ODI cricket and general cricketing discussion [self - mod]

[UmerIdrees]

Finally, a series win for the green shirts. 

[JSRAW]

^^ Bad news for Proteas batting line up. Rassie van der Dussen is out from the team due to muscle strain, now winning the series should be easy for Pakistan. My money is on Pakistan and i hope they don't mess their chances against the rookie team.

Pakistan may win this match but do you think they played well with so many things in their favor  
If these South Africa players were in the team, they would have lost the match. They may and should enjoy the victory but they need to realize they still require a lot of improvement.

This is nothing new, Pakistan does have habit of losing momentum and making normal situation very complex just for fun.

Babar is always in the form, the other 2 batsmen Fakhar and Imam looks in good touch in this series. Other than that i don't see any other batsmen, Rizwan is work in progress in limited over and it would be good if he gets more chance at number 4. One more thing Pakistan missing is power hitters in middle-lower order, can't say if Hasan Ali is power hitter as i didn't see him smashing any premier bowlers yet. In modern cricket ODI is different ballgame due to T-20 boom and IMO you can't go with conservative approach in this format anymore. Every team should learn a thing or two from the English team in this department. 

[ene1980]

There were a few negatives, such as over-dependance on Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman in the batting department and the poor performance of the middle order, but overall the team performed really well.

Babar Azam is consistent for Pakistan just like Virat Kohli is for India and Steve Smith for Australia and Fakhar Zaman played well and they need to strengthen their middle order.

South Africa is no longer considered as one of the top teams in international cricket, but it can be quite tough to beat them when they have the home advantage. Credit should also be given to the Pakistani pace bowlers, for their exceptional performance.

South Africa was not playing this series to win and in the final ODI was just to play against new players as their full strength team left for the IPL and they had to replace them in a series win situation while Pakistan is playing with their full strength team.

[Sithara007]

South Africa was not playing this series to win and in the final ODI was just to play against new players as their full strength team left for the IPL and they had to replace them in a series win situation while Pakistan is playing with their full strength team.

You can't blame the players for that. The contract salaries in South Africa are really low and from next year onwards the cricket board has announced that only 4 out of the 11 slots in the playing XI will be selected on the basis of merit. And for the players, cricket is like any other profession. They should prioritize the IPL, since the salaries are much higher than what they get from the annual contracts. And from what I have heard, the cricket board doesn't care much about the performance of the team, as long as they are able to get the funds from the ICC and keep the quota system for selection.

[Swordsoffreedom]

South Africa was not playing this series to win and in the final ODI was just to play against new players as their full strength team left for the IPL and they had to replace them in a series win situation while Pakistan is playing with their full strength team.

You can't blame the players for that. The contract salaries in South Africa are really low and from next year onwards the cricket board has announced that only 4 out of the 11 slots in the playing XI will be selected on the basis of merit. And for the players, cricket is like any other profession. They should prioritize the IPL, since the salaries are much higher than what they get from the annual contracts. And from what I have heard, the cricket board doesn't care much about the performance of the team, as long as they are able to get the funds from the ICC and keep the quota system for selection.

If the cricket board does not care about the players, we will soon see the consequences for the South African team. I think the South African team is going to be like the West Indies. West Indies players are more interested in playing in franchise leagues than in international matches. If there is no change in the management of South Africa, the team will gradually go into further decline. The South African team has a lot of talented players. Many young players are getting lost due to a lack of proper care.

[Sithara007]

If the cricket board does not care about the players, we will soon see the consequences for the South African team. I think the South African team is going to be like the West Indies. West Indies players are more interested in playing in franchise leagues than in international matches. If there is no change in the management of South Africa, the team will gradually go into further decline. The South African team has a lot of talented players. Many young players are getting lost due to a lack of proper care.

The South African cricket board is essentially controlled by a bunch of politicians who don't have any real relationship with cricket. They only care about the funds from the ICC (which amounts to around $120 million for the 8 year period). These funds will be received by the board irrespective of the performance of the team, so they don't need to worry much about it. On the other hand, talented South Africans are flocking to other countries. New Zealand has at least a dozen in contention for the national team selection, and a dozen more playing in domestic competition. Close to 50 players have taken the Kolpak route to play in the English county championship.

