Trescothick wins award
While it isn't (obviously) currently as prestigious as what Flintoff won a few days ago, England's stand-in skipper Marcus Trescothick has been awarded the inaugural "Cricket 24x7 Clanger" award. We will also nominate him for a place in the next edition of Classic Cricket Clangers.
Just what did Marcus Trescothick do to gain this nomination? Well, he won the toss and perhaps banking on the advantage provided, sent Pakistan in to bat at Karachi. All he ended up doing was watching helplessly as his bowlers got mauled for 356 runs. A special mention for Younis Khan, who was out for a duck, after facing two balls.
Trescothick however isn't the first such captain and it is highly likely he won't be the last either. If ever we do institute a lifetime achievement award, India's then skipper Sourav Ganguly will certainly be one of the nominees, for sending Australia in to bat at Johannesburg in a World Cup final and staring at a target of 360. Special mentions for Zaheer Khan and Srinath for their combined blistering opening spell which set Australia up.
Interestingly enough, three other such clangers happened in World Cup games, two of them featuring [then] minnows. Sri Lanka's captain Duleep Mendis put West Indies in at Karachi in the 1987 Reliance World Cup and saw Viv Richards blast 181 off 125 balls as West Indies made 360. Special mentions for Richie Richardson who was dismissed for a golden duck and Asantha de Mel who disappeared for 97 runs from 10 overs, but had the last laugh when he took Viv's wicket.
Maurice Odumbe's faith in his bowlers was proved unjusified as Sri Lanka piled up 398 at Kandy, the highest total in one-day history, in the 1996 World Cup. Aravinda de Silva made 145. A special mention for Hashan Tillakaratne, run out first ball for a duck.
Sri Lanka were at the receiving end in 1999 when Arjuna Ranatunga sent India in at Taunton, probably banking on India's batting faring poorly in swinging conditions. Sourav Ganguly (183) and Rahul Dravid (145) put on 318 in 45 overs as India scored 373. Special mentions for
Tatenda Taibu played the perfect host and asked New Zealand to bat first at Bulawayo in the first match of the triangular series earlier this year, also involving India. He hadn't reckoned with Lou Vincent adding Taibu to his Christmas cards list after scoring 172, with New Zealand making 397, one short of Sri Lanka's record. But they only got to bat for 44 overs, so they could have actually scored more than 450. A special mention for Andy Blignaut, whose two wickets in 9 overs cost 48 runs each.
A few months after manhandling Kenya (above), Sri Lanka learnt a wonderfully valuable lesson: Sometimes you're the pigeon, sometimes you're the statue. Ranatunga sent Pakistan in at the Nairobi Gymkhana and watched Shahid Afridi create a world record in his first innings, a century in 37 deliveries as Pakistan made 371. A very special mention for Azhar Mahmood, out without facing. One for Jayasuriya as well, conceding 94 from his 10 overs.
So which one do you think has been the
Labels: cricket 24x7 captaincy clanger
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I know its a typo:-) But can you give me the record of a certain playe named Ajay Tendulkar:-))I seem to have missed him;-)
'Special mentions for Ajay Tendulkar (2 in 3 balls), Ajay Jadeja (5 in 4 balls), Robin Singh (first ball duck) and Chaminda Vaas,'
I'll vote for Ganguly putting in Australia in World Cup '03. Yes we were chasing well, but the only hiccup was Aus in the league matches and going by our confidence , the apt thing to do would have been to bat first!Golden rule of playing in the finals in cricket. You put runs on the board; your opponents have to get them, obviously you have an edge most of the times:-)
These are ifs and buts and cricket like life ain't that simple:-)
By 
Minal (16 Dec 2005, 11:13:00 am)
Thanks Minal, changed [and credited!]. Yeah it was stupid to ask Australia to bat in a WORLD CUP final! It really doesn't get bigger! I'd vote for that too. The others didn't have as much of an impact on the outcome of the tournament or on the psyche of the team members. Another hopeless toss decision was perhaps Azhar sending Sri Lanka in at Calcutta in the 1996 World Cup semi final. The wicket crumbled and before you could say Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas, the game was over, thanks to some pathetic batting, good bowling and the hooghligans.
By Jagadish (16 Dec 2005, 4:45:00 pm)
Thank you for the credit;-) Not required honestly!:-)
Please do not remind me of the Eden blunder. It was all wrong from the start. You do not lay down a whole new pitch just a few days before the tournament begins, for heaven's sake had the BCCI/West Bengal cricket association heard of " home ground advantage"
You win the toss, you having scored a hundred everytime you walked on this ground, instead of doing what's best , you go and attempt suicide and succeed! Azhar!
Don't remind me please! As long as Scahin was batting , he and Manjrekar were looking good. Sachin out nad the pitch was devil!Speaks volume of that man's talent and yet we are not satisfied!
By Minal (19 Dec 2005, 1:57:00 pm)
Minal: Yeah it was stupid to use a new pitch for a tournament like a World Cup ... and a semi-final at that! Azhar misreading the pitch he knew like the back of his hand was also ridiculous. Apparently Sidhu pleaded with him to bat first, but he didn't. I suppose things got to a head in England and Sidhu walked out. Yeah, Tendulkar batted beautifully. But the pitch was crumbling majorly. All Sri Lanka needed to do was get a wicket or two and the game would be theirs. That is exactly what happened.
By Jagadish (19 Dec 2005, 3:27:00 pm)
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