Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas, (born 27 January 1974 in Mattumagala), usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer who is regarded as being the best fast bowler to come out of the country. According to Bill Frindall, scorer and statistician for BBC Radio's Test Match Special, Chaminda is actually his penultimate given name, therefore his initials should read WPUJC. In 2004 he gained recognition for his talent when he was selected for the World Test and one-day XI at the inaugural ICC Awards. He was once again selected for the World Test XI at the 2005 awards.
He is a left arm swing bowler. Vaas opens the bowling for Sri Lanka and is noted for his indipper. Also among his arsenal is an off cutter which is well disguised. Although his pace has dropped over the years, he has masterful control of line and length.
A past student of the prestigious St. Joseph's College in Colombo, he made his debut for the Sri Lankan cricket team in 1994. He made an impact in his first year of international cricket as he helped Sri Lanka to their maiden Test Match victory away from home, against New Zealand at Napier. Vaas took 5-47 in the first innings and 5-43 in the second.
In 2001-02 he took 26 wickets in a series win against the West Indies. This included a match haul of 14 wickets, a feat only achieved by two fast bowlers in the subcontinent, the other being Imran Khan. He was recently selected for the Afro Asia cup but dropped out due to county commitments.
On 26th June 2007 he made his maiden test century, playing against Bangladesh he hit 100 not out in a total of 577-6 declared in Colombo.
Chaminda Vaas is Sri Lanka's most successful fast bowler ever, having taken over 300 Test wickets. He has been the head of the Sri Lankan bowling attack for many years. He achieved his 300th wicket on December 12, 2005) against India, becoming just the second Sri Lankan bowler to do so, after Muttiah Muralitharan. He has also taken over 350 One Day International wickets, again only one of two Sri Lankans to do so. As of the 30th of March 2007 only 3 bowlers have taken more ODI wickets. His tally includes two hat tricks, the first against Zimbabwe which came in the middle of a devastating spell of 8 for 19, the best bowling figures in one-day internationals, Zimbabwe were dismissed for 38 which was the lowest score in one day internationals. The other hattrick came in the 2003 World Cup against Bangladesh and was achieved with the first three balls of the game.This had never before been seen in One Day International cricket.
Vaas is also a useful batsman down the order, and has reached 2500 Test runs, including 12 Test half-centuries and a century. Only 10 bowlers in Test history to have taken 200 wickets have scored more runs than Vaas.
As a fieldsman, he is noted for his strong arm.
See also:
Cricinfo Profile on Chaminda Vaas
Cricketarchive Profile on Chaminda Vaas
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Player Profile(#24)...Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka)
Saturday, May 17, 2008
The Greatest One-Day International Game Ever!
Heres a video clip of what has been called the greatest One-Day International cricket fans have witnesses. It was the first ODI in history where the holy grail of 400 runs in an innings was surpassed (initially by Australia- vs South Africa), they scored a massive 434 runs but were in for a suprise when South Africa came to the party and knocked off those runs and ended up getting 439 for 9. The game also holds the record of the highest match aggregate in a ODI (873 runs). Of course there is much to be said about this awesome display of power hitting but it is better to watch the game than read about it:) --->>
In the International Spotlight...Pakistan Cricket
The Pakistan National Cricket Team is an international cricket team representing Pakistan. It is administrated by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Pakistan is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status.
Before the independence of Pakistan, cricket was played well before the first Pakistan national team was granted test match playing status. Documentation and archives show that during the 18th century, cricket was played on the western side of India and many successful Indian cricketers played for the English cricket team. It was not until July 28, 1952 that Pakistan started playing test match cricket. Their first match took place in Delhi against India on October of the same year. Their first international tour was to England during 1954. Over the half century, Pakistan has become one of the most challenging and unpredictable teams in the world, the team won the 1992 World Cup and were runners up in the 1999 World Cup. The country has produced several world-class players such as Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Mushtaq Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Abdul Qadir, Wasim Akram, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Waqar Younis, Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Akhtar.
As of October 2007, the Pakistani team has played 332 Test matches, winning 31.02%, losing 26.50% and drawing 42.46% of its games. The team is ranked sixth in the ICC Test Championship and fifth place in the ICC ODI Championship. On 28 August 2006, Pakistan won its debut Twenty20 International match in England and were runners up in the inaugral ICC World Twenty20 in September 2007.
History:
Following the Partition of India in 1947, and the establishment of the separate nation state of Pakistan, cricket in the country developed steadily and Pakistan was given Test Match status at a meeting of the Imperial Cricket Conference at Lord's Cricket Ground on 28 July 1952 following recommendation by India, which, being the successor state of the British Raj, did not have to go through such a process.
Pakistan’s first Test match was played in Delhi in October 1952 as part of a five Test series which India won 2-1. Pakistan made their first tour of England in 1954 and drew the series 1-1 after a memorable victory at The Oval in which fast bowler Fazal Mahmood took 12 wickets. Pakistan’s first home Test match was in Dacca in January 1955 against India, after which four more Test matches were played in Bahawalpur, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi (all five matches in the series were drawn, the first such occurrence in test history).
