While the year 2011 is still fresh in our minds, I would like to share what I think were the best moments in the cricketing year of 2011.

 

( Author: Qasim Anwar )

 

Following moments are without any order or ranking:

 

 

      India’s World Cup win after a gap of 28 years:

After a  long time we witness another team winning the cup besides Australia. Beside West Indies India has become second team to win two World cup titles.

Date: April 02, 2011

Match (Final): India v Sri Lanka

Result: India won by 6 wickets.

 

 

 

 

      Lap of honour for Sachin:

Sachin Tendulkar dream this year was to win the world cup his teammates paid their ultimate tribute to him by walkinh him around the Mumbai cricket stadium. “Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It was time we carried him.” Virat Kohli said.

Date: April 02, 2011

Match (Final): India v Sri Lanka

Result: India won by 6 wickets.

 

 

 

      Muttiah Muralitharan final ovation:

After Sri Lanka beat New Zealand in the semi final of the world cup 2011 before going to India to play the final. The crowd in Colombo gave Murali a standing ovation and he was carried around the stadium also around his team mates shoulders. As this was murali last game in Sri Lanka before he retire.

Date: March 29, 2011

Match (1st Semi-Final): New Zealand v Sri Lanka

Result: Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      India-Pakistan semi-final match:

When ever these two team collide every one is glued to it. The middle master stole the show here and took his team to final.  He scored 85 runs and was  named Man of the Match. With a 29-run win, India maintained their 100 per cent winning record against their arch-rivals in the World Cup.

Date: March 30, 2011

Match (2nd Semi-Final): India v Pakistan

Result: India won by 29 runs.

 

      Ireland defeat England in World Cup:

Batting first England scored 328 runs. Kevin O’Brien turned England’s fortune on its head with his blitzing century. He scored 113 of 63 balls, which is also the fastest century in the World Cup history.

Date: March 02, 2011

Match (no.15 in WC): England v Ireland

Result: Ireland won by 3 wickets.

 

 

      South Africa bowl out Australia for 47:

South African pace trio of Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn bowled out Aussies for a paltry 47 runs on Day 2 of the first Test match in Cape Town and this fury followed after the hosts were shot out for 96 runs in their first innings. Such great contests certainly are like shot in the arm for Test cricket.

Date: November 9-11, 2011

Match (1st Test): South Africa v Australia

Result: South Africa won by 8 wickets.

 

      Zimbabwe make a Test return after a six-year:

They have made a successful return to Test cricket after a 6-year ban with an  impressive 264 for two against Bangladesh on the first day of a one-off Test at the Harare Sports Club and went on to win the match on Day 5 by 130 runs.

Date: August 4-8, 2011

Match (Only Test): Zimbabwe v Bangladesh

Result: Zimbabwe won by 130 runs.

 

 

      England’s Ashes win in Australia after 24 years:

England claimed their first Ashes series in Australia after 24 years, with their 3rd innings victory over the home team in the final Sydney Test. England clinched the series 3-1.

Date: January 3-7, 2011

Match (5th Test/The Ashes): Australia v England

Result: England won by an innings and 83 runs.

 

 

      Rahul Dravid completes 13,000 Test runs:

During the Test series against the West Indies at home, Dravid became the second cricketer in the world to complete 13,000 runs in Test cricket.

Date: November 22-26, 2011

Match (3rd Test): India v West Indies

Result: Match Drawn.

 

 

      Virender Sehwag scored double-century in ODI:

Sehwag broke the world record of master blaster Sachin by scoring 219 runs off 149 balls at Indore. He hit 25 FOURS & 7 SIXES during his innings.

Date: December 8, 2011

Match (4th ODI): India v West Indies

Result: India won by 153 runs.

 

 

 

 

      Shane Watson smashed record for most sixes in an ODI match:

Shane Watson hit a record 15 sixes in his innings of uneaten 185 runs to guide Australia to a series-clinching nine-wicket win over Bangladesh in Mirpur.

