Mongoose bat

So what is this Mongoose bat that has become the buzz word in the ongoing third season of IPL?

The basic concept is that in Twenty20, where the need for agression is paramount, you do not need the shoulders/splice area of the bat, which are entirely defensive.

So the blade has been shortened and the handle lengthened, and the meat of the bat is constructed to ensure maximum hitting power.

The Mongoose bat, named after the animal known for its ferocity, is said to be a “ball crusher” and was introduced by the former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden who is known for power hitting.

The handle of the Mongoose bat is 43 per cent longer and the blade 33 per cent shorter than the conventional bat. Since there is no splice, the sweet spot is increased by 120 per cent.

For the moment, 100 bats in two categories will be launched in India and all of them would be signed by Hayden, according to Fernandez. They are priced at between Rs. 17,000 and Rs. 23,000.

First’s in Cricket

This is interesting. Thanks to cricinfo.

The first ten-wicket haul in a Test innings

Way back in 1896, George Lohmann bagged nine wickets in the first innings against South Africa. For more than half a century no one could match that performance, until Jim Laker on a dusty pitch at Old Trafford in 1956. He snared 9 for 37 to skittle Australia out for 84 in the first innings, before delivering the perfect 10 in the second innings: 51.2-23-53-10, ensuring the Ashes remained with England. His figures of 19 for 90 remain unsurpassed even in first-class cricket.

The first Test hat-trick

This was a feat achieved when Test cricket was in its infancy, less than two years after the first match now recognised as a Test. Australian fast bowler Frederick “The Demon” Spofforth, one of the greatest bowlers of the 19th century, capitalised on a first-day pitch affected by a spell of rain shortly after the toss to take three in three in the one-off Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1879. His burst reduced England to 26 for 7, leaving their captain, Lord Harris, to regret the decision to bat first.

First to hit six sixes in an over

The game’s most versatile cricketer and its greatest allrounder, Garry Sobers was the first to bludgeon 36 in an over, when captaining Nottinghamshire in a county game against Glamorgan during the 1968 season. The hapless bowler was Malcolm Nash, a seamer who was trying out left-arm spin.

The first 100-mph delivery

The introduction of speed guns increased the obsession with discovering the world’s fastest bowler, and Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee kept the debate raging by passing the 150-kph mark with regularity. The winner was decided when Shoaib broke the 100-mph barrier, clocking 161 kmph (100.04 mph) in an ODI against New Zealand in Sharjah in 2002. Not without doubt, however. The speed gun used, a US-made “Stalker” radar gun, was one operated by a sponsor; the broadcaster’s own instrument for clocking speeds was out of order. Nevertheless, the fastest delivery on record till then, Jeff Thomson’s 99.8 mph steamer in 1975-76, had been trumped, much to Pakistan’s delight.

Nelson

When I was writing a post on David Shepherd, I mentioned him doing a hop everytime the batting team scores a Nelson… It would be interesting to find out the origin of Nelson.

According to BBC where Shepherd was a regular writer…

It harks back to when I was kid playing village cricket down in Devon and we had an unlucky number – 111. We call it The Nelson, which you would also get with other multiples like 222 and 333. We found that the only way to counteract something bad happening on a Nelson number was to get your feet off the ground. You could just lift your feet off the pavilion floor if you weren’t in the middle, but if I was on the field of play I would just jump or hop.

The term was invented in the belief that Lord Nelson was unlucky enough to have had only one eye, one arm and one leg. Nelson wasn’t quite this unfortunate as he actually had two legs, but the cricket term has survived all attempts by historians to correct it. And hence the word Nelson.

David Shepherd

David Shepherd was(ya he died of cancer today) one of my favorite empires, for quite a few reasons other than awesome umpiring. Liked his chubby face and some of his superstition gimmicks including leg hopping at Nelson Score.

So I thought I put up a post as a tribute to him.

Shepherd was a renowned international umpire and officiated in 172 ODIs, including three consecutive World Cup finals, and 92 Tests between 1983 and 2005.

Shepherd was appointed a first-class umpire in 1981, and made his international debut at the 1983 World Cup. He would go onto become one of the game’s most decorated and beloved officials.

His last Test match was between West Indies and Pakistan in Kingston in June 2005 – after which Brian Lara presented him with a bat inscribed with a message thanking him for “the service, the memories and the professionalism” – and his final county appearance came at his former home ground of Bristol. Shepherd had represented Gloucestershire as a batsman over a 14-year career, which included 282 first-class matches and 12 centuries.

He died after a long battle with cancer. He was 68. RIP

Under what conditions is a ball called dead?

A simple Wiki got me this.

In the sport of cricket, a dead ball is a particular state of play in which the players may not perform any of the active aspects of the game. In other words, batsmen may not score runs and fielders may not attempt to get batsmen out.

The ball, referring to the cricket ball, becomes live when the bowler begins his run up in preparation to bowling at the batsman. In the live state, play occurs with the batsmen able to score runs and get out.

The ball then becomes dead when any of the following situations occur:

• The umpire is satisfied that, with adequate reason, the batsman is not ready for the delivery of the ball.
• The ball passes the batsman, is gathered by the wicket-keeper, and the batsmen obviously decline to attempt to take runs.
• The ball is finally settled in the hands of the wicket-keeper or the bowler, and the batsmen obviously decline to attempt to take any more runs.
• The umpire feels that both the fielding team and the batsmen consider the ball to no longer be in play.
• The ball reaches the boundary and four runs or six runs are scored.
• Either batsman is out.
• The ball lodges in the clothing or equipment of a batsman or umpire.
• The ball lodges in a protective helmet worn by a fielder.
• The batsmen attempt to run leg byes, and, in the umpire’s opinion, no attempt was made to either hit the ball with the bat or evade it. This nullifies the leg byes.
• The umpire intervenes in the occurrence of injury or unfair play.

Net Run Rate… How is it calculated?

We encounter Net Run Rate (NRR) in most of the major tournaments in the game of cricket. Sometimes, when the points of two teams are tied… Its NRR that decides as to which team qualifies for the next round. So how is the NRR calculated.

A simple wiki search got me to my answer. Its explained in great detail with lots of case scenarios.

NRR Basic Formula

One thing to be noted is that, for a team that has been bowled out, overs faced is equivalent to the total number of overs in one innings.