Saturday, January 26, 2013

Top 10 Cricket Grounds in The World and Known For Their Wonderful Facilities

Top Ten Best Cricket Stadium in The World and Their Audience Capacity

 
A game of cricket cannot be played without a proper stadium. There are no international matches held on ‘maidans’ or playgrounds afterall. There are several factors that determine how excellent a stadium actually is. Whether in terms of lighting, crowd capacity, pitches, facilities, aerial view and so on. But there have been just a few which can be termed ‘excellent’ because any stadium can have a pitch or products such as a carpet to cover the pitch or a roller to remove the grass from it as well decent seating. Some of them though go much beyond the basics and have made a name for themselves in cricketing history. Here are those who have been able to do so.

1) Lord’s Cricket Ground, London (England)-

 

Located in the area of St. John’s Wood in North London, the Lord’s Cricket Ground is definitely one of the finest cricket stadiums in the world. Also known as the ‘Home of Cricket’, Lord’s was once the centre of the cricketing globe, since most of the administrative decisions courtesy the ICC having its headquarters here until 2005, were taken on the premises of this very ground.


For a spectator, there is some aura in the ground the moment you enter it. It is definitely a must see venue atleast once in your lifetime. Since you do not get to see a museum, a gigantic media centre, two restaurants or a Long Room which is the link to the ground from the dressing room, in any other cricket ground.  

Besides on the ground, there are 30,000 seats in total and has a peculiar slope which makes a long boundary and causes appreciable deviation in bounce of the ball on the pitch, making it easier to move the ball in to right-handed batsmen when bowling from the Pavilion End, and easier to move it away when bowling from the Nursery End.

2) Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Melbourne (Australia)-

The MCG is the largest cricket ground in the world, founded in 1854 with a capacity of 100,000 people and a playing area 172.9 m long and 147.8 m wide. It holds several other records such as being the tenth largest sports stadium in the world and having the highest light towers at any sporting venue.



The ‘G’ as it is affectionately called by the people of Melbourne, has hosted the 1956 Olympic games and the 2006 Commonwealth Games apart from cricket and Australian rules football matches, which are played in the winter season.

But when it comes to cricket, in Australia it hosts the Boxing Day Test match every year on the 26th December, drawing out normally huge crowds since it is usually a half day for the working class and the stadium is in the heart of the city, in the area of Richmond and more precisely in the Yarra Park. While even in ODIs, matches held here are a financial success for Cricket Australia since the ground is in the east side of the city’s CBD, which allows business people to actually take a short walk from their offices after 5 pm to watch the second half of a day-night ODI.

3) Eden Gardens, Kolkata (India)-

Founded in 1864, the Eden Gardens is India’s answer to the MCG. The stadium is located in the Binoy Badal Dinesh Bag area of the city, near the State Secretariat and the High Court and has hosted 37 Test matches and 25 one-day internationals in its cricketing history. 

It first hosted a Test match in 1934 against England, led by Douglas Jardine which would go on to win inside four days. While it’s first ODI was the 1987 World Cup match between India and Pakistan, which appropriately the then-defending champions and hosts India won by 2 wickets.


It is second biggest cricket stadium in the world, following the Melbourne Cricket Ground  also the second largest stadium in India behind the Salt Lake Stadium, also located in Kolkata. Yet, it possesses a passionate and vociferous crowd, as its seating capacity is 90,000. This is after the decision made by the Cricket Association of Bengal to renovate the stadium. 

Every Indian fan and especially Kolkatan is acquainted of the deafening noise in the stadium, especially when India is winning a match. It can add on to the nerves of the opposition players, which is probably why it is said ‘a cricketer’s cricketing education is not complete till he has played in front of a packed Eden Gardens’. This explains why some cricketers dream of playing in Kolkata more than any other ground in the world atleast once in their career, let alone Lord’s.

4) Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney (Australia)-


Established in 1848, the Sydney Cricket Ground has a capacity of 46,000 making it have a huge seating capacity to make people watch cricket and cheer their respective teams irrespective of wherever they are seated on the ground.

It is situated in Moore Park in the east of Sydney. The Sydney Cricket Ground is not only one of the world’s most famous cricketing venues but also for Australian Rules football and some rugby league football played throughout the year.  It is owned and operated by the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust, a sports company that also manages the Sydney Football Stadium located next door.