[GbitG]

South Africa was not playing this series to win and in the final ODI was just to play against new players as their full strength team left for the IPL and they had to replace them in a series win situation while Pakistan is playing with their full strength team.

You can't blame the players for that. The contract salaries in South Africa are really low and from next year onwards the cricket board has announced that only 4 out of the 11 slots in the playing XI will be selected on the basis of merit. And for the players, cricket is like any other profession. They should prioritize the IPL, since the salaries are much higher than what they get from the annual contracts. And from what I have heard, the cricket board doesn't care much about the performance of the team, as long as they are able to get the funds from the ICC and keep the quota system for selection.

If the cricket board does not care about the players, we will soon see the consequences for the South African team. I think the South African team is going to be like the West Indies. West Indies players are more interested in playing in franchise leagues than in international matches. If there is no change in the management of South Africa, the team will gradually go into further decline. The South African team has a lot of talented players. Many young players are getting lost due to a lack of proper care.

I agree with you here now time for good and positive changes in many cricket boards if they are not going with these then surely they are going to face situation like West Indies which ruined their cricket just because of very few mistakes now South African board is also doing some things if they want to stay in top then need to bring some revolutionary changes merit and not political interference.

[bryant.coleman]

I agree with you here now time for good and positive changes in many cricket boards if they are not going with these then surely they are going to face situation like West Indies which ruined their cricket just because of very few mistakes now South African board is also doing some things if they want to stay in top then need to bring some revolutionary changes merit and not political interference.

I don't think that for West Indies, the problem was with the cricket board. The players simply refused to give preference to national team duty, as they were busy with various franchise T20 leagues. The issues were different and you can't really compare the case in West Indies with that in South Africa. And moreover, the WICB seems to have reached a deal with the players and both the sides seems to be satisfied with the deal as of now.

[ene1980]

~
You can't blame the players for that. The contract salaries in South Africa are really low and from next year onwards the cricket board has announced that only 4 out of the 11 slots in the playing XI will be selected on the basis of merit. And for the players, cricket is like any other profession. They should prioritize the IPL, since the salaries are much higher than what they get from the annual contracts. And from what I have heard, the cricket board doesn't care much about the performance of the team, as long as they are able to get the funds from the ICC and keep the quota system for selection.

I am not blaming the cricket players for that, the cricket board should take these decisions and if they are giving these permissions then they will understand the hard facts later, the franchise cricket is popping up left and right and the players are needed everywhere and if that continues we might not see international cricket like we used to see, every 4 years we might see the world cup and then round the clock you will see franchise cricket being played .

[vella85]

Its a shame that cricket has all become about money, yes I understand that players need money to live like the rest of us but its seems that ever since the IPL started, its now more about the money then playing cricket which then makes it hard on the countries where money wasn't an issue but now is. I also think the board also have to come to the table and pay players more money but they need to find the balance. Back in the 90's players were earning peanuts compared to now but back then they were playing because they loved to play cricket but now days money has taken over the game and its mainly due to the IPL. If this continues, then we'll see teams like SA and the WI die off from international cricket which we don't want to see.

[Sithara007]

Its a shame that cricket has all become about money, yes I understand that players need money to live like the rest of us but its seems that ever since the IPL started, its now more about the money then playing cricket which then makes it hard on the countries where money wasn't an issue but now is. I also think the board also have to come to the table and pay players more money but they need to find the balance. Back in the 90's players were earning peanuts compared to now but back then they were playing because they loved to play cricket but now days money has taken over the game and its mainly due to the IPL. If this continues, then we'll see teams like SA and the WI die off from international cricket which we don't want to see.

Why blame the players? International players still get less than 1% of the amount that they earn for their respective boards. It is the cricket boards on the other hand which are getting greedier by the day. A majority of the boards (including the ICC) are being run by businessmen with no link with cricket. They have tried to sabotage the popularity of the sport, by refusing to include it in the Olympics and preferring bilateral series over ICC events. Personally I would prefer franchise cricket to boring bilateral cricket.

