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Sir Donald George Bradman was born in a small town called Bowral; on 27th August 1908, near Sydney. He was often called ‘The Don’. He was the youngest child of George Bradman and Emily, who had a brother and three sisters. He was considered to be the greatest Australian cricketer of all time. Sir Donald Bradman used to play a very serious cricket since his childhood and during his teens. During that time, cricket was just another game for Sir Donald; hitting golf balls with a cricket stump into a tank used to be his favorite pass time! This had helped him to improve his reflexes and coordinate his hand movements with eye.

Slowly he got himself involved in cricket and started playing in local clubs and school. Soon he began to score centuries with infallible regularity. He scored his first century when he was 12 years old, when playing for Bowral Public school against Mittagong High school. In 1920, Sir Donald Bradman went to see his test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground with his father, after seeing cricketer Charlie McCartney scoring 170 runs he said to his father that; he will never be happy until he play in this Sydney Cricket ground! Later, an invitation was send by the New South Wales Cricket Association to Sir Donald Bradman to practice at this ground! He immediately began to practice at the Sydney cricket ground when he joined the South Wales cricket association.

During the home series against England, Sir Don scored 468 runs during his eight innings with two centuries and two half centuries. Almost immediately, with his hard work and practice, he was able to reach great heights. He became one of the greatest Test Batsmen, with an incredible batting average of 99.94. The most historic event on Don’s life was in 1932, when he played against England. The England’s captain Douglas Jardine used a method of bowling, were the ball used to fly above the batsman’s head. The Australian players found it very difficult to hit the ball and they were often injured badly, Don used to counter attack the bowlers by hitting the ball over the bowler’s head. However Australia lost the series.

Later Sir Don took revenge when he was the Australian team’s captain; when the Australian team went to England for a test series, Don was a nightmare for the English players; Sir Don was able to score 974 runs in 8 innings and came back to Australia as a great hero! Sir Donald passed away on 25th of Feb of 2001, when he was 92 years old at his residence in Keningston. Sir Don will never be forgotten by any of the cricketers, fans or by the Australians.

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Cricket has been one of the most popular games played from centuries in Britain. It is played between two teams consisting of 11 players each; enjoyed by people around the world and in places like India and Pakistan cricket is considered as a ‘religion’. Cricket is a simple bat and ball game played with other equipments like stumps, sight screen and safety protection equipments like batting gloves, wicket keeping gloves, mouthpiece and helmet. Cricket balls are made of cork base covered with twine and finally covered either with red or white leather on the top. Bat, popular cricket equipment and it is important to understand the fact that the cricket bats require effective maintenance at both the stages before using the bat and even after using the bat. You may wonder as to why a new bat requires maintenance… but surprisingly it is important to note that you need to make the bat ready before actually starting up the game to play. Bats need to be used to the knock down shots before you plunge into the field otherwise there will be higher risks of bats getting damaged. It is important that you take adequate steps before using your bat in full swing; these steps that will help your bat to deliver the expected results are simple and easy.

A coating of linseed oil on the bat is effective, coat thin layer of linseed oil; allow the bat to absorb the oil for few hours. Once again apply a thin coating of oil on the surface of the bat. It is important that you just grease the bat with oil and excessive application of oil is not preferred. You can check this by making the bat stand and incase the oil drains down then it indicates too much application of oil. The next step is to hit a wooden knocking mallet on the bat for about 10-15 times, you will notice few dents but it is quite normal. Ensure that you are not hitting the wooden mallet on the back of cricket bat, use the wooden knocking mallet (specifically made for knocking cricket bats), and they are available in many sport equipment stores at affordable price. Repeat the session of knocking with the wooden mallet for about 10-15 times for a number of days until the bat has received minimum of about 3-4 hours of knocking session. It is important to remember that you grease the bat before every knocking session begins with linseed oil.

Hit the edges gently with the knocking mallet till the edges obtain a round shape. It is important that you need to maintain your bat before you start playing for the final matches, so use the bat for practice sessions first before you land in the ground for the final countdown. Bats are valuable equipments and your match performance depends a lot on the kind of cricket bats that you use. Hence, adequate maintenance of cricket bats is of vital importance particularly before you start using it..

