Eighty fans chase every World Cup final ticket

Nearly 80 fans are vying for every seat available online for the April 2 final of the World Cup in Mumbai, head of the official ticket agency said on Friday.

There is a similar demand for semi-final matches and it would only grow further in the next couple of days before the ballot window is closed, KyaZoonga chief executive Neetu Bhatia said.

Dalmiya accuses ICC of double standards

"In terms of demand for tickets for semi-final and final, it's almost at 80:1 ratio and we are still counting," Bhatia told Reuters by telephone.

"The demand stands nearly 80 times of the tickets available. We are very excited about this. Sunday is the cut-off day and people are still going to apply for those tickets."

The organisers have already confirmed that of the 33,000 seats in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, only 1000 would be available online.

In all, around 4000 tickets are available for the public, while the rest would be distributed among the International Cricket Council (ICC) and clubs affiliated to the Mumbai Cricket Association.

Last month, the ticket website crashed in 20 minutes when 10 million fans logged in seeking those 1000 tickets, prompting the organisers to organise a ballot system instead.

Sidhu's secret diary

"It's actually the first ever such ticket ballot to be held in this part of the world. We put it together quickly and swiftly when it was decided, along with ICC and BCCI (Indian cricket board), that we would go the ballot way," Bhatia said.

"It's the most equitable form of ticket distribution that's used for Wimbledon and Olympics. We are pretty proud of what we have accomplished by putting it together so quickly for an event like this."

After the ballot, successful applicants would have to make the payment and the tickets would start reaching them from the third week of this month, she added.

Clash of the title favorites in World Cup today

The two favourites for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 title, co-host India and South Africa will play today in important Group B clash at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur.

The match has significance importance for both the teams but especially for South Africa as they yet to qualify for the next round and on the other hand India became the first team to book their place in the quarter final spot.

Both teams have mixed tournament so far but India has a slight better competition than South Africa as they yet to taste defeat in the World Cup 2011. South Africa had started well in their World Cup campaign as they beat West Indies convincingly in their opening match but the defeat against England in low scoring encounter was the big setback for the Proteas as they again called Chokers for their batting collapse against England where they lost seven wickets for less than 50 runs.

South Africa cricket team will have the psychological advantage against the Indians as they beat them in the five match one day international series  at home by 3-2 just before the start of the World Cup and they will be looking to repeat their performance in India as well.

However, India will enter in to the match as favourites simply because of their home advantage as everyone is sure that the pitch will help the spinners in Nagpur after Dhoni and company failed to defend 338 against England on batting track.

Dhoni has to take major decision on his bowling combination as except for Zaheer Khan, all the other Indian bowlers failed to impress in the World Cup. It is also important to mention here that the tall off spinner R Ashwin still ignored by the Indian skipper despite of consistent failures of spinners Harbhajan and Piyush Chawla on spinning tracks where part time spinner Yuvraj able to dismantle the opponents.

The current form of Virender Sehwag is also a bit of worry for Dhoni as except for the first match against Bangladesh, he failed to score runs against teams like England, Ireland and Netherlands. Gambhir and Kohli also got starts in some matches but they too failed to capitalize and scored big runs.

Smith will be happy with batting forms of current number 1 & 2 in ICC ODI rankings i.e. Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers but the concern for him is his own batting form and their rock in the middle order Jacques Kallis. The secret weapon of Proteas leg spinner Imran Tahir didn’t disappoint his team as he consistently picking up the wickets for them and the positive news about recovery of injury will also boost the team morale.

All in all, it will be a fascinating match to watch where two cricketing giants will take on each other and will try to stamp their authority.

India vs South Africa: The ‘Big Match’ of World Cup

The ‘Big Match’ of the World Cup tournament will be played between India vs South Africa at Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Jamtha in Nagpur on Saturday.

The day/night encounter is one of the most awaited games of this World Cup. The two top teams will vie to establish their supremacy in the cricket and World Cup as well.

The high voltage encounter will also test Proteas character during pressure. They started the tournament impressively but lost the low scorer game against England by six runs.

On the other hand, India is still unbeaten in the world. They have played four games in the World Cup so far and won three and played a dramatic tie against England.

 Stay tuned with us for live commentary and live score of the India vs South Africa. The match will start at 2.30 pm IST.

Wasim Akram urges Pakistan not to panic after New Zealand loss – ICC World Cup 2011 news

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has advised Pakistan cricket team not to panic following their morale-sapping 110-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand on Tuesday in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2011 group stage.

Akram has urged that the team captain, Shahid Afridi must have a plan B ready for every game if things do not work in the pre-planned manner.

“I think there is a clear need for the captain to handle the pressure on the field when the situation changes,” said Akram in an interview with a leading sports channel of Pakistan. “At times I get the feeling that everything is decided before hand and when things to start go wrong there is no change of mind or the inclination to take decisions as the situation warrants.”

Talking about Tuesday’s game between New Zealand and Pakistan, Akram said that the main reason behind Pakistan’s collapse was that their think-tank panicked and exhausted the crucial overs of all the key bowlers including death overs specialist Umar Gul.

The pace bowling great of Pakistan feels bowling is still Pakistan’s strength and they should rely more on it and remain in attacking mode.

Akram said that the team is good and if the management picks the right combination in the next game, they have the potential to go a long way in the tournament reiterating that they do not need to panic.

He also asked the crazy cricket fans of Pakistan not to overreact at the defeat against the Kiwis.

“I would like to appeal to our people not to take any defeat or bad performance to heart and react like the Bangladeshi fans did,” said the former Pakistan captain who played cricket for 19 years. “Our team is a good team but in sports the other team also comes into win. We must learn to be patient and back our players all the way.”

Wasim also expressed disappointment over the attack of fanatic Bangladesh fans on the West Indies team bus in Dhaka.

