Netherlands hits the bottom - bowled out for 39 ~ the other lowests !

Those of us in the habit of seeing every match – be it – not featuring India too, were surprised when they tuned in late yesterday … for the match lasted only 93 balls … yes Netherlands were all out for 39 in 10.3 overs – their scorecard read : 0;0;1;16;0;8;4;1;3;0;0.. Lankans were in a hurry recording the  fastest ever victory in a T20 International.

Sri Lanka’s win at Chittagong is the largest margin of victory in terms of balls remaining as they overhauled the target — by reaching 40 for one — with 15 overs to spare. The previous largest margin of victory in terms of balls remaining was Ireland’s 10-wicket victory over Kenya at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in March 2012, which was achieved with 76 ball (12.4 overs) to spare. For Netherlands  Tom Copper  was the top scorer, the only batsman who reached double figures.  Remember Dutch had stormed in to the Super 10 with a great victory.

The top 5 (or the low 5) prior to this are : Kenya 56 against Afghan in Sept 13; Kenya 67 against Ireland Aug 2008; Ireland 68 V West Indies Apr 2010; Hongkong 69 against Nepal in Mar 2014; Bermuda 70 Vs Canada in Aug 2008.   India’s lowest is 74 made at Melbourne in 2008 against Australia. Coming as it did months after crowning glory in T20 WC, it shocked everyone as Indians scraped past the lowest of 73 at that time.

Digging into records, one would be surprised to note that the lowest in T20 is higher than the lowest in ODI, which again is higher that the lowest in an innings in Test Cricket. 

In Test Cricket – the lowest total is New Zealand’s 26 in Mar 1955 made at Auckland against England in Test 402; South Africa had been shot out for 30 twice once in Feb 1896 and later in June 1924;  next is South Africa’s 35 V England in Apr 1899 and again by the same South Africa 36 in Feb 1932.   Next is ‘42’ – of New Zealand in Mar 1946; Australia in Feb 1888 and Indian’s dismal show at Lords in June 1974 when they were bowled out in 17 overs.  

At Eden Park in 1955, Len Hutton's team finished their triumphant tour by setting up a world record – dismissing  New Zealand in the second innings for 26, the lowest total in the history of Test cricket.  In that 2nd innings only B Sutcliffe the opener made 11; there were 5 zeroes.  Tyson took 2; Statham took 3 – Appleyard took 4 for 7 in 6 overs. 

Long before Dhoni, Ajit Wadekar had taken India to newer heights with Series win over West Indies and England (on tours) – but sadly that tour of 1974 was a disaster…. It is reported that India reached there in a bitterly cold England in April as the leading side in the world. In the previous three years they had won series in the Caribbean and England, and then defeated England at home. Their superb quartet of spinners (Bishan Bedi, Chandrasekhar, Prasanna and Venkat) backed by some top batsmen (Sunil Gavaskar, Ajit Wadekar, Gundappa Viswanath) made them a formidable team, albeit one lacking any real seam prowess. Ten of India's 12 three-day warm-up matches were drawn, largely because of what Wisden described as "outrageously unkind" cold, wet weather, which was a hallmark of the summer. Against Essex and Surrey, the tourists won with Abid ali taking wickets.  

In the first Test, at a damp and chilly Old Trafford, India lost by 113 runs.  The ignominy was complete in that Test no. 740 played at Lords in June 1974.  England piled up  629  - with Dennis Amiss scoring 188; John Edrich 96; Mike Denness 118 and Antony William Greig scoring 106.  The bowling card would put Indian bowlers to shame :  Abid ali 22-2-79-2; Madanlal 30-6-93-0; Chandra 9.3-1-33/0; Prasanna 51-6-166-2 and Bishan Singh Bedi 64.2-8-226-6

Indians started soundly with a century partnership between Sunil Gavaskar (46) and Farokh Engineer (86) – the first wicket falling at 131 was no indicator of the things to come; Gundappa Vishwanath made 52; Eknath Solkar, the brilliant fielder made 43 and Indians were all out for 302.   Indians following on suffered their worst being all out for ‘42’ (technically for 9 as Chandra was absent hurt) – Only Solkar reached double figures with 18 and remained unbeaten.   Arnold had figures of 8-1-19-4; while Chris Old had 8-3-21-5.

photo credit : cricinfo.com 

In One dayers the lowest ever is Zimbabwe’s 35 against Sri Lanka at Harare in Apr 2004; earlier it was Canada’s 36 against Lanka at Paarl in 2003 World Cup.  Next comes Zimbabwe’s 38 against Lanka at Colombo in Dec 2001; Srilanka against SA in Jan 2012 and Pak against WI in Feb 1993 had been all out for 43.  India’s lowest in ODI is 54 against Lanka at Sharjah in Oct 2000 where India lost by a huge margin.   In that lowest performance of Zimbabwe – 35 in 2004, Chaminda Vaas took 4 for 11 and took his tally to 300 wickets in ODI.

