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Volume 1 January 15, 2011 Issue 17

Ritesh Kadu of Hollywood CC has been selected to

represent USA in the ensuing World Cup

DIVISION III Tournament of ICC for affiliates.

Editorial Problems with Indian ODI Team

Aussies reduced to Ashes

Choker in the Pack

Player Profile Ritesh Kadu

Winter League

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EDITORIAL Editor: K.C.S. Rao

I have decided to publish the article of Dr. V.V. Giri on the PROBLEMS WITHI have decided to publish the article of Dr. V.V. Giri on the PROBLEMS WITHI have decided to publish the article of Dr. V.V. Giri on the PROBLEMS WITHI have decided to publish the article of Dr. V.V. Giri on the PROBLEMS WITHINDIAN ODI TEAM as the editorial of this Issue.INDIAN ODI TEAM as the editorial of this Issue.INDIAN ODI TEAM as the editorial of this Issue.INDIAN ODI TEAM as the editorial of this Issue. The article is very well composedThe article is very well composedThe article is very well composedThe article is very well composedand worthy of its place as Editorial for thisand worthy of its place as Editorial for thisand worthy of its place as Editorial for thisand worthy of its place as Editorial for this issue.issue.issue.issue.

PROBLEMS WITH INDIAN ODI TEAM!

Even though India leveled the ongoing South Africa ODI series 1-1, still the same oldproblems persist.

1. Batting- negotiating Short-pitch deliveries.2. Bowling at slog overs3. Fielding deficiencies4. Poor fitness levelLook at the two ODIs played so far. In the first at Durban, there was some help forthe fast bowlers. But our pacers Zaheer and Nehra sprayed everywhere bowlingwith width. Only Munaf, as usual bowled with discipline to the required line andlength. The part time spinners helped a bit. Munaf was given only 7 overs, thanks tothe poor captaincy by the Indian skipper!

On a bouncy wicket, our front line heroes are bunnies. Vijay was out to an overpitched ball, playing across the line. Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma, Raina andeven Dhoni struggled against short pitched deliveries. Murali Vijay, though hasntscored enough in these two ODIs, I find his technique is quite good and he loses hisfocus only when he tries to increase the teams scoring rate. Whereas, batsmen likeRohit Sharma, Raina and Yuvraj, even though scored some runs, still I am notconvinced at the way they handle short pitch deliveries.

SA piled up big total in this bouncy pitch, but India found themselves unable to copeup to the pace, swing, bounce and clever bowling from SA. Indians were defeated bya huge margin of over 130 runs. Our bowlers didnt bowl well in this helpful wicket,but it was a pathetic batting display from our top batsmen.

Fielding continues to be our nemesis, in spite of playing many T20 matches and IPLWe are certainly 30 runs behind in fielding as compared to SA, OZ, Kiwi andEngland sides. You flood the side with youngsters or experienced seniors, the fieldingis not our cup of tea.

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Now comes the most serious and dangerous aspect fitness level. As such Sehwag,Gambir, & Praveen returned back even before the first ODI. I have my doubts withZaheer and Tendulkar. I dont think they can survive more than two ODIs. Nehra,Ishant, Munaf and Harbhajan are also injury prone. With World Cup approachingin a month, India is in dire straits as far as fitness is concerned.

The second ODI was played in a batting wicket. India once again batted badly andscored only 190 runs. India managed to beat SA in this second ODI certainly bydefault. Even here, our fielding was pathetic. Our wicket-keeper/skipper, andYuvraj ruined Ashish Nehras bowling figures. Dhoni dropped Prince Nehrasuffered. Dhonisapproach (he dived to the left when the ball was falling in front of

him) to wicket-keeping needs improvement. SA is known for their Choking andbatting second with such a less target, I wasnt surprised, I expected them to crackunder pressure.

Most of the above problems can be countered, but the weakness in facing the shortpitch deliveries is something no one can forgive the players and the batting coach. Iam confident that all the other nations by this time would have done theirhomework properly on Indian front line batsmen for the world cup.

Editorial: Courtesy of Dr. V.V. GiriEditorial: Courtesy of Dr. V.V. GiriEditorial: Courtesy of Dr. V.V. GiriEditorial: Courtesy of Dr. V.V. Giri

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AUSSIES REDUCED TO ASHES Dr. V.V. Giri

Aussies true colour and potentials were exposed in the recently concluded Ashes series.

