Man Utd South African Tour Tickets On Sale

Tickets for Manchester United’s pre season South African tour, the Vodacom Challenge, go on sale today.

United will play Kaiser Chiefs at the Newlands Rugby Stadium in Cape Town on July 19th, and will then move to Durban to take on Orlando Pirates at the ABSA Studium on July 22. Chiefs and Pirates will then play each other for the right to once again take on United, this time in Pretoria at Loftus Versfeld on July 26.

Tickets are available at computicket.

Adopt A Team

In an earlier post I wrote about the support for the IPL teams from outside India has tended to be cast towards the individual rather than actual teams, when I watch the Chennai Super Kings I tend to be indifferent as to whether or not they actual win or lose, but rather am just waiting for Albie Morkel to get into the action and hoping that he does well. While this sort of support has gained momentum throughout the cricket watching world, even in India i’m told, it does take something away from the actual enjoyment of supporting a team.

Whether or not your domestic team are challenging for the title, or languishing far behind, you support them through thick and thin, because they are your team, and that’s what supporting a team means. The individualistic approach may make sense but it does leave a certain empty feel to the whole process, with little emotion behind the results.

It is for this reason that I think all cricket watchers from outside India (and those in India who have not done so) should adopt an IPL team and make them their team, just as you would for an soccer team in England, Italy or Spain, when you don’t hail from that country.

We’re past half way in the round robin stage and are approaching the semi finals so we’ve all had time to get to know the various teams, their players, their approach, and various other aspects we may be interested in, such as the likes of Priety Zinta and Katrina Kaif being the faces of the Kings II Punjab and the Royal Challengers Bangalore. So chose a team and make them yours for the remainder of this series and future IPL series that are sure to come.

I have adopted the the Mumbai Indians as my team. Shaun Pollock has always been my hero and thus it is obvious that I would gravitate towards his team. The Mumbai Indians have, in my view, had the best team spirit in the IPL. They started off losing their first 4 games, have had their captain, and most expensive player, Tendulkar, out injured for the opening 7 games, then had Harbajan Singh banned for the rest of the tournament after their 2nd game, when he slapped Sreesanth. After all that has gone wrong Shaun Pollock took over as captain and has pulled the team together and they are not winning, having won 3 in a row. Even through the losses you could see that the players generally get along and enjoy each other. A lot of other teams have seen players gravitate towards who they are most comfortable with, the Australians stick together, the Sri Lankans and Pakistani’s and so on. When you watch the Mumbai Indians you see them as a team and this makes a huge difference. It probably helps that Shaun Pollock comes from Durban in South Africa, which has the highest density of Indians outside India, and he has managed to keep the spirit and teamwork high. When wickets fall and you see Pollock, Bravo, Jayasuriya, Uthappa and Nehra jumping on each other, you can see the joy and pleasure they feel. The older players have been great role models and points of reference and knowledge for the young Indian players in their squad.

With Tendulkar back they can only get stronger. Hopefully my Mumbai Indians will continue their winning way and get to the semi’s and then have every chance of winning. I’ll be supporting them all the way.

United - Champions Again!

It was close, 2 points in the end, and didn’t go down to goal difference, but in the end the best team won.

Manchester United piped Chelsea to the Premier League title, their 10^th and 2^nd in a row, in a dramatic final day of the season. United always had their destiny in their own hands, knowing a victory would give them the title no matter what happened in London, because of their vastly superior goal difference. For Chelsea, they needed to better United’s result, meaning they were as reliant on Wigan as they were on themselves.

In the end United came through against a brave Wigan, wining 2-0 with goals from Ronaldo and Giggs, who came on to equal Bobby Charltons appearance record for United, and Chelsea were pegged back by a late Bolton equalizer to draw 1-1. United were champions for the 10^th time in the Premiership, and 17^th time over all, pulling them to within 1 of Liverpools 18 league titles.

