Author: Erin

Unsuspecting Attack During Cricket Match Leads to 8 Deaths in Afghanistan

During the Afghan cricket match, a man who was wounded in a surprise attack at the Jalalabad, Afghanistan Spinghar Ground Cricket Ground, received treated in a hospital this Saturday. The status of his condition is currently unknown but recent reports have said that the man is in stable condition. However, the devastating side of the attack has been revealed as eight people were killed during the match while dozens of others have been wounded with some cases being critical and others being minor. The attack showed itself as a series of blasts during the cricket match that was being held in the eastern Afghanistan area, according to officials.

Friday Morning Blasts

The blasts were reported to happen after the evening prayers on Friday at the stadium that was hosting the cricket match. This coincidentally, also happened at the start of the holy month of Ramadan, according to Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the Afghan provincial council. A spokesman for the Nangarhar Province governor, Attaullah Khogyani recalled the order of the fatal damage. One bomb that was deceptively hidden under a platform typically used by sports announcers went off around 11:30 p.m., which was the time during the break in the match while a few speeches were being made.

The first bomb was followed by two more devastating blasts at the gates of the stadium. However, it is still unclear if these bombs were strapped to suicide bombers or were planted, though one of the bombs was attached to a motorized rickshaw. He summarized that currently, there are currently only eight deaths and forty-five others were wounded.

Taliban Suspected

Many suspected this bombing was planned by the Taliban, though the leader of the infamous group, Zabihullah Mujahid, denied all claims that the group was involved in the fatal attack. The match that was taking place at nighttime, which is a normality due to Ramadan taking place, as it allows for people to fast freely during the daylight hours. This match was dubbed as the Ramadan Cricket Cup – and many of the patrons were highly anticipating this game.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board chairman, Atif Mashal, who is a popular figure in the sport of cricket, went to Twitter to express his disdain for the entire attack. Mashal stated that since cricket was introduced to the country, it has been a sign of happiness, pride, and peace for the fans and the players. He went on and stated clearly that these attacks were against everything cricket stood, along with being against humanity as well.

It should be noted that the number of dead were not only fans who were fleeing, a few officials, unfortunately, perished as well. The organizer of the match, Hedayyatullah Zahir and a Laghman Province official, Nekmal Waziri, were some of the people who died. Along with one recorded death of a child, who age is currently unknown.

Cricket News

Humble leadership from the KXIP Captain

The current captain of the Kings XI (KXIP), Ravichandran Ashwin, is showing his humble nature regarding the teams most recent games. Despite the team losing its most recent game against the Rajasthan Royals during their last league match. Ashwin stated that even though the team did not win their final league game – he is still happy where they currently stand in their ranking and previous match history.

While their recent game may have been a disappointment, the Kings XI Punjab were dubbed the overarching team during this season of the Indian Premier League. Mainly due to the team being under the leadership of a dedicated and calculated captain, who has show that he is sticking true to his promise of total unpredictability. While this power move is commonly seen as risky and incredibly daring during the league season – it also leaves opponents blind as they will not be able to see common trends within the team. Though, Ashwin has been the forefront of this plan seeing as how he has went out of his way to play different position during each game. Though – this lead to the loss of the Kings XI with their last league match.

Ravichandran Ashwin is the Best Choice

Ashwin has been constantly proving that he was one of the best choices of being the team’s captain by his skill with the ball and behind the bat, though, he isn’t commonly seen using the bat throughout the games. However, his successful with both lead to the Kings XI getting that much needed push. Though, his history of playing under the notorious MS Dhoni and Varat Kohli for all levels of cricket, helped Ashwin develop his critical skills needed to become a successful captain in his core.

His dedication towards the game, and his constant act of bettering himself and his skill, lead to Ashwin easily impressing the Kings XI Punjab head coach, Brad Hodge. Hodge admired the newly appointed captain while speaking of Ashwin, in which he stated that Ashwin is a great student of the game, and due to his hard work under Dhon, he has learned how to properly manage his resources while investing the required time into each player. Hodge finished his sentiment by adding his contempt and confidence that he has a great team lined up with an amazing captain to lead them to victory.