ICC World Cup 2011: Ireland made to pay for a damaged door in Indian hotel

Ireland have once again found themselves in another controversy, just days after their wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien lost his bag containing his bats. This time, reports are coming that the Irish were asked to pay for damages discovered in their dressing room after their match against India last Sunday.

According to Indian media reports, the Ireland cricket management has paid 23,000 rupees to the local cricket association to cover the damages. Apparently a door in the dressing room was broken. Reports suggest that the incident happened when the door was accidentally pushed outwards instead of inwards, which caused the bottom hinge to break.

The Ireland management has chosen not to name the player responsible for the incident. Getting entangled in a controversy with the local administration was perhaps the last thing the Irish management wanted and for this reason the fine was paid without any hassle.

Meanwhile India’s all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who was the man of the match in the Ireland-India clash, has come forward to help Niall O’Brien cover his loss of six bats that were in his bag that has gone missing. Singh has offered O’ Brien two of his bats, which may come in handy during Ireland’s do-or-die match against West Indies this Friday. “It is a wonderful gesture from Yuvraj and I’m very grateful. However, I am confident that the bats will arrive from my sponsor in time for Friday,” said O’Brien.

According to insiders, O’Brien’s sponsor Gray Nicolls, have a factory near Chandigarh and have assured the Irish cricketer that they would provide him with the necessary gear in time before the next fixture. Initially when O’ Brien’s sports kit disappeared, the Ireland management informed the local police before contacting the local cricket association responsible for hosting the players in the venue. The cricket association did not like the police getting involved in their matters and had expressed annoyance over the issue.

However, Cricket Ireland released a statement yesterday, explaining the reason for reporting the matter to the police. “To enable Niall to claim compensation from his insurance company, we reported the matter to the local police station. This was done to secure a police incident number, without which the insurance company will not entertain his claim,” the statement said.

ICC tweaks 2.5 metre DRS rule for 'consistency'

The ICC has made a slight but significant alteration to the 2.5m rule, the most controversial segment of its decision review system (DRS) used in this World Cup, to enable more consistent application by the umpires. The change to the DRS rule No. 3.3 - which expands the umpire's scope for interpretation - follows its contrary usage in the first two weeks of the competition.

An ICC spokesperson confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the umpires have "changed the protocol" in the clause to ensure a "consistency" of on-field umpires when using the DRS pertaining to not out lbw reviews.

A directive has gone out from the ICC's Umpires & Referees manager to all umpires that if an lbw appeal shows that even though there may be a distance between the stumps and the point of impact of 2.5m or greater, the on-field umpire can think of reversing the decision even if the replay shows that the ball is hitting "any part of the middle" stump.

    The altered 2.5metre rule came into application during an lbw appeal against Alex Cusack, India v Ireland, Group B, World Cup 2011, Bangalore, March 6, 2011
The altered rule came into application during an lbw appeal against Alex Cusack in the India v Ireland game © Getty Images
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The previous rule required that the leg-before could be reversed - by the on-field umpire - only if the replay showed that the ball was hitting the middle stump dead centre. This change in the 'protocol' was brought into play in the India v Ireland match in Bangalore, when umpire Rod Tucker reversed his lbw decision against Alex Cusack off the bowling of Yuvraj Singh. Tucker was heard on the stump microphone asking third umpire Marais Erasmus to let him know whether the ball was hitting "any part of the middle stump." The third umpire, it was confirmed, was also required to give the on-field umpire "all relevant information" during an lbw review and not merely specific pieces of information during the DRS process.

Teams had also been informed of this alteration in the rule and Yuvraj said later that while he "did not understand the 2.5 rule much", he knew it had been what he called "removed." He said the current rule stated that if, "the ball is hitting the line, it's out... I was just discussing it with Dhoni, so I took the referral."

The application of the same 2.5m rule had led to two contrasting reviews under the DRS last week, one involving Ian Bell - in England's match against India - and the other the Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura against New Zealand. Both batsmen were struck well forward from the stumps but the not out decision against Bell's was not overturned while Chigumbura was declared out.

The 2.5m clause was included in the DRS rules following the expert view that the ball-tracker technology, in this case Hawk Eye, lost its accuracy when the distance between the point of impact and the stumps was greater than 2.5m.

Sharda Ugra is senior editor at ESPNcricinfo
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© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

ICC Cricket World Cup: Final And Semi-Final Tickets To Be Sold Through Ballot

ICC Chief Executive Mr. Haroon Lorgat announced today that the tickets for the finale and semi-finals of the world cup will be distributed through a ballot system that shall be channelized through ICC’s official ticket partner www.kyazoonga.com.

Earlier when the ICC had decided to sell the 4000 odd tickets for each of the matches through kyazoonga .com the number of people wanting the tickets were so many that the site crashed in a matter of few minutes from the time the tickets started selling.

The semi-finals are going to be played on 29th in Colombo and on the 30th in Mohali, while the finals are going to be played in Wankhede on the 2nd of April.  The ballot will start on the 28th February (Monday).

ICC Chief Executive Mr. Lorgat said: “It was most unfortunate and no blame should be directed at Kyazoonga, the ICC’s official ticketing partner, as no one could have anticipated that tens of millions people would be trying to access the site an hour before it went live. In truth Kyazoonga have been an innocent third party in all the issues we have had with ticketing.

“In conjunction with the hosts, we have now agreed that a ballot system is the best means of releasing any available tickets for the semis and final. The high demand clearly proves the massive attraction of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and format of 50 overs cricket.”

In dismissing media perceptions about a letter addressed to ICC President Mr. Sharad Pawar, Mr. Lorgat added: “To help resolve our ticketing challenges we have also engaged the offices of the ICC President Mr. Pawar to assist us as he has done with several other issues related to World Cup planning.”

