Thursday, December 31, 2009
Cricket is said to be – and I can vouch it is – a gentlemen’s game. And where else would have such game originated other than England. If you ever had followed the game closely, you would know what it means to have a game in overcast cloudy weather, just like what London weather is famous for.
Last Saturday, the same magic was repeated again at the majestic new VCA stadium at our own beautiful city of Nagpur. An on-off drizzle with continuous cloud cover with cool breeze in hot city of Nagpur and a quality game of test cricket at the breathtaking new VCA stadium – that’s what we call magic!
VCA stadium at Jamtha Nagpur was host for the final match of Irani Trophy with Mumbai and Rest of India battling out for the championship. The two squads had popular known names of Indian cricket like Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Wasim Jaffer, Ajit Agarkar, Sreesanth. However cricket crazy our country might be, domestic cricket is still a distant poorer cousin of the games involving national side. Even after all these big popular names, there wasn’t much crowd, and stadium was thrown open for all spectators for free. Thanks to this free entry, I and my brother decided in afternoon to make an unplanned trip to stadium and enjoy the game in superb weather for some time.
The drive to stadium itself was wonderful, leaving behind the city traffic and zooming safely at high-speed on the smooth NH-7. Stadium has a huge parking lot which is sufficient to accommodate all the traffic for a packed house for an international match. Stadium is walled from all sides, and just as you climb stairs and enter the stands, you are presented with lush green field and a colourful stadium. The whole lots of green, blue and yellow chairs (guess they had too much of orange colour in the city of oranges that they missed that colour in stadium!) are arranged with such discipline, and may be because it is brand new – it is really very well designed and managed. It presents the viewer with such a grand and picturesque sight that everyone is surely going to get impressed. Chair-rows have ample leg-space between them and heighted properly so that you always have whole view of the stadium every time. Although we couldn’t enter into the media-house and players’ section (pavilion and gymnasium and all), have heard that stadium has one of the best facilities available in the country. Sitting in stands it was difficult to make out who the player was (also because many of them aren’t known faces yet of Indian cricket). Score-board also wasn’t clearly visible (there was another electronic score-board but that wasn’t functional for this match). But that wasn’t an issue as the whole stadium has got free wi-fi connectivity. I had good time checking the commentary of match over cricinfo.com on my mobile using that wi-fi connection (thanks to the superb handset that Nokia E-51 is)! Though it was a small motley crowd of students, die-hard fans of game and people just passing time, a good fielding effort or an appeal was promptly appreciated and applauded.
And just like the London weather, rain-gods decided to add more beauty to the already lush green field. Drizzle stopped the game and covers were out on the pitch. We took this pause in game to check out the upper stands. That was one good move we made, for the view of stadium from upper stands is still more awesome. Just thinking of having a full-house for India-Australia ODI on 28th of this month thrilled us. What a great sight it would to see live Yuvraaj hitting Bret Lee out of park and Harbhajan trapping Ponting LBW in flood-lights at this sparkling new VCA stadium! This new VCA stadium is one of the best cricket grounds in world and that certainly makes each Nagpurian swell with that extra pride for his hometown! Nagpurians – do check out this newest pride-spot for our city.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
By Mohammad Yaqoob
Saturday, 29 Nov, 2008 4
LAHORE: The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) annexed their first national cricket title when they defeated Balochistan by 28 runs in the final of the RBS Pentangular Cup at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Friday.
The NWFP, who won all of their four games in the league stage, needed only 25 deliveries on the fifth and final morning to dislodge the last Balochistan batsman.
Appropriately, skipper Umar Gul had the honour claiming the wicket of Azharullah after Balochistan, chasing 272, had resumed at 234 for nine.
Azharullah failed to add to his overnight score of five. Last man Zulfiqar Babar remained unbeaten with a 46-ball 21.
Yasir Shah, the leg-spinner who turned the match in NWFP’s favour on the decisive fourth day was adjudged Man-of-the-Match for taking six for 87.
Yasir received cash prize of Rs50,000. The NWFP, besides winning the coveted trophy were awarded with the winners’ purse of Rs1 million while Balochistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq collected of Rs500,000 on behalf of his team.
Among individual awards, worth Rs50,000 each, Saeed bin Nasir claimed two prizes since he was adjudged the tournament’s best batsman (419 runs) as well as its best fielder (11 catches).
Paceman Shakeel-ur-Rehman, who played a key in the NWFP success, bagged the best bowler prize for picking 29 wickets while his team-mate Zulfiqar Jan was declared the best wicket-keeper for making 25 dismissals (
Saturday, 29 Nov, 2008 4
LAHORE: The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) annexed their first national cricket title when they defeated Balochistan by 28 runs in the final of the RBS Pentangular Cup at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Friday.
