Michael Vaughan to Announce International Retirement

Former English Captain Michael Vaughan is going to announce his retirement from international cricket tomorrow (30 June 2009). The 2005 Ashes winning English captain has not been in good fom recently since stepping down as England captain following the defeat to South Africa in the home test series last year. Since then, he has also been out of England test squad as well.

Moreover, Michael Vaughan has also failed to perform well in the ongoing domestic season in England, and thus, has been ruled out of the England squad for the upcoming Ashes 2009. This is perhaps what has prompted him to retire from cricket. Now, it seems that it is just matter of time Vaughan retires from cricket.

Former English opener Marcus Trescothik has said that Vaughan will be sorely missed by English team in the upcoming Ashes series because he could have been very important for England with his vast experience. He also said that he had some good memories while playing together for England.

Well, there is no doubt, Michael Vaughan has not been at his best at this moment, but if England wants to do something better than what they did in Australia in 2007, then they need an experienced batsman in the middle order. In fact, English looked pretty much fragile over the last few months. That is why, I think, Vaughan could have played a big role behind England. Let us see if England can replicate their 2005 success in the upcoming Ashes series without Michael Vaughan.

Related article:

peterleemail

Kevin Pietersen Sees Positive Sides of his Fall-out with Former Coach Moores

English cricketer Kevin Pietersen has recently said that the January 2009 row involving himself and former coach Peter Moores was needed for the betterment of England team. He now thinks that English cricketers are now much more confident ahead of the much-awaited Ashes 2009 home series against Australia. The middle order batsman, who is currently recovering from injury and is upbeat to take part in the first test starting from 8 July in Cardiff, is also full of praise about current captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower.

Kevin Pietersen was forced to resign as captain in January just after 5 months in the role following his fall out with the England coach. England cricket team is now gearing up to retain the Ashes title from Australia whom England defeated in their last home Ashes series back in 2005 with Pietersen and Flintoff playing at their best.

Well, I also agree with Pietersen in the fact that Flower and Strauss are doing very well at this moment and the personal relationship between captain and coach seems to a positive side of England’s mission to recapture Ashes title.

Top Ten Male Players in Wimbledon Tennis

Wimbledon is one of the four grand slam tournaments in tennis and traditionally it is the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. In fact, Wimbledon is the oldest among the grand slam tournaments and it created some of the early greats of the game who had huge contribution to the development of world tennis. Here, I attempted to make a list of top ten male tennis players of Wimbledon. Before taking you through the list, I would like to tell you that the list is based on my own opinion and you do not need to agree with me on this list. I would rather appreciate if you share your opinions regarding the list in the comment section. Another thing is that I gave preference to the players’ achievements in both singles and doubles events while making the list. Let us now go through the list:

Pete Sampras

The American legend of male tennis is the most successful player at Wimbledon in Open Era with 7 singles titles to his credit. The only other player, who won 7 Wimbledon singles titles, is William Renshaw. Sampras won 14 grand slam titles during his illustrious career. So, you can see half of his total grand slam titles came at Wimbledon, and thus, making him one of the greatest players in the history of Wimbledon. One of the most prolific servers of all time, Sampras won his first three Wimbledon titles in three consecutive years spanning from 1993 to 1995, but failed to win the 1996 Wimbledon. Last four titles also came in four straight years (1997-2000). However, Pete Sampras could never win any doubles title in a grand slam tournament.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer is definitely one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Even there are many who believe that he is the greatest male player the game has ever seen. Federer has recently clinched his 14^th grand slam title, and thus, equaling Pete Sampras’ record 14 grand slam titles. An all rounder in terms of technique, Federer has won 5 out of his 14 grand slam titles at Wimbledon and all those titles came in consecutive years from 2003-2007. Though he reached the 6^th straight Wimbledon final in 2008, the Swiss legend lost to his arch-rival Rafael Nadal in an epic final. Only William Renshaw and Sampras (both 7 titles) have more Wimbledon titles than Federer. So, there is no doubt, Federer is one of the most notable champions of this British grass-court grand slam tournament.

