Austria v Germany - The Supernewbs Attack

Report by Brian Mantle aka Mr. Cricket Germany

Scorecards:
Match 1 [1st innings] [2nd innings] [source]
Match 2 [1st innings] [2nd innings] [source]

Well, so it has been completed. Some of you have inevitably suffered from my suffering. But the German cricket team is a German team after all and not unlike the footballers they often start to fire after an initial phase of acclimatisation.

And so it happened in Austria; losing the toss of the first match they were put in to bat in damp and unfriendly conditions, and while André Leslie assumed the shape of a salt pillar and did not move from his wicket until he had reached 105, the other batsmen couldn't muster much. In the second innings the German bowling was not able to stop the home side from going rampant in friendlier weather.

In the second match Germany grabbed the pike from the Austrians and turned it against them. This time bowling first and bowling well, they restricted the hosts to a gettable total, and some batting performances which I am really kinda proud of (Kashif Mahmood with the matchwinning knock) had us march home with a handful of overs to spare. 

Janardhan Siddaiah (c) DCB

I would just like to pick out one of the new players, allrounder Janardhan Siddaiah. Janardhan plays for the Karlsruhe Cricket Lions and seized the opportunity with both hands. In the first match he played nicely alongside André Leslie, but in the second clash he stepped on the throttle, scoring 57, which is just two runs short of Kashif's highscore, and thus put the tailenders into the position to get us home comfortably. It wouldn't be surprising if he appeared in the squad against Denmark later this summer.

Another new addition to the German ranks, Bilal Jafar from Kiel, knew to impress in the re-match, bowled like the devil was behind him, and knocked off the remaining runs with Syed Farid Shah, who stuck out to me as well. Hope to see him again versus the Danes. Rishi Pillai deserves to be mentioned as well for his good allround performance, and let's not forget Rana-Javed Iqbal, who quietly but efficiently like a clockwork held the attack together.

Generally there is some massive chopping and changing going on these days, Denmark will be another opportunity to throw some new players before the lions (even though it should be damn hard for them to step up in such challenging circumstances), and some more probing is to come in the course of the season. Whether we will know the approximate composition of the World Cricket League squad by then or not remains to be seen. I hope we will soon find a core group to which we can stick, so that the concerning players can - extra thick retinas provided - enjoy wearing the German jerseys and play a bit more freely.

Go the Germs!


Cheers,
Wes

Austria v Germany in Vienna 5-6 May 2012

[scroll down for a corker]

Today the German squad have departed for a two match 50 over mini series against Austria. The matches will be played Vienna. They are friendlies, but in times of drought regarding international contests both of the teams will be eager to prove their strength and get some desperately needed match practice under the belt. For Austria it means to find form ahead of the World Cricket League Div. 8 qualifier later in 2012, while Germany play their next big tournament in 2013 (World Cricket League Div. 7).

The German squad looks as follows:

• Asif Khan, Düsseldorf (captain)
• Rishi Pillai, Köln
• Satya Srinivas, Köln (wicketkeeper)
• André Leslie, Bonn
• Kashif Mahmood, Berlin
• Rana Javed Iqbal, Berlin
• Dilshan Rajudeen, Bonn
• Rajeev Vohra, Hamburg
• Yasir Ahmed, Wiesbaden
• Janardhan Siddaiaha, Karlsruhe
• Imran Chaudhry, Berlin
• Ashwin Prakash, Berlin
• Syed Farid Shah, Hamburg

A few of my favourites are missing and I hope to see them back in German colours soon (no matter how bright), but I wish the newbies a good start and would hereby like to express my confidence in the German ability to put bat on Mozart Ball and fend off  the Sachertorte chuckers successfully. Tschuldigung... musste sein ^^

Just in:

The German cricket team running into football legend Michael Ballack at the airport! Cricket Germany tweets: "German team heads to Vienna and meets Michael Ballack, was very excited to hear about German cricket (not) #gothegerms" [Source] BTW. Can't believe Mr. Cricket Germany has officially picked up the slogan *sniggers*. 

From left to right: André Leslie, Michael Ballack, Asif Khan, Dilshan Rajudeen  (c) DCB

This is great, too:

A history of the cricket rivalry between Germany and Austria: Brian Fell, the President of the German Cricket Federation (DCB), has penned down the history of the German-Austrian encounters on the cricket field and gives a brief summary of the European contests as well. Personally I love Brian's writing style and hope the DCB will restore his epic match reports, which unfortunately have gone to the eternal hunting grounds due to the complete overhaul of the DCB website (apologies for any broken links to posts on the old website).