For all Avram Grants moaning about goal difference being an unfair way to decide the title, that they should rather have a play off, in the end it didn’t matter, as United finished 2 points clear. Winning by goal difference would have been a victory for expansive football, as it wasn’t a single goal or two that United lead by, but rather closer to 20, and it is better that this is rewarded, rather then Grants wishes being met. United were more than worthy champions, ending the season with most points, most wins, most goals, and least conceded, most clean sheets and most shots on target, as well as Ronaldo finishing as the seasons top scorer, by some distance.

While Chelsea put up a good fight, and will no doubt be feeling a little hard done, whether or not this is justifiable, in truth the best team won at the end of the day, and any other result would not have been just.

Congratulations to Manchester United, champions of England again, and in particular to Ryan Giggs, who like Sir Alex, picked up his 10^th title medal, a remarkable achievement that could not have happened to a better pro. Even Chelsea fans would agree with that.

Individuals or Teams

The IPL has moved past the half way point of its round robin phase with each team beginning to play the other teams for a second time, and there is little doubt that the competition has thus far been a huge success.

The IPL does bring about a new twist on loyalties for those outside India. Generally a domestic competition does not hold much interest out side of its national borders. England may disagree with that statement but the truth is most people take a passing glance at county cricket scores every now and then just to check up on how certain players, usually from the county of the person checking, are doing. Most people outside England won’t be able to tell you who won last years various county cricket competitions. The IPL is a different monster. It’s domestic competition in that it comprises teams from various franchises in India, but it has gripped world attention, and garnered viewers and supporters from all over the cricket loving globe.

The twist for those not from India is in who do you support? In India you would support a team geographically or historically, just as you would your own domestic team, however what’s happening around the world during this IPL series is cricket watchers are supporting individuals rather than teams. When I watch an IPL game I take a keener interest in the South African players, and if one team has a South African representative and the other doesn’t then my team for that evening is the one with the South African. This sort of mixed support is happening all over the globe, in Australia, the West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Zimbabwe - and maybe in England where there sole representative has finally arrived.

When people do pick a team to support (people from outside India, although maybe even people in India) they are once again doing so based on the individual rather than the team. Some on from Cape Town for example, who supports the Cape Cobras in the South African domestic competitions, may follow the Rajasthan Royals simply because Graeme Smith plays for them.

The individual is where loyalties are being formed in the IPL initially with the longer the competition goes on for new bonds developing between outside viewers and teams, with perhaps in a few years international viewers adopting teams as their teams.

Quick Updates

Sorry for the lack of updates but my computer was killed by a Trojan virus and I’ve been offline until that gets sorted. Hopefully I’ll be back this weekend.

Some quick cricket news regarding South Africa:

Charl Langeveld has taken up a Kolpak contract in England, ruling himself out of representing South Africa, effectively announcing his international retirement. Langeveld recently pulled out of the South African team that toured India, having been chosen ahead of Andre Nel because he is a non white player. Langeveld did not want to be chosen on any other criteria other than merit and would not allow himself to be used as a political pawn to fill a quota position. His stand must be commended and is hopefully the view that all South African cricketers take. He will be a loss to South Africa but will hope that the powers that be at the top of South African cricket take action to ensure that this sort of thing does not happen again, and that non white players do not feel the added pressure that the quota system unfairly places on them. Good luck to Langeveld in England.

Three South African cricketers, Andrew Hall, Justin Kemp and Johan van der Wath have won their appeal to play in for their Englishcounty teams, having initially been barred from doing so for playing in the rebel Indian league. The trio hope that the same action will be taken to allow them to play domestic cricket in South Africa. This may be harder than first thought as rebel players have not been technically banned in South Africa, rather the franchises have come to an agreement not to select any rebel players. 8 South African players have played in the rebel league and they would need one of the franchise teams to break the agreement for them to have any hope of playing domestic cricket in their homeland. A tough situation for all involved.

IPL Off to Great Start

The Indian Premier League kicked off this weekend with much ceremony, fanfare, and a fair bit of cricket too. McCullum’s century to opening the tournament will surely not be beaten, and Hussey, Michael, adding a 2^nd century in the opening weekend gets it off to a great start. While some having been voicing concerns about the affect and influence that the IPL will have on world cricket as a whole, it is fair to say that what has been seen on the pitches thus far has not harmed the game at all.