As I mentioned earlier, the Aussies were literally cooked by the Pommies especially by their Vice Captain

Alaister Cook. He scored consistently and stood between the Ozs and their victory. He exposed the Aussies

bowling attack indicating what they are without Shane Warne and Glen McGrath.

Their batting is also equal or even worse than their bowling. Nobody has good technique or tight defense. As I

repeatedly mentioned, they easily crack under pressure. Ganguly was the first to bring this secret out. TheAustralians all these days were ruling the world cricket because of their bowling strength, aggressive batting

and more importantly through their sledging ability.

Look at their batting strength - Shane Watson and Simon Katich. Both of them were without good batting

technique and rely on unorthodox batting and power play. Ponting is certainly not a candidate the coacheswould like their students to follow. His initial front foot movement of forward and across makes him vulnerable

to rising out swingers outside the off stump. This weakness was exposed first by Flintoff and Ishant Sharmautilized it during the last Oz tour. Ponting was seen panting and puffing during this Ashes series,

Michael Clarke, in my opinion is the most over rated player in the game. His technique against fast and slowbowling is very poor and if at all he scored some runs, it is due to poor bowling attack by the opponents.

Mike Hussey is the only recognized batsman in the present Oz team who looks competent enough. NorthHaddin and others are very mediocre players. That makes the Oz a very ordinary team in terms of batting.

England on the other hand, is looking a very competitive side. I have already mentioned about their strength andthe transformation in my earlier column. Their weak link in this series was Paul Collingwood and Stuart Broad

Broad was injured after the first Test and England had good replacement in Finn, Bresnan and others who

bowled better than Broad.

Of course their trump card is the cricketer of the year G.Swann. He is such a lovely bowler, who keeps

improving day by day. If he can develop a doosra or a carrom ball, he would become unplayable and soon

create world records.

The most shocking fact is this Ashes series has reduced the Aussies to ASHES. As I predicted, their ranking

has come to the bottom half of the ICC table in tests.

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CHOKER IN THE PACK Dr. V.V. GIRI

No other team in the Pack of Cricket playing nations chokes the way South Africa chokes during crisis. This wehave seen time and again right from 1992 World Cup where SA re-entered the World Cricket arena.

They are yet to sort out this problem. Look at their team composition - Skipper Smith, Amla, Kallis, deVilliers,

Prince, Boucher all world class batsmen individually occupying the first 20 of ICC ranking. As regards totheir bowling, well just Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel are enough to destroy any batting line up.

Still, as a team, no matter, who their captain is, they crack under pressure, unable to convert the goodperformances to victory. This is a sad situation that such a strong cricketing nation has earned a name

Chokers.

In Durban, South Africa won the crucial and most wanted toss and as expected put India in to bat in the pace

mens paradise pitch.

It turned out to be an extraordinary Test with fortune fluctuating from one team to the other but the Indianseventually tilted the balance in their favor on a bouncy Kingsmead track which saw 40 wickets fall in three and

half days.

An inspired India made amends for the drubbing at Centurion with a sensational 87-run victory against South

Africa in the low-scoring second cricket Test to level the three-match series 1-1 here on Wednesday.

After setting a target of 303, the Indian bowlers put up a disciplined show to dismiss the hosts for 215 in 72.3

overs about an hour after the lunch break to record only their second Test triumph on South African soil.

SA dismissed India cheaply in the first innings for just two hundred plus, but let themselves down by poor

batting display at the hands of Sreesanth and Harbajan. SA was shot out for 131 and India started their second

innings disastrously losing all the top batsmen for few runs.

SA was very happy to see the back of the giants - Sehwag, Sachin, & Dravid, but were certainly not happy to

see the front of Laxman who proved time and again as a Laxman Rekha the protective line against the

opponents.

Laxman played a masterly innings in this fastest wicket with uneven bounce, in which others batted like novice

He had full control of the situation, managing the innings with tail which has become a routine for him. Not

once he faultered, defending solidly and whenever possible, he artistically punished the loose balls.

He lost his wicket at 96, trying to protect the tail. It was very unselfish act. Unlike many top batsmen he

proved he is a total team man and the protector whenever India is in trouble. India scored 215 and SA were sea target of 303 to win. Full credit must be given to Laxman for his 96 in a wicket where no one scored over 40.

