The couple that is still in the newlywed stage before one year has a lot to celebrate with regard to their first year together. This emphasizes the importance of the 1st wedding anniversary celebration. For those individuals who wish to give a traditional gift to their spouse, they can select an item which revolves around paper. Gift certificates are an idea with regard to this type of celebration. If one wishes to follow the modern version of the wedding anniversary gift list, they should buy a clock for their loved one, as this is a modern type of gift which is given for the first wedding anniversary.
The gift list cites tin or aluminum as the anniversary gift material for a couple who has been married for ten years. In keeping with this tradition, why not buy your loved one a beautiful sculpture for their anniversary. For those couples who wish to adhere to the modern gift list, diamonds are key. A diamond bracelet or diamond cuff links might just do the trick for ten years of marriage.
The 25th wedding anniversary is an extremely important one. As one may expect, couples who are celebrating 25 years of marriage deserve quite a bit of applause and admiration. For those who wish to purchase a traditional 25th anniversary gift, a silver candelabra or silver jewelry is appropriate. If one is looking to stay with the modern version of the gift list, sterling silver gifts can take the place of silver ones.
The 50th wedding anniversary is another crucial one when it comes to celebration. Fifty years of marriage is a wonderful thing and the couple by this time knows one another probably almost better than they know themselves. For this reason, a gift of gold is quite appropriate. Gold jewelry, accessories and household items all fit perfectly as gifts for individuals who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. One can really not go wrong when choosing a gift of gold for their loved one.
The wedding anniversary gift list is one which has seen some changes along the way, hence the traditional and modern versions of the list items. One can choose to select a gift in accordance with the known gift list or choose a gift that does not contain any of the items listed on the gift list. The most important thing to keep in mind when selecting a gift is to choose something which is from the heart and will be put to good use by the recipient. This is all that matters in the end as thought really does count.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Assessment Centers - What You Can Expect On The Day
Many employers are taking steps away from the traditional one on one interview. More and more employers are favoring a potential employee evaluation process called the Assessment Center.
The Assessment Center is sort of like a group interview, except instead of one person leading the discussion there isn?t any real leader. Instead a group of trained observers silently evaluate each potential employee and how they react to situations they encounter while at the Assessment Center.
Common situations involve Group Discussions, Role Playing, and sometimes smaller ?group interviews.?
Assessment Center Activities You Might Experience
Group Discussions are often leaderless. In this situation, a group of potential employees meet and discuss issues related to the job for which they are applying. As they talk, they are observed and evaluated by behavioral experts.
They are evaluated in terms of inter personal communication and whether or not they display any leadership skills. Sitting back during a group discussion is usually not evaluated well.
During Role Playing, job applicants act out scenarios they might encounter if hired as an employee of the company. There is one person who is a trained scene player and they interact with employees in an improvised scene.
The potential employees are evaluated on how they react during these improvised sessions and what kind of skills they project.
Pitfalls Of The Assessment Center Recruitment Method
Assessment Centers are sometimes frowned upon because of the time and money a company has to put forth for their hiring practices. Instead of standard questions with key phrases each applicant is expected to say in response (if those buzz phrases aren?t said the applicant is usually rejected), these are largely not standardized scenarios.
And because each group evaluated is made up of different members, often the process could be said to imply a bias toward one group?s dynamic over another?s. An individual who gets run over in a group exercise might shine in a one-on one or smaller group interview.
It is also given to a large amount of play acting. Someone who plays confident during the interview might not actually be confident as an employee; they might just be good at the games put forth during the assessment center.
Benefits Of This Type Of Recruiting Tool
The hiring process is open to much scrutiny and many different methods are used when companies choose new employees. An assessment center is certainly a far cry from the traditional interview process, but it could be good when a large number of employees need to be hired.
An assessment center could be helpful when starting a company or opening a new branch of a company, whereas a one on one interview process would be more productive when only one or two employees need to be hired to fill certain, specialized gaps within a company.
Regardless of what hiring practice a company chooses, care must be taken to ensure that all evaluated applicants feel that the assessment center process was unbiased and fair.