Furthermore, Ashwin’s guerilla warfare-esque playing style success has been shown through the teams changing cricket playing style. The uniqueness of this playing style is one of key reasons why this team has seen so much success during this season. Plus, many other teams in the league have even commented that it’s a solid winning strategy.

Though, this isn’t to say that Ashwin has had an easy ride throughout this season. While the first of the league were filled with matches that were being flawlessly won – the Kings XI begun seeing their promise boil to a head near the end of the season. However, the league is still in good sights to be considered for one of three remaining playoff places available. The tension is going to rise for the team as they only have two more matches, one being at Indore, to provide their skill and hopefully get a playoff slot. Nevertheless, Ashwin remains confident about the team and is only putting positivity about their success.

Humble leadership from the KXIP Captain

Cricket Disruption in India

It is undeniable to admit that the Indian Premier League of cricket is a well-known and respected league. From their billions of television rights and appearances to salaries that are ranging in the millions and their 11-year long history, it’s no wonder why this team is world renowned. However – despite all this team’s success, they are being protested by farmers in India who are angry, drought-stricken, and fed up.

To be brief, two Indian states, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, have been fighting for years over water rights in the regions of the Cauvery River. Though, tensions have been running higher due to farmers based in Tamil Nadu becoming more urgent about their demands due to the increase of drought conditions.

Now here is where the Indian Premier cricket team comes into play. To gain more publicity for their cause, the farmers began targeting the extremely high profile I.P.L due to their worldwide success and their global fanbase. Due to the farmer’s protests at in Chennai, which is based in the capital of Tamil Nadu, six of the Chennai Super Kings games, were forced to be moved to Pune, which happens to be a little over 600 miles away.

Protestors burning cricket match tickets over dispute

Protest Inside and Outside Stadium

While at first glance one might think that the protests were mild – the farmers managed to protest inside and outside of the stadium. This prevented the team and fellow fans from entering or even coming close to the stadium. During this event, police were called to put a lid on the protests and this lead to closed roads around the stadium and 20 protesters being arrested.

Despite the protests and the movement of the game, the Chennai Super Kings have finally made their way back into the cricket league after a suspension that was a result of corruption and match-fixing charges. Since these games were their first since the initial suspension, they were highly anticipated by the players and the fans alike. While the country is trying to solve the dispute between the two states civilly. The Chennai Super Kings will have to wait one more year before they officially can return to the cricket league and hopefully start winning some games again!

When it comes to the rest of the games that the Chennai Super Kings will play, cricket officials have decided to keep the idea of moving the games to different locations. This will allow for the players to be safe, to avoid fan riots from breaking out, and to allow the police of Tamil Nadu to start handling the protests in a safe way.

Cricket News

The 10 Ways of Getting Out in Cricket

There are 10 different ways a batsman can be out in cricket. The outs are also known as methods of dismissal, as the bowling team can appeal to the umpire so they can judge if the batsman is out or not. Here are the 10 ways, from most common to le4ast common, a batsman can make an out.

1. Caught – If a member of the bowling team catches a ball before hitting the ground, the batsman is out. This is the most common out in cricket. There are typical fly outs and sensational and diving ones, but they all equal one thing and that is an out.

2. Bowled – If the batsman does not protect his stumps and one becomes dislodged they are out. One or both balls have to hit the stumps for the out to occur.

3. Leg Before Wicket – This out is simply referred to as an LBW where if the ball hits the batsman and would have likely hit the stumps it is an out. The bowling team has to field an appeal to the umpire for the out to occur if they believe the stumps would have been hit if not been hit by the batsman’s body first. This type of out has conditions, as the ball has to bounce outside or in line with the stumps, the hit batsman has to be in the line of the stumps, the ball cannot pitch outside the stumps, and the batsman has not shot. Also, for this out to occur the ball cannot hit the glove or bat of the batsman.

