Jean-Paul Duminy

Jean-Paul Duminy often informally referred to as JP Duminy is a cricketer who plays for South African cricket team. Duminy is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm off spin bowler who was born on 14 April 1984 and was brought up in Western Cape. He also plays domestic cricket for his home team, the Cape Cobras. Duminy became popular during the South African under-19s tour to England in 2003 and in the 2003- 04 domestic season, where he averaged over 72 two years after breaking into South Africa's Western Province side. In ICC World Cup 2011 Duminy's became the second batsman after Adam Gilchrist to be dismissed for 99. Right now at the age of 27 JP Duminy has established himself as one of the leading cricketers in the World and is going strong.

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers or also known as AB de Villiers or only AB is a South African cricketer and also recently captain of cricket team of South Africa after Graeme Smith’s give up from the One Day Internationals and Twenty20 after 2011’s Cricket World Cup. Professionally he is a right-handed batsman who made his Test debut at the age of just 20 against England in late 2004. Villiers performance was great in 2007 World Cup when he played against India and Pakistan very gracefully making four 50’ In 2011 Cricket World Cup AB de Villiers scored two successive centuries. He became the first South African to score two centuries in a single World Cup. He also plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL since its fourth season for whopping amount of US$ 1.1 million. However he previously played for Delhi Daredevils.

Test Cricket

Test Cricket is one of the three main sport forms of cricket. The first official Test match was held between England and Australia on 15th of March 1877 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Australia won the match. Since then the process of Test matches is so on with the players playing with red ball and wearing white dresses. Test match involves four innings which are played between two teams of 11 players each in a time spam of usually five days.

A Test match to celebrate 100 years of Test cricket was held in Melbourne from 12 to 17 March 1977. In this match, Australia won by 45 runs against England, the same margin as the first Test match in 1877.

IPL (India)

IPL stands for Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket which was developed in India in 2008 by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It currently includes ten teams from players all around the World. IPL is the second highest paid league according to global sports salaries review. An average salary of an IPL player over a year would be $3.84 million. IPL’s first season was played in 2008 and right now IPL is four seasons old. During this spam of time IPL following kept on increasing and today IPL viewers are all over the world making it one of the most viewed event on TV that is the reason that IPL is the first sporting event ever to be broadcast live on You Tube.

Cricket Game

Cricket is one of the most played and talk about games in the World today. Cricket was invented in 15th century and eventually came to prominence in late 17th century. It is a bat- and-ball game which involves two teams with 11 players each in an oval-shaped field on a rectangular pitch of 22 yards. One team bats and tries to make as many scores as possible and the other team bowls and fields to limit the scores by dismissing batsmen. Test and One Day International crickets are the two main tournaments in the international sports while Twenty20 cricket is the latest discovery in the field of cricket. Indian Premier League is also getting attention of the cricket lovers.

Hashim Amla

Hashim Amla is a cricketer who represents South African cricket team. He is specialist right-handed batsman and occasionally medium-pace bowler. He was born on 31st March, 1983 to a Muslim family. His ancestors are originally from Surat, Gujarat. His older brother Ahmed is also a professional cricketer. He began his carrier with KwaZulu Natal Dolphins, a provincial team. Soon after that he represented South Africa as a captain in under-19 Cricket World Cup. He started his international carrier in 2004 in Eden Gardens, Kolkata on November 28th and since then has established himself as a successful cricketer. ICC has ranked him as the No.1 batsman in One Day Internationals.

Eoin Morgan

Eoin Joseph Morgan is an Irish cricketer who plays for the national cricket team of England He is specialist left-handed batsman, who was born on 10 September, 1986. Initially he represented his native country Ireland on the International platform but has now been selected for Test, One Day Internationals and Twenty20 cricket fro English cricket team. Morgan also plays county cricket for Middlesex. In 2009 ICC Champion’s Trophy, Morgan led England to an unexpected winning against much stronger Sri Lanka. On 2 March 2010, Morgan became

the first ever player to score centuries for two nations, as he scored an unbeaten 110 against Bangladesh. He also played well during the 2011 ICC World Twenty20 which England won.

James Anderson

James Anderson is an English cricketer. He was born 30 July 1982 in Burnley, Lancashire. He is a right arm pace bowler who made his International debut in 2002. He made his Test Match debut against Zimbabwe at Lord’s in 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup. He also plays for Lancashire County Cricket Club after which he kept in and out of the English team due to his injuries and some other problems. After an injury in his back he returned to the field in 2007 cricket World Cup in which he showed good performance. He is now a regular player for Tests and One Day Internationals representing the team of England.