5) Kennington Oval, London (England)-

Better known as The Oval, this ground is one of the most breathtaking in England. As the name suggests, it resembles the ‘oval’ shape which is a rarity for a cricket ground which is frequently more circular in shape. It is this ground which has been a source of inspiration for the construction of other grounds across the world in a similar style of architecture, to make it look attractive.


It is located in South London, more precisely the area of Vauxhall whose tube station is 500 m away from the ground. This explains why the ground has an end called the ‘Vauxhall end’. 

Despite some redevelopment, it still represents parts of the ancient English architecture which makes it special to the city and the sport.
This is where international cricket began for England. The inaugural Test match in England was played here in September 1880, resulting in England defeating Australia by five wickets, with the pioneer of batting and the outspoken WG Grace scoring a century on debut. Besides this is where a Test series in England traditionally ends every summer.

6) Old Trafford, Manchester (England)-

The ground’s name is the same as the football one which is the home ground to the popular club, Manchester United. But the cricket ground is different, as it is at a distance of five minutes. It was established as early as in 1857, but the first Test match played here was in 1884 between England and Australia.


Having a capacity of 19000, it is the third ground in the country of England to host the most number of Test matches, after Lords and the Oval since it has hosted as many as 73 Tests. 

The two ends of the ground are the Pavilion End to the north and the Brian Statham End (formerly the Warwick Road End) to the south, which is renamed in honour of the legendary Lancashire and England player. 

The section of Warwick Road at the back of this end is also known as Brian Statham Way. The Old Trafford Metrolink station is connected to the south-eastern part of the ground, making it easy for people to have access for entry.

7) The WACA, Perth (Australia)-

It is owned and operated by the Western Australian Cricket Association. Fascinatingly, the WACA was built on an old swamp land yet it has been the home to many sports which include AFL, rugby and football, but it is the most popular as a cricket ground.


It has a capacity of 22,000, although it can be raised to 24,500 with the use of temporary stands. All those people present on the ground would be the luckiest enough to witness ‘real’ fast bowling. 

The WACA is the most renowned for the fact that it has always been the fastest pitch in the world, as the quality of the pitch alongside the sea breeze called as Fremantle Doctor also helps fast bowlers in bringing out swing, even if the wicket has flattened out. This means that batsmen can be caught off guard any time on such a pitch.

8) Kensington Oval, Barbados (West Indies)-

Formerly known as the Pickwick Cricket Club, the Kensington Oval is a stadium situated in the west of the city Bridgetown which is the capital city of the island of Barbados. It has been existent since the last 130 years although the first Test match played here was between West Indies and England in January 1930.


After its reconstruction for the 2007 50-over World Cup, its seating capacity has been increased to 28,000. The names of the previous stands which made up the Kensington stadium were the George Challenor stand, the Hall and Griffith, the Kensington, the Mitchie Hewitt, the Pickwick, and the Three Ws stand plus the Peter Short Media Centre.

Alongside the WACA, the Kensington Oval was once upon a time said to have one of the fastest pitches in world cricket, so much so that it used to create shivers amongst many opposition batsmen when they came out to bat. 

9) The Wanderers, Johannesburg (South Africa)-

The BIDVest Wanderers Stadium is named so these days because this stadium too is privately owned, since sponsors were invited by Cricket South Africa for more finances. It is also known as the ‘Bull Ring’ because of its style of architecture which is like a ring and its nerve-racking atmosphere just as bull fighting in Spain. So, for opposition teams to win here is a massive achievement.


This is the third Test ground in Johannesburg after the Old Wanderers Stadium and Ellis Park. 

For over three quarters of a century, it has been the hub of Johannesburg’s sporting dreams, whether it is in the field of cricket or golf, which are the two sports which are played the most in the district of Illovo, where the club is based. Or tennis as well as squash for that matter.

10) Newlands, Cape Town (South Africa)-

Undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful grounds in the world. Newlands is what one can call ‘breathtaking’ with the view of the Table Mountain surrounding the stadium being magnificent. In sunshine, it looks as if one has landed in paradise to watch a game of cricket in relaxation as he sits down on one of the 25,000 white seats in the ground. 


While if cloudy, it becomes foggy but it remains a pretty view to the naked eye and the weather gets cooler, which makes it more fun to sit and watch the game.

Newlands is a buzzing area located in the suburbs of Cape Town. Right beside the cricket ground, there is a rugby ground which can sometimes be confusing for someone to determine the entry. Yet, once the ground is reached there are several entries and all of them adorn the posters of Cape Cobras, the team whose home ground is Newlands and have dominated South African domestic cricket since the last six years in almost all formats of the game.

