US Corporate Cricket Championship in Michigan

Michigan Cricket Association is organizing a "US Corporate Cricket Championship" on August 8th and August 9th. This was previously called "Big 3 Cricket Challenge Cup".

The teams participating this year are:

• Altair Engineering
• Blue Cross Blue Shield/li>
• Chrysler Group
• Ford Motor Company
• General Motors
• TCS & Affiliates

The Venues for this year's games are:

Lyon Oaks Park, Wixon, MI
Bloomer Park, Rochester, MI

Fore more details check out Michigan Cricket Association website.

Great Cricket by a 4 year old

Here's a video of Krishna Narayan a 4 year old from India showing off outstanding batting (cricket) skills. I wish him all the best. Looks like he has a great future ahead.

Who in United States is searching for your favorite Bollywood Stars

Ever wondered who is GOOGLING for your favorite Bollywood Stars or Cricketers in United States? I have put together a Google Maps Mashup which shows you which city tops the list in Google Search for a given keyword. You can filter the result by country and by date (from last 30 days to January 2004).

So for United States

• Amitabh Bachchan - Piscataaway, NJ and Pleasanton, CA are top 2 cities.
• Shahrukh Khan - Piscataaway, NJ and Brooklyn, NY are top 2 cities
• Aishwarya Rai - Pleasonton, CA and Newark, NJ are top 2 cities
• Sachin Tendulkar - Quincy, MA and Jersey City, NJ are top 2 cities

Detroit on the world cricket map

Big Time Cricket is coming to Michigan which will put Detroit on the World Cricket Map.

Former Pakistan Captain and ace batsman Javed Miandad will be a part of 3rd Annual Diversity Cup T20 Cricket Tournament to be held on June 21-22 here in Detroit, MI. (Source: Associated Press of Pakistan)

Former Pakistan Test opener Shoaib Mohammad, Rizwan-uz-Zaman, will also be taking part in the event.

The tournament that starts on June 21st also features Shabbir Ahmed - Pakistan fast bowler who plays for ICL Pakistan and Mohammad Saif who has played for India U-19 as well as UP Ranji team. Saif is older brother of India's Mohammad Kaif.

Teams comprising expatriates from Canada, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and host USA will be taking part in the championship.

he chief organizer, Global Sports, has also promised something that has only rarely been attempted in USA at the senior level - a live video broadcast of the tournament via the internet.

Here's the Schedule via (DreamCricket)

2008 Diversity Cup

When? June 21st & 22nd.
Who's playing? Shabbir Ahmed, Mohammad Saif, Asif Mujtaba, Rizwan Uz Zamman, Pubudu Dassanayake
Dinner: June 21st Saturday at 8:00pm Sterling Chateau, 38500 Ryan Road, Sterling Heights, MI 48310 (586) 489-9905
Dinner Tickets: Call 586-344-4793 or 248-890-2153

Schedule:

Group A:

Match # 1: June 21 Saturday 10:00 am at Bloomer Park, Rochester Hills, MI
USA Stars V West Indies Masters

Match # 2: June 21 Saturday 3:00 pm at Bloomer Park, Rochester Hills, MI
Canada Maple Leafs V USA Stars

Match # 3: June 22 Sunday 10:00 am at Lyon Oaks County Park, Wixom, MI
Canada Maple Leafs V West Indies Masters

Group B:

Match # 4: June 21 Saturday 10:00 am at Lyon Oaks County Park, Wixom, MI

India Blues V Sri Lanka Lions
Match # 5: June 21 Saturday 3:00 pm at Lyon Oaks County Park, Wixom, MI

Pakistan Greens V Sri Lanka Lions
Match # 6: June 22 Sunday 10:30 am at Bloomer Park, Rochester Hills, MI

Inida Blues V Pakistan Greens
Match # 7: FINAL June 22 Sunday 3:30 pm at Bloomer Park, Rochetser Hills, MI

Winner of Group "A" vs Winner of Group "B"

Awards Ceremony: 7:00pm to 7:30pm at Bloomer Park, Rochester Hills, MI

First class umpire Muhammad Sadiq Khan will be umpiring in Diversity Cup.

Shabbir's and Mohammad's participation is courtesy of ExenSys.

Indian Premier (Cricket) League

I have compiled a list of the Teams playing in the newly formed Indian Premier (Cricket) League currently underway in India.

Click here for a look a the teams with some basic information, like who owns the teams, how much it is worth, the home stadium, latest team news (via Google News RSS Feeds) and a team video (YouTube).

An Open Letter to Rick Ponting

Dear Rick:

Congratulations on winning sixteen test matches in a row. Wow!, That was quite an achievement, Mate. I saw the SCG test match from my humble dwelling in Chanhassen, MN, USA and was quite impressed by your perseverance and hard work-you did not leave any stones unturned in your desperate quest to equal Waugh’s record. It was very heartwarming to see you share this expertise with your heir apparent, Michael Clarke. Mike’s antics in this test match convinced me that the Australian cricket team will be in good hands after your retirement.

Equally impressive was the ease with which you multi-tasked the role of a batsman, a fielder, and an umpire. Ganguly’s dismissal on day 5 was a brilliant piece of umpiring by you, Rick. I guess this made up for the forgetful series you’ve had so far with the bat. Getting a bit tired of being Harbajan’s Bunny-Aren’t you Mate? Nice little political spin you put there accusing a proud Sikh of being a racist. There may still be life after cricket for you. Running for prime minister of Australia cross your mind yet, Rick? You appear to have all the traits necessary to make a successful run for this office.