While people have been worried that the money involved in the IPL and the structure, with the auction for players to teams, teams made up a core of international players and filled by young Indian talent, would turn players into mercenaries, going where the money takes them, with no loyalty and patriotism, although only at its beginning, these fears appear to be ill found.

International players are using this forum to showcase themselves away from their national teams. Reputations are being tested and the idea that these athletes are showing up just to collect some money while they can is naive. Watching the games it is clear to see how much each individual and each time wants to win, they are in it to win, and the pain of defeat is all too obvious.

What is more so, following on from the Australia/India series, where so much damaged was done to cricket, it is of particular highlight to notice the camaraderie, and fellowship that is being forged by so many from different countries, cultures and backgrounds. The ill effects of the Australia/India series are being redressed and new friendships formed.

Players are testing themselves in ways that they can not at international level. In yesterdays game between the Mumbai Indians and Bangalore Royal Challengers there was an over when Shaun Pollock was bowling to Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher. Boucher and Kallis would have stood behind the wicket, at keeper and slip, to Pollock on many occasions throughout their careers and would have faced him in domestic games, but not under these circumstances, in front of as big a crowd, and with the whole world watching.

For the South Africans that game was a good show case of where they are in world cricket. Pollock showed South Africa that he is still capable of being a world beater with a brilliant knock of 28 from just 12 balls, finding the middle of the bat and the boundaries from just about the first ball faced, and then an economical spell of bowling that will surely go down as “doing a Pollock” in years to come.

On the other side Kallis did a job rebuilding the innings with Boucher and getting their team within reach of the win, while Boucher played an innings, 39 not out from 19 balls, which just about won the game for Bangalore.

IPL is off to a great start and promises to be an entertaining, quality driven, feast for all.

(Pic from www.cricinfo.com)

A Good Effort but SA Fall Short

South Africa fell short of achieved their desired goal of a Sub Continental treble on a day to forget in the 3^rd and final Test against India.

It seemed like the story of this South African team’s life as it took a single bad day to ruin what had been a good tour for the Protea’s. Their World Cup hopes were torn apart by a bruising turn over against Australia, in the T20 World Cup they took a 100% record into their final second round group game and that one loss, to India, was enough to see them fail to progress, and again a good showing came to an abrupt end at the hands of Harbajan Singh.

The 3^rd day, and what would prove to be the final day, of the 3^rd and deciding Test saw South African fail to pick up the final Indian wicket they needed cheaply, allowing the Indians to gain a substantial lead under the circumstances, and then crumble all out with a lead of just over 60 runs, as the Indian bowlers made full use of conditions on a very dry, crumbling pitch, and the South African batsman seemed unsure to go about the task at hand.

In the end India got there, losing 2 wickets, to seal victory and tie the 3 match series 1-1 and in so doing keep their 2^nd place in the Test rankings, just ahead of South Africa. For South Africa it was a case of one off day ruining a series that they had dominated, and surprised in doing so.

The good news for world cricket is that over the last few months both India and South Africa have shown that they are moving in the right direction in terms of being able to compete with Australia. India has added grit and inner strength to their talent, and South Africa a greater sense of self belief and confidence.