The tickets selling process can be summarized in six steps:

Step 1: You can apply for the ICC CWC Ticket Public Ballot from the 28th February to the 6th March. The public ballot application form is to be filled in at http://cwc2011ballot.kyazoonga.com. Only two tickets per applicant is allowed and only one application per person shall be considered. In case you do fill up another application the second application shall be automatically avoided.

Step 2: You will receive a Ballot Confirmation Number once you complete and submit your application form. No upfront payment is required at this stage.

Step 3: Try to follow all the instructions and rules myopically. If you break any of the rules then the tickets offered to you shall be immediately cancelled. All Ballot applications must be submitted no later than 6 March 2011.

Step 4: The draw will be made by computer on 10 March 2011 and successful applicants will be informed by email on 11 March 2011. If you have not heard from Kyazoonga by 12 March 2011, please assume that your application was not successful in the ballot.

Step 5: Successful applicants will be able to pay for their tickets through Kyazoonga’s secure payment processing website where they will be shown the transaction amount and asked to pay online using credit card/debit card/net-banking. If your transaction is not successful, your place in the draw will be offered to the next polled applicant from the draw.

Step 6: Upon successful payment completion, you will receive a confirmation page and email. Please print the page and keep the email. You will receive your tickets from the third week of March 2011.

Shahid Afridi shines as top World Cup wicket-taker with two 5-wicket hauls

With 14 wickets in three World Cup games, Pakistan cricket team skipper, Shahid Afridi, stands as the tournament’s top wicket-taker.

After yesterday’s match against Canada, Afridi has also become the world’s seventh bowler to take three consecutive four-wicket hauls in One Day International (ODI) cricket.

He has the honour to be the first Pakistani bowler and the fourth overall to take five-wicket hauls twice in a ICC Cricket World Cup. Moreover, Afridi is the first skipper to mop up a five-wicket haul.

All these honors were conferred upon Afridi after he completed his second five-wicket haul of the ongoing World Cup against Canada on Thursday March 3, 2011.

His first five-wicket haul came against Kenya on 23 February, 2011 in their World Cup opener. With 5 for 16 against Kenya and 5 for 23 against Canada, Afridi has made history as the first skipper to take two 5-wicket hauls.

Before Afridi’s feat, Abdul Razzaq, Waqar Younis, Shane Warne, Vasbert Drakes, Kurram Chohan and Narendra Hirwani have achieved three consecutive five-wicket hauls. Afridi is the seventh to have this honour.

Afridi is likely to surpass former Pakistani pacer, Wasim Akram’s 18 World Cup wickets in 10 World Cup games in 1992, provided he keeps his from intact. Afridi’s overall World Cup record is marvellous with 21 wickets in 15 games at an average of 16.67 with a strike rate of 23.0.

With his 220 wickets in 177 ODIs, Afridi has emerged an excellent spinner cum skipper in the world of cricket. He has won 24 ‘Man of the Match’ tittles including two in the ongoing World Cup. With his excellent leg break googlies, Afridi confuses the facing batsmen and his bowling drifts and skids into the wicket.

Afridi has vindicated the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to appoint him as skipper. The PCB lingered on the matter of naming a skipper for Pakistan’s World Cup squad despite severe pressure from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

There had been two nominees for the rank of captaincy, Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq, the former being the standing captain, while the latter had led the team in Test cricket. Following Pakistan’s 3-2 win in an ODI series against New Zealand shortly before the World Cup, Afridi stood as a captain.

Initially his international career begun as an aggressive batsman. Now, Afridi is gradually emerging as an excellent all-rounder. Due to his aggressive and emotional batting-style, he often scores inconsistently.

Team coach, Waqar Younis, and some other former Pakistani players have advised him to focus on bowling and Afridi is following their advice successfully.

It has also been reported that shortly before the start of yesterday’s match, Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup triumph hero, Imran Khan, called him up and asked Afridi to thrive on the bowling front.

Ind vs Eng: Sachin Tendulkar falls after record World Cup ton

NEW DELHI: James Anderson had Sachin Tendulkar caught by Michael Yardy in the covers as India lost their third wicket with 236 runs on the board in their World Cup clash at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Sunday.

Scorecard | Photos | Points Table

Tendulkar's 120-run knock came off 115 balls and was studded with 5 sixes and 10 fours.

Tendulkar hit his 47th century off 103 balls as India crossed the 200-run mark in the 35th over.

This is Tendulkar's fifth World Cup century - the most by any player in the world. Tendulkar achieved the landmark with a boundary to fine leg off Tim Bresnan.

This was after England off-spinner Graeme Swann clean bowled Gautam Gambhir (51) to place India at 180/2 in 29.4 overs.

Tendulkar and Gambhir added 134 runs for the second wicket as they got hold of the proceedings in the middle.

Tendulkar reached his fifty in style with a big heave over mid-wicket and once again it was Collingwood at the bowling end.

Tendulkar took India past 100-run mark with a fine lofty six, the first of the match, over mid-off on Collingwood's delivery.

Paceman Tim Bresnan provided England crucial breakthrough as he got rid of dangerous looking Indian opener Virender Sehwag in his first over of the day.

Sehwag was sent back to the pavilion with a fine diving one-handed catch by wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

Sehwag, who scored a quickfire 35 off 26 balls, slammed six boundaries during his short stay at the crease. Sehwag also became the third Indian to score 1000 ODI runs against England.

Opting to bat, Indian openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar got off to a fine start against England.

Dashing opener Sehwag got a few close calls in the first over itself but he was lucky enough to survive.

Sehwag slashed the very first ball of the innings, which kissed Graeme Swann's hand at the third slip on its way to the boundary. Sehwag got another leading edge on James Anderson's delivery but it landed safely.

The explosive Sehwag continued his attack as he welcomed seamer Ajmal Shahzad with two more boundaries in the second over.