YES Cricket Germany have redone the website, please go and have a look: Cricket Germany new website. You can now more easily subscribe to the RSS feed, subscribe via Email, and even leave comments (via your Wordpress account). Share buttons have been enabled, too. So, while I am a fervent objector of this animated tag clouds nonsense the rest of the website is coming along well.

If you are not following the DCB on Facebook yet please don't hesitate to send them a friend request. The Twitter handle should be known to most of you already: @Cricket_Germany

Hmmmm Mozart Baaaaaalls


Go the Germs!!!

Cheers,
Wes

Flags by Alpak

Johan Botha To Captain South Australia - Bold Or Bonkers?

South Australia have signed South African international Johan Botha as the new Redbacks captain for the next two seasons. Botha will take up his duties after the T20 World Cup. All hell broke loose when the news began to leak out. The vast majority of the Redbacks fans voiced their protest, many of them expressing sympathy with sacked captain Michael Klinger.

Wallpaper by Ian (Baggy Green Blog). Download it from the Redbacks
fan page, or find more Redbacks wallpapers on his blog (scroll a bit).

Coach Darren Berry does not get tired to point out that Michael Klinger did not do anything wrong. So why is he getting replaced then? If you look at Klinger's track record as a captain it becomes obvious that he has lead the Redbacks to remarkable successes in the T20 and the One Day Cup, whereas he could not get a foot into the door of the Shield.

If you take things like player selection / change of generations, administrative moves, format priorities and monetary reasons out of the equation, as an onlooker from the outside you might come to the conclusion that Maxy is a brilliant limited overs captain, but rather luckless in the longest format, because the teams don't differ that much, do they.

So if you want to change something at the Shield, why appoint another limited overs specialist? Johan Botha is rightfully a famous and popular, smart and skilled player with an exceptional work ethic; he obviously gained respect and affection within the Adelaide Strikers camp quickly and I can imagine that many players would happily listen to him. Out of the 21 one-dayers in which he has lead the South Africans he has only lost five. What a sweet lure! The SACA might have been just too tempted to ride their luck here.

What amazes me is that there has not been any kind of statement, not even an announcement, on the official Facebook page. It leads you to believe that the officials are trying to evade the shitstorm discussion, at least until people got used to the thought. Also usually every dog wedding is filmed and put on Youtube, but on this occasion we only get to hear an audio file of this extremely crucial press conference with coach Berry and ex-captain Klinger. I can only speculate that the emotions went high at this particular event.

The SACA knows that they have made a very controversial decision. The superlatives the coach keeps churning out kinda prove that. And they also know that if Botha fails to significantly improve the Redbacks' position in the Shield table, the fans and members might go ape shit.

But let's have a closer look at Berry's ideas. In some places on the web fans suggested possible alternatives to Botha. None of these ideas were realisable, the players in question were either still playing grade cricket or had just made their debuts in the senior team. Naturally you wouldn't just throw such a guy in front of the lions and hope he will turn into the next Rory Hamilton-Brown. The plan is to improve at the Shield, not to replace old warhorse Klinger with a complete noob, right? Some also suggested players from other Australians states. Most probably the same people that moan about SA becoming Victoria for the poor / Australia's cricket dump / England, and would have gone ballistic had Klinger got axed for another fresh Victorian or New South Welshman.

And this is where Berry's idea of a leadership core group comes in:

So apparently the SACA decided against the next best Victorian, who would afterwards be difficult to remove, but are trying to gather potential future leaders around the experienced Botha, in order to increase chances of a South Australian groomed leader in the post-Botha era. So his role is obviously that of a mentor for the younger players. This little piece of info must have slipped most people's attention. And whilst he is mainly known for his limited overs captaincy, his first class figures as an allrounder plus his sharp fielding skills are nothing to be sniffed at; Berry expects him to stabilise the middle order noticeably. Michael Klinger on the other hand will be able to fully concentrate on his batting and I think everybody agrees if I say the Redbacks need each single run from him.