The Assessment Center is sort of like a group interview, except instead of one person leading the discussion there isn?t any real leader. Instead a group of trained observers silently evaluate each potential employee and how they react to situations they encounter while at the Assessment Center.
Common situations involve Group Discussions, Role Playing, and sometimes smaller ?group interviews.?
Assessment Center Activities You Might Experience
Group Discussions are often leaderless. In this situation, a group of potential employees meet and discuss issues related to the job for which they are applying. As they talk, they are observed and evaluated by behavioral experts.
They are evaluated in terms of inter personal communication and whether or not they display any leadership skills. Sitting back during a group discussion is usually not evaluated well.
During Role Playing, job applicants act out scenarios they might encounter if hired as an employee of the company. There is one person who is a trained scene player and they interact with employees in an improvised scene.
The potential employees are evaluated on how they react during these improvised sessions and what kind of skills they project.
Pitfalls Of The Assessment Center Recruitment Method
Assessment Centers are sometimes frowned upon because of the time and money a company has to put forth for their hiring practices. Instead of standard questions with key phrases each applicant is expected to say in response (if those buzz phrases aren?t said the applicant is usually rejected), these are largely not standardized scenarios.
And because each group evaluated is made up of different members, often the process could be said to imply a bias toward one group?s dynamic over another?s. An individual who gets run over in a group exercise might shine in a one-on one or smaller group interview.
It is also given to a large amount of play acting. Someone who plays confident during the interview might not actually be confident as an employee; they might just be good at the games put forth during the assessment center.
Benefits Of This Type Of Recruiting Tool
The hiring process is open to much scrutiny and many different methods are used when companies choose new employees. An assessment center is certainly a far cry from the traditional interview process, but it could be good when a large number of employees need to be hired.
An assessment center could be helpful when starting a company or opening a new branch of a company, whereas a one on one interview process would be more productive when only one or two employees need to be hired to fill certain, specialized gaps within a company.
Regardless of what hiring practice a company chooses, care must be taken to ensure that all evaluated applicants feel that the assessment center process was unbiased and fair.
Landing Your Dream Job - You Need A Step-By-Step Approach
You sit at the same desk, day in and day out, doing the same tasks and thinking to yourself, ?I hate my job. I wish I could do something I really love.? Or, perhaps you are still in school and thinking about the day when you will finally get the perfect job?that job that we all dream about, the one that made us promise that we wouldn?t settle for anything less than it.
Then life happens and there are bills to pay and suddenly we?re still dreaming of that dream job while at the lesser job we settled for.
First Dream Job Decision - What Are You Looking For?
The first thing to do when trying to land your dream job is to decide what that dream job is. After all, if you don?t know what you want, how can you find employment doing it?
Once you?ve figured out what you want, then you need to figure out the skills needed to do that job and work on obtaining them. Your current job doesn?t need to stand in the way of that. Take night or weekend classes, spend some of your spare time practicing them. When you feel that your skills are up to par, go out there and apply for that job.
Getting Help For Your Dream Job
Find a mentor. Somebody who already has ?your? job. This person will have valuable insight into what you will need to do to land your dream job. They?ll tell you certain areas to focus on, and sometimes will help you develop your skills in those areas.
Finally, it might be a good idea to save up some money from your current job. Save up enough so that you could feasibly live for six months of unemployment and then go out and find an entry level job in the industry of your dreams. After all, you can always work your way up, right? Sometimes taking the time to really work on landing your dream job is the best way to land it at all.
Focus, Action And Serious Effort
Treating your career change as more of a hobby is a way to almost ensure that the change won?t happen. If you truly want it, you?ll find a way to go out there and get it. To land your dream job, you are going to have to have the courage to face down a lot of your fears and insecurities.
You might be afraid of living on less money or afraid that it might not work out. But you need to have faith that you can get the job of your dreams. All you have to do is put forth the effort and you?ll land your dream job in no time at all!
Then life happens and there are bills to pay and suddenly we?re still dreaming of that dream job while at the lesser job we settled for.
First Dream Job Decision - What Are You Looking For?
