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Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the 15th Indian bowler to take a wicket in the very first over in limited overs international cricket.

The Indian skipper who kept wickets in 144 previous one day internationals, came to bowl for the first time in the final league match of the Champions Trophy against West Indies at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg on Wednesday (September 30).

Dhoni decided to have some fun. Before the start of the 17th over, he gave his keeping gloves to Dinesh Karthik, and decided to bowl, something he does to good effect in the nets.

The first two balls Dhoni bowled were long hops, and were duly pulled and cut for boundaries by Travis Dowlin. The fourth ball, though, was fuller, and took the inside edge onto the stumps. And everybody had a bit of a laugh. Dhoni then proceeded to merrily seam his way through one more over, and also had a difficult edge dropped by Karthik.

The first Indian bowler to claim a wicket in his very first over in a limited overs international match was Rohan’s father, Sunil Gavaskar. Gavaskar achieved this feat by dismissing one of the greatest one day player Zaheer Abbass, on the fifth ball of his first over, caught by Kapil Dev in the deep, at Sialkot on October 13,1978. It was Gavaskar’s sixth match in instant cricket and incidentlly it was the only wicket for the little master.

Rajinder Singh Ghai who played six limited overs international matches for India was the second to take a wicket in his first over. He achieved this feat on his debut by dismissing English opener Tim Robinson, leg before, on the fifth ball at Pune on December 5,1984. Ghai could claim only two wickets in his next five matches.

Part time bowler Wookeri Raman was the third Indian to capture a wicket in his very first over. The slow left-arm bowler performed this feat by bowling out West Indian opening batsman Desmond Haynes on the third ball of his first over in his second one-day international match at Rajkot on January 5,1988.

Medium pace bowler, Atul Wassan is the only Indian who claimed two wickets in his first over. He achieved this feat on debut against New Zealand by dismissing John Wright, caught by Kapil Dev and Andrew Jones, leg before on the fourth and fifth ball of this first over at Dunedin on March 1,1990.

Sanjay Manjrekar was the fifth Indian bowler who claimed a wicket in the very first over in one-dayers.

Manjrekar who was invited by skipper Mohammed Azharuddin for the first time in his 30th match when Australia required only two runs to victory, dismissed Dean Jones, caught by Sachin Tendulkar, on the second ball at Hobart on December 10,1991. It was his only wicket in one-day international matches.

After Manjrekar another part time bowler Vinod Kambli joined this club. Kambli took the wicket of New Zealand tail-ender Simmon Doull, stumped by Vijay Yadav on the fourth ball of his first over in one-dayers at Delhi on November 3,1994. It was the only occasion when Kambli was invited to bowl some off breaks in the 49th match of his 104-match career.

Bombay’s medium pacer Paras Mhambrey was the seventh Indian to claim a wicket in his very first over in one-day internationals.

Mhambrey achieved this feat on his debut by taking the wicket of England’s middle-order batsman Niel Smith, caught by Tendulkar, on the fifth ball of his first over in international cricket at The Oval on May 23,1996.

In the match between India and Pakistan played at Toronto on September 13,1997, Debutant medium pacer Debasis Mohanty claimed the wicket on the fifth ball of his first over by bowling out Pakistani opening batsman Saeed Anwar.

Exactly one year later at the same ground and against the same opponent, another medium fast bowler, Sanjay Raul joined this elite club by dismissing Pakistan’s middle order batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq, caught by Venkatesh Prasad, on the fifth ball of his first over.

Sadagoppan Ramesh is the only Indian bowler who has claimed a wicket on his very first ball in limited overs international cricket.

Playing in his 15th one-day international match against West Indies at Singapore on September 5,1999 and bowling, off spin, for the first time in his career, Ramesh claim the wicket of West Indian lower-order batsman Nixon McLean, caught by Debasis Mohanty, off the very first ball to become the first Indian and sixth bowler in one-day internationals to do so.

Interestingly Ramesh had never before captured a single wicket in his 39 first class matches or in any of his domestic one-day matches.

Left-arm medium pacer Ashish Nehra was the 11th Indian to take a wicket in his very first over. He did the same by dismissing Zimbabwean opening batsman, Alistair Campbell, caught by wicket-keeper Sameer Dighe, on the second ball of his first over in his first one-day international match at Harare on June 24,2001.

All-rounder Sanjay Bangar joined this elite club by claiming the wicket of Nasser Hussain, caught by Harbhajan Singh on the second ball of his first overs in the first one-day international against England at Chennai on January 25.2001.

Medium pace bowler Aavishkar Salvi who made his debut in international cricket in the first match of the three- nation TVS Cup against hosts Bangladesh at National Stadium Dhaka on April 11,2003 was the 13th Indian bowler to take a wicket in his first over in limited overs international cricket. The right-arm bowler from Mumbai achieved this feat by dismissing Bangladesh’s opening batsman Mehrab Hussain, leg before, on the fifth ball of his first over.

Slow left arm spinner, Rohan Gavaskar who made his debut in international cricket in the fifth match of the VB series against Australia at Brisbane on January 18, 2004, was last Indian bowler before Mahendra Singh Dhoni to take a wicket in very first over in limited overs international match.

Little master Sunil Gavskar’s son achieved this feat by picking up the important wicket of Andrew Symonds, diving to his right to take s difficult caught and bowled chance off the fifth ball of the first over which was the 23rd of the Australian innings.

At this particular moment in time, Gary Kirsten seems to be the most famous cricket coach in the entire world. He seems to have taken his stock at an all time high and that is not because the Indian team has been knocking on the doors of becoming the top ranked cricket team in the world, but because of SEX. Yes, the coach wants his boys to indulge in sport even outside the cricket ground and considering the way he has said it, probably he thinks that this is the missing element when it comes to bridging the gap between being number two and number one in the world.

If India’s cricketers took up the advice that sex during the Champions Trophy, or any other series for that matter will heed success, then Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his mates should take a look at sport’s other memorable moments mixing sport and love.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics 130,000 free condoms were made available to frisky athletes. Mathew Syed revealed what was going on 12 years before when he competed at table tennis for Great Britain. The Barcelona Games, he said, was “as much about sex as it was about sport”.

The 1000-goal Brazilian striker spells it out implicitly in his opening answer to a reporter: “I like to say it like it is”. “Good strikers,” Romario went on, “can only score goals if they have had good sex the night before a match. When I do it before a game I feel different. I feel lighter, my legs are more nimble.”

The great boxer Mohammad Ali once claimed that he would go six weeks without sex before bouts. This was recently highlighted by Katie Price’s new boyfriend Alex Reid, 34, during a recent interview. “I used to try and do this but two months is just too long. I managed one month once,” Reid said. And there highlighted the divide.

The Washington Capitals’ star may have stated that he’d be willing to leave the National Hockey League if it meant playing in the 2014 Olympics but his legions of female fans will be far more interested by what he said in a recent interview. “Sex really helps actually… before and after,” said Alex Ovechkin.

The American athlete Bob Beamon claimed that the only time he had sex immediately before a competition was on the eve of his world record long-jump performance at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. The record went on to stand for 23 years until Mike Powell jumped 8.95 metres in 1991.

Clearly, almost all sports are sort of affected by huge libidos working over time before an important game. But is it the same for cricket, which when compared to football or boxing is a sedate sport?

Not according to Simon Hughes, the former Middlesex player. ‘I’d say pre-match sex helped more than it hindered,’ he has said. ‘I took six wickets and bowled out Zimbabwe to win a match for Middlesex the night after a dalliance with a Harare hairdresser, and enjoyed similar success during a four-day fling with a Birmingham nurse.’

