Cricket World Cup songs dilemma!

During past few months I had the chance to watch many number of so-called world cup songs, created by various artists starting from BnS & some other artists whom I saw for the first time :). Then through YouTube I watched Lahiru’s song which was labeled as the official song for the cricket world cup 2011.

Starting from BnS’s song - I can’t remember it really, because I only watched it once as It was full of sh*t. What the hell Bathiya was thinking when some girls with mini-skirts acting like the umpires on his video. For a guy with such high standards it was utter disappointment from viewer’s point of view. It was a video not suited for cricket at all. Don’t get me wrong that I condemn the mini-skirts on the video, but this is not what I expected from a guy who produced following songs, respectively for world cup 2007 & when the war against terror is over. Check them out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYboI-9pkZ0

I really don't like any of the songs made for this world cup than this song which was made for last world cup by BnS, but Bns were so pathetic this time :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OS2P_BFWyY

So my hopes for a good cricket anthem with BnS ended with that low class video :(. Before that I listened to Iraj’s song which he did with Jaya-Sri and I think it is relatively better than BnS’s. Lahiru's official song is relatively good but not good enough to be the official song :( No sense of patriotism in that song which is much needed for it to be an official song. But Lahiru is known for his typical Baila taste & I admire him because he at least lived up to his standards.

If you take a look at official video of Bangladesh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh4o6R5vync

It has that sense of patriotism, but I’m quite sure that we can do a better, unique video than this.

For events such as superstar (in Sri Lanka) we see all artists get together and perform as one, but we are yet to see such a creation from our artists. As far as I think, all of them are trying to market themselves through the World Cup, no one is concerned about the quality of the work & no one seems to be getting together to perform as one. We saw the perfect example during last world cup by Windies, all artists got together to produce a colorful song.

Also we are yet to see a large media campaign associated with the world cup 2011, at least like campaigns we see when electing politicians ;) It’s like SLC is trying to save money by doing no more than hoisting some small advertising hoardings in some part of the country!

It is sorry to see we don't advertise our self as a nation to the world using this world cup! Few more weeks left & I hope we all at least can see a successful tournament in terms of winning!!!! Because when it comes to cricket administration, we all can agree that it is not functioning as it should be, only hope lies with our heartiest cricketers to give something to be happy for all cricket lovers!

P: S- I wrote this with no any hatred attitude towards our artists. I just wanted to mention that their creations could have been much better than this. If anyone likes the songs I mentioned I respect their taste, but for me they are not good enough, This is World Cup we are talking about :)

Latest World Cup Songs Update:

Sanka Dineth's audio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5glkOpddRiQ

Indra Chaapa's Audio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uMmPDq7Gbg

Tehan's Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-1ZXrIqWAk

Cricket World Cup Matches

The ICC world cup is a biggest international event. The bases of these WC matches are men's One Day International (ODI) cricket matches.

The 2011 cricket world cup matches to be played between February and March 2011. The opening match is going to be take place on 19the February at Dhaka between India and Bangladesh. The final will be take place in Mumbai on 2nd April 2011.
The number of matches and teams are increased than earliest cricket world cup match to till date.

2011 Cricket World Cup matches

The 2011 cricket world cup cricket will be the tenth edition of the tournament would be held. The 10th ICC Cricket World Cup will be take place in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, over 43 days, with 14 countries fight against each other for the World Cup title. Opening the tournament on 19 February, hosts India and Bangladesh meet in Dhaka, Bangladesh - the first of a total of 49 cricket matches to be played in the ICC Cricket World Cup.

The ICC cricket world cup 2011 will contain of 49 matches and will be a 43-day big show. India will host total 29 matches at 8 venues, and Sri Lanka is organizing 12 matches in 3 venues and Bangladesh will host 8 matches. The final of the world cup tournament will be take place in Mumbai and 14 teams will fight for the prestigious world cup trophy.

IPL bigger bet than ICC Cricket World Cup?

MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League (IPL) appears to be bigger bet than the World Cup for the Indian cricket board (BCCI) if insurance figures are taken as indicators. The BCCI has sought an event cancellation cover of nearly Rs 750 crore for the fourth edition of the IPL - almost Rs 200 crore more than what it has been trying to seek for the World Cup matches to be played in India.

According to sources, the board has floated inquires with brokers for event cancellation cover of Rs 754 crore. This will include media rights for Indian territory worth Rs 490 crore, media rights for overseas for Rs 50 crore, 194 crore towards protection of sponsorship fee and another Rs 10 crore toward any other contingency . This policy will shield BCCI against losses that arise due to cancellation of match due to terror-related incident. Even the matches that need to be called off due to adverse weather will be covered under this policy.

The board is also seeking a public liability cover worth Rs 100 crore. This covers can be invoked if there is any injury to spectators due to stampede or any other accident on match days. A total of 74 matches featuring 10 teams will be played in IPL 4. The Rs 750 crore cover is for all the matches, including the semifinals and final. All matches will have insurance cover of almost equivalent amount.

Interestingly, the coverage sought for World Cup is relatively smaller. A BCCI official said that the two tournaments cannot be compared. "It is like comparing apples with oranges. In IPL, all the 8 participating teams are competitive."
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ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: Bangalore cops, KSCA lock horns over security

Gangsters are cashing in on the cricket fever that has gripped the sub-continent ahead of the World Cup, and are selling tickets for the tournament in the black market. On Tuesday, Bangalore police arrested a man and recovered 80 tickets to the members’ stand from him. His associate, however, escaped arrest.

Umesh Shetty, 23, was arrested while trying to sell the tickets outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the Bangalore venue of the tournament.

The recovery, however, has left the police stumped. The members’ stand tickets were sold at the counters. Still, black marketeers managed to get the tickets, and sell them for a higher price.

