Friday, October 3, 2008
How to trick your brain into spending less
Can't figure why your brain is conned to spend, spend, spend -- specially during the festive season?
Well, the possibility is that, while shopping the mind gets 'out of control' and it becomes hard to restrain retail urges -- but if you want to take control of the buying instincts -- then here are few tips.
According to TimesOnline, a person can kid his or her instinct into spending less. Here's how:
1. Give yourself -- and your purse -- a break
Pausing briefly between choosing something and taking it to the check-out can dramatically boost the chance of the cash staying in your purse
2. Don't even touch your cards
Credit cards might not only anaesthetise retail pain, they may create a physical craving to get the dopamine high from spending,
3. Keep brands out of your brain
Designer brands have proved unprecedentedly effective at persuading you to spend more money on "special" goods that are actually only of average quality. Brands are painstakingly developed to encourage people to identify with them, to believe that their favourite labels have exactly the same human values as they do. So stay miles away from them
4. Don't shop with friends
People spend more money to maintain our self-image in front of others.
5. Staying calm costs less
People are more liable to spree when financially squeezed: under stress they can feel driven to hoard, says a study of students in Behavioural Research Therapy.
Test career stats of Team India
India's new selection committee retained former captain Sourav Ganguly in the Test squad for the first two matches against Australia starting on October 9.
Also included in the 15-man squad was the uncapped duo of Tamil Nadu batsman Subramaniam Badrinath and Haryana leggie Amit Mishra.
Wicetkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni returned to the Test squad after missing the Sri Lanka
Here's a look the Test career statistics of the 15-man squad:
Bowling:
| Player | Mts | Overs | Mdns | Runs | Wkts | Best | 5WI | 10WM | Avg | SR | RPO |
| A Kumble | 130 | 6710.1 | 1560 | 18069 | 616 | 10-74 | 35 | 8 | 29.33 | 65.36 | 2.69 |
| MS Dhoni | 29 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0-13 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 13.00 |
| R Dravid | 125 | 20 | 4 | 39 | 1 | 1-18 | 0 | 0 | 39.00 | 120.00 | 1.95 |
| S Ganguly | 109 | 519.3 | 108 | 1681 | 32 | 3-28 | 0 | 0 | 52.53 | 97.41 | 3.24 |
| Harbhajan Singh | 69 | 3158.4 | 612 | 8985 | 291 | 8-84 | 22 | 5 | 30.88 | 65.13 | 2.84 |
| VVS Laxman | 96 | 54 | 12 | 126 | 2 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 63.00 | 162.00 | 2.33 |
| Munaf Patel | 9 | 315 | 68 | 940 | 28 | 4-25 | 0 | 0 | 33.57 | 67.50 | 2.98 |
| Virender Sehwag | 60 | 298.1 | 44 | 902 | 24 | 3-12 | 0 | 0 | 37.58 | 74.54 | 3.03 |
| Ishant Sharma | 9 | 247.1 | 45 | 833 | 23 | 5-118 | 1 | 0 | 36.22 | 64.48 | 3.37 |
| RP Singh | 13 | 388.2 | 52 | 1564 | 40 | 5-59 | 1 | 0 | 39.10 | 58.25 | 4.03 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 150 | 643.4 | 81 | 2212 | 42 | 3-10 | 0 | 0 | 52.67 | 91.95 | 3.44 |
| Zaheer Khan | 56 | 1827 | 365 | 6064 | 178 | 5-29 | 5 | 0 | 34.07 | 61.58 | 3.32 |
Batting:
| Player | Mts | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Avg | 100s | 50s | 0s | Ct | St |
| A Kumble (captain) | 130 | 171 | 32 | 2456 | 110* | 17.67 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 59 | 0 |
| S Badrinath | Yet to make debut | ||||||||||
| MS Dhoni | 29 | 47 | 5 | 1418 | 148 | 33.76 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 68 | 14 |
| Rahul Dravid | 125 | 216 | 26 | 10246 | 270 | 53.93 | 25 | 52 | 6 | 176 | 0 |
| Gautam Gambhir | 17 | 29 | 2 | 1002 | 139 | 37.11 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 0 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 109 | 180 | 15 | 6888 | 239 | 41.75 | 15 | 34 | 12 | 71 | 0 |
| Harbhajan Singh | 69 | 97 | 18 | 1209 | 66 | 15.30 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 37 | 0 |
| VVS Laxman | 96 | 158 | 21 | 6000 | 281 | 43.80 | 12 | 35 | 9 | 102 | 0 |
| Amit Mishra | Yet to make debut | ||||||||||
| Munaf Patel | 9 | 10 | 3 | 32 | 13 | 4.57 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| Virender Sehwag | 60 | 102 | 4 | 5157 | 319 | 52.62 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 46 | 0 |
| Ishant Sharma | 9 | 14 | 9 | 92 | 23 | 18.40 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| RP Singh | 13 | 17 | 3 | 91 | 30 | 6.50 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 150 | 244 | 25 | 11877 | 248* | 54.23 | 39 | 49 | 14 | 98 | 0 |
| Zaheer Khan | 56 | 75 | 18 | 671 | 75 | 11.77 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 13 | 0 |
Tri-nation Twenty20 series in 2009
Twenty20 cricket is poised to take its next big step in 2009 with India, Australia and South Africa planning to play in the first-ever "super series", which is proposed to be held in two of those countries.