Earlier in the day, England seamer Stuart Broad was ruled out of the World Cup clash against India after being confined to bed for two days.

Seamer Ajmal Shahzad has been pencilled into the playing XI in pacer Stuart Broad's place while in the batting line-up, Michael Yardy has come in for Ravi Bopara.

On the other hand Piyush Chawla replaced S Sreesanth in India's playing XI, with Indian team going into the match with two specialist seamers and spinners.

"Good luck lads, gutted I'm not there. Will be watching from the bed I've not left for 2 days.... Never felt worse," Broad wrote on his Twitter account.

Cricket World Cup: Pakistan thumps Sri Lanka

Some almost comical fielding not to mention hilarious batting mix-ups could not disguise the very serious threat Pakistan are starting to pose at the World Cup after silencing a Sri Lankan crowd on Saturday.

In their skipper Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan attack has a potent weapon which proved just as deadly to Sri Lanka’s classy batting line-up as it did to the less gifted Kenyans.

This time the leg spinner grabbed four valuable wickets (4-34) to stop Sri Lanka in their tracks and set the scene for a fairly comfortable 11-run victory, Pakistan having made 277-7 batting first with Misbah-ul-Haq unbeaten on 83 and Younus Khan 72.

The result leaves Afridi’s men in the driving seat in Group A and sitting pretty already for a quarter-final berth in late March.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will not be able to afford too many more slip-ups following this disappointing performance after making the costly decision to give their main strike bowler Lasith Malinga more time to recover from a sore back.

Yet there was plenty to criticise in this Pakistan performance, as man-of-the-match Afridi himself conceded later.

CRICKETING TRAGICOMEDY

The batting run-out in which Mohammad Hafeez (32) lost his wicket was a cricketing tragicomedy as both he and his partner Kamran Akmal (39) found themselves miserably stranded at the wrong end before briefly looking dumbfounded as to which of them had to go.

Equally, Pakistan’s fielders dropped a couple of sitters in the field as the pressure began to build late in the Sri Lanka innings and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal managed to blow at least one clear stumping chance.

But any opponent at this World Cup thinking that Pakistan are not deadly earnest in adding to their sole World Cup title of 1992 would be making a big error.

The team under the intensely focused Afridi have plenty of talent with bat and ball and a nice balance with both.

Afridi believes that it was a laid-back attitude rather than a big occasion in front of a deeply partisan, capacity Colombo crowd willing them to lose which made their cricket a little ragged on occasion.

“It was a big game and the boys all knew how big the game was. The boys were a little too relaxed and we need to tell them on this kind of stage they should not relax,” he said.

“It’s beautiful conditions, especially for bowlers. The wicket gives you turn and bounce as well, so it also helps the fast bowlers if they keep their line.”

BRIGHT SIDE

His opposite number, Kumar Sangakkara, tried to look on the bright side.

“Any defeat is tough but quite a few positives to take. I thought we bowled pretty well on a pretty flat track. Unfortunately, we lost three wickets at the wrong time,” he said.

“We made it a bit difficult for ourselves by losing wickets. We got a good start, we needed a couple of blokes to kick on from there and keep batting for a longer time. Unfortunately Pakistan played very well.”

They certainly did despite the blemishes and this victory should not be under-estimated against a team which has its own very strong credentials to repeat its triumph in the tournament 15 years ago.

Pakistan won the toss and made steady progress to reach 105-3 whereupon Younus and Misbah took control of a fairly toothless Sri Lankan attack which badly missed Malinga.

They put on 108 for the fourth wicket and their eventual total of 277 at 5.54 runs an over represented about par for the course on a wicket which was getting slower and slower as the day/night match wore on.

In response, Upul Tharanga (33) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (41) progressed through the early overs with no real problems before Tharanga failed to get over a full delivery from Hafeez and was well caught at extra cover by the ubiquitous Afridi.

There then followed a mini implosion with the next three wickets falling for a total of just 20 more runs leaving Sri Lanka in serious trouble at 96-4.

Chamara Silva (57) and Angelo Mathews (18) steadied the ship but in adding 73 runs for the fifth wicket in 16.2 overs, they left their team well behind the run rate.

A late flourish from Nuwan Kulasekara (24 off 14 balls) coupled with some frankly sloppy bowling from Shoaib Akhtar (2-42) and Umur Gul (1-60) gave the home side a sliver of a chance but when Kulasekara was out caught in the deep the game was up.

Pakistan already deserve a lot of credit at this World Cup.

They have played some terrific cricket in gaining two impressive wins and are making good Afridi’s promise that they will put behind them all their pre-World Cup woes including the ongoing corruption case against three of their former team mates, Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif.

Whatever the merits of their case, their former team mates are clearly focusing very much on the field and when this Pakistan side does that, they can be very hard to beat.

Cricket apps ride World Cup wave

CHENNAI: Ravi Kumar - a cricket buff and a techie whose job entails a lot of travel - is hooked on to his mobile phone these days. With the World Cup (WC) in progress, his phone is his only way of getting quick updates.

"I will be closely following the World Cup, especially India's progress. With so many variety of cricket apps available, I can easily get scores or watch highlights of the matches while travelling. When bored, I also play some WC tournament-like cricket games," said Kumar.

A spokesperson of Informate Mobile Intelligence, a telecom research company, said there was a 102% increase in access of cricket sites on mobiles in IPL 2010 as compared to the 2009 season. "We believe this World Cup would have an even bigger following on smartphones," he said.

Others echo that view. "The downloads during a big tournament like World Cup are anywhere from 50% to 100% higher than dry days. During the last IPL, our cricket game clocked around 5 lakh to 7.5 lakh downloads," said Abhijit Jayapal, CEO of Mumbai-based Synqua Games. The mobile apps company developed a gaming app - 'Ultimate Cricket '11 World Cup' - which runs on BlackBerry and Nokia.