Which sportsman is most preoccupied with sex? Jackie Stewart, in his heyday, was a contender. The great racing driver certainly sounded eerily like of Swiss Tony from The Fast Show when, in 1972, he described the art of cornering thus: ‘Cornering is like bringing a woman to a climax. Both you and the car must work together. You start to enter the area of excitement at the corner, you set up a pace which is right for the car and after you’ve told it is coming along with you, you guide it along at a rhythm which has, by now, become natural.’ Steady on Jackie. And which sportsman is least likely to have sex before the event? Boxers, probably! Rocky Marciano would excuse himself from the marital bed for months before a big bout; while Muhammad Ali, was said to abstain for at least six weeks before a fight.

Is it different for women? Well, the Israeli scientist Alexander Olshanietzky has said women compete better after sex, especially high jumpers and runners. That didn’t persuade Suzanne Dando, former British Olympic gymnast. ‘I certainly never had sex before performing,’ she said. ‘I was a teenager and a virgin in my prime. I went out with boys but they were always a secondary interest. I was very fearful about getting pregnant. I’d worked too hard to risk it, so I abstained from sex. Personally I feel pretty exhausted after making love.’

What about sex during an event? There isn’t scope for it in most sports, especially cricket and football, but the experience of snooker star Paul Hunter suggests it can help. Trailing 6-2 to Fergal O’Brien in the final of the 2001 B&H Masters, Hunter retired to the Wembley Plaza Hotel with girlfriend Lindsey Fell. ‘Paul’s manager told me he was under pressure and that I should relax him,’ explained Lindsey. ‘So we made love and he didn’t think about the tournament for a second.’ Hunter returned and notched up four centuries in six frames to win the final 10-9.

Coming back to cricket though, this new idea hasn’t been shooed away like most other such things would have been, thanks to the saffron-minded people who can’t stop harping about Indian culture. The cricketers of old were the ones who could have objected to this, saying we didn’t need such techniques to perform on the old field, but in this age, they just chose to play ball. Chandu Borde, Madan Lal and Ajit Wadekar are but a few of the super heroes we know only too well from the past. If their statements are along the lines of “whatever works for these young cricketers today to get a good performance on the field”, we can only begin to imagine what performances they had off-field in those days to muster the kind of feats that they did. Cricketers like Sandeep Patil and Ravi Shastri, though a bit rough on the edged today, in their heydays were easily what Yuvraj Singh and company are today. Their coaches or managers might not have had the same things to say about their affairs, but clearly they must be happy that Indian cricket might finally be coming of age as well.

In that sense, the young Turks in the side will be overjoyed. With riches coming their way and bringing in fame, fast cars and late nights along with them, this is more like a license to kill. Imagine some one reporting late for practice one day and he can easily say, “Coach, I was only getting my mojo up, just the way you said it. I was up late last night and therefore I am all charged up for the game now. Just give me the bat and/or the ball now.” Now what coach in the world wouldn’t want to hear that?

It works well in the case of the senior players as well. Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid might be the only married ones on the Indian team roster but considering their high class as players, wouldn’t you want their sons and daughters to have their genes and go on to play for India. Smart chap that coach Gary Kirsten, and he

should be awarded the Dronacharya award or something for this innovative technique.

At this particular moment in time, Gary Kirsten seems to be the most famous cricket coach in the entire world. He seems to have taken his stock at an all time high and that is not because the Indian team has been knocking on the doors of becoming the top ranked cricket team in the world, but because of SEX. Yes, the coach wants his boys to indulge in sport even outside the cricket ground and considering the way he has said it, probably he thinks that this is the missing element when it comes to bridging the gap between being number two and number one in the world.

If India’s cricketers took up the advice that sex during the Champions Trophy, or any other series for that matter will heed success, then Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his mates should take a look at sport’s other memorable moments mixing sport and love.

mAt the 2004 Athens Olympics 130,000 free condoms were made available to frisky athletes. Mathew Syed revealed what was going on 12 years before when he competed at table tennis for Great Britain. The Barcelona Games, he said, was “as much about sex as it was about sport”.

mThe 1000-goal Brazilian striker spells it out implicitly in his opening answer to a reporter: “I like to say it like it is”. “Good strikers,” Romario went on, “can only score goals if they have had good sex the night before a match. When I do it before a game I feel different. I feel lighter, my legs are more nimble.”

mThe great boxer Mohammad Ali once claimed that he would go six weeks without sex before bouts. This was recently highlighted by Katie Price’s new boyfriend Alex Reid, 34, during a recent interview. “I used to try and do this but two months is just too long. I managed one month once,” Reid said. And there highlighted the divide.

mThe Washington Capitals’ star may have stated that he’d be willing to leave the National Hockey League if it meant playing in the 2014 Olympics but his legions of female fans will be far more interested by what he said in a recent interview. “Sex really helps actually… before and after,” said Alex Ovechkin.

mThe American athlete Bob Beamon claimed that the only time he had sex immediately before a competition was on the eve of his world record long-jump performance at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. The record went on to stand for 23 years until Mike Powell jumped 8.95 metres in 1991.

Clearly, almost all sports are sort of affected by huge libidos working over time before an important game. But is it the same for cricket, which when compared to football or boxing is a sedate sport?

Not according to Simon Hughes, the former Middlesex player. ‘I’d say pre-match sex helped more than it hindered,’ he has said. ‘I took six wickets and bowled out Zimbabwe to win a match for Middlesex the night after a dalliance with a Harare hairdresser, and enjoyed similar success during a four-day fling with a Birmingham nurse.’

Which sportsman is most preoccupied with sex? Jackie Stewart, in his heyday, was a contender. The great racing driver certainly sounded eerily like of Swiss Tony from The Fast Show when, in 1972, he described the art of cornering thus: ‘Cornering is like bringing a woman to a climax. Both you and the car must work together. You start to enter the area of excitement at the corner, you set up a pace which is right for the car and after you’ve told it is coming along with you, you guide it along at a rhythm which has, by now, become natural.’ Steady on Jackie. And which sportsman is least likely to have sex before the event? Boxers, probably! Rocky Marciano would excuse himself from the marital bed for months before a big bout; while Muhammad Ali, was said to abstain for at least six weeks before a fight.

Is it different for women? Well, the Israeli scientist Alexander Olshanietzky has said women compete better after sex, especially high jumpers and runners. That didn’t persuade Suzanne Dando, former British Olympic gymnast. ‘I certainly never had sex before performing,’ she said. ‘I was a teenager and a virgin in my prime. I went out with boys but they were always a secondary interest. I was very fearful about getting pregnant. I’d worked too hard to risk it, so I abstained from sex. Personally I feel pretty exhausted after making love.’

What about sex during an event? There isn’t scope for it in most sports, especially cricket and football, but the experience of snooker star Paul Hunter suggests it can help. Trailing 6-2 to Fergal O’Brien in the final of the 2001 B&H Masters, Hunter retired to the Wembley Plaza Hotel with girlfriend Lindsey Fell. ‘Paul’s manager told me he was under pressure and that I should relax him,’ explained Lindsey. ‘So we made love and he didn’t think about the tournament for a second.’ Hunter returned and notched up four centuries in six frames to win the final 10-9.

Coming back to cricket though, this new idea hasn’t been shooed away like most other such things would have been, thanks to the saffron-minded people who can’t stop harping about Indian culture. The cricketers of old were the ones who could have objected to this, saying we didn’t need such techniques to perform on the old field, but in this age, they just chose to play ball. Chandu Borde, Madan Lal and Ajit Wadekar are but a few of the super heroes we know only too well from the past. If their statements are along the lines of “whatever works for these young cricketers today to get a good performance on the field”, we can only begin to imagine what performances they had off-field in those days to muster the kind of feats that they did. Cricketers like Sandeep Patil and Ravi Shastri, though a bit rough on the edged today, in their heydays were easily what Yuvraj Singh and company are today. Their coaches or managers might not have had the same things to say about their affairs, but clearly they must be happy that Indian cricket might finally be coming of age as well.