The first thing to do when trying to land your dream job is to decide what that dream job is. After all, if you don?t know what you want, how can you find employment doing it?
Once you?ve figured out what you want, then you need to figure out the skills needed to do that job and work on obtaining them. Your current job doesn?t need to stand in the way of that. Take night or weekend classes, spend some of your spare time practicing them. When you feel that your skills are up to par, go out there and apply for that job.
Getting Help For Your Dream Job
Find a mentor. Somebody who already has ?your? job. This person will have valuable insight into what you will need to do to land your dream job. They?ll tell you certain areas to focus on, and sometimes will help you develop your skills in those areas.
Finally, it might be a good idea to save up some money from your current job. Save up enough so that you could feasibly live for six months of unemployment and then go out and find an entry level job in the industry of your dreams. After all, you can always work your way up, right? Sometimes taking the time to really work on landing your dream job is the best way to land it at all.
Focus, Action And Serious Effort
Treating your career change as more of a hobby is a way to almost ensure that the change won?t happen. If you truly want it, you?ll find a way to go out there and get it. To land your dream job, you are going to have to have the courage to face down a lot of your fears and insecurities.
You might be afraid of living on less money or afraid that it might not work out. But you need to have faith that you can get the job of your dreams. All you have to do is put forth the effort and you?ll land your dream job in no time at all!
Good Job Interview Questions to Ask
Always have at least one good interview question to ask. Why?
Because if you have none, we think, as interviewers, that either:
You think you know everything about the job and Company (though we know you don?t).
You are perhaps not investing enough thought in your career or job choice (since you?d take the job without asking more about it).
So, even if there is nothing else you want to know, have a few good interview questions to ask. Ask a least one, perhaps about the Company, or the role for which you are applying.
It can be as simple as ?Can you tell me about the Company?s plans for the next five years?? It can open up a good conversation and ends the interview on a nice positive note and gives a good last impression!
WHEN to ask good interview questions:
Some interviewers (us for example) will say to candidates, before beginning questions, that they are welcome to ask any questions as we go along, or wait till the end ? whatever they prefer.
If you are told this, do whatever you prefer.
Sometimes, a relevant question will come to you during a conversation.
Don?t be afraid to ask it then.
Sometimes, asking a relevant question can spark a related conversation during which you can demonstrate more of what you have to offer (see below).
Keep general questions to the end, unless they crop up earlier.
You should ask a question if:
You don't understand a question asked of you.
There is anything you still need to find out about the job, your training or the kind of person they are looking for.
It enables you to describe strengths not yet covered by the interviewers' questioning.
You are unsure if your response to a previous question made sense.
WHAT interview questions to ask
Good questions to ask at interview include lots of open-ended questions which encourage the employer to talk. Questions like:
What is the Company?s Vision?
What is the Company?s long term plan?
How would you describe the Company culture or ethos?
Asking some personal questions adds as a nice touch. It shows that you see your interviewer as a person, not just your interviewer. So ask the interviews/s questions in their capacity as an employee, like: How long have you worked here? and What?s the best thing about working for the Company?
Good questions to ask at interview are any about the role which will help you understand what is required of you, how you are measured and so on?.
How will I be measured?
Are these team or individual targets?
What involvement will I have with others on a day-to-day basis?
Questions about developing in the role can help determine if you have made the right long term career choice?.
What will the scope for learning and development be?
What are the opportunities for progression or promotion?
Good interview questions to ask include those about the leadership. The answers can help you decide if the management style suits how you work?.
What can you tell me about my boss?
Can you tell me about the management/leadership style within the team?
Because if you have none, we think, as interviewers, that either:
You think you know everything about the job and Company (though we know you don?t).
You are perhaps not investing enough thought in your career or job choice (since you?d take the job without asking more about it).
So, even if there is nothing else you want to know, have a few good interview questions to ask. Ask a least one, perhaps about the Company, or the role for which you are applying.
It can be as simple as ?Can you tell me about the Company?s plans for the next five years?? It can open up a good conversation and ends the interview on a nice positive note and gives a good last impression!
