Sub Continental Pitches

As India recently toured Sri Lanka where three test matches were played, I have realised that sub-continental pitches tend to be batsmen friendly and no matter what day, it is bound to turn for the spinners. For fast bowlers to be successful on the pitches, they would have to be in top form taking the wickets early or rely on batsmen to make silly errors. I think it is very important for teams to go into these matches with more than two pace bowlers so there can be a change in the bowling attack at the start. This is a decision that can be controversial as there isn't much help to the pace bowlers in the sub-continental pitches but it could be very helpful in situations such as:

One of the other bowlers can't seem to find line and length
There are overcast conditions
Much easier way to regulate the pace attack from different ends

Even thought the points I have stated don't seem like much to bring in a third seamer but it could change the momentum of the game. In the three test matches played there were 80 wickets taken in total, 27 wickets were taken by fast bowlers. More often then not the wickets were of crucial batsmen and the maximum amount of overs bowled by a seamer was only 28 over. I know that 28 overs is a lot, nearly a session but when you compare it to maximum amount of over bowled by a spinner was 78 overs. The question for most teams is that where does the third seamer come from, well I think the teams must go with two spinners so a batsmen has to make way. 6 batsmen (including a wicketkeeper) are more than enough on sub-continental pitches and there are statistics to prove that. In the three tests the total amount of runs scored were 4094 and 51 runs were scored for every wicket taken so this means that for a team to get bowled out they will score a grand total of 510 runs therefore it is not a problem to go into a test with 6 batsmen. This is where an all rounder comes into play as he could get valuable runs and take valuable wickets. If you look at most sides this is what they have such as:

Australia: Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson
Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews, KGT Prasad
England: Stuart Broad
South Africa: Morkel Brothers

This is why it is more than important for teams to go into matches with a third pace bowler and it will have to be a risk taken by teams to stay on top, especially India who don't have a genuine all rounder.

The World Cup

Why is it that the best players didn't reach the final stages of the World Cup?
Well, it's all to do with individuality; Rooney, Messi, and Ronaldo, all combined, scored one goal between them and their respective teams did not make it past the Quarter-Finals. Is this a mere coincidence?
Teams with unknown players, such as Ghana and Uruguay, played more exciting football because they had a better team cohesion, unlike Portugal, England, and France who just had strong line-ups. An example of a good team cohesion is Germany, who were written off at the start of this World Cup. However, they have made it to the Semi-Finals looking like the team to beat. Germany started the campaign with arguably their best player injured and sitting out (Ballack). The coach, Joachim Löw, still believed that despite having a young and inexperienced team, the right spirit and motivation will help them succeed in the World Cup. As you can tell, to win the World Cup a team needs more than just talent and big names; a team needs a good leader, joint effort, and a winning mentality. Luck also needs to be taken into consideration even though it is not something that can be manipulated. Put all this into a campaign and you will eventually be the undisputed winner.

What is a balanced diet?

A balanced diet is eating the right amount of foods from all the food groups. There should be no shortage or excess of the amount of intake. A balanced diet consists of the five main food groups which are:

1. Carbohydrates (make energy)

2. Protein (helps in growth and repair)

3. Fats (for energy and warmth)

4. Fruits and Vegetables (Vitamins, Minerals and Fibre)

5. Milk and Dairy ( Protein, Minerals and Fats)

The carbohydrates in your diet are the most essential for energy and you get them from potatoes, rice, pasta and they should be 45-50% of your daily food intake. Proteins are needed for repairing the cells plus growing new ones and you can find proteins in dairy products, meat, fish and they should be 20-25%. The rest of the 30% are made up of fats, vitamins, minerals, fibre; you can get fats from dairy products, nuts and meat. The best sources for vitamins, minerals and fibre are from vegetables and fruits.
When balanced diet comes to sport then it is more crucial because the demands of sport on an individual's body is a lot as he/she needs all the nutrients in his/her diet. The best way to get the nutrients are from food but if this isn't possible then other supplements are also beneficial.

Peaking at the right time!!

