Tag: MCG.

  • Anil Kumble to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame

    Anil Kumble to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame

    MUMBAI: Former India captain and one of the most versatile wrist-spinners to ever play the game Anil Kumble, and Betty Wilson, one of the greatest women’s cricketers of all-time, will be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 match between India and South Africa at the MCG on 22 February.

     

    Kumble, with 619 Test wickets, is the third highest wicket-taker in Test cricket after Muttiah Muralidaran (800) and Shane Warne (708), while his 337 wickets in ODIs ranks him in ninth position on the all-time list of most successful bowlers in that format. Kumble captained India in 14 Tests between 2007 and 2008, winning three and losing five.

     

    In the 138-year history of Test cricket during which 2,156 Tests have been played to date, Kumble is one of only two bowlers after England’s Jim Laker to have taken all 10 wickets in an innings. He achieved this feat against traditional rival Pakistan in New Delhi in February 1999.

     

    Kumble made his Test debut in 1990 in Manchester and his final appearance was in New Delhi in October-November 2008. During his career, Kumble played 132 Tests and 271 One-Day Internationals. Apart from his 619 Test and 337 ODI wickets, Kumble also scored 2,506 runs in Tests and 938 runs in ODIs.

     

    Wilson, a former Australia batter, played 11 Tests between 1947 and 1958 in which she scored 862 runs at average of 57.4 and took 68 wickets at 11.8 per wicket.

     

    On her debut against New Zealand at the age of 26 in 1948, she scored 90 and took four for 37 and six for 28. In her second Test, she scored 111 against England, becoming the first Australia woman to score a Test century against England, and took nine more wickets. Against England in 1957-58, she became the first cricketer, male or female, to score a century and take 10 wickets in a Test. Wilson passed away on 22 January 2010, aged 88.

     

    Kumble and Wilson will be formally inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame during the innings break in the India versus South Africa match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday 22 February. International Cricket Council (ICC) director and chairman of Cricket Australia, Wally Edwards, will present Kumble with his commemorative cap, while Wilson’s commemorative cap will be received by her nephew, Ken Wilson, from ICC chief executive David Richardson.

     

    Kumble, who is now the chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee, is the fourth India cricketer to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame after fellow former captains Bishen Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar were inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.

     

    The process for the selection of players into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame started last year when the ICC chairman invited all the living ICC Cricket Hall of Famers to send their nominations. The ICC Nominations Committee reduced the long-list to 10 men and three women cricketers. The short-list was then sent to the Voting Academy, which included representatives of all the 10 Full Members, media representatives from all the 10 Full Members, Associate & Affiliate Member, women’s cricket and FICA representatives as well as living ICC Hall of Famers. The ICC collated the nominations and forwarded the ballot papers to the auditors who provided the final results.

  • Genesis Burson-Marsteller launches Step Up

    Genesis Burson-Marsteller launches Step Up

    MUMBAI: Genesis Burson-Marsteller has launched a new initiative, Step Up, catering exclusively to the communication needs of the two most important stakeholders of the entrepreneurial ecosystem: the start-ups and investor networks.

     

    Designed to provide affordable and relevant service offerings spanning traditional as well as new digital formats, Step Up, helps young companies and SMBs take the next leap in their journey to success, by not only narrating their story creatively but also by communicating on what impacts their business.

     

    Commenting on the launch, Genesis Burson-Marsteller principal and founder Prema Sagar said, “Step Up is our endeavour to go back to our roots. We know, feel and understand the challenges having been a start-up ourselves, 22 years back. With Step Up, we have already begun to partner with new and upcoming brands in their journey so as to take it to the next big thing. What differentiates Step Up from the rest is our strong understanding of the ecosystem and the changing media scape, the right talent and the ability to provide affordable services.”

     

    The new initiative offers customised services from branding and partnerships to media engagement. The offering to start-ups have been created keeping in mind various challenges faced by early-stage ventures. These offerings aim to develop and device a compelling and effective communication strategy to narrate the story of the ventures in the most innnovative manner.  

     

    Genesis Burson-Marsteller public relations president Nikhil Day said, “We are delighted by the creativity of our young colleagues to have come up with the idea, presented the strategy to the India Management Team, developed the proposition and already won their first client!. Our firm has, from the very beginning, encouraged entrepreneurship – it is for our people to take the initiative.  And Step Up is a great example.”

     

    The clients could be from Consumer (e.g. FMCG, beauty, sports, art, theatre, music, movies), Technology (e.g. products, services) Health and Wellness (e.g.pharma, services, ayurveda) and Corporate (e.g.financial, engineering, aviation).  Genesis Burson-Marsteller’s experience already exists for large companies, learnings from which will be applied for Step Up companies.

     

    Step Up India lead Atul Sharma added, “In the last few years, the Indian start-up environment has made a mark on the global entrepreneurial map by producing unique and globally relevant propositions. Being noticed by the right audience can make a great difference to a young company’s journey. This unique initiative by Genesis Burson-Marsteller, Step Up, aims at empowering these innovative start-ups to create a space for themselves in an otherwise cluttered market. We are looking to create the next ‘whatsapp’ story in India! ”

     

    Step Up is inspired by Genesis Burson-Marsteller and has the same gene pool of expertise and excellence but, it aspires to bring alive creative communication in a completely different genre of companies, which may have not enjoyed the benefits of experienced communications partners owing to their size.