Both teams had an equal chance of winning the match when play began on the final morning with South Africaneeding 192 runs and India needing to scalp the seven remaining wickets.

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Resuming their chase at the overnight score of 111 for three, both de Villiers and Jacques Kallis found the going

tough against the Indian attack and scored in ones and twos before a ripper from Sreesanth broke the dangerous-

looking 41-run fourth-wicket stand.

The Kerala Express came up with a blinder of a delivery that bounced sharply on to Kallis from just short of

length and the big man had no other option but to fend at it, only to glove it to Virender Sehwag at gully.

Dhoni's tactic of starting with Bajji and a paceman bore fruit as Harbhajan inflicted the second big blow of the

morning to South Africa by dismissing another danger man De Villiers (33) lbw even though TV replays

showed the South African was unlucky.

Bowling from round the wicket, Harbhajan tossed one up on off and middle and got it to bite and straighten

which struck de Villiers around the knee in front of the stumps and umpire Asad Rauf had no hesitation in

raising the finger but replays later showed the ball was going above the stumps.

Zaheer too registered his name in the wicket list when he struck Boucher on the pads with a delivery that

seemed to be angling away from the off-stump but umpire Steve Davis thought otherwise and adjudged theProtea wicket-keeper lbw much to the dismay of the home fans.

Zaheer then took India closer towards victory dismissing Dale Steyn (10) caught by Cheteshwar Pujara at thirdslip after the right-hander went for a flashing drive only to get an outside edge.

But a resolute Prince remained a thorn in the flesh for the Indians as he joined hands with Harris to lead SouthAfrica's fight back and frustrated the visitors with their eighth-wicket partnership.

Zaheer broke the 27-run partnership immediately after the lunch break by bowling Harris with a gem of adelivery which moved in to clip the bails.

The Indian players jumped in joy and hugged each other after last man Lonwabo Tsotsobe was run out to bring

about the moment of glory while coach Gary Kirsten and the other support staff stood up at the dressing room toapplaud the players.

S Sreesanth (3/45), Zaheer Khan (3/53) and Harbhajan Singh (2/70) were the pick of the bowlers for India whileAshwell Prince was the top scorer for the South Africans with an unbeaten 39.

It was India's second Test triumph in South Africa. The 123-run victory in the first Test at Johannesburg in

2006 was their first Test victory on South African soil. Though India beat the mighty SA, still they have to sorout their perennial problems of fielding, fitness & Ishant Sharma whose bowling is pathetic.

Once again the non-utilization of UDRS created havoc in this test, this time going in favor of India.

The ICC is to be blamed for the fiasco. They also must answer for being inconsistent in discipline. Why

Skipper Smith not pulled for his threatening gesture against Sreesanth even though Sreesanth is a knownculprit?

The two teams will now travel to Cape Town for the third and final Test starting on Sunday the 3rd

January.

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PLAYER PROFILE - RITESH

Ritesh Kadu, the wicket-keeper batsmname in Southern California Cricket fo

keeping and batting. He has since be

Thyagarajan (this magazine had covered

USA in the forthcoming Division III of

Born on April 27, 1983 in Nagpur, In

playing cricket at his young age, likprompted him to play cricket, he said I

the bat, by default. His father Arun

and support he needed. He says Sachitheir performance inspired him. He h

Nagpur, India.

He is a keen cricketer and loves the galove to have him on their roster. His

Vidharbha Cricket Associations Under

success. He then moved to USA and joldest clubs in Southern California Cri

club in Division-I of the SCCA League

SCCA, and Zonal team of USACA ever

In the last two years, he scored 1530 run

and 8 Fifties. He had 42 dismissals behtournament he has scored a minimum o

Western Conference.

In his opinioncomes to crick

His ambitionhe gets a cha

excited and ha

This positivegame, should

magazine ma

future!