If cricket is the religion of India, smartphones could very well turn out to be the new altar. "Our cricket feed aggregator app CricketWC2011 is currently No. 3 in sports category of iTunes app store for India. The Java version of the same app was released two weeks back and clocked 20,000 downloads in the first week itself. We will be going live on the BlackBerry platform in a couple of days," says Vaideeswaran Sethuraman, founder and CEO of Divum, a mobile development company in Bangalore.

On a global scale too, the greatest interest in cricket apps is shown mainly by Indians. "We currently have 2.5 lakh active users for our CricThrill app. Close to 95% of our users are from India. Within the country, we see pan-India usage with no particular region clearly dominating showing the widespread popularity of cricket," said M A Ramachandran, head of mobile operations at Chennai-based KrishCricket, founded by former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth. Information apps, Ramachandran said, fare better than games in terms of downloads. They are generally in a 60:40 ratio.

Apart from these developers, most of the big brands in cricket like ESPN, CricInfo and CricBuzz have also launched apps, either independently or in collaboration with app development houses like Divum, which designed an app for ESPN. Even regulator International Cricket Council (ICC) has released an official World Cup app for its WC 2011 tournament. Mobile phone companies like Nokia have also jumped into the fray and tied up with ESPN to release an ESPN widget exclusively for their flagship smartphone device N8.

Sethuraman said Divum is now getting around 5,000 downloads per week. In periods between tournaments, the figure hovers around a few hundreds. "This trend of more downloads starts around three weeks before a major tournament. Everybody launches their apps in this period. We started planning our own app in January and released it close to World Cup," he said.

The downloads will peak around mid of the World Cup when decisive matches begin. Awareness of mobile games and apps also goes up during this period. "We are ramping up promotional activities in this period with targeted mailers and mobile advertising," said Jayapal of Synqua Games.

Zimbabwe lose CWC opener by 91 runs

Zimbabwe lost their opening game of the 2011 World Cup by 91 runs to Australia in the 55,000-seater Sardar Patel Stadium but they caused the defending champions plenty of problems and emerged with considerably more credit than most observers thought was possible given the disparity of skill and experience between the teams.

Having restricted Australia to a modest 262-6 in fine batting conditions, Zimbabwe slumped to a disappointing 171 all out in reply but won plenty of new admirers and had much to feel satisfied about. 

Although the top order batting displayed it’s all-too-familiar fragility against fast bowling in the run chase, the bowling unit rose magnificently to the challenge of containing Ricky Ponting’s champions and their final total was both below ‘par’ for the conditions as well as general expectations.

The three front line spinners were outstanding. Ray Price shouldered the burden of opening the bowling while both he and Prosper Utseya delivered the majority of their overs during power-play situations with scant protection in the deep. Both men conceded just 43 runs from their 10 overs – there will be few better performances in the tournament from spinners against a top batting order.

Leg spinner Graeme Cremer enjoyed the comparative ‘comfort’ of bowling in the middle overs but still deserves great credit for maintaining an immaculate line during ten overs which earned him 1-41. Both Cremer and Utseya also made a significant point to the officiators of world cricket by claiming lbw wickets with the aid of the third umpire.

Time and time again in recent years Zimbabwe’s bowlers have noted with mounting frustration how international umpires are less inclined to award decisions in their favour, especially when the opposition are a major power. Despite it being the first game Zimbabwe have ever played with the use of television referrals, they trusted their instincts and had two decisions reversed in their favour.

Sri Lankan umpire Asoka de Silva and Englishmen Richard Kettleborough gave openers Brad Haddin (29) and Shane Watson (79) ‘not out’ but first Utseya and then Cremer asked for a ‘review’ and got their men.

Team management’s decision to select Reggie Chakabva as an ‘extra’ batsman instead of Shingi Masakadza as an additional bowling option meant that Elton Chigumbura had to share the fifth bowler’s allocation of 10 overs between himself and part-timers Taylor and Sean Williams. It was certainly the correct selection option – or would have been if captain Chigumbura was not so wretchedly short of form and confidence with the ball at the moment.

Chigumbura’s only two overs cost 18 runs while Taylor, who conceded 12 in his first, bowled three overs for 23. Their five overs for 41 gave the otherwise bogged down Aussies the room for manoeuvre and escape they desperately needed.

So it will fall to another team to end Australia’s 12-year, 30-match unbeaten run at the World Cup while Zimbabwe travel to Nagpur where they will be strong favourites to beat minnows Canada in their second match on February 28.

Cricket World Cup crafted to please South Asian audience

A sure sign that the format of the Cricket World Cup is "outmoded and uncool" is that Bryan Adams was the star of the opening ceremony on Thursday, was the sniffy comment of a British newspaper last week.

"However you look at it, there's something a bit rum about a 21st-century sporting event that opens with a performance from Bryan Adams," said the London Evening Standard on Friday.

The British disdain for the marketing, hoopla and fiddling with the format of the game they invented 300 years ago is perhaps understandable.

But the Cricket World Cup is the third-largest event on the global sporting calendar after the soccer World Cup and the Summer Olympics.

Many hundreds of millions of dollars are riding on this marathon event, which started with the first match played at Bangladesh's National Stadium on Saturday and will continue until April 2, when the final is due to be played at India's Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

To say that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has manipulated affairs to ensure a maximum audience and therefore maximum profits is to put it mildly.

If the rules had been followed, the three joint hosts -India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka -should not have even been in the running.

They missed the March 1, 2006, deadline for bids for the 2011 contest. Indeed, only a joint application by Australia and New Zealand was delivered by the closing date.

But when the ICC members came to vote they plumped for the three South Asian nations plus, at that point, Pakistan. (The ICC stripped Pakistan of its host status in 2009 after a terrorist attack on a visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.)