“No one but the Karnataka State Cricket Association members can get these tickets. We wonder how such a large number of members’ stand tickets are available in the black market. The members can avail the tickets by showing identity cards to the authorities at the stadium or the Karnataka State Cricket Association,” a police officer said, adding that he suspected some members might also be involved in the racket.

An executive member of the Karnataka State Cricket Association said the tickets recovered could be fake, since the game body was yet to get the passes from the Board of Control for Cricket for the match between England and India on February 27.

भारत पर डिपेंड रहेगा क्रिकेट मार्केट

जयपुर। दस दिन बाद शुरू होने जा रहे क्रिकेट महाकुंभ को भी टीवी चैनल टीआरपी बनाने के चांस के रूप में ले रहे हैं। इस बार टीम इंडिया को मार्केटिंग के लिहाज से फायदे का सौदा माना जा रहा है।
जानकारों के मुताबिक विश्वकप का मार्केट भारत और पाकिस्तान की टीमों पर ज्यादा निर्भर होगा। इसके पीछे जानकार कारण बताते हैं कि इस उपमहाद्वीप में क्रिकेट के प्रति दीवानगी सिर चढ़कर बोलती है। ऎसे में वर्ल्ड कप के जरिए टीआरपी में इजाफा भारतीय उपमहाद्वीप के दर्शकों पर डिपेंड है। यही वजह है कि मैच के प्रसारण अधिकार खरीदने को चैनल उतावले रहेते हैं और विज्ञापन कंपनियां पैसा लुटाने से नहीं हिचकती।
मार्केटिंग गुरू हरीश बिजूर का कहना है कि अगर भारत और पाकिस्तान के बीच ज्यादा मैच होते हैं तो यह टूर्नामेंटि मार्केटिंग के लिहाज से सफल होगा। अगर दोनों देशों की टीमें जल्द ही वर्ल्ड कप से बाहर हो गई तो मार्केट के लिए यह अच्छा नहीं होगा। क्योंकि विज्ञापन एजेंसियों की नजर इन दोनों टीमों पर है।
हालांकि भारत और पाकिस्तान के बीच ज्यादा मैच होने मुश्किल हैं क्योंकि दोनों को अलग-अलग ग्रुप में रखा गया है। दोनों टीमों का आमना सामना क्वार्टरफाइनल में ही होगी।
हरीश मानते हैं कि 2011 का वर्ल्ड कप एक तरह से वन डे क्रिकेट का रेफरेंडम होगा। उनका कहना है कि विज्ञापन से होने वाली कमाई भरोसेमंद दर्शकों पर निर्भर करती है। अगर खेल उनको भावनात्मक रूप से जोड़ता है तो वे इसे जरूर देखेंगे।
कमर्शियल हब है भारतीय उपमहाद्वीप
क्रिकेट विश्वकप और भारतीय उपमहाद्वीप अपने आप में ही ऎसा विचार है जिसे बेचा जा सकता है। अब यह कोई रहस्य नहीं रहा है कि भारतीय उपमहाद्वीप ही ग्लोबल क्रिकेट फाइनेंस को सहारा दे रहा है। ऎसे में भारतीय उपमहाद्वीप अपने आप में कमर्शियल हब बन चुका है। इसी को ध्यान में रखते हुए ईएसपीएन ने विश्वकप के प्रसारण अधिकार एक बिलियन डॉलर में खरीदे हैं।
दर्शकों के भरोसे लगाया पैसा
प्रसारण अधिकारों के लिए इतनी बड़ी राशि खर्च करने की बड़ी वजह यहां के दर्शक हैं। अकेले भारत में ही करीब 726 मिलियन दर्शक हैं। अगर पूरी दुनिया के दर्शकों को जोड़ा जाए तब भारत के दर्शकों के बराबर संख्या होगी।
ऎसे चलता है क्रिकेट का मार्केट
आईसीसी प्रसारण अधिकार बेचती है
प्रसारण कंपनियां विज्ञापन के जरिए कमाई करती हैं
विज्ञापन कंपनियां टीमों से भी प्रचार करवाती हैं
टीमें विज्ञान का प्रचार करती हैं, मसलन खिलाडियों की पोशाकों पर प्रचार
स्थानीय क्रिकेट बोर्ड जो स्टेडियम में जगह बेचती हैं
950 करोड़ की कमाई का अनुमान
ऎसे लाखों क्रिकेट प्रशंसक हैं जो स्टेडियम में मैच देखने नहीं जाते वे टेलीविजन पर मैच देखना पसंद करते हैं। प्रसारण कंपनियों का मुनाफा इसी वर्ग पर निर्भर है। बाजार विश्लेषकों का दावा है कि विज्ञापन से करीब 950 करोड़ रूपए की कमाई का अनुमान लगाया गया है।

Mike Hussey, Nathan Hauritz, Eoin Morgan ruled out of Cricket World Cup

AFTER INDIAN pacer Praveen Kumar, one of the most consistent batsman for Australia, Michael Hussey as well as spinner Nathan Hauritz and England's batsman Eoin Morgan have also been ruled out of the ICC Cricket World Cup due to injury.

Cricket Australia has confirmed that the Australian middle order southpaw Mike Hussey has been ruled out due to his hamstring injury. In the recently concluded Ashes series, Mike Hussey played some brilliant innings for his country. The 35-year-old Hussey has an impressive record in ODIs. In 151 ODIs he has scored 4469 runs with an average of 51.96. 26-year-old batsman Callum Ferguson has been drafted in the 15-member Aussies squad.

Spinner Nathan Hauritz, who is suffering from a shoulder injury has been replaced by off break bowler Jason Krejza. Krejza, who has played only one ODI, was not in the provisional Australian 30-man squad named in December. The Australian team will fly to India today, aiming for a fourth consecutive World Cup victory.