William Renshaw

I thought I should have placed William Renshaw at the top of the list. In fact, the British tennis legend is perhaps the most successful male tennis player of Wimbledon with record 7 singles and 7 doubles titles to his credit. The reason I put him at no. 3 behind Sampras and Federer is the time Renshaw played the game. There is no doubt, the game was not as much competitive in his era as it has been in Open era which Sampras and Federer belong to. Still, William Renshaw is considered to be one of the all time greats of Wimbledon. In fact, William Renshaw is one of the stars of the game’s primitive era. He won 6 out of his 7 Wimbledon titles in a row from 1881 to 1886. Even though he could not win any grand slam title other than Wimbledon, Renshaw deserves to be one of the great tennis players of all time.

Bjorn Borg

Bjorn Borg may be best known for his unprecedented success at French Open, the only clay-court grand slam tournament, but the Swede is also one of the most successful performers at Wimbledon. Out of his 11 career grand slam singles titles, Borg won 5 at Wimbledon, while the other 6 titles coming at French Open. In fact, he comes third in terms of winning Wimbledon singles title in Open era. A powerful baseliner, Bjorn Borg could produce topspin in his ground strokes and used to play double handed backhand. Other than Federer, Bjorn Borg is the only other player in Open era who won 5 Wimbledon singles titles in consecutive years (1976-1980). Though he could not win any title in Australian Open or US Open, Borg is considered to be a legend of Wimbledon as well as French Open grand slam tournaments.

Lawrence Doherty

Lawrence Doherty, along with his elder brother Reginald Doherty, dominated Wimbledon as well as world tennis at the turn of the 20^th century. In fact, the Doherty brothers won 9 Wimbledon titles between themselves in the space of 10 years (1897-1906). Lawrence, nicknamed Little Do, won all of his 5 Wimbledon titles in consecutive years (1902-1906). Moreover, Lawrence Doherty, who became the first tennis player to win a grand slam tournament outside of his country, won 8 doubles titles at Wimbledon pairing his brother, and thus, forming the most successful pair in Wimbledon men’s doubles event.

Reginald Doherty

The elder brother of Lawrence, Reginald Doherty is another successful male tennis player in history of Wimbledon with 4 consecutive titles from 1897 to 1900. Inspired by his father, Reginald and his younger brother Lawrence started playing tennis in order to keep themselves healthy and fit. The rest was history as the two brothers formed one of the most dominant partnerships in his history of Wimbledon men’s doubles event as they won 8 Wimbledon doubles titles. Both the brothers attended Cambridge University and represented the Lawn tennis club of the university. It is said that Reginald Doherty was unstoppable until he started to become ill. Still, there is no doubt, Reginald is one of the most prolific male tennis player in the history of Wimbledon.

Anthony Wilding

Mostly known as Tony Wilding, the former world no. 1 is one of the most successful players in the history of Wimbledon tennis. During his short career, Tony Wilding won 4 singles titles in consecutive years starting from 1910 to 1913 besides 4 doubles titles at Wimbledon. The New Zealander also has 2 singles and a doubles title in Australian Open. All his professional successes came in the eve of World War I, and had he not lost his life in the war, Wilding could have won more titles in tennis. Alike the Doherty brothers, Tony also attended Cambridge University and his skill of tennis was improved while representing the Cambridge University Lawn Tennis Club.

Rod Laver

Rod Laver is one of those very few tennis greats who played the game both pre and post Open Era period. Four out of his 11 grand slam singles titles came at Wimbledon, and unlike many other Wimbledon greats, his 4 Wimbledon singles titles did not come in consecutive years. In fact, after winning the first two titles in 1961 and 1962, Rod Laver took 6 years to win his next Wimbledon title. It shows that the Australian was a dominant figure in world tennis not for few years. In fact, Rod Laver was the world no. 1 of men’s tennis for seven consecutive years starting from 1964 to 1970.

