jairzinho]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03hwbr7/Batting_for_the_Middle_Kingdom/

 

Cricket in China.

[A_S]

So 10,000 runs in Test cricket puts one in the elite batsmen of all time.

 

300 wickets puts you in the elite bracket of bowlers of all time.

 

Jacques Kallis is 11 wickets away from achieving both.

 

I honestly hope he reaches this incredible milestone against Australia next February. Legend.

[Barrington Womble]

wtf went on with that SA test today? Why did they stop chasing the runs?

[Vincent Vega]

wtf went on with that SA test today? Why did they stop chasing the runs?

 

It has a distinct smell of Indian bookmakers.

[Barrington Womble]

It has a distinct smell of Indian bookmakers.

That was my reaction, but wondered if it was something less sinister.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Navman]

Brilliant test match

 

I think SA was terrified of losing especially when faf and AB were out

[A_S]

I guess you could say they batted for over a day in order to save the game then gradually realised they could pull off an incredible win. It was most likely team orders to go for it until 7 or 8 down, then shut up shop if they needed to go over a certain run rate. Brilliant game. It's not often you see 4 different outcomes still possible heading into the final over of a Test match.

[AJBlaikie]

I watched the game and when it got down to the last 2 who where in they settled for the draw rather than trying to go for the win. They needed about 16 off 19 balls and the 6 off the last ball made it look a lot closer than it was. It was a great test match.

[lifetime fan]

So 10,000 runs in Test cricket puts one in the elite batsmen of all time.

 

300 wickets puts you in the elite bracket of bowlers of all time.

 

Jacques Kallis is 11 wickets away from achieving both.

 

I honestly hope he reaches this incredible milestone against Australia next February. Legend.

 

 

Not going to happen. Farewell to a true legend.

 

 

 

Jacques Kallis: South African to retire from Test cricket

South Africa's Jacques Kallis will retire from Test and first-class cricket after the second Test against India which starts on Boxing Day.

The 38-year-old all-rounder, who has scored 13,174 runs and taken 292 wickets in 165 Tests, remains available for one-day international matches.

"It's been an honour and a privilege to have been part of the team since making my debut 18 years ago," he said.

"I've enjoyed every moment but the time is right to hang up my Test whites."

Kallis is South Africa's highest Test runscorer and the fourth highest in Test history, behind India's Sachin Tendulkar, Australia's Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid of India.

He has accumulated his runs at an average of 55.12, scoring 44 centuries and 58 half-centuries.

His 292 Test wickets have cost an average of 32.53 runs, while his tally of 199 catches ranks him second behind Dravid in the Test list.

Kallis has also accumulated 11,574 runs from 325 one-day internationals and is hopeful of playing in the 2015 World Cup.

"It wasn't an easy decision to come to, especially with Australia [visiting for a Test series in February 2014] and the success this team is enjoying, but I have made my contribution in this format," he continued.

"I don't see it as goodbye because I still have a lot of hunger to push South Africa to that World Cup in 2015 - if I am fit and performing."

South Africa coach Russell Domingo said: "The impact Jacques has made on the South African cricket has been immense, not just as a player but as a human being. I'm not sure we will ever see another player of that stature very soon.

"He has ambitions of playing in the 2015 World Cup and it will be important for us to manage him accordingly so that he is in prime form leading into the tournament."

Kallis, who had spells with Middlesex and Glamorgan in the 1990s, scored 34 in the second innings as South Africa fell eight runs short of completing a world record run chase in the drawn first Test of their two-match series with India.

The second Test starts in Durban on 26 December.

[Barrington Womble]

I guess you could say they batted for over a day in order to save the game then gradually realised they could pull off an incredible win. It was most likely team orders to go for it until 7 or 8 down, then shut up shop if they needed to go over a certain run rate. Brilliant game. It's not often you see 4 different outcomes still possible heading into the final over of a Test match.

Smith claimed after the game it was a decision made by the two in the middle.

 

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