Peaking is when a team or an individual is playing to their best potential and dominating their field in every aspect. Peaking is important for any team or individual but peaking at the right times is ever more beneficial. A sprinter would target running at his/her optimum speed at a specific time in their calendar as that time is most likely to be at an important race. This gets a lot harder when it comes to team sports as the manager has to get everyone peaking at the same time which is no easy feat. For major competitions such as the world cup or the IPL some teams can peak too early and by the time it gets to the final stages they will be well out of it therefore it is important teams win throughout the competition.

This doesn't mean that teams have to not perform well at the start but it means they have to peak for a longer period of time which can be the most difficult thing to do. What people normally don't get is that peaking doesn't mean playing exceptionally well, it just means that you get the result you or your team wants. An example would be Holland in the World Cup 2006 when they arguably played the best football in the World Cup but didn't make it through the last 16's as they were a victim of not peaking at the right times. This depends more on the coaching staff or the manager rather than the player/s as the best teams (Manchester United, Barcelona, Chelsea) don't always play the smoothest football but they get results every week and all these teams have the best managers or the coaching staff. Arsenal undoubtedly play the best football but in the last 5 years they haven't won a trophy because they have come up against teams who have peaked at the right time whilst playing against them or Arsenal haven't been able to peak at those times. Remember that peaking doesn't always mean playing the best, it just means getting the result you want.

The ATP/PC System

The ATP system is used by the body for fast and dynamic movements and doesn't last for long. This post will explain how the ATP system works in the body with a sporting example at the end. Adenosine Tri Phosphate (ATP) gets broken down into Adenosine Di Phosphate + P + Energy and the energy gets used out of this equation for an anaerobic movement. As the body only has enough ATP stored in our muscles which lasts for 2-3 seconds therefore we can only use this for a little movement such as a dead lift. To rebuild the ATP, we need energy which we produce from the 3 different energy systems. We also need a Phosphate which is stored in the muscles, and we have the ADP already. Therefore to replenish the ATP:
Energy + P + ADP
As we need energy we look to move to another system which is called the ATP-PC system. This system doesn’t use oxygen or produce lactic acid therefore it’s said to be alactic anaerobic. Behind very short, powerful movements such as the 100m sprint this is the primary system. This system lasts for 8-10 seconds for a normal person but can get better (not by much) if you train it. A sporting example for this system is a 100m sprint as the elite finish the race within 10 seconds therefore they rely on this system to supply them with sufficient energy to last the race.

Will IPL turn over Test cricket?

The question should be will 20twenty turn over Test cricket, but I have purposely not gne for this question due to the popularity of 20twenty going up in recent years due to the start of the IPL. Before IPL started 20twenty was a game that was played to have a rest from the bigger format of cricket but since the inaugration of IPL it's become much more than that as it is the easiest way to earn a quick buck and become famous. Lalit Modi, the director of the IPL recently stated that 'Test cricket is our bread and butter' but in the first year of the IPL, several test matches in India have attracted small crowds. In those several tests, there was the infamous one where Sachin overtook Brian Lara's run-aggregate against Australia and this lead to fear of a dip in popularity in the game's oldest format. Since then the ratings have risen for test cricket in India but in other countries, the shorter format rules the ratings.
Everything at the moment sounds fine for test cricket but the hype of the IPL is so huge that every young cricketer would want to play for Mumbai Indians rather than India. Therefore the next few years for test cricket is very important as it will tell where test cricket lies in the cricketing world. So will IPL turn over test cricket, only time will tell.

Indian Centurions

The four different centurions from the Indian innings all have a different style from each other. The first centurion was Virender Sehwag who has a style most people love to appreciate which is 'see and hit'. This means that if Sehwag sees the ball he will go after it, in a total of 174 balls faced by him, he defended 12. That is a small number especially considering that this is a test but to Sehwag this doesn't matter as that is his style. No matter what the scenario of the match is Sehwag only knows one way to play. The second centurion was the unmistakable Sachin Tendulkar who is a century making machine as this is his 47th hundred in total and fourth hundred in the fourth consecutive match. Sachin's style is probably the most effective as he has scored the most runs and most cenutries with a very respectable average, his style is renowned to be steady but will punish any bad deliveries bowled to him.