WHEN to ask good interview questions:
Some interviewers (us for example) will say to candidates, before beginning questions, that they are welcome to ask any questions as we go along, or wait till the end ? whatever they prefer.
If you are told this, do whatever you prefer.
Sometimes, a relevant question will come to you during a conversation.
Don?t be afraid to ask it then.
Sometimes, asking a relevant question can spark a related conversation during which you can demonstrate more of what you have to offer (see below).
Keep general questions to the end, unless they crop up earlier.
You should ask a question if:
You don't understand a question asked of you.
There is anything you still need to find out about the job, your training or the kind of person they are looking for.
It enables you to describe strengths not yet covered by the interviewers' questioning.
You are unsure if your response to a previous question made sense.
WHAT interview questions to ask
Good questions to ask at interview include lots of open-ended questions which encourage the employer to talk. Questions like:
What is the Company?s Vision?
What is the Company?s long term plan?
How would you describe the Company culture or ethos?
Asking some personal questions adds as a nice touch. It shows that you see your interviewer as a person, not just your interviewer. So ask the interviews/s questions in their capacity as an employee, like: How long have you worked here? and What?s the best thing about working for the Company?
Good questions to ask at interview are any about the role which will help you understand what is required of you, how you are measured and so on?.
How will I be measured?
Are these team or individual targets?
What involvement will I have with others on a day-to-day basis?
Questions about developing in the role can help determine if you have made the right long term career choice?.
What will the scope for learning and development be?
What are the opportunities for progression or promotion?
Good interview questions to ask include those about the leadership. The answers can help you decide if the management style suits how you work?.
What can you tell me about my boss?
Can you tell me about the management/leadership style within the team?
All You Need to Know About Side Jobs
Just like a wife who doesn?t want her husband to cheat. That is how a company looks at the side job you?ve been doing. If you ask for their blessings, you wouldn?t get it.
Yet, when there is a will, there is a way. If you decide to do it, be smart about it.
However, take some time to review the agreement you signed when you first entered the company. Isn?t there stated that you are asked to be devoted to the company and not to work for other part?
Why should there be such a rule?
They have reasons, of course. The company wants you to focus on your job. You are commanded to give all your time and to concentrate only for the sake of your tasks.
If the employee has another job or business, his/her focus will be divided. This might cause the employee?s bad performance which affect the company?s as well. What if the employee gets sick out of too many side jobs? His/her main job will also be affected.
The other reason is related to the company?s top secret. Just like a family, every company has also a top secret that cannot be shared with anyone, especially the competitors. That?s why, an employee, as a part of the family, is asked to keep the secret. The way is by locking the door to side jobs.
Yet, mostly, the company is wise enough. The employees would be given other additional benefits that can avoid them from taking side jobs. It is some kind of compensation out of their loyalty to the company.
However, if you still do it, is it legal?
If in the agreement it is clearly stated that the employee must not break the commitment by working for other party, then you are breaking the rule. And, if the company finds it out, they have all the right to give you the pink slip.
Yet, if it not clearly stated, you?d still have to play ?safe? so that you can do both works well.
Yet, when there is a will, there is a way. If you decide to do it, be smart about it.
However, take some time to review the agreement you signed when you first entered the company. Isn?t there stated that you are asked to be devoted to the company and not to work for other part?
Why should there be such a rule?
They have reasons, of course. The company wants you to focus on your job. You are commanded to give all your time and to concentrate only for the sake of your tasks.
If the employee has another job or business, his/her focus will be divided. This might cause the employee?s bad performance which affect the company?s as well. What if the employee gets sick out of too many side jobs? His/her main job will also be affected.
The other reason is related to the company?s top secret. Just like a family, every company has also a top secret that cannot be shared with anyone, especially the competitors. That?s why, an employee, as a part of the family, is asked to keep the secret. The way is by locking the door to side jobs.
Yet, mostly, the company is wise enough. The employees would be given other additional benefits that can avoid them from taking side jobs. It is some kind of compensation out of their loyalty to the company.
However, if you still do it, is it legal?
If in the agreement it is clearly stated that the employee must not break the commitment by working for other party, then you are breaking the rule. And, if the company finds it out, they have all the right to give you the pink slip.