Several great players have Newlands as their home ground such as Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Herschelle Gibbs.

 

 




 

from-www.cricketdawn.com


 

 


 

 

 

 

Friday, January 25, 2013

Ranbir Kapoor Filmfare Award for Best Actor and His Career Style

Ranbir Kapoor Received His First Filmfare Award For Best Actor For His Performance-

 

Rockstar and other works-

Ranbir adds wonderful layers to this seemingly simple fellow, and once again proves why he is his only competition." The film opened to critical acclaim, and was a major commercial success, earning INR175 crore (US$31.85 million) worldwide. The film was screened at the Busan International Film Festival, Marrakech International Film Festival and was chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars for the 85th Academy Awards.

Ranbir Kapoor
Born 28 September 1982 (age 30)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation Actor
Years active 2007–present
Parents Rishi Kapoor
Neetu Singh
 

Ranbir Kapoor (born 28 September 1982) is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films. Born to actors Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, Kapoor began his career by assisting director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and later made his acting debut with the director's 2007 film Saawariya for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. Kapoor later earned critical praise for his performances in Wake Up Sid, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, and Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year in 2009. These performances earned him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor, and he was later recognized for his role as an aspiring politician in the political thriller Raajneeti (2010).



 In 2012, Kapoor received his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in the Imtiaz Ali-directed drama Rockstar, and his second award for his portrayal of a deaf-mute man in Barfi! (2012), which emerged as his biggest commercial success till date. 

 Having done so, Kapoor has established himself as one of the leading contemporary actors of Hindi cinema.

 In 2012, Kapoor appeared in Anurag Basu's romantic comedy Barfi! alongside Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D'Cruz. Cast as Murphy "Barfi" Johnson, a deaf-mute boy, Kapoor received rave reviews for his performance, earning him his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor. 

Taran Adarsh notes that "Ranbir's facial expressions and body language is the hallmark of the enterprise. The critical complement I can award to Ranbir's act is that it is truly convincing, heartrending and intelligent, all rolled into one dazzling result."

As of September 2012 Kapoor is scheduled to appear in Ayan Mukerji's Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani alongside Deepika Padukone, Abhinav Kashyap's Besharam alongside Pallavi Sharda, and Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet opposite Anushka Sharma.

Filmography-





 Year                 Film                     Role                                                        Notes
2010 Raajneeti Samar Pratap Nominated–Filmfare Award for Best Actor
2010 Anjaana Anjaani Akash
2011 Chillar Party Himself Special appearance in song "Tai Tai Phish"
2011 Rockstar Janardan "Jordan" Jhakhar (JJ) Filmfare Award for Best Actor
Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor
2012 Barfi! Murphy / Barfi Filmfare Award for Best Actor
2013 Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani Bunny Post-production (Releasing on May 31, 2013)
2013 Besharam
Filming (Releasing on October 02, 2013)
2013 Bombay Velvet
Pre-production (Filming begins in April 2013)
2014 Imtiaz Ali's Untitled Next
Pre-production (Filming begins in September 2013)


While some of our actresses are busy making friends this season (read Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra), looks like the boys are better off sulking! We heard that at a recent awards event, Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor made it clear that they weren’t exactly the best of friends.

Sujoy Ghosh's Kahaani and Anurag Basu's Barfi struck big at the Filmfare Awards this year. Barfi was adjudged best film and got Ranbir Kapoor the 'best actor (male)' award while Vidya Balan bagged the 'best actor (female)' title for Kahaani that also won Sujoy Ghosh the best director prize.



The Filmfare Awards held on Sunday were a star-studded experience. 

 Amongst those attending the awards ceremony were Madhuri Dixit, Ranbir Kapoor, Vidya Balan, Sidharth Roy Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Boney Kapoor, Sridevi, Sonali Bendre, Goldie Behl, Deepika Padukone and Rekha.

Dashing and refined actor Ranbir Kapoor has once again repeated the history after winning the Best Actor award for his acclaimed film Barfi! 

at the 58th Idea Filmfare Awards, held in Mumbai.

The actor had previously won the 57th Idea Filmfare Awards in the same category for Rockstar movie. 
 
Not only Ranbir but actress Vidya Balan has also repeated her success just like the previous Filmfare Awards after winning the Best Actress category for Kahaani this time.