[UmerIdrees]

South Africa is no longer considered as one of the top teams in international cricket, but it can be quite tough to beat them when they have the home advantage. Credit should also be given to the Pakistani pace bowlers, for their exceptional performance.

South Africa was not playing this series to win and in the final ODI was just to play against new players as their full strength team left for the IPL and they had to replace them in a series win situation while Pakistan is playing with their full strength team.

So if they were not playing to win the series, then they should not had come to Pakistan in the first place. Their players have left for the IPL but no one will think about it when they will see the history. The only thing which matter the most that they lost the ODI series in pakistan.

[pakhitheboss]

South Africa is no longer considered as one of the top teams in international cricket, but it can be quite tough to beat them when they have the home advantage. Credit should also be given to the Pakistani pace bowlers, for their exceptional performance.

South Africa was not playing this series to win and in the final ODI was just to play against new players as their full strength team left for the IPL and they had to replace them in a series win situation while Pakistan is playing with their full strength team.

So if they were not playing to win the series, then they should not had come to Pakistan in the first place. Their players have left for the IPL but no one will think about it when they will see the history. The only thing which matter the most that they lost the ODI series in pakistan.

No doubt South African main players were not present in this series I think SA thought that they could easily defeat PAK with a weak team. That did not go good and SA lost the series but, you cannot deny PAK team did struggle with a weak SA side.

PAK team played exceptionally well in this series, I had doubt about their performance. They were not inconsistent this time.

[eaLiTy]

Its a shame that cricket has all become about money, yes I understand that players need money to live like the rest of us but its seems that ever since the IPL started, its now more about the money then playing cricket which then makes it hard on the countries where money wasn't an issue but now is. I also think the board also have to come to the table and pay players more money but they need to find the balance.

It is surprising to see the ICC and the cricket boards giving permission to franchise cricket throughout the world and they are even giving priority to these leagues than playing for their respective boards, may be it is a change in the capitalist approach and they are giving the players the opportunity to earn money just like in Football.

Back in the 90's players were earning peanuts compared to now but back then they were playing because they loved to play cricket but now days money has taken over the game and its mainly due to the IPL. If this continues, then we'll see teams like SA and the WI die off from international cricket which we don't want to see.

Cricket is giving opportunity for everyone to make money and in the past they are not earning much money, i still remember players earning $600 to play the series in the late 80s and now the players are earning millions and with franchise cricket giving more opportunity to make a living with cricket.

[JSRAW]

Its a shame that cricket has all become about money, yes I understand that players need money to live like the rest of us but its seems that ever since the IPL started, its now more about the money then playing cricket which then makes it hard on the countries where money wasn't an issue but now is. I also think the board also have to come to the table and pay players more money but they need to find the balance.

It is surprising to see the ICC and the cricket boards giving permission to franchise cricket throughout the world and they are even giving priority to these leagues than playing for their respective boards, may be it is a change in the capitalist approach and they are giving the players the opportunity to earn money just like in Football.

Franchise cricket is here to stay, just to give lifeline to test cricket. Competitive and high pressure franchise cricket is future, fans are getting bored with silly bilateral series. I can speak for BCCI, if something goes wrong and BCCI has to choose between WC or IPL, no brainer for me that they will go with the IPL for obvious reasons.

[vella85]

Its a shame that cricket has all become about money, yes I understand that players need money to live like the rest of us but its seems that ever since the IPL started, its now more about the money then playing cricket which then makes it hard on the countries where money wasn't an issue but now is. I also think the board also have to come to the table and pay players more money but they need to find the balance.

It is surprising to see the ICC and the cricket boards giving permission to franchise cricket throughout the world and they are even giving priority to these leagues than playing for their respective boards, may be it is a change in the capitalist approach and they are giving the players the opportunity to earn money just like in Football.

Franchise cricket is here to stay, just to give lifeline to test cricket. Competitive and high pressure franchise cricket is future, fans are getting bored with silly bilateral series. I can speak for BCCI, if something goes wrong and BCCI has to choose between WC or IPL, no brainer for me that they will go with the IPL for obvious reasons.

