Ricky Ponting

2 3 4 World Cup 2003 TOP OF THE CHARTS Syed Khalid Mahmood Foreword by Mansoor Akhtar Published by Jumbo Publishing 5 Copyright © Syed Khalid Mahmood Cover Design: Athar Amjad ISBN: 969-8893-01-6 1st Edition: 2006 Price in Pakistan: Rs. 500 Published by Jumbo Publishing Suite # 15, Ground Floor, Habib Chamber, ST-12, Block 14, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, University Road, Karachi-75300, Pakistan Phones: +9221 34890388, 34890389 Fax: +9221 34890387 Web: www.jumbopublishing.com Email: [email protected] All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publishers and the copyright holder. 6 To my younger daughter Beenish whose innocence and grace inspire me, motivate me and keep me focussed 7 8 Foreword Pakistan’s cricket team until a few year ago had quite clearly lacked in the critical areas of game plan and strategy, mental strength, fitness and making optimum use of their individual brilliance to the team’s cause. The decline had perhaps begun as early as the 1999 World Cup final, and peaked during the 2003 World Cup tournament and it became more obvious in the aftermath of the twin series defeats against India at home in early 2004. The services of Bob Woolmer as coach were acquired by the Pakistan Cricket Board in an effort to ensure that the team came up with improved performance and did justice with the loads of talent. The move has paid dividends. Woolmer, recognized the world over as the best cricket coach of the recent times, has taken command of the situation and the performance of the team has been quite encouraging lately. A team, having endured a lean patch for quite sometimes, could not have been expected to become the world-beaters overnight but they have been working in the right direction and the results are there. There has been marked improvement in certain areas. Most importantly the fitness level of the boys has improved. They have become mentally tough now. The fielding has become much more athletic. These factors have helped the team in winning matches on a more regular basis than in the past. If they continue improving, there is every possibility of the Pakistan team going the distance in the next World Cup. Now let me go back to the subject of this book, the 2003 World Cup. Well it was a forgettable experience from Pakistan’s point of view. A lot was expected from the team but it choked in the games that mattered. 9 Pakistan, during the competition, could only record victories over Namibia and the Netherlands, the two unfancied sides who didn’t even enjoy the status of full membership of the ICC. Pakistan, no doubt, had been placed in the tougher of two groups, but nobody expected them to falter against all Test playing nations in their group. The way things stood, Zimbabwe could have also prevailed over Pakistan had weather not intervened in their game at Harare. Pakistan, after being defeated by Australia, England and India, faced the monumental task of crushing Zimbabwe by the heaviest of margins in their last league outing. Under the prevailing circumstances it was extremely unlikely that Pakistan would have achieved the objective even if the match against Zimbabwe was not ruined by rains. The Pakistan team has already faced a lot of media criticism for not having delivered in the 2003 World Cup. On the positive side, the team did learn its lessons. And with the change in guard, thing have been on the move. Now we are looking forward to the next World Cup and I am quite confident that our team will be much tougher and stronger in 2007 than what we had in 2003. Pakistan had fallen short of expectations in 2003 but things have changed since then and one can look forward to more consistent performance in the times to come. Pakistan should do better in the Caribbean that would be the venue of the next World Cup. We need to acknowledge the role of the writers, author and statisticians who devote their energies in producing publications of historical value. Knowing his calibre and having gone through his previous books, there is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that Syed Khalid Mahmood’s Top of the Charts will be another success story. MANSOOR AKHTAR Former Test Cricketer 10 Contents Foreword ...................................................................................9 Sachin Tendulkar ...................................................................13 Sourav Ganguly......................................................................23 Andy Bichel.............................................................................33 Ricky Ponting .........................................................................38 Damien Martyn ......................................................................46 Brett Lee...................................................................................52 Chaminda Vaas ......................................................................60 Adam Gilchrist .......................................................................66 Glenn McGrath.......................................................................72 Rahul Dravid ..........................................................................78 Marvan Atapattu....................................................................84 Zaheer Khan............................................................................90 Khalid Mahmud.....................................................................98 Herschelle Gibbs ..................................................................104 Wasim Akram.......................................................................110 Vesbert Drakes .....................................................................118 John Davison.........................................................................124 Andy Flower.........................................................................132 Collins Obuya.......................................................................138 Javagal Srinath......................................................................144 Jan Burger..............................................................................150 Tim De Leede........................................................................156 Ashish Nehra........................................................................162 James Anderson ...................................................................170 Shane Bond ...........................................................................177 The Author............................................................................186 11 12 Sachin Tendulkar India’smaster blaster Sachin Tendulkar finally did justice to his talents in a World Cup. He had descended on the international scene as a 16- year old boy just a couple of years after the World Cup was staged in the Indo-Pak sub-continent for the first time in 1987. Although his arrival in international cricket was not as spectacular as that of Sunil Gavaskar, who had amassed no less than 774 runs in his maiden Test series, but there were many signs from the outset that Tendulkar was destined to rewrite history books. Having had the privilege of watching him make his Test debut from the media gallery of the National Stadium, Karachi, in November 1989, one could hardly believe the loads of talents this teenager from Bombay possessed. His confidence level was reflected by the perfect execution of his strokes during his brief stay at the crease in his first Test. Tendulkar was tested by Pakistan’s formidable bowling attack during the entire series but he showed the courage and the character 13 14 beyond the capabilities of a teenager. Although he did not score so heavily, he had provided strong indications in his first-ever Test series that he’s going to hit headlines in future. He went from strength to strength and enhanced his reputation after every series that he played. He was success story on his maiden tours to New Zealand, England and Australia. He had already become a star when India started their campaign in the 1992 World Cup held Down Under. He did show flashes of brilliance in his first-ever World Cup, starring in the Victory over eventual champions and arch-rivals Pakistan. He was also named of Man of the Match against Zimbabwe. He remained the second higher scorer for India in the tournament but his aggregate of 283 in eight outings was deemed below par performance from his own high standards. Tendulkar had grown in stature when the World Cup returned to the sub-continent in 1996. He did deliver but he was needed to perform even better to guide India to the top of the ladder. He emerged the leading run-getter of the tournament, scoring as many as 523 runs at an astonishing average of 15 16 87.17 but India could not force their way into the final much to the disappointment of the many millions of their supporters. Tendulkar did pile up runs in the 1996 World Cup but he could not finish thing off in two of the most important matches. One was the league encounter against Australia. It cost India the match but they made amends by defeating Pakistan in the quarter -finals. Tendulkar’s dismissal in the semi-final, however, turned out to be decisive and India was out of the tournament. Captaincy and injuries did not help his cause after the 1996 World Cup but he regained his top from once he was relieved of the pressures he did not seem to enjoy. He was very much one of the

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