McGrath desperate to finish on a high

Glenn McGrath has been there and done that in his decade-and-a-half at the top, but as he embarks on the final chapter of his mighty career he has one final goal in mind. The man who bowed out in January as the leading fast bowler in Test history, with 563 scalps, is now aiming to overhaul Wasim Akram as the most successful bowler in World Cup history.

Australia begin their World Cup defence against Scotland at the picturesque Warner Park in St Kitts on Wednesday, and McGrath was in a familiarly laid-back mood as he set out his wish-list for his international swansong. "I noticed I'm No. 2 in World Cup wickets," he said during Australia's final practice session. "Wasim, who I think was one of the best bowlers of all time, is on top with 55 so it would be nice to get a couple in front by the end of the tournament."

McGrath is currently on 45, a haul spread over three tournaments since 1995-96, in which time Australia has lost just four matches out of 28 and never failed to reach the final. McGrath has yet to miss a match, although at the age of 37, and now often deprived of his beloved new ball, his record could yet come under scrutiny in the weeks ahead, especially if Australia fail to arrest their recent run of five consecutive ODI defeats.

Naturally, McGrath would not countenance such a notion, and cited Australia's five-wicket warm-up win over England at St Vincent last week as evidence that his side was returning to its best. "That was back to business as usual," he said, "so hopefully we'll continue from there. Personally, my body's going real good. I've never felt better and the mind's hanging in there as well. I've got seven weeks to play some good cricket and then I'll hang up the boots very comfortably."

Google India announces Cricket World Cup Campaign, joins hands with K. Srikkanth

With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 kicking off in just a few hours, all eyes around the world will be glued onto their television sets. But here’s one reason why you could perhaps head to your PC instead.

Google India has announced its Cricket World Cup Campaign that offers cricket enthusiasts an interactive experience via the web.

With this exciting initiative, users can write, share, debate about and enjoy the Cricket World Cup through an integrated platform of Google products like Google Desktop, personalized homepage, Blogger and Orkut through a special landing page, www.google.co.in/cricket. The platform aims to be a one-stop shop for all information related to the World Cup, enabling visitors to access regular updates, post individual comments and analysis of the game.

Speaking about this, Sundaraman K, Head of Sales, Google India said, “Google aims to constantly improve its users experience by designing products that make things easier and deliver better results than what was available before. Cricket is one of the key passions of users in India and this campaign is designed to bring people across communities together, offering them a unique cricket experience across different Google platforms.”

What’s more, cricketer and commentator, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, will host an expert blog ‘Cricket Zone’ with Krish Srikkanth’ at www.worldcupwithkrish.blogspot.com. Through this blog, users will be able to interact with cricket experts as well as other bloggers on the performance of the various teams and engage in match analysis among other interactive sessions. Krish will also bring expert content to an interactive social networking experience through Orkut, on Krishcricket community.

As a part of this initiative, Google is also hosting a blogging cricket contest, entries for which can be submitted at www.google.co.in/cricket/contest. This will include posts on anything from on-the-ground reporting from West Indies to viewers’ opinions on the progress of the various teams at the World Cup. Both existing and new users will get a chance to participate in the contest.

In addition, Google will also have a fully equipped Blogger vehicle that will visit Bhopal, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, educating people on the use of Internet and blogging for self-expression. This educational road show will take off on March 19, 2007 from Chandigarh.

Well, cricket is a religion in India. Several big companies have even designed games and various cricket-related products and services to further induce the spirit if the game in the country, such as Microsoft’s Xbox 360 ‘Good Luck India’ Campaign and the ‘Yuvraj Singh International Cricket 2007’ - Xbox 360 Game, to name a few.

India squad for the World Cup

 

 

 

Rahul Dravid (captain), 32. Right-hand batsman. occasional wicketkeeper. 310 matches. 10,044 runs @ 40.01, 12 centuries, 77 fifties, strike rate 70.75. 183 catches, 14 stumpings.

Technically accomplished and rated among the finest number three batsmen ever.

His defensive approach was initially seen as not suited for one-dayers until he took over as wicket-keeper and added steel to the middle-order to help India reach the 2003 World Cup final.

In February, became only the sixth player to score 10,000 one-day runs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sachin Tendulkar , 33 (birthday April 24). Right-hand batsman, right-arm spin and slow-medium bowler. 381 matches. 14,783 @ 44.12, 41 centuries, 76 fifties, 85.65. 147 @ 44.02, 5/32, 5.05, 52.27. 115 catches.