The third centurion was VVS Laxman who has the most elegant style of the four centurions because while watching all you can do is admire. Laxman's style is very exclusive to sub-continental batsmen as he is very 'wristy' and likes to deal in boundaries rather than quick singles. The fourth and the final centurion was captain marvellous MS Dhoni who has changed his style since he became captain and has an average of 73.45. When Dhoni started his career his style was similar to Sehwag but as he has matured he has started to realise and understand the scenarios of the matches he plays in. The innings he played in the match against SA was a brilliant knock that involved all of his unique styles as he started off slow and then picked up the pace.

All the four centuries were important to India winning this match in the end as they all played a vital role in different phases of the game. What I would like to get out of this post is that there is no perfect style, as long as the style suits the player that's the perfect style for him/her.

CB Hounslow vs Kingstonian Gardens (0-1)

The team CB Hounslow placed forward this week were a lot more experienced as the manager went for maturity to youth. The team they were playing looked well organised from the start but one disadvantage they had was that they had no substitutes so any injury to their player would be devastating for their manager. The match started with both teams running at each other and the tempo of the game was high even though not many chances were created. There was definitely an edge to CB Hounslow this week as they looked a lot sharper with their passing but a mistimed clearance caught them out but were lucky to escape as the striker can only help the ball onto the post.

The next chance fell to CB Hounslow this time as a ball over the top confused the defence the keeper and the last defender but the striker couldn't capitalize and hit the post from a mere 4 yards. The first half looked to finish 0-0 but the left winger of Kingstonian Gardens had other things on his mind as his trickery and a lucky cross lobbed the keeper. Second time in a row the manager of CB Hounslow made another substitute in the first half as he replaced a lethargic centre midfielder. Before the substitute could make an impact on the game the first half ended. The second half started with CB being more positive and their intentions were clear as they were creating great chances but couldn't convert any of them. The manager looked to the substitutes bench for more options but none of them worked and the game ended agonisingly for CB Hounslow with another loss.

Bad Form

Form is a state of an uncluttered mind where a player knows exactly where the next run or the next goal is coming from. Players in their respective playing career will go through bad form no matter how good they are. Bad form is a part of the game no player wants but it is a certainty that he/she will suffer from it some time during their playing career. Bad form can ruin a player's career if they don't know how to handle it as there are various ways of dealing with bad form. One way being to practise as much as possible whereas the second way is to take a break and get away from the game so your mind can be refreshed. Researchers have said that 'form is all in the mind' which means that sport is played more in the mind than players and coaches recognise it to be.

Bob Woolmer's art and science of cricket had a really good quote which I would like to share and elaborate on which is that sport is played 90% in the mind and 10% on the field so why do we only practise the 10%. This is very true in most sports players especially the new, rising ones as I can recall myself going to the nets every day while I was going through a rough patch and then I realised that I have to clear my mind of any doubts before I can perform to the best of my standards. I still don't think I have done that but at least I don't underestimate the power within.

Referral System

The referral system has been created by the ICC (International Cricket Council) to help umpires make the correct decision by using technology which is available. The captains or the batsmen can ask to refer a decision if they think the standing umpire has got it wrong and the third umpire will get the right decision by using the technology. The technology available for the third umpire are hot spot, snickometer and hawk-eye to predict the results, all the information gathered by the third umpire is sent down to the standing umpires.The referral system is still not used in all matches as some countries don't have all the technology and the ICC is still testing the system.
I think that the referral system should be used but still has a few issues with the rules as it isn't clear and the third umpires are still making mistakes even with all the help they get. Some of the mistakes being made are not turning up the speakers while watching the replay, front foot no-ball not being taken into concern. and not using the hawk-eye system in the most effective way possible. The rules are confusing as every person interprets them differently therefore the ICC has to make a clear rule which is followed by everyone in the same manner.