In that sense, the young Turks in the side will be overjoyed. With riches coming their way and bringing in fame, fast cars and late nights along with them, this is more like a license to kill. Imagine some one reporting late for practice one day and he can easily say, “Coach, I was only getting my mojo up, just the way you said it. I was up late last night and therefore I am all charged up for the game now. Just give me the bat and/or the ball now.” Now what coach in the world wouldn’t want to hear that?

It works well in the case of the senior players as well. Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid might be the only married ones on the Indian team roster but considering their high class as players, wouldn’t you want their sons and daughters to have their genes and go on to play for India. Smart chap that coach Gary Kirsten, and he

should be awarded the Dronacharya award or something for this innovative technique.

Oram cited his ongoing injury problems as the reason behind his decision and he hoped that by cutting back his workload he would be able to extend his international career.

Oram, 31, recently returned home from the Champions Trophy in South Africa with a hamstring problem, the latest in a long and wide-ranging list of injuries. His troubles have included back and foot worries and have limited him to 33 Test appearances over a seven-year career.

He had spoken in the past of the options available to him to prolong his career and he said his preference was to give up Tests rather than abandon bowling. Oram has now done just that, following the lead of another injury-prone all-rounder Andrew Flintoff.

“The last few years have shown that my body cannot handle the strains and stresses that come with being an all-rounder, playing all three formats for up to ten months a year,” Oram said. “For the sake of longevity I have had to make a decision that will decrease my workload, so I can concentrate all my efforts on the shorter forms of the game.

“The decision to choose limited-overs cricket over Test cricket has a lot to do with playing opportunities. The Black Caps play a lot more limited-overs cricket than Tests, and there’s also the opportunity to continue playing in world events such as the World Cup, World T20 and Champions Trophy, as well as the IPL.”

Another factor was the impending arrival of Oram’s first child, due next month (November), which will give him extra incentive to spend plenty of time at home. Oram will remain on a New Zealand Cricket central contract and has his sights set firmly on the 2011 World Cup, although he said that ideally he would like to play for a couple of seasons beyond that.

On the Test scene, Oram scored 1780 runs at 36.32 and collected 60 wickets at 33.05. A powerful and clean striker of the ball, Oram struck five Test centuries, remarkably each time in the first Test of a series, and his highest score of 133 came in a crushing loss to South Africa in Centurion in April 2006.

It was an innings that Oram described as both his best and his worst. “You know you’re not looking as good as you would like,” he said at the time, “and your feet aren’t moving as well as you would like, and you’re not hitting the ball where you would like. But 133 is damn satisfying.”

Oram struggled to have as much impact with the ball and his peak came early in his career when he collected 4 for 41 against India in Hamilton in his second Test. It was as close as he ever got to a five-wicket haul and in his last five Tests he managed only one wicket.

Oram did enjoy spending some time in the top five of the ICC’s allrounder ranking list last year (2008) and he considered his bowling such a key part of his game that he was unwilling to give it up. He said he had attempted to delay as long as possible a decision about his future career.

“However in light of my latest injury at the Champions Trophy it has became clear to me that now is the time to sacrifice something to try and stay in the game longer,” Oram said. “I have really enjoyed my Test career and I leave that format with many fond memories. I would be lying if I said I had no regrets; however these feelings were not powerful enough to make me reconsider this decision.”

Justin Vaughan, the chief executive of New Zealand Cricket, said he understood Oram’s decision. “Jacob has made a tremendous contribution to our Test team over the past seven seasons, and his experience will be missed,” Vaughan said. “But we fully understand the difficulties he’s faced with injuries and we hope this decision will help him prolong his playing career with the Black Caps.”

Oram’s Fact File

Full name-Jacob David Philip Oram

Born-July 28, 1978, Palmerston North, Manawatu

Current age-31 years

Major teams-New Zealand, Central Districts, Chennai Super Kings

Playing role All-rounder

Batting style Left-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium

Height 1.98 m.

The ICC Champions Trophy had never been privileged enough to enjoy being the flagship of the one day game. But under strange circumstances and under a decidedly different scenario, the ICC Champions Trophy has raised not only its profile but also, ensured that the one day game is alive and kicking, at least for the time being even if change in some form appears imminent.

As if the pressure on what was earlier known as the mini World Cup/knock out cup to survive was not enough, the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 edition in South Africa carried with it the burden of showcasing the merit of the fifty over game, increasingly under the threat of the Twenty20 extravaganza. While there were the skeptics at the start of the tournament, the tournament has not only redeemed itself but also, clearly showed that the one day game can thrive if nourished with the right amount of incentives and reinforced by strong strategies aimed at adding more variation to the game and allowing for the glorious uncertainties that come with the game.

What worked and why

Compact, Intense

The fifteen day format packed a punch in terms of action. While it was relentless, it was in a reasonable proportion that did not border on the mindless (perhaps in that sense, there is a need to consider that while the IPL has been enjoyable, the bundled fifty-nine matches were like constantly dipping one’s head under water , leaving one breathless and dizzy). Perhaps the biggest asset in the favour of the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 was the fact that virtually every match was a potential knock out and no match until the very end of the league match was inconsequential in terms of team standings and qualification for the semi final.

What went against the ICC Champions Trophy in the past was the fact that in moving away from the concept of a knock out tourney, it tended to generally be a long drawn affair with associate teams that tended to make many of the league stage matches a predictable, heavily one sided affairs that had little motivation for the viewer, except of course learning about an associate member. The one day game has also suffered from esteem issues with the 2007 World Cup in particular in the Caribbean being a protracted affair , that much like previous ICC Champions Trophy editions, played largely the role of a match maker acquainting the world with associate teams.

While there is merit in adding more teams to the mix, bridging the gap between talent amongst teams has always been one of contention where the reasoning that unless they play with the big league players, the associate teams will not improve holds merit. But whether key ICC events such as the World Cup and the Champions Trophy are the place to do it, is, at best, debatable.

In that sense, the ICC has got in spot on in terms of a fifteen day short format, with the compact scheduling doing the trick. The virtual non stop action given that all the top teams were essentially located at a central position between just two venues kept the interests and subsequent suspense soaring in climatic fashion in the course of the tournament.

One less emphasized matter was also the matter of timing. With games timed at a reasonable hour for the huge sub continent population, it ensured that most matches were followed to the final ball. Though not ideal, it was still fair television viewing, something perhaps the 2007 World Cup suffered from given that the matches in the Caribbean were not only often one sided but also, stretched into the wee hours, perhaps dawn, to not induce the huge number of television fans to forego their sleep. Perhaps it is something to keep in mind for the forthcoming 2010 ICC World Twenty20 also to be staged in the Caribbean.

Less theatrics, more action

One look back at the IPL and it is not hard to figure that the seriousness of the event, the ICC Champions Trophy, was all too obvious. While Twenty20 has been deliberately projected as entertainment and spiced up precisely to cater to that multitude channel surfing spectator, the one day game carried the seriousness required to endure the intensity of 100 overs in a single day.

In such a scenario, seven and a half minutes breaks go out of the window; the cheerleaders are only a sidelined matter (in this case, African tribal drummers adding to the ethnicity of the event); less fuss; less theatrics and more action on the field. What a cricket aficionado craves for! The players realize it too because the excitement factor that is high on the jangling nerves gives way to a more we-mean-business atmosphere which brings out an angle to the players that is difficult to replicate in a Twenty20 bonanza. The focus in a Twenty20 match veers from the players to the cheerleaders, tamasha, celebrities, actors and franchisees. It is a complete contrast and that was very explicitly but subtly brought out where just cricket on the field took centre stage, the way it always has ultimately.

Uncertainty, suspense

Factor in uncertainty and one can be assured that there will be many nail biting instances. Even the Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, will recall his solitary nail biting experience in the match against Pakistan when Australia were yet to ensure themselves a berth in the semi finals. That even Australia were forced to hold on tight even against what was really a weakened West Indies line up ensured no team could afford to take any team lightly unless at their own peril.

