WC 2015 opens - hosts make big wins ........ Umpiring blunder denies Taylor a century !!

Handunnettige Deepthi Priyantha Kumar Dharmasena, an Off-spinner  played International Cricekt  between 1993 and 2004  ~ made 868 & 1222 runs in Tests and ODI and took 69 wickets in Tests and 138 in ODIs.

The swashbuckler Krishnamachari Srikkanth made his debut against England in Nov 1981 ~ his first inning’s uncomfortable stay was soon ended and in the second, was run out wandering out of his crease by a throw when ball was not in play and immediately Pataudi commented that this boy should learn that this is not Juhu beach.  Srikkanth was later to redefine the way Indian openers batted is a different story altogether.

Christchurch  is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's third-most populous urban area. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast.  The city was named  so in Mar 1848 by the Canterbury Association, which settled the surrounding province of Canterbury. The river that flows through the centre of the city  was named Avon  commemorating the Scottish Avon. The usual Māori name for Christchurch is Ōtautahi ("the place of Tautahi").  The World Cup 2015 kicked off today at Christchurch and the hosts New Zealand had an emphatic win mauling Sri Lanka by 98 runs.   It was played at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1867, when Canterbury cricket team hosted Otago cricket team. The first One Day International at the ground was played between Scotland and Canada during the 2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier on 23 January 2014.  In 2014 Hagley Oval became the eighth Test venue in New Zealand. The Boxing Day match against Sri Lanka marked New Zealand's first Test in Christchurch since the city was hit by a major earthquake in 2011.

Down Under at MCG, Finch's hundred was the first of this World Cup took Aussies to a commanding  342 for 9 – for  England, the match was omnishambolic, even in its ending.  The end was chaotic….. at 41.5  James Taylor, who had shown some fight and reached 98, tried to whip Josh Hazlewood to leg and was given out lbw. He reviewed, and the ball was missing leg. But in scrambling for a leg bye, his partner James Anderson had been run out. Out, review, not out, review, out was comical – not for Taylor though ! – the result would not have changed the match but for Taylor an opportunity denied to make a ton.

Struck upon the pads, Hazelwood and Aussies let out a big appeal – Aleem Dar ruled him out.  Taylor went for a review ~ meantime, Anderson tried to scramble and was done by a throw in – which was after Dar’s verdict.  Taylor won the review but  Aaron Finch had come up and started shaking hands with Taylor thinking the match was done. Kumara  Dharmasena was checking for the run-out as the batsmen  and ruled Anderson out !!!. Taylor kept telling it is dead ball, repeating it over and over,  but match was over - JM Anderson run out 8 …. It was farcical end, the players were unsure and so were the on field Umpires Aleem Dar and Kumar Dharmasena - who have both previously won the ICC Umpires of the Year award.

Sadly, James Taylor was denied a maiden international century by an umpiring error as Australia opened their World Cup campaign with a crushing defeat of England. Following Australia's 111-run win over England in the Group A ICC Cricket World Cup clash at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday night, the Playing Control Team (PCT) met and reviewed the final ball of the game which resulted in James Anderson being given run out," an ICC statement said.

"Article 3.6a of Appendix 6 of the Decision Review System Playing Conditions states that the ball should have been deemed dead when the batsman (James Taylor) was given out LBW. No further runs or dismissals were possible. "The PCT spoke to the England team management and acknowledges that the game ended incorrectly and that an error was made."

Aaron Finch, the Australian opener who was awarded the Man-of-the-Match award for his century, admitted the players had "no idea" what the playing conditions were. He was not alone is the point

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

14^th  Feb 2015.