As the first non-ICC multilateral tournament involving national teams, this event will mark a paradigm shift for the sport's newest format but it faces several hurdles such as finding a window in an already crowded calendar, and negotiating the ICC ruling that allows a maximum of seven Twenty20 matches a year per country.
"It will be somewhat similar to the Tri-Nations rugby series," Gerald Majola, chief executive of Cricket South Africa (CSA), told Cricinfo. "It will be happening next year, and the matches will be held in South Africa and Australia."
However, organisers are yet to finalise a window for the tournament next year, he said.
The Tri-Nations rugby Cup is an annual tournament featuring South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, which was first contested in 1996. The competition is organised by a consortium formed by rugby's governing bodies in the three countries. The 2008 event involved nine matches with each country getting three home games.
Majola said the proposed Twenty20 series - which was finalised during discussions in Dubai recently on the sidelines of the ICC meeting of chief executives - will have a distinct identity of its own. "At this point of time, we are confident that it will take place but we haven't finalized venues, details of the prize money or sponsorship," he said.
The international calendar for next year is already packed with the Ashes and the World Twenty20 in England. These will be followed by the Champions Twenty20 League, and a one-day series between India and Australia. Space is yet to be found for the postponed Champions Trophy as well.
The Twenty20 format took off with the World Twenty20 in South Africa last year that was won by India, home of the largest television market for the game. It soon led to the franchise-based IPL, which offered a prize money of US$1.2million, and was held across eight venues in India earlier this year.
Subsequently, the Indian board took the lead in organizing the US$6million Champions Twenty20 League - to be held in India from December 3-10 - that will involve the domestic Twenty20 champions of India, Australia, South Africa, England and Pakistan.
However, concerns have been raised by the ICC over the need to have more control of such leagues, and Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, even sought one annual tournament to avoid the game being taken over by its shortest format.
Packed 2009 calendar
* Common events for all three countries
Apr 10 - May 29: Indian Premier League
Jun 5 - Jun 21: World Twenty20
Sep 25 - Oct 10: Champions League
* India
Jan 6 - Feb 19: Tour of Pakistan
Mar 6 - Apr 7: Tour of New Zealand
Oct 13 onwards: ODIs v Australia
Nov and Dec: Home series v Sri Lanka
Dec: Tour of Bangladesh
* Australia
Till Jan 30: Home series v South Africa
Feb 1 - Feb 15: limited-overs matches v New Zealand
Feb 20 - Apr 17: Tour of South Africa
Jun 24 - Sep 20: Ashes
Oct 13 onwards: ODIs v India
Nov: Home series v Pakistan
Dec: Home series v West Indies
* South Africa
Jan - Apr: Series v Australia
Nov and Dec: Home series v England
As the first non-ICC multilateral tournament involving national teams, this event will mark a paradigm shift for the sport's newest format but it faces several hurdles such as finding a window in an already crowded calendar, and negotiating the ICC ruling that allows a maximum of seven Twenty20 matches a year per country.
"It will be somewhat similar to the Tri-Nations rugby series," Gerald Majola, chief executive of Cricket South Africa (CSA), told Cricinfo. "It will be happening next year, and the matches will be held in South Africa and Australia."
However, organisers are yet to finalise a window for the tournament next year, he said.
The Tri-Nations rugby Cup is an annual tournament featuring South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, which was first contested in 1996. The competition is organised by a consortium formed by rugby's governing bodies in the three countries. The 2008 event involved nine matches with each country getting three home games.
Majola said the proposed Twenty20 series - which was finalised during discussions in Dubai recently on the sidelines of the ICC meeting of chief executives - will have a distinct identity of its own. "At this point of time, we are confident that it will take place but we haven't finalized venues, details of the prize money or sponsorship," he said.
The international calendar for next year is already packed with the Ashes and the World Twenty20 in England. These will be followed by the Champions Twenty20 League, and a one-day series between India and Australia. Space is yet to be found for the postponed Champions Trophy as well.
The Twenty20 format took off with the World Twenty20 in South Africa last year that was won by India, home of the largest television market for the game. It soon led to the franchise-based IPL, which offered a prize money of US$1.2million, and was held across eight venues in India earlier this year.
Subsequently, the Indian board took the lead in organizing the US$6million Champions Twenty20 League - to be held in India from December 3-10 - that will involve the domestic Twenty20 champions of India, Australia, South Africa, England and Pakistan.
However, concerns have been raised by the ICC over the need to have more control of such leagues, and Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, even sought one annual tournament to avoid the game being taken over by its shortest format.
Packed 2009 calendar
* Common events for all three countries
Apr 10 - May 29: Indian Premier League
Jun 5 - Jun 21: World Twenty20
Sep 25 - Oct 10: Champions League
* India
Jan 6 - Feb 19: Tour of Pakistan
Mar 6 - Apr 7: Tour of New Zealand
Oct 13 onwards: ODIs v Australia
Nov and Dec: Home series v Sri Lanka
Dec: Tour of Bangladesh
* Australia
Till Jan 30: Home series v South Africa
Feb 1 - Feb 15: limited-overs matches v New Zealand
Feb 20 - Apr 17: Tour of South Africa
Jun 24 - Sep 20: Ashes
Oct 13 onwards: ODIs v India
Nov: Home series v Pakistan
Dec: Home series v West Indies
* South Africa
Jan - Apr: Series v Australia
Nov and Dec: Home series v England
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