The seemingly fair battle between bat and ball ensured that it was not just about monotonous marathon run chases. The bowlers had a fair chance of being match winners as did the batsmen and only an all round performance from teams would ensure victory, which is how the one day game was going to hold suspense, although the fact that the runs still overwhelmed the wickets column ensured a classic one day game.

But what really made for the success of the ICC Champions Trophy and thereby, of the one day game’ status in the present context and scheme of things was the fact that all eight teams were playing at a level that every match demanded respect, every match counted for points and every team had a fair chance of winning. The proximity of teams in terms of performance, sometimes injuries, and the close battles for the top spot in the rankings has ensured that this was a battle amongst equals (or near equals) which only brought to light the fact that while Test cricket can expose less skilled components and the Twenty20 game has been dubbed “lottery”, the one day game is about the team that performs the best on any given day, making this a fair game for all seasons.

What didn’t and why

Teams at under strength

Despite the ICC’s incentive, the West Indies’ back door entry did not come about, which was a huge disappointment in terms of bringing the top performers from the Caribbean islands to such an event and edition that, for the first time, featured just the top teams. While the West Indies team picked did redeem themselves to an extent whereby they tested Pakistan’s nerves of steel and Australia’s new bench strength turned front line, the fact that this team was still not West Indies’ best playing eleven was still a sore point.

While this is out of the ICC’s hands as also in terms of ensuring an Indian team that looked less burnt out or weary, the fact that some of the more hyped teams did not really respond to the drum beats was a disappointment. With the weather holding good for much of the tournament (only India felt hard done by their washed out group match with Australia), it provided maximum sport in minimum time despite the shortcomings.

Ground spectator response

Perhaps as a corollary, when the host team fails to hold spectator interest, it leaves a gaping hole in terms of ground spectators. Despite fielding a formidable side, South Africa once again showed that despite being great hosts to other teams and foreign tourists cum spectators, their team has not been able to replicate similar intentions. The empty stadiums despite good action on the field often paints a picture of despondence, one that the ICC will look not to highlight when pressing for future ICC Champions Trophy tournaments or the case for the one day game. It was a rather bleak matter to note, given that even the teams have gone on record to say that South Africa has been a great venue for such events, and that they have enjoyed the grounds, pitches and facilities, even becoming the favoured venue for the IPL 2.

Once again reiterating that the performance of the teams is something that is out of the control of the ICC, the heavy reliance on the Indian sub continent teams to make up numbers to portray a picture of health as far as cricket is concerned is hurting the globalization of the game. It is not hard to see why certain boards are reluctant to initiate or participate in a championship scenario because of the lop sided revenue accruing from it. Perhaps greater promotional agenda and incentives for crowds, including special fares for school children, would do a great deal towards expanding the game and taking it forward. Another internal agenda that denied partisan fans at the Wanderers was the ensuing battle between the Guateng Cricket Board and Cricket South Africa over the hosting of the IPL 2. It meant that South Africa played all their matches at Centurion, a fact that South African fans expressed rather veiled.

One day maladies

The one day cricket though was not without its obvious flaws. The primary of this was the batting power play with too many teams refusing to take the batting power play before the forty-fifth over of the innings despite having their best batsmen established at the crease. The commentators kept crying themselves hoarse about the irrelevance of holding the third and final power play to the very end when the final five overs are anyway a slog affair.

Perhaps this close fisted battle would give the ICC ideas into how to get the game more interesting with minor tweaks. One would be ensuring the bowling power play is taken after the fifteen overs because at it stands, it is a no brainer with virtually every match and team when the five overs follow the first mandatory power play of ten overs. The other would be ensuring that the batting power play is perhaps taken between twenty-fifth over and the thirty-fifth over to ensure a slog to keep the middle overs on their toes!

The only way the one day game is going to push back the Twenty20 surge is by matching it in intensity, entertainment value and perhaps even monetary remuneration. The first two factors were evident in the proximity of the battles and while the two million dollar reward is not small, one has only to wonder if the reward is commensurate with the effort given that the Champions League Twenty20 has a multi million dollar bonanza for a twenty over burst. However, market forces have had their part to play in that. But perhaps while the prestigious jacket and watches were perks, the players would perhaps state they had played the tournament for the pride of representing one’s country which is how it was intended.

Test Passed, but Can Improve

How frustrating has been the school report card that often remarked, “Well done, but could do a lot better”, this despite having topped the class. The same would perhaps go to Australia. And it would also apply to the ICC Champions Trophy 2009.

David Morgan, the ICC President stated at the meeting unveiling of the groups for the 2011 World Cup, “Most experts of the game and the opinion-makers are now convinced the ICC Champions Trophy definitely has a place in the cricket calendar.” He further added on the status of the fifty over game as a result of the response to the ICC Champions Trophy, “It also gives me immense pleasure to say the quality of cricket we have seen in the last 14 days proves that 50-over format can comfortably co-exist with the traditional five-day Test and the short 20-over formats.” In fact, team captains have gone further to add that the ICC Champions Trophy edition of 2009 has only enhanced the one day game and therefore, deserves to continue in its format to keep up the importance of the fifty over game in the face of an indiscriminate expansion of Twenty20 competitions. That is quite a turnaround! Indeed there are reasons to believe that the ICC Champions Trophy and the one day game are not riding towards the sunset yet.

Mahela Jayawardene became the fourth Sri Lankan and 19th batsman overall to score fifty half centuires in limited overs international cricket.

The right hand middle-order batsman from Colombo achieved this feat by scoring 77 off 61 balls with eight fours and one six in the inaugural match of the sixth Champions Trophy at Centurion Park on September 22, 2009.

Jayawardene’s 50th half century came in the 289th innings of his 307th one-day international match.

India’s Sachin Tendulkar holds the record of scoring the highest number of fifties in limtied overs international cricket. The master blaster till date has scored 91 fifties in 419 innings of his 430 one-day international matches. India recorded a nine- wicket win over Zimbabwe at Green Park, Kanpur on December 11, 2000 when the little master scored his 50th fifty. His 50th fifty (62) came in the 255th innings of his 262nd one-day international match.

Pakistan’s Inzamam-ul-Haq is the second in the list of scoring most fifties with 83 half-centuires in 350 innings of 378 matches while India’s Rahul Dravid is the third with 82 fifties in 313 innings of 339 one-day international matches.

Desmond Haynes was the first batsman to reach this landmark in limited overs international cricket. The West Indian opening batsman reached this target playing in his 217th innings of his 218th one day international match by making 57 against South Africa at Springbok Park, Bloemfontein on February 23,1993. Before retireing he played in 238 one-day internationals between 1978 and 1994 and scored 8647 runs at 41.37 with 17 centuries and 57 half centuries in 237 innings.

The first Sri Lanka batsman to achieve this feat was Aravinda de Silva. The right-hand middle-order batsman reached this milestone in the 229th innings of his 236th one-day international match by making 62 against India at Colombo on July 1,1998.

The former Sri Lankan skipper who played 236 one-day internationals between 1984 and 2003, scored 9284 at 34.90 with 11 centuries and 64 fifties in 229 innings.

Sanath Jayasuriya, who has appeared in highest number of limited overs international matches, was the second Sri Lankan batsman to score fifty half-centuries in instant cricket. The left-hand opening batsman scored his 50th half-century in the 262nd innings of his 270th one-day international match by making 71 against South Africa at National Cricket Stadium at Tangier, Morocco on August 21,2002.

The hard hitting batsman who made his debut in limtied overs international cricket in 1989, has played 441 matches till date. He has scored 13377 runs at 32.54 with 28 centuries and 68 half-centuries in 429 innings.

The last Sri Lankan batsman to achieve this feat before Mahela Jayawardene was Marvan Atapattu.

The right-hand batsman from Kalutara achieved this feat, in the 218th innings of his 224th one day international match, by scoring 66 against Pakistan at Lahore on October 16,2004.

