Ajay Naidu
Muscat
"All of us had a great time soaking in the atmosphere here in Oman and, I must confess, Muscat did surprise a lot of us. I loved spending time on the golf course and others enjoyed fishing and watching Dolphins. The (Howzat) Legends League (Cricket) is a way of recognizing and rewarding former cricketers who did their bit for the game. On the field, it was pretty competitive too and it eventually boiled down to which team could hit more sixes. Even a total of 225 didn’t look safe and thanks to Corey (Anderson) we had enough runs to defend and win the title.”
That was Kevin Pietersen echoing the sentiments of the players who, during their time, brought the crowd to its feet with their cricketing exploits. And indeed the England star couldn’t have been more apt in the way he spoke.
In the last ten days at the Al Amerat Stadium, the heady mix of former greats invited a lot of attention from people around the world was a tribute not only to their popularity but also their will to compete post retirement.
While some like Corey Anderson, Upul Tharanga, Asghar Afghan are very much a part of competitive cricket around the globe others like Shoaib Akhtar and Sanath Jayasurya might as well have been playing from memory.
All credit thus to Shoaib Akhtar (who was cheered a lot when he marked his long run up) when he challenged his own body and an injured knee to produce couple of fiery overs. Not surprisingly then, he had walk off the field in the final.
Anderson, who is now trying to get the United States of America into the ICC fold, proved to be the difference in the final between World Giants and Asian Lions as he fashioned an easy 25 run triumph for his side. He fell six short of a hundred but after providing a lot of fireworks.
India’s Naman Ojha played to sizzling knocks of140 and 76 but on both occasions the team just lost the plot in the death overs. The Pathan brothers -- Irfan and Yusuf too used the long handle to deadly effect. Among other stars, Pietersen, Upul Tharanga, Kevin O’Brien, Herschelle Gibbs and Asghar Afghan too flexed their muscles to drive home a point.
Brett Lee, the Auastralian fast bowler whose duels with Sachin Tendulkar is part of the cricketing folklore, took the honours in the bowling department with his pace and accuracy. His last over against India Maharajas turned the game on its head as he conceded just 2 runs to bowl his team to a sensational 5 run victory. The tall South African Morne Morkeland England’s Ryan Sidebottom were both fighting fit and on target.
Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar was pretty impressed with the venue and the tournament. "I must say, Muscat is a lovely city, lot of things to explore here. Cricketing wise, the Al Amerat Cricket Stadium is a great venue; the ground is lush green and so are the practice facilities. The wickets were top quality.
"The only jarring note, if I can say that, was the mismatch between some players. There were some players who are still playing competitive cricket while there were others who picked up a bat or ball after years. Similarly, some were fighting fit while few others were on the heavier side. If we can address this grey area then I’m sure this tournament will grow,” he opined.
The attractive 4,000 plus turnout in the opening match was proof enough that these players still have enough following years after retirement. Add thousands who followed the matches on the web and millions who watched it Live on television and you know that this event was a roaring success. And it has a great prospect of spreading far and wide.
Muscat
"All of us had a great time soaking in the atmosphere here in Oman and, I must confess, Muscat did surprise a lot of us. I loved spending time on the golf course and others enjoyed fishing and watching Dolphins. The (Howzat) Legends League (Cricket) is a way of recognizing and rewarding former cricketers who did their bit for the game. On the field, it was pretty competitive too and it eventually boiled down to which team could hit more sixes. Even a total of 225 didn’t look safe and thanks to Corey (Anderson) we had enough runs to defend and win the title.”
That was Kevin Pietersen echoing the sentiments of the players who, during their time, brought the crowd to its feet with their cricketing exploits. And indeed the England star couldn’t have been more apt in the way he spoke.
In the last ten days at the Al Amerat Stadium, the heady mix of former greats invited a lot of attention from people around the world was a tribute not only to their popularity but also their will to compete post retirement.
While some like Corey Anderson, Upul Tharanga, Asghar Afghan are very much a part of competitive cricket around the globe others like Shoaib Akhtar and Sanath Jayasurya might as well have been playing from memory.
All credit thus to Shoaib Akhtar (who was cheered a lot when he marked his long run up) when he challenged his own body and an injured knee to produce couple of fiery overs. Not surprisingly then, he had walk off the field in the final.
Anderson, who is now trying to get the United States of America into the ICC fold, proved to be the difference in the final between World Giants and Asian Lions as he fashioned an easy 25 run triumph for his side. He fell six short of a hundred but after providing a lot of fireworks.
India’s Naman Ojha played to sizzling knocks of140 and 76 but on both occasions the team just lost the plot in the death overs. The Pathan brothers -- Irfan and Yusuf too used the long handle to deadly effect. Among other stars, Pietersen, Upul Tharanga, Kevin O’Brien, Herschelle Gibbs and Asghar Afghan too flexed their muscles to drive home a point.
Brett Lee, the Auastralian fast bowler whose duels with Sachin Tendulkar is part of the cricketing folklore, took the honours in the bowling department with his pace and accuracy. His last over against India Maharajas turned the game on its head as he conceded just 2 runs to bowl his team to a sensational 5 run victory. The tall South African Morne Morkeland England’s Ryan Sidebottom were both fighting fit and on target.
Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar was pretty impressed with the venue and the tournament. "I must say, Muscat is a lovely city, lot of things to explore here. Cricketing wise, the Al Amerat Cricket Stadium is a great venue; the ground is lush green and so are the practice facilities. The wickets were top quality.
"The only jarring note, if I can say that, was the mismatch between some players. There were some players who are still playing competitive cricket while there were others who picked up a bat or ball after years. Similarly, some were fighting fit while few others were on the heavier side. If we can address this grey area then I’m sure this tournament will grow,” he opined.
The attractive 4,000 plus turnout in the opening match was proof enough that these players still have enough following years after retirement. Add thousands who followed the matches on the web and millions who watched it Live on television and you know that this event was a roaring success. And it has a great prospect of spreading far and wide.