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England’s game against Australia at the Oval on Thursday is perhaps their most eagerly anticipated game since the very same fixture four years ago. On that occasion a young South African, new to the test arena, rose to the occasion and hit a brilliant 158 to clinch the Ashes for England. With no Kevin Pietersen this time round, and with the rest of England’s middle order misfiring, England has turned to another precocious South African talent. The question on all England cricket fans’ lips is whether Jonathan Trott will be able to take the pressure of the Ashes decider.

His 2009 record demonstrates he has the talent, 1013 runs at an average of 92.09, but he is untested at this level, bar from 11 runs against the West Indies in two Twenty20 Internationals in 2007. Australia may not have Warne, McGrath and co anymore, but walking out on your debut to potentially win the Ashes is intimidating enough as it is.

Many punters called for the return of Robert Key or even Mark Ramprakash – their view being their experience would make up for a perceived lack of grit in England’s middle order. The selectors however plumped for the Warwickshire man and all eyes will be on Trott as he makes his way to the crease to face his first ball in test cricket.

Jonathan Agnew, BBC Test Match Special’s main commentator described Trott’s selection as a “huge gamble” and many people were left less than satisfied at Geoff Miller’s squad announcement. It was timely for Trott that he scored 126 the day before the squad was announced and, regardless of wheter they agreed with his inclusion in the team, England supporters across the land would dearly love to see him replicate that kind of innings at The Oval.

It may seem bizzare that an uncapped batsman makes his debut in such an important game, but the move shows consistency on the part of the England selectors who demonstrated that Trott was the next cab on the rank by picking him in the squad for the Headingley test. The pressure may very much be on Trott’s shoulders, but he will relish the challenge, having waited six years since emmigrating to the UK to make his Test debut and everyone has to debut somewhere.

Another Warwickshire man will be sweating under the lid on Thursday; Ian Bell has had a chequered career for England, promising much but generally flattering to deceive. Undoubtedly a player of immense class, technically the most gifted in the England set-up in the opinion of some, he has tended to score his runs when others in the team have prospered also. Not one of his eight centuries have come without someone else in the side getting to three figures as well.

As well as this his average of 25 against the Aussies does little to inspire confidence, and he is yet to make a century from the number 3 position, where it appears he will line up on Thursday. He has been dropped once before from the England team and returned to make hundreds in three consecutive matches, his performances since returning in place of Pietersen have again been underwhelming and England supporters are still waiting for his talent to shine through in terms of consistent run scoring.

Will he finally nail down the number 3 spot with a match winning performance at the Oval? One thing is for sure, when Trott and Bell take their guard, the nation’s cricket fans will draw their breath in the hope that one – or both of them – take their chance to regain the Ashes for England.

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Andy Flower, England Cricket Coach, is hoping for star Andrew Flintoff to be fit to play in the fourth ashes.  It takes place in Headingley on Friday and they are hoping for a win.

Flintoff has had to heavily rely on injections in his right knee in the past two Tests. He lokoed like he was struggling on the third at Edgbaston.

“He is determined to play but he and the experts can make a considered decision,” said flowers.
England is winning the series 1-0 and is set to name the squad today at 2 o’clock. Flintoff cricket bags are specially designed by Woodworm. Flintoff will most likely be in the draw but with only three days between Monday’s drawn contest at Edgbaston and the penultimate match of the campaign at Headingley he will be spending a lot of time resting.

Flintoff was England’s match winner at Lord’s which gave us the advantage of the series. And now England team looks forward for series win with fourth test win. If they can win that match then lead 2-0 with separate one test match and there they can’t loose series means ashes win for British and can make history. Flintoff use Woodworm cricket shoes. Flintoff will surely want this and also want sure win through his effort. Current status says Flintoff will not play and this surely not good for England team because of Peterson is already out in the team and it was big problem. We hope Flintoff will fit before the match and win ashes for England before his retirement.

Flintoff bowled only 11 overs and none in the final session and laboured somewhat in the field.
However, England captain Andrew Strauss said he was “optimistic” Flintoff would be available for Headingley.
“There is obviously some soreness there but I don’t think there’s anything that has deteriorated massively over the course of the game,” stated Strauss.

“He needs to rest up well because back-to-back Tests are hard for any bowlers and we’ll see how he is on Thursday.
“We want to play our best team in every game we play but we’ve got to be conscious that if he’s not fit enough to do his job then he won’t play. We’ve had to play without him plenty of times over the last two years so it wouldn’t be anything new to us.

