Clean sweep for cricket across digital platforms, applications

Considering the growing popularity of smartphones, tablets and notebooks in India, it’s no surprise that the digital medium is going to be the next battle ground for companies this cricket season.

Taking a cue from YouTube, leading cable and satellite broadcaster ESPN Star Sports has decided to stream all matches live on its website for free. YouTube saw 93,000 subscribers and over 50 million views when it streamed the last edition of Indian Premier League matches.

Gaming companies like Zapak, Nazara and Jump have launched several games on the mobile and internet platforms. Jump, the official partner of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for mobile gaming, has launched ICC World Cup 2011 games. Apart from local audience, it is targeting the Indian diaspora spread across the globe. The game will be priced at Rs 99 in India and $5 in other markets. “We expect a million downloads within the month,” says Salil Bhargava, CEO, Jump Games.

Mobile community mig33, too, has launched migcricket, a chat-based cricket game, where players can join the game by paying with mig33 credits. Mohit Gundecha, head of India operations at mig33, says they are looking to engage users from Tier-II cities. “The game is easy to play and doesn’t even require a smartphone,” explains Gundecha. mig33 has launched special virtual cricket merchandise around the World Cup as well. It claims it registered about 250,000 users last year and expects the number to rise substantially during the World Cup.

Zapak Games, the licensing and merchandising arm of Zapak, has developed Cricket Power, a PC game that will be available for players through both online and offline mediums. Vaibhav Odhekar, business head of Zapak Games, claims, “Even non-cricket enthusiasts will be celebrating these events. We aim to reach the masses with this official game and have hence priced it reasonably at Rs 299.” The game CDs are scheduled to hit 5,000 Zapak retail stores this week.

For the cricket-crazy nation, companies like HCL Technologies have launched a new application, Xplore Cricket WC2011, available both for Android and iPhone mobile devices. There are four major sections in the application: first one is information related to matches, second is teams and players, followed by match venues and live scores for fans to keep a track of their teams’ performance.

Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL), which operates telecom services under the MTS brand, will provide all Meru cab users in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad a MBlaze dongle for free internet surfing with unlimited data download. Leonid Musatov, chief marketing officer, SSTL, says, “With the Cricket World Cup round the corner, such a service would also enable cricket enthusiasts travelling through the city to connect their laptops via mobile broadband and check out the latest match scores and updates.”

Even Smith and Jones, the company which has instant noodles, soups, ketchups in its portfolio, has launched a special YouTube channel, ‘Cricket ka Tadka’. The internet channel sports series of videos that teach basic cricket. The company is also launching this across other platforms like videos on demand on DTH, IPTV and mobile networks. According to Ajay Gupta, CMD, Capital Foods, this is first of the many such initiatives the company plans to launch.

Cricket World Cup needs classic moments – not Bryan Adams – to be a hit

Long before the 10th football World Cup kicked off in 1974 its immediate predecessor's place in the hearts of the public suggested it was going to be a tough act to follow. The vibrant colours from Mexico, the trebly resonance of the commentary beamed for the first time via satellite and Brazil's stylishly sadistic attacking football whose scintillating use of speed, grace and space exhausted then annihilated most of their opponents and gave it a lustre. That sheen made the West Germany tournament, for all the breathtaking brilliance of Total Football and the hosts' dash and resilience, seem second-rate.

The 10th cricket World Cup, to be heralded by Bryan Adams fawning over Maid Marian at the opening ceremony in Dhaka, has no similar peak to overshadow it. Indeed the last two in 2003 and 2007 were such gruellingly tedious one-sided affairs, littered with meaningless "Super" stage matches and spineless collapses by the few teams who could potentially test Australia, that this year's event has to have only three close games to make it seem like a classic by comparison.

This is supposed to be the tournament that puts all those moribund moneyspinning seven-game series into some sort of context beyond the purely financial. But it has been so badly served by administrators' bloating the itinerary and so thoroughly eclipsed by a flashier, even more ephemerally enjoyable format that a failure to excite this time will just about render it redundant. It may endure a living death in the future as a made-for-television marathon devoid of emotion and substance, as an upmarket version of the Champions Trophy, but it needs a jolt to save its soul and significance.

When the inaugural World Cup began in 1975 it seemed such a bold and radical idea given that West Indies and India had played only two one-day internationals each before it, Pakistan one more, Australia and New Zealand seven apiece while England were by far the most experienced with 13. That lack of practice was apparent in India's case, Sunil Gavaskar perversely taking 174 balls to make 36 not out when he deemed the target of 335 set by England as too high to chase.

West Indies, however, with a smattering of thirtysomethings making their last hurrahs – Roy Fredericks, Rohan Kanhai, Vanburn Holder and Keith Boyce – tackled the new game with the peacock strut of Vivian Richards at cover point and the languid buccaneering of Clive Lloyd at the crease. They played with an exuberance that was matched by the boisterous crowds they drew to The Oval and Lord's, none more so than the one at the final whose premature celebrations almost allowed Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee to steal victory by running 20 when the field was overrun.