Yet, if it not clearly stated, you?d still have to play ?safe? so that you can do both works well.
Job Search Strategies - Resumes That Rock - A Summary That Sells
What most people fail to realize, or just don?t want to believe, is a resume is used to screen out, not in. It is used by someone other than the hiring manager to reduce the foot-high pile to a manageable handful. So, your goal is to get past this step to the person who can actually decide to hire you.
Following your contact information, the summary is the first major section of your resume. Because most people who screen resumes make their initial decision based on the first half of the first page, it is the most important part of any resume.
It?s the portion where you talk about the scope of your career and those capabilities that won?t fit into a specific accomplishment bullet. It?s also the place where you talk about your ?softer? skills like leadership, team building, management, staff development, etc. These skills are more in demand the farther up you climb the corporate ladder.
You also want to cover the scope of your career in the summary. The size of company you have worked in ? from a small startup to a Fortune 500 company. The size of teams you have managed ? up to 35 people. The size of budgets ? from $1 million to $75 million. Other things might be the number of locations where a team was located, the size of the project, the number of languages spoken, etc.
When you look at formatting your resume you have a number of choices: 1. A paragraph. If you elect this option, be sure to put the most important things at the beginning and the end of the paragraph. I can guarantee that the middle portion of the paragraph will be read by a much smaller number of people that the beginning and the end.2. Bullets. If what you do lends itself to bullets, this is a great way to go. If they are one or two word bullets, it becomes almost impossible to glance at the resume without reading the bullets. If they are longer bullets, they will still get read more than a paragraph.3. Introductory sentence(s) and bullets. A good compromise. It gives you an opportunity to set the stage and then follow up with details in the bullets.
Now you?ve started your resume. Spend time thinking about career and understand that you will probably come back and modify the summary after you have completed your resume. You will definitely be more connected to the successes you have had in your career then.
With your permission, I?d like to offer you a free report: Action Verbs for Resumes. You can download it by going to http://www.acatalystinyoursuccess.com/Report_Action_Verbs.html
If you would like to hear more about resumes and the other tools you need to conduct a successful job search visit http://www.acatalystinyoursuccess.com/Career_Home_Page.html
Following your contact information, the summary is the first major section of your resume. Because most people who screen resumes make their initial decision based on the first half of the first page, it is the most important part of any resume.
It?s the portion where you talk about the scope of your career and those capabilities that won?t fit into a specific accomplishment bullet. It?s also the place where you talk about your ?softer? skills like leadership, team building, management, staff development, etc. These skills are more in demand the farther up you climb the corporate ladder.
You also want to cover the scope of your career in the summary. The size of company you have worked in ? from a small startup to a Fortune 500 company. The size of teams you have managed ? up to 35 people. The size of budgets ? from $1 million to $75 million. Other things might be the number of locations where a team was located, the size of the project, the number of languages spoken, etc.
When you look at formatting your resume you have a number of choices: 1. A paragraph. If you elect this option, be sure to put the most important things at the beginning and the end of the paragraph. I can guarantee that the middle portion of the paragraph will be read by a much smaller number of people that the beginning and the end.2. Bullets. If what you do lends itself to bullets, this is a great way to go. If they are one or two word bullets, it becomes almost impossible to glance at the resume without reading the bullets. If they are longer bullets, they will still get read more than a paragraph.3. Introductory sentence(s) and bullets. A good compromise. It gives you an opportunity to set the stage and then follow up with details in the bullets.
Now you?ve started your resume. Spend time thinking about career and understand that you will probably come back and modify the summary after you have completed your resume. You will definitely be more connected to the successes you have had in your career then.
With your permission, I?d like to offer you a free report: Action Verbs for Resumes. You can download it by going to http://www.acatalystinyoursuccess.com/Report_Action_Verbs.html
If you would like to hear more about resumes and the other tools you need to conduct a successful job search visit http://www.acatalystinyoursuccess.com/Career_Home_Page.html
How to Write a Cover Letter and Get a Job Faster
There are well over 300 million people in the USA today. Looking for a job as one of them can prove to be no easy chore...in fact, according to national statistics, you could be at it for nine months or more! Chances are good that you're going to need a serious edge over the competition if you want to get a good job.