“Generally the bowlers have stepped up when he hasn’t played but at the moment he’s in great nick with both cricket balls and bats so we don’t want to play without him, if we can help it.”

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The Ashes concluded yesterday at 17.49 BST as Graeme Swann found the inside edge of Mike Hussey’s bat and the ball ballooned up to Alastair Cook at short leg. The five match series was over and Andrew Strauss and his troops could finally bury the memory of their humiliation down under two years ago. The little urn is coming home and, until December 2010 at least, England will hold the bragging rights.

England had many heroes to thank for their success, Ian Bell’s 72 in the first innings laid the foundations, Stuart Broad’s five-for in the second innings demolished the Australian’s batting line up and Jonathan Trott’s century in the second innings hammered home England’s advantage. The captain, Andrew Strauss, also deserves mention for his superb 75 and his inspirational leading of the side.

The terraces would argue that the hero was Flintoff; true his impact on the match was small, but it was his run out of Ricky Ponting that proved so pivotal in turning the game back in England’s favour, following a nervy partnership of 121 between the Australian skipper and Michael Hussey. However to highlight the performance of too few players would diminish the team effort; true a few individuals put in fine performances, but, like 2005, it was the overall team effort that helped England overhaul Australia.

This is demonstrated by the statistics, only 2 centuries scored by England players – in comparison to 8 by the Aussies, only 2 England players averaged over 40 while 6 Australians managed this. This shows that whilst the Aussies had the better individual performances, it was England who won the crucial moments and combined as a team to overcome the old foe.

It would be churlish to suggest that England were by miles the better team. The teams were essentially matched and had Stuart Broad not suddenly learned how to bowl on Friday it could have been Ricky Ponting’s side taking the plaudits on Sunday afternoon.

Just like at Lord’s it was a collapse, ironically of traditionally English proportions, that proved to be Australia’s undoing. Stuart Broad steamed in like a man trying to be the new Flintoff and harried and hurried the Australian batsmen until they had no answer; Watson was caught in front, Ponting played on, Hussey shouldered arms, Clarke drove hard to cover and Haddin was undone by some supreme swing bowling. Swann cleaned up the rest and suddenly England had bowled themselves into a winning position. English supporters couldn’t believe it, neither could the Aussies.

Unlike 2005, this series wasn’t a classic. Despite England’s success, one doubts that the DVD will sell quite so well come Christmas time. This is probably because this time round there weren’t so many great players; Manou, Bopara and Siddle may be good cricketers, but they barely hold a flame to McGrath, Warne and Gilchrist. On both sides the efforts were more workmanlike, even the top performers such as Katich, North and Strauss did so in a way that rarely emptied bars.

In essence it appears that England came together more effectively than the Australians, the statistics might suggest England have been lucky, but over five games they have overcome the same side that recently went to South Africa and won. It is an achievement that must not be underplayed, and whilst Trott, Prior et al would be lucky to receive the Trafalgar square celebrations and MBEs bestowed upon their 2005 counterparts, all English cricket fans will be enjoying themselves at the minute, especially if they’re lucky enough to know an Australian.

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England has left new captain Andrew Strauss out if their provisional squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in June.

Strauss, who uses a Gray Nicholls Powerbow cricket bats, feels that his game is now suited to the crash-bang-wallop format of the Twenty20 game so he will sit out the tournament which will be staged in England in June.

England have delayed naming their captain until closer to the tournament but batsman Robert Key and all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, who captain Kent and Hampshire respectively, are likely to be among the contenders to be skipper.

Off-spinner Shaun Udal, who turned 40 last month, was included in the 30-man squad which will eventually be cut to 15 for the tournament.

The squad includes Warwickshire’s rookie seamer Chris Woakes, who was the county‘s leading wicket-taker in the County Championship last season.

Woakes, 20, was part of England’s Under-19 World Cup squad last year and has never been in a senior squad before though he did impress on an ECB fast bowling camp in India during the winter.

Samit Patel who spins cricket balls very well was also included, despite recently being left out of the Twenty20 and one-day matches in the West Indies after failing to “reach acceptable standards of fitness for international cricket.”

England selector Geoff Miller said: “Andrew Strauss had an outstanding tour of the West Indies during a difficult winter.

