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Every cricketing nation has its own history,its own hall of fame. Australian, West Indies and Indian cricket teams have seen players of excellent skill, technique and sportsmanship.While it is difficult to mention all of them, this article gives you a broad picture of the game in each of these countries.
Indian Cricket Team
One cannot talk of Indian cricket team and not talk of Sachin Tendulkar, the 18-year-old prodigy who made his debut in the Pakistan series at Karachi. His swashbuckling style and batting finesse earned him the reputation of being on one of the greatest batsmen on the Indian cricket scene. Having begun on the cricketing grounds of his school at Mumbai, Sachin Tendulkar has come a long way to becoming the first batsman to score 50 hundreds in international cricket. Did you know that bookmakers would not fix the odds on a game until Tendulkar was out? That speaks for the kind of domination he has on the game and the Indian cricket team.
Rahul Dravid was the toast of the Indian cricket team when he led India to its first victory against Australia in 22 years in Adelaide in December 2003. Dravid is a batsman who displays fluid motion with his bat and has been the epitome of concentration and rigid defense to Indian cricket team.
Sunil Gavaskar, an exemplary captain of the Indian cricket team for years, had a batting technique that made his wicket among the hardest to take. With excellent judgment of length and line, Gavaskar was one of the finest opening batsmen that Indian cricket has produced. He gave a direction to the Indian cricket team.
Kapil Dev, one of the greatest pace bowlers that India has produced, made his cricketing debut in 1978 in the match against Pakistan at Faisalabad. With contemporaries like Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev was recognized as India’s Cricketer of the Century in 2002. He led India to a great victory in the 1983 WorldCup.
Some interesting snippets of information about Indian Cricket Team
· Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian to have slammed centuries on debut in Ranji, Duleep and Irani trophies.
· Sachin Tendulkar was the first player in international cricket to be given out by the third umpire.
· Vinoo Mankad batted at all eleven positions in the Indianteam.
· Lala Amarnath is the only bowler to have got Sir Donald Bradkman out hit wicket.
· M.L. Jaisimha and Ravi Shastri have the distinction of batting on all five days of a Test match. Others to have achieved this are Geoff Boycott and Alan Lamb of England and Kim Hughes of Australia.
Australian Cricket Team
Australian cricket team has been in excellent form and won the 2003 World Cup going unbeaten throughout the competition at every stage. Australian Cricket ODI captain Ricky Ponting set the team to a great start with century. With the blitzkrieg batting of Gilchrist and Brett Lee / McGrath combine’s fearsome pace bowling, it was little wonder that they went on to win a comfortable victory against India.
Australian captain Steve Waugh has announced his retirement after the 2003-2004 series against India. Having made a test debut in 1985 in the series against India, he has influenced modern Australian cricket since. Waugh reckoned that his legacy would be to leave behind a team that is formidable and with potential to go a long way.
Ricky Ponting has been named the next captain to lead the Australian cricket side after the retirement of Steve Waugh. This right-handed batsman was the ODI captain for the winning Australian World Cup 2003 team. Given his outstanding record as ODI captain, it was inevitable that he be named the successor to Steve Waugh.
Sir Donald Bradman was one of the legendary greats of Australian cricket. When he died in 2001, the cricketing world lost one of its finest exponents. Having made a debut in 1928 in a test series against England, Bradman was without doubt the greatest batsman of the 20th century. He was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1931 and was knighted in 1949 for his services to the game. He reigned supreme in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1930, Bradman scored 974 runs in a series against England, 309 of those runs being chalked up in a day. With Bradman in the Australian cricket team,they lost the Ashes only once in 1922, against the Bodyline technique of bowling. Bradman at the wicket always ensured runs being made at lightning speed that left opponents bewildered and spectators enthralled.
West Indian Cricket Team
The West Indian cricket team has been dominating the cricketing scene for decades, but of late has been suffering from poor form and is in the process of rebuilding a team of similar stature. While the West Indies cricket team has been ranked fifth amongst the ODI teams, they cannot be written off, as they have been known to turn a match on its head.
The West Indies cricket team has Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds opening their innings with Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul following them. The West Indies bowling line up consisting of Pedro Collins and Jermaine Lawson along with debutante Vasbert Drakes could help in lifting the West Indies cricket team from its current low phase. Fielding is an area that the team needs to concentrate on. Brian Lara, left-handed batsman built up massive scores for the West Indian side. With his characteristic stance of raised bat and weight poised on bent front knee, Brian Lara broke world records as the highest Test and first-class scorer.For a while, he was troubled with hamstring problems that put a brake on his lightning footwork and massive scores. He is one of the charismatic cricketers of West Indies cricket.
Sir Garfield Sobers, a cricketing genius from the West Indies, was one of the finest all-round players. His elegant yet powerful batting style marked all his shots. An enterprising captain, Gary Sobers was also a fine fast-medium opening bowler. He was knighted for her services to cricket in 1975.
Clive Lloyd, with his characteristic stooped stance and thick glasses, retired from cricket in 1985. He has since donned the mantle of ICC Match Referee. Lloyd was a hard-hitting batsman who was one of the most successful West Indies cricket captain. He was awarded the Wisden Cricketer of the Year award in 1971. With a battery of fast bowlers like Marshal, Roberts, Garner, Holding and Craft along with batsmen of the caliber of Desmond Haynes and Vivian Richards, Clive Lloyd led one of the most successful West Indian cricket teams to victory. He had a run of 26 tests without defeat and 11 successive wins.
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