Story King of Kings Cup - The World's Best [C05]"The Long Walk Back"

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

looking good World Champions
should be an interesting series

I also hope so bro. i can promise that u all will not be disappointed with the story .

 

[mehkar]

looking forward to it dear

 

[surendar]

Looking very interesting mate.. Going to be challenging contest for all the three teams!

Nice and neat presentation WC

 

[ashwinpai]

It is goin to be one hell of a cracker this series !!!

 

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

It is goin to be one hell of a cracker this series !!!

Well I also hope so . . Three best teams will compete with each other :cool:

 

[sami007]

haha good series idea...but since when is England a top 3 odi side?

 

[Pakistani Army]

Can't wait for this one.

 

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Teams Arrive in London

Today the teams arrived at Gatwick airport in London ahead of the 'King of Kings Cup' that starts in August. Ricky Ponting spoke to the press about the up and coming series and his hopes for his Australian team. Meanwhile the Indian team just arrived and then headed straight for the hotel in the team bus. With the matches starting on the 4th of August, only 20 days away, the hype for this series is starting to build up.

 

[surendar]

Everyone's eyes are on one man---- " Sachin!!! Sachin!!! Sachin!!! " Tendulkar have to play in extra ordinary way if India needs to stay safe!

 

[plympilgrim]

and KP, and Gilly

 

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

JM-- Good Afternoon Ladies And Gentlemen, Welcome To the King Of kings Cup , where three of the world's best teams will compete with eachother.England, Australia and India. I have with me the Great Cricketer Sunil Gavaskar. Good Morning Sunil.


SG-- Good Morning Jim.

JM-- Sunny tell me, what do you think of this new Series, between three teams that have been dominating throughout the history of the sport?

SG-- Jim, this series will be one of the greatest series ever in the history of cricket. look at the name, King Of kings and lets hope this series will show that. The team who wins, will certainly show that they are one of the greatest sides in cricket's history. The Aussies are my favorite for this new competition Jim.


JM-- Sunil now let talk about the two teams.

SG-- Yes, Australia and England. Both teams have got great, experienced players.

JM-- First let talk about the Australian side.

SG-- They were brilliant during the world cup and in the Ashes tour.
But Glenn McGrath's absence because of injury in the World Cup Final cost them.
Well i'm sure aussies will bounce back for this series and McGrath also back to double their
strength in the bowling department.


Now England. England totally disappointed everybody as they were eliminated early from
The World Cup. Kevin Pietersen and Simon Jones's absence totally expose their weakness during the Commonwealth Bank Series and even Pietersen could not do enough to get England through the group stages of the World Cup.
But now they both back as well as their captain Vaughan playing after missing out in the Ashes. So Vaughans experience
will help England to make an impact in this series.

JM-- Well we got bad news from the England camp that their key middle order batsman,
Ian Bell is out for the first match due to sever back pain he suffered in nets earlier today. A Huge blow for England
before the match.



SG-- Absolutely Jim. Before the first match a key player got injured thats really
sad and bad news for Ian Bell and England. We hope he will make a speedy recovery and be back in the side soon.


JM-- Sunil what do you think about the weather that has been forecast for this weekend's match?


SG-- Simply perfect for both sides, not too warm but also not that cold either. Sun should be shining if the forecast is correct and a perfect game of cricket ahead of us.


JM-- Now Sunny after having a look at the pitch earlier today, what kind of score do you think will be sufficient on this surface?


SG-- 285-300 plus, I think will be a challenging. Because the batting conditions will stay mostly the same throughout the match, but there may be a bit of moisture in the pitch later on as the lights come into play.
So the first side who bats will have to keep in mind that they should get somewhere around the 300 mark. In the second innings it may be a little bit difficult for them to chase down a big target like that. Saying that, If the team batting first struggles I think the side batting second will try and make use of the power plays, which Australia did particularly well in the Commonwealth Bank Series and the World Cup.



JM-- So Sunil do you think the toss will be a factor today?


SG-- Of course! As I said batting conditions may not be same afterwards. But it will not be so difficult
later in the match. But then also I would say one thing, The person who bats first definatley will have the upper hand if they can make use of it.



JM-- We have heard that Sunil thinks that the average score should be around 280-290 and the team batting first will have the advantage. Well that's all from us here in the studio. A big thanks to Sunil Gavaskar for being with us today and until this weekends first game of the 'King Of Kings Cup', goodbye.​

 

[surendar]

Looking forward for the first match.. especially around 290 to chase as per Sunil's prediction, this wud definitely be interesting!

Also, neat presentation once again mate

 

[gamerkid22]

wow nice presentation mate . and telecasting rights with ESPN is good something for a chance . Nice work keep it up.

 

[plympilgrim]

neat pres. hoping for a great game first up

 

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

HB-- Good Afternoon ladies and gentleman , welcome to the first match of this Series 'King of kings Cup' between Australia and England here at lords.
Big crowd over here and everybody is expecting a great game. I have with me in the studio, former indian pace bowler Javagal Srinath.

Good afternoon Javagal

JS-- Good afternoon Harsha.

HB-- What views do you have on today's match?

JS-- Harsha. These two sides have got experience and better players and they know eachother's weaknesses. Both of these sides play great cricket, thats why it has always been an inthralling competition between them. Well as Sunil Gavaskar said the other day, England have now got their injured players back, Vaughan , Simon Jones and Kevin Pietersen. But Ian Bell has been ruled out with a back injury.

Australia have also got their paceman Glenn McGrath back, who had been ruled out of the final of World Cup 2007 through injury. He had announced his retirement at the end of the World Cup but decided to return for one last series here in England. Australia look very strong!

HB-- Thanks for your views Javagal. Now lets move down to the pitch where Jim Maxwell is already to present the pitch report.

Good afternoon Jim.

JM-- Good afternoon guys.

HB-- Jim tell us about the pitch. How does it look?

JM-- Harsha, Javagal, the pitch is an absolute beauty, totally flat. A Batsman paradise. The bowlers will have to work hard to get anything out of this pitch. We can see bounce early on , but the bounce will deteriorate as the match progresses. You cant expect to have a lot of bounce in the 2nd innings. The good news is that that batting conditions will be excellent throughout, but the weather may change. But it will be a very highscoring match but as is the case most of the time, win the toss and have a bat!

HB-- How much should be the defending total?

JM-- The team batting first have to set a target minimum of 280. It will stay flat even under lights and although the ball may move around a bit, a score of 250 could be easily chased down.

JS-- Do you think the toss will be a factor?

JM-- Well every match the toss plays a vital role and there is no difference here.

JS-- What would you do if you won the toss?

JM-- Definitely bat first. Its good to use the pitch first and is always harder chasing under lights. But a good score needs to be put on the board.

HB-- Thanks for the report Jim. Also a big thanks to Javagal for his wonderful views and comments. We shall take a short break but when we come back, We will be live at Lords for the toss. Don't go away!