Where to now for South Africa? They face a tough schedule for the rest of the year with a long tour of England in August and then they’re off to Australia in December to test how good they really are. In terms of the team they have a settle squad, but there could be some changes. Ashwell Prince has been short of form in recent Tests and his place is under pressure from the supremely talented and stylish JP Duminy, who has recently cemented a place in the ODI batting line up and has been patiently waiting for his chance in Test cricket. He must get his chance on the England tour, and when he does he must be persevered with, even if he fails. What must not happen is a chop and change effect that leaves JP feeling like he is playing for his place everytime he goes to the crease. He has to feel secure and confident that the selectors and his team back him, and then allowed to flourish. The rest of the batting line up picks itself, with Smith finding a capable opening partner in Mackenzie that looks more secure then any South Africa have had for a couple of seasons now. Gibbs will struggle to get back into the Test team, but if he finds form again, a Gibbs waiting in the wings is not a bad problem to have. The bowling unit has depth and motivation behind them, and with Dale Steyn leading the line is one to be feared. Harris will have learned a lot from this tour and although he wont have been thrilled with his performance he must be a better player for it. Morne Morkel is a huge talent who like Duminy, must be given a sustained run in the team. He will lead the attack with Steyn for many seasons to come, and the ground work starts here and now. Ntini is getting back some of the form he has lost over the last few months, but there must be option to rest him at some stage. With Andre Nel and Charl Langeveld waiting to show the selectors a thing or two, and Monde Zondeki, and a host of fast bowling talent back home, the selectors should have more than a few options should form or injury hamper their starting attack.

So long as politics doesn’t continue to harm the game the future of South African cricket looks good. This could be the team to finally win a series against Australia, something South Africa hasn’t achieved since readmission. First up is England. The rest of the year should be enthralling for all South African cricket lovers.

(Pic from cricinfo.com)

South Africa v India 3rd Test Preview

The 3^rd Test between South Africa and India get underway tomorrow morning amongst the threat of terrorist activity, a pitch that will look like a day 5 pitch even before day 1 and the dawn of the much hyped and eagerly anticipated IPL.

South Africa go into the match knowing that they can not lose the series, having drawn the first and won the second Test, inside 3 days, but will be looking to ensure they get the series victory they require to leap frog India into 2^nd place on the ICC Test rankings.

India go into the match looking to square the series, keep their 2^nd position on the rankings, and restore some much needed pride after the 2^nd Test drubbing South Africa inflicted on them.

For this very reason it seems that India are determined to get the pitch they want for this deciding match, and will look to get it as far removed from the green top that South Africa terrorized their batting line up on last week.

The pitch is expected to turn from the first ball and India will take advantage of a heavy spin attack to wrestle the initiative away from the touring South Africans. While this may suit India it should not be interpreted that the South Africans will be tossing and turning in bed the night before, frightened of the prospect of a much vaunted spin attack having them in knots and off their feet in no time. This isn’t the same South African team of a decade ago, one which was said to be unable to play spin, never mind good spin. That myth has well and truly been dispelled and this lot, who have beaten Pakistan and Bangladesh in Pakistan and Bangladesh in recent months, and are looking for a hat trick of Sub Continental scalps, will not be daunted by the prospect of a terrible, dry, dirt pitch. In Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers they have some very good players of spin bowling, and although totals may not be big in this match, they will be confident of posting scores higher then that of India.

India for their part should not be over confident. The pitch that seems to be awaiting them for this match may be one that will take turn immediately, it may be devoid of even a blade of grass, but with the inconsistent bounce that is expected, one ball keeping low the next shooting off, not to mention the huge cracks that will be baked into it, Dale Steyn and co will have more than enough opportunity to blast the batsmen out. It is for this very reason that I would not drop Morne Morkel, as is being suggested, for a second spinner, Robin Peterson, as the three South African quickies, Steyn, Ntini and Morkel could cause a lot of damage on this track and could be very effective. If South Africa were to entertain the thought of a second spinner I would either replace Prince with Peterson or JP Duminy. Prince has not scored for a number of Tests now and being dropped may be just what he needs to rediscover form and hunger. Peterson would be the second spinner with Harris and although the team would be a batsman light, he is capable with the bat and with Prince thus far ineffectual the difference in batting would not be noticed, but a further option with the ball would be available. If South Africa do not want to weaken the batting line up, in a match that could again only see 3 days, Duminy would be the option as he is a solid, stylish batsman, who has done well in ODI cricket and is patiently waiting for his chance in Test cricket, and he does offer some part time spin in his favour.