Chris Woakes

Chris Woakes is a young English cricketer who is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm-medium fast pace bowler. Woakes was born on 2nd of March, 1989 and was very much into cricket since his childhood. He played for Herefordshire and Warwickshire’s under-15 and under-17 teams respectively before entering into the International cricket which he did with Twenty20 Internationals in 2011 at the age of 21 against Australia in Adelaide during which he took the wicket of Captain Cameron White. He made his One Day Internationals debut also in 2011 against Australia. The “6 ft 2 in” tall cricketer is now gearing up for his future professional life.

Graeme Swann

Graeme Peter Swann (born on 24 March, 1979) is an English cricketer. He is specialist right-arm off spinner and also bats right-handed. He started playing cricket in 1997 representing his homeland Northampton shire and continued until he made his One Day Internationals debut in 2000 against South Africa representing English cricket team. In 2009, he became the first English spinner to take 50 wickets in one year, and also won back-to-back man of the match awards in the first two Tests of the South Africa tour and rising to third place in the World rankings for players. In March 2010, Swann became the first English off-spinner to achieve the 10 wickets in a match when England had a victory against Bangladesh.

Graham Onions

Graham Onions is an international cricketer who represents English cricket team. He was born in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear on 9 September, 1982. He is a right arm fast-medium bowler and also a right hand tail-end batsman. He started his cricket carrier in 2009 and made his debut in Test cricket against West Indies which he did quite successfully. Later on he was approached for 2009 Ashes series. He was named as one of the five cricketers of the year of 2009 by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanak. After a swear injury, Onions did not recover in time to play in the 2010-2011 Ashes series.

Graeme Smith

Graeme Craig Smith is a cricketer who represents cricket team of South Africa. Smith (born 1st February, 1981 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is also the captain of the South African team for Test matches and a former captain for One Day Internationals. Smith is a left-handed batsman who made his Test debut in 2003. He along with his opening partner Herschelle Gibbs makes one of the best opening partnerships in the World. In 2010, he announced that he was to surrender captaincy from Twenty20 International however continuing as a player for ODIs and Test. Later on he also announced that he’ll give up his captaincy for ODIs after 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Johan Botha

Johan Botha, born May 2nd, 1982 is a South African cricketer. He is specialist off spin bowler and lower order batsman. He represents Chevrolet Warriors at provincial level. He debuted in Test cricket against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2006 during the 2005-2006 tour, in which he played against acclaimed cricketer Mike Hussey. In 2010 after the announcement of Graeme Smith to resign Twenty20 captaincy, Botha who was his deputy got the opportunity of being new captain. He will also lead the team for One Day Internationals after Smith’s give up to its captaincy from ODIs. Botha also represents Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.

KC Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan Cricketer and also the former captain of Sri Lankan Cricket team. He is specialist left-handed top order batsman. Initially he used to play only as a wicket keeper but then he begun bating in the Tests. He improved his bating to such a level that he was ranked as the number 1 Test batsman in the World many times in his carrier. On March 3, 2009 when Sri Lankan Team was attacked by terrorists, he among many other terrorists faced severe injuries. Sangakkara delivered the 11th MCC Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s on July 4, 2011 and thus became the only Sri Lankan to deliver the cowdrey lecture ever.

Lindamlilage Prageeth Chamara Silva

Lindamlilage Prageeth Chamara Silva, born December 14, 1979 is a Sri Lankan cricket Player. He is specialist right-handed batsman and leg-break bowler. At first he was not a strong player however he later managed to keep himself in the field. He made his first One Day International against India just few weeks before the 2007 World Cup in which he scored 350 runs with an average of 43.75 and also 4 half centuries and a highest score of 64. Due to his success in middle order, Sri Lankan team got boost in One Day International and Test cricket.

Tilakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan

Tilakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan is a Sri Lankan cricketer and recently captain of National Cricket Team of Sri Lanka. Dilshan was born on October 14, 1976 and has been a member of Sri Lankan cricket Team since 1999. His bating style is aggressive right-handed and his bowling is spin. In 2009 ICC World Twenty20 he achieved the award of International Performer of the year for his 96 off 57 balls in the semi-final against West Indies. At the age of 16, he converted himself from Islam to Buddhism before that he was also known by his name Tuwan Mohammad Dilshan.

Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga is a Sri Lankan cricketer, born 28 August 1983. He is a fast bowler specialist. He became a member of Sri Lankan Team after debuting in One Day International on 17 July, 2004. He is also known as “Slinga Malinga” for his rare round-arm or sling action which makes him a sharp bouncer. He is the first and the only player to have taken four wickets in four consecutive balls in any form of International cricket. In 2011, he announced his retirement from cricket. He also plays for Mumbai Indians in Indian Premier League. He was also a prominent player during the 2011 cricket World Cup.

Cricket History

Cricket which is a major sport in the world today got recognized in 16th century and eventually got fame with international matches played since 1844. The official history of International Test cricket began in 1877. There are many speculations about the derivation of the world cricket. In the 16th century it was called as “creckeff” which may have been derived from the Middle Dutch crick (-e), meaning a stick. Word “krickstoel” which means a long low stool which is used for kneeling in church was also considered for the derivation of word cricket.

In the early 17th century cricket became a status symbol for rich families of England however with the passage of time it also became popular among the middle and lower classes of Britain’s. After the Civil war ended in the mid of 17th century cricket also took place in the extra curricular activities performed in the institute and eventually grabbed the attention of students and teacher communities in these schools. Gamblers were also in the race of people who got attracted towards the bating, and they started making large bets on this game. Cricket was first time reported in a news paper in 1696.

Gamblers took cricket a little more seriously in their professional lives. They for the first time started building teams, they thought making teams of their own choice and pattern will help them for their bets. Men like Sir William Gage, Alan Brodrick and Edward Stead who were notable business men of that time also arranged their time for cricket. At that time press was also taking keen interest in cricket and its activities and for the first time press mentioned individual players like Thomas Waymark.

Alan Brodrick was the first person who made “articles of agreement” to determine the code of practice in a particular game. Later on, in 1744 the law of cricket was coded for the first time. In the mean time cricket also moved out of England towards the America, West Indies and India by British East India Company and keep on spreading all over the World during the 18th century.

The first ever international cricket game was between the Canada and USA which was played in 1844 in St George’s Cricket Club in New York. Some of the other countries like Australia and America also collaborated on this valuable game and traveling of the players was being started. In 1877, Australia and England had first Test match ever between their teams. In the late 19th century the official County Championship was constituted in England and the process was followed by several other countries. This period has been known as “The Golden Age of Cricket” until the First World War shattered its glory. Great names like Wilfred Rhodes, K S Ranjitsinhji and Victor Trumper rose to the undeniable fame.

Initially four balls over was introduced which was later replaced by five balls and current six balls over. Many states also experienced eight balls over and hence in 1947 Laws of Cricket allowed six or eight balls over depending on the conditions of play which was later limited to the only six balls over in 2000’s Laws.

19th century was the era of the growth of Test cricket. Countries like India, West Indies, New Zealand and Pakistan became test nations before and afterwards the Second World War. Cricket’s newest invention is Twenty20 which led to the formation of Indian Premier League both of the events have developed good TV audience ratings.

World Cup History

Cricket World Cup is an international One Day International (ODI) competition in cricket of men’s. Organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the first World Cup was took place in England in 1975 and since then it has been taking place every four years. Certain kind of changes has been taken place in the format since the first ever Cricket World Cup.

The first cricket World Cup was played from June 7 to June 21 in England in 1975 and was called as Prudential Cup. There were eight countries Pakistan, Australia, England New Zealand,West Indies, India, Sri Lanka and East Africa participated in the event. South African team was on boycott from international sports. The matches were played in 2 groups of 4 teams. The top two teams from each group played the semifinals, and the winners of these played the final. The final was played between West Indies and Australia and West Indies won by 17 runs. The West Indies scored 291 runs in 60 overs at a loss of 8 wickets. In reply Australia made 274 runs in 58.4 overs all out.

The second cricket World Cup was again held in England from June 9 to June 23 in 1979. The format of the game was same as it was in 1975. West Indies once again won by 92 runs. In the final they batted first and made 286 runs in 60 overs at a loss of 9 wickets. In reply, England made 194 runs before being all out after 51 overs.

In 1983, the Third Cricket World cup took place for consecutively third time in the England between 9 and 25 June. The game format was same as in 1975 and the final was won by India by 43 runs against West Indies.

The Fourth Cricket World Cup was named as the Reliance Cup. It was the first World Cup held outside the England in Pakistan and India jointly. In the final Australia made 253 in their 50 overs with a loss of 5 wickets and won by only 7 runs. In reply, England came up just short,making 246 in their 50 overs for a loss of 8 wickets.