Like the Aussies, England's left-hand middle order batsman Eoin Morgan has been ruled out of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 due to a broken middle finger of his left hand. Essex all-rounder Ravi Bopara replaced Morgen in the England's 15-member squad.

Earlier on Tuesday, Indian speedster S. Sreesanth replaced injured Praveen Kumar in the Indian  squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Praveen Kumar has been ruled out due to an injured elbow.

ICC Cricket WORLD CUP 2011 Official THEME

ICC cricket WORLD CUP 2011 official THEME The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the tenth Cricket World Cup and will be hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The World Cup will use cricket's One Day International format, with fourteen national cricket teams scheduled[1] to compete. The World Cup will take place between February and early April 2011, with the first match to be played o…

Hyundai - Official Car Partner Of World Cup Cricket

Hyundai, well-known for its support of the FIFA' and Football World Cup globally, is now a major backer of cricket.

It will be providing official support at the World Cup starting shortly. Hyundai has just signed a deal with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to become the ICC's first, official car partner. The current agreement runs from now until 2015.

ICC officials and players will use Hyundai cars for official transportation for the duration of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. And Hyundai will be the transportation partner for ICC's other competitions, such as the Champions Trophy and the World Twenty20, among other exclusive rights.

"The ICC Cricket World Cup is one of the world's biggest sporting extravaganzas and New Zealand is always one of the top contenders," commented the Chief Operating Officer of Hyundai New Zealand, Tom Ruddenklau.

"It's fitting that Hyundai, one of the world's fastest-growing major automaker, is involved with this exciting tournament and indeed right across world cricket."

"Here in New Zealand of course Hyundai is a significant backer and supporter of a wide range of sports as well as community organisations, so we are delighted to be there not only cheering on the Black Caps but helping ensure the tournament is a winner."

The 2011 World Cup, a 50-over contest, sees games between 19 February and 2 April in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. There are a total of 49 matches with teams from 14 nations. The World Cup is one of the most-watched events in the world, with more than 700,000 spectators in host countries and 2 billion television viewers in 110 countries. In India, Hyundai will hand over a fleet of vehicles including Hyundai's top-selling i20 model, as well as the Santa Fe SUV, New Zealand's family wagon. Hyundai's cricket involvement forms part of the mega-company's expansion in its global sports marketing activities as it boosts its brand image worldwide.

Hyundai has an 11-year association with FIFA, serving as the official automotive supplier to all FIFA-sanctioned events around the world. Hyundai is currently one of FIFA's top partners and has extended its strategic sponsorship agreement with FIFA to cover the 2022 FIFA World Cup' in Qatar.

Hyundai supports the ICC World Cup and cricket ongoing: Haroon Lorgat (left), CEO of the International Cricket Council (ICC), accepts key from H.W. Park (right), CEO of Hyundai Motor India (HMI)

Spectator turnout for non-India games a test for organizers

New Delhi: Ratnakar Shetty, former professor of chemistry at Mumbai’s Wilson College and chief administrative officer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has been made responsible for organizing the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Cricket World Cup (CWC) being co-hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The matches will be played in these countries between 19 February and 2 April 2011.

As tournament director, Shetty is busy visiting match venues in the three countries and meeting people to ensure everything goes according to the plan. In an interview, Shetty spoke about challenges facing the World Cup. Edited excerpts:

What is the biggest challenge in organizing the World Cup in India this time? How are the challenges different from those in 1987 and 1996?

From the year 2000 onwards, ICC has taken charge of the world events and it only grants hosting rights to member boards. All revenue except gate money goes to ICC.

The cricket council has also set out guidelines to be followed by the hosts and the events are supervised by a team from ICC. You will agree that there is huge change in security perception then and now and this is a big challenge.

How are you trying the address the security issue?

The home ministry has been extremely proactive and has convened several meetings in connection with the ICC CWC-2011. ICC security directorate with Shashank Manohar as the chairman has drawn up detailed plans for match venues as well as host countries. BCCI has insured all the matches for contingency liability and third party liability.

If you have to list out three priorities to make the 2011 World Cup a success, what would they be?

Ensure that there is a good turnout for the non-India games. Ensure the safety and security of players, officials and spectators. Make this event in the subcontinent a memorable one.

How do you plan to ensure good spectator turnout for non-India matches?

We have advised all the venues to keep ticket rates as low and affordable as possible and to invite school and college students to be admitted for free on their identity cards.

What is the total expenditure on the championship and how much revenue does ICC plan to generate from the World Cup?

The total budget for the event is $115 million (Rs521 crore). I cannot comment on the income of ICC.

There have been some reports of delay in preparedness of stadiums?

Yes, there has been a delay with Wankhede Stadium and Eden Gardens and three venues in Sri Lanka.

I think all venues must realize the need to plan and execute the redevelopment work in such a manner that the stadium is ready at least three months before the start of an event.

How many spectators are the World Cup games expected to attract, especially since the event will be followed shortly by the Indian Premier League that tends to draw larger crowds? Are the one day internationals still a big attraction?

To be honest, this World Cup will be a test in terms of spectator turnout for non-India games. ICC CWC-2011 has its own place of priority in cricket as it brings out the best in the teams and will still attract spectator interest.

Watch Star Cricket - Live | Broadcaster of ICC Cricket world cup 2011 and other cricket matches

Star Cricket is the 24-hour cricket channel from ESPNStar. It has broadcasting rights for matches played in Australia and England as well as ICC matches. It will be broadcasting ICC Cricket World cup 2011 in India and some other countries. Here's how you can watch the Cricket channel live:

In India: Most DTH and cable operators provide Star Cricket. Here are the providers and the channel no. for Star Cricket:

Tata Sky - Channel 413
Reliance Big TV - Channel 506
Dish TV - Channel 659
Hathway Digital Cable - Channel 104
Airtel Digital TV - Channel 227
Sun Direct TV - Channel 507
Videocon d2h - Channel no. 405

Watching Star Cricket live on Internet: There are currently no options to watch Star Cricket live. However during big series they broadcast the matches live on Internet. You can however watch the highlights of cricket matches broadcast by Star cricket on espnstar.com/media-player

Other countries:
Sri Lanka : STAR Cricket now available in Dialog TV - channel no. 39 and on Teledasun (LBN).