All in all we are set for a quick fire battle between two sides looking to catch Australia within the next season. The pitch should be in India’s favour and why not, they are at home, but will give the Protea’s the chance to measure just how far they’ve come and just how good they really are.

Well Done Charl

 

Charl Langeveld must be commended for taking a stance and bravely making a decision, which while being extremely difficult for him, can only be good for South African Cricket.

 

By opting out of the forthcoming tour to India, clearly showing those at CSA and the selectors, that he will not stand for being picked on the basis of his skin colour but on merit alone. Langers is not allowing himself to be used as a pawn for others gain, and has put worth to his, and all players, right to represent their country. The right to play for your country belongs to everyone. The players with the best ability must be chosen, and not the whitest or the blackest players. Talent, skill and ability are all colour blind, and so should our selection procedure be.

 

When Langeveld withdrew himself from the squad, and suggested that Andre Nel, who he had replaced, deserved his place in the squad, two things became abundantly clear; 1) that non white players will not allow themselves to be token selections, to make up certain racial targets, and 2) most importantly, that the team spirit amongst the players is strong enough that Langeveld will try to correct perceived injustices against one of his team mates by sacrificing himself.

 

It is inexcusable, unfair, and simply embarrassing to put black players in a position where they feel that they are not being picked on merit. Well done to Charl Langeveld for taking a stand, one that he should not have had to take, and hopefully will not lead to him being lost to South African cricket. The Cricket South Africa should be protecting its players and not putting them in difficult positions.

Cricket Is Being Harmed

The forced transformation policies, or quotas, that Cricket South Africa is enforcing, are beginning to poison the game at international level.

 

Evidence of the problem arose during the public slagging match between CSA president Norman Arendse and Protea’s coach Mickey Arthur over the racial composition of the touring squad to Bangladesh. Arendse insisted that all squads have 6 non white players for a 14 man squad and 7 for a 15 man squad, while Arthur professed the need to have the best players selected, on merit and not colour, and for consistency in selection. While Arthur seemed to have won that round it was obvious to everyone that Arendse would not change his view.

 

This became evident when the squad to tour India was announced and Andre Nel, who has been a regular player in the Test team for a few years, was suddenly left out in favour of Charl Langeveld, and subsequently bringing the racial composition of the team up to Arendse’s target.

 

Not withstanding that Langeveld is a very good bowler, and worthy of a place in the team, it was abundantly obvious to everyone that a white player had been dropped and replaced by a non white player. This is no way to treat either player, and is an insult to non white players more than anything.

 

Nel is said to be so upset by what has happened that he is considering his future as a South African player. To be dropped because of skin colour is a definitive step backwards for a county with a past immerged in racism.

 

Langeveld has since pulled out of the tour, citing the emotional damage that such treatment and controversy has done to him, that he would not be able to give his best under the circumstances of his inclusion. This from a player who clearly sees that he is being used as a pawn for political gains, and wants none of it.

 

“As players we all have a good idea of when we are clearly in the running for selection and when we aren’t,” Langeveldt said. “You just have to look at Andre’s Test record compared to mine and the fact that he has been part of all the Test match plans while I haven’t played a Test match for two years.

“I have always fought for a place in the team but I don’t want to be put there because of my colour. Up to now I have been very happy in my role in the ODI team and I know my value there. I’m quite upset by this now and I’m going to need a bit of time to consider my future.”

 

The players are fully aware of the poison that is seeping through their game and, as sportsmen, want to be picked solely on merit, and not on race.

Andre Nel added:

 

“I’m as upset for Langes as I am for myself,” he said. “We are good team-mates and I have a lot of respect for him. We are both passionate about playing for South Africa and neither of us deserves to feel like this. It is hard to just shrug it all off.”

 

CSA is leading South African cricket down a dangerous path that will only include more turmoil and suffering for players, and increase racial tensions within the country. Black players do not want or deserve to be treated as pawns. Their ability and talent is questioned by such actions and the pressure put on them can only damage careers. CSA needs to talk to the players and not pander to their own goals, while harming those they should be representing, and the game as a whole.