The team is considered a strong but unpredictable team. Traditionally Pakistani cricket has been filled with players of great talent but limited discipline, making them a team which could play inspirational cricket one day and then perform less than ordinarily another day. Over the years, competitions between India and Pakistan have always been emotionally charged and provide for intriguing contests, as talented teams from both sides of the border elevate their game to new levels to produce high-quality cricket. Pakistani contest with India in the Cricket World Cup have seen packed stadiums and elevated atmospheres no matter where the World Cup has been held.
The 1986 Australasia Cup, played in Sharjah, is remembered as a famous last-ball victory for Pakistan against arch-rivals India, with Javed Miandad emerging as a national hero. India batted first and set a target of 245 runs, leaving Pakistan with a required run rate of 4.92 runs per over. Javed Miandad came in to bat at number 3, and Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals. Later recalling the match, Miandad stated that his main focus was to lose with dignity. With 31 runs needed in the last three overs, Miandad hit a string of boundaries while batting with his team's lower order, until four runs were required from the last delivery of the match. Miandad received a leg side full toss from Chetan Sharma, which he hit for six over the midwicket boundary.
At the 1992 World Cup Semi Final, having won the toss New Zealand chose to bat first and ended with a total of 262. Pakistan batted conservatively yet lost wickets at regular intervals. With the departure of Imran Khan and Saleem Malik shortly thereafter, Pakistan still required 115 runs at a rate of 7.67 per over with veteran Javed Miandad being the only known batsman remaining at the crease. A young Inzamam-ul-Haq, who had just turned 22 and was not a well-known player at the time, burst onto the international stage with a match-winning 60 off 37 balls. Once Inzamam got out, Pakistan required 36 from 30 balls, which wicketkeeper Moin Khan ended with a towering six over long off, followed by the winning boundary to midwicket. The match is seen as the emergence of Inzamam onto the international stage.
The 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia & New Zealand marked Pakistan's first World Cup victory. It is remembered for the comeback Pakistan made after losing key players such as Waqar Younis and Saeed Anwar, and being led by an injured captain in Imran Khan. Pakistan lost 4 of their first 5 matches and were nearly eliminated in the first round of the tournament after being bowled out for 74 against England, until the match was declared as a "no result" due to rain. Captain Imran Khan famously told the team to play as "cornered tigers", after which Pakistan won five successive matches, including, most famously, the semi-final against hosts New Zealand and the final against England.
The 2007 Cricket World Cup was one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history when Pakistan was knocked out of the competition in a shock defeat to Ireland, who were playing in their first competition. Pakistan, needing to win to qualify for the next stage after losing to the West Indies in their opening match, were put into bat by Ireland on a green pitch. They lost wickets regularly and only 4 batsmen crossed double figures. In the end they were bowled out by the resurgent Irish for 132. The Irish went on to win the match, helped by a knock of 72 from Niall O'Brien. This meant that Pakistan had been knocked out during the first round for the second consecutive World Cup. Tragedy struck the team when coach Bob Woolmer died one day later on March 18, 2007 in a hospital in Kingston, Jamaica. Jamaican police spokesman, Karl Angell, reported on March 23, 2007 that, "Mr Woolmer's death was due to asphyxiation as a result of manual strangulation", and that, "Mr Woolmer's death is now being treated by the Jamaica police as a case of murder." Subsequent to his team's defeat and the death of Bob Woolmer, Inzamam-ul-Haq announced his resignation as captain of the team and his retirement from one-day cricket, stating that he would continue to take part in Test cricket but not as captain.
On 23 March 2007, Pakistan players and officials were questioned by Jamaican police and submitted DNA samples along with fingerprints, as part of the routine enquiries in the investigation into Woolmer's murder. Three days after leaving the West Indies for Pakistan, via London, the Pakistan team were ruled out as suspects. The deputy commissioner of Jamaican police. Mark Shields, the detective in charge of the investigation, announced, "It's fair to say they are now being treated as witnesses." "I have got no evidence to suggest it was anybody in the squad." A memorial service was held in Sacred Heart Church, Lahore, for Bob Woolmer on 1 April 2007. Among the attendees were Pakistan players and dignitaries, including Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was quoted as saying, "After Woolmer's family, the Pakistan team was the most aggrieved by his death." After the World Cup ended, serious doubts were raised about the investigation, with increasing speculation that Woolmer died of natural causes. This has now been accepted as fact, and the case has been closed.
On 16 July 2007, Geoff Lawson, previously head coach of New South Wales, was appointed coach of the Pakistan for two years, becoming the third foreigner to take on the role. In the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, Pakistan exceeded expectations to reach the final but ended as runners-up, after losing the final to India in a nail-biting finish.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is responsible for all first class and Test cricket played in Pakistan and by the Pakistan cricket team. It was admitted to the International Cricket Council in July 1953. The corporation has been run by former cricketers, professional administrators and trustees, who are often respected businessmen. The Board governs a network of teams sponsored by corporations and banks, city associations and clubs including advertising, broadcasting rights and internet partners.
After taking heavy flak for corruption and match fixing, the PCB re-emerged by taking the initiative to sponsor the wildly successful 2004 tour of Pakistan by arch rivals India. The PCB's experiment with the Twenty20 cricket model has also proven popular and hopes to similarly revive popular interest in domestic games. The PCB also set up major domestic competitions such as the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, and the ANZ Trophy.
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