“Andrew and the selectors believe his game is better suited to Test and one-day international cricket and it is for that reason he has not been selected in the preliminary 30-man squad for the forthcoming ICC World Twenty20.”Andrew who uses Gray Nicolls cricket equipment is focused on the Test and ODI format of the game despite not being included in the 30-man Twenty20 squad.

“The selectors have decided against naming a captain for the ICC World Twenty20 at this stage because we feel it is important to comprehensively review the recent tour of the Caribbean and seek input from all relevant parties including the incoming England team director who is yet to be appointed.”Once these processes have been achieved the selectors will name England’s Twenty20 captain in due course.”

The squad contains four other players yet to be capped at international level – Joe Denly from Kent, Middlesex’s Eion Morgan, Graham Napier from Essex and Yorkshire youngster Adil Rashid.

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Amongst the good cricketer and good bat manufacturers, bat is a tool for trade. Its raw material is naturally grown and not manmade. A good bat is produced by craftsman and their aim is to provide excellent hitting power with durability. The combination should properly match because softer pressed bats tend to go better but are likely to crack. The harder pressed bat is likely to last longer but hitting power is compromised. The bat maker’s aim is to strike balance between the two to make the best all round cricket bat.

There have been several theories regarding which bat is the best. But the trick is to find the right kind of weight and “pick up” of the bat. Before buying the bat you should see whether the weight of bat is balanced and distributed along the willow. As this helps and makes it easier for batsman to drive it elegantly.

Before buying a bat, confirm whether the bat is knocked in properly or not. Some more expensive bats come pre-knocked. Your bat should come with some instruction or a brochure that describe the condition of the bat and whether the bat is knocked or not. If you get the un-knocked bat you use special hammer tool or a mallet to knock the bat. In any situation do not use your brand new bat for the match. Always get knocking in done before going for any match.

As far as the wood of bat is concerned, traditional English willow is considered superior. There are several grades of cricket bat willows available. Don’t get confused with the grades. Before buying a cricket bat, you should do some research on grades.

Before buying the bat, consider the shape of the bat. The bat should be shaped something like a paddle with padded handle usually in cylindrical shape. There should be wider wooden block on one side and with a V-shaped ridge on other side to provide greater air flow in the follow through and greater strength to over-all bat. The flat side is used to hit the ball.

As the selection of a wrong bat will lead to loss of match, consider the above mentioned features before buying.

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There have been several conflicting opinions regarding which cricket bat is the best. If you are planning to buy a cricket bat, your friends will be generous and forthcoming in offering you many tips. It is up to you decide on the right tips to follow before buying the cricket bat. You must be comfortable with the general feel of the bat and so make sure that the overall feel of the bat is acceptable to you before you.

Please know there are different models of bat available in the market for you to choose from.  Depending on your style of batting you must select the bat that suits your batting style perfectly as there are bats that have been designed keeping in mind specific style of batting adopted by various cricket players. The raw material used for a cricket bat is naturally grown and not manmade. A good bat is produced by expert craftsmen and they try to impart to the bat hard hitting power with durability. This is somewhat tricky as soft pressed bats tend to hit better but are likely to crack. The hard pressed bat is likely to last longer but the hitting power is limited.

Next in importance is choosing the correct size of your bat as the size of the bat can vary from player to player depending on their physical build and their favorable stance. Another important factor is to consider the willow used in making the bat.  Different types of willow are used for making cricket bats. But experts opine that English willow has been found to be the best willow for making cricket bats.

You should also make sure the weight of the bat is balanced or distributed along the willow. Many batsmen prefer bats that are heavier down below as it makes it easier to drive elegantly. Also make it a point to study the shape of the bat. The bat should be shaped something like a paddle with padded handle usually in cylindrical shape. There should be wider wooden block on one side and with a V-shaped ridge on other side. 

The weight of the cricket bat is a much debated topic among professional cricket players. Some cricket commentators say that constant usage of heavy cricket bat can lead to physical injury.  But this is may not be true as there are many well known batsmen who have been using heavy cricket bat with lots of success for a long time without encountering any physical injury. The best option would be to start off playing with a light weight bat and then switch over to heavier bat as you gain proficiency. You should also make sure the bat you buy has been knocked in properly. Some expensive bats come in pre-knocked condition but they are quite costly. 