Luckily, such an edge does in fact exist. Nothing in the world is guaranteed to make bosses line up and beg you to join their company, but this particular edge can seriously boost your shot at nailing a great job and rip apart your time spent unemployed. This edge, my friend, is your cover letter.
The right cover letter is like showing up to your interview in a beautiful, perfectly-fitted Armani suit. It exudes professionalism, makes you look good, and makes you appealing to employers. Now imagine that same interview, except you show up in a ratty pile of rags that look like you stole them off of a bum on the street. Imagine that interview going a little differently? That's what the wrong cover letter is like. And the worst thing is, to use no cover letter is like showing up naked! Yikes!
Your first round to get through is the cover letter round. It's the first thing they'll look at, and it's the first chance for you to impress them. In the initial culling, the Armani cover letters keep going, while the ragtag and nonexistant cover letters get thrown in the incinerator where they belong. Clearly, a good cover letter is important.
So how does one go about the acquisition of an Armani cover letter? One of the tried-and-true methods is to find somebody who's written one and learn from them. Look at some cover letter examples and see what makes them so great. Learning from the best has been a classic way of improving one's own skills for almost as long as the human race has existed.
And another good thing about taking this particular road is that you'll also be building important critical thinking and analysis skills. That sounds boring and difficult, but it's really not a big deal, and it looks really good to employers. Skills like that make you valuable as an employee, and that means job security.
But I feel I must stress to you one thing right now. A great cover letter has two things required of it that it simply MUST do in order to really be a success. First, it has to present your qualifications. That goes hand in hand with a resume, to which a cover letter is attached anyways. That's kinda common sense, and not too difficult to understand.
Most important, however, is that a cover letter MUST pave the way for an interview. If your cover letter doesn't broach the subject of an interview or even flat-out try to set one up, you're not achieving the full effect of what a cover letter can do for you. It's the job of the cover letter to make an employer stop seeing you as just another sheet of paper in an endless stack cluttering up his desk, and get you in front of that person as one of the few well-qualified people for the job. The cover letter is the conduit for you to move from textual communication to face-to-face communication. If your cover letter can get you into an interview, you can finally call it a success.
To get started, you can find some free cover letter examples by visiting this site. There you'll find all you need to learn how to write a cover letter. With that knowledge at your disposal, you can get a job faster.
Luckily, such an edge does in fact exist. Nothing in the world is guaranteed to make bosses line up and beg you to join their company, but this particular edge can seriously boost your shot at nailing a great job and rip apart your time spent unemployed. This edge, my friend, is your cover letter.
The right cover letter is like showing up to your interview in a beautiful, perfectly-fitted Armani suit. It exudes professionalism, makes you look good, and makes you appealing to employers. Now imagine that same interview, except you show up in a ratty pile of rags that look like you stole them off of a bum on the street. Imagine that interview going a little differently? That's what the wrong cover letter is like. And the worst thing is, to use no cover letter is like showing up naked! Yikes!
Your first round to get through is the cover letter round. It's the first thing they'll look at, and it's the first chance for you to impress them. In the initial culling, the Armani cover letters keep going, while the ragtag and nonexistant cover letters get thrown in the incinerator where they belong. Clearly, a good cover letter is important.
So how does one go about the acquisition of an Armani cover letter? One of the tried-and-true methods is to find somebody who's written one and learn from them. Look at some cover letter examples and see what makes them so great. Learning from the best has been a classic way of improving one's own skills for almost as long as the human race has existed.
And another good thing about taking this particular road is that you'll also be building important critical thinking and analysis skills. That sounds boring and difficult, but it's really not a big deal, and it looks really good to employers. Skills like that make you valuable as an employee, and that means job security.
But I feel I must stress to you one thing right now. A great cover letter has two things required of it that it simply MUST do in order to really be a success. First, it has to present your qualifications. That goes hand in hand with a resume, to which a cover letter is attached anyways. That's kinda common sense, and not too difficult to understand.