Personally, as some of you might know, I'm a huge Johan Botha fan and will definitely keep my fingers crossed for him, as a Redbacks supporter as well as a Botha follower. Some might secretly wish to see him fail. Others have even laid down their membership already (so I read) or are planning to do so in case of a failure. I don't think that punishing the club and the team and depriving them of the support they are in need of especially now in these difficult circumstances is the right way to go. We should wait and see how this exotic experiment turns out.

There is another interesting aspect to this:

I have asked people, if there has ever been an overseas captain leading an Australian state side. They were not quite sure if Botha was the first, but from the answers you could figure, it can't have been many. Generally the Australian Shield and 40-over Cup are fairly closed events, unlike the English domestic setup. Observers attribute Australia's strength to this large choice of native players on display, whilst others argue that some spice from the outside would increase competition and competitiveness, and produce better, more motivated players. And last but not least, the Australian players benefit from their respective overseas stints as well.

So inevitably the question arises: will the Botha appointment open the floodgates? Ian from The Baggy Green Blog is not too keen on such a development. But is it possible that we are going to see a certain number of overseas players in the domestic matches in the future? And does Botha's tenure as a Redbacks captain really mean that he will aim to qualify for Australia and induce an influx of Saffa players into the Australian national side? Excuse me but LMAO. People can go over the top a bit in their first outburst of rage, however, I think the other clubs will definitely get some popcorn, cola, lean back and watch how it goes, before anybody dares to attempt at a similar move. What we don't know of course is what's really going on in the minds of other Australian administrators. I would really like to hear some opinions from them. Perhaps they are even laughing their rears off about the the SACA's foolhardiness. Or desperation.

I think the Big Bash League is the most likely event where we could see an overseas captain at some point.

And such a decision might even be very popular with the fans, depending on who that player is of course (see IPL). Obviously I'm not necessarily thinking of Virat Kohli here, but a Big Bash team being led by one of the flashy Pakistanis or a West Indian superstar would certainly boost the fun factor and add a lot more glitz and glamour to the tournament. But I really can't imagine many more foreigners in the 'more serious' formats in the near future. That's just not Australian.

Right. Go Botes!


Cheers,
Wes

Asia Cup - Who To Support?

The Asia Cup has just started and with the teams of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh taking part it really makes things difficult for a Non-Asian to pick a favoured team. Don't get me wrong, though. I absolutely disagree with the opinion voiced by Geoffrey Boycott, who said that nobody cared about the event. Boycott obviously feels free to generalise his own views on the competition. But under the current circumstances - India's weakness, from which only surprises can spring, Sri Lanka's recent strength, Pakistan's whatever, and Bangladesh, who might just try to jump into the gaps and make hay as long as the sun is shining - the situation within Asia is delicately poised. Too bad that Afghanistan are not allowed to participate, they would have spiced things up further.

So when I asked myself the question who to root for, "Pakistaaaaaan!" was my cheerful instinctive reaction. But a closer look reveals that they have dropped Azhar Ali for a guy who stores his fruit preserves in a wooden cabin outside the house, and coincidentally this replacement made a half century in the first match, which drastically minimises Azhar's chances of returning to the side any time soon. Also, does Pakistan really need another series of Shahid Afridi ducks, enriched by a booming century, to add further complication to the question where he should bat? ^_^

Sri Lanka. Ah you Lankans. Finalists of the World Cup and the recently concluded CB series, in both of which they failed to take the last hurdle and defeat the respective hosts. Third time lucky?

Bangladesh... I only just realised that Mushfiqur Rahim is captaining the side, shame on me. Big is the rock under which Wes lives. Go Mushi!!! Attack leader Mashrafe Mortaza and valuable asset / sunnyboy / genius / world's best allrounder of the hearts Shakib al Hasan make me tilt towards the team from the wetlands.

India. India are currently riding the wave of worldwide sympathy, mine, too. But the squad they selected for the tournament doesn't interest me at all (R Ashwin being the exception that proves the rule). Sorry guys. The attentive reader will now be wondering if Praveen Kumar got dropped, at least temporarily, from my bandwagon list? Yup. Stump incident.

So... who to support? Hell, I don't know! In case of doubt...

Go Paks :P

(c) Play For Country Not For Self

Cheers,
Wes

Asif Khan - An Interview With The Captain Of The German Cricket Team

Hi guys and guyettes, I'm very proud to present to you my interview with the captain of the German cricket team, Asif Khan! Asif reviews the past two years with the German national side and gives us an outlook to the future. 