Date: April 11, 2011

Match (2nd ODI): Bangladesh v Australia

Result: Australia won by 9 wickets.

 

 

 

      Shahid Afridi single handily beat Sri Lanka:

Afridi gave the cricketing world another Sharjah classic, When he scores 75 runs of 65  to set 201 target and takes a 5 wicket haul to win the match for Pakistan.

Date: November 20, 2011

Match (4th ODI): Pakistan v Sri Lanka

Result: Pakistan won by 26 runs.

Colombo: The ICC has announced the match schedule and also unveiled the event logo of the tournament which will be staged from 18 September to 7 October next year.

 

 

ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat said: “The ICC World Twenty20 has become a marquee event. I am pretty confident that Sri Lanka has got the experience to deliver another world-class event. The culture and diversity that comes with Sri Lanka is superb. I know it is a very popular destination for many tourists which convinces me that next year, you will see many foreign people coming to witness this tournament,”

 

If everything goes according to pre-tournament seedings then Pakistan and India will lock horns in a Super Eight match in Colombo on Sunday, 30 September.

 

Mr. Lorgat further said: “Whenever India plays Pakistan, all the fans become very attentive. People start watching with great interest. If it works according to those seedings, then that match will be a great reminder of the fine final in the inaugural event in Johannesburg.”

 

ICC World Twenty20 2012 Groups

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
England (A1)	Australia (B1)	Sri Lanka (C1)	Pakistan (D1)
India (A2)	West Indies (B2)	South Africa (C2)	New Zealand (D2)
Qualifier 2	Qualifier 1	Zimbabwe	Bangladesh

 

*If a team ranked third in the starting groups qualifies for the Super Eight, it will adopt the seeding code of the team they have replaced – e.g. if Q2 qualify at England’s expense in second place after the group stage, they would be A1 and India still A2.

 

Super Eight (S8) Groups

Group 1	Group 2
A1	A2
B2	B1
C1	C2
D2	D1

 