Four years later they triumphed again after England's mastery with the ball through Mike Hendrick's fiendish swing and Geoffrey Boycott's surprisingly difficult to hit induckers deserted them in the final once Collis King came out to bat and inspired Richards back to his devastating best.

It took India in 1983, who had given no hint up to that point that they understood how to play the one-day game, to pounce once West Indies' expectation of dominance turned into hubris. I'll never forget Madan Lal's prodigious leap in his delivery stride, the ball wobbling under dense, oyster clouds and Kapil Dev gambolling in the deep to catch Richards. At that moment cricket was turned upside down and India's talent finally began to win out over perceptions of timidity.

The next three tournaments were studded with iconic moments from Eddie Hemmings spinning out India in the semi-final and the punchy innings of Mike Veletta that pushed Australia's totals from stolid to stiff in 1987, to the last knockings of Ian Botham's ability to send Australian minds haywire and Pakistan's late verve in 1992 to West Indies' twitch-on-the-thread victory over Australia at Jaipur, Sri Lanka's electrifying onslaughts and Neil Smith's vomiting at the crease that condensed England's 1996 campaign into an unimprovable visual metaphor.

Even 1999 when England troughed too early at their own party saw two memorably titanic battles between South Africa and Australia when first Steve Waugh and then Shane Warne emphasised the gulf between promise and attainment. That tournament at 37 days was long enough compared to the fortnight span of 1975 and 1979 but by 2003 it lasted six days more and in 2007 it was stretched beyond everyone's patience to seven full weeks.

Mercifully the 2011 World Cup has lopped off seven days and the stagnant, superfluous round robin but it still needs a spark to ignite, a beautifully crafted Aravinda da Silva knock, a Mushtaq Ahmed googly utterly bamboozling Graeme Hick, Richards stepping to leg and firing Bob Willis over extra cover or even Boycott turning his cap back to front and confounding everyone. There is still time left to save the 50-over format but if this World Cup falls as short of excitement as the last two we might as well give up. If there is no pinnacle, there is no point.

Twitter ban on players during Cricket World Cup matches

In a bid to ensure a corruption-free World Cup following the spot-fixing scandal, the International Cricket Council [ Images ] has banned players and team officials from tweeting during matches.


The decision, an initiative of ICC's [ Images ] Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, was intended to restrain players and officials from any possible approach by people with links to illegal betting during World Cup matches.

The move from the ICC came in response to Australian team manager Steve Bernard's tweets which attracted more than 1,100 followers to his @stevebernard37 account in the past six months, including during Ashes and the subsequent ODI series, according to a report in Sydney Morning Herald.

- World Cup coverage

The long-time manager was told soon after arriving in Bangalore with the team last week that he, as well as any other player or team official at the World Cup, had been banned from tweeting during matches.

"When it comes to issues of corruption we prefer to err on the side of caution. We don't want to spoil anyone's fun but there is a chance that sensitive information could be passed on during matches in this way, even inadvertently, and we just feel that team managers' phones should be kept for operational purposes only.

"This recommendation is not confined to the Australia [ Images ] team manager but all teams in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and is certainly not a reaction to anything the Australia team manager has said or done in the past. It's merely a precaution and is not something we are overly worried about at this stage," ICC spokesman James Fitzgerald was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Players and officials will still, however, be permitted to tweet when matches are not occurring.

Cricket Australia chief spokesman Peter Young believed that the in-game ban had been imposed by the ICC due to the heightened sensitivity about corruption in cricket.

"(Bernard) is very judicious about what he does and doesn't say but while he's getting it right there needs to be one rule for all," Young said.

"It is, as I understand, a perception issue. They don't want players or team management able to be communicating to the outside world because of the concern the information might be misused by the illegal betting industry."

Bernard and Australia coach Tim Nielsen began tweeting last August based on a request from CA, which wanted fans to get a better insight into the team.

ICC World Cup A Battle of Heavyweights

The 2011 World is just round the corner as the Warm up matches are started. The clash of top side of Cricket takes a new role in this World. It will be the last opportunity for some fine legend of Cricket to get their team into the Champion Crown. It will be a battle to top teams as well as Players.

The top five names of World Cricket will clash with other for the World Cup title. It will be Sachin Tendulkar, Jacueques Kallis, Shahid Afridi, Chris Gayle, Ricky Pointing These are the top five batsman of World Cricket. There will be lot of pressure on their mind in this World Cup. This will be the last World Cup of these players and they will try their best for the World Cup crown. It might good to see who will do better in this big event. They all are in good touch but The Little master Tendulkar will be up against these entire names. He had a dream run in 2010. Tendulkar is the key player and his performance will decide team India way in the World Cup.

The Australia Captain Ricky Pointing had a tough time in the recent days. He was out of form and not getting runs in any format. Now he is back in the team for his final test in this World Cup. it will be interesting to see how will Australia team defend their champion tag in this Cricket World Cup.

The West Indies Chris Gayle and Pakistan Shahid Afridi is the most destructive batsmen in the World. They always played attacking cricket in all the format of the game. It is a interesting factor that how will Afridi handle the pressure of World Cup because he is the new Captain of Pakistan team. On the other hand Gayle role in the West Indies team is a hard hitter of Cricket balls. if Gayle get going in this World Cup the West Indies team run will be easy in this big tournament.