Bangladesh : STAR Cricket now available only in Dhaka, Chittagong by local operators

Pakistan: STAR Cricket is available on some cable operators in Pakistan.

Indonesia: Star Cricket is available on Fast Media (cable) - channel no. 157

Hong Kong (IPTV): Star Cricket is available on Now TV - Channel 674 (ESPN Star Sports Cricket Live)

Japan (IPTV): Star Cricket is available on World On Demand - Channel 205

Singapore (IPTV): Star Cricket is available on mio TV - Channel 123

India's World Cup preparations raise unhappy memory

New Delhi: Preparations for the upcoming cricket World Cup have revived unhappy memories in India of the chaos that accompanied the build-up to last year's Commonwealth Games.

While the reputation of the Commonwealth Games was partially salvaged by some frantic last-minute repairs, the slow pace of renovations had already cost this month's World Cup one of its most anticipated occasions - an India match at Calcutta's Eden Gardens ground.

Where India always beats Pakistan

The venue had been earmarked to host the India-England group-stage game but that had been reallocated because Eden Gardens was deemed to be not ready.

Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium was also in doubt as a World Cup venue due to behind-schedule renovations while a poor quality pitch at New Delhi's Kotla ground had also threatened its involvement, but both were finally given the green light to host games.

Hundreds of workers were assigned to Eden Gardens to hasten renovations but a visiting International Cricket Council inspection team ruled the stadium would not be ready for its first match on Feb. 27.

India offspinner Harbhajan Singh, who took a hat-trick in a Test against Australia at Eden Gardens in 2001, said the hosts will miss the special atmosphere of playing at the 65,000-capacity ground.

"Not playing at the Eden Gardens will be a big disappointment for us,'' said Harbhajan. "It is our main ground and we have several good memories of the venue."

It was even more of a disappointment to former ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya, whose Cricket Association of Bengal is responsible for organizing matches at the venue.

"It comes as a shock because when the ICC inspection team was here, we were given to understand that they were happy with the progress of the work and had suggested only a few minor modifications," said Dalmiya, who was one of the main organizers of the 1996 World Cup.

Dalmiya met several high-profile politicians in a bid to grant the ground a reprieve, but the decision was largely out of the hands of local officials, as the World Cup was being organized by the ICC, not the local associations which ran the 1987 and 1996 World Cups in India.

Protesters in Calcutta alleged politics in the whole affair as Dalmiya and current ICC president Sharad Pawar were known to be bitter rivals in the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Former India football captain Chuni Goswami, who was also a first-class cricketer for Bengal, was among those who saw the embarrassment coming.

"I was disappointed that the match was taken away from the Eden Gardens, but it is not exactly unexpected. The authorities became overconfident to do everything at a time when they should have done it in parts. Things could have been different had the CAB planned their work better," he said.

It was a bitter blow for fans in Calcutta, which hosted the 1987 World Cup final when India began to emerge as a power in the game _ both on the field after winning the 1983 edition and as the sport's commercial hub.

Eden Gardens was a forgettable host in the 1996 World Cup, by which time the sport's power base had firmly moved toward the subcontinent amid an eruption of sponsorship funds.

This time around, India is firmly entrenched as the financial powerhouse driving the game, and the administrative failures are bound to be all the more glaring.

Though security is always a concern for any major sports event, India has long experience in handling any threats, via high-profile targets like the Indian Premier League and Champions League in recent years.

Managing the crowds might prove to be a handful though, with a reminder of the difficulties coming during World Cup ticket sales in Chennai, when a wall collapsed during a crush and two people suffered minor injuries.

While venues should be packed for India matches, organizers face a challenge filling the stands in Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore, Mohali, Nagpur and Ahmedabad for non-India matches.

"We have directed all the state associations to throw the gates open to the school children to enjoy a good day out," tournament director Ratnakar Shetty told Cricinfo. "The tickets have been very reasonably priced too."

The group stage of the 14-team tournament reverts back to the format used in 1996, which will reduce the risk of the big teams making early exits, but at the cost of lack of suspense before the knockout stages begin.

World Cup cartoons

"Economically, we all know that India is the financial powerhouse of cricket," Ratnakar said. "The exit of India and Pakistan from the 2007 World Cup was a disaster for the tournament. The sponsors, broadcasters, tour operators, West Indies board - all lost a lot of money."

This time, a total of $250 million is reported to have been spent on sponsorship rights and advertising during this tournament, with the bulk of the money coming from Indian companies or the Indian arms of international companies.

The four main sponsors of the tournament are Pepsico, LG Electronics, Hero Honda Motors and Reliance Communications, while Castrol, Reebok India, Emirates, Yahoo and Moneygram are the main associate sponsors.

After tumultuous build up to World Cup, Pakistan hoping to put distractions behind them

ISLAMABAD — When it comes to tumultuous preparations for the World Cup, Pakistan is in a league of its own.

Only last week, key players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were each banned for a minimum of five years after the International Cricket Council found them guilty of spot fixing in a scandal that has plagued Pakistan cricket since a British newspaper expose last August.

The loss of those players and the tension surrounding the investigation have seriously damaged Pakistan's team composition for the World Cup, which is being co-hosted by Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.

"It was important that the whole issue should have been finished before the World Cup starts and I am pleased that it all has just gone down the drain," Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said. "Hopefully we can start fresh .... and deliver good in the World Cup."