Most important, however, is that a cover letter MUST pave the way for an interview. If your cover letter doesn't broach the subject of an interview or even flat-out try to set one up, you're not achieving the full effect of what a cover letter can do for you. It's the job of the cover letter to make an employer stop seeing you as just another sheet of paper in an endless stack cluttering up his desk, and get you in front of that person as one of the few well-qualified people for the job. The cover letter is the conduit for you to move from textual communication to face-to-face communication. If your cover letter can get you into an interview, you can finally call it a success.
To get started, you can find some free cover letter examples by visiting this site. There you'll find all you need to learn how to write a cover letter. With that knowledge at your disposal, you can get a job faster.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Tendulkar opts out of captaincy
Former India captain Sachin Tendulkar has apparently opted to continue being referred that way by declining the captaincy of the test team caused by Dravid's resignation in September.I am really elated and strongly hope that the news agencies and sources have got it right!
Indian Premier Cricket League?
The race between the Indian Cricket League (their website finally loads up) and the BCCI's Indian Premier League has just started getting more interesting.The BCCI's league boasts of the "Who's who" of international cricket (primarily current players, with a couple of former stars thrown in). Zee's Indian Cricket League boasts of the "Who was who" and "Who's that" of international and Indian domestic cricket.The ICL has no access to most of the good cricket grounds in India since the BCCI has leases on/ownership of all of them. So it has to make do with unknown grounds. Ditto with the player roster. The ICL's major problem remains that they do not have a single star Indian player signed up. When Dinesh Mongia has the most internationals in your lineup of Indian players, you do have a serious problem!The main problem both leagues are going to face is how to squeeze in the tournaments in between the various international commitments. I don't really know if the BCCI has some clue about how the IPL will shape up given that the star players will hardly be available over the next 1.5 years or so. The team owners, rights owners, sponsors, spectators, audiences, etc. will undoubtedly demand that the star players turn up for the IPL when they are not playing for India. The BCCI has just confirmed a triangular one-day series in Bangladesh next May to fill in the gaps.Some pride will have to be swallowed, but I really don't see any scope for the two leagues co-existing and functioning according to the current hype. The ICL is meant to showcase former stars and wannabes. The IPL is meant to showcase the stars. The ICL doesn't have the sponsors, grounds and audiences, but they have the players who have the time to play. The IPL has the sponsors, grounds and audiences, but they don't have players who can spare the time.Under these circumstances, perhaps the best option is to merge the two leagues and call it the "Indian Premier Cricket League" and have all games played at the IPCL ground with a lot of sponsorship by Reliance Industries Ltd. Stop press! Reliable BCCI sources inform me that the BCCI, continuing with its theme of creating ODI series out of thin air, will be arranging for a Twenty20 international at the end of each day of the test matches against Pakistan. The BCCI's reasoning is apparently that since each Twenty20 game only takes up 3 hours and test match days end by 5 pm, there is enough time for a Twenty20 game before the cricketers eat & sleep. Rumours about the BCCI jettisoning the warm-up games in Australia and replacing them with Twenty20 internationals are yet to be confirmed.
Spare MacGill please
Sri Lanka are currently making Stuart MacGill's comeback miserable. He has conceded 317 runs for 4 wickets so far (strike rate 80, econ rate 3.5).If this implies that he won't play against India, I consider the Sri Lankans totally responsible for it, especially if in his absence, some other spinner picks up wickets or Australia opt for an all-pace attack.That said, it is entirely possible that he will pick up a five-fer tomorrow to ensure he gets picked against India.
Darren Lehmann retires
Darren Lehmann announced his retirement from first-class cricket today.He is one of two chaps to have hit the winning runs in a World Cup final, and most likely the only one to have authored the final act in two finals. He hit the winning runs in 1999 and caught Zaheer Khan, India's last wicket, in 2003.Lehmann has not played international cricket since February 2005. He was named Cricketer of the Year in 2004. In 2003, he was banned for five games after screaming out a racist comment which was heard by the Sri Lankan team.The fact that he announced his retirement from 'first-class cricket' indicates to me that he will, in all likelihood, join the Indian Cricket League or the Indian Premier League or the Universal Book Cricket League.