The choice of the South Asian quartet was a commercial decision recognizing that in India, with its more than one billion population, cricket is a religion along with politics and Bollywood.

With that settled, the ICC then turned its attention to the fact that the last World Cup in the West Indies in 2007 was a commercial disaster.

That was because the Indian team with its vast audience of fans was knocked out of the contest early on, followed soon after by the other South Asian powerhouse, Pakistan.

So the ICC has now fiddled with the format to ensure that none of the big cricketing nations -India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England and the West Indies -gets dismissed in the qualifying section.

There are 14 teams, including Canada, no doubt to the bemusement of the Evening Standard, and they are divided into two groups.

In the first round the seven teams in each group play each other once and the top four in each group go on to the quarter finals.

That means that each team plays a minimum of six games and that their appearance is not, as happened to India in 2007, shorter than the flight to the venue.

As former Australian captain Allan Border put it recently, "The way the tournament is structured you'll have to play like absolute drongos not to get through to the quarter-finals."

Drongo, for those unfamiliar with "Strine" slang, was the name of a race horse that was a total loser.

No doubt the ICC will consider its mission accomplished if India is one of the teams in the final match in Mumbai on April 2.

India hasn't won the World Cup since 1983 and this will probably be the last tournament for the team's star Sachin Tendulkar, the greatest batsman of all time.

But the ICC has also come in for a lot of criticism for insisting that the one-day games be of 50 overs of six balls each.

This is not as demanding as the classic five-day test match, but it is still a gruelling eight hours from early afternoon until after dark.

The ICC is getting a lot of free advice to shift to the Australia-invented fast and furious "Twenty20" format of each team batting for 20 overs, which has become the hub of the world's multibillion-dollar cricket industry.

Gearing up for ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

It’s here, and we’re ready. Unless one-day cricket passes the test and proves that the format can still remain popular, this may be the last world cup that we are all so excited about. So let’s enjoy it while it lasts.

Here are my thoughts on who I think will be the last men standing at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

The Final Four
Australia
Why: Do you really need to ask? They have won the last three cups and just dominated England 6-1 in a recent series. They have a talented side with a lot of players who have never won the World Cup and who will be yearning to be part of another win. Bursting with confidence it’s going to take a lot to beat the defending champions.
Risk: Fatigue from too much cricket, overconfidence and an off day.

South Africa
Why: Another cup and another balanced, talented, team. This might just be the year that the Proteas cross the hurdle and win the big one. As usual they will be mechanical in their performances and if the machine doesn’t run out of fuel, they can beat anyone.
Risk: Well, it’s South Africa, so they could choke.

Sri Lanka
Why: They have a strong batting line up with experienced match winners and a bowling attack that comprises of Malinga and Murali. You can never write the Lankans off when they are playing at home.
Risk: The competiveness of Ranatunga, D’Silva and Jayasuriya that propelled them to the 1996 win seems to be missing. Sanghakara, Jayawardene and the two bowlers will have to step up and find that killer instinct.

India
Why: More than any team India has the most match winners in their XI. In fact, a player like Raina could be on the sidelines leaving MS Dhoni with an enviable dilemma of selection. Playing at home is always a bonus.
Risk: The pressure of 1 billion gets to the boys in blue and they stumble at the finish line. It is being called Sachin’s cup and it’s never a good sign when it is all about one person.

Pakistan
Why: The recent spot fixing scam is just another performance in the circus that is Pakistan cricket. With the country and team in shambles, it is easy to write them off. But that’s when they are at their deadliest. If they are in the mood, no one can stop them. It’s the one team you can never write off.
Risk: They crumble like a pack of cards and never get it together.

Beyond the Boundry
Cricket is just as exciting off field as on the field. Here’s a preview of everything I’m looking forward to this season.

It’s an 8 hour game:Good luck WAGS. Saturday and Sunday afternoons are gone for a few weeks. Either get with it, or find some good books.

The commentators: One of the best things is that you hear Harsha, Sunny, Ian, Boycott, Tony and all the greats in the same series. Always a pleasure.

The fireworks: When India wins a big one, the streets are alive and the fireworks light up the sky. The celebration and the spirit in the country is exhilarating.

The emotions: Hysteria, anguish, joy, sorrow, hatred, love, enthrallment, misery, pride, shame. It’s a roller coaster and every sports fan loves to ride it.

Debate: If you can’t get enough of it on TV, don’t worry - your friends will keep it lively.

Number of experts: 1 billion

Farewells: This may be the last time you see Ponting, Lee, Shohaib, Younis Khan, Afridi, Kallis, Murali, and Chanderpaul in a World Cup.

Sachin: Enough said.

5 Apps to Keep Track of Live Cricket Scores this World Cup

Cricket World cup 2011 is starting this week and here are 5 apps to keep you updated with scores and news on your Android, iPhone and Symbian.

Cricket World Cup 2011

• Live scores, fixtures, result and World Cup related news.
• Ball by ball detailed commentary.
• World Cup points table and tree view for each group matches.
• Database of player, team and venue stats, records and trivia.
• Notifications for fall of wickets, every 5 overs, every 50 runs for players/team.

Cost: Free (with Ads), Ad free version at $3.20

Platform: Android (2.0 and later)

Download Cricket World Cup Android App

ESPN Cricinfo

• Ball-by-ball commentary, scorecard, match graphics, photographs of matches.
• Alerts for wickets, batsman milestones and score.
• Results, fixtures, records and ranking.
• Customize score updates and news by favorite teams.
• Video and audio podcasts of matches.
• ESPN cricinfo Magazine.