Yes its here to stay because the amount of money that can be made compared to international cricket. I know I say that cricket has become all about the money now days but that's with most sports as players are being paid big money to play in the franchise tournaments so most will go play in them tournaments then play for their country in international matches. Yes the boards might have some blame in this as they are greedy but still I think the IPL has made cricket all about the money now. As I said players were happy just playing the game back in the day but now its money.

[Sithara007]

Franchise cricket is here to stay, just to give lifeline to test cricket. Competitive and high pressure franchise cricket is future, fans are getting bored with silly bilateral series. I can speak for BCCI, if something goes wrong and BCCI has to choose between WC or IPL, no brainer for me that they will go with the IPL for obvious reasons.

Franchise cricket is more competitive, as it is being played between teams of equal strength. On the other hand, many of the bilateral series have become one sided now. Who wants to watch a lopsided series between Australia and Sri Lanka, or the one between India and Zimbabwe? One solution for this would be to divide the teams to two divisions, but then such proposals before were voted down by the smaller test playing nations. IMO, the big 4 (big 3 + NZ) should play at least 80% of the matches among themselves.

[JSRAW]

Franchise cricket is here to stay, just to give lifeline to test cricket. Competitive and high pressure franchise cricket is future, fans are getting bored with silly bilateral series. I can speak for BCCI, if something goes wrong and BCCI has to choose between WC or IPL, no brainer for me that they will go with the IPL for obvious reasons.

Franchise cricket is more competitive, as it is being played between teams of equal strength. On the other hand, many of the bilateral series have become one sided now. Who wants to watch a lopsided series between Australia and Sri Lanka, or the one between India and Zimbabwe? One solution for this would be to divide the teams to two divisions, but then such proposals before were voted down by the smaller test playing nations. IMO, the big 4 (big 3 + NZ) should play at least 80% of the matches among themselves.

From Indian point of view, would add WI in T-20 or may be in ODI too against India. They were mighty competitive against us in last limited overs series and complete waste in the Test cricket. South Africa still good in Test cricket when they play in home turf (against Indians) so would like more test tour against them, although they always lost their marble when visiting India but still BCCI should consider 4 test match series against Proteas instead of 3. Same with Kiwis and we definitely need 5 tests match series with Australia.

Really hope that Gangully do something about his pet project of Quadrilateral series(limited overs) in near future.   

[Sithara007]

^^^^^ Ganguly has made some positive changes as the President of BCCI. For the first time, the BCCI has voiced support for the inclusion of cricket in the 2028 Olympics. This is ground-breaking, as previously the BCCI, CA and ECB had a cabal to sabotage this move.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/news/bcci-agrees-to-field-both-mens-womens-teams-for-2028-los-angeles-olympics/articleshow/82106983.cms

The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) has agreed to field both men’s and women’s teams for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. BCCI has also agreed to field its women’s team or the Birmingham Commonwealth Games next year.

This would have never happened if Sharad Pawar or N Srinivasan was in power. When ex-players head the cricket boards (instead of politicians and businessmen) they always give preference to the well-being of the sport, sidelining the other selfish motives. 

This is a good sign, and hopefully his other target (quadrilateral series) will be realized as well.

[JSRAW]

^^^^^ Ganguly has made some positive changes as the President of BCCI. For the first time, the BCCI has voiced support for the inclusion of cricket in the 2028 Olympics. This is ground-breaking, as previously the BCCI, CA and ECB had a cabal to sabotage this move.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/news/bcci-agrees-to-field-both-mens-womens-teams-for-2028-los-angeles-olympics/articleshow/82106983.cms

Yeah, just read this news, surely positive news to get some stakes in Olympic. Now i can see at-least 14-16 teams getting ready for the competition or more in next 2-3 decades. T-20 still looks too long to me, may be T-10 would be right format in Olympic.

I'm very much excited about quadrilateral series initiative and really hope that it kicks on in next 2-3 years.