A West Indian IPL?

Unfortunately I missed the IPL final last night (on 26 May 2013). However I watched the highlights this morning. After Chennai beat Mumbai in their playoff to go straight into the final, Mumbai defeated Rajasthan in another playoff and then went all the way and overcame Chennai in the final. Mumbai won the final by 23 runs, their first IPL tournament win.

The West Indian cricketers have proved in this IPL that they are a powerful force in T20 cricket. Chris Gayle made the highest T20 score for a batsman (175*) and Dwayne Bravo took the most wickets in an IPL season (32). Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, Darren Sammy and Sunil Narine also had a great tournament. For me Kieron Pollard was the best player in the tournament as he made big knocks in the playoffs as well as the final. I can see now that West Indians are fantastic in this format and the WI teams will be a great threat in the Champions League T20 later this year.

IPL 2013 final: CSK 125/9 (20) MI 148/9 (20). Kieron Pollard (centre) hit 60* and got man of the match. Image taken from http://sports.ndtv.com

Cricket in England

I really enjoy watching cricket played in England. The picture on the TV screen is always clear and green, the commentary is really nice and the England test team is a good unit. The England team always seems to back each other. They believe in each other, and take on the best teams in the world; especially when they play in England. Their fans are also very supportive, chant and sometimes dress up for matches. The fans are also impolite at times - which makes it more entertaining.

The conditions in England will favour seamers and batsmen. So next month's ICC Champions Trophy will be exciting for me. I love watching seamers in action. Fast bowlers are far more interesting than spinners. England will probably play well. They are dominating New Zealand right now; and having their fans behind them and playing on their own conditions in the tournament will also help. England will be a team to watch out for, and certainly Australia and Pakistan. Of course I am hoping SA can do well.

Coming from a great IPL, I hope this Champions Trophy will be just as exciting.

Stuart Broad (26) of England. He will probably be the best English pace bowler for a while, and he can bat a bit. Image taken from http://www.standard.co.uk

Broad's stats are as follows: (Taken from http://www.espncricinfo.com on 27 May 2013)

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	56	77	10	1676	169	25.01	2639	63.50	1	9	210	14	16	0
ODIs	96	51	17	416	45*	12.23	568	73.23	0	0	25	6	20	0
T20Is	46	19	7	71	18*	5.91	74	95.94	0	0	5	1	20	0
First-class	109	145	25	2854	169	23.78	4826	59.13	1	16			36	0
List A	113	57	18	462	45*	11.84	642	71.96	0	0	28	6	22	0
Twenty20	64	21	8	80	18*	6.15	87	91.95	0	0	5	1	23	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	56	100	11654	5950	191	7/44	11/165	31.15	3.06	61.0	7	8	1
ODIs	96	96	4897	4242	152	5/23	5/23	27.90	5.19	32.2	9	1	0
T20Is	46	45	981	1205	55	4/24	4/24	21.90	7.37	17.8	1	0	0
First-class	109		20789	11230	394	8/52		28.50	3.24	52.7	17	18	2
List A	113		5679	4930	177	5/23	5/23	27.85	5.20	32.0	9	1	0
Twenty20	64	63	1383	1577	81	4/24	4/24	19.46	6.84	17.0	1	0	0

What is the ICC Champions trophy?

This June we will get to watch the International Cricket Council 's second biggest event. The Champions Trophy runs roughly every two years and currently involves the 8 highest ranked ODI teams. It is an ODI tournament a bit like the World Cup but with less teams. It could be seen as a more elite tournament. 

There are two groups in this year's competition. Group A features Australia, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Group B has India, Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies. It began in 1998, which South Africa won, believe it or not. 

The late Hansie Cronje captained SA to their
first ICC event win in the 1998 ICC CT. Image taken from
http://www.supersport.com/cricket/content.aspx?id=19234.

In their only ICC event win, SA beat West Indies in the final by 4 wickets with 18 balls to spare. Jacques Kallis was the man of the match in the final and was awarded player of the tournament. You can read about that final here http://www.icc-cricket.com/events_and_awards/champions_trophy/event_history.php.