The NWFP, who won all of their four games in the league stage, needed only 25 deliveries on the fifth and final morning to dislodge the last Balochistan batsman.
Appropriately, skipper Umar Gul had the honour claiming the wicket of Azharullah after Balochistan, chasing 272, had resumed at 234 for nine.
Azharullah failed to add to his overnight score of five. Last man Zulfiqar Babar remained unbeaten with a 46-ball 21.
Yasir Shah, the leg-spinner who turned the match in NWFP’s favour on the decisive fourth day was adjudged Man-of-the-Match for taking six for 87.
Yasir received cash prize of Rs50,000. The NWFP, besides winning the coveted trophy were awarded with the winners’ purse of Rs1 million while Balochistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq collected of Rs500,000 on behalf of his team.
Among individual awards, worth Rs50,000 each, Saeed bin Nasir claimed two prizes since he was adjudged the tournament’s best batsman (419 runs) as well as its best fielder (11 catches).
Paceman Shakeel-ur-Rehman, who played a key in the NWFP success, bagged the best bowler prize for picking 29 wickets while his team-mate Zulfiqar Jan was declared the best wicket-keeper for making 25 dismissals (
Saturday, 29 Nov, 2008 4
LAHORE: The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) annexed their first national cricket title when they defeated Balochistan by 28 runs in the final of the RBS Pentangular Cup at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Friday.
The NWFP, who won all of their four games in the league stage, needed only 25 deliveries on the fifth and final morning to dislodge the last Balochistan batsman.
Appropriately, skipper Umar Gul had the honour claiming the wicket of Azharullah after Balochistan, chasing 272, had resumed at 234 for nine.
Azharullah failed to add to his overnight score of five. Last man Zulfiqar Babar remained unbeaten with a 46-ball 21.
Yasir Shah, the leg-spinner who turned the match in NWFP’s favour on the decisive fourth day was adjudged Man-of-the-Match for taking six for 87.
Yasir received cash prize of Rs50,000. The NWFP, besides winning the coveted trophy were awarded with the winners’ purse of Rs1 million while Balochistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq collected of Rs500,000 on behalf of his team.
Among individual awards, worth Rs50,000 each, Saeed bin Nasir claimed two prizes since he was adjudged the tournament’s best batsman (419 runs) as well as its best fielder (11 catches).
Paceman Shakeel-ur-Rehman, who played a key in the NWFP success, bagged the best bowler prize for picking 29 wickets while his team-mate Zulfiqar Jan was declared the best wicket-keeper for making 25 dismissals.
The cricket diplomacy has brought peace between the two countries and for the first time in 2004, after many years the Indian team came to Pakistan and since then they are playing regularly. Therefore, they must play regularly without fearing the terror attacks, which so far has not hurt any cricket player of any team. If the Australians, the South Africans or the English team wants to stay away from India and Pakistan, they should do so. They are the ones who would be losing.
Its time now that they rethink about lifting the ban from ICL. Let there be more Lahore Badshahs and Delhi Maharajas. Both India and Pakistan have so much talent that they can produce a dozen cricket teams of very high standards. So, instead of wooing, brooding and lamenting that the foreign teams or foreign players are not going to visit India and Pakistan, consider it as an opportunity – a blessing in disguise to boost the local standards of cricket by playing together. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh won’t mind coming to India and Pakistan as they understand the situation better than others. So, once again lets raise a big slogan for the sake of cricket – CRICKET ZINDABAD
Its time now that they rethink about lifting the ban from ICL. Let there be more Lahore Badshahs and Delhi Maharajas. Both India and Pakistan have so much talent that they can produce a dozen cricket teams of very high standards. So, instead of wooing, brooding and lamenting that the foreign teams or foreign players are not going to visit India and Pakistan, consider it as an opportunity – a blessing in disguise to boost the local standards of cricket by playing together. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh won’t mind coming to India and Pakistan as they understand the situation better than others. So, once again lets raise a big slogan for the sake of cricket – CRICKET ZINDABAD
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Play Ball!
My website is dedicated to documenting, through pictures and reviews, minor and major league baseball stadiums. I began my baseball stadium journey in 2002. Prior to that, I had been to a few stadiums, but not with the intention of writing a review on them. Each stadium that I have been to is critiqued through a review that I have written. My goal is to visit as many Major League and Minor League baseball stadiums as I can. Enjoy taking a look at my pictures and reading my reviews. In order to make it easier for fans to view my photos, I have included a link to an alphabetical list of all of the parks that I have visited. I will update this site as I visit more stadiums. Come visit my site often to check for new reviews and pictures!