Records are meant to be broken – sure Teams would like to forget their ignominies.  

With regards –S. Sampathkumar

India wins; Broad complains .... weather halting play .... and more

A post on “delay in matches” ….. Talking more ~ can you imagine what stopped play at Hambantota in the 2^nd ODI between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Nov 2013  ?

The venue is same – after the debacle in Asia Cup, things are looking brighter for India…. we beat Pak and yesterday – WI folded without putting up great fight… Dhoni continued winning the toss – Indians continued grassing catches – some simple ones – Dwayne Smith played so slowly – Gayle hit, mishit and so much was on air – not expectations but mistimed hits which fell short of fielders and when they went straight, most were dropped – Amit Mishra bowled beautifully, the loop and spring in his foot and delivery … and the target was lowly 130… again for which there was some confusion, which delayed the start of Indian innings too. Shikhar Dhawan got a raw decision … Rohit and Virat Kohli piled runs and still Indians reached the target only at 19.4 – in fact in the last over when a solitary run was required – the first two balls produced no runs and off the 3^rd Yuvi was out – thus it was 1 off last 3 ….

Matches have been stopped – delays are inevitable – but this was rare … a delayed start of the innings following a confusion over the target. The stoppage lasted for about 10 minutes with the West Indies players and the opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma waiting in the middle and getting impatient.  The confusion revolved around India’s target — 130 or 131. It was the result of a no-ball bowled by Ravindra Jadeja in the 18th over. Lendl Simmons was given out caught in the deep, but the decision was later reversed after TV replays showed Jadeja had overstepped. Finally the target was settled to 130. Both teams, however, took it in the right spirit. 

…. Washout – rain halts play; stoppage due to bad light all happen in Cricket – especially in Test Cricket, where Umpires would check with light meters on whether there is enough visibility !.  – on rare occasions, snag in flood lights have halted in the game.  There are some stadiums (especially Tennis courts)  which have retractable roofs atop of their existing courts  which do not stop even in torrential rains…

At Bangladesh, England were unfortunate to lose after making a good score. After the match, England captain Stuart Broad has been fined 15% of his match fee for comments following his team's rain-affected defeat against New Zealand. England lost on the Duckworth-Lewis method and Broad questioned the timing of the umpires' decision to take the teams off the field. Lightning was seen above the ground in Chittagong before five overs of the New Zealand innings had been completed - the amount required to constitute a match - but Aleem Dar and Paul Reiffel elected to keep the players on until the arrival of rain, which came after 5.2 overs, a decision that Broad described as "decidedly average". His comments were, according to match referee Javagal Srinath, in breach of section 2.1.7 of the code of conduct for players. "Umpires are the final judges of the fitness of the ground, weather or light for play," Srinath said. "Weather decisions are the most difficult to make, but the umpires make the best decision possible, taking all factors into account. "Such public criticism is not good for the spirit of the game. Mutual respect between players, match officials and administrators is paramount to the game of cricket."

At Hambantota in Nov 2013, rain proved not to be the tropical monsoon's only disciple in its ongoing war against cricket in Sri Lanka, as a less mundane meteorological phenomenon stopped play and prompted the players' exit in Hambantota. Dark clouds had gathered over the venue before the match had begun, but around the 20th over, lightning began to strike the forest to the east, about 1.5km from the venue. Spotting a particularly menacing fork, the umpires conferred and led the players off the field, citing concern for their safety.  Well, that sounds aright, but who will care for the groundsmen and others on the field – is their lives any less important !!!

