Friday, 23 December 2011

Shane Warne

Shane Warne Biography


Shane Keith Warne (born September 13, 1969) is an Australian cricketer, born in Victoria.

Shane Warne is regarded by many as the best leg spin bowler ever to play cricket. Despite an undistinguished debut performance against India in 1991, he has since revolutionised cricket thinking with his mastery of what many cricket authorities regarded as a dying art. Combining the ability to turn the ball huge distances, even on unhelpful pitches, with unerring accuracy and a wide variation of deliveries (notably including the flipper), he has become Australia's greatest ever wicket taker, with 517 wickets at a bowling average of 25.42. Many of his most spectacular performances have occurred in Ashes series against England, whose inexperience against legspin bowling made their players particularly vulnerable, though with feats like the famous "Gatting Ball" which spun furiously to bowl a bemused Mike Gatting in the 1993 series most of the credit is Warne's. Warne has also been highly effective bowling in one-day cricket, something few other leg spin bowlers have managed. Warne is also noted for his exuberant (and sometimes effective) lower-order batting (once famously throwing away his wicket on 99 with a Test century beckoning), and on several occasions has captained Australia effectively.

Despite nearly universal recognition of Warne's talents, his reputation with fans and cricket authorities is mixed. In 1998, he was forced to admit that he had taken money to provide pitch and weather reports from a man later discovered to be operating with bookmakers. While such an offence was trivial compared to the likes of Hansie Cronje who took money to throw matches, the extreme naivete Warne avowed struck many observers as somewhat dubious. His exuberance and occasional intemperate remarks and actions on and off the field have also not endeared him to the more conservative parts of the cricketing public and officialdom. His private life has also been subjected to scrutiny by British tabloid newspapers.

After several years of indifferent performances, Warne had much success in the 2001 Ashes series in England.

In February 2003 during the 2003 cricket World Cup, Warne was sent home in sensational circumstances after a positive drugs test for a banned diuretic from the one-day series in Australia earlier in the year.

In a PR blitz Warne initially claimed that he took only one of what he called a "fluid tablet" - the prescription drug Moduretic - in an attempt to improve his appearance, and claimed ignorance of the banned nature of the tablet he took, as well as much of the drug policy of the Australian Cricket Board (despite extensive briefings on the matter in the past).

Charged with using "a prohibited method to enhance performance", Warne faced a two-year ban from cricket if found guilty. Extensive pressure was placed on the panel by comments from Dick Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, who in comments described by the head of the Australian Sports Drug Agency as "highly inappropriate", poured scorn on Warne's excuse and stated that Australian sport was well-known for accusing others for cheating but was considerably less enthusiastic about prosecuting its own. Pound's comments were however at least partly endorsed by members of Olympic sports such as retired swimming champion Kieren Perkins, who expressed concern that a lenient verdict would make a mockery of Australia's stand against drugs in sport.

In the end, the panel found Warne guilty of breaching the ACB's drug code, and imposed a one-year ban. It was further revealed, and confirmed by Warne in a subsequent television interview, that he had actually taken two of the pills. Warne's testimony, and that of his mother's, was described by the panel as "vague and inconsistent". The panel decided against invoking the full two year ban because the drug would have had no performance-enhancing effect, there was no evidence that Warne was using the diuretic to mask steroid use, and that medical opinion stated that steroids would have not have enhanced Warne's recovery or assisted his game in any case. A disappointed Warne initially considered appealing, but decided against it, as several people, including Pound, pointed out that the penalty could have been increased if an appeal was made.

During his suspension he has considered working for the St. Kilda Saints Australian rules football club as an assistant coach, before the Australian Football League told the club that it would be inappropriate to have somebody convicted of sports drug offences advising its players. He has also been offered chance to play in various celebrity "park cricket" teams, and the newly renamed Cricket Australia has reserved its decision on whether Warne, as a contracted player, should be allowed to play in such matches.

Shane Warne currently has come under criticism for text messaging women whilst on tour, sending lewd and harassing messages. However the woman, Helen Cohen Alon, who made the claims has been charged with extortion in her own country.

During his enforced break from cricket due to suspension, Warne became a popular TV commentator for Channel 9 in Australia.

On completion of his suspension Shane was immediately rushed back into the Victorian and the Australian test cricket team. He took his 500th test wicket, Hashan Tillakaratne, in the first test against Sri Lanka at Galle. He is only the second bowler after Courtney Walsh to do so, followed closely by his main spin bowling rival, Muttiah Muralitharan. However, Muralitharan beat him to the world record of 519 for the amount of test wickets taken, previously set by Courtney Walsh of the West Indies.