My website is dedicated to documenting, through pictures and reviews, minor and major league baseball stadiums. I began my baseball stadium journey in 2002. Prior to that, I had been to a few stadiums, but not with the intention of writing a review on them. Each stadium that I have been to is critiqued through a review that I have written. My goal is to visit as many Major League and Minor League baseball stadiums as I can. Enjoy taking a look at my pictures and reading my reviews. In order to make it easier for fans to view my photos, I have included a link to an alphabetical list of all of the parks that I have visited. I will update this site as I visit more stadiums. Come visit my site often to check for new reviews and pictures!
When Florentino Pérez became the president of Real Madrid, he launched a "master plan" with one goal: To improve the comfort of the Santiago Bernabéu and the quality of its facilities, and maximise revenue for the stadium.
Pérez invested €127 million in five years (2001–2006) by adding an expansion to the east side of the stadium, as well adding a new façade on Father Damien, new costumes, new boxes and VIP areas, a new stage in honour of the east side, a new press area (also located on the east side), a new audio system, new bars, placement of heat in the stands, panoramic lifts, new restaurants, escalators in the towers access, and implementation of the multipurpose building in the street Father Damien.
Following the enlargement of the lateral east side and the creation of new galleries, the capacity of the Santiago Bernabéu is 80,354, all seated.
In 2007, the 1,000th game was played at the Santiago Bernabéu. In addition, the latest revision of UEFA on 27 October 2007, on the occasion of Champions League match against Olympiacos, served as a final step to give the Santiago Bernabéu elite stadium status on 14 November 2007, a month before the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the inauguration of the stadium. UEFA announced that the club will officially rename the Elite stadium.
Pérez proposed construction of a retractable roof before he resigned in 2005. In 2009, following the re-election of Pérez as the club president, it was announced that the roof construction was looking unlikely due to the financial situation of the club. However, according to Spanish sports newspaper Marca, Pérez wants to restructure Santiago Bernabéu. According to the newspaper, the architect in charge will be chosen between a shortlist of Spanish architects Santiago Calatrava and Pritzker Prize-winner Rafael Moneo, and Chinese-American Ieoh Ming Pei, also a Pritzker winner[4].
The stadium was officially announced the venue for the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final in a star studded ceremony in Nyon in 2008.
Pérez invested €127 million in five years (2001–2006) by adding an expansion to the east side of the stadium, as well adding a new façade on Father Damien, new costumes, new boxes and VIP areas, a new stage in honour of the east side, a new press area (also located on the east side), a new audio system, new bars, placement of heat in the stands, panoramic lifts, new restaurants, escalators in the towers access, and implementation of the multipurpose building in the street Father Damien.
Following the enlargement of the lateral east side and the creation of new galleries, the capacity of the Santiago Bernabéu is 80,354, all seated.
In 2007, the 1,000th game was played at the Santiago Bernabéu. In addition, the latest revision of UEFA on 27 October 2007, on the occasion of Champions League match against Olympiacos, served as a final step to give the Santiago Bernabéu elite stadium status on 14 November 2007, a month before the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the inauguration of the stadium. UEFA announced that the club will officially rename the Elite stadium.
Pérez proposed construction of a retractable roof before he resigned in 2005. In 2009, following the re-election of Pérez as the club president, it was announced that the roof construction was looking unlikely due to the financial situation of the club. However, according to Spanish sports newspaper Marca, Pérez wants to restructure Santiago Bernabéu. According to the newspaper, the architect in charge will be chosen between a shortlist of Spanish architects Santiago Calatrava and Pritzker Prize-winner Rafael Moneo, and Chinese-American Ieoh Ming Pei, also a Pritzker winner[4].
The stadium was officially announced the venue for the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final in a star studded ceremony in Nyon in 2008.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
The best way is to travel by public transport - Catch a train to Central Station, then catch a bus or exit the station on the Eddy Avenue side and walk to Moore Park down Foveaux and Fitzroy Sts (15-20 minutes).
‘Moore Park Link’ - combined train/bus tickets are available to get you to and from Moore Park on a single ticket. ‘Moore Park Link’ is available from most CityRail stations with a ticket office. Timetable information is available from www.131500.com.au or by calling the Transport Infoline on 131 500.
When play ends obviously everyone wants to leave the ground at once and although there will be buses waiting outside it’s usually faster to follow the line of people walking back to Central station.
