Lara confirms retirement from ODIs

GRENADA, April 11: One of the legends of cricket and West Indies captain Brian Lara has confirmed that he is retiring from One-day format of the game.

"I think this is the end of my One-day career, for sure", Lara said after his team lost to South Africa in the Cricket World Cup on Tuesday.

"I honestly feel that my game is over and we should give it (captaincy) to one of the younger players. It's really tough playing One-Day Internationals out there. After the world cup the next One-day tournament for the West Indies is in June in England and I would love to sit back and watch and see the team do well", he said.

Lara said he would like to see his team improve in the One-Day Internationals.

"I want to leave a team that plays better. And that is still my hope. These might be my last two One-Day Internationals but I still want to see the team moving out of this competition learning something from it and that's all I can hope for. It's demoralising yes, but I want to see certain things happen and I want to see the team move on", he added.

Lara has played 297 ODIs and scored 10,354 runs at 40.60 with 19 hundreds and 63 half-centuries.

Source:PTI

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Sachin, Yuvi given showcause; get week to reply

Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, for talking to the media, have been asked to explain within seven days their conduct by the cricket board.

"The notices seeking an explanation were sent on Monday and they have been asked to respond within seven days," a board source said on Tuesday.

The two players were pulled up by the board's working committee for commenting on former coach Greg Chappell as this was in violation of the board's Code of Conduct for its cricketers.

The show-cause notice has been issued under Rule 38 of the Memorandum and the Rules and Regulations of the BCCI.

Tendulkar was recently quoted as saying that he was deeply hurt by Chappell's questioning of the senior players' attitude.

He took full responsibility for the poor show in World Cup but said he was more hurt by the coach's allegations.

Tendulkar pointed out that in his more than 16-year-long career so far, no coach had questioned his attitude.

Yuvraj, on the other hand, incurred BCCI's wrath after saying that the team was backing Tendulkar on this issue.

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Demise of Sports Media Reporting as well as Bob Woolmer

It is a very sad situation when (probably) factor’s related to one’s first love (cricket) lead to the person’s death. Bob Woolmer is no more.. This article is not to hail him as a Champion, but to look into the reasons of such incidents.

1. Did Pakistan lose track?Pakistan lost the plot in their games surely, and all people in it are responsible for the loss. This includes Selectors, Captain, Coach, and the rest of the team. There is no doubt about this. And a defeat is a national concern. Thumbs Down.

2. Is a defeat a national concern?A defeat is a national concern, and fans are known to go berserk all over the world after defeats in popular sports, especially when any team loses easy matches or loses to unworthy (percieved) opponents. This usually happens after World Cup matches or important championships. Surely, a defeat is a national concern - no doubt about it. But it is surely, not a matter of Shame!! Thumbs Up.

3. Is Media’s role reasonable?Media’s role changeover from reporting to driving is a major cause of concern. The 4 pillars of a democracy are Government, Defence/ Military/ Police, Justice and Media. They play important roles in Governing / Managing, Protecting, Redeeming, and Reporting. However media is trying to play each of the 4 functions to some extent and is especially to provide instant justice. The reporting has become more opinionated than ever. Media should keep analyzing individual player performances and but leave suggestions to improve out of their ambit (especially blame fixing), and leave that to the Captain Coach and Selectors. Thumbs Down.

4. Is the unruly crowd at player’s homes behavior correct?Just like the media role, the extension of public into the personal life is unacceptable. However, this behavior derives from high media attention given to players, and targetted rundown of individual players by the same media creates confusing signals in the society which are exploited by political parties. It is for individuals not only to abstain from participating in such activities but to counter such activities through writing or intervention. And never to vote for people involved in such events. Thumbs Down.

5. What do political parties have to gain from this?Political parties use these events as nurseries to nuture future leaders (sic). It is sick but true that these kind of people are future leaders, or conversely, most of the current leaders have been through this behavior. It is tough to accept that our leaders are also part of this, but it is true. Such events also come as a shot in arms for opposition parties, since cricket defeats can also be portrayed to magnify government failure is other areas. Rot is thus set. Thumbs Down.

6. Why did Woolmer die?Whatever the cause of death, personal, professional or third party, it is definate that the pressure on him was immense, and after a certain limit, the physical pressure bearing capacity of the body becomes important, however tough your mind is. That’s where age, physical health and surely mental conflict come into play. And historical tensions pile up e.g. fate dealt him bad blows 3 times in the world cups - Twice for the Soth Africa team and now for the Pakistan Team. Woolmer’s physical capacity to bear jolts must be going down with each unexpected result. Facing charged crowds in Pakistan and India is a tough task and it was eventual that Woolmer and Inzamam would have to go back and face the crowd (actually you have to face the media more than the crowd and media tries to infuriate the crowd). This is a major factor. Thumbs Down.

7. Does this affect the teams and players?Yes, the high pressure gets into the teams and the play style turns defensive, which is not the way the game is to be played. You cannot play to avoid defeat, and Victory is not equivalent to avoiding defeat! A person playing to avoid defeat has already lost the match/ battle in his mind. There is only one way out - Media should please stop getting into the role of Captain, coach or Selector. They should concentrate on reporting. Thumbs Down.

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