All-time great batsman who has broken many batting records since bursting into the international scene as a 16-year-old in 1989.

Holds the records for most one-day caps, runs and hundreds and most Test hundreds (35).

Leading World Cup run-getter with 1,732 runs at an average of nearly 60, including four hundreds.

Many injuries in the last seven years from the wear and tear of constant playing have slowed his scoring.

Has moved down the batting order to boost the middle-order.

 

 

 

 

 

Sourav Ganguly , 34. Left-hand batsman, right-arm slow-medium bowler. 286 matches. 10,470 @ 41.22, 22 centuries, 64 fifties, 73.94. 94 @ 37.37, 5/16, 5.05, 44.37. 98 catches.

Gifted off-side player, discarded after one ODI on debut as a teenager in Australia in 1991-2 but made hundreds in his first two tests on comeback in 1996.

Has a record 16 century opening partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar, with his 22 hundreds third in the all-time list.

India's most successful test captain, was sacked as one-day player in October 2005 and from Tests four months later but made a strong comeback in the South Africa Test series defeat and subsequent home one-day series wins over West Indies and Sri Lanka.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robin Uthappa , 21. Right-hand batsman. 8 matches. 255 @ 36.42, 3 fifties, 114.34.

Well-built and explosive top-order batsman who blasted a match-winning 86 on one-day debut versus England in April 2006.

Hit two more breezy 50s during the recent home one-day series wins over West Indies and Sri Lanka.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yuvraj Singh , 25. Left-hand batsman, left-arm orthodox spinner. 163 matches. 4,412 @ 35.29, 7 centuries, 25 fifties, 85.98. 42 @ 37.85, 4/6, 4.90, 46.30.

Talent ed batsman with raw power and brilliant fielder at point, seen as key to Indian World Cup hopes. Hit a match-winning 84 as teenager in his first ODI innings versus Australia in the Champions Trophy quarter-final in 2000.

After a slump blamed on poor attitude, showed his class in a century stand with Mohammad Kaif to chase 326 for a memorable NatWest series final win over hosts England in 2002.

Tightened technique by playing straighter to be rewarded with at least a fifty every third innings since August 2005 and three man-of-the-series awards in a row.

Tore knee ligaments in October to become a World Cup doubt, but eased concerns by lashing 95 not out in the home series win over Sri Lanka in February.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Virender Sehwag , 28. Right-hand batsman, right-arm off-break bowler. 167 matches. 4,833 @ 31.18, 7 centuries, 24 fifties, 96.04. 72 @ 40.90, 3/25, 5.26, 46.61. 69 catches.

A batsman who relies more on instinct than technique. Hit then seventh fastest one-day hundred against New Zealand in August 2001 and a century on Test debut in South Africa two months later.

Scored 309 in the first Multan Test in 2004, the first Test triple hundred by an Indian, to spark the team's historic first series win in Pakistan.

Has endured poor batting form since August, with just one 50 in his last 13 one-day innings, but was chosen on past record.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Irfan Pathan , 22. Left-arm medium fast, left-hand batsman. 73 matches. 115 @ 25.91, 5/27, 5.02, 30.91. 1,006 @ 25.15, 5 fifties, 80.09.

Made India debut as 19-year-old in Australia in 2003 and ability to swing the ball and bat raised hopes as a successor to Kapil Dev.

Shone in India's maiden Test and one-day series victory in Pakistan in 2004, took a hat-trick in the first over of the Karachi Test in 2006 and contributed with bat and ball in a record 17 straight one-day wins while chasing in 2006.

Has endured a dip in bowling form since mid-2006 and was sent sent home to play domestic cricket from South Africa.

Selectors hope for a form reversal, but has played just one of eight ODIs versus West Indies and Sri Lanka in the last month due to a sore shoulder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni , 25. Right-hand batsman, wicketkeeper. 66 matches. 1,958 @ 46.61, 2 centuries, 12 fifties, 98.49. 61 catches, 12 stumpings.

Explosive batsman who struck 148 in his fifth ODI in a home series against Pakistan in April 2005 and a match-winning 183 not out against Sri Lanka at home later that year to record the highest one-day score by a wicketkeeper.

Dhoni struck 148 for his maiden Test hundred on the 2006 Pakistan tour.