If you must drive to the ground than be aware that traffic around the Moore park and SCG area can be congested and slow moving just before play starts and when it ends. Limited parking is available at Moore Park and Fox Studios and sometimes also in the grounds of Sydney Boys/Girls High Schools across the road from the SCG.
Significant discounts apply to Moore Park East Event Parking charges when there are four or more passengers in the car. This is to encourage car pooling and thus decrease traffic congestion around major events.
‘Moore Park Link’ - combined train/bus tickets are available to get you to and from Moore Park on a single ticket. ‘Moore Park Link’ is available from most CityRail stations with a ticket office. Timetable information is available from www.131500.com.au or by calling the Transport Infoline on 131 500.
When play ends obviously everyone wants to leave the ground at once and although there will be buses waiting outside it’s usually faster to follow the line of people walking back to Central station.
If you must drive to the ground than be aware that traffic around the Moore park and SCG area can be congested and slow moving just before play starts and when it ends. Limited parking is available at Moore Park and Fox Studios and sometimes also in the grounds of Sydney Boys/Girls High Schools across the road from the SCG.
Significant discounts apply to Moore Park East Event Parking charges when there are four or more passengers in the car. This is to encourage car pooling and thus decrease traffic congestion around major events.
This is a list of Test cricket grounds. Since the first cricket Test match in Australia in 1877, 100 grounds have hosted Test cricket. The grounds are listed by country, with the countries listed in the order in which they first hosted a Test match and the grounds in each country listed in the order in which they were first used as a venue for Test cricket. However, the first international cricket match was actually a game between the United States of America and Canada in Manhattan, New York on 24–25 September 1844 with that city's St George's Club representing the USA and Toronto CC representing Canada.[citation needed] More than 32 years passed before Australia and England contested what was to become accepted as the first official Test match in March 1877. 5 day matches between non-Test playing countries are therefore not considered a proper Test match. Also, this excludes World Series Cricket and South African rebel tours venues. On 8 July 2009, the SWALEC Stadium (previously known as Sophia Gardens) in Cardiff became the 100th test venue.[1][2]
The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium was unable to host international matches for a period of 12 months from March 2008 as major work was done to improve the conditions
The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium was unable to host international matches for a period of 12 months from March 2008 as major work was done to improve the conditions
But he was still mightily impressed after a visit to the Dubai International Cricket Stadium at Dubai Sports City on Tuesday, labeling the venue “sensational.”
Waugh, who among other achievements in a stellar career won two ICC Cricket World Cups, in 1987 and 1999, captained Australia to a record-equaling 16 Test wins in a row and who was recently inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, said after his visit: “It’s a fantastic facility, among the best I’ve seen.
“With a venue like this it would be great if there could be more cricket played here and I know that if more cricketers see it then they will want to play here. It’s sensational.”
Waugh’s wish for more cricket at the 25,000-seat capacity venue will be fulfilled as early as next month when Pakistan and New Zealand compete in two Twenty20 Internationals (T20I) under lights on 12 and 13 November.
The matches will follow on from the successful staging of international action at the venue in April and May when Pakistan and Australia took part in two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and a T20I.
And the Pakistan – New Zealand matches at Dubai Sports City will be preceded by three ODIs between the two sides at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on 3, 6 and 9 November.
Khalid Al Zarooni, President, Dubai Sports City, said: “We are delighted to have had the chance to show Steve around our facilities and we are equally delighted to know he was impressed.
“We are proud of what we are achieving here at Dubai Sports City and to get approval from one of the greatest cricketers in the history of the game is not only satisfying but also a clear illustration that we have achieved our vision to create a world-class venue with world-class facilities.”
Details of ticket availability and prices will be announced in the near future, as will details of how media can obtain accreditation for the two matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Waugh also visited the soon-to-be-completed ICC Global Cricket Academy and added: “What is being put together is world-class.”
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
PERTH CRICKET STADIUM IN AUSTRALIA THE FASTEST TRACK ON EARTH
WACA, PerthWestern AustraliaDeemed as the hardest & fastest cricket pitch in the world, batsman have to be good on horizontal bat shots to survive here. Unlike most of Aussie stadiums with huge spectators stands, Perth cricket ground has a capacity of merely 22 thousand people, enjoying cricket on the grass stands or the temporary seatings. India have played 2 test matches here & lost them both.
W.A.C.A. Ground
East Perth, Perth, Western Australia.