Moreover, the Australian great is the only tennis player who won all four grand slam titles in a single year (1969) in Open era, and thus, achieving a calendar year grand slam. Most importantly, Laver earned this achievement twice in his career, first as an amateur in 1962, and then as a professional in 1969 during Open Era. So, Laver is not only an all time great of Wimbledon, he is, in fact, one of the greatest ever male tennis player of all time.

Bill Tilden

Not only one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Bill Tilden is also considered to be one of most influential and dominant figures of tennis. Before 1950, Tilden was considered to be the greatest ever tennis player. The American’s three voyages to United Kingdom by ship were proven to be three successful Wimbledon triumphs in 1920, 1921 and 1930, and thus, becoming the first American to win Wimbledon title. You might say that he won only 3 titles at Wimbledon, but his successful entries into Wimbledon came at a time when tennis players rarely toured other countries to take part in overseas tournaments, and thus, changing the image of tennis. Tilden shares the record 7 US Open singles titles with William Larned and Richard D. Sears. Bill Tilden also won a doubles title at Wimbledon.

John McEnroe

Another tennis great John McEnroe has been included in the list mainly because of his successes both in men’s singles and doubles events at Wimbledon. McEnroe won 3 singles and five doubles titles in this grass-court grand slam tournament. There is no other male tennis player who has got similar success in both singles and doubles at Wimbledon in Open Era. Along with Peter Fleming, John McEnroe formed a dominating pair in doubles as they won 57 men’s doubles titles together and all his Wimbledon doubles titles came along with Fleming. Overall, McEnroe deserves a place in this list as one of the most notable Wimbledon champions.

There are some other players who could have made the list by their own. Here, I am giving a list of some of those great players:

Fred Perry, Boris Becker, Wilfred Baddeley, Arthur Gore, René Lacoste, Jimmy Connors, Roy Emerson and Stefan Edberg.

ICC Chief David Morgan Satisfied with Twenty20 World Cup 2009

ICC president David Morgan is overly delighted with the success of Twenty20 world cup 2009 in England. The tournament experienced 96 percent ticket sales throughout the tournament. Morgan thinks that the idea of organizing men’s and women’s semi finals as well as finals on the same ground on the same day was a huge boost for the women’s cricket because cricket fans experienced double-headers with the same ticket. David Morgan is also happy with the performance of the players.

Well, it was a good decision to organize the men’s and women’s tournaments at the same time, and most importantly, organizing the men’s and women’s semi finals and final on the same day proved pretty much effective. However, I think, the television rating was affected by India’s elimination from the Super Eight stage.

Related article:

The Independent

Top Ten Bowlers of Twenty20 Cricket

Twenty20 is the shortest and the latest format of cricket, but there is no doubt, twenty20 has become the most popular format of the game within a very short time. One of the biggest reasons behind its sky-rocketing popularity is its hard-hitting batting display. In a sense, twenty20 is meant to be a game for hard-hitters where bowlers receive less attention than their batting counterparts. Despite the pre-occupying dominance of batsmen in this format, twenty20 format has already got some excellent bowlers who are no less dominant than the batsmen.

Here, I have made a list of top ten bowlers of twenty20 international. Before going through the list, I would like to say that the list is based on my own opinion and you do not necessarily need to agree with me on this list. You may have your own opinion and I would be glad if you share your opinion with us in the comment section. While making the list, I gave priority to the number of wickets as well as economy rate and average of the bowlers. Now, let us go through the list here:

Umar Gul

The Pakistani pacer is undoubtedly the best ever twenty20 bowler. His ability to swing the old ball and produce excellent Yorkers in dead overs has made him one of the most threatening bowlers of twenty20 international. With 37 wickets from 21 games at an average of 11.08, Gul is currently the highest wicket taker in this format. His career economy rate is 5.38 which is pretty much impressive in this shortest form of the game.

Moreover, Umar Gul became first (and only bowler so far) to pick up 5 wickets in twenty20 cricket, a feat he achieved against New Zealand during twenty20 world cup 2009 as his match figure stood at 3 overs-6 runs-5 wickets. Umar Gul was the highest wicket taker in both of the twenty20 world cup tournaments held in 2007 and 2009, picking up 13 and 14 wickets respectively.