Fifth event was held in the Southern hemisphere. The game format was changed. Wasim Akram of Pakistan and Martin Crowe of New Zealand were the leading wicket taker and leading run scorer respectively. Pakistan made 249 runs in 50 overs for 6 Wickets, compared to England's total of 227 runs in 49.2 all out. Pakistan won by 22 Runs under the captaincy of Imran Khan.

The final of the sixth four year event was held in Lahore, Pakistan between Sri Lanka and Australia. Australia made 241 runs in 50 overs for a loss of 7 wickets. In reply, Sri Lanka made 245 runs in 46.2 overs losing only 3 wickets and finally won the event.

The semi-final match of seventh World Cup between Australia and South Africa which was a tie made history. The final was played between Pakistan and Australia at London. Australia made 133 runs in 20.1 overs for 2 wickets in reply Pakistan made 132 All out in 39 overs. Australia won by 8 Wickets.

In 2003’s World Cup final Australia batted first and made 359 runs in 50 overs losing only 2 wickets. In reply India made 234 after being all out in 39.2 overs. Australia was crowned champions after beating India by 125 runs.

In 2007 Australia won the World Cup with Sri Lanka as runner up. India was the next winning team in 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir, born 14 October 1981, is a batsman who represents Indian Cricket Team. Since 2003 and 2004 he is the member of One Day International and Test Cricket in a respective order. He is the only Indian cricketer to achieve more than 300 runs in four consecutive Test series and 500 runs in five consecutive Test matches. He played notably in 2007 ICC World Twenty20 leading India to win the tournament. He also represented Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League and later Kolkata Knight Raiders since 2011. Gambhir showed a power pack performance by reaching 97 runs from 122 balls in the final of 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh is an Indian Cricketer who born on 12 December 1981. His father Yograj Singh was also a fast bowler and a Punjabi movie actor. He is basically a left-handed batsman but can also bowl part-time left-arm orthodox spin. He debuted in One Day International in 2000 and went on to become a regular member of Test cricket in 2003. He hit six sixes in an over against England’s Stuart Broad at the 2007 World Twenty20. In 2011 Cricket World Cup he was honored as the man of the Tournament. Also known by his nickname U.V, Singh also takes part in commercials as a brand ambassador of various kinds of national and international brands.

Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag is an Indian Cricketer who born on 20 October 1978. He is special in right-handed bating and occasionally right-arm off spin bowler. His bating style is aggressive and he usually acts as opening batsman. He started his cricket career in 1999 with debuting in One Day International later on he also became member of Test Cricket team in 2001 since then he holds a very special place in Indian Team. He has made many records including the highest score in the Test Cricket (319) by an Indian,fastest triple century in International Cricket’s history and also the fastest 250 by any batsman (in 207 balls). In 2005 he was criticized for his poor performances as he was replaced by V.V.S.Laxman from the seat of the vice captain of the Indian Team but later he again established himself as one of the best performing batsman in ODI cricket.

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian Cricketer. He is known as one of the greatest batsman in the history of cricket. The 38 year old cricketer is the highest century maker and run-scorer in One Day International and Test cricket as he is the only player to make fifty centuries in the Tests. He played a very powerful role in the 2011 Cricket World Cup. In 2002, he was recognized as the second greatest Test batsman and the second greatest One Day International batsman of all time. Shane Warne of Australian cricket team, named Tendulkar as the greatest player he ever played with or against. He has been also honored with Padma Vibhushan and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards.

MS Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and also the current captain of National Cricket Team of India. Born in Ranchi on 7 July 1981, MS Dhoni is one of the most successful captains of Indian Team of all time. India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, CB series of 2007-2008, the Border-Gavaskar trophy against Australia in 2008 and 2010 and 2011 World Cup. In the Final of 2011 Cricket World Cup he was named as the man of the match for his excellent bating which led India to win the World Cup. He was also the captain of winning team Chennai Super Kings in the 2011 Indian Premier League. In 2011 he was also listed in the TIME magazine’s “Time 100” list of 100 most influential people. He is also one of India’s highest paid celebrity endorser and endorses several big brands.

Mike Hussey

Michael Edward Killeen Hussey, commonly known as MIEK Hussey is a cricketer who represents Australian Cricket Team. Also called by his nickname Mr. Cricket he is a left handed specialist batsman.

