Friday, December 2, 2016

Zahid Suleman Sadiq Gill - Lehmann pours cold water on Maxwell's Test cricket recall hopes

Australian coach Darren Lehmann has sent a blunt message to the dissatisfied Glenn Maxwell: make some runs.

Maxwell whipped up a storm on Thursday when he criticised Australian one-day teammate and Victorian captain Matthew Wade for his decision to bat above him in the Bushrangers’ batting order.
The explosive allrounder, who was controversially dropped for Victoria’s Sheffield Shield opener, said it was painful after being asked to bat at No6 in matches below Wade against NSW and Queensland last month.

His comments have gone down like a lead balloon with his Victorian teammates, after he said it affected his chance to break into the Australian Test side.

However Lehmann said Maxwell was never in the running for the recent Adelaide Test against South Africa because he simply wasn’t making enough runs.

“No. Because he hasn’t made 100 for the last two years. You need to make 100,” Lehmann said.

“Are you going to pick a bloke that hasn’t made 100 for two years?”

Lehmann said while it was not ideal to have teammates trading barbs before Australia’s three-match one-day series against New Zealand begins at the SCG on Sunday, it wasn’t proving a distraction.

“We’re obviously disappointed but we’ll work through those issues,” Lehmann said.
 
“We’re confident they can work together.”

Meanwhile Maxwell’s Victorian teammate Rob Quiney has told the allrounder to pull his head in and make some runs.

Bushrangers veteran Quiney, who is yet to play in the Shield this summer, said Maxwell was in no position to have a go at his teammates.

“I think he just needs to lip it and just make some runs,” Quiney told EON Sports radio on Friday.

“Victoria are flying at the moment, but he’s not setting the world on fire himself. He’s actually only batted at six twice so I don’t know where this has come from.

“It’s good that he’s honest, unfortunately it’s probably not the greatest attitude to have I reckon.”
Victoria opener Marcus Harris backed Wade, saying the side’s unbeaten Shield record this summer showed he was making the right choices.

Victorian cricket great Darren Berry suggested Wade may have placed himself higher in the order to boost his own Test selection chances.

But that didn’t excuse Maxwell’s comments, particularly considering the depth of Victoria’s batting lineup.

“That’s me, me, me stuff isn’t it?,” Berry told SEN Breakfast.

“Cameron White’s been batting behind him at seven. (He) didn’t come out and criticise Matthew Wade. You just don’t do it.”

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Zahid Suleman Sadiq Gill - Cricket Wallpaper Reflects Cricket Mania

By

Cricket is a very popular and hugely viewed game. People are crazy and frenzy about it. Cricket fans never afford to miss the game. Cricket is a game that warms up entire atmosphere. There develops cricket fever all around and fan love talking and discussing cricket everywhere no matter where they are. They try every effort to have access of viewing cricket matches. The event of any important series or tournaments makes cricket fans crazy. This is cricket mania all over world. People hold huge posters and photos of their favorite player and team to show their support. This is the scene of cricket fans all over the world.

Cricket wallpaper is very popular among cricket fans. Wallpaper is picture that a cricket fan can put on background of his computer screen, mobile phone or laptop. Each and every cricket lover wants to have cricket wallpaper. Grabbing the best pose of their favorite player is not an easy task for fans. Cricket wallpaper demonstrates fans fancies and enthusiasm. Fans search through several sources to get most admired movement of cricket player. Wallpaper gives a feeling of attachment to cricket fan. Cricket wallpaper shows not only preference, liking of cricket fans but gives boost cricket spirit among cricket fans.

That helps keeping up cricket mania in cricket loving places. Cricket wallpaper symbolizes role model for cricket fans.

Cricket fan makes use of the internet to download best cricket wallpaper to adorn their computer, laptop and cell phone. There are many websites that can help in this regard. This is the best and the easiest option for getting desired cricket wallpaper. There fans can get varieties of cricket wallpaper of their favorite cricket players. Now the world cup is going on, so a lot more good pictures can come up for cricket lovers. The design of cricket wallpaper differs from site to site. Some fans happen to favor certain cricketer or an entire team of a particular country. Cricket fans love using cricket wallpaper on their computer screen, laptop and mobile phones.

