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Items by Luke Tagg

The Boundary Rider

Mattie Hayden's mighty Mongoose

Posted: March 19th, 2010, 3:24pm MDT by Luke Tagg

The moment we've all been waiting for since the IPL began this year finally arrived today in the game between the Delhi Daredevils and the Chennai Super Kings in Delhi.Chasing a huge 186 to win, Chennai opened with Matthew Hayden and Parthiv Patel. Hayden spanked four boundaries in the second over but Patel got out on the first ball of the third. The rest of that over played out meekly.Hayden hit the first ball of the fourth over for four, then called for a new bat. And out it came: the Mongoose.
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IPL: Disaster for Smith, triumph for Kallis

Posted: March 16th, 2010, 11:32pm MDT by Luke Tagg

It was a day of contrasting fortunes for South Africans in the IPL on Tuesday, as Graeme Smith was ruled out of the tournament due to a finger injury before Jacques Kallis kissed it better with a sensational knock to win the game for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.The day began in doom and gloom as the news of Smith's injury broke. He injured it when taking the catch that dismissed Virender Sehwag in the Royals' loss to the Delhi Daredevils on Monday night.When he landed his right middle finger dug into the ground and fractured in
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Theron, Kemp included in World T20 shortlist

Posted: March 16th, 2010, 6:20pm MDT by Luke Tagg

Cricket South Africa annoucned their squads for the South African tour of the West Indies today, including a shortlisted 18-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 which includes newcomer Rusty Theron and old-timer Justin Kemp.Directly after the World T20 South Africa plays the West Indies in a one-off T20 followed by a five-match ODI series and a three-Test series. The ODI squads and the Test squad were also announced today.First things first - the World Twenty20 shortlist of 18, which will be whittled down to 15 on 30 March:ICC World Twenty20 Squad (provisional)
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Lalit Modi's subtle spin

Posted: March 15th, 2010, 10:55pm MDT by Luke Tagg

Using the words "Modi" and "subtle" in the title of an article is not something I fall victim to that often, but in this case I'm going to bite the bullet and make an exception.I watched a fascinating little by-play on Twitter today between IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and a Surrey County Cricket Club blogger (who calls himself Cricket Nerd), which highlighted the perfection Modi has attained when it comes to the art of spin.I'm not ragging on the man - far from it. As much as I loathe spin-doctoring and truth-bending I can appreciate
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Pro20 crowds on the up - but not enough

Posted: March 15th, 2010, 9:53pm MDT by Luke Tagg

The recently-completed Standard Bank Pro20 series - South Africa's domestic T20 competition - saw crowd attendance at matches rise 18 percent this season over last year's figures.According to Cricket South Africa 127,120 fans attended the 20 matches that were played this year, which averages out at 6,356 spectactors per game. Last year's average per game was 4,650.Coupled with a 10 percent rise in attendance during the MTN40, it's good news for administrators and cricket in general.Both series featured a raft of international players starring in the finals, both of which were won by the
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IPL: Delhi is the team to beat this year

Posted: March 14th, 2010, 10:31pm MDT by Luke Tagg

The opening salvos of the third edition of the IPL were fired this weekend and based on the evidence the strongest team in the tournament this year appears to be the Delhi Daredevils.The Kolkata Knight Riders have won both of their games so far, including a good victory in the first game against defending champions Deccan Chargers, but I can't help feeling they'd get flattened by Delhi were they to play them right now.The Deccan Chargers themselves proved that the opening game was a nervy start for them, by crushing the Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.
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Crazy cricket ahead as IPL3 rides into town

Posted: March 11th, 2010, 9:10pm MST by Luke Tagg

There's cricket, there's T20 cricket, then there's the IPL. That crazy cricket carny comes to town tonight and as much as I loathe Danny Morrison's DLFfers, and fear speeches by Lalit Modi, and cringe at the amount of blatant product-love that oozes everywhere - I love my IPL and I'll take everything that comes with it. The best part about it is the fact that there is cricket being played every single day for six weeks, most times twice a day. Call that saturation and overkill if you must - I call it heaven.
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Warriors faves to down Lions in Pro20 final