Cost: Free

Platform: Android (1.6 and above), iOS (3.0 and above)

Download links: Android Version, iPhone Version

NDTV Cricket

• Live scores with ball-by-ball commentary.
• Great looking home screen.
• Latest match videos and photos.
• Cricket news with images.
• World Cup points table.
Cost: Free

Platform: iOS (3.0 and above), Android (Coming soon)

Download NDTV Cricket App

ECB Cricket

• Live scores, Batting and bowling scorecards.
• Ball by ball updates.
• Fixtures and results of games current and earlier matches.
• Photo galleries of each matches and events.
• Cricket news and podcasts.
• Notifications of fall of wickets.

Cost: Free

Platform: Android(1.6 and above), iOS 3.1.3 and above, Symbian)

Download links: Android Version, iPhone Version, Symbian Version

Yahoo! Cricket Scores

• Live scores, summary and scorecard.
• Results and fixtures of recent and upcoming matches.
• Auto refresh scores with settings for 45sec, 2min or 5min.
• Home screen widget for C6-00, N97, N97 Mini and Symbian^3 phones.

Cost: Free

Platform: Symbian

Download Yahoo Cricket Scores App for Symbian

Cricket World cup 2011 and ESPN Cricinfo has push notification which is great feature. NDTV Cricket app is neat. ECB cricket has lots of features but some live match updates are missing. Even though Yahoo Cricket has fewer features it looks neat.Also try Cricinfo on Snaptu app that is available for most of the Symbian, Blackberry and java phones.

If you own a mobile without GPRS facility then you need not loose your heart, we have some work-around for live cricket scores via SMS. Stay tuned and we will soon publish it too!

Security Tightened For World Cup Cricket Matches

The Organizing Committee for the Cricket World Cup 2011 matches in Sri Lanka has taken steps to tighten security during the matches.

The organizing committee has said that steps have been taken to tighten security at the Katunayake International Airport, the route from the airport to Colombo, the hotels where the teams will be residing and the match venues.

Tournament director for the World Cup matches, Suraj Dandeniya has told the media that special security measures would be out in place during the matches with assistance from the police and army.

The first World Cup 2011 cricket match in Sri Lanka is scheduled to be played at the Sooriyawewea Stadium in Hambantota on Sunday (20).

Watch Cricket World cup 2011 live online streaming legally

The 10th edition of ICC Cricket World Cup has started today on 17th February 2011. World cup cricket 2011 is being hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. This time there will be 14 teams, and they will play 49 cricket matches, including the finals. Teams participating in World cup cricket 2011 are Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Canada, West Indies, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland and Netherlands. The official TV broadcaster of Cricket world cup 2011 in India is ESPN Star Sports and DD Sports. However, if you are a cricket fan and have a high speed internet connection, you may watch the world cup 2011 live streaming online through the internet broadcasting channel of  ESPN Star Sports.

ICC Cricket World cup 2011 live streaming links

Official EPSNSTAR online streaming: You can watch all the cricketing action of the ICC world cup 2011 online at ESPNSTAR.com on match days. They also provide live scores, match replays and summaries. The service seems to be free at this point.

ESPN Star Live streaming

WILLOW.TV:If  you are living in US, the best way to watch World cup 2011 Cricket live streaming  is by using the service provided by Willow.TV. Though it is a premium service they offer unmatched cricket streaming in HD quality, and they even have mobile applications that let you watch live matches in almost all smartphone platforms. Willow. TV maintains agreements with ICC and other cricketing agencies for online streaming of World cup cricket 2011. Therefore, the service is legal in all supported countries. You can purchase a suitable cricket package for their website here.

World cup 2011 live streaming in mobile: Vodafone in India has come to an agreement with ESPN, and that will allow them to stream world cup 2011  live on mobile phones. This service will be available for all Vodafone customers with a 2G or 3G smartphone and a valid GPRS plan. Contact the customer care for more details.

ESPN Cricifo Mobile app:  The popular Cricinfo Mobicast application has been redesigned to include several new features. Latest version will be known as ESPN Cricinfo and is already available for download at iOS app store. This app has features like push notifications, live cricket scores, ball-by-ball commentary, team ranking, news, video streaming, etc. Those who use other OS platforms can download it by going to ci.plusmo.com on their mobile browser.

Airtel Digital TV HD chooses non-cricket route for new campaign

With the season of heavy-duty cricket just a couple of days away now, the advertising for anything that will improve the viewing of the game can only escalate. A new Airtel Digital TV HD TVC is currently on air, and speaking of the timing of the campaign, Sugato Banerji, chief marketing officer, airtel digital TV, Bharti airtel, said, "The first  thing is that with every event- whether it's the Football World Cup, the IPL, the '82 Asian Games or the Commonwealth - the TV technology changes, people tend to change their TV and upgrade or it becomes the reason to possess a TV in the first place. With the World Cup taking place in India this time, and with India expected to reach the later stages of the game the way it's playing, we expect the purchase of high definition televisions to burgeon. ESPN will broadcast the matches in high definition and sales of HD TVs are expected to be 6-7 million out of 14 million this year. If that is the case, we needed to be ready with a high-definition product if we have ambitions to tap this opportunity. Our economy sports pack offers Indian cricket right up to September. We have a tie-up with Sony televisions. Therefore, now a campaign for the efficacy of the HD product."

Unlike other campaigns on air though, this commercial recreates a scene from the movie 'Kurbaan' and sets it in a living room, to show how realistic the viewing experience is. 

Watch the TVC (story continues below)

Banerji explained, "We are an entertainment product and Bollywood and cricket are the bigger drivers in the category. We have Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan as celebrity endorsers for the past 2.5 years now, and that gives recognition to the brand. At the moment, we're competing not just with DTH, but also with televisions and everybody else and  we don't have a celebrity cricket player; also the ICC has stipulations against ambush marketing. So we think we're on a stronger wicket by not having a cricket-themed campaign then."

