CRICKET: NEW PLOT READY IN NEW YORK....

India and Australia may play ODI series in New York.

January 21, 2007
Australia and India could meet in a one-day series in North America this year with New York and Toronto shaping as the likely venues. But player workloads and the suitability of grounds mean the planned venture is no certainty, according to Cricket Australia.
Michael Brown, CA's operations manager, said India had approached Australia with a proposal for the limited-overs series. "You never say never but details at this stage are sketchy," Brown told The Sunday Mail.
Another possible stumbling block in the negotiations could be wrangling over the percentage of revenues to be shared between the two boards, with Australia reportedly demanding an equal share and the Indians demurring. Australia's tight schedule features a trip to Zimbabwe in June, between the World Cup in March and April and the Twenty20 world championship in September.
"There is also the issue of player leave," Brown said. "So there are a few things to consider. India wanted to hold a tournament similar to the one we had in Kuala Lumpur."
A bilateral contest between India and the world's number one team is aimed at capitalising on India's lucrative pay television market, with each of the planned seven games expected to generate up to $6 million. A triangular contest would mean lesser returns for each participant and the possibility of a relative lack of viewer interest if India fails to reach the finals, as happened in the DLF Cup in Malaysia in October. The BCCI reportedly sold the offshore television rights for each game in the series that featured India for $US5.8m but had to offload the Australia-West Indies matches for only $US1.2m.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that India held the upper hand in negotiations as other nations would jump at the opportunity should Australia pass up the chance. But it also suggested the Indian board was desperate to play Australia if they hoped to raise $42 million from the series.
It's believed an indoor NFL stadium in New York would host the games, meaning the matches would be played on a synthetic pitch. But Brown had his own doubts. "I'm not even sure whether they would have a suitable ground in New York," he said.

India won the frist one-day at nagpur.

'Ganguly set up the game for us' - Dravid
January 21, 2007
Once the trumpeting and jubilation of India's triumph dies down one can actually sit down to ask what does this victory mean? Several answers may emerge but one among them may be a succinct "not much". Of course it's good to get back into the habit of winning and it's great for the batsmen to find their touch but winning on such a pitch, tailor-made for a batting party, can't eliminate cracks that have appeared recently.
India have yet to find the fifth-bowler solution - Sachin Tendulkar did a fair job today by conceding just, yes in the context of the game, just 5.4 per over. "He did a good job for us," said Rahul Dravid, "but we're always looking at options. Ganguly couldn't bowl today because of suffering a slight cramp but he's been bowling well at the nets and can be a handy operator on these pitches. It was always going to be difficult on this pitch but considering the conditions, I thought we did OK."
One can't blame the players too much; they can only play on the surfaces that are offered. Brian Lara looked at the upside, talking about how such pitches provide for such great entertainment. "The 50-over game is about batsmen since the time it was invented," he responded. "There was nothing wrong with the pitch. The curator said there would be more than 300 and that was how it turned out. At the end of the day, we are entertainers and we hope the pitches in the Caribbean are like this in the World Cup so that everyone will be able to enjoy the games."
Dravid didn't think that such a high-scoring clashes would be the order of the series. "The pitches won't be playing like this throughout the series," felt Dravid. "Nagpur has always been a very good pitch for batting. The last time we played at Cuttack, the pitch was slow and tricky. Chennai being a day-night game, we'll have to take the dew factor into account. And Baroda usually helps the bowlers early on. So we're playing in different zones and things maybe different."
What India must be credited with, though, is to cash in on such a good pitch, none more so that Ganguly, who made a splendid return. "When people score runs, it solves a lot of problems for us," said Dravid about the importance of Ganguly's knock. "It's important for our key players to score runs. It was a very good innings, especially because he was coming back after a long time. It's a great sign and he stayed at the wicket and set up the game for us."
Lara seconded the judgement. "Unfortunately Ganguly didn't get a hundred," he said. "He's a player of high class and you expect performances like that. We know he's eager to get back and you got to give him credit. He's mentally strong and to come back and do well shows he's very capable. Batting out there he showed how eager he was."
It's tough to overshadow the sort of innings that Ganguly played but Shivnarine Chanderpaul did just that. Dravid admitted to be nervous towards the latter stages, adding that Chanderpaul's presence was always going to be crucial. "We knew we had the game in control but when you have a batsman who plays as well as he was, you never know. It was one of the better innings I have seen while chasing, especially in India."

Cricket: Shane Warne 700 wickets

Yet another era in international cricket is about to end with the retirement of Australian leg spinner Shane Warne at the completion of the current Ashes series.
He was deservingly the first bowler to reach the 600-wickets and 700-wickets milestone in Test cricket, celebrating in style with the 37th five-wicket haul of his career as England folded cheaply on the first day of the Melbourne Ashes Test.
There have been several spinners who have attracted attention over the past decade but for consistency and longevity none can match Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. Both have been controversial in different ways.
Any cloud surrounding Shane Warne has been related primarily to his life off the field, the most significant event being his one- year ban after failing a drug test just prior to the 2003 World Cup.
Some elements of his personal and family life have also attracted attention but after his retirement at the end of the Ashes series, Shane Warne will hopefully only be remembered for his tantalising leg spin bowling that has bamboozled batsmen at all levels for more than a decade.

Shane Warne quietly entered the Test arena against India at Sydney on 2 January, 1992.
The retirement of Warne opens the door for Stuart MacGill to resume his stuttered Test career.
MacGill has played 14 of his 40 Tests against the West Indies and has enjoyed Caribbean conditions more than his more celebrated countryman.
While it must be reassuring for the Aussies to have such a competent replacement for Shane Warne, the champion leg spinner’s unique personality and enthusiasm will be sorely missed.