I expect the tournament to be very exciting this year. The top four ICC ranked ODI teams are all within 4 points. As of 05 May 2013 the rankings are:

India      119 points
England  117 points
Australia 116 points

South Africa (4th) are on 113 points and Sri Lanka (5th) are on 108 points.

It has been a while since South Africa have entered an ODI tournament not being one of the top 3 ranked teams.

The history of the tournament:

1998      - SA
2000/01 - NZ
2002/03 - IND/SRI 
(Rain prevented a game being finished in 2 days, so the trophy was shared)
2004      - WI
2006      - AUS
2009      - AUS

This Champions Trophy starts on 6 June.

JP Duminy makes a return to international cricket. Image taken from http://en.wikipedia.org.

The biggest news for South African fans is that Jacques Kallis has asked not to play in the Champions League, and in his place JP Duminy has made a comeback to the squad, following a 6 month injury. The Proteas squad for the Champions League looks good. Here it is:

AB de Villiers (capt) 
Hashim Amla 
Farhaan Behardien 
JP Duminy 
Faf du Plessis 
Colin Ingram 
Rory Kleinveldt 
Ryan McLaren 
David Miller 
Morne Morkel 
Robin Peterson 
Aaron Phangiso 
Graeme Smith 
Dale Steyn 
Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

My only qualm about the squad is that I think Roelof van der Merwe has done very well recently and I think he should have been included ahead of Aaron Phangiso.

IPL6 is currently ongoing. It is in the second half of its progression. The final is on 26 May. Image take from http://ipl2013t20.blogspot.com/2013/04/watch-ipl-2013-live-streaming-season-6.html.

I said recently that the Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Sunrisers Hyderabad are the only teams capable of winning the IPL. It seems once again I have to eat my words. The Sunrisers Hyderabad are not looking as good as they were in the first third of the tournament. However the Rajastan Royals and Mumbai Indians look more like they are up for the challenge.

I don't want to make any sweeping statements and then be proven wrong. Let me just say that at this point the Pune Warriors India and the Delhi Daredevils have been unimpressive and are the only teams I seriously expect to not get near making the final.

If you would like to find out more about the ICC Champions Trophy go to http://www.icc-cricket.com/events_and_awards/champions_trophy/index.php or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICC_Champions_Trophy.

There's Only 3 possible winners in this IPL

The game is not over but I am sure the result is safe (although, the 438 game can testify against me). The Royal Challengers Bangalore made 263-5 against the Pune Warriors today in a T20 IPL game, a world record. Chris Gayle made 175 not out off 66 balls for the RCB, of course a world record. It took him 30 balls to reach 100 runs and 53 deliveries to reach 150. Gayle's innings included 17 sixes and 13 fours. Pune are currently 38-3 after 5.2 overs.

An innings like that shows that a great innings by a player can win a match. I believe this is especially true in T20 cricket. My summation from this is that right now there are only three brilliant teams in this season's IPL. Only these three teams have the kind of batsmen who can win games single-handedly while also having good bowlers, fielders and a good team spirit. From the current log you can probably determine which ones they are. 

Pos	Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Net RR	For	Against	Pts
1	CSK	7	5	2	0	0	+0.648	1058/136.1	997/140.0	10
2	RCB	7	5	2	0	0	+0.470	1046/133.0	1034/139.5	10
3	SRH	7	5	2	0	0	-0.104	910/138.1	921/137.4	10
4	RR	7	4	3	0	0	+0.588	1061/139.2	958/136.2	8
5	KXIP	6	3	3	0	0	+0.204	828/112.1	829/115.3	6
6	MI	6	3	3	0	0	-0.194	947/120.0	946/117.0	6
7	KKR	6	2	4	0	0	+0.021	860/118.4	843/116.4	4
8	PWI	7	2	5	0	0	-0.706	945/138.4	994/132.1	4
9	DD	7	1	6	0	0	-0.913	967/137.0	1100/138.0	2

The log can be seen at http://www.iplt20.com

The Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad are the best IPL teams right now. They are also the three teams with the best current form in the competition. Who are the batsmen who can win games in these three teams?