Atapattu who played 268 one-day international matches between 1990 and 2007, scored 8529 runs at 37.57 with 11 centuries and 59 fifites in 259 innings.

Mahela Jayawardene who made his international debut against Zimbabwe at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on January 24, 1998, scored his first half-century (74) in the second innings of the second one-day international match against the same team at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo two days later.

The 32-year old batsman has till date scored 2521 runs at 34.53 with three hundreds and 17 fifties in 86 innings of 95 one day matches at home while he has made 5920 runs at 31.32 with eight centuries and 34 half-centuries in 205 innings of 215 matches outside Sri Lanka. Jayawardene, who led Sri Lanka in 97 ODIs scored 2772 runs at 34.22 with four centuries and 17 fifties as captain. His highest score in limited overs internationals being 128 against India at Sharjah on October 27,2000.

Jayawardene’s one-day captaincy reached a high when Sri Lanka made it to the final of the 2007 World Cup, slumped in the following months with inconsistent results and soared again after defeating India to claim the Asia Cup and the home Test series against the same team the following year.

In February 2009, he announced his resignation as captain following the 4-1 defeat in the home one-day international series against India, saying the time was right for a fresh leader to take over.

Pakistan bowlers were magnificent in their defence of a modest total, but could not deny Australia a thrilling last-ball victory in the last league match of Group A at SuperSport Park, Centurion on September 30, that ensured their progression to a fourth consecutive Champions Trophy semi-final.

Australia entered the final over requiring five runs for victory, and Umar Gul gave them a torrid time. Bowling full, straight and with a hint of movement, Umar Gul forced the Australians to edge and scamper for their runs, with victory eventually coming from a frantically-run bye from the last delivery of the match.

It was only the third instance in 81 matches when a victory was achieved on the final ball of the match in Champions Trophy and 30th win overall in 2903 one day international matches played so far.

New Zealand was the first team to register a victory on the final ball of the match in Champions Trophy. In the very first match of the Champions Trophy between New Zealand and Zimbabwe at Dhaka on October 24,1998, Kiwis needed 12 off the last over. But, helped by a no-ball and a inside-edge boundary by Alex Tait, the Kiwis got on to the last ball needing three to win and two to secure a bowl-out. Chris Harris averted that by smashing four past extra cover In the fourth Champions Trophy edition, South Africa defeated West Indies by two wickets on the final ball of the match at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo on September 13, 2002. South Africa, needed 13 runs in the final over. Shaun Pollock smashed Mervyn Dillon’s first ball for six, but after he and Lance Klusener hold out, South Africa needed three from one. Dillon speared the ball down the left-handed Nicky Boje’s leg side for a wide and a scampered bye to the keeper ensured that they needed just one on the last ball. Alan Dawson’s meaty snick to third man settled it as Dillon looked heavenward in despair.

Four out of 30-last ball wins in limited overs international cricket were achieved with a six on the final ball of the match.

The most legendary of them all was the final of first Austral-Asia Cup between India and Pakistan. Nobody could have scripted a better climax in the final at Sharjah on April 18,1986. Four was needed on the last ball, and a rampaging Javed Miandad was fighting a lone battle.

Chasing 246 in 50 overs, Pakistan began the last 10 overs needing 90 for victory. Noted big hitters like Imran Khan and Wasim Akram came and went, but Miandad kept the target in sight with exciting running between the wickets.

Pakistan lost their ninth wicket with five runs needed to win, as Tauseef Ahmed joined Miandad who was unbeaten with a dogged century. Chetan Sharma, who bowled the final over, dished out a slow, friendly full toss on leg stump which Miandad spanked for the maximum over the square leg boundary almost on his knees. His wild celebrations with Tauseef sent one nation into a frenzy and the other into a state of paralysis. It was Pakistan’s first victory in a one-day tournament, and its psychological impact on India was palpable for years, in contests between the two rivals.

In the match between New Zealand and South Africa at Napier on March 26,1999,Lance Klusener hit a great six over long on, on the bowling of fast bowler Dion Nash.

Chasing 193, South Africa needed 11 off the final over from Dion Nash with two wickets in hand. New Zealand drew first blood with wicket-keeper Mark Boucher skying the ball straight to the fielder at midwicket, but significantly, the batsmen crossed. With ten still required, Klusener bludgeoned the third ball to the backward point fence. Two singles later, Klusener was back on strike for the last ball with four required. Nash’s attempted a yorker which went totally haywire, as Klusener duly smashed it over the long-on fence. A dejected Nash failed to exorcise the ghosts of the previous year, when his attempt in guiding his team home in another thriller, at Brisbane on January 9,1998, was foiled by a running catch at the boundary by none other than - you guessed it right - Klusener.

Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor hit Bangladeshi medium pacer Mashrafe Mortaza’s full toss high over the mid-wicket fence for a six when five runs were required for the victory in the third match of the five-match series at Harare on August 2,2006.

Partnered by the enthusiastic Tawanda Mupariwa, Taylor added a record 81 for the eighth wicket. When the run rate soared past 12 in the last four overs - the 47th over, bowled by Abdul Razzak, seemingly added the varnish on the game as the bowler allowed just five runs leaving little stacked in Zimbabwe’s favour.

With home team requiring an astronomical 28 from the last two overs, Brendan Taylor and Tawanda Mupariwa caused a few tremors in the penultimate over bowled by hat-trick man Shahadat Hossain by taking 11 runs off it.

In the final over from Mashrafe Murtaza, Mupariwa, pinched a single on the first ball. Taylor smashed six off the second ball but a single was denied on the third as umpire Kevin Barbour called it a dubious wide. Taylor slammed a one-handed four over mid wicket on the fourth and watched as Mupariwa was run out on the fifth ball of the over. The equation, in the end, came down to five on one ball. The crowd was on its feet and Taylor simply lofted the last ball over midwicket for maximum. It was an electric stuff from the Zimbabwe batsman.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul carried West Indies to a thrilling final-ball one-wicket win against Sri Lanka in the first one-day international at Port of Spain on April 4,2008 after being left needing 10 on two deliveries. He responded with a straight drive before flicking a Chaminda Vaas full toss over the deep midwicket for a six to send the Trinidad crowd into wild celebrations.

West Indies were well placed on 109 for one in 26.5 overs before Chris Gayle fell for 52, and when Dwayne Bravo was run out the lower-order was exposed. Sri Lanka appeared to have done enough, but Chanderpaul had other ideas.

He’d struggled to find the boundary, and the strike, in the final stages but clipped a four on the final ball of the 49th over. Only three runs came on the first four balls of the last over from Vaas before Chanderpaul slammed a drive past mid-off, followed by the match-clinching six which sailed over Mahela Jayawardene on the fence.

Pakistan’s Asif Mujtaba smashed a six on the final ball to tie the match against Australia at Hobrat on December 10,1992.

Needing 17 to win in the final over, Australian captain Mark Taylor tossed the ball to Steve Waugh whose famous last-over spells became a part of World Cup folklore during their successful campaign in 1987. Mujtaba lived up to his own reputation as a finisher, and paid scant respect to Waugh’s, carting the ball at will, with a last-ball six to level the scores. Technically, there was no winner, but the moral victory was certainly for Pakistan.

The left handed Asif Mujtaba striking the decisive blow on a slower ball over mid-wicket for the maximum.

England was the first team to record last-ball victory in instant cricket. In the match played at Zafar Ali Stadium, Sahiwal on December 23,1977, with the scores level Ian Botham drove the final ball to the cover boundary to help his team beat hosts Pakistan by three wickets.

Pakistan is the only team to have recorded a last ball win by scoring over 300 runs. In reply to the Indian score of 315 for six in 48 overs, Pakistan made 313 for seven in 47 overs during their 2005 tour of India. When Sachin Tendulkar started the final over, Pakistan needed three runs for victory. After playing two dot balls, Pakistani captain Inzamam-ul-Haq took a couple on the third ball and played next two deliveries quietly.

