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India’s Test series defeat at the hands of neighbours Pakistan has cost them more than just local bragging rights; it has also dropped them down one place in the latest LG ICC Test Championship table.

The 1-0 loss, confirmed by the side’s defeat in Karachi on Wednesday, has cut India’s rating from 115 points to 111 and so dropped them into third place below England, who have 113 points.

It means Michael Vaughan’s side are once again the closest rivals to table-topping Australia who are way ahead of the field with 129 rating points.

India had held second spot in the LG ICC Test Championship table for just over a month, having assumed that position in late December thanks to a 2-0 series win against Sri Lanka, coupled with England’s 2-0 loss in Pakistan.

India’s only consolation is that they will not have long to wait for their opportunity to regain second place. They will go head-to-head with England in March and that spot will be up for grabs to add spice to what is already a much-anticipated series. (more…)

After two drab draws and ten days full of yawns, even the umpires, who thanklessly stand in the middle with utmost patience and focus, have decided that enough is enough.

South African Rudi Koertzen, a member of the International Cricket Council’s Elite Panel of umpires, has supported a change in rules to allow calling off a Test match at tea break on the final day if a result is not possible.

“There is nothing wrong if the ICC considers a change in laws that allows such Test matches to be called off at tea with the consent of both captains when a last-day result is not possible,” he was quoted as saying by The News.

Koertzen, who supervised the first two Tests between Pakistan and India, confirmed he and Australian umpire Simon Taufel had spoken to both captains Inzamam-ul-Haq and Rahul Dravid at tea time on the final day in Faisalabad.

He said both had agreed to the match being ended at tea time, since no result was possible.

“We tried to do a similar thing at tea break on the final day of the second Test but we didn’t succeed,” he said and added that match referee Ranjan Madugalle, however, did not want to take a call on it and asked the two teams to carry on until eight overs were left in the game.

If 2005 was the year English cricket finally ended an 18-year hoodoo by beating Australia, 2006 is the year in which it must consolidate its gains.

The International Cricket Council’s Test Championship ladder had second-place England just eight points behind Australia after they won the Ashes for a sixth series win on the trot.

Chairman of selectors David Graveney said that if the team were to follow up with wins in Pakistan and India they had a right to be considered the best in the world. (more…)

After one of the most wildly unpredictable years of cricket ever in 2005, how will 2006 turn out?

January

Cricket-crazy Pakistan greets India’s arrival for their second tour in as many years with waves of boredom, one fan in Lahore saying, “Didn’t they play last week?”

Bad-tempered exchanges continue in Australia with Ricky Ponting saying South Africa “can’t drink more than five pints a night”.

Opposite number Graeme Smith responds angrily, claiming Ponting “smells like boerwurst”. (more…)

Race relations: Sadly, the week, and South Africa’s battling draw, were overshadowed by the ugly spectre of racism. At Perth, various members of the South African side were subjected to racial taunts from spectators during the first Test, which rightly drew the condemnation of the ICC and both boards. According to local newspapers, the South Africans were called kaffirs and kaffir boeties, derogatory terms for blacks and black sympathisers. It seems that security staff at the match did not take any action because they were unaware of what the terms meant. Perth has a large expatriate South African community, but none of them appear to be employed as stewards. The authorities in Melbourne have promised a zero-tolerance policy for the Boxing-Day Test.

The cricketing Lazaruses: A week ago Sourav Ganguly was being written off by many, including this column. But politics in Indian cricket is a complex and largely unfathomable beast, and it was, therefore, not too surprising when Ganguly was named in the Indian squad for the tour of Pakistan. The selectors insisted they had not come under pressure from politicians or board, but perhaps they protested their independence too much? And in Sri Lanka, Sanath Jayasuriya, controversially omitted for the ill-fated tour of India on fitness grounds, was recalled for the New Zealand trip. The Sri Lankan president’s demand for an investigation into Jayasuriya’s axing was entirely unconnected with his comeback. (more…)

Hi all,

Welcome to my new blog on cricket. I am an avid fan of cricket and follow it religiously. I support India. This blog will cover news, articles, matches, on or off field controversies and everything that Cricket can offer. So have fun reading all the interesting articles and feel free to post your comments/suggestion.

Kunal