Posted: March 11th, 2010, 7:04pm MST by Luke Tagg

Although the ultimate prize is already won for South Africa's top two domestic T20 sides - the Champions League Twenty20 - the silverware for winning the final of the Standard Bank Pro20 final in Port Elizabeth on Friday night would seriously cap off the season. The Warriors are out-and-out favourites to win it. They've been by far the best limited overs side in South Africa in the last two years, they've had an awesome season this year in all forms of limited overs cricket and they have home ground advantage and a sold-out crowd.
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2010 IPL Broadcast Times (SA)

Posted: March 10th, 2010, 7:51pm MST by Luke Tagg

A full schedule of the games and times of the 2010 Indian Premier League. All times are South African time (UTC+2) and all games will be aired live on SuperSport 2, with selected games also on SuperSport HD. The opening ceremony will air on SuperSport 1 and HD from 15h00 on Friday 12 March. Date Team Time Type Venue 3/12/2010 Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders 16h30 Match 1 Dr DY
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What does Paul Collingwood have against SA?

Posted: March 10th, 2010, 4:17pm MST by Luke Tagg

The question posed in the title of this article is one I have been struggling with for some time now, since roughly around the time Collingwood, Ian Bell and Graham Onions were saving the third Test on a hot day in Cape Town. Back then I thought to myself, I thought: "Why, Colly? Why?" My plaintive question continued to hang in the air long after England went home, mingling with the ghosts of broken dreams past. I thought I'd put it all behind me until I saw Colly on Twitter struggling to decide on
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Controversial Daryl Harper ditched for World T20

Posted: March 10th, 2010, 3:11pm MST by Luke Tagg

The ICC released their list of match officials for the 2010 World Twenty20 today and revealed that controversial Aussie umpire Daryl Harper has been excluded, despite being a member of the Elite Panel of umpires. They said his omission was due to "performance issues", but insisted it had nothing to do with the controversy he generated as the TMO on the recent tour to South Africa. "It will be noted that Daryl Harper, also of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, has not been selected for this event," read an ICC press release.
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Rusty Theron to join Kings XI Punjab

Posted: March 10th, 2010, 2:48pm MST by Luke Tagg

Warriors bowler Rusty Theron, who has been instrumental to their success in the last couple of seasons, is about to join the IPL for the Kings XI Punjab after revealing that they are interested in signing him. According to The Herald, Theron confirmed that he had been contacted by the franchise but wouldn't reveal more details as there are "some processes that have to followed and cleared before I will be able to say anymore". Which is PC-speak for "I have signed, it's a love-fest, the dream is happening right now".
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Highveld Lions lose raft of top players

Posted: March 10th, 2010, 1:56pm MST by Luke Tagg

On the eve of their Standard Bank Pro20 final against the Warriors on Friday, the Highveld Lions have been left reeling by the news that several of their top players are defecting to other franchises. According to an inside source of mine with close ties to the Gauteng Cricket Board, opening bat Neil McKenzie and wicketkeeper/batsman Dane Vilas have both already signed for the Cape Cobras for next season, despite media reports stating that McKenzie is still in negotiations. It doesn't end there - Vaughn van Jaarsveld has already signed for the Titans, leaving
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Life bans are good for Pakistan cricket

Posted: March 10th, 2010, 12:09pm MST by Luke Tagg

I can't pretend to understand the machinations of the Pakistan Cricket Board on a good day, much less on a day in which two of their finest Test players have been handed life bans, two others one-year bans and everyone else massive fines. It's by far the biggest purge I've ever witnessed in cricket and the furious posting across multiple platforms all over the world wide web indicates that most everyone feels the same. It's a right shocker, make no mistake. It's also the best news I've heard out of Pakistan
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Trott's time-wasting against SA was illegal

Posted: March 9th, 2010, 7:33pm MST by Luke Tagg

Apologies for revisiting the ghosts of series past, but you may feel as I do: Jonathan Trott's time-wasting antics in the first two Tests of the recent series against South Africa were never properly addressed. Or rather, they were - we just never heard anything official about it. His crease walkabouts disappeared in the final two Tests, shortly after an official complaint was lodged with the umpires by Graeme Smith in the second Test. Clearly somebody took the time to read the laws of cricket. When they did, they would have discovered the truth
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Why you shouldn't write off Rajasthan