Former chief selector Iqbal Qasim supported the current selection panel, saying "it will be tough to fill in the shoes of three suspended players, but the selectors have picked up the best possible squad."

Pakistan was originally slated as a World Cup co-host, but was stripped of those rights after a deadly terror attack on the Sri Lankan team's bus en route to a test match at Lahore in March 2009. Six police officers and a bus driver were killed, while some of the Sri Lankan players and a coach sustained minor injuries.

And that came only two years after a disastrous 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, when coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room the morning after Pakistan's shocking loss to Ireland put them out of contention in the first round. Jamaican police started a murder investigation, but medical experts later ruled that Woolmer died of natural causes.

Pakistan will receive financial compensation for every match it was originally scheduled to host during the Feb. 19-April 2 World Cup, but nothing will compensate homeground advantage. The Pakistanis play the group stage in Sri Lanka, but they're used to playing away — since the Lahore attacks, Pakistan has played all its international cricket abroad.

Pakistan won the World Cup for the only time in 1992, when the great allrounder Imran Khan led the team to victory in Australia. Wasim Akram's team came close to repeating that in 1999 before a lopsided loss to Australia in the final at Lord's.

Since then, it has been plagued by inconsistency.

Selectors didn't even settle on a captain for the World Cup until last week — the only country to submit a team by tournament deadline without specifying a leader.

Shahid Afridi was later confirmed as captain, but only after securing an ODI series in New Zealand. Pakistan subsequently lost the final match of the series and finished ahead 3-2.

Former captain Zaheer Abbas, who played in the first three World Cups before retiring in 1985, urges people to keep their expectations in check: "It's not that strong team."

"We should not expect much from them, but then in 1992 we were almost out of the event and went on to win it," Abbas said. "So I can only hope we do well this time."

Pakistan is Group A and unless there is another slump like there was in 2007, few could argue against it reaching the quarterfinals.

Three-time defending champion Australia is favourite to top the group, with Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand also expected to advance. Zimbabwe and 2003 semifinalist Kenya and Canada are also in the seven-team group.

Pakistan's strength is likely to be in the middle order, where hard hitting Afridi and Abdul Razzaq are the most capable utilizing the five-over batting powerplays, but it all depends whether the top order preserves wickets.

The axing of experienced three-time World Cup veteran Mohammad Yousuf has weakened the batting lineup further, leaving former captain Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq to grind out most of the middle overs and shoulder the load of carrying the team to challenging totals.

Except for Younis and Misbah there's not much experience in the top order.

Opening batsman Mohammad Hafeez is one of the seven Pakistan players who have experience of playing in the World Cups. Hafeez has been in and out of national selection and has played just 64 ODIs in eight years. His opening partner Ahmed Shehzad has played just nine ODIs.

Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was tested at No. 3 during the series against New Zealand and he could give his younger brother Umar Akmal, Younis and Misbah some backup.

The selectors have gambled on Shoaib Akhtar, the injury-prone 35-year-old fast bowler who clocked a world record 161.3 kph delivery during the World Cup eight years ago but is in the final stages of his 13-year international career.

Akhtar's career has been hit by doping scandals and injuries and restricted him to only 160 ODIs. However, a fully fit Akhtar has the ability to torment opposing batting lineups.

Umar Gul and fast improving left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz will supplement Akhtar in the pace department with Sohail Tanvir has the ability to deceive batsmen with his wrong footed bowling action.

Specialist spinners Abdur Rehman and Saeed Ajmal may get limited playing time, depending on the form of Afridi and Hafeez.

Coach Younis is unlikely to favour a specialist spinner over an allrounder or a batsman in crunch games.

Younis could not make it to the 1992 World Cup due to injury, and then failed to lead Pakistan to the Super Sixes in South Africa in 2003 when he was the captain.

But this time around maybe, as a coach, he could guide Pakistan to the final.

Copyright © 2011 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

India will miss 'street-smart' Praveen in World Cup: Dhoni

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Thursday said they will badly miss "street-smart" Praveen Kumar in the upcoming World Cup as the pacer has been ruled out of cricket's showpiece event due to an elbow injury. Praveen, who has been a vital cog in India's ODI scheme of things for a little over three years and was certain in India's seam attack in the World Cup, was ruled out on Monday after failing to recover from an elbow injury which he sustained during the South Africa tour.

"It is very unfortunate that Praveen had to miss the World Cup. He featured consistently in the ODIs for us. He is a street-smart cricketer and he will miss him a lot," Dhoni said during a pre-tournament press conference here.

"But you can't really restrict injuries from happening to players," he added.

Without mentioning the names, he also indicated that Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar all have recovered from their injuries and will be totally fit by the time India play their tournament-opener against Bangladesh in Dhaka on February 19.

"A few players are suffering from slight niggles, which is always there but nothing serious. Hopefully, nothing major happens to any player," the skipper said.

The World Cup has come in for its share of criticism from some quarters for its length which spans around 45 days, but Dhoni reiterated that a perfect scheduling is always difficult to churn out and the rest period between matches will help the players to recover from their niggles.

"As I have said earlier it is very difficult to form a perfect schedule and format. A tournament schedule will be either too long or too short but I am quite happy with the schedule. It will give us time to recover from small niggles," he insisted.

Bangladesh tightens immigration controls for World Cup cricket

Dhaka - Bangladesh has tightened immigration controls for visitors from an African and three Asian countries ahead of the World Cup Cricket later this month, officials said Wednesday.

'We are asked to give extra attention to citizens of Algeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq during the World Cup,' Maniruzzaman, an immigration officer at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, said.

Citizens from Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan and a few other African countries will also be under strong scrutiny, he added.

The World Cup is being hosted jointly by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.

The Home Ministry said Bangladesh diplomatic missions aboard were told to toughen the visa approval procedures to avert possible security threats, especially by Islamic militants.

