Date:17/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/17/stories/2008101760702600.htm

Sport - Cricket

Rockets and Champs keen to bounce back

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

Ahmedabad: The Indian Cricket League (ICL) caravan will roll in from Hyderabad as the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium gears up for Friday night’s match between Ahmedabad Rockets and Mumbai Champs.

“It is a big ground and we expect a good turnout,” said Kiran More, tournament director. Ahmedabad will host eight ICL matches till October 23 before the league moves to Gurgaon.

The Ahmedabad-leg’s first match pits two teams keen to bounce back. Home team Rockets lost its matches to Delhi Giants and Chennai Superstars while Champs slumped against Chandigarh Lions in Hyderabad.

“Wish we had started with a victory but that’s the way Twenty20 goes. Hope to correct it here,” said Michael Kasprowicz, member of the Nathan Astle-led Champs. With last-minute glitches being ironed out at the venue, Rockets and Champs trained at the Railway Ground.

Rockets’ skipper Damien Martyn struck a 52 against Superstars while R.S. Sodhi had his moments against Giants. The other players too need to chip in as high-profile cricket returns to the venue after 1981, when England trumped India in an ODI. Subsequently big cricket moved to Motera in the city’s outskirts. The ICL, launched last year, failed to build on its ‘first-mover’ advantage as the Indian Premier League leapfrogged ahead.

“IPL was marketed well but as far as cricket goes I thought ICL was good,” ICL chairman Kapil Dev remarked recently. This time around, ICL launched a marketing blitz and it got better as the Sri Lankan cricket authorities allowed its rebel players to compete in domestic cricket.

Good sign

The International Cricket Council’s nudge to the Board of Control for Cricket in India to meet the ICL top brass is also seen as a positive. “It is a good sign though we are yet to hear from the Board,” said More.

Will the newly installed floodlights work especially in the wake of a few blackouts at Hyderabad’s Lal Bahadur Stadium? “There shouldn’t be any problem. We installed the lights here and have tested it too,” said Shariq Patel, ICL’s senior vice-president for marketing and operations.