Shane Warne
 Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Warne
                                                                               
Cricket Best Eight Balls From The Magician Shane Warne
Shane Warne

Herschelle Gibbs

Herschelle Gibbs Biography


Herschelle Herman Gibbs (born 23 February 1974 in Cape Town) is a South African batsman. Gibbs, who is a Cape Coloured, was schooled at St Joseph's Marist College and then Diocesan College in Rondebosch. At backward point, he is considered by some to be the next Jonty Rhodes in his ability to hit the stumps. Gibbs is said to rarely practice in the nets before a match. It is said he prefers to play on instinct in this case. Gibbs is remembered for dropping a comparatively simple catch off Australia's Steve Waugh during the 1999 World Cup. He became the first player to hit six sixes in one over in One Day International cricket, doing so against the Netherlands in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. On 8 June 2007 he got married in St Kitts to Tennielle Povey, but divorced soon afterwards. In April 2008, Herschelle Gibbs was auctioned by and joined the Deccan Chargers of the Indian Premier League.


Herschelle Gibbs
Herschelle Gibbs
Herschelle Gibbs
Herschelle Gibbs
Herschelle Gibbs
Herschelle Gibbs
Herschelle Gibbs
Herschelle Gibbs
Herschelle Gibbs

Herschelle Gibbs six 6's In One Over
Herschelle Gibbs 175

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar Biography


born April 24, 1973, Bombay [Mumbai], India) Indian professional cricket player, considered by many to be one of the greatest batsmen of all time. In 2005 he became the first cricketer to score 35 centuries (100 runs in a single innings) in Test (international) play.
Tendulkar was given his first bat when he was 11. As a 14-year-old, he used it to score 329 out of a world-record stand of 664 in a school match. A year later he scored a century on his first-class debut for Bombay (Mumbai), and at 16 years 205 days he became India's youngest Test cricketer, making his debut against Pakistan in Karachi in November 1989. When he was 18 he scored two centuries in Australia (148 in Sydney and 114 in Perth), and in 1994 he scored 179 against the West Indies. In August 1996, at age 23, Tendulkar was made captain of his country's team.

Although India was defeated in the semifinals of the 1996 World Cup, Tendulkar emerged as the tournament's top run scorer, with 523 runs. In 1997 he was chosen for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the highest award given to an Indian athlete, for his outstanding performance in the 1997–98 season. India was defeated by Australia in the 1999 World Cup, failing to advance past the round of six, and was soundly defeated by both Australia and South Africa in series later that year. In the 2003 World Cup, however, Tendulkar helped his team advance as far as the finals. Though India was again defeated by Australia, Tendulkar, who averaged 60.2, was named the man of the tournament.

Tendulkar made history in December 2005 when he scored his record-breaking 35th century in Test play against Sri Lanka. The feat was accomplished in a total of 125 Tests and allowed Tendulkar to surpass the prolific Indian run scorer Sunil Gavaskar. In June 2007 Tendulkar reached another major milestone when he became the first player to record 15,000 runs in one-day international (ODI) play, and in January 2010 he became the first batsman to score 13,000 runs in Test play. One month later he scored a historic “double century” in a contest against South Africa, becoming the first man in history to record 200 runs in a single innings of ODI play. He was named the 2010 International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricketer of the Year. Throughout his long career Tendulkar was consistently ranked among the game's best batsmen. He was often likened to Australia's Don Bradman in his single-minded dedication to scoring runs and the certainty of his strokeplay off both front and back foot.

Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar

SACHIN TENDULKAR- TWO AMAZING CATCHES- THE GREATEST
Sachin Tendulkar 1st runs in One Day Cricket -- 36 vs NZ 4th ODI 1990

Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik Biography


Shoaib Malik (born 1 February 1982 in Sialkot) is a Pakistan cricketer. He made his One-Day International debut in 1999 against the West Indies and his Test debut in 2001 against Bangladesh. He started his career as just an off spinner, and is now regarded as a useful bowling all-rounder with a batting average in the mid 30s in both Test and ODI cricket. Malik is regarded as a flexible player. He is capable of hitting big shots but is also capable of rotating the strike with good placement. He has a strike rate of 77.23 runs per 100 balls, which compares favourably to players such as Rahul Dravid and Inzamam ul-Haq. His most brazen display of \"power hitting\" came in 2003 against South Africa when he scored 82 from 41 balls. As is required of most modern players he also has displayed good defensive batting at times. He has taken over 100 ODI wickets at an average under 35 and economy rate below 4.5. His bowling action has come under scrutiny (particularly his doosra) but he has had elbow surgery to correct this. In Tests, he has a better batting average against Sri Lanka and South Africa than other nations. In ODIs he has a better batting average against India, South Africa, and the West Indies than his overall career average. During his Test career, Malik has batted at 5 different positions and he has the unusual record of batting at every position except 11th in ODIs. Pakistan's problems in finding a reliable opening pair have led to Malik being used as an opener in Test and ODI matches.


Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik 125 vs India 2008 Asia Cup
Shoaib Malik Crying

AB de Villiers


AB de Villiers Biography



Full name AB de Villiers


Born February 17, 1984, Pretoria


Current age 26 years 337 days


Playing role Wicketkeeper batsman


Batting style Right-hand bat


Bowling style Right-arm medium


Fielding position Wicketkeeper 

AB de Villiers Profile


A batsman of breathtaking chutzpah and enterprise, as well as the skills and the temperament required to back up his creative intent. A fielder able to leap tall buildings and still come up with the catch. A wicketkeeper who is perfectly at ease donning pads and gloves. A fine rugby player, golfer, and tennis player. All AB de Villiers needs to show off his abundant gifts is a ball. Just about any ball.


Cricket should be pleased to have him. Few drive the ball as sweetly and to the boundary as regularly, and - in South Africa, at any rate - even fewer possess the silkily snappy footwork required to put spinners in their place. de Villiers is also among the fastest and the most instinctively sensible runners between the wickets. Marry all that with an approach to life that veers between laconic and laid back, and it isn't difficult to fathom why he has been afforded senior player status in the South African team years ahead of his time.


de Villiers' potential was recognised years before he made the leap to senior international level as an opening batsman against England at Port Elizabeth in 2004-05. He has batted everywhere from number one to number eight - with the important exception of number three - and has performed well in most of these positions.


After a brief slump in form in 2006 and 2007, de Villiers returned to the straight and narrow early in 2008 with a blistering 103 not out off 109 balls in Durban against West Indies. Later that year came one of de Villiers' career highlights, an undefeated 217 at Ahmedabad. It was the first double-century by a South African against India.


South Africans do not take easily to the precociously talented, but it helps if they do not come across all precocious. Such is the case with de Villiers, whose lazy smile under an every-which-way thatch of blond hair has helped convince the nation that he's worth feeding despite all that talent. The nation is not wrong.


de Villiers adjusts to the requirements of cricket's various formats as effortlessly as someone of his ample abilities should do. So much so that he has yet to fall victim to the curse of selection disputes, a curse that has struck even as accomplished a player as Jacques Kallis. Instead, as a career that should be in its adolescence by the mere measure of time and matches arches ever upward, the only question to be asked about de Villiers is how to deploy him to maximum effect. 


Fast Facts


* De Villiers reached a tally of 1000 Test runs just 364 days into his International debut, when he was 21 years old. He is the second youngest to achieve this feat and he is the second fastest South African behind Graeme Pollock (Shaun Pollock's uncle) to do so.
* His ODI average is the 3rd best for South African behind only Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis.
* He is one of only 8 South Africans to score 10 or more Test centuries.
* His tally of ODI hundreds is the 4th best for his nation.
* De Villiers is one of only 7 South Africans to get 4500+ runs in Test cricket.
* Being dismissed five times in the 90s in Tests (highest score of 98), it's the 6th most in Test history and the most for a South African.
* His 78 Test innings without scoring a duck is the most among currently active players and joint highest in Test history.
* His 58-ball hundred against India in 2010 was the 7th fastest ODI century at that time.

AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers - Brilliant run out
AB de Villiers Century

Saeed Anwar

Saeed Anwar Biography



Born in Karachi on September 6th 1968, the Pakistan Captain Saeed Anwar
has become one of the best batsmen in the world through hard work, dedication
combined with his exceptional talent. He has a tremendous eye,
excellent timing, and makes use of his wrists better that any
other batsmen in the game. He can find the gaps at will, and more
often that not, a little push from Saeed simply races away to the
boundry. Strong on all sides of the wicket, Saeed's favorite shot is
the cut shot, which he plays better than any other Pakistani batsmen.
Very strong on the off side, Saeed has the ability to play some
glorious cover drives that are an absolute delight to watch.
His off side shots are so good, that he is considered to be the
best off side player, among left handed batsmen in the world.
The reason for his immaculate off side play is because of his
sound technique. He is solid in defence, yet can destroy any
bowling attack in the world in a matter of minutes. His strength
in timing and the ability to play on the rise, combined with
excellent execution, makes him the best opener to ever come from
Pakistan...far ahead of the likes of Soahil,Raja,and the Mohammad
brothers.