Hugely popular with fans for long hair and model looks and has a fleet of motorbikes.

Has good temperament and can curb natural aggression when needed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinesh Karthik , 21. Right-hand batsman, wicketkeeper. 13 matches. 150 @ 18.75, 1 fifty, 58.59. 34 catches, four stumpings.

Won one-day and Test caps in 2004, but was edged out by Dhoni in late 2005 after managing one fifty in 10 Tests.

India's best wicketkeeper, he was chosen after his gutsy batting in the 2006-7 South Africa series defeats where hopefuls Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina both flopped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ajit Agarkar , 29. Right-arm fast-medium bowler, right-hand batsman. 180 matches. 272 wickets @ 27.55, best bowling 6/42, economy rate 5.05, strike rate 32.72. 1,240 @ 15.30, 3 fifties, 82.17. 49 catches.

The most experienced seamer in the team, capable of producing sharp pace that belies his thin frame, but has suffered repeated injuries.

Has cut down on pace in the last two seasons by focusing on line and length and swing.

Was fastest to 50 ODI wickets and also scored a 21-ball one-day fifty. Scored a Test hundred against England at Lord's in 2002.

Made his World Cup debut in 1999 in England but was ignored for 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harbhajan Singh , 26. Right-arm off-break bowler, right-hand batsman. 147 matches. 170 @ 31.96, 5/31, 4.13, 46.41.

A match-winning bowler at home with leg-spinner Anil Kumble.

Was reported for throwing and criticised for poor attitude soon after Test debut aged 17, but produced a sensational 32-wicket haul to spark a 2-1 home Test series victory over Australia in 2001 that also featured the first Test hat-trick by an Indian.

Also a handy lower order batsman who is tipped to play ahead of Kumble if India opt for one spinner in key Cup games. He was cleared of throwing his doosra in 2005.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anil Kumble , 36. Right-arm leg-break bowler, right-hand batsman. 270 matches. 334 @ 31.05, 6/12, 4.31, 43.23.

India 's greatest and most successful one-day and Test bowler, and fourth highest wicket-taker (547) in Test history.

Relies on accuracy and variation rather than sharp turn.

In 1999, became only the second bowler after England spinner Jim Laker to take all 10 wickets in a Test innings, against Pakistan.

Has played few one-dayers after being dropped for the 2003 World Cup final, but picked for sheer experience after taking 23 wickets to bowl India to their first Test series win in the West Indies in 35

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zaheer Khan , 28. Left-arm fast medium bowler, right-hand batsman. 117 matches. 172 @ 27.53, 5/42, 4.89, 33.77. 26 catches.

A robust paceman who can move the ball at sharp pace.

Made a promising debut in the 2000 Champions Trophy in Kenya to raise hopes as a future pace spearhead before touching a low point in the 2003 World Cup final with a nervous 10-ball first over which cost 15 runs and set the tone for a huge Australian victory.

Poor form and stress injuries blamed mainly on a big leap on delivery led to his axing in February last year with critics also questioning his attitude.

Made a strong comeback for the 2006-7 South Africa tour after re-discovering his rhythm during a stint with English county Worcestershire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth , 24. Right-arm fast-medium bowler, right-hand batsman. 27 matches. 35 @ 36.11, 6/55, 5.75, 37.62.

Pacy and high on aggression, was picked in 2005 after good domestic displays and took 6-55 during a 5-1 home one-day series win over England in 2006.

Shone in India's first Test series win in West Indies for 35 years in 2006 and the first Test win in South Africa.

Averages more than 36 per wicket in one-dayers, but still chosen for his wicket-taking abilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Munaf Patel , 23. Right-arm fast-medium bowler, right-hand batsman. 17 matches. 22 @ 28.68, 4/49, 4.65, 37.00.

A natural talent who hails from a rural village, Patel raised hopes as India's fastest bowler and then overcame injuries to grab 10 wickets in a warm-up tie against visiting England in early 2006 and seven on his Test debut against the same team.

Fitness has remained an issue after recent ankle and back injuries, but could still score with his nagging accuracy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally the Villain,

 

Greg Chappell (Coach), 58. Former Australia captain who led the team to 21 wins from 48 Tests.

Coached South Australia and was consultant at Pakistan Cricket Academy before being appointed India coach in May 2005 till the World Cup.

All The Best .........................

 TEAM   INDIA