From Chennai there's Michael Hussey, MS Dhoni and Murali Vijay. 

From Bangalore there's Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli.

From Hyderabad there's Kumar Sangakkara, Cameron White and Thisara Perera.

All these teams have great depth, though the Sunrisers do not have as much. Nevertheless, I believe only one of these three teams will win the IPL. The other six lack the talent, belief, form or execution. The Rajasthan Royals are not bad right now but since they lost to Chennai yesterday by five wickets, after Shane Watson scored 101 for RR, I believe they are not in the same class as the other three teams. 

Chris Gayle of the West Indies today made 175* for RCB, the world record for the highest score by a batsman in a T20 game. It was also the fastest century achieved. If any person could do it he could. Image taken from http://www.supersport.com.

My favourite IPL team - CSK

As on the night of Wednesday 10 April 2013, here is how the 2013 IPL log stands:

Pos	Team	P	W	L	Pts	NRR
1	Mumbai Indians	3	2	1	4	0.850
2	Rajasthan Royals	2	2	0	4	0.600
3	Royal Challengers Bangalore	3	2	1	4	0.352
4	Sunrisers Hyderabad	3	2	1	4	0.083
5	Kings XI Punjab	2	1	1	2	0.986
6	Chennai Super Kings	2	1	1	2	0.296
7	Kolkata Knight Riders	2	1	1	2	-0.231
8	Delhi Daredevils	3	0	3	0	-1.024
9	Pune Warriors	2	0	2	0	-1.915

The log can be seen at http://www.supersport.com or http://www.iplt20.com

Super Kings

I am a keen Chennai Super Kings fan because they are a well balanced team and have Albie Morkel, MS Dhoni, Dirk Nannes, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Michael Hussey, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Ben Laughlin, Ben Hilfenhaus, Francois du Plessis, Nuwan Kulasekara and Chris Morris. 

All of these players have played international cricket for their countries. Subramaniam Badrinath and Shadab Jakati are also excellent players who back up the rest. Having Chris Morris there captures my favour. He is a great all-rounder for the Lions, the Johannesburg franchise.

Chris Morris (25) after a drop catch. The Super Kings beat the Kings XI Punjab today by 10 wickets after 17.2 overs. Image taken from http://www.iplt20.com

The CSK is an immense power house in cricket which is probably as strong as most countries in cricket. Out of five completed IPL seasons they won two (2010 and 2011). They were runners up in 2008 and 2012. 

Having Morkel, Morris and Bravo means they have three international all-rounders in the full squad. An IPL team is only allowed to play four non-Indian international players in any one game. Thus the extensiveness of the depth of the CSK is, well like the abyss at the bottom of the ocean. They have more international players than a full team. Not just that, but these players are some of the best in the world and the roles they fill compliment each other. The kind of cricket they play warrants my support, or even necessitates my support.

Sunrisers

The Sunrisers Hyderabad are a new team to look out for. They include Kumar Sangakarra, Amit Mishra, Cameron White, Dale Steyn, Thisara Perera, Ishant Sharma, Darren Sammy, Nathan McCullum, Parthiv Patel, Quinton de Kock and Shikhar Dhawan. 

Quinton de Kock (20) is a young South African wicket-keeper opening batsman who just made the record most runs in a South African T20 tournament (This year's Ram Slam). I hope he gets to play in the IPL. But with Kumar Sangakarra and Cameron White in the team I think the selectors will go for the experience rather than risk one of their 4 international places in the squad for an inexperienced young player.

I like that this team is perceived as the underdogs because they are new, and they don't have as many big names as the other teams. The players in this team means I make them my second favourite team.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad after getting Mayank Agrawal out againstthe Royal Challengers Bangalore. Image taken from http://www.iplt20.com

Mickey Arthur rightfully disciplines 4 Ausie cricketers

Shane Watson, James Pattinson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja were all suspended for one test match by Australian coach Mickey Arthur following their failure to do homework set out for them, and a history of "attitude" and "back-chat". Shane Watson returned to Australia to be with his pregnant wife and consider his future in the game.