Now just one run was required on the final ball. Inzamam-ul-Haq drove of the final ball in front of the point boundary for a single to achieve a wonderfull victory for Pakistan.

Not counting the Champions League T20, international cricket bursts out in earnest when Australia arrive for a seven match ODI series against India, sometime in mid-October. Beginning just a couple of days after the festival of lights, the high profile clash will make sure that there are fireworks galore, long after Diwali is over.

Australia will arrive here riding high on their recent ODI successes. The Ashes were a low point for them as they didn’t look like winning a single Test match but in the end did do so. But even so they lost the series. They fought well but England were generally the better side in those five Tests. After that win though, the Poms switched themselves off and coupled with a few major injuries to their squad, went down in a harrowing 6-1 loss to the hurting Aussies.

It set them a momentum which they took with them to South Africa and more or less stunned the world with their back to back Champions Trophy wins. After that victory, almost every one said how they expected Australia to always play like champions and all, but one says, come on. How many of us expected this Aussie side to turn the tables on South Africa, Sri Lanka, India and probably even Pakistan? The bottom line is that the rest of the teams self destructed and the Aussies just made sure that they didn’t commit hara-kiri on their way to the final. There they beat New Zealand which is hardly a challenge these days in international cricket.

As aforementioned, what these back to back wins have done for the Aussies is give them confidence in their fighting abilities. They tried the same approach for the Ashes, to struggle their way through till the last man standing, but the consistency needed by the longest version of the game meant that particular ploy didn’t really work out for them. The slogging it out in the middle approach though has certainly worked for them in the 50 over game and the results are there for every one to see.

India meanwhile are struggling somewhat at the moment. The tri series win in Sri Lanka was a bit of an eye wash really, for the real test comes when you face champion sides and perform against them on a consistent basis. That nowadays is seemingly possible only when playing ICC tournaments. And the last two of those haven’t really gone well for the world’s most famous cricket team.

The T20 World Cup in England seemed to have come for the team at the end of a long journey where weary travelers are not able to take another inspired step anymore. And so the result there was hardly surprising. But what was indeed surprising was the fact that they ended up achieving a similar result in the Champions Trophy as well, getting knocked out in the first round itself. Clearly, the calls that India are the number one side of the world are misplaced.

For number one sides do not buckle down when faced with different conditions or injuries, or whatever plausible reason might be given. Bottom line is that many of the players in that particular side were not upto scratch in this particular tournament and the long winter season ahead at home will surely be the making or breaking of many of them.

Yusuf Pathan, RP Singh, Dinesh Karthik are but three of the names that come to mind while wholesale changes may be made when the selectors sit down for naming the thirteen to play Australia in the first handful of ODIs.

Injuries will be an important word going around in the BCCI circles this time around. For less considerate tournaments such as the IPL and the Champions League T20 will mean that many players will either be recovering from long term injuries or returning soon enough for them, probably devoid of a proper rehabilitation program. Virender Sehwag is playing for the Delhi Dare Devils at the time of writing while Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan haven’t even begun their recovery process as yet.

These three names were sorely missed in Champions Trophy where India failed to find proper replacements who could rise to the occasion. Perhaps the most sorely felt absence was that of Yuvraj Singh whose injury actually made the difference between India losing that game to Pakistan. Who knows, he might have led them to chase that 300 plus target successfully. Zaheer is a magnet for injuries after every couple of healthy seasons so one can only hope that as and when he makes his come back, he is ready to take over the reigns of a flailing bowling attack all over again.

Injuries have plagued Australia as well this summer. Coupled with losing some great players over the years, that has been another bane for them and that was pretty much evident in the Ashes where they could not use Brett Lee and Stuart Clark through out the series. Only in the ODIs did they get a full bowling attack at their disposal and the results were there for every one to see. Even so, Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke and Nathan Bracken are now on the injured list, and those are big names almost similar to the Indian trio injured for the kind of impact that they can make in a particular game.

The difference between the two sides however is that while the replacements for the players injured in the Indian squad have failed to meet expectations. Exactly the opposite has to be said about the ones who have come in to the Australian side. Tim Paine, Cameron White, David Hussey and Peter Siddle have shown the kind of form that is expected of any body playing in the Australian first eleven. Compare that to what Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli and RP Singh have done and you can already see the battle tilting in the favor of the visitors.

Besides the teams, the other important factors in this battle are going to be the conditions. While the Aussies will be eager to adapt themselves as soon as possible, the Indians will be more than happy to return to their home grounds for the bounce, spin and lack of swing might just redeem their confidence. Let us take a look at how the fight for the series might progress at different venues.

1st ODI, Baroda

This match was first scheduled to be held at Jaipur. That doesn’t mean that the pitch will be under prepared or something, for the Indian domestic season will be in full swing and the grounds are prepared for the same as well. Though, the Aussies would have enjoyed playing at Jaipur as it was their host city before the Test tour last year. The ground at Vadodara might be a bit better host this time around for the RCA was having trouble keeping peace in their area and thus the Australian team would only have been a distraction. Talking about the game, this could be an ideal chance for the visitors to go one up in the series. There are two reasons for that. First, the Indian who are having quite a few troubles on their minds to sort out and second, they are perennial slow starters in any series.

2nd ODI, Nagpur

Australia will not have good memories of this place. Last year when they came here for a Test match, they had a spinner who took eight wickets in a innings but got smacked around the park so much that any spinner in their eleven will come out only in fear. The new stadium is a big one and will be jam packed come the ODI and therefore the whole din might just get a bit too much for the visitors to handle. As for the pitch, it will have good carry and bounce but whether it will keep that for hundred overs remains to be seen. If it does, then it will be an even contest otherwise India will begin exerting themselves from here onwards.

3rd ODI, Delhi

Watching the Champions League T20, one cannot believe the kind of bounce and pace the wicket at the Feroz Shah Kotla has now got. The pitch preparation job was handed over to the BCCI pitch committee incharge Daljeet Singh and they got new material imported to make the top surface all over again. Since the pitch was re-laid only this year, so the bounce will continue to stay low and again will favor the spinners big time. Also the Kotla is a very small ground and the runs would flow easily but that would have happened had the pitch been very good. All in all, it comes down to the standard of the pitch that will be put out in this game, and going by what’s on evidence it will certainly favor the Indians.

4th ODI, Mohali

This match will take place within two days of the game in Delhi, and the pitch and conditions will be a stark contrast to the previous game. This will seem as if the Aussies are back in their country with true bounce and carry in the pitch. Brett Lee having played two seasons here for the Kings XI Punjab will only know it very well. The only difference will be that since this is the month of November, the heat will still be there inspite of an afternoon start which will affect the Australians. That could yet remind them that they are in India still but having said that the Aussies could really take stock of the situation in this game. In fact to be quite frank, the double header games in Delhi and Kotla might just decide which way the series will be headed.

5th ODI, Hyderabad

From Mohali to Hyderabad will be a long journey but it will be a travel taken to some respite from the heat of the North. South India tends to be cooler at that time but the heat one is talking about will be from the low bounce pitches that will the visitors for atleast two more matches. The new Rajiv Gandhi Stadium is comparable to the Vidarbha Cricket Ground in Nagpur and they are huge to say the least. The pitches though are true and carry good bounce, probably for the whole hundred overs. With the 22 yard strip playing good in favor of the both the sides, the match will be a true contest between the two sides.

6th ODI, Guwahati

This will be the only ODI game of the series which will be a day game and hence the scales will be tipped heavily in favor of the visitors. First, the North East match will start under some good morning swing and will aid the fast bowlers. And unless the Indian fast bowlers find their rhythm in the series before this game, this match will inevitably go against them if Australia win the toss and elect to bowl first. But here in lies a conundrum, for this may be one game which will be affected by sunlight and with the sun set slated to be around 4 pm, the Duckworth Lewis system could come into play and the team batting second will be under tremendous pressure.