Schedule of ‘ICC World Twenty20 2012′

Day	Date	Time	Fixture	Venue
Group Stage
Tuesday	September 18, 2012	19:30 (local) | 14:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (AST)	Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe	Mahinda Rajapaksha International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota
Wednesday	September 19, 2012	15:30 (local) | 10:00 (GMT) | 13:00 (AST)	Australia v Q1	R.Premadasa Stadium
Wednesday	September 19, 2012	19:30 (local) | 14:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (AST)	India v Q2	R.Premadasa Stadium
Thursday	September 20, 2012	19:30 (local) | 14:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (AST)	South Africa v Zimbabwe	Mahinda Rajapaksha International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota
Friday	September 21, 2012	15:30 (local) | 10:00 (GMT) | 13:00 (AST)	New Zealand v Bangladesh	Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Friday	September 21, 2012	19:30 (local) | 14:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (AST)	England v Q2	R.Premadasa Stadium
Saturday	September 22, 2012	15:30 (local) | 10:00 (GMT) | 13:00 (AST)	Sri Lanka v South Africa	Mahinda Rajapaksha International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota
Saturday	September 22, 2012	19:30 (local) | 14:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (AST)	Australia v West Indies	R.Premadasa Stadium
Sunday	September 23, 2012	15:30 (local) | 10:00 (GMT) | 13:00 (AST)	Pakistan v New Zealand	Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Sunday	September 23, 2012	19:30 (local) | 14:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (AST)	England v India	R.Premadasa Stadium
Monday	September 24, 2012	19:30 (local) | 14:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (AST)	West Indies v Q1	R.Premadasa Stadium
Tuesday	September 25, 2012	19:30 (local) | 14:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (AST)	Pakistan v Bangladesh	Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Super 8 Round
Thursday	September 27, 2012	15:30 (local) | 10:00 (GMT) | 13:00 (AST)	C1 v D2	Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Thursday	September 27, 2012	19:30 (local) | 14:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (AST)	A1 v B2	Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Friday	September 28, 2012	15:30 (local) | 10:00 (GMT) | 13:00 (AST)	D1 v C2	R.Premadasa Stadium
Friday	September 28, 2012	19:30 (local) | 14:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (AST)	B1 v A2	R.Premadasa Stadium
Saturday	September 29, 2012	15:30 (local) | 10:00 (GMT) | 13:00 (AST)	A1 v D2	Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Saturday	September 29, 2012	19:30 (local) | 14:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (AST)	C1 v B2	Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Sunday	September 30, 2012	15:30 (local) | 10:00 (GMT) | 13:00 (AST)	B1 v C2	R.Premadasa Stadium
Sunday	September 30, 2012	19:30 (local) | 14:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (AST)	D1 v A2	R.Premadasa Stadium
Monday	October 01, 2012	15:30 (local) | 10:00 (GMT) | 13:00 (AST)	B2 v D2	Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Monday	October 01, 2012	19:30 (local) | 14:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (AST)	A1 v C1	Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Tuesday	October 02, 2012	15:30 (local) | 10:00 (GMT) | 13:00 (AST)	B1 v D1	R.Premadasa Stadium
Tuesday	October 02, 2012	19:30 (local) | 14:00 (GMT) | 17:00 (AST)	A2 v C2	R.Premadasa Stadium
Semi-Finals
Thursday	October 04, 2012	18:30 (local) | 13:30 (GMT) | 16:00 (AST)	SF 1 : Super 8 'Group-1' 1 v Super 8 'Group-2' 2	R.Premadasa Stadium
Friday	October 05, 2012	18:30 (local) | 13:30 (GMT) | 16:00 (AST)	SF 2 : Super 8 'Group-2' 1 v Super 8 'Group-1' 2	R.Premadasa Stadium
Final
Sunday	October 07, 2012	18:30 (local) | 13:30 (GMT) | 16:00 (AST)	SF 1 Winner v SF 2 Winner	R.Premadasa Stadium

 

Note: Click here if you want to download the schedule.

Nairobi: Squads for ‘East Africa Cricket Competition’ were announced on Wednesday. 6 teams of different regions will participate. The competition will start from August 20, 2011.

 

Four teams from Kenya will participate, the Nairobi Buffaloes, Kongonis both based in the capital, the Rift Valley Rhinos from Nakuru and Coast Pekee in Mombasa, while Rwenzori Warriors and Nile Knights will represent Uganda.

 

Squads

 

Kongonis (Kenya):

Kennedy Obuya (Player Coach),  Alex Obanda (Captain), Seren Waters, Duncan Allan, Ken Owino, Dominic Wesonga, Shem Obado, Elijah Otieno, Rajesh Bhudiya, Emmanuel Bundi, Martin Okoth, Rakep Patel, Amit Shukla,BP Odinga, Chris Childs, Nick Oluoch, Dharmendra Gondaria, Ben Oluga, Paramveer Singh, Henry Rudd.

 

Nairobi Buffaloes (Kenya):

Lameck Onyango (Player Coach), Collins Obuya (Captain), Irfan Karim, Mansukh Jasani,
Raj Savala, Runish Gudka, Karan Kaul, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Alfred Luseno, Rajesh Varsani,
Samarth Patel, Rushab Patel, Harsh Patel, Nishil Mandani, Rahul Vishram, Gagandeep Singh, Rikesh Hirani, Gurmanjot Singh, Ragheb Aga, Narendra Kerai.