From- Wikipedia

Monday, January 21, 2013

Mohammad Hafeez known for his intelligent bating and his aggressive shot plays

Mohammad Hafeez

is currently ranked number two in the ICC ODI rankings for both bowlers and all-rounders

 

Mohammad Hafeez (born October 17, 1980 at Sargodha) is a Pakistani Test cricketer. He is a right-hand opening batsman and a right-arm offspin bowler. Hafeez usually opens the batting and forms part of bowling attack. He formed a great partnership with Nasir Jamshed against India, in which he scored 105. He is known for his intelligent bating but also aggressive shot plays when needed.

 In December 2012, during the tour of Pakistan cricket team in india in 2012-13, he came across as a very different and aggressive batsman and scored so brilliantly and briskely and helped Pakistan to win the first T20I and 2nd ODI with his heroics of brilliant batting and nearly chasing a mountain high target of 191 in the second T20I. 

His scores were 61 and 55 in first and second T20I respectively and scored 76 runs in the 2nd ODI and sharing an opening stand of 141 with Nasir Jamshed and also bowled brilliantly as always economically to help Pakistan win their first ODI series in india since 7 years. He is now considered to be the main allrounder of Pakistan Cricket team.

Mohammad Hafeez's Test centuries

Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year
[1] 102* 2  Bangladesh Peshawar, Pakistan Arbab Niaz Stadium 2003
[2] 104 7  West Indies Karachi, Pakistan National Stadium 2006
[3] 119 18  Zimbabwe Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Queens Sports Club 2011
[4] 143 22  Bangladesh Chittagong, Bangladesh Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 2011
[5] 196 27  Sri Lanka Colombo, Sri lanka Sinhalese Sports Club Ground 2012


Personal information
Full name Mohammad Hafeez Cheena
Born 17 October 1980 (age 32)
Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan
Nickname Professor, Cheena
Height 5 ft 8.5 in (1.74 m)
Batting style Right-handed Opening Batsman
Bowling style Right-arm Off Spin
International information
National side Pakistan
Test debut (cap 173) 20 August 2003 v Bangladesh
Last Test 30 June-4 July 2012 v Sri Lanka
ODI debut (cap 144) 3 April 2003 v Zimbabwe
Last ODI 18 June 2012 v Sri Lanka
ODI shirt no. 8
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODIs FC LA
Matches 29 107 160 195
Runs scored 2034 2925 9,294 6,197
Batting average 38.41 26.90 35.47 33.31
100s/50s 5/8 12/50 20/44 9/38
Top score 196 46* 196 139
Balls bowled 2498 2819 12,292 8,653
Wickets 9 96 199 177
Bowling average 35.00 32.00 27.38 32.97
5 wickets in innings
0 6 0
10 wickets in match
0 2 n/a
Best bowling 4/31 3/17 8/57 4/23
Catches/stumpings 79/- 49/- 137/- 78/-

 Against India on March 18, 2012 in Bangladesh at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur at the 2012 Asia Cup, he scored 105 off 113 balls and was involved in a 224 run partnership with Nasir Jamshed, which is the best opening partnership for Pakistan against India in one day internationals. 

They eclipsed Aamer Sohail and Saeed Anwar's record of 144 runs which was made in 1996. He made his 4th ODI century in March 2012 against Bangladesh at Dhaka. 

 

He also made his highest test score of 196 against Sri Lanka in the second Test at Colombo in June 2012. He is currently (2012) ranked number two in the ICC ODI rankings for both bowlers and all-rounders.

Mohammad Hafeez's One Day International centuries

Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year
[1] 115 61  New Zealand Christchurch, New Zealand AMI Stadium 2011
[2] 121 76  West Indies Barbados, West Indies Kensington Oval 2011
[3] 139* 81  Zimbabwe Harare, Zimbabwe Harare Sports Club 2011
[4] 105 98  India Mirpur Thana, Bangladesh Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium 2012

 

 

 

From -Wikipedia

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Saeed Ajmal Effective Doosra and Other Varieties Best Spinner In Modern World Cricket

Saeed Ajmal Frequently Uses The Doosra Which Turns The Other Way and He Generally Bowls Flatter Than Most Off Spinners-


Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal dominated the first ever annual awards held by the Pakistan cricket board, scooping up four awards, while T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez won the PCB cricketer of the year award.

Saeed, who had a successful tour of India recently, won the PCB best bowler awards for all three formats of the game but missed out on the prestigious cricketer of the year award.

He, however, won a special prize for best bowler of the year from the PCB carrying a cash prize of 1.5 million rupees.