7th ODI, Mumbai

The match will not be played in the Wankhede stadium but in the Brabourne stadium, but going by what the recent trends suggest both have a similar kind of pitch which will surely play low and slow. It is almost like the Delhi track but without the pitch being re-laid again and again. That is a characteristic of almost every pitch that you will find in that part of the world and while it makes for some intriguing contests, Ricky Ponting will not have forgotten that Test where his side were bowled out for less than a hundred in both innings. Even speaking for the Indians, much will rest in the way they handle the bounce for England have shocked them in this part of the world on uneven surfaces in both Test and ODI cricket. Having said that though, if the two teams come here with the series at 3-3, one will place the money on India to take the series in a canter over here!

India’s ICC Awards performance bettered their Champions Trophy stint as MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir both picked up two important individual awards at cricket’s annual awards ceremony in Johannesburg. Dhoni was also named captain of both the ICC World ODI Team of the Year and the World Test Team. The World ODI team also featured two other Indians in form of Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh while the Test team featured Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar and 12th man Harbhajan Singh, apart from Dhoni.Panel comprised of five renowned cricketers checked out the nominee’s performance from 13th August 2008 to 24th August 2009 with their contribution in team’s triumph before giving the final verdict.

Distinguished Panel

The panel was chaired by West Indies legend Clive Lloyd and included former India captain Anil Kumble, former England wicketkeeper Bob Taylor, former Pakistan opener Mudassar Nazar and former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming. These all players have ample amount of International cricket experience to judge any talent of cricket on the basis of merit. Apart from the panel, Academy of 25 highly credentialed cricket personalities from around the world also played vital role in choosing the contenders. It includes the names of former cricketers Ian Healy, Ramiz Raja, Athar Ali Khan, Allan Donald, Bob Willis, Sidath Wettimuny, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Ian Bishop, Jeremy Coney, Dave Houghton, and Roland Lefebvre.

Cricketer of the Year

Mitchell Johnson capped a tumultuous year by becoming the sixth winner of the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, after being named as the ICC World Player of the Year. Johnson, who shot to prominence during Australia’s memorable series win in South Africa, claimed the title ahead of his fellow nominees, Gambhir, Strauss and Dhoni. With 80 wickets in 17 matches, he was the most prolific strike bowler of the year, and he also recorded his maiden Test century and an unbeaten 96 against South Africa. “I’m really blown away,” said Johnson. “I am just surprised to be up here. It has been a great 12 months for our side.

Test Player of the Year

India’s star opener, Gambhir, was named as Test Player of the Year, after an impressive haul of 1269 runs at 84.60 in the eight Tests during the qualification period. “It’s been a dream run for me. I never thought it could be like this but life has changed for me and I am very happy,” said Gambhir. “As a unit we have played very well and I am just glad to contribute to the overall success of the team.” Johnson, Samaraweera and Strauss were the other contenders for this award.

ODI Player of the Year

Dhoni retained his title of ODI Player of the Year, seeing off competition from his team-mates, Yuvraj and Sehwag, as well as West Indies’ Chanderpaul. Dhoni played 24 ODIs during the voting period, scoring 967 runs at an average of 60.43 and strike-rate of 86.63, and also claimed 26 dismissals as he led India to 17 victories including a 5-0 demolition of England.

Ruler of Twenty20 World

Tillakaratne Dilshan was a worthy winner of the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year award, after capping a sensational World Twenty20 tournament in England with a show-stealing 96 off 57 balls against West Indies in the semi-final. Though Sri Lanka went on to lose the final to Pakistan, Dilshan was nevertheless named as the Man of the Tournament, with a total of 317 runs at 52.83. Dilshan is perhaps most notable for his signature “Dilscoop” shot - a flick-shot over his, and the keeper’s, heads. Afridi was the closest rival of Dilshan while Gul and Gayle also chipped in with their say in the shortest format of the game.

Emerging Player of the Year

Australia’s fast bowler, Peter Siddle, was named as the Emerging Player of the Year, after claiming 49 wickets at 28.93 in the 12 matches since his debut at Mohali in October 2008, including five-wicket hauls against South Africa at Sydney and England at Headingley, both of which led to memorable victories. Siddle beat his fellow Australia seamer, Ben Hilfenhaus, to the award, as well as England’s Graham Onions and New Zealand’s Jesse Ryder.

Umpire of the Year

Pakistan’s Aleem Dar ended Simon Taufel’s monopoly to claim the Umpire of the Year award. It was the first time that anyone other than Taufel had picked up the accolade in the six years that the ceremony has taken place. Simon Taufel, Tony hill and Asad Rauf couldn’t beat Dar’s challenge for the top on-field honor.

AND THE OTHER AWARD WENT TO

Spirit of Cricket Award: New Zealand

Women’s Cricketer of the Year: Claire Taylor

Associate Player of the Year: W Porterfield

World ODI Team of the Year: V Sehwag, C Gayle, K Pietersen, T Dilshan, Yuvraj Singh, M Guptill, MS Dhoni (captain and WK), A Flintoff, N Kulasekara, A Mendis, Umar Gul. 12th man: T Thushara.

World Test Team of the Year: G Gambhir, A Strauss, AB De Villiers, S Tendulkar, T Samaraweera, M Clarke, MS Dhoni (captain and WK), Shakib al Hasan, M Johnson, S Broad, D Steyn. 12th man: Harbhajan Singh.

One could argue that the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 did not quite touch the zenith and it would not be a wrong statement, despite the enormous mileage it has gained not only for its own prestige but also, for upholding the case for the one day game through the staging of this edition. But there is merit in stating that a captain is only as good as his team and a tournament is only as good as the teams that comprise it.

Two teams in particular owe it to the ICC Champions Trophy for not quite putting up their best front. While it has led to emotional outbursts from administrators, spectators and former cricketers in the two respective nations, it has also perhaps caused a major hole in the revenue coffers of the ICC simply because of the sheer pull that these teams are able to draw upon the crowds – one for playing hosts and the other for its worldwide fan following. Most certainly, India and hosts South Africa were not expected to become the sad highlights or even the infamous side show in this showdown.

Poorer by performance

The ICC Champions Trophy outcome has been a jolt to both teams that have traded the ICC ODI top rankings tag briefly prior to the tournament, with Australia also adding to the mix with the NatWest Trophy victory. But the real dethroning of Australia cannot happen until either India or South Africa show a certain consistency, especially when it comes to winning such big, prestigious multi lateral events as Australia have done with the previous three World Cups and now with the latest two ICC Champions Trophy editions in India and South Africa.

While India tend to otherwise flourish at home, South Africa are now developing a unique track record, and there is nothing envious about it either. Not only have they been unable to shake off the unfair “chokers” tag associated with them since post apartheid, more so in multi team events, but also, have shown an uncannily unimpressive record when playing hosts. The drill of the 2003 World Cup, the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 have revealed an uneasy side to South Africa’s cricket that has failed to impress despite carrying the tag of favourites and coming into competition on the back of admirable success. As if the jinx of not winning such events is not enough, they are now perhaps one of the few rare teams that are showing that there is nothing called home advantage.

India’s first match against Pakistan left India chasing a target largely of their own making because the bowlers were unable to curtail the Pakistan batsmen, Shoaib Mallik in particular. Against Australia, they looked up against it till rain played spoilsport. By the time they tried to chase down West Indies’ modest target, Australia had won the final league match against Pakistan off the final ball, as if the situation was not nerve racking enough, and India were out even before they began what now became a wild goose chase.