Ajantha Mendis

Mystery is the best word that could go with the Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis. The 24-year-old can steal the show for his team, keeping the opposition batsmen guessing. Mendis possesses almost all the weapons of a spinner in his armory. He can produce off spin as well as leg spin with sheer amount of pace without bringing any significant change in his grip, and thus, making the task harder for the batsmen. With a spectacular average of 8.60, Mendis picked up 23 wickets from just 10 matches alongside an economy rate of 5.21. In fact, he has the best bowling average among the bowlers included in this list.

Mendis’ 3 wickets for 20 in 4 overs ousted Australia from the group stage of twenty20 world cup 2009. In the same tournament, Mendis produced another lethal performance against New Zealand when he picked up 3 wickets for 9 runs in 3 overs. With 12 wickets from 7 matches, Mendis finished second to Umar Gul among the highest wicket takers of the tournament.

Shahid Afridi

The Pakistani all rounder has become a threat for the opposition batmen in twenty20 cricket. With his leg spin, Shahid Afridi picked up 33 wickets from 23 games at an average of 15.57 and with an economy rate of 5.74. Afridi is now the second most wicket taker in twenty20 international after Umar Gul. Besides leg spin, Afridi can produce off spin with sheer pace, and his ability to drift the ball very often is proven lethal for the batsmen. As a bowler he progressed a lot over the last 2 years and is now one of the integral parts of Pakistan’s bowling attack in both ODI and twenty20 cricket. Afridi picked up 12 wickets in the inaugural twenty20 world cup, and then bagged 11 wickets in the recently concluded twenty20 world cup 2009.

Daniel Vettori

Daniel Vettori is perhaps the best left arm spinner at this moment in the world. I used the word ‘perhaps’ in the previous sentence, but when it comes to twenty20 cricket, Vettori is, for sure, the best left arm spinner in the world. Daniel Vettori is the third highest wicket taker in twenty20 international with 25 wickets from 16 games at an average of 14.08. His economy rate of 5.50 is also very impressive.

Vettori is capable of dominating batsmen by bringing variation in length, flight and speed. The 30-year-old can also produce drift in his deliveries. Vettori missed a big part of New Zealand’s twenty20 world cup 2009, but the spinner impressed all in the first edition of twenty20 world cup two years back taking 11 wickets from 6 games.

Lasith Malinga

Yorker is one of the biggest assets of pacers when it comes to twenty20 cricket because in twenty20, a pacer need to check the run rate towards the end of the innings, and producing Yorkers is one of the most important techniques of restricting opposition batsmen from playing big shots. Well, Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga is perhaps one of the biggest artists of producing Yorker effortlessly and effectively in twenty20 cricket.

Malinga has 19 wickets from 15 twenty20 matches to his credit at an average of 18.89. His economy rate of 7.37 may not be something outstanding, but his ability to check the run rate in the dead overs by producing sheer amount of Yorkers made me include him in this list. His unconventional bowling action also creates problems for the batsmen as they can not make any guess from his grip. Malinga keeps his grip hidden until the last moment before delivering the ball, and thus, batsmen can not understand the trajectory of his deliveries.

Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal is perhaps the biggest prospect of Pakistan cricket in the recent time. The off spinner has impressed all by picking up 12 wickets from just 7 matches, and thus, helping Pakistan to win the twenty20 world cup 2009. Ajmal looks so promising that there are many who believe that he could serve Pakistan as the prime spinner of the team in the next few years. You would be surprised to know that Ajmal played only one twenty20 international before the 2009 world twenty20.

His career record looks very impressive with 13 wickets from 8 games at an average of 14.00 and conceding 5.71 runs per over. At 31, you might think that Ajmal has already reached at the end of his career, but the way he produces doosras, his scotch delivery, it seems that Ajmal is just going to dominate the opposition batsmen in the years to come. I think, after Saqlain Mushtaq, Pakistan has got another spinner who can produce doosra effectively consistently.