As a first class cricketer, Saeed used to bat in the middle order
however once he made his ODI debut in Australia, he was thrust
into the opener's role. He began opening the innings in domestic
cricket, and made his way back into the ODI side as a specialist
opener. Despite, having lost out on precious years due to politics
in the PCB, Saeed never lost hope. He made most of the limited
opportunity's that Imran Khan gave him, yet he was over looked
for the likes of Shoaib Mohammad and Ramiz Raja...players who
never performed outside of Pakistan.
In 1993, Saeed created a new world record..he hit three back
to back ODI hundreds in Sharjah, a feat never before achieved by
any Pakistani player. He was now finally a permanant member of the
ODI side, under Wasim Akram. However, he was still not considered
for a test spot..once again a huge error by the selectors.
In 1994 however, Saeed finally got a chance to show his worth as
a test match plater. He hit a mammoth 169 in New Zealand and
combined it with some important half centuries in the rest of the
series. He had now proven his credentials as a solid test match
player with the temperment and ability to succeed at the level.


Since 1994, Saeed has played another 40 odd test matches, scored
over 3500 runs and averages 47.20. He is simply a brilliant player.
He is also the Captain of the Pakistan team. He has the ability to
lead from the front and become an excellent Captain, as time will
tell.




Saeed is an excellent team man and gets along extremely well with
his team mates, who have nothing but praise for him..as well as fans
and press alike. Saeed is also a Computer Engineer, and his wife
Lubna, is a doctor who takes care of him when he gets his regular
dose of flu:)


Pakistan's best batsman..is a great asset to the game..and Inshallah
will continue to play for Pakistan...for years to come.

Saeed Anwar
Saeed Anwar
Saeed Anwar
Saeed Anwar
Saeed Anwar
Saeed Anwar
Saeed Anwar
Saeed Anwar
Saeed Anwar

Saeed Anwar
Saeed Anwar's 194 vs India

Mohammad Yousuf

Mohammad Yousuf Biography

Mohammad Yousuf (formerly Yousuf Youhana, born 27 August 1974, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan) is a Pakistani cricketer who has been a member of the Pakistani national cricket team since 1998. He is best known for his achievement in 2006 when he broke the great West Indian batsman, Sir Vivian Richards', world record for the most Test runs in a single calendar year. Prior to his conversion to Islam in 2005, Yousuf was one of the few Christians to play in the Pakistan national cricket team. He made his Test debut against South Africa at Durban and ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Harare. He has scored over 9,000 ODI runs at an average of 43.63 (2rd highest batting average among Pakistani batsmen after Zaheer Abbas and 6,770 Test runs at an average of 55.49 (highest batting average amongst all Pakistani batsmen) with 23 Test centuries. He has the record of scoring the most runs without being dismissed in ODIs, 405 against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in 2002-03. He has also scored a 23-ball fifty in ODIs, and a 68-ball hundred. In Tests he has scored a 27-ball fifty, which is 3rd fastest by any player. He was top scorer during the successive years of 2002 and 2003 in the world in ODIs. In 2004, he scored a memorable 111 against the Australians in the Boxing Day Test. In December 2005, he scored 223 against England at Lahore, also earning him the man of the match award. Seven months later in July 2006, when Pakistan toured England, he scored 202 and 48 in the first Test, again earning himself the man of the match award. He followed up with 192 in the third Test at Headingley and 128 in the final Test at the Oval. Yousuf was named CNN-IBN�s Cricketer of the Year for 2006, ahead of the likes of Australian captain Ricky Ponting, West Indies Brian Lara, Australian spinner Shane Warne, South Africa�s bowling spearhead Makhaya Ntini and Sri Lanka�s Muttiah Muralitharan. He was selected as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in the 2007 edition. Yousuf became the fourth recipient of the ICC 'Test Cricketer of the Year' award for 2007, he scored 944 runs at an average of 94.40 including five centuries and two fifties in just 10 innings and that was enough to be awarded the honour ahead of Kevin Pietersen and Ricky Ponting. Yousuf was also named in the 2007 Test team of the Year alongside compatriot Mohammad Asif. A year that started on a promising note, Yousuf carried it forward to break two world records both held earlier by West Indian great Sir Vivian Richards. The 32-year-old smashed an unparalleled 1788 runs in just 11 Test matches with the help of nine centuries � his second record � taking him beyond the Windies great yet again. Yousuf is known for his ability to score runs at exceptional rate through his great technique and composed strokeplay. Although capable of hitting the ball hard, Yousuf is quick between the wickets, although he is prone to being run out. Yousuf is a skillful infielder, with a report prepared in late 2005 showing that since the 1999 Cricket World Cup, he had effected the ninth highest number of run-outs in ODI cricket of any fieldsman. He is also distinguished by his characteristic celebration after hitting one hundred runs for his country, where he prostrates in thankfulness to Allah in the direction of Mecca. He has observed this act (known as the Sajdah) recently since his conversion to Islam.

Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf

Mohammad Yousuf
Mohammad Yousuf 128 vs England