 

Coast Pekee (Kenya):

Francis Otieno (Player Coach), Morris Ouma (Captain), Peter Kituku, Manoj Patel, Vinit Shikotra, James Ngoche,Lucas Oluoch, Kunal Bhundia, Mohit Dhutia, Jignesh Hirani, Sagar Karia, Paresh Patel, Raj Shikotra, Vishal Shikotra, Taaha Salemanjee, Rajiv Sutaria, Siddanth Taneja, Bhavya Thaker, Josephat Ababu, Tarandeep Singh

 

Rift Valley Rhinos (Kenya):

Joseph Angara (Player Coach), Hiren Varaiya (Captain), David Obuya, Jimmy Kamande, Nelson Odhiambo, Joseph Onyango, Diryang Patel, Dalveer Hunja, Patel Ketan Kumar, Amit Patel, Yash Shah, Luke Nightingale, Armandeep Singh, Anil Patel, Saheel Myhal, Mitesh Sanghani, Ebrahim Okello, Ramesh Mepani, Rajesh Khetiya, Harrison Ambani.

 

Nile Knights (Uganda):

Davis Arinaitwe (capt), Arthur Kyobe, Frank Nsubuga, Almuzahim Saleh, Benjamin Musoke, Deusdedit Muhumuza, Jigar Patel, Daniel Ruyange, Dennis Tabby, Asadu Seiga, Sarfaraz Chunara, Fred Isabirye, Arthur Ziraba, Raymond Otim, Moses Otiti, Timothy Erumuka, Denis Musali, Nicholas Kebba, Abdulhamid Sulieman, Ivan Baidhu, Nehal Bibodi, Ankit Patel. Coach: Martin Suji.

 

Rwenzori Warriors (Uganda):

Lawrence Ssematimba (capt), Roger Mukasa, Ronald Ssemanda, Ivan Thawithemwire, Simon Ssesazi, Ali Raza, Martin Ondeko, Mohammed Shafeek, Abraham Alema, Narinder Singh, Abdullah Lubega, Brian Masaba, Shehzad Kamal, Henry Ssenyondo, Charles Waiswa, Jonathan Sebanja, Arnold Otwani, Akbar Baig, Irishad Suleiman, Abu Seguya, Ivan Kakande, David Musoke. Coach: Henry Okecho.

Nairobi: Cricket Kenya has launched new regional franchise competitions in Twenty20 and 50 over cricket.

 

The East Africa Premier League and East African Cup commence on 20^th August and will feature six newly constituted teams from Kenya and Uganda playing in a round robin league format.The top two teams in each competition will compete in live televised finals at the end of October.

 

The competitions are designed to improve the standard of domestic cricket in the region, develop more players capable of playing at international level and stimulate interest in the game throughout East Africa.

 

Four teams from Kenya will participate, the Nairobi Buffaloes, Kongonis both based in the capital, the Rift Valley Rhinos from Nakuru and Coast Pekee in Mombasa, while Rwenzori Warriors and Nile Knights will represent Uganda. Teams will be comprised of international players, senior club players and age group cricketers aiming to make the national squads of both countries.

 

Cricket Kenya has agreed a broadcast deal with Super sport who will televise a number of live matches throughout Africa as well as a regular highlights and magazine programme.

 

Cricket Kenya Chief Executive Tom Sears said: ‘This is a hugely exciting development for cricket in the region, one which we hope will improve playing standards and ignite a real interest and passion for the game throughout the region.

 

‘We hope by concentrating the pool of talent we have into a smaller number of teams playing highly competitive cricket, the fortunes of our national teams will improve over time and lower down, in domestic and age group cricket, standards will improve as players strive to make one of the franchise teams.

 

‘There has already been significant interest in the East Africa Premier League and East African Cup from both the cricket and corporate worlds and we believe once the competition commences this will grow and continue to grow in future years.’

 

Bipin Vora, Chairman of the East African Cricket Competitions Committee said: ‘These new competitions have to potential to take the sport of cricket to new levels in our region. We hope they will inspire our players to new heights, encourage players of all ages to achieve their full potential and encourage more people throughout Kenya and Uganda to get involved in this great sport.