Dale Steyn

Picking up 20 wickets from 12 games, the South African pacer is now the fifth highest wicket taker in twenty20 international. He has an excellent average of 14.50, alongside a standard economy rate of 6.74. Dale Steyn is a genuine quick bowler who always tries to beat the batsmen with pace, and is capable of producing excellent out-swings. On a pacer friendly wicket, Dale Steyn is really a big threat for any batsman in the world. His aggression coupled with skill and talent has made him a dangerous pacer for the opposition batsmen.

Steyn showed his guile and aggression against West Indies in a rain-affected twenty20 match two years back when he picked up 4 wickets for 9 runs in his 3 overs. This is the fourth best match figure of twenty20 international.

RP Singh

RP Singh is the only Indian included in this list. Singh has 15 wickets from 10 games to his credit at an average of 15.00, conceding 6.81 runs per over. The pacer was instrumental behind India’s triumph in twenty20 world cup 2007, picking up 12 wickets from 7 games. No doubt, he failed to live up to the expectation during the second edition of twenty20 world cup, but still I found enough justification to include RP Singh in the top ten list of twenty20 bowlers.

The left arm pacer impressed all during IPL 2009, and thus, earning a recall to the twenty20 squad of Indian team. Unlike many left arm pacers, RP Singh can produce in-swing for the right handed batsmen. Moreover, he can swing the ball both ways in what making the task tougher for the opponent batsmen.

Abdur Razzak

I know many of you might argue with me on the inclusion of Bangladeshi left arm spinner Abdur Razzak. Well, I do believe that he is one of the most potent spinners for twenty20 cricket. You might say that 6 of Razzak’s 19 twenty20 wickets came against Zimbabwe, Kenya and Ireland. What you are missing here is that Razzak’s career best 4 for 16 came against South Africa last year in a game which Bangladesh could have won, if their batsmen could play with some responsibility.

Abdur Razzak failed to make any impression during Bangladesh twenty20 world cup 2009 mission, but the left arm spinner has been an effective performer for Bangladesh both in twenty20 and ODI formats. Razzak picked up his 19 wickets from 11 twenty20 matches with an excellent average of 13.57 and a good economy rate of 6.29.

Roelof van der Merwe

The South African bowling-all rounder has shown his talent and skill as a left arm spinner during the twenty20 world cup 2009, picking up 10 wickets from 6 games at an average of 13.50 and with an economy rate of 5.62. No doubt, Roelof van der Merwe is one of the biggest prospects of South African cricket. At 24, he has lots of years ahead of him, and I see him as a future of South African cricket.

His career record of 11 wickets from 7 games at an average of 15.00 as well as an economy rate of 5.89 may not fully show his talent and skill as a spinner. I would just recommend you to judge his performance against India in the Super Eight round of twenty20 world cup 2009. Against Indian batsmen, who are traditionally known as the master of spin bowling, Roelof van der Merwe conceded only 13 runs in 4 overs with a wicket. So, I do think you can raise any question regarding his talent and potential.

I honestly admit that I have missed out some other bowlers who could have made it to the list by their own. However, you know this is a list of top 10 bowlers where I can not include an extra bowler because the number of places is limited. Some other talented bowlers who could have been included in the squads are:

Muttiah Muralitharan, Johan Botha, Stuart Broad, Wayne Parnell, Harbhajan Singh, Albie Morkel, Graeme Swann, Shoaib Malik, Nathan Bracken, Jerome Taylor, James Anderson, Irfan Pathan, Prosper Utseya etc.

Reasons that India Lost in T20 World Cup 2009

Performance of Indian cricket team in the recently concluded twenty20 world cup 2009 was disappointing and there is no doubt about it. Starting as a hot favorite, team India just failed to reach the semi final, having lost all three Super Eight matches. The interesting thing is that India was not among the favorites of 2007 twenty20 world cup, but Dhoni and his men still managed to lift the title. Obviously, there are some reasons behind India’s failure to live up to the expectations the fans in the second edition of twenty20 world cup:

1. First of all, almost all the Indian players were not at their very best physically. Due to tight schedule of IPL 2009, Indian players were suffering from fatigue. You might argue with me, but then just look at the Pakistani cricketers who did not take part in IPL 2009. Even Pakistani cricketers did not play many cricket matches over the last six months due to their tumultuous security condition in the country.