During a break between the second and third test match between Australia and India, Arthur gave the AUS team the task of brainstorming how each player could improve their own game, and that of the team. They had a few days to do this. The above four players returned empty handed and received the axe. Captain Michael Clarke backed Arthur's decision saying the failure of the players was "unacceptable".

I think that Arthur did the right thing to make the team do this 'homework'. He said that working on their game was part of improving, otherwise they would stay number 3 or 4 in the world. The fact that some players did not show Arthur, and the team, the respect by doing it is not right. When I hear that there is a history of bad attitude that makes it even worse.

Arthur has been criticized by some for his decision. Others have criticized the players. For me it is simple: Success is achieved through hard work and sacrifice. Any student can tell you that. If the majority of the team and it's management want success they will work hard. If a few individuals refuse to adhere to the consensus, maybe they should find another team where they don't have to work.

Achieving greatness also means being humble and obeying your leaders. Jesus said that "...Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave" (Matt 20:26-27). What do you think about this issue?

Mickey Arthur (44) coached South Africa from 2005-2010. Picture taken from http://www.bbc.co.uk.

You can read the story here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/australia/9927135/Australia-coach-Mickey-Arthur-reveals-suspending-four-players-was-for-culmination-of-lots-of-small-minor-indiscretions.html 

Great match up in store

The ODI and T20 series between SA and PAK should be very competitive. The games should be a great deal closer than the recent one-sided test series in which SA whitewashed Pakistan 3-0.

SA are 4th in the ICC ODI rankings and Pakistan are 6th. In T20s SA are 5th and Pakistan are 6th. Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers are ranked number 1 and 2 as batsmen in ODIs respectively by the ICC but Saeed Ajmal is the number one ODI and T20 bowler in the world.

2 T20s and 5 ODIs are to be played. The first T20 was supposed to be played today but was abandoned because of rain. That leaves one T20. They ought to be very good as Pakistan are notorious for their strength, although not always consistency, in the shorter versions of the game. South Africa are pretty much known for the same thing, though they are undoubtedly less consistent in the shorter formats than in test cricket.

Pakistan enjoy the inclusion of Shahid Afridi while South Africa may shake up their selection with one-day specialists David Miller, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Aaron Phangiso, Farhaan Behardien, Colin Ingram and Ryan McLaren. The Proteas also have new blood in Rory Kleinvedt and Kyle Abbott. Nasir Jamshed of Pakistan will also have a point to prove after failing in the test series. I predict that both series will yield fantastic cricket.

Mohammad Hafeez (32 years old) of Pakistan in the T20 World Cup in 2012. Picture taken from http://www.supersport.com.

Hashim Amla (29) of South Africa is the number one batsman in tests and ODIs according to the ICC rankings. Picture taken from http://www.espncricinfo.com

Distance - guilt in sport reporting

How do you compare different sports players when at the back of your mind you know they are real people? Something in your conscience tells you you are doing something wrong when you compare people's strengths and flaws against each other in such an open public sphere.

I did this in my last blog post. I compared the South African test openers to the Pakistani test openers. I felt guilty about comparing people, about saying some people are better than others for this and this reason. It is because I know they are real people. I don't think I would like someone comparing my abilities with someone else's when I am under such pressure to perform for millions of people, my country's pride, my team and my captain.

Under the skin of the player is the heart of a person. A real person. I just thought I'd share this. It is something I will probably struggle with as a journalist one day. Even though many believe journalists are merely supposed to bring attention to things, raise concerns, and not give their own opinions; just by reporting on certain chosen issues and obeying your boss's orders you may be bending the public's viewpoints on real people who deserve respect. 

How can I keep a distance between my freedom and desire to write, and the people I am writing about?

England's Graeme Swann (33) is currently 7th in the world in test bowlers according to the ICC player rankings. Doesn't he look pretty normal in this photo? Picture taken from http://www.mirror.co.uk

What I hope to avoid. Picture taken from http://www.funnyjunk.com