BCCI insures World Cup for Rs 246 crore

Days before the ICC World Cup begins on February 19, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has taken an event cancellation cover, in addition to one against terrorism, with a total sum assured of Rs 246 crore (Rs 2.46 billion).

The event cancellation cover will insure against any disruption due to adverse weather or non-appearance of a team.

The tournament will be held across India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and will end on April 2. Of the 49 matches, 24 will be played in India, with the final being hosted by Mumbai.

A senior executive of the National Insurance company said the policy would kick in if BCCI's revenues were affected due to adverse weather. Also, in case of non-appearance of teams, it would not lose out.

World Cup fever yet to grip Indians

The Indian team is among the favourites to win the cricket World Cup that the sub-continent will host but despite the excitement, the spotlight remains on corruption in the country.

ONLY a few days remain before the 10th ICC Cricket World Cup kicks off in Dhaka with India facing Bangladesh on Feb 19, but the ruling politicians show no sign of vacating the prime time news slot for cricket-crazy fans.

Not a day passes without a fresh scam making the headlines.

In a nation where cricket is the new religion, the skullduggery of politicians and bureaucrats still hogs the headlines.

The latest scam concerns the arbitrary sale of S-Band spectrum to a private company floated by former scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro).

The one-sided agreement embarrassed the prime minister since he was the minister in charge of Isro.

Now, post-haste, the government is devising ways to abrogate the agreement.

The authoritative national daily The Hindu in its leader of Feb 10 said: “Every well-informed schoolchild knows this is rising India’s Age of Uninterrupted Scams. No government before the present United Progressive Alliance regime has had to deal with such a dizzying succession of exposes of corruption scandals.”

But every schoolchild, well-informed or otherwise, knows that the quadrennial feast of world-class cricket is set to begin soon.

And for a month-and-a-half he would either stay glued to his television set or, if he is fortunate, see live action in the stadium nearest to his home town.

With Pakistan ruled out as a venue due to heightened security concerns, India is set to stage the majority of the 49 matches in the latest competition, which sees Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as joint hosts.

However, despite the proximity of the Cup, the normal day news flow has diverted public attention from the cricket world’s biggest competition.

Despite huge corporate money riding on the Cup, what with advertisers paying through their nose for commercial time during the live telecast of matches, thus far there is only muted interest in the subcontinent’s biggest sports event.

Television channels and sports pages of newspapers are most valiantly trying to kick up a frenzy.

Former cricket greats are featured regularly. They go nostalgic over previous Cups wins and losses. But, truly, the nation has yet to catch Cup fever.

Without doubt, India believe that they are the strongest contenders to lift the glittering trophy this year.

In 1983, Kapil Dev’s Devils beat the West Indies in an edge-of-the-seat contest.

That was the maiden Cup victory for India.

Since then world cricket in general, and Indian cricket in particular, had undergone a sea-change.

India has emerged as a major cricketing power, with the balance shifting to the sub-continent from the English-Australian duopoly.

Also, even as the popularity of cricket in the Indian sub-continent has grown exponentially in recent decades, the old cricket playing nations such as England, Australia, and South Africa, have seen diminishing spectator interest.

Indeed, these three countries look forward to hosting teams from the Indian sub-continent since it helps them generate revenue through ticket sales to people such as Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi, to name a few.

Of course, the sport of cricket itself has transformed beyond recognition since 1983.

The popularity of the game also means more pressure on the team. Every time a player fails to perform, there is a shrill demand for his ouster.

Since the pool of talent from which the national team is drawn has expanded vastly in recent years, barring the old reliable Sachin Tendulkar, no player can take his place for granted.

This was not so till the 80s. In those bleak times, even after a 5-0 wipe-out at the hands of, say, West Indies, the same side was certain to be fielded again.

Witness the way the erratic but brilliant batsman Yubraj Singh is being disciplined.

He was ignored for the Tests in recent months but inducted into the limited-over side.

For sure, one of the biggest changes in Indian cricket since the Cup victory 28 years ago is the advent of big money.

Players donning coloured clothes, or sporting logos of various companies on every bit of those clothes, or day-and-night matches under mega-lights or new rules of play are passé.

It is the million dollar fees which players earn for commercial endorsements and several million more that advertisers pay for the telecast rights to matches that have overwhelmed the world of cricket.

Cricket is now big business in India. Precisely because it is big business, the Supreme Court of India, in a far-reaching order last month, said that officials managing the sport would be covered under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The apex court reasoned that since the BCCI performed a public service in organising the popular sport its officials would be covered under the ambit of the anti-corruption law.

This would certainly inhibit cricket officials from wrong-doing.

Meanwhile, hosts India are in with a good chance to lift the Cup on April 2 in Mumbai.

Ricky Ponting’s Australia are on the decline. England are too erratic. West Indies are yet to regroup as a team. Pakistan have shot themselves in the foot. And most others can only be also-rans.

Yet, not for nothing is cricket known as the glorious game of uncertainties.