This is my second interview with a German player and my first official one for the Cricket Germany website, you can find the German translation there, big thanks goes to Mr. Cricket Germany Brian Mantle for granting me this opportunity, and of course Asif for replying in detail to all my questions.

BTW: You can follow Cricket Germany on Twitter (@Cricket_Germany) and friend them on Facebook (Cricket Germany).

Hope you'll enjoy the interview, feel free to operate the share buttons if you like it ;)

Asif Khan batting v Botswana, WCL Div 7, May 4th 2011 (c) ICC

► ► ► Asif, the German team has enjoyed a magnificent and fulminant series of successes in the last two years, starting from edging out arch rivals France from the promotion to the World Cricket League Div 8 during the European Div 2 Championship in 2010, then storming into the final of the World Cricket League Div 8 in Kuwait, and culminating in the trip to Botswana for the participation in the World Cricket League Div 7. Many strong competitors have been defeated, convincingly or in thrilling and entertaining nailbiters, which had the fans clinging to the edge of their seats. Overall, Germany has played a lot of good cricket in the recent past.

That’s correct, the last two years have probably been the brightest for German cricket in a long time and that’s due to the players as well as the support staff. The win against France was extremely critical to us as the players started to believe in their abilities and what all was possible if we played and hung on as a team.  We always go into a game expecting a somewhat nailbiting encounter as nothing separates teams on paper at our level. We always seem to enjoy this challenge and it brings out the best in us, which is evident in our performances.

The current team is an excellent blend of experienced and young cricketers, which is the key to our rise. Keith [Thompson], Brian Fell, Ben [Das] and DCB as a whole have been instrumental in doing the background work of arranging practice tours, indoors training, and made sure we were looked after well everywhere. Keith in his role as a coach has been very proactive. He involves players, motivates them, knows their strengths and is as excited outside the boundary rope as us inside it right through a game.

► ► ► Could you outline your personal highlights as a player and with regards to the team? Which matches did you deem the most important, the hardest to win, and the most enjoyable?

I’ve been a part of the senior side since 2004, but the last two years have been the most exciting ones personally.  There has been no better sight than seeing this team grow from strength to strength one game to another. Captaincy is an added responsibility, but the support from my team has definitely made my task a lot easier. Valuable suggestions in crunch situations or a word on correcting a fielder from the wicket keeper is something I always appreciate.

Asif Khan takes a quick single v Gibraltar, Euro Div 2 2010

There have been some highlights in my career as a German player:

• My first score of 50 plus runs for Germany will always remain special. That was against Israel, playing my second game.

• The partnership with Farooq [Ahmed] against France in Euro Div 2, which got us back in that game, which we eventually won.

• Leading Germany in the World Cricket League Divisions 8 and 7.

• My partnership of 262 runs with Milan [Fernando] against Gibraltar in Kuwait, where Milan amassed 151 runs and I scored 109, I will always remember as one of my most entertaining innings.

• Scoring a century against Botswana for the 3rd place play-off in 2010 was vital to avenge the close defeat against them earlier in the tournament [World Cricket Leagie Div. 7].

Other than that, the tight wins against France and Zambia were very satisfying and kick started our tournaments in the best possible way.  Those were must win games, whereas the losses to Botswana and Nigeria in World Cricket League Div 7 were bitter. A single victory would have ensured tickets to Division 6 and Singapore.

Every victory has been significant to every player, fan and follower. The appreciation and flow of messages the team management receives from our fans in Germany and worldwide makes us really proud to be representing this country. Our friends and families all over the world follow Germany’s scorecard and cheer for us whenever we’re in a tournament. That is something very special to me personally.

► ► ► In 2012 there are no ICC events scheduled for Germany, but in view of the World Cricket League Div 7 in 2013 Germany is going to take part in a few bilateral and trilateral contests. Can you elaborate on the details a bit, and what do you think are Germany's chances in these matches?

2012 will be a vital year for German cricket to enhance our talent pool and look into players for the future. Friendly fixtures will be the ideal opportunity for young talents as well as seasoned players, who have been in the squads, to cement their places for coming tournaments.

The obvious goal for me would be to win these contests convincingly, play competitive cricket and at the same time give newcomers enough opportunity to show off their talent. I would take these games to familiarize myself with new players, and at the same time improve our skills in real match situations.