Downunder, this January (2014) – play the Australian Open was called to a halt for more than four hours on day four with temperatures at Melbourne Park hitting 43.3 degrees Celsius. Later in the day, at just before 0900 GMT, lightning and thunder then hit Melbourne Park as the blazing hot weather finally broke, with play suspended once again on the outside courts as weather played havoc with the schedule of play. Organisers,  were  slammed for forcing players to play on in searing temperatures.  Some players accused organisers of forcing players to play in "inhumane" conditions. Ivan Dodig became the 10th player to retire in the first three days of the tournament on Wednesday and said he feared for his life after being rendered immobile by the heat on the exposed outer courts. Under a change to the rules for this year, the decision on whether to stop matches at the tournament was at the discretion of tournament referee Wayne McKewen. It was again technology – rather than use the raw Celsius readings to assess the heat, organisers prefer to use the Wet Bulb Global Temperature composite, which also gauges humidity and wind to identify the perceived conditions.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

24^th Mar 2014.

Photo credit : cricinfo and Sydney morning herald 

collision in Galveston Bay - oil spillage feared

Galveston Bay is one among the largest estuaries in the United States, located along the upper coast of Texas. It is connected to the Gulf of Mexico and is surrounded by sub-tropic marshes and prairies on the mainland. The water in the Bay is a complex mixture of sea water and fresh water which supports a wide variety of marine life.

Mishaps do occur – some are sudden, accidental, fortuitous.  All adventures carry certain risk element. Some risks can be insured against. Marine insurance primarily concerns movement of goods by sea ~ and the carrier is ships – there are variety of ships that set to conquer the ocean,  ferrying cargo.  A vessel, howsoever big it is could still suffer a setback by so many perils, especially – the perils of the sea.  Perils of the Sea are fortuitous accidents or casualties peculiar to navigable waters in the nature of violent waves or wind (not ordinary action of winds and waves), collision, striking submerged objects, running aground and sinking.  

Collision is the act of colliding;  coming violently into contact; crash. A collision is an isolated event in which two or more bodies (colliding bodies) exert relatively strong forces on each other for a relatively short time. Collisions involve forces and there is a change in velocity. In traffic such a collision can be between two vehicles, a vehicle and a person, a vehicle and an object, two persons or a person and an object (and more if an animal is involved). It is an accident or even a disaster. In Marine insurance , collision is a named peril in Inland transit basic cover and ‘Institute cargo clauses – C’.

At land vehicles colliding is understandable - but at sea ? Ocean is quite unfathomable. Steering (navigating) a ship is quite complex and different from the way we drive our vehicles on road. In earlier days, Explorers started their sojourns to unknown destinations with no idea what they would find along the way. Being stuck on a leaky, wooden boat for months with little or nothing to eat and drink was not much of fun. Disease, starvation and death faced them all. Life has moved a long way since … there are advanced navigational equipments which include satellite assistance [don’t ask why MH 370 still remains untraced !]

Officials believe a tank containing 168,000 gallons of especially thick oil is leaking into Galveston Bay…. In a case of collision – a  barge carrying almost one million gallons of thick, sticky oil collided with a ship in Galveston Bay near Houston, Texas Saturday afternoon creating a huge oil slick. Authorities are uncertain of how much marine fuel oil is leaking from the barge, though as of 10 p.m. Saturday local time, crews had yet to contain the spill, the Associated Press reported.

The captain of the 585-foot ship Summer Wind called the collision into the Coast Guard at 12:30 p.m., shortly after the incident. The barge, which was being towed by the tugboat Miss Susan from Texas City to Bolivar, was carrying 924,000 gallons of fuel. It is feared to a case of large oil slick in Galveston Bay, Texas – there are apprehensions that one of the barge's fuel tanks was punctured.  What caused collision, which was at fault and whether weather had a role to play – all cannot be determined at this too preliminary stage.

Galveston Daily News  reports that marine traffic into and out of the ports of Galveston and Texas has been suspended. A boom was set up around the collision site to prevent oil from reaching environmentally sensitive areas. In addition, crews were working throughout the night to skim oil off the surface of the bay. However, cleanup could take some time due to the type of oil that is leaking. The oil was described as 'sticky, gooey, thick, tarry stuff' – which is difficult to clean up.  The oil is also known as bottom of the barrel oil since it is so thick. Because it does not evaporate quickly, the cleanup would likely take days, says Experts.  In the clean-up efforts mild weather and calm water would assist; while storms and rough weather would be detrimental.

It is a cause of concern as the area is home to popular bird habitats, especially during the approaching migratory shorebird season – initial reports suggest no wildlife being impacted.  The Texas City dike, a popular fishing spot that goes out into the Gulf for a few miles, is also closed. 

Photo of bulk carrier (not the one involved)

Courtesy : www. Starbulk.com

A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed or pushed by towboats. A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

24^th Mar 2013.