2. Another big reason behind India’s biggest strength is the failure of their top order batsmen against short ball, a traditional problem of Indian batsmen. Indian batsmen got some success in Australia and South Africa over the last five or six years, but their problem against short ball once again appeared during the twenty20 world cup 2009.

BCCI has become so much obsessed with its money-spinning IPL project that it has forgotten its duties for team India. I just hope that BCCI would now realize the time has come to make India’s traditionally flat wickets more sporting and bouncy in what would bring out some success in the long run.

3. Virender Sehwag’s absence is another big reason behind India’s demise in twenty20 world cup. Sehwag may not have a very good record in twenty20 cricket, but he is such a batsman who can change matches single-handedly. Naturally, his absence was naturally a big deal for team India.

4. There is no doubt, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni guided India to win the twenty20 world cup two years back, but the wicketkeeper batsman must take some responsibility of India’s failure in the recent tournament. Dhoni took some poor decisions which was later on proven lethal for Indian team.

For example, Dhoni hardly used Suresh Raina’s spin bowling, despite Raina’s excellent success with ball in IPL 2009 for Chennai Super Kings. Dhoni did not give Harbhajan Singh a second over in his first spell against West Indies, even though the spinner started with maiden over. In the same match, Dhoni did not give Irfan Pathan a third over, even though he conceded only 9 runs in his first two overs. These kinds of silly mistakes contributed to India’s failure in the tournament.

5. Poor fielding was also a reason which contributed to India’s disappointing performance in the tournament. I can still remember some of the BCCI officials complained about Sourav Ganguly’s fielding ability towards the end of his international career, and claimed that Indian team needed young players to improve the overall fielding. However, to everyone’s distress, the young Indian fielders were not impressive at all in the twenty20 world cup 2009, except an excellent catch by Yuvraj Singh against Bangladesh. Captain Dhoni missed some stamping chances. Moreover, India’s ground fielding was also very disappointing.

Pakistan is the Champion of Twenty20 World Cup 2009

Pakistan cricket team pulled off an excellent 8-wicket victory over Sri Lanka, and thus, winning the second edition of the twenty20 world cup on Sunday. No doubt, the triumph in the twenty20 world cup would boost up Pakistan cricket which has been struggling for the tumultuous security condition of the country. Batting first, Sri Lanka scored 138 run losing 6 wickets, while Pakistan won the match with 8 balls left in the hand losing only 2 wickets.

The star of the match is definitely all rounder Shahid Afridi who conceded only 20 runs in his 4 overs with a wicket. Then the hard hitter smashed 54 runs off just 40 balls. In Sri Lankan innings, Captain Kumar Sangakkara played anunbeaten innings of 64 off just 52 runs. In the end, Mathews contributed with 35 runs from just 24 balls. Abdul Razzaq picked up 3 wickets for Pakistan.

Sri Lanka tried their best using their bowlers, but in the end, Pakistan emerged winners. Mindis was not impressive at all today, while Muralitharan was not as much authoritative as he had been in throughout the tournament. Lasith Malinga conceded only 14 runs in his 3.4 overs, but that was not enough as Pakistani batsmen showed excellent resistance, power and dominance over a strong Sri Lankan bowling side.

Dilshan was awarded the man of the series award for his 317 runs in the tournament, even though the opener got out for a duck today. Shahid Afridi got the man of the match award for his match winning performance.

Sri Lanka Reached the Final of Twenty20 World Cup 2009

Sri Lanka ended the relentless run of West Indies in the twenty20 world cup 2009 as they defeated the Caribbean side by 57 runs yesterday in the second semi final of the tournament, and thus, reaching the tournament final. Batting first Sri Lanka amassed 158 runs on the board losing 5 wickets. The Lankan side got off to a good start thanks to their opening pair who put on 73 runs before getting departed. Opener Tillakaratne Dilshan played a fiery innings of 96 not out from just 57 balls.