I feel there is enough talent amongst our youths (U19, U23 and senior team pool). They need to be nurtured and given enough opportunity to be a part of the national set up and play as many matches as possible. Real match situations and practice sessions where we work on our weaknesses is something I feel we’re missing right now.

In an international tournament lasting 10 days we need to ensure our squad is mentally and physically fighting fit and have prepared well for the games. I know it’s not easy, but the bottom line is that the ICC's funding to the DCB is directly proportionate to the senior team’s performance. Therefore, any fixture involving the senior team should be considered top priority by the DCB.

► ► ► How important was the European 50 over championship as a preparation for the World Cricket League, and do you think its loss can be sufficiently compensated?

Real pity that the 50 over format has now been replaced by T20. They’re two different formats and cannot be interchanged.

The 50 over format provided an ideal platform to gear up for the World Cricket League in respect to match situation, playing conditions and the needed fitness levels.  In T20, the pitch or weather conditions do not change much, there’s little chance to rebuild an innings or keep applying pressure on the opposition, searching for wickets. T20 is more about saving runs and you can consider yourself lucky if you manage to get 7 or more wickets.

Not to forget that T20 is an important format going forward and we need to start taking it very seriously, mainly because it’s a short cut to the T20 world cup.

► ► ► In the 2011 European T20 tournament, as well as in Botswana, Germany tried out a few new players. Who are in your opinion the brightest prospects for the future, who we should watch out for? How much fluctuation do you expect until 2013?

Asif Khan (background) with youngsters
Shafraz Samsudeen (l.) and Tarun Rawat (m.),
Euro Div 2 2010  (c) DCB

Keith has worked hard in the background looking for fresh talent, travelling to nearly all regional and DCB tournament finals and pinning down on probable candidates for the national team. He strives to find the correct blend of young enthusiastic as well experienced players to represent Germany at international tournaments. Over the years I have played in various sets of German teams, but to me the 14 -16 players since Jersey 2010 have been the pick.  It’s vital to encourage and get in new players so they gain experience by playing alongside seniors and carry on in the same vein as the past teams.

In my eyes we’ve got around 10 standout cricketers between 22 and 28 years who could take on the mantle of responsibility for the next decade. They’re aggressive and possess good understanding of the game. They need to be adequately coached and made to understand their roles and expectations from them in the team. Would be unfair not to name all of them but Kashif Mahmood, Dilshan Rajudeen, Ashwin Prakash, Tarun Rawat, and Shafraz Shamsudeen are on the brink of cementing their places in the senior sides. Ritwik Marwaha and his brother Tushar have done well playing for the U19s and they’re highly talented.

I’m sure there are many more gifted cricketers all over Germany and the DCB has put up a road map for 2012 to unearth these talents. For 2013 I would not expect a huge face change to the national set up except for 2 -3 new faces, but looking into 2014 onwards I would expect all the above mentioned to play regularly for Germany.

► ► ► Where can you see Germany progress from 2013 on, do you think German cricket will hit a glass ceiling at some point, or how much further can the team in the present state and circumstances ascend, if everybody clicks? Which goals are you planning to achieve during your tenure as a German captain?

Asif Khan with Botswana skipper Akrum Chand,
WCL Div 7 2011

Well, nothing is impossible if the desire is there in you to get to your goal at any cost. It’s the same for me and every member of the senior side. We collectively try till the end to get a win out of any situation every time we go out and play.

The ICC is already preparing a glass ceiling for associates by blocking their way to the 50 over world cup. Ireland beating England and getting the better of Pakistan proves the potential in associates and given the exposure to its players, they’re bound to do well.  Personally I do not see any reason for German cricketers not doing well at international competitions, given enough opportunities to work on their skills, play and practise together more often, along with friendly tours.

I take it step by step and my immediate priority would be to get to Division 6 of the World Cricket League in 2012. This is achievable if every member of the team is on top of his game and ready for the challenge. We all know how close we were to Div 6 in Botswana and we feel it’s still a job undone.

Winning a World Cricket League and Euro T20 leg would be dreams coming true for all of us. Not to mention that playing for and leading Germany has been an honor in itself. I thank all those who considered I was good enough to play for Germany and especially the support I’ve received from my family and friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Great stuff from our captain and king, honest and optimistic. Here's hoping for a great 2012 season!

GO THE GERMS 


Cheers,
Wes