He made debut in One Day International and Test Australia at the age of 28 and 30 respectively which is relatively late. However he has had a very successful international carrier. Born on 27 May 1975, Hussey also plays in the Indian Premier League for the Chennai Super Kings. In the semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20, he scored 60 runs off 24 balls which helped to defeat Pakistan and to make Australia’s place in the final. In 2006, he was top-ranked ODI batsman in the World.

Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting, born 19 December 1974, is an Australian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and close catching fielder. He is also an occasional bowler. In November 1992, with Ponting just 17 years and 337 days he played for the first time against South Australia before making his debut on One Day International in 1995 against South Africa. After a few months he debuted in Test Cricket against Sri Lanka. He became One Day International captain and Test captain in 2002 and 2004 respectively, and remained as a captain until 2011. As of July 2010 Ricky Ponting is Australia’s leading run-scorer in ODI and Test cricket, with more than 25,000 runs internationally. He has made 39 Test centuries. He is also the most successful Australian captain of all time with 48 victories in 77 Test matches between 204 and 2010. He also played with the Kolkata Knight Raiders in the Indian Premier League in 2008.

Shane Watson

Shane Robert Watson or commonly known as Shane Watson is a right-handed batsman and a right-handed fast medium bowler in Cricket Team of Australia who was born on 17 June 1981. He played his first One Day International against South Africa in 2002 and made his Test Cricket debut against Pakistan in 2005.

Only after one year of his carrier as a regular member of ODI team he had three stress factures in his back causing him to miss the 2003 Cricket World Cup however he returned to the ODI in 2004-2005 seasons. He played as opening batsman at the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, alongside Adam Gilchrist and impressed with his bating and bowling which helped Australia to win its first Champion Trophy. He again faced injury during the 2007 Cricket World Cup and 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and missed most of the both tournaments. On 30 March 2011, Watson was named as test and ODI vice captain.

Cameron White

Cameron Leon White is a powerful middle order batsman and right-arm leg spin bowler who represents Australian Cricket Team. Born on 18 August 1983, he is also currently captaining Australian team in Twenty20. At the age of 20, he became Victoria’s youngest ever captain. White found himself in and out of the side in international matches due to his not so great bowling skills before finally becoming a regular member in one-day squads after couple of good performances in 2009. He was announced as the captain for the 2-match Twenty20 series after Michael Clarke retired from Twenty20 Internationals.With Shane Watson as the vice captain, White was also named as the permanent Twenty20 captain in all formats in 2011.He also represented Deccan Charges in the fourth season of Indian Premier League as vice captain.

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq is a right arm fast-medium bowler and a right-handed batsman, who is currently representing Pakistani Cricket Team. He started playing cricket professionally in 1996 when he was almost 17 years old. He is known as an aggressive batsman though basically a fast bowler he has improved his bating throughout the years. Though he debuted in One Day International in 1996 but he didn’t made Test cricket debut until 1999 against Australia. His versatility in both bating and bowling got the attention of selectors for 1999 World Cup in which he performed well. After his temporary retirement (2007-2009) from International Cricket he returned to the field for 2009 World Twenty20 Championship in which he played very well, taking 5 wickets at an average of 14.80 and an economy rate of 5.92. He was also included in 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram is former Pakistani National Cricket Team player, who led Pakistani Team in One Day Internationals and Test Cricket. He is often named as one of the best fast bowlers in the history of cricket. The 45 year old cricketer was born on 3 June 1966 in Pakistan. In 1988 he begun playing as an International player and has shown his excellence many times in several matches and made his nation proud of him. Wasim Akram was a prominent player in 1992 World Cup when Pakistani Team won the tournament under the captaincy of Legendry cricketer Imran Khan. He was also successful during his time of captaincy. He captained Pakistani Team during 1999 World Cup when Pakistan reached the final.

After ruling World of cricket for 19 years he announced his retirement at the age of 36 on 18 May 2003.

Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi, born 1 March 1980 is a well known Pakistani cricketer. Afridi started his Carrier at the age of sixteen in 1996. From the very first year of his carrier he is known for his aggressive bating style and that is the reason he is also commonly known as “Boom Boom Afridi”. Afridi broke the record for fastest century in ODI cricket, completing his hundred from 37 balls in his first international innings, at that time he established himself as the youngest player to score an ODI century. Up till now he has played 27 Tests, 325 One Day Internationals and 43 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) for the Pakistan’s National Team. In June 2009 he was appointed as the captain of Twenty20 Internationals, and was later became ODI captain for the 2010 Asia Cup. He also represented Pakistani Team in the 2011 World Cup. Today he has won million of hearts with his brilliant performances. He is also known for his good looks and endorses several international brands.