Cricket wallpaper promotes competition among cricket followers to put best wallpaper on accessories they have. There seems great demand of cricket wallpapers as world cup 2007 is on. Cricket fans keep players' spirit, hope and morale up through putting cricket wallpaper on posters they show off during match. The fever of having cricket wallpaper rises high among cricket fans during big tournaments. No matters what the cricket fan's age is, cricket wallpaper keeps reminding memorable of the moments of cricket players. Cricket fan put not only action packed cricket wallpaper on computer desktop, laptop or cell but also they also put up the pictures in their rooms and cupboards. Cricket wallpaper can be said to be as a medium of solidarity of cricket lovers to their favorite player or team. It binds fan in on chain of similar likings and hobbies

Ella Wilson is a cricket fanatic. She simply loves the game and tries to catch live action no matter where she is.At Stickiewicket she works on Online cricket wallpaper,live cricket score,cricket world cup and cricket records among other things.You can see her works at [http://www.stickiewicket.com]

Friday, February 5, 2016

Zahid Suleman Sadiq Gill - Cricket: Beyond the Boundary

Blog Published by Zahid Suleman Sadiq Gill

Guest Blog Post by  

Cricket is a game that had its origins in England. As the British Empire extended its suzerainty over territories across the world, cricket began to be played in the colonies of England too. Today, cricket is an international game that is played in some 16 nations across the globe. Cricket is commonly nicknamed a 'gentleman's game' though initially, before cricket became popular, it was a game that was played predominantly by women and children in the country where it originated.

Gentleman's Game?

Many feel that the term 'gentleman's game' is a misnomer for cricket. What with the Aussies getting racial and sledging non-white players and players, in general, hurling abuses at umpires, cricket is fast falling from its exalted pedestal of being a game only for polite and civilized gentlemen. But still, the label 'gentleman's game' suits cricket better than it suits football, which, according to many, is the world's most beloved 'ruffians' game'. (Football, of course, has never ever been called a 'gentleman's game'.) Besides, with more and more women choosing cricket as their career, it would be positively sexist to say that cricket is a 'gentleman's game'.

A Game that Unites

Cricket is more than a game. It is a great unifying force. When Indian and Pakistani players shake hands or slap each other's backs during or just after a cricket match, the gestures are capable of bringing tears to the eyes of the hardest of hardliners and fundamentalists. When different nations started playing cricket with South Africa after South Africa publicly proclaimed its repudiation of the contemptible apartheid, a legalized practice of racial discrimination and ostracism carried out by the whites of South Africa against the blacks of the nation, it was a red-letter day in the history of cricket that bowled everyone over.

With the advent of the Indian Premier League (IPL), cricket has acquired altogether new dimensions. A single IPL team is a melting pot of cultures and mores with Indian, Australian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, English, South African, West Indian players playing in it along with players from other cricketing nations. Players who always played against each other and who were considered to be archrivals and opponents now play together for the same team, leaving behind their prejudices and dislikes. As barriers of language, race and culture vanish with camaraderie between newfound teammates, cricket gains a new and interesting face with every passing day.

It's Not Cricket. Or is It?

It is still the same old cricket but it has definitely gone beyond cricket. The game has undergone a major facelift in the last few decades. Though five-day test matches are still revered, they are out of vogue, because they last for five days and tend to be boring. Most cricket maniacs look forward to One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in order to enjoy the highs and lows of the game in just one day. But ODIs too have lost their charm in the face of stiff competition from the Twenty20s (T20s). Cricket, it seems, is adapting itself to the times to cater to the needs of impatient, frenzied fans. Yes, you might be run out in the race to grab tickets, but modern-day cricket will certainly give you a run for your money, even if you watch the match on television.

Investing in Cricket

Cricket, currently, is thought to be a greenfield opportunity for businesspeople, a great investing ground that can yield great returns. Many genuine sports aficionados feel that cricket has become too commercial to remain a hearty game anymore. But many others feel that the 'business' of cricket is actually doing a lot of good to the game. Putting real money into cricket is actually helping to propagate cricket, they say. True.
Look at some of the other games like hockey, polo, badminton, athletics, etc. of the Indian subcontinent.
They are in a sorry state and are stagnating due to the dearth of finances.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has turned the cricket field into a gold mine. Celebrities, actors, and business magnates are all queuing up to buy and sell players like curios at an auction, to sponsor teams and matches and to make big bucks. Tycoons are fighting desperately for the most big-ticket players, making their bids shockingly high, before the hammer comes banging down. The stakes are very high in cricket today. While winners are eulogized by their owners, losers are disowned and sold off quickly. Just like what happens in the commodities market!

Can a Brand Ambassador be Called a Cricketer?