The intelligence agencies have also been directed to increase their surveillance of local extremist groups allegedly lin ked to Pakistan and Afghanistan-based terrorist organisations.

Bangladesh, which is hosting the event for the first time, expects many foreign fans to come to Dhaka and the port city Chittagong where eight matches will be played between February 19 and March 25.

Cricket World Cup 2011: Form your opinion

Till, say, five years ago, expecting a cricketer from Bangladesh to have a wise head on his shoulders was like hoping that Pakistan would tackle terrorists with an iron hand. Wishful thinking!

Or so it was till Shakib Al Hasan emerged from the fishing hamlet of Jessore in the remote countryside of Magura. The all-rounder has outgrown the popularity and utility of stalwarts like Mohammad Ashraful — whose inconsistency has done him no favours — and the perennially-injured Mashrafe Mortaza.

Shakib, who will turn 24 during the World Cup, has, to a large extent, dictated his team’s fortunes at the big stage over the past few years. Believe it or not, but the youngster has scored a Test century, registered the best figures by a Bangladeshi to help them record their first overseas Test win, scored five ODI hundreds, led his side to a whitewash of New Zealand, besides, playing his part in bidding India goodbye in the 2007 World Cup.

The soft-spoken, forever-smiling Shakib has found his name in the ICC rankings for Test and ODI all-rounders ever since he started playing international cricket in 2006. Consistency is his forte, but no cricket expert has ever failed the ever-dependable Bangladeshi. Nor did any IPL franchise find him worthy till KKR picked him up for $425,000 in January.

And that’s where Aaron Levenstein’s definition, ‘Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital’, fails to paint the entire picture. The fact is that the numbers (see table) aren’t lying, at least in this case. Shakib is the only player — think beyond Kallis and Vettori — who finds a place in both lists, that of in-form batsmen and bowlers, tabulated by taking into account the respective performances over the 10 last ODIs.

The Bangladesh skipper has scored a hundred and three fifties in his last 10 games, besides picking up a staggering 24 wickets at an ‘Akramesque’ average of less than 18. Well, that’s precisely why teams must stand up and take notice of Shakib’s recent comments. “We have been playing good cricket for the last 15 months, and if we qualify for the second round, why not think of something big?” he said. And given that his boys will play a lot of games at home, Shakib may have, well, spoken like a wise man.

When you talk of batsmen — form or class — can the discussion ignore Indians? Expectedly, four of them find a place in the list of batsmen in good touch, but here’s where Levenstein wins hands down. Sachin Tendulkar didn’t score too many in his last two ODIs (in South Africa) and the last time he registered a three-figure score was in Gwalior (200*) in February 2010. Having said that, Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan and Virat Kohli have all been in fabulous form over the past 8-10 months. Each of them is well and truly in dangerous form. Bring in the Sehwags and Dhonis and the batting line-up is a bookmaker’s delight.

Dutchman Ryan ten Doeschate, with an average of over 88 and his teammate, Tom Cooper, are surprise entrants in the list which also comprises the heavily-consistent South African duo of Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla, besides southpaw JP Duminy and West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan.

Among bowlers, Shakib — who else — is right at the top with Aussie Ryan Harris in second spot. Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s exploits against India have propelled him to No 3, even as countryman Morne Morkel finds himself in fourth position. Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, Thisara Perera, Wahab Riaz and Abdur Razzak also make the cut.

And not so surprisingly, there isn’t a single Indian bowler in the mix. It, however, remains to be seen if these players have already peaked or they will hit top gear sometime during the tournament. Levenstein will be watching.

World Cup ads to cost Rs. 24 lakh per 10 sec

It could be a windfall for cricket World Cup broadcaster ESPN Star Sports if India reaches the knockout stages, as the spot rate for advertisements could then touch up to Rs. 24 lakh per 10 seconds.

The broadcaster, which has reserved ad inventory of nearly 5-6 per cent for the last few matches, is keeping its fingers crossed and hoping India plays in the title round.

"If India does well and reaches the knockout stages, ad spot rates could jump up significantly, as high as five to six times of the existing rate," ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd executive vice-president (Ad Sales & New Media) Sanjay Kailash said.

While he declined to comment on the existing ad spot rate, as per industry sources, the broadcaster is charging around Rs. 3.5 lakh to Rs. 4 lakh per 10 seconds spot.

If India, counted as one of the favourites to win the title this time by many cricket experts, features in the quarter finals and beyond, then the ad rates could be as high as Rs. 24 lakh per 10 seconds.

"If India makes it to the semis, then increased demand will be seen from new advertisers who have not bought already. Rates will be more driven by the demand and ESPN will want to maximise given that they are already the last two or three matches," ZenithOptimedia, senior vice-president Naveen Khemka said.

Cost efficiency can be overlooked if brand objectives are met, he added.

The company is also responsible for selling the ad spots for Doordarshan which will broadcast all the matches to be played by India plus the two semi finals and the final.
"The inventory for DD is sold out. We have got a very good response," Kailash said, adding ad rates on DD is much lower compared to its ESPN Software India's channels (ESPN, Star Sports and Star Cricket) but did not specify details.

Companies like Hero Honda, Parle Products, ITC, Jaypee Cement, Reliance Mobile, Pepsi, Tata Motors and Pidilite Industries have signed up as sponsors on DD.

Industry sources said ESPN is estimated to have garnered about Rs. 75 crore from ad spots on DD, while it is targetting Rs. 750 crore from the World Cup on its own.

Read more at: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/world-cup-ads-to-cost-rs-24-lakh-per-10-sec-139988?pfrom=home-Business&cp

World Cup snub bowls Michael Hussey

INJURED batsman Michael Hussey said he was in a state of shock after a series of private emails declaring his fitness failed to save his place in Australia's World Cup squad.

