Is using Technology in Cricket worth it?

If you watched the first test match between India and Srilanka, you may have noticed the umpires referring to the third umpire for decisions that they were not allowed before. This brought about the downfall of a lot of Indian batsman who in the mind of the field umpire were Not Out, However the third umpire thought other wise.

The question now is, is it worth to spend this much time? Lets see, on one side of the coin, we can justify it by saying that cricket would become free of controversies, which have been marked previously over umpiring decisions. Fans have blamed umpires for their poor decisions and cricket boards have been involved in influencing the ICC to remove umpires from particular series. But umpires are not to be blamed, because they too are humans and humans are imperfect. They do make mistakes.

The other side of the coin is about the interest that arises when such wrong decisions are made and the scope of the game changes because of a wrong umpiring decision. This has been witnessed at countless matches. In addition to this, third umpires take a substantial amount of time in make their decision that reduces the amount of interest in the game for fans.

Is it worth it? You can make it up by your self.

Is it the end of Conventional Cricket?

The popularity of IPL has shown that 20/20 cricket has been rising in its stature as a cricketing format to reckon with and in the fast moving world, cricket fans love the fast pace cricket with loads of excitement. But does that mean we stop playing Test cricket?

Certainly Not!

The beauty of test cricket is much different from the “Too Fast. Too Furious”, cricketing format. Skill, Patience and experience is what it requires to excel at this format. Without it, you are deemed to fail. Perfectionists like Rahul Dravid are difficult to dislodge until and unless a genius like Ajantha Mendis comes up with a beauty (In the Recent Test Match) or Shoib Aktar at his lethal best bowling out Sachin Tendulkar or Flintof defying the mighty Australians to give them their Ashes in years or Brian Lara scoring a quadruple or Murlitharan taking 700 odd wickets or the magic ball of Shane Warne.

All this can be only noticed in Test cricket, a true test of one’s talent.

Does all this make sense to you? No! then I shall say, “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” and Test cricket is no different.

What's Next for Pakistan Cricket?

For Now, it seems Pakistan cricket is at least back on track. Not because four of its players have passed the dope test but because it has been allowed to host the Champions Trophy.

The question now is, Is Pakistan really safe for playing Cricket? A question which would definitely be answered once the champions trophy takes place. Still though for now, Pakistan Cricket has a positive mark on its side by safely hosting a few series and a tournament consisting of 3 biggies of Asian Cricket. Therefore Pakistan is safe to host and The ICC accepts that, all the Cricket Boards accept it, Still though, "FEW" players have shown their concern and have also blamed ICC for being "IRRESPONSIBLE"

Who is it at fault? In my opinion it is still the Pakistan Cricket Board. I would surely be the first one to stand up and clap for their achievement of convincing all the boards but there is still a huge cry among "FEW" players. Because these same "FEW" would have no issues going to Srilanka, which has been affected by the same suicidal attacks for a while now;India, which has been rocked by bomb attacks in the last few days; or else for that matter Britain; which was also rocked by bomb attacks in 2005.

Keeping in view all the facts, it would be justified to say that PCB's past attitude of canceling tours has led the players to believe that PCB would back down when put under pressure.
It would now be a test of time for PCB to make sure that they carry on with the plan of hosting the Champions Trophy in any circumstances without coming under any pressure from any board or player. If it is able to do that, PCB would not only be on the right track but speeding on it like a racing bullet.

N.B: For those of you, who may say that the decision of hosting the champions trophy has been already been finalized. Let me remind you, Until its done, its not done yet...

Srilanka's unfolds new Weapon

If at all, it was not enough, Srilanka has now come up with another weapon and that too is a "Freak". The guy goes with the name Mendis who has already sensationalized the world of cricket with his carom ball as his coach calls it.

Srilanka's ability to produce such cricketers has been no new thing, it first came up in 1996 with Jayasuria and Kaluwitharana, both of these cricketers smashed the ball around as if it was a party going on. Then came the legend Murlitharan, with his weird action, he has taken over a 1000 wickets and has already been declared as the best bowler in the history of mankind.

And just when the world was praying that it has had enough of Murli magic. Mr. Pocket rocket (Malinga) came in with a bang with his slide action, which has been more dangerous for umpires, let alone the batsman.

Wasn't this enough? Well may be not for Srilanka, they have now introduced Ajantha Mendis, who with a peculiar style of bowling delivery have confused the best in business. Recent show of his magic was seen in the Asia cup, and in the first Test match against India. If you have any doubts, ask the Indian Wall, Rahul Dravid who was bold out by a Mendis Beauty. I would say he was "Mendisized"...

So for people who were pleading god to get rid of Murlitharan, hold on guys, he may not be the only threat any more!