GROUND PROFILE:
Also or formerly known as Western Australia Cricket Association GroundEstablished 1890Capacity 22,000 (24,500 with temporary seating)Playing area 149.0 long, 139.0 wideFloodlights YesEnd names Members End, Prindiville Stand EndHome team(s) Western AustraliaOther sports Australian Rules Football, Rugby League, Rugby Union, SoccerCurator Cameron
WACA, PerthWestern AustraliaDeemed as the hardest & fastest cricket pitch in the world, batsman have to be good on horizontal bat shots to survive here. Unlike most of Aussie stadiums with huge spectators stands, Perth cricket ground has a capacity of merely 22 thousand people, enjoying cricket on the grass stands or the temporary seatings. India have played 2 test matches here & lost them both.
W.A.C.A. Ground
East Perth, Perth, Western Australia.
GROUND PROFILE:
Also or formerly known as Western Australia Cricket Association GroundEstablished 1890Capacity 22,000 (24,500 with temporary seating)Playing area 149.0 long, 139.0 wideFloodlights YesEnd names Members End, Prindiville Stand EndHome team(s) Western AustraliaOther sports Australian Rules Football, Rugby League, Rugby Union, SoccerCurator Cameron
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Durban Cricket Stadium
Durban Cricket Stadium
25000
Umgeni End, Old Fort End
KwaZulu-Natal, Natal
13:20, Tue Dec 22, 2009 (UTC +0200)
Sahara Stadium Kingsmead is a Cricket ground in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its current stated capacity is 25,000, although grass terracing makes up part of the viewing area. The 'End names' are the Umgeni End (north) and the Old Fort Road End (south). It is the home ground of the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins.
When a Test series is played in South Africa, this ground usually hosts the Boxing Day Test.
Kingsmead cricket ground during the Cricket World Cup match England v India 2003This venue hosted the first Test for the South African cricket team after re-admission into international cricket and also hosted the timeless Test against the English cricket team in 1939. This Test lasted from the third to the thirteenth of March and was called off over fears that the English would miss their ship home. The first Test match to be played here was between South Africa and England on January 18, 1923, which resulted in a draw.
It has been renowned as a seamers wicket, and there is also a famous myth regarding how the tide affects batting conditions, as the ground is quite close to the beach. Many batting collapses in matches in the past have been blamed on changes in the tide, but nobody has been able to prove this theory.
It is the stadium used every other year for the finish of the Comrades Marathon, an ultramarathon run annually between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Because the run alternates directions each year, it only finishes in Durban in odd-numbered years. The ground is named Sahara which is the trademark of a sponsor from the IT industry.
When a Test series is played in South Africa, this ground usually hosts the Boxing Day Test.
Kingsmead cricket ground during the Cricket World Cup match England v India 2003This venue hosted the first Test for the South African cricket team after re-admission into international cricket and also hosted the timeless Test against the English cricket team in 1939. This Test lasted from the third to the thirteenth of March and was called off over fears that the English would miss their ship home. The first Test match to be played here was between South Africa and England on January 18, 1923, which resulted in a draw.
It has been renowned as a seamers wicket, and there is also a famous myth regarding how the tide affects batting conditions, as the ground is quite close to the beach. Many batting collapses in matches in the past have been blamed on changes in the tide, but nobody has been able to prove this theory.
It is the stadium used every other year for the finish of the Comrades Marathon, an ultramarathon run annually between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Because the run alternates directions each year, it only finishes in Durban in odd-numbered years. The ground is named Sahara which is the trademark of a sponsor from the IT industry.
Source:-wikimapi.com
Johannesburg Cricket Stadium
Johannesburg Cricket Stadium
Liberty Life Wanderers Cricket Stadium in Johannesburg is amongst the worlds top cricket grounds. The facilities are extensive, with 180 corporate suits situated in 5 different pavilions.
Following readmission to the international test arena, the Stadium hosted World Cup One Day International final in 2003, and after that the first 20Twenty Word Cup series. The Wanderers Cricket Stadium is indeed a ground with a rich history and wonderful facilities, of which which every South African cricket lover can feel proud.
Source:-johannesburginfo.com
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
15000
Yes
Pavilion End, Shell End
Pakistan, Rawalpindi
15:53, Tue Dec 22, 2009 (UTC +0500
Model of Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Has the capacity of around 20,000 spectators. Floodlights were established here in 2001
Pakistan, with an eye on the World Cup of 1996, unveil another new Test venue for the second Test against Zimbabwe in Rawalpindi. Karachi staged Pakistan's first Test match and now Rawalpindi becomes the country's 14th Test ground. Perched on the edge of the city of almost four million people and only three miles away from the capital Islamabad, the newly-built ground has seating for 15,000 people. Rawalpindi was used last January for the fifth and final one-day international against Sri Lanka, which Pakistan won by 117 runs to win the one-day series by a margin of 4:1.
Source:-cricinfo.com
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