Hussey took the drastic step of emailing Cricket Australia medicos and selectors Andrew Hilditch, Greg Chappell, David Boon and Jamie Cox to outline why he should be selected for the tournament.

Hussey had an operation on a damaged hamstring last month, but said he would be fit for all but the opening two matches, against Zimbabwe and New Zealand.

The 35-year-old was overlooked on Tuesday for Callum Ferguson as the selectors adopted a safety-first policy.

As the 15-man Australian side flew out yesterday for their title defence, Hussey expressed his frustration.

"I explained I'd be OK," Hussey said. "I sent personal emails to all the selectors and physios. They were under no illusion I'd be right and how keen I was to be part of the World Cup.

"The injuries to other guys may have had something to do with it. All Andrew Hilditch (chairman of selectors) really said to me was that it was an unacceptable risk to take. They wanted everyone to be fit - 'You won't be available for the first game so you're out'.

"I didn't know what to say. I was in shock. I just told Andrew I'm disappointed.

"Thinking even further, it's probably going to be my last chance to play at a World Cup so that makes it twice as disappointing."

"It will take a bit to get over but I have to move on and hopefully be OK for the Bangladesh tour (in April)."

Left-hander Hussey is Australia's top-ranked one-day batsman at No.4 in the ICC rankings with 4469 runs in 151 matches at 51.97.

He was adamant he would have been fit for the sudden-death phase of the World Cup, starting March 23.

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting said losing Hussey was a huge blow to Australia's chances of winning.

"He's a massive loss to our group," Ponting said. "Batting at 5, 6, 7 sort of area is a very specialised role. There's no doubt that we'll miss him there and we'll miss him off the field as well."

Ponting, 36, intends playing in Australia's warm-up matches and will wear a guard on his finger and field away from the slips to lessen the risk of a further break.

PCB to look into Butt's World Cup deal with TV channel

The PCB is looking into reports that banned former Test captain Salman Butt is due to appear as an expert on a Pakistani television channel during the forthcoming World Cup.

"Frankly speaking as far as his ban is concerned he can't take part in any international or other cricket activities or events that come under our purview," an official of the board said.

"Secondly, the channel that has hired him is a private channel and has no holding rights of the World Cup with either the ICC or us, so I don't know if this matter comes under our purview," he said.

Sources in the board however said that the PCB would seek clarification from the International Cricket Council regarding the status of Butt who is serving a 10-year ban, imposed on him by ICC's Anti-corruption tribunal last week in Doha .

"The PCB has still not got the detailed judgment copy of the bans imposed on Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer and it wants to know whether they can be involved in cricket in any media role," another source said.

Butt, who has the right to appeal against the ban in the International Court of Arbitration for sports, has confirmed his signing with Channel 5.

"Since I am doing nothing and I am keen to retain my links with cricket, I have decided to try out this new role as an expert," Butt said.

"I hope this is not a problem for anyone and I can do this new role effectively. I got a good offer and I thought why not, it is a good way to stay involved in the World Cup," he added.

"I don't know the details of the ban but obviously we are not supposed to play international or domestic cricket. And We still have the right to appeal at the moment," he said.

An official of the channel, which is not amongst the leading ones in the country, said he saw no ethical issue in signing the banned captain.

"He is still in the process of appeal and he is not playing cricket. We are just using his expertise as a former Test captain," he said.

A very poor advertisement for Indian cricket

It has faded from my memory. There was not much to remember actually.

It was the first World Cup ever, and not much was expected from us. But frankly, I expected to do better than what we eventually did.

It is not possible for me to relate to the present generation. I am grateful my kids call me “Dad” and not “Hi Bish.” It does feel nice when I am told the young kids want to know about what we did. It really feels nice.

In 1975, when the World Cup was announced, I was already playing county cricket for Northamptonshire in England. County cricket also offered the limited-over variety but honestly most of us in the team had no clue.

We were getting decent crowds at Test matches in India and there was hardly any need for us to push for the shorter version of the game. It has become shorter and shortest now!

Is it not interesting to know that Sir Donald Bradman was the one who thought of having the first one-Day International in 1971?

True, circumstances led to the creation of the first ever one-day match, involving Australia and England, since the administrators wanted to raise money. They did.

When the idea of a World Cup was born, the countries that really fancied themselves were Australia and England. West Indies, the eventual champion, was a strong side and Pakistan unpredictable. These four teams, we knew, would decide the course of the Cup and its future. The Prudential World Cup was an experiment, but it took off in a big way. All teams were comfortable except us.

I remember the inaugural match of the World Cup. We played England at Lord's. It was a packed house and we let them down. In fact, we made a mockery of the game and the occasion.

The greatest opening batsman of all time (Sunil Gavaskar) spent all 60 overs at the crease to make 36. We were a huge embarrassment. That day at Lord's, it was a very poor advertisement for Indian cricket.

England hammered 300-plus (334 for four in 60 overs) and we responded poorly (132 for three in 60 overs). I was not playing that game and walked around the ground. I can never forget the abuses that flew at us from the spectators, especially near the sponsor's enclosure. I became their target. I remember talking to G.S. Ramchand (manager) and requesting him to allow me to go back and play for Northants if we were going to put up such a shabby performance in a World Cup fixture.

I am sure we were not physically and mentally equipped to understand the one-day game and play it as it should have been. We were not the swiftest on the field and not geared up to go for the ball. We played in creams and the colour was meant only for the ball (red). When I reflect on that game, I think we focused on being technically perfect instead of trying out innovations.

I had played a lot of one-day cricket for my county before the World Cup but don't remember ever bowling flat. Even in a Gillette Cup final against Lancashire (in 1976) I did not compromise with my style.

I bowled my normal stuff, just as I did against East Africa (12-8-6-1) and New Zealand (12-6-28-1) in the World Cup. I just kept rolling my arm. I must confess the boundaries were the farthest then and the bats not so powerful.