South Africa faced an equally bizarre run. They beat West Indies comfortably in the warm up, sending shivers down people’s spines, but their bowlers came short against Sri Lanka. The team bounced back to emphatically beat New Zealand but against England, the resurgence of the visitors not only took them by surprise but also, left them breathless. It was a stunning explosion of expectations for South African fans because Graeme Smith once again showed his majestic skills to virtually single handedly take up the team’s cause. The paradox-like unfolding of events that saw the hosts exit combined with the skipper’s marvelous performance sent perplexed spectators home.

Personnel problems

There are very contrasting views here being put forth to explain the two teams’ extraordinary defeats and early exits. While the Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, believes that India lack a couple of genuine all rounders who can make sizeable contributions with bat and ball, Mike Procter, the South African selector, has come out with an astounding theory that the South African team has perhaps too many all rounders and what is needed, in his opinion, are specialists batsmen and bowlers akin to the line up usually associated with Test cricket.

But whether the argument holds ground is highly debatable because South Africa have not fielded a team of bits-and-pieces players, as England were briefly obsessed with with the exception of Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen. There are genuine all rounders in the South African team and that breed of players is fast becoming extinct. To then field this as one of the reasons is flimsy when neighbours are envious of South Africa’s strength.

In India’s case, once again it appears the familiar excuse of the lack of renowned personnel who are injury free when it comes to the big tournaments. It is with some concern and sense of urgency that BCCI, if it is serious about India developing into a world power not only in terms of financial clout but also, as a cricket team, must address the issue.

India were indeed hampered by the loss of three frontline cricketers – Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan. One can only wonder what Sachin Tendulkar could have even done in the match against the West Indies had food poisoning not done him in. It is always hard to make to do with too many changes in the team but if a team that is building to take the top position does not have bench strength confident enough to replace those injured, India has a long road ahead. But there were tactical deficiencies, not only to mention glaringly underperforming individuals that undid the team’s chances for progress.

Pressure power plays

Tactical issues unraveled the South African team and it is quite extraordinary that they get exposed when competing in multi team ICC tournaments. It is unfathomable how despite a change of team over the years, and captaincy and coaching changing hands, South Africa’s maladies at the big stage have remained virtually insurmountable, one that the team seems mysteriously unable to shake off despite tasting enormous success otherwise.

Mental conditioning is perhaps an area to look at but also, the seeming rigidity about the team wherein they are able to execute plans against a particular opposition but are unable to quickly change gears in a format involving different oppositions each time in a pressure situation. Even that seems extraordinary given that their plans against these teams that they have humiliated in the past should have given them greater advantage. After all, it is not everyday that Smith comes up with no answers to explain his team’s baffling performance.

But this has not been Smith’s first shock. South Africa’s incredulous disintegration against Australia in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean and their sudden frozen rigidity against Pakistan in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England in June should be pointers that South Africa need to perhaps work on a more flexible plan, one with shock value for the opposition. That is something Mickey Arthur and Smith will have to incorporate into their plan leading into the 2011 World Cup. Even their slog plans have become evident with the power plays left for Albie Morkel since their series in Australia at the beginning of the year and neither of them being pushed ahead in the innings. While it is rare to criticize a team for being clinical, perhaps what they really lack most is the surprise element in their game plan.

Cynosure on think tanks

The ‘sex dossier’ had pretty much everyone in the Indian dressing room ducking for cover. In fact perhaps it was the most talked about side show of the tournament than analyzing India’s performances. It is extraordinary how side issues become the focus and the focal point often deviated. Team India have now consistently been picked with a certain manner of recklessness with regard to injuries in two major ICC events, which perhaps only betrays the BCCI’s focus on finance than towards fitness. Even more worrying is the thought that little seems to be changing in approach and the injury list has become a convenient fall back for a team that must really hold a no-excuses policy if they are to spoil the Australia-South Africa party at the top.

Fatigue cannot be an excuse when players have voluntarily signed themselves to the optional leagues with a view of cashing in on the additional moolah. While they cannot be faulted for looking to expand their financial avenues, perhaps there has to be a stricter dictum and it has to come from the BCCI that must curb its own financial greed by not fielding the players non stop in ad hoc proposed series and set a policy whereby players can no longer carry an injury from one tournament to the next.

Persistence with certain cricketers is testing the patience and the case becomes more relevant with Ishant Sharma. Even in the immediate aftermath of the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England, it was questioned why Irfan Pathan, who had decisively bowled better than India’s latest find, was dropped when the youngster was clearly carrying his struggles from the IPL 2 playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders. The question then begs asking is: why did not Gary Kirsten and his team, including bowling coach, Venkatesh Prasad, allow Ishant to briefly stop in his tracks and why was the months’ old rot not stemmed?

While it is great that Rahul Dravid is lending weight again in the experience and strength department, one has to consider one of two things – either the inclusion of Dravid is an admittance of over reliance on a young team that Mahendra Singh Dhoni considered his cohort for success two years ago but has realized the pitfalls of that policy or Dravid is merely a stop gap option. Either way, it is a question best answered by the BCCI selection panel and Dhoni himself, who showed a dislike for having Dravid and Ganguly in the team and now appears resigned to fall in line. The 2011 World Cup is not as far as imagined and the ICC Champions Trophy has only proved to be a timely reminder of the job that lies ahead.

The team that Dhoni backed in the immediate aftermath of the win in the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 has now come under his own critical review with his assertion that performance in Twenty20 cannot be the basis of choosing the one day team. Why this has come in the outcome of the ICC Champions Trophy and not when India won the Compaq Cup shows certain opaqueness to his captaincy which he must then admit has blinded him to the limitations or the team has flattered to deceive, taking Dhoni in with the rest of the country.

At times, one was left wondering if India had one concrete plan, leave alone plan B. If the runs were leaking, did India have a plan to chase the target down? It is true that it is not over till the fat lady sings. But Australia had the ascendancy in the match before rain washed out the encounter, leaving both teams with a point each and there was little at the point when play was halted to suggest that India held the upper hand or looked like winning.

Captains coming undone

At the unveiling of the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa, a proud Graeme Smith stated that all teams needed to take responsibility to make the tournament a success. And yet it appears that the host nation themselves needed to sort out a few domestic problems before they can invite competitors to their den, without getting undone. The captain himself trailed off with words to the effect, “Disappointment is not a good enough word. Every member of the team must take responsibility…”

Smith cannot be faulted for his own individual performances. But that the team failed to cut it when virtually the same line had humiliated Australia in their own den in the Test and one day internationals says something not only about the team that has fallen too much into a routine-like rhythm to be able to adapt but also, about the crucial role that momentum plays. South Africa were coming out of a three month lay off following their grueling work outs against Australia. To then jump directly into the event could perhaps factor in as one of the reasons. But trophies cannot be won or lost on excuses and South Africa are running out of explanations. Unfortunately Smith now stands to go down in history as yet another South African captain who failed to break the jinx unless he can radically come up with a plan to undo the hex.

On the other hand, it is little wonder that the former Pakistan captain turned commentator, Wasim Akram, did not hold his tongue when he spoke about the body language of not only the Indian team but also, that of the captain. It would be hard to argue with Akram that Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not look like a man bereft of ideas.

When Dhoni took on the reins of captaincy, the word proactive became a marked word. Everything about Dhoni held magic and his thought processes admirable. However, Dhoni was uncharacteristically subdued on the field even though his frustrations all too evident on the field, the resignation apparent and his post match press conference, a rant of whom to blame. One could not help but wonder if the captain, like a few members in the team, was simply going through the motions.

When one looks at the fracture-fingered Younis Khan leading his team in Pakistan’s key match against India and then, against Australia, when England could make a great effort to reach the semi finals despite their confidence going for a toss against Australia back home without the resources of Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, when New Zealand could pick themselves to make the final despite having several injured players including skipper Daniel Vettori in their midst, the question that has baffled experts and fans is why the two teams that have threatened to take, briefly even taken, Australia off the pedestal have been unable to rise when the occasion demanded, stumbling instead at key moments even as Australia is gathering force once more.