Shaking hands with Anil and promising a fair series based upon an honor system was an excellent start, Rick. However, turning around and stabbing Anil in the back (remember Dravid’s dismissal on Day 5) was low. Quite a role model you’ve turned out to be for the kids who look up to you, Mate.

You underestimated the reaction your little prank would bring about-Didn’t you Rick? You thought that India today is the same India from your grandfather’s days? The new India makes Australia look like a third world country (or continent if you prefer). A word of caution, Rick-The BCCI accounts for about 70% of the global revenues from cricket. Minor adjustments in its policies can very easily bankrupt the Australian Cricket Board-a move that’ll help you get back to the street cricket that you seem to love so much. The bottom line is this, Rick-You messed with the wrong country at the wrong time. So, enjoy the remaining series because this may be the last time you are playing in a test series against India.

Sincerely,

Vivek Ajmani

P.S. Good luck in the upcoming tour to Pakistan.

The Bucknor-Benson Trophy

Folks:

The current cricket test series between India and Australia should now be called the 'Bucknor and Benson' series instead of the Border-Gavaskar series. I watched the second test match and was sickened by the deliberate bias shown by the Australians and the three umpires towards the Indians. It is difficult to beat any home team on their turf-more difficult if one has to compete against a 14 member team (11 players and three umpires). I will not get into the details of the umpiring decisions but will say this: If the BCCI has any spine or any credibility left then they should boycott the remaining series and call the team back home.

Now, Harbajan Singh has been banned for three test matches for allegedly uttering a racist remark towards Symonds. The only racism I saw was the unfair and unjust treatment the Australians and the umpires were giving the Indians. The BCCI is the richest and most powerful cricket body on Earth and it is time they put their powers to good use. The national pride was hammered by cheats and we should not stand and simply protest. We should hit back and make sure that the pain is felt all the way to the banks and wallets of the players and officials of the Australian Cricket Board.

India did not lose-the game of cricket did.

Note: Benson takes Ricky Ponting's Word:


Regards

Vivek

Andrew Symonds subjected to monkey chants by Mumbai Cricket Fans

Andrew Symonds a Australian Cricketer of West Indian Heritage, was the target of racial slurs again. This time it was at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. 4 people were arrested for behaving indecently in public.

Ricky Ponting the Australian Team Captain had this to say

the team was disappointed that the same behaviour had been repeated at various grounds. "Andrew is hurt at the crowd behaviour but we've been told action has been taken," he said. "But some of the stuff that happens is totally unacceptable and leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth. I'm sure there are a lot of people in India that would be embarrassed by the incident."

Yes I am sure lot of people in India must have been embarrassed by the actions of these uncultured folks (look at the faces, they are having a heck of a time enacting monkey chants) (via)

India's Cricket needs this!

Yes! Let's get some Aussie Cricketers. (via MidDay)

Haryana Villages in India Ban Cricket after World Cup Debacle

This from a state which produced one of India's greatest cricketer - Kapil Dev.

Quoting Tewa Singh head of Dadan Panchayat in Haryana:

We all have taken this decision and those who go against it will have to face social boycott. We've enshrined this in the Panchayat records of 28 villages

A resident of the village had this to say:

We will stop playing it (cricket). We will play kabaddi, football, volleyball and wrestle instead

How about cheering for Sanjaya Malakar.:)

Indian Cricket in doldrums

India is 99.9% out of World Cup Cricket 2007. That 0.1% chance they have is if Bermuda beats Bangladesh.

Let's not all be depressed. Let's have some fun. Here's a email I received after India's defeat.

----------------------
What did the spectator miss when he went to the toilet?
The entire Indian Innings.

Where do Indian batsmen perform there best?
In Advertisements.

When would Agarkar have 100 runs against his name?
When he is bowling.

What is the most proficient form of footwork displayed by Indian batsmen?
The walk back to the pavilion.

How to increase the chances of Indian batsmen playing out the entire 50 overs?
Try giving them two innings to begin with, then try three and so on.

What is the Indian version of a hat-trick?
3 runs in 3 balls

What is the height of optimism ?
Sehwag coming out to bat applying sunscreen on his face.

============ ========= ========= ====
Phone Call for Sehwag:
Indian Team Manager : "Hello"(over Phone)
Wife :"Can I talk to Sehwag, this is his wife."
Indian Team Manager:"Sorry, he is just going to bat"
Wife:"No Problem Manager, I will Hold on"
============ ========= ========= ====

DIVORCE COURT SCENE :
The Judge (J.) asks the little girl (LG):
Now that your parents are getting divorced do you want to live with your mummy?
LG - No, my mummy beats me.
J. - Well then, I guess you want to live with your daddy.
LG - No, my daddy beats me too.
J. - Well then, who do you want to live with?
LG - I want to live with the Indian Cricket team, they never beat anybody !!!

Indian Cricket Ground - Quiz

Where in India is the Cricket ground shown in the adjacent image?

A. Ahmadabad
B. Mohali
C. Chennai
D. Kolkata

(View the answer in Google Maps)

India Cricket Craze - Some Pictures

Here are some pictures from BBC showcasing cricket fever which has gripped India.

K Sudhakar sits inside a cricket bat car designed by him in support of the Indian team. The car, powered by a 135cc engine with five wheels, is 25 feet long.







A Cricket fan flying 115 kites displaying pictures of Indian Cricketers









Rituals being performed in front of posters of Indian Cricketers

Team India - Latest Cricket News

Get the latest news on Team India at the World Cup Cricket 2007. (via Google News RSS Feeds).

(Note: More interesting Google Maps View of World Cup Cricket at GoogleMapsMania)