Buying the best cricket bat is only one part of the story. What is still more important is taking proper care of your cricket bat so that the bat remains in proper working condition and serves for a long time. Regular oiling of your cricket bat is one way through which you can make your bat last longer. When you are not playing with your bat, store it in a proper place so that the bat does not get damaged in any manner. If you are still in doubt, then consult any senior batsman who is an expert in recognizing and buying good cricket bat. Please bear in mind that selecting a wrong bat can seriously hamper your style of play and possibly ruin your aspirations to become a great batsman.

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Cricket is considered as a religion in many countries. However thinking about the history of cricket is a big fact and for it is played from time immemorial. The history goes back to the thirteenth century or even further. It is likely estimated that the game of cricket was first played by the children of the farmers and the metal workers in England near a small place referred to as Sussex and Kent. There was a variation in the name of cricket and this variation was discovered in a court case wherein the game was called as krekett which was being played at the English school. It was from this point of view that cricket began to grow as a game which became immensely popular. 

It was at that time that the game of cricket was being played in the form of tournaments like the so called “great cricket match” in the year 1697. During the eighteenth century the game of cricket was referred to as the official sport of England and it was one of the famous leisure activities of the elite class of people. In the late 1760’s one of the famous clubs of London known as the Hambledon club was one of center stage of the activities of cricket. It was one of the most visited places in London and there were many people who were extremely crazy about the game of cricket.

There were many cricket games which were played within the nation of England but until the year of 1859 the game of cricket was not played at the international level. It was played only when the English team traveled to North America for a match. It was only after eighteen years when the English team traveled to far Australia for playing the matches in the Melbourne and it was actually then the game gained immense popularity. The first Australian team consisted of the members from the Australian aborigines, which was considered to be a very groundbreaking event. This event was considered to be a spectacular event for both the Australian cricket community as well as the entire world’s cricket’s community.

The popularity of the game increased day by day because of the introduction of the famous one day international games introduced in the year of 1971. These days cricket has been one of the most widespread games played in the entire world. It is widely played in countries like England, Australia and even countries like Pakistan, Kenya, Sri Lanka and of course not to forget in the list India. However the game of cricket has never gained any popularity in United States of America and even does not have an official team for its country.   

However to be really very frank, in many countries the game is also played by the state as well as the national teams. However this is not considered as a very popular game for the children and the families to play as a backyard game in the different countries. Some of the different variations of the game are playing cricket with the usage of a net and the faster version of the game is played in the New Zealand which is referred to as Kiwi cricket.

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The first Cricket World Cup was played during 1975 in England. The first three matches were also recognized as Prudential Cup with the sponsorship of prudential plc, it is a pecuniary services company. The cricket matches consisted of 60 overs per players and it was played with established white uniform and with red balls. There were matches held only during day and the event is held ever four years.

Till the 1992 Cricket World Cup, only 8 teams participated in the Cricket tournament. Later on, the numbers of teams were certainly increased and in Cricket World Cup 2007, 16 teams would take part. In 1975, England, New Zealand, India, East Africa, Australia, West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka took participation and during 1979 Canada were replaced by East Africa. In 1983, Zimbabwe made an entry arena and Canada was out of the court. The same teams took part in the 1987 Cricket World Cup.

In 1992, South Africa made an entry in the group and pertaining year 9 teams took part in the Cricket tournament. By the year 1996, the number of teams even increased more up to 12 with the participation of three fresh groups UAE, Netherlands and Kenya. Bangladesh and Scotland were replaced by UAE and Netherlands during 1999 Cricket World Cup.

England successively hosted the first three matches and during 1987 match became the first World Cup to be hosted outside England. Cricket World Cup 1987 introduced unbiased umpires. The 1996 Cricket World Cup started the first look of third umpire in front of the TV monitor.

All the 9 cricket world cup matches played have also contributed more records in the Cricket World Cup History. The records are on most excellent batting strike rate, maximum individual scores, and uppermost run-scorers, top bowling analysis, best bowling financial system rate, finest bowling strike rate, chief wicket-takers, premier team totals, lowest team totals, all major cricket catches and actually the most dismissals.

Though initially the cricket world cup confined the attention of only hundreds of spectators, it has now fascinated millions who are keenly waiting to watch this year’s tournament.

By: prasannamoorthy

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Prasanna Moorthy is a cricket coach having intense knowledge in the field. To contact him mailto:prasanna.moorthy@gmail.com and for further cricket updates, info and to buy best cricket equipments visit www.procricketgear.com

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