ADU

n of Hollywood Cricket Club has carved hisr the past four years with his excellent wicket-

en selected along with his team-mate, Aditya

his selection in the previous issue) to represent

CC World Cup for affiliated countries.

ia to Arun Kadu and Nalini Kadu, he started

any other Indian kids. When asked whatn India no body prompts you; you just pick up

adu provided him with all the encouragement

n Tendulkar and Ian Healy were his idols andd formal coaching at Reshimbagh Gymkhana,

me. He is a team man and every team wouldcricketing achievements include playing for

-16, Under-19 and Under-22 teams with great

oined the Hollywood Cricket Club, one of theket Association. He has been playing for this

since 1960. He has been regularly representing

since.

s in 33 games for his club including 5 centuries

ind the wicket. Additionally, in every Nationalfifty runs. He was adjudged the MVP (Most

, Hollywood Cricket Club is the best club heet, financial and mental support

is to keep on playing good cricket at all levelsnce. His reaction on his selection U.S.A. N

ppy to get this chance. I will give my 100% to

attitude, his concentration and dedication hetake him a long way in his cricketing car

agement and the readers wish him good luck

Staff Reporter

aluable Player) in 2008

has played for when it

whenever and wherevertional team I am very

justify my selection.

hows while playing theeer. Weekend Cricket

and every success in his

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SO. CALIFORNIA WINTER CRICKET LEAGUE Staff Reporter

Southern California Winter Cricket League started as sceduled for the 2011 season. More teams areparticipating this season and the interest shown is increasing year by year. Unusual weather, this year played

havoc for two weeks resulting in cancellation of a few games. However Winter League management is

confident of rescheduling the cancelled matches to catch up with the regular schedule. Here are some of the

results of matches that are completed so far this season:

Torrance Beat CSULB-Deccan by 3 Wickets

CSULB-Deccan 98 for 8 in 20 overs (Aqeel Khamisani 21, Manan Choksi 21, Karthik V 3 for 9)

Torrance 100 for 7 in 18.5 overs (Hari Srinivas 23, Karthick RP 23 not out, Abhishek Vyas 3 for 25, Nishant

Patel 3 for 8)

Culver City Beat LA Slammers by 5 Wickets

LA Slammers 75 in 15.3 overs (Saad Yusuf 2 for 9, Umair Mala 2 for 14, Zair Daud 2 for 17, Virat Bishnoi 2

for 8, Tanin Chouwdhry 2 for 8)

Culver City 76 for 5 in 14.5 overs (Tanin Chouwdhry 24)

Friends Beat CSUF Titans by 6 Wickets

CSUF Titans 101 in 20 overs (Hammad Shahid 2 for 15, Fahmeed Khan 2 for 20)

Friends 102 for 4 in 17 overs (Asif Abba Ali 26, Rashid Zia 28 not out, Venkata Nagaraju 2 for 16)

Kings 11 Beat Dolphins by 6 Wickets

Dolphins 93 for 8 in 20 overs (Praveen Kumar Devarajan 24, Nandakishore Krishna 2 for 16)

Kings 11 97 for 4 in 19 overs (Gunjan 27, Nandakishore Krishna 21)

CSULB-Deccan Beat Transformers by 30 runs

CSULB-Deccan 120 in 18.4 overs (Jay Varma 32, Sandesh Sindol 22, Asaad Khan 2 for 16)Transformers 90 in 18.1 overs (Uday Kumar BN 31, Vivek Sharma 3 for 17, Babar Hashim 4 for 17)

Warriors Beat Dolphins by 10 runs

Warriors 100 in 20 overs (Nagraj Inamati 2 for 11, Priyank Mundra 4 for 13)

Dolphins 90 for 8 in 20 overs (Nagraj Inamati 26, Trevine Felsinger 3 for 19, Kartik Nuggehalli 2 for 30)

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Current Standing

Team Played Won Lost Tie NR Points NRR

Division A

CSULB-Deccan 3 2 1 0 0 20 1.4842

Torrance 1 1 0 0 0 10 0.4097

Transformers 2 1 1 0 0 10 0.8276

Friends 2 1 1 0 0 10 -0.8182

CSUF Titans 2 0 2 0 0 0 -2.4108

USC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0000

Division B

Warriors 2 2 0 0 0 20 0.4750

Culver City 1 1 0 0 0 10 1.3736

Star 1 1 0 0 0 10 0.3500

Kings11 2 1 1 0 0 10 0.0609

Dolphins 3 1 2 0 0 10 -0.1370

Hollywood AS 1 0 1 0 0 0 -0.5500

LA Slammers 2 0 2 0 0 0 -1.0213

IE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0000