We lost to England and New Zealand and the consolation came following our expected victory over East Africa. Our captain, S. Venkatraghavan, did a wonderful job with the team he was given.

We were paid a pittance per day but it was a great learning experience for us all. Four members of that 1975 team, Mohinder Amarnath, Sunil Gavaskar, Madan Lal and Syed Kirmani were part of the 1983 squad that made history.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: Group A Preview

The Group stage of this the 2011 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup provides, as opposed to the format of the previous one, a more spacious berth for consistency. It also seems a much better way of going about eliminating teams. Last time round, the ‘Super 8’ format with four groups, each with four teams, had 2 teams advancing to the next stage. This meant that the one dark-horse in the group had the chance to use a heaven-sent day to cause a single upset that would propel them into the next stage – which ended up happening too – with the premature ousting of both Pakistan and India, two major crowd-pulling teams. Therefore have the organizers realized, this time round, that as much as it is important to lend a hand to minnows to use the big stage to state their cause for existence, there is a greater risk to the integrity of a genuinely competitive tourney.

At a glance, severed from current form and team structure, the teams in Group A are quite easy to call. You’d say Australia any day mate, if you’d been living under a rock, getting your cricketing news via shoddily-fashioned wooden TV antennae. Recent developments have displaced Australia so that it would be unwise for them to labour under any misguided notions of unquestionable superiority. For their companion teams, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya, they are no longer the team to fear above all. And thank the Holy Spirit of W.G. Grace for that.

Ranking the 7 teams is an exercise highly prone to backfiring – especially given the aura of the big tournament, which could weigh down upon otherwise solid performers. But we humans live on air, water and speculation, so here goes:

1. The third-ranked Sri Lanka merits a higher seeding leading into this tournament. For one, they are armed with familiar conditions as well as victorious memories of the 1996 World Cup. And having wrapped up the West Indies at home, and Australia in their own hunting ground, they will be the form favourites. If Arjuna Ranatunga is to be taken seriously (despite his obviously partisan outlook), the Lankans are the firm favourites, along with India, to lift the jug, and for now, to advance to the quarter-finals, as no worse than team A2.

2. Australia’s ratings, which had been dampened in the recent past, will have stormed upwards this month, propelled by the 6-1 victory over visitors England. A re-invented Shane Watson, with his combustible batting and incisive bowling, holds the key for them. Injury-stricken, and time having robbed them of their bigwigs, Australia will have to invoke their source to replicate their triple feat once more. But surging into the quarter-finals should not be a matter of much concern if they consider the group matches as a seamless continuation of the series gone by.

3. Pakistan, sundered, as is its wont, by controversy, will look to regain stability before its first match against Kenya, who can be a potentially harmful minnow if encountered without having your wits about you. Coming off a 3-2 series win over New Zealand will help them repose faith in their current side, robbed of the services of the Lords Three. Captain Shahid Afridi will be prevailed upon to provide sharp blasts along with Abdul Razzaq, both of whom can swing matches on their own steam. Consistency from the level-headed Umar Akmal, stalwarts Younus Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq will have to mitigate Pakistan’s tendency to display excellence on a day, and abject mediocrity on another.

4. New Zealand is a team whom it usually is inadvisable to judge on current form. What they thrive on is a consistency borne of determination, and a blissful blindness to their ebbing fortunes. Their collective open mind makes them a contender in every match no matter the past. Having said that, the team’s current run of defeats – including the miserable Bangladesh tour – will hamper its chances, with one of the minnows becoming empowered to exploit their fallibility, even if New Zealand stands its own ground. Martin Guptill has slowly, but surely, ensconced himself at the top of the order and will be looked to to provide sturdy starts that can be converted into launching pads for the explosive likes of Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum and others down the order. Daniel Vettori, one of the most able captains of the era, holds the team’s bowling reins; his immaculate variations tend to force oppositions to make heavy weather of reasonable targets. He will rely on Tim Southee and Kyle Mills, who evince the likelihood of being successful in the subcontinent, to fill Shane Bond’s boots.

5. Zimbabwe usually hold the underdog status in every group stage match. Not quite full-fledged, not quite as small a fry as Canada or Kenya, they are the most liable to cause a stir and challenge the other four teams. A team which utilizes momentum to its benefit, they will rue Australia being their first fixture, to unsettle whom for a second time, after the T20 World Cup, may be a tall ask. Nonetheless, they can score some valuable points against the other two minnows, Canada and Kenya. Its batsmen can play the big innings against potent attacks, Brendan Taylor’s recent 145 against the Proteas being an instance, and Charles Coventry also having displayed the ability to score big. Still, it may be futile, given the more just format which allows four teams to advance, to expect Zimbabwe to cause more than the one upset.

6. Jimmy Kamande commandeers a Kenyan side infused with youthful talent off late. Having secured a victory in their first warm-up game against the Netherlands, if they use the momentum to overcome West Indies on Saturday, their self-confidence may pose a threat to the other two teams of its bracket as well as perhaps an unsettled Pakistan or New Zealand. Steve Tikolo – whose presence in the side, after he had led a player strike earlier this year, was announced by the run-a-ball century he made in the first warm-up game – will be a key player to watch out for in a largely uncapped side.

7. Canada’s matches being so scheduled that it will face the group’s two strongest teams on either end of their itinerary, will allow neither any early momentum nor a strong finish. This could be a shame, with the team having ample players of subcontinent origin not being abetted by a fortunate schedule.

Each team will have 6 goes at securing wins. Three wins – allowing for one upset against one of the three minnows, and even two losses against one of the other three – should be enough to push through to the next round. Disclaimer being: “Anything can happen”, Sri Lanka is likely to romp into the second stage. B4 (fourth place in Group B) beware!