News and photo courtesy : www.dailymail.co.uk

Martyr's Day - saluting the heroes of the Nation - from Bhagat Singh to Armed Services

On Sunday 23^rd Mar 2014, Chennai edition of The Hindu had this photo on its last page…………….. and yesterday was Martyr’s Day…

In India, there perhaps are several days declared as Martyrs' Day – on 30^th  January every year the President, Vice-President, PM, 3 Service Chiefs lay wreaths at Rajghat.    23^rd March marks the death anniversary of great martyrs – ‘Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru’ who were hung  on 23 March, 1931…. Bhagat Singh is well known perhaps Rajguru born at Khednear Pune is lesser known of the trio.  They played the major role in the murder of British police officer, J.P. Saunders, at Lahore in 1928. The reason behind the murder was to revenge the death of veteran leader Lala Lajpat Rai who died due to injuries sustained during excessive police beating. With elections nearing, there are reports of  rallies being held at Punjab where some leaders admitted that the country could not be "shaheedan de supneyan da Bharat" (the country could not be as dreamt by martyrs) but were quick to pass the buck to the opponents.

DNA reports that while the Nation remembered the heroes, the postal department seems to have forgotten the sacrifice of Shivram Hari Rajguru, on whom a postal stamp was released in New Delhi last year. President Pranab Mukherjee had released a commemorative postal stamp on Rajguru at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on March 22, 2013. After its release, the Pune post office sold 7,000 stamps in seven months till they went out of stock.

Getting  back to the photo … it is that of a proud mother receiving the award, sadly posthumously conferred.  The Hindu reports that Three officers, including an Indian Air Force officer who lost his life during a relief operation in Uttarakhand, a naval officer who sailed non-stop around the world, and an Army Major who was martyred during a terrorist attack, were presented the Kirti Chakra, the second highest peacetime gallantry award by President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday.

A Civil Engineer, Manish, of the Border Roads Organisation who lost his life while saving his three colleagues in an accident in Assam and a young IAF jawan who saved a village from burning were among the 10 personnel who were awarded the Shaurya Chakra. Wg Cdr Darryl Castelino received the award posthumously for his role in Operation Rahat in Uttarakhand where his Mi-17V5 chopper crashed with 20 personnel on board after he had helped rescue more than 80 people. His co-pilot, Officer K. Praveen, who also lost his life in the crash, was given the Shaurya Chakra for his service. (the photo is that of Ms Manjula, mother of Flight Lt K Praveen receiving the award)

Major Mahesh Kumar of the Punjab Regiment got the award for his gallant action in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir, where he eliminated four terrorists in three separate incidents. Cdr Abhilash Tomy received the Kirti Chakra for completing world voyage on his sail ship non-stop without any external support in 151 days. The Shaurya Chakra awardees’ list also includes Lt. Col. Bikramjeet Singh, who lost his life in a suicide attack on 16 Cavalry Unit at Samba near Jammu. Rifleman Ran Bahadur Gurung of 5/5 Gorkha Rifles, who lost his life fighting a group of terrorists in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, was awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously. Army ADG (Public Information) Major General Bobby Cherian Matthews was awarded the Ati Vishist Seva Medal for distinguished service.

The Kirti Chakra is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards. It is the peacetime equivalentof the Maha Vir Chakra. It is second in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards; it comes after Ashoka Chakra and before Shaurya Chakra.

Trivia which we all should know : Only one Soldier has been awarded both the Kirti Chakra and the Ashok Chakra, making him the most decorated soldier (for bravery) in India.   It is Colonel Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair (popularly known as "NJ" ).

In 1983, in Mizoram, Col Nair engaged the insurgents in close quarter combat and he was awarded the Kirti Chakra in recognition of his exceptional gallantry. In December 1993, he was leading an advance party of convoy in Nagaland, when they were ambushed by about one hundred insurgents. The overwhelming fire from automatic weapons killed 1 Junior Commissioned officer and 13 jawans on the spot. Col Nair who was seriously injured did not lose his courage nor was unnerved. Unmindful of his serious injury, he organised his jawans in an assault line and charged at the insurgents when they broke ranks and fled. For his courage and gallanty he was awarded the Ashoka Chakra posthumously in 1994.

Salute the heroes of the motherland

With great regards to them all – S. Sampathkumar

24^th Mar 2013.

Photo and news courtesy : The Hindu