Priti Kapur, executive creative director at JWT, the agency that created the TVC, added, "We were quite lucky to have Kareena because we had a clever little idea that high definition brings pictures to life - we dropped the TV altogether and it's like the movie is playing live in your living room. We went through lots and lots of footage for something that was dramatic and then we had to completely recreate the sequence from 'Kurbaan'."   

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 : Top 10 support Players

Stars Will Shine…But Support Players Will Help You Win!
In any Tournament in any sport in the lead up its about the stars and even during the proceedings its about the stars. Though more often than not the Team that wins is as much about its support men as it is its stars.The World Cup is no different look at the examples through the Tournaments history-Collis King in 1979,Mushtaq Ahmed in 1992, Asanka Gurisinghe in 1996 and Andy Bichel in 03 are a few that spring to mind instantly.
So who are a few that might assume these support roles that so aide in victory . Here are my choices

John Hastings (Australia)

I have liked this big hearted all rounder for a long time and he has even been touted as a potential Test player for Australia.This might indeed happen in the future though here in the World Cup he could play an integral role. I say this for Australia is laden with attacking bowlers like Lee, Johnson, Tait and Bollinger. In Hastings they have that bowler who can multi task in regards to being able to be a strike bowler, but also be that Nathan Bracken type strangling bowler.Which in World Cups is crucial. Also he is a very handy lower order batsman who can either occupy the crease to help rebuild after a collapse or maul to set up a target.

Shafiul Islam (Bangladesh)

I found it rather bemusing in a Team that lacks strike bowlers that Bangladesh left out Mashrafe Mortaza from their squad.Though on reflection I thought was this indeed an indication of the new found Bangladesh depth? In the series against New Zealand the young paceman Shafiul Islam impressed with his pace and penetration. The only thing that was a worry was him going for runs.Though in a Team that is built on its strength in spin.If Shafiul can get a few early wickets even if he’s a bit costly hell be precious like gold to his Team.

Tim Bresnan (England)

More than anything you just like this guys place in the England Team in regards to he is so composed and ice cool no matter what the situation.
This in no way takes away from his ability with either bat or ball which as seen in the recent Ashes victory was decisive.His bowling is very heady and is a man that can reverse swing the ball which is crucial in the Sub Continent.Also as a batsman,he is capable of a composed innings or a mauling one.
A very fine and oft overlooked player

Piyush Chawla (India)

This bowler was not only an interesting selection,but in truth an intriguing prospect in the World Cup.A few years ago we saw how effective he could be with his leg spin that was highlighted by a brilliantly disguised googly against Australia.Then here in a lead up game which granted has little merit in terms of Teams taking it seriously.Though that aside you couldn’t ignore how penetrating he was.In this World Cup where spin might be huge, an over the wrist spinner is more of a threatening prospect than a finger spinner.Especially against non Asian sides who don’t as a rule play spin well.
You never know Chawla could be to India in this World Cup like Mushtaq Ahmed was to Pakistan in 1992….

Tim Southee (New Zealand)

The Kiwis are a Team that has many dangerous batsmen, but are bereft of decent bowlers.In Tim Southee they have a young player that has all the talent to be a factor for his Team at this cup.He bowls at decent pace and swings it both ways with the new ball.Also he is a very dangerous lower order batsman that can hit the ball a very long way.

Umar Akmal (Pakistan)

This player took the cricketing World by storm in all forms of the game in his debut matches.Though he has been found out recently in Test match cricket in this World Cup he will find conditions more to his liking.Thus with no one doubting his talent here in the Odi arena away from the pressures and demands of Test cricket we can expect him to be a huge factor.For he can not only bat in a conventional manner,but when he decides that he wants to rip bowlers apart. He can do it as well as some of his more famous team mates.In Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq

Chamara Kapugedera (Sri Lanka)

I must admit ive loved this guy since seeing him in his debut series in Australia.I thought so highly of him that I thought he was Aravinda de Silva’s air apparent as Sri Lanka’s star batsmen.Though he has flattered to deceive since. Not through being lacking in talent,but many Sri Lankan observers citing being burdened too young with expectation.Thus not being mature enough mentally to deal with it.Though the boy I saw is now a man and has lost none of his talent.He still is a classical batsman that can caress and dissect with the best of them or conversely be that lower order power hitter.
If he could be this hitter it would fill a role in the Sri Lankan Team that they lack

J.P.Duminy (South Africa)

The forgotten man of South African cricket could be a double edged sword for his Team here.
For no one doubts the excellence of his batting whether it be in playing a composed lengthy innings or mauling a late innings decisive contribution
Though in a Team that is bereft of quality spin his very underatted finger spin could play a key role in either tieing up or getting players out Also like most South African’s he is an exceptional fieldsman

Kemar Roach (West Indies)

This young paceman from his first ball in International cricket showed that he had lethal pace.
Though recently in the Test series against Sri Lanka he showed that he has become a more refined bowler and thus added menace to his pace.
In this World Cup he could be a wrecking ball in the early overs where even on feather bed pitches he has the speed to make all the batsmen jump

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: Dhoni warned by ICC for ambush marketing

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has apparently been warned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching its ambush marketing clause for the World Cup that starts February 19.

Dhoni has been asked by the ICC to stop promoting and endorsing Sony and Aircel, which are the rivals of ICC's sponsors associated with the World Cup.  ICC's rules clearly state that players have to stop promoting companies and products not related to the World Cup before the event begins.

The ICC has informed chief executives of all the national boards that players can be thrown out of the World Cup for breaching its ambush marketing clause.

"Any squad member that knowingly or unknowingly breaches the squad terms may face sanctions ranging from financial penalties through to being excluded from continued participation in the event," ICC's legal head David Becker had earlier said in a memo to all international players.

Earlier this month, some of the Indian cricketers led by Sachin Tendulkar had also met the Indian cricket board president Shashank Manohar on this issue.