jacques kallis

Legends and Superstars: T20 cricket goes global

Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne have launched a Legends T20 Cricket League to be held in the USA in August-September.

Shah Rukh Khan has gone a step further and extended the Kolkata Knight Riders brand by buying Caribbean T20 team Trinidad & Tobago. Mark Wahlberg and Gerard Butler are other actor-owners of Barbados Tridents and  Jamaica Tallawahs respectively.

This confluence of acting and cricketing giants to promote the sport overseas is welcome.

The more the merrier.

Ageing superstars and retired cricketers have much more in common than their age. They enjoy a hold on their fans way past their expiry date.

The Legends T20 League will test this theory. More power to them.

English: Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan with family at premiere of Drona (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Chris Gayle, Indian cricket team and Anirudha Srikkanth

Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle, Chris Gayle, Chris Gayle.

It’s all about the West Indian opening bat.

Will he ever play for the Windies again?

The solution to this riddle may lie with Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The heads of government opted to resurrect the prime ministerial sub-committee on cricket to resolve the dispute.

For uninterested outsiders, it becomes harder and harder to sympathise with the Jamaican player. Not because the decision taken by the West Indian Cricket Board is fair, but because it seems he’s crying himself hoarse despite being richer to the tune of $265,000 plus his RCB fee of $400,000. Being a free agent has its perks when you’re Chris Gayle.

Dr. Ernest Hilaire and Dinanath Ramnarine are the other high-profile faces of the warring sides in this drama. The man in the centre of the storm is Ottis Gibson, the West Indian coach.

Gibson is a former player from Barbados who played a couple of Tests snaring three big wickets in Alec Stewart, Darren Gough and Jacques Kallis. Gayle appears to have more than a few issues with the current coach, a common thread repeated by Shivnarine Chanderpaul among others. A resolution to the crisis can only happen if Gibson is shown the door. Every predicament has a scapegoat.

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What he said,really meant and definitely didn’t: Jacques Kallis

What he said:

“It felt a little odd playing in the stadium without the crowd behind me but, then again, my home stadium is now Eden Gardens so it’s not as if I have moved down market.”

Jacques Kallis on the strangeness of playing an away game for KKR at Chinaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, his former team’s home ground.

What he really meant:

“It’s not so bad, I’ve traded up. Eden Gardens for Bangalore.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Whom am I kidding? It’s me that’s been traded.”

What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t: Jacques Kallis

What he said:

“I am an easy man to please and one of the greatest pleasures is taking money off Mark Boucher on the golf course.”

Jacques Kallis finds SA and Kolkatta Knightriders team-mate easy meat on the links.

What he really meant:

“Pocket money’s always welcome.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I’d continue playing Mark is if I kept losing.”

India versus South Africa: Series ends tied one all

Image via Wikipedia

I must admit that I am relieved that the twin Test series in South Africa and Australia have ended. The cricket has been exhilarating, the battle has seesawed between the sides and there has been no respite from the all-encompassing media hype.

I hope to catch a break from all forms of cricket until the World Cup. I have seriously overdosed.

India finish tied 1-1 on the Last Frontier in the Rainbow Nation. This will be a result they will cherish , but they will also regret that they could not make it a more memorable tour.

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A tale of two Tests: Eng vs Aus, SA vs India

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Two tests began on the 16th of December, 2010. One at Perth, the other at Centurion.

The similarities were striking. Both pitches were expected to have something for the speed demons. And they did.

For Australia, after being shot out for 268 on the first day, it looked like deja vu. The Englishmen were on top and were pressing for an unprecedented third Ashes triumph, in the process, signalling their willingness to end the Punter’s reign at the helm.

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