Umpires can get away with a 'sorry', the players can't
There've been far too many instances of incompetent umpiring, especially in the last couple of years. Yet, the ICC holds the umpires accountable only during their annual review.The officials who were in charge of the World Cup final in the West Indies were not on duty in the Twenty20 World Cup since the ICC had suspended them for their inept handling of the final when bad light stopped play.Yet, the same officials have handled other assignments. It was just that they were suspended for an ICC event. Presumably the ICC thinks that it is ok for incompetence to be shown in Australia v Sri Lanka, South Africa v Pakistan or India v England test matches.Yesterday, Koertzen apologized to Sangakkara for wrongly giving him out. Two years ago, during the first Ashes test at Lord's, Koertzen did his apology thingy, saying sorry to Kevin Pietersen for declaring him out lbw to a fulltoss from Lee.During India's recent tour of England, Taufel said he was very upset at ruling Tendulkar out wrongly. Ian Howell was consistently poor in the same series.In 2005, the West Indies Cricket Board complained to the ICC about the decisions that were handed out during the team's tour of Australia. Yet, the ICC responded saying that its umpires got 94.8% of their decisions right in 2004, a number that Dave Richardson keeps bleating about.In 2004, Billy Bowden apologized to Sehwag.In contrast, spare a thought for the players. Yuvraj Singh was given out wrongly, with the game poised to go either way, and he was fined for showing dissent. Salman Butt made some comments about the umpiring in the series against South Africa and he was pulled up. During the 2007 World Cup, McCullum was fined for 'dissent'. Graeme Smith and Kevin Pietersen suffered the same fate in 2006.All these players apologized for their actions. Yet, they were penalized monetarily and immediately.The umpires had erred too. They too apologized for their decisions. Yet, they continue to get away with it, and in all likelihood, given the scarcity of good umpires available, will continue to be contracted to the ICC. They can then make more poor decisions and apologize for their actions, completely oblivious to the fact that their poor decisions could have impacted the outcome of a match (or series) or even a player's career for that matter.If the ICC is shielding their contracted umpires, then individual boards should be shielding their contracted players. Maybe the ICC should consider penalizing players only at the end of the year, not during/immediately after the game. Even then, the responsibility should perhaps lie with the board. After all, the players are responsible to the cricket board, not the ICC. If a cricket board has not handled the situation well, then this is something the ICC should take up with the board.PS: Going back to the ICC's comments on the percentage of decisions the umpires got right, it's not too tough to get 95% of your decisions right. In a typical test match, you'd probably have an appeal every over. Assuming that the game lasts the distance, that'd mean 450 appeals. To get to the ICC's benchmark of 95%, the umpires would need to get 428 decisions right. But that means they get 22 decisions wrong, a lot of which could potentially be match impacting. Ok, so 450 appeals in a game could be an exaggeration, but the arithmetic doesn't work out.
More power to test cricket
It's a bit odd, really. The first forty four tests between India and Pakistan yielded 33 draws/no-results. The next 13 tests have seen only 3 draws! Out of those 3 draws, one was drawn due to some excellent rescue acts while the other two games were drawn because of flat pitches.I think the Kotla test was played out on a very good test wicket. The pitch did have some uneven bounce earlier on, but on days 3 and 4, it was very good for batting. Bowlers who were able to exploit the pitch and the swing, did very well. It wasn't a bat-a-thon wicket. Neither was it one of those Kotla specials!I don't know the crowd numbers for yesterday, but I believe around 38,000 watched the third day from the stadium. That is very good going for a test match in India. I really hope Eden Gardens and Chinnaswamy also produce good wickets and ensure players put up a good show.
The coach question
It increasingly looks like the BCCI have found an answer to the question mark which was hanging over the Indian cricket team ever since Greg Chappell decided to stop being coach of the team. Looks like, it would be Gary Kirsten, who has really tormented the Indian bowlers in the late 90s especially in the ODIs. Let's keep our fingers crossed until the official announcement is made and also hope that this coach doesn't turn Ford.
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