It was really unfortunate that Dilshan, who is currently the leading scorer of the tournament, had to stop four runs short of his century. Jayasuria got 24 runs, while Chamara Silva and Angelo Mathews scored 11 and 12 runs respectively. There is no doubt that Sri Lankan innings was a one-man show. Bravo picked up 2 wickets, while Jerome Taylor and Kieron Pollard got a wicket each.

West Indies had a disastrous start to their innings as they lost 3 wickets in their first over off Angelo Mathews. In fact, West Indies could not recover from the blow they received in the very first over of their innings. West Indies innings was also a one-man show as Captain Chris Gayle continued his fight in the one end, while wickets kept falling in the other end. Gayle played another excellent innings of 63 runs off 50 balls, while no other West Indies batsman could even reach double figure, except Mr. Extra’s 11 runs.

Mathews was the most successful bowler as he picked up 3 wickets for 16. Muralitharan and Mendis were also very impressive as they picked up 3 and 2 wickets respectively. However, it was Dilshan who was given the man of the match award.

Thomas Vermaelen in Arsenal

One of the areas that Arsenal really suffered last season was in defense. They looked really shaky and suffered a lot of goals because of weakness in this part of the field. In fact, if they had a better defense then their record would have been much better. Arsene Wenger is serious this time to change this thing and he has already got a good player: Thomas Vermaelen. Until now, he was the captain of Ajax football club and he is a player of Belgium national team. He is only 23 years ago. Of course, Arsene Wenger is always famous for turning young players in to world class superstars.

Anyway, Thomas Vermaelen has signed in for the Gunners. It is still not known what was the transfer fee (£10m?) or for how many years, he is going to stay in London. Of course, we will be able to know these two things very soon but it is clear that he has signed for a long time.

This signing perhaps indicates that the board of directors of the club are willing to spend some good amount of money on the transfer market before the start of the season.

What do you think about him?

Virender Sehwag Doubtful for ICC Champions Trophy 2009

Virender Sehwag could miss the upcoming 2009 as the player is recovering from a shoulder injury. No doubt, it would be a big blow for Team India that failed to reach the ongoing twenty20 world cup 2009 in England. Virender Sehwag picked up should injury towards the end of the IPL 2009. Though he was in the Indian squad of twenty20 world cup, later on he was replaced by wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik.

ICC Champions Trophy 2009 is schedule to start on 24 September and it is expected that India will be trying to recover some of its confident and reputation as one of the best teams in the world through the Champions trophy. You know that Champinos Trophy is the second most cricket tournament based on 50 over format after ICC World Cup and India has not won the tournament yet.

Naturally, Dhoni and his men would like to win the tournament this time. However, I am sure that it would not be easy to deal with Sehwag’s injury. Here, it is noteworthy that Sehwag has recently undergone a shoulder surgery and it has been reported that the big-hitting batsman would require 12 to 16 weeks to recover from the injury. Indian physio Nitin Patel will monitor his fitness and overall condition. If you are a fan of Indian team, then just pray for a quick recovery for the opener so that India can get his service during ICC Champions Trophy 2009.

Related article:

Cricinfo

Egypt Clinched History Win over Italy in Confederations Cup 2009

Egypt has achieved a remarkable unprecedented victory in the history of their football as they defeated world champion Italy on Thursday in a group stage match of ongoing Confederations Cup 2009 which is currently going on in South Africa. The 1-0 victory is considered to be the biggest ever victory for Egypt in world football and the African Nations Cup champions are now gearing up to reach the semi final from Group B which has two football powerhouses Italy and Brazil.

Egypt has been in excellent over the last few years thanks to some of their excellent players like Mohamed Aboutrika, Mohamed Zidan etc. Italy had their fare share of attacks in the game, but it was Egypt goalkeeper Essam al-Hadary made at least three or four saves throughout the match. Egypt got the only goal in the game when Mohamed Homos scored in the 40^th minute.