Almost all top-rated cricket players have done endorsements for products at some point or the other of their lives. Cricket is not a very paying game. At least, it is not very paying for the best cricketers of the world, who have lavish lifestyles. Doing endorsements is the only way for them to maintain their opulent ways of living. Some of these advertisements can really get you stumped out. This is precisely the reason why marketers use cricketers. When you see your favorite cricketer on a different pitch, displaying or patronizing a fast-moving-consumer-good (FMCG), you might actually be prompted to use the same product, yourself. So, cricketers are a good medium for companies to get their messages across as they make excellent brand ambassadors.

Advertisements have their flip side also. Several players have been accused of making too much money through advertisements only...and too little through cricket. They have slipped on the pitch, while their sales pitch has been great. They have often been run out on the field while the commercials they have featured in have given viewers and ad agencies a run for their money. As their bank balances have grown fatter and fatter through brand endorsements, they have been dubbed as wicked and greedy people who are only interested in money and not in the game or its spirit.

Match Fixing

Wickedness in cricket was at its pinnacle during the match-fixing years. Talking about it in the past tense indicates that the writer sincerely hopes that match fixing really belongs to the past. During this tragic period, cricketers sold their game, themselves and their countries to bookies and others in order to make some quick bucks. It was a shame! The sheer numbers of players who got caught out for this sordid affair proved that cricket was indeed bitten by the devil himself. Wicked players would deliberately place their legs before the wicket in order to be out. Sides and teams would lose matches and tournaments purposely because a single loss was much more profitable to them than the prize money from a single victory. Cricket, countries and loyalties were traded freely for hard cash. Cricket has never paid as badly as you might think it has from the episodes of match fixing. It was not the lack of money that drove cricketers to fix matches. It was avarice that drove them. Greed to mint and hoard money by hook or by crook. While they got out for ducks in the morning and broke the hearts of devoted fans, they were probably congratulating themselves on the number of roast ducks they would have at the best hotels with their friends that very evening.

This is Really Not Cricket

Gossip columns in newspapers and magazines have sizzled with salacious tidbits from the personal lives of cricketers. While some cricketers like the unwavering Sachin Tendulkar are dedicated to the game, other cricketers have other dedications besides cricket. It would require a whole book to document all their interests, which are sometimes pretty immoral and unpalatable to talk about. Still, you get the meaning...? Late night parties at hotels, drinks, involvement with the opposite sex.....So, who wins at the toss the next morning? Not cricket. Cricket goes for a toss while the excesses of life supplant it. The player goes back to the pavilion, not with his head down as it should be, but with his arrogant head held high. He heads straight for the bar and the arms of the most despicable member of the opposite sex. But such players have never been able to make or break records. It is only conscientious, earnest, and committed players like Sachin Tendulkar who have created records and broken records.

Cricket Plays a Great Innings and Remains 'Not Out'

Nevertheless, cricket continues to hold sway over present and past cricketers as well as over thousands of spectators with its inherent magic. One four and the stadium, whether it is Centurion, Lord's or Eden, comes crashing with applause. One six and a terminally ill patient watching the match from his or her home, breaks into a smile. A century and an entire nation cheers and shouts forgetting all distinctions of caste, creed, race, gender. He may not raise a finger to help play the game but as soon as he raises his index finger into the air, the umpire causes a country to burst with joy. Though thunder and lightning can stop the game and force people to thrash out Duckworth Lewis, thunderous clapping is sure to be heard, once the game resumes.
Cricket is a sport, a game that enchants hearts. Cricket matches can get very exciting and put people on tenterhooks. One Day Internationals and Twenty20s can really give you a heart attack if your ticker isn't too strong to withstand the scares and exhilarations of the game. Cricket is often used to build ties between nations, to patch-up hostilities, for forging new bilateral and multilateral relations. Cricket binds and joins; it brings solidarity, and breaks the ice. Cricket is capable of changing relations between countries and international equations. Cricket transcends all boundaries. Howzat for a game that had its origins in a grammar school of an obscure English village?

Damien Ghosh is a prolific writer of articles that focus on technology, places and people. Damien has worked in different industries such as the information technology industry, the travel and tourism industry and the retail industry. He has worked in several projects for blue-chip companies, that are part of the IT, travel and tourism and retail industries. His work and his passion for traveling has made him journey throughout the world. He has led large work-teams to accomplish business goals successfully. His rich experience undoubtedly helps him to write extensively. Damien writes for magazines, the web and for newspapers. His articles have received lots of accolades from critics and readers. Damien Ghosh's website is https://www.meetingdiary.com and his email is damienghosh@live.com.