Pakistan started 2012 with a three Test series against England in the United Arab Emirates. Ajmal was named the man of the match for the first Test in Dubai, with match figures of 10 wickets for 97 runs and a career best 7/55 in England's first innings. In the second fixture he dismissed Matt Prior to become the fastest Pakistani bowler to reach 100 wickets in Tests, taking 19 matches to accomplish the feat. The series concluded with Pakistan completing a 3-0 whitewash over England, and Ajmal was named man of the series after claiming 24 wickets at an average of 14.70.

Saeed Ajmal
سعید اجمل
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Personal information
Full name Saeed Ajmal
Born 14 October 1977 (age 35)
Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan
Nickname Saeed Bhai
Batting style Right-handed
Bowling style Right-arm off break
Role Bowler
International information
National side Pakistan
Test debut (cap 195) 4 July 2009 v Sri Lanka
Last Test 3 February 2012 v England
ODI debut (cap 171) 2 July 2008 v India
Last ODI 6 January 2013 against India {{{lastodiyear}}} v India
Domestic team information
Years Team
2009–present Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd
1996–present Faisalabad
2000–07 Khan Research Laboratories
2001–02 Islamabad
2011 Worcestershire
2012 Dhaka Gladiators
2012–present Adelaide Strikers
2013 Barisal Burners
2005-Present Faisalabad Wolves
2013-present Hampshire
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI T20I FC
Matches 23 74 48 112
Runs scored 250 211 63 1,250
Batting average 10.86 8.79 9.00 12.05
100s/50s /1 0/0 0/0 0/3
Top score 50 33 21* 53
Balls bowled 7,481 3,668 1,068 24,854
Wickets 122 117 69 423
Bowling average 27.09 23.27 15.82 26.71
5 wickets in innings 6 2 n/a 27
10 wickets in match 2 n/a n/a 3
Best bowling 7/55 5/24 4/19 7/55
Catches/stumpings 8/– 12/– 6/– 36/–
Source: ESPNCricinfo, 15 September 2012

Saeed Ajmal (Punjabi, Urdu: سعید اجمل‎; born 14 October 1977) is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-arm off-spin bowler who bats right handed. With his effective doosra and other varieties he is also considered as the best spinner in modern world cricket.


Since November 2011, Ajmal has been ranked by the International Cricket Council as the number one bowler in ODIs. He is also ranked number one among bowlers in T20, while his current ICC test bowler ranking is number 3.


On 28 January 2012, in his 20th Test, Ajmal became the quickest Pakistani to take 100 test wickets. Saeed Ajmal also holds the record for taking maximum wickets(69) in Twenty20 International cricket.
Ajmal was signed by Adelaide Strikers as cover for Keiron Pollard, the West Indies allrounder, for 2012-13 edition of the Big Bash League in Australia.

After the controversy and upheaval of 2010, 2011 saw Pakistan become a more consistent team. The year began with the World Cup held between February and April. Pakistan progressed to the semi-final, where they were defeated by India; playing in three of the team's matches, Ajmal took five wickets at an average of 18.60. 

After the World Cup, Pakistan played ten Tests, winning six andlosing a single match; this saw the team win series against Bangladesh, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and draw with the West Indies. Ajmal finished the year with 50 wickets from 8 Tests.

Bowling style-


A right-arm off spinner, Ajmal's stock delivery turns into right-handed batsman but he also frequently uses the doosra which turns the other way, and he generally bowls flatter than most off spinners. The doosra has been an effective tool for Ajmal as batsmen have often failed to pick it. 


Explaining his bowling style in 2012, Ajmal said "If I bowl with flight I cannot bowl well. If I bowl at a quicker speed I can then use variations in pace. If I take 70% of my wickets with the doosra why should I not bowl it? Whether you bowl a doosra or an offbreak, the ball should be bowled on the right line and one should take a wicket with it."

Offspinner Saeed Ajmal swept four trophies in the Pakistan Cricket Board's first ever awards ceremony on Saturday, 12 January 2013.

Ajmal, who missed out on the International Cricket Council's awards last year, was judged best bowler in tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20s. He also received a special prize for the best bowler of 2012.

Ajmal said on Saturday, "it is out of this world" for him to be named as the best "from such a special group."

Pakistan ODI captain Mohammad Hafeez was named player of the year; Azhar Ali picked as test player of the year and left-handed opening batsman Nasir Jamshed was chosen best ODI batsman.







From -Wikipedia