Posted: March 9th, 2010, 6:41pm MST by Luke Tagg

I've seen plenty of positive tweets from Rajasthan Royals players over the last couple of weeks, as international players have gradually made their way to India, and I'm getting a good vibe about it all. The Jaipur-based side were the underdogs in IPL1 yet pulled off a miracle by winning it. They were royally beaten into 6th place last year in South Africa, probably because the conditions were so foreign to the younger Indian players. This year they once again start as underdogs, but closer examination of their squad reveals a potentially lethal line-up.
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Michael Vaughan's little xenophobia moment

Posted: March 5th, 2010, 2:02pm MST by Luke Tagg

Former England captain Michael Vaughan is fed up with South Africans and other foreigners playing for "his" country, as revealed in an extraordinary outburst of uncontained xenophobia. Speaking to the Independent, Vaughan singled out Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Craig Kieswetter, claiming they only settled in England to further their careers. Referring to South Africans, he added that "a lot of them come over for the money". "It's very, very difficult to stop them," he moaned. "I would like to see, in an ideal world, 11 complete Englishmen in the team but I don't
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Mitchell Johnson headbutts Scott Styris (a bit)

Posted: March 3rd, 2010, 8:22pm MST by Luke Tagg

The New Zealand vs Australia ODI series is shaping up nicely after the T20I series-levelling win by the Black Caps the other night, followed by their victory in the first ODI in Napier today. You'd expect a heated affair - the two sides don't regularly send each other postcards wishing the other glad tidings. Australia has some extra fire in the belly because their golden summer just lost some of its glossy sheen. It's no surprise, therefore, that an angular, ratty little bastard like Scottie Styris would get up the frequently-picked nose of
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Warriors first South African side into CLT20

Posted: March 3rd, 2010, 7:51pm MST by Luke Tagg

The Warriors from Port Elizabeth beat the Cape Cobras from Cape Town in the second leg of their Standard Bank Pro20 semi-final tonight to advance to the final and become the first South African side to make it into the 2010 Champions League Twenty20. As great as it is to be in the final of the domestic T20 league, the real prize is the CLT20. Warriors captain Davy Jacobs made that clear in his post-match interview, by admitting it was the real goal for his team, who cruelly lost out to the Eagles last year in
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Murali to retire from all forms of cricket

Posted: March 2nd, 2010, 5:38pm MST by Luke Tagg

Sri Lanka's iconic spin bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan, has said that he will retire from Test cricket by the end of this year (his last series will be against the West Indies) and from all other international cricket by the March next year. Murali (37) is the world's leading Test wicket-taker, needing just eight more wickets to reach 800. On the evidence of the Windies' inability to play Zimbabwe's spinners, you'd have to give him a fair shot of getting there. He says he will continue to play ODI cricket until the World Cup
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International stars will play in the IPL

Posted: March 2nd, 2010, 5:12pm MST by Luke Tagg

Despite the media-hyped security concerns for foreign players attending this year's Indian Premier League, it seems a sure bet that most of them will go. Not that I expected anything else, mind you. It pays to be an IPL cricketer. I'm basing my confidence on a number of small reports and tweets dotted around the place which show a different picture emerging to the one which shows reluctant cricketers hiding at home, petrified out of their wits by terrorists, communists and the Candyman, while holding the IPL to ransom. I know,
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Items by Luke Tagg

Posted: March 19th, 2010, 3:24pm MDT by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 16th, 2010, 11:32pm MDT by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 16th, 2010, 6:20pm MDT by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 15th, 2010, 10:55pm MDT by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 15th, 2010, 9:53pm MDT by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 14th, 2010, 10:31pm MDT by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 11th, 2010, 9:10pm MST by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 11th, 2010, 7:04pm MST by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 10th, 2010, 7:51pm MST by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 10th, 2010, 4:17pm MST by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 10th, 2010, 3:11pm MST by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 10th, 2010, 2:48pm MST by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 10th, 2010, 1:56pm MST by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 10th, 2010, 12:09pm MST by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 9th, 2010, 7:33pm MST by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 9th, 2010, 6:41pm MST by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 5th, 2010, 2:02pm MST by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 3rd, 2010, 8:22pm MST by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 3rd, 2010, 7:51pm MST by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 2nd, 2010, 5:38pm MST by Luke Tagg

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Posted: March 2nd, 2010, 5:12pm MST by Luke Tagg

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