Cricket News In Brief – October 10, 2011 – Part 1
In an all Indian affair, Mumbai Indians have won the Nokia Champions League T20 final by 31 runs, after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Batting first, Mumbai put 139 on the board; however, their bowlers were exceptional in restricting their opponents to just 108, with the pick being skipper Harbhajan Singh, with figures of 3-20.
He was consequently named the Player of Match, while pacer Lasith Malinga was named the Player of the Tournament.
Former Indian spinner, Anil Kumble is in the middle of a possible interest conflicting role in cricket, which has been criticized by many of his peers.
The former spinner heads the Karnataka Cricket Association and the National Cricket Academy while also being a co-owner of Tenvic, a firm taking care of player interests.
Many believe that his administrative roles can influence him to potentially select those players, which he can also represent through his commercial venture.
England all-rounder, Ravi Bopara has labeled playing for the national team as a “cut-throat business”.
The player feels that despite being in the form of his life, one cannot take anything for granted and is making sure that he takes the opportunity with open arms.
England is currently in Indian to play a five match ODI series and One T20 match, which starts from October 14.
Pakistani all-rounder, Abdul Razzaq, said that players and coaches must not cross their respective limits to ensure harmony within the system.
“I think too much interference triggers problems, it does not only put pressure on the players but on the coach as well”, said Abdul Razzaq.
The team has seen bitter disputes between coaches and players with the most famous being the recent one between Waqar Younis, Shahid Afridi and the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Aleem Dar, the ace Pakistani umpire, said that Pakistan Cricket Board should give central contracts in order to make the umpiring department effective.
“Umpires also need central contracts. Almost all Test-playing countries offer central contracts to umpires and their fee structure is more impressive than what umpires get in Pakistan,” he remarked.
Dar is one of the most respected figures in World Cricket and was recently named as the ICC umpire of the year, for the third time in succession.