Italy tried hard to come back in the match and created some good chances which could have saved the Italian had Essam not made some of the finest saves of the tournament. Egypt also showed their sturdy look against Brazil in a 4-3 loss in the previous game and is now favorite to clinch one of the two semi final spots from the group. With two wins from two games, Brazil has almost ensured their semi final progress, while Italy and Egypt are vying for the second spot in the group as both sides have one win in two games. Egypt has a very good chance because they will face USA in their last group match, while world champion Italy will face tournament favorite Brazil their third and the final game of group stage. It would really be a disappointment if Italy fails to reach the semi final stage.

Related article:

AFP

BCB Lifts Ban on 14 ICL Players

The ten-year ban imposed on ICL players from Bangladesh has now been lifted by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The decision was made after all the 14-playes who joined ICL last year sought amnesty to BCB terminating their contract with Indian Cricket League (ICL) which failed to get the recognition of ICC.

However, the 14-players including some of the star cricketers like former captain Habibul Bashar, Aftab Ahmed, Shahriar Nafees, Alok Kapali would not be eligible for national team right now. They have to go through a one-year cooling period during which they will be allowed to play domestic cricket prepare themselves for national team.

I just can not understand one thing that why BCB is following BCCI on one-year cooling period when Pakistan Cricket Board has allowed its ICL player Abdul Razzaq to play in the ongoing twenty20 world cup and ICC also gave him the clearance. I just hope that these 14 Bangladeshi players would not face suffer from discrimination any more.

Related article:

AFP

Watch Confederations Cup 2009 Matches Live Television Channels

If you want to get the live score of the final match of Confederations Cup 2009 between USA and Brazil, then visit the following link:

USA vs Brazil FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 Final: Live Updates

You know that South Africa will host 2010 FIFA World Cup and the whole world is eagerly waiting to see football’s biggest tournament in African continent. Well, for those who can not hold on their patience, FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 is now out there in South Africa. The tournament involves champions of continental competitions and world champion Italy and host South Africa.

There are two groups of four teams each. All the teams will play against other group members once in the group stage and top two teams from each group will go into the semi final stage based on points achieved in the group stage.

A number of television channels are going to cover this tournament, which is ranked second after World Cup in terms of prestige. Covering the tournament involves lots of money and it is a very good chance for television channels to make some good cash in using the global appeal of the tournament.

Well, I admit that Confederations Cup does not have as much appeal as World Cup has among the football fans. Still, some of the popular television channels across the world would cover the tournament, considering the fact that football fans would be interested to see the strength of the squads of their favorite teams ahead of next year’s world cup. Here, I am giving a list of television channels which will cover the tournament:

BBC Three and Red Button TV Channel

BBC is covering all the matches of the Confederations Cup 2009. There are two games on each match day, except the semi final games. Evening games will be telecast live on BBC Three television channel, while the afternoon games will be shown live on digital interactive television channel BBC Red Button. Besides, all the matches will be telecast live on BBC Online for the US football fans.

Gabby Logan, popular presenter of BBC, will lead the BBC television team and former Arsenal star Lee Dixon will join him in discussion. Commentary team includes Jonathan Pearce, Guy Mowbray and Steve Wilson as well as co-commentators Mark Bright and Martin Keown. If you want to get the BBC schedule for the tournament, then click here.

ESPN TV Channel

ESPN television channel will telecast the matches of the tournament live for the South Asian football fans. ESPN has an expert team of analysts as well as quality commentators. So, you can expect quality coverage of the tournament on ESPN. So, if you are currently in India or other South Asian countries, then you can tune on to ESPN to enjoy the matches of Confederations Cup 2009. If you are interested then you should check out the ESPN schedule of Confederations Cup 2009 here.

Super Sports

Super Sports is one of the most popular sports channels in Africa. As the tournament is being taken place in South Africa, it is pretty much understandable that Super Sports would cover the tournament for the football fans of this region. Yes, Super Sports is telecasting the matches of the tournament live for its viewers and you can get the schedule of the channel here.

There are some other television channels which are covering the tournament in several regions of the world. You can get the list of the television channels which are telecasting the matches of Confederations Cup 2009 live in different regions around the world here.