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
EDITORIAL Editor: K.C.S. Rao

I have decided to publish the article of Dr. V.V. Giri on the “PROBLEMS WITH
INDIAN ODI TEAM” as the editorial of this Issue. The article is very well composed
and worthy of its place as Editorial for this issue.

PROBLEMS WITH INDIAN ODI TEAM!

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

1. Batting- negotiating Short-pitch deliveries.

2. Bowling at slog overs
3. Fielding deficiencies
4. Poor fitness level

Look at the two ODIs played so far. In the first at Durban, there was some help for
the fast bowlers. But our pacers Zaheer and Nehra sprayed everywhere bowling
with width. Only Munaf, as usual bowled with discipline to the required line and
length. The part time spinners helped a bit. Munaf was given only 7 overs, thanks to
the poor captaincy by the Indian skipper!

On a bouncy wicket, our front line heroes are bunnies. Vijay was out to an over
pitched ball, playing across the line. Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma, Raina and
even Dhoni struggled against short pitched deliveries. Murali Vijay, though hasn’t
scored enough in these two ODIs, I find his technique is quite good and he loses his
focus only when he tries to increase the teams scoring rate. Whereas, batsmen like
Rohit Sharma, Raina and Yuvraj, even though scored some runs, still I am not
convinced at the way they handle short pitch deliveries.

SA piled up big total in this bouncy pitch, but India found themselves unable to cope
up to the pace, swing, bounce and clever bowling from SA. Indians were defeated by
a huge margin of over 130 runs. Our bowlers didn’t 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 IPL.
We are certainly 30 runs behind in fielding as compared to SA, OZ, Kiwi and
England sides. You flood the side with youngsters or experienced seniors, the fielding
is not our cup of tea.
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 with
Zaheer and Tendulkar. I don’t think they can survive more than two ODIs. Nehra,
Ishant, Munaf and Harbhajan are also injury prone. With World Cup approaching
in 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 and
scored only 190 runs. India managed to beat SA in this second ODI certainly by
default. Even here, our fielding was pathetic. Our wicket-keeper/skipper, and
Yuvraj ruined Ashish Nehra’s bowling figures. Dhoni dropped Prince – Nehra
suffered. Dhoni’s approach (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’ and
batting second with such a less target, I wasn’t surprised, I expected them to crack
under pressure.

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

Editorial: Courtesy of Dr. V.V. Giri

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 ‘cook’ed 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. The
Australians 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 coaches
would 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 Sharma
utilized 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 slow
bowling 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. North,
Haddin 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 and
the 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.
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 we
have 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 to
their 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 good
performances 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
men’s paradise pitch.

It turned out to be an extraordinary Test with fortune fluctuating from one team to the other but the Indians
eventually 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 set
a 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 Africa
needing 192 runs and India needing to scalp the seven remaining wickets.
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 the
Protea 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 third
slip 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 South
Africa'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 a
delivery 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 to
applaud the players.

S Sreesanth (3/45), Zaheer Khan (3/53) and Harbhajan Singh (2/70) were the pick of the bowlers for India while
Ashwell 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 sort
out 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 known
culprit?

The two teams will now travel to Cape Town for the third and final Test starting on Sunday the 3rd January.
PLAYER PROFILE - RITESH KADU Staff Reporter

Ritesh Kadu, the wicket-keeper

keeper batsman of Hollywood Cricket Club has carved his
name in Southern California Cricket for the past four years with his excellent wicket
wicket--
keeping and batting. He has since been selected along with his team team-mate,
mate, Aditya
Thyagarajan (this magazine
agazine had covered his selection in the previous issue) to represent
USA in the forthcoming Division III of ICC World Cup for affiliated countries.

Born on April 27, 1983 in Nagpur, India to Arun Kadu and Nalini KaduKadu,, he started
playing cricket at his young age, like any other Indian kids. When asked what
prompted him to play cricket, he said “In India no body prompts you; you just pick up
the bat, by default”. His father Arun Kadu provided him with all the encourag
encouragement
ement
and support he needed. He says Sachin Tendulkar and Ian Healy were his idols and
their performance inspired him. He had formal coaching at Reshimbagh Gymkhana,
Nagpur, India.

He is a keen cricketer and loves the game. He is a team man and every tteam
eam would
love to have him on their roster. His cricketing achievements include playing for
Vidharbha Cricket Association’s Under
Under-16, Under-19 and Under-2222 teams with great
success. He then moved to USA and joined the Hollywood Cricket Club, one of the
oldest
dest clubs in Southern California Cricket Association. He has been playing for this
club in Division-II of the SCCA League since 1960. He has been regularly representing
SCCA, and Zonal team of USACA ever since.

In the last two years, he scored 1530 run

runss in 33 games for his club including 5 centuries
and 8 Fifties. He had 42 dismissals behind the wicket. Additionally, in every National
tournament he has scored a minimum of fifty runs. He was adjudged the MVP (Most Valuable Player) in 2008
Western Conference.

In his opinion, Hollywood Cricket Club is the best club he has played for when it
comes to cricket, financial and mental support

His ambition is to keep on playing good cricket at all levels whenever and wherever
he gets a chance. His reactio
reaction
n on his selection U.S.A. National team “I am very
excited and happy to get this chance. I will give my 100% to justify my selection”.

This positive attitude, his concentration and dedication he shows while playing the
game, should take him a long way in his cricketing career. Weekend Cricket
magazine management and the readers wish him good luck and every success in his
future!
SO. CALIFORNIA WINTER CRICKET LEAGUE Staff Reporter

Southern California Winter Cricket League started as sceduled for the 2011 season. More teams are
participating 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)
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