4. Run Out – If the batsman cannot make his ground before the fielding team dislodges the ball they are out. Typically, the wicketkeeper and bowler are involved in run-outs where they get the ball from another fielder and hitting the bails off while the ball is still in their hands.

5. Stumped – The batsman can go outside of the batting crease when attempting to make a shot and they miss the ball completely, and the wicketkeeper moves the bails before the batsman gets to their ground than they are out. A stumping out will typically happen off-spin bowling considering the wicketkeeper will have to be standing next to the stumps.

6. Hit Wicket – The hit wicket does not happen very often, and it happens a batsman hits and knocks over a wicket with either the bad or their body. You will usually see a hit wicket out when a batsman either hits the wicket with a wilder swing or steps backwards dislodging the wicket. If a batsman’s helmet falls off and hits the stumps, it is also a hit wicket out.

7. Handled the Ball – If a bowled ball hits the hand of the batsman and does not get permission to do so from the fielding team, they are out. However, in cricket etiquette, this does not often happen, as the fielding team will not lodge an appeal with the umpire unless the handles ball affects the play.

8. Obstructing Field of Play – If a batsman gets in the way of a fielder, they can be out. This is a little dicey in the rules, as there are collisions that are common with the batsman running and the fielder trying to get the ball. If the collision is deemed an intentional one, they will be out.

9. Hitting the Ball Twice – If the batsman hit the ball twice with the bat or their body they will be out, but the 2nd hit has to be an intentional one. If the 2nd hit from the batsman is intentional and it keeps the ball from striking the stumps that is ok, and there are not out. An out for hitting the ball twice has never occurred in international cricket.

10. Timed Out – If a batsman does not come to the crease after three minutes of the previous batters out they are timed out. Again, rare air here, as a time out has never happened in international cricket.

Top 5/Top 10

2019 Cricket World Cup

The 2019 Cricket World Cup (or the ICC Cricket World Cup to use its full name) is still quite some way off. In fact, it isn’t scheduled to begin until May 2019. Already, though, qualifiers and preliminaries are deciding the teams which will face each other at the main event. Spread over 48 matches, the upcoming Cricket World Cup may not be the longest ever competition, but it is shaping up to be the most exciting in a long line of terrific tournaments.

The Early Years

Over the years, the Cricket World Cup has provided a host of memorable finals. First held in England in 1975, the tournament grows more popular and more prestigious each event. England (generally regarded as a decent international cricket team) has never won the event but have failed three times in the finals. In terms of winners, Australia leads the way, having won the competition no less than five times since that first 1975 event. Most recently, they defeated their rivals New Zealand in 2015, a side they co-hosted the competition with.

Australia hasn’t had it all their own way, though. In fact, Pakistan won the 1992 event, while prior to the Aussies winning their fifth title, India secured their second in 2011. Caribbean sides have also done well, bagging the first two titles in the very early years of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

The 2019 World Cup

This brings us to the upcoming tournament, the final of which will be held at Lords, the home of English cricket. This will be the twelfth Cricket World Cup, and just ten teams (as opposed to the 14 of the previous two events) will go from a group stage to a semi-final and possibly a final on their travels to success.
And the Winner Will Be?

2019 Cricket World Cup runs May 30 to July 14, 2019

Is it too early to predict a winner? Not really. Lately, international cricket has become predictable. Australia and India are, of course, the favourites to win the next Cricket World Cup, with England (as ever) also a favourite.

South Africa are an outsiders favourite to lift the trophy, but in reality, it is almost certainly going to be one of the “big three”, despite, the South Africans good run at the 2015 tournament. Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and New Zealand aren’t realistic options, but surprises do happen in sport, and any of those four teams could, in theory, hand out a surprise beating to one of the so-called big boys.

There are still places up for grabs in the qualifiers, too. Sri Lanka, even the Netherlands (whom one would normally associate with cricket) are in the qualifiers, as are many other less established cricket teams. As we’ve said, none are likely to put up too much of a fight, but with the tournament reduced to 10 teams, you’re going to get plenty of excitement from the upcoming tournament. It is still a way off, but perhaps it is time you started paying attention to the Cricket World Cup today?

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