 

‘Never before has domestic cricket enjoyed such attention and high profile and we are very grateful for all the support we have received from our broadcast and commercial partners. We firmly believe that these competitions will gather real momentum and attract more investment which will benefit cricket right from the grass roots all the way up to international level.’

Irfan Pathan, once considered the biggest thing to happen in all round department after Kapil Dev is nowhere to be seen in Indian cricket. But where is Irfan these days ?

 

 

 

Last time he ever appeared playing was in the Indian Premier League . He has been out of the team since 2009 . He has had his share of injuries and went through a tough rehabilitation during this period. He had procedures in Australia and was working at NCA , he opted not to play in Domestic Season and went through with the rehabilitation. His stint in this years IPL wasnt impressive either.

 

Seeing Stuart Broad do so well with both bat and bowl against India in the on-going test series India have no all-rounder to reply with , Irfan being the only pace bowling all-rounder is out of favor and sights of the national selectors. I have been going through lot of tweets and have found ” Why not Irfan ? Where is Irfan ? ” tweeted at experts hundreds of times.

 

Swing bowling legend Wasim Akram feels BCCI should give Irfan a chance to prove himself rather than seeing his stats in domestic cricket , ” Irfan needs to lift his confidence and that will bring back the swing ” says Akram .

 

English conditions would have been perfect for Irfan to make a comeback seeing the return of Stuart Broad and the lack of runs from Indian tail in the last 5 innings .

 

He was recently approached by Leicestershire to play in Pro40s and t20s but BCCI refused to give clearance .

 

Irfan has a domestic season coming ahead and he must be looking forward to it. Hopefully he can regain his spot as the team is badly in need of a Pace bowling all-rounder.

Nairobi: Cricket Kenya has announced the launch of all-inclusive Women Cricket League in the county. The league, which gets underway on Sunday in Nairobi, will involve all the girls that have been playing the game in the country for years.

 

Four teams, Chania Sharks, Athi Mambas, Tana Dolphis and Yala Whales will battle in both the Twenty20 formats in the league that will be played in Nairobi and Nakuru town.

 

The league, the first of its kind in the country gets underway with Chania Sharks captained by Margaret Banja taking on Pearlne Omamo’s Yala Whales at Ruaraka Sports Club in the early morning match.

 

Emily Ruto’s Tana Dolphins will later on battle it out with Athi Mambas in the afternoon match. Athi Mambas is being captained by all rounder Sarah Bhakita.

 

The league, which comes weeks after the end of the National Secondary School League that was won by Rift Valley Development XI, is the best placed event for the players ahead of the Africa Twenty20 tournament to be held in December.

 

Coach Dun Okinyo said the development was good news to the girls who for years have been left in the shadows of men.

 

“Its good news. I can’t wait to see these girls fighting it out against each other for the next four months. I expect to see good cricket from this girls,” said Okinyo.

 

Ruto who is also the national team captain said the league will give them a lot of practice and at the same time help in exposing the young players.

 

“It is an important event for us. It has come at a good time and it will definitely be a good way to assess where we are as a country as far as women cricket is concerned in the country. We expect to see new players coming up which will be a good thing for us,” she said.

 

Omamo expressed her excitement with the new development and vowed to lead the young players by example. She is the most successful player in the team with two international half tons and two in the NPCA league they were playing against the men’s sides.

 

“I am very excited that finally we have our own league. It has been tough playing men. I am happy now we will have our own league to look at and make sure the upcoming players enjoy it and strive to succeed,” said Omamo.

 

Both Banja and Bhakita believe the quality of the league will be good as each player especially the seniors players will always try to outdo each other.

 

“The squads are balanced and all players want to make a mark. We will be under pressure to perform and that will be good as one will always be forced to do well and in the end have positive results,” Banja said.

 

We are looking at this league to get us new players. We have seen what some of them can offer in the school league and we are sure they will shine,” Bhakita.

 

After the T20 matches which will run for two months, the league will move to the 40-40.