australian cricket

Ricky Ponting: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

What he said:

“If you were averaging 35 when I was playing your dad would go and buy you a basketball or a footy and tell you to play that.”

Ricky Ponting illustrates that the standards of Australian cricket have dropped in recent times with an apocryphal anecdote.

What he really meant:

“If you’re not averaging 40+ in Shield cricket, then you might as well pack it in.”

“Hmm, I wonder what I would have aggregated if we were playing T20 then.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Now that explains why Australian rules football is more popular than cricket. ”

Greg Chappell takes over as coach from Bob Houghton (Satire)

Australian cricket great Greg Chappell has been chosen to replace Englishman Bob Houghton as coach of the Indian soccer team by the All-India Football Federation (AIFF).

Greg Chappell had expressed his desire to return to coaching an Indian team ;the AIFF responded by inviting him to take over the mantle from ousted Houghton.

AIFF general secretary, Kushal Das, said, “We need a coach who is out-spoken, enjoys the confidence of the players and who does not shy away from controversy.”

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Australian cricket: The Big Bash à la IPL raises more than a few questions

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The Big Bash League

If the BCCI is not quite open to having private equity from foreign investors in the IPL,that is not quite the case with the Australian version (The Big Bash League) of the IPL scheduled to begin in the 2011-12 Australian summer season.

New South Wales and Victoria have allegedly already sold shares in their state associations to two giant Indian corporations.

Brisbane-based Adani Group and Jay Mehta, co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, have been named as Indian corporates with possible interest in the Big Bash league.

Gautam Adani recently bid unsuccessfully for an IPL team.

In breaking news, Cricket Australia (CA) has approved minority private ownership paving the way for Indian investors.

The Australian Cricketer’s Association had backed the entry of private overseas investment saying that it will not only bring in much need investment into the sport but also raise the profile of the sport Down Under.

Each Big Bash franchise is valued initially at $20 million each which is expected to rise to $80 million over the next few seasons.

The Australian cricket calendar is being punctured to accommodate the new entity; tests will be foregone for the period of the tournament to ensure the availability of top Australian cricketers for the duration of the tournament.

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