Imperial Athletic FC vs Parkway FC (1-2)

Before the game could kick-off, Imperial had a big disadvantage as they only had 9 players on the pitch due to bad turn up. As the game started this didn't have an effect on the players as they were playing as a unit and Imperial created good chances with the midfield and strikers linking up together but couldn't put any of the chances away. Parkway were slow to get into the game as they looked surprised due to the enthusiasm shown by the players of Imperial. After 25 minutes both teams looked good on the ball but Imperial had the better chances as they broke the defence but couldn't hit the target. Parkway had the better of the latter stages in the first half as they enjoyed a lot of possession with a few half chances but good defending by Imperial kept the score at 0-0. The first half ended with a free-kick taken by the Imperial Athletic's striker but went just over the crossbar yet this still proved that Imperial couldn't test the keeper.
The second half started with Parkway playing more aggressive and with more intent as they knew that this could be the game they get their first win of the season especially with Imperial being two men down. Imperial looked more scrappy and rusty with some of their touches being hefty which gifted the opponents with the ball and the possession. Around an hour into the match, Parkway made a couple of quick substitutions as they wanted more width and fresh legs, this had a major effect on the game as Imperial started to fatigue and couldn't replace any of their players. A ball over the top from Parkway caught some of the defenders ball watching but a reaction save from the Imperial Athletic's keeper kept them in the game but not for long as soon after a through ball left the defence out of position and the striker making no mistake placed his shot in the top left hand corner. The match was overshadowed by a collision of two heads as Imperial's left back had to be taken off with an injury to his temple and with Imperial not having any substitution this meant that Imperial had to play with 8 players. Soon after this incident took place, Parkway doubled their lead with a ball over the top which left the keeper and the defence stranded which meant the game was well out of Imperial's reach. Even though there were only a few minutes left on the watch, Imperial grabbed a conselation goal with a cross that was uncleared by the Parkway's defence.
The question Imperial have to ask themselves is that what would have happened if they turned up with a full squad which surely would have made a major change in the score. My well wishes to the left back who had to be taken to hospital due to the incident and I hope that he is available for the rest of the season because Imperial need as many players as possible.

CB Hounslow vs Indian Gymkhana (1-5)

The game started off steadily with both teams having enough time on the ball. As the game progressed so did Indian Gymkhana as they started to control the game with a couple of good chances. The midfield started enjoying playing with some good skills and the strikers had some joy in front of the goal. The CB Hounslow's defence looked nervous and before they knew it, Indian Gymkhana put two goals in quick succession past CB Hounslow. This lead to CB Hounslow giving up possession in the middle which meant the players had to work harder to win the ball back but they still couldn't stop the wingers from getting crosses in which lead to another two goals. Thirty minutes gone and the score was 4-0 Indian Gymkhana which lead to a tactical change from the manager of CB Hounslow who replaced the young left back with an experienced player. This was a critical move as CB Hounslow had a better shape and started attacking from the defence which lead to the last 10 minutes of the first half with CB Hounslow having a couple of chances.

The second half started the same as the first but CB Hounslow looked more composed with and without the ball, but soon into the second half another change was made replacing the right midfielder who looked out of sort. The player that was brought on went into the middle which meant one of the players went on the right and soon after Indian Gymkhana looked on the back foot. Even though CB Hounslow had a lot more command on the game they didn't trouble the keeper, and they were penalised for this as Indian Gymkhana produced a really good move and caught some of the CB Hounslow players 'napping' to score the fifth goal. As soon CB Hounslow kicked off they looked more dangerous with ball and enjoyed more possession which eventually paid off as they scored with a ball over the defence. The third substitution came near to the end as CB Hounslow were looking for more creativity and pace but the player didn't have much time to have an effect on the game.

To summarise the game Indian Gymkhana were all over CB Hounslow in the first half but in the second half, it looked like another team had turned up for CB Hounslow but the damage was done in the first half by Indian Gymkhana. Let's see what team turns up in the next game for CB Hounslow.