The Arm-Chair Expert speaketh...

Two penny thoughts on that Sunday match..

2011-03-06T11:47:00.000+05:30

So it is Bengaluru where all the action in the World Cup is currently happening. Over the past few days, we have seen two unforgettable matches been played here. The first resulted in the two teams standing level after the last ball was bowled, not withstanding highs and lows for both teams during the day. And in the second, the underdogs finally had their day in the sun, as an inspired hitting performance by one man catapulted his team to victory. Andrew Strauss and his men would be the only ones with sour memories of the Chinnaswamy stadium because, truth be told, they should have won both games (and with their less than impressive start against South Africa as I write this, their campaign seems to have gone downhill since then). All this begs the question: What will today's game at the Chinnaswamy hold for all of us ??

But before that, some thoughts on the two games. For all the adrenaline pump that Sunday provided, it should escape no one that, save for Sachin's 98th hundred, it was a day to forget for the Indians. And, in my opinion, the second half of the innings was the most perfectly executed chase that I have seen (well, atleast for about 40.2 overs - how it came apart for England in those 9.4 overs, one will never know !!). The numbers from the England innings tell a story. England began the chase needing 6.78 RPO. At the end of 10, 20 and 30 overs, England's run rate was 7.70, 6.60 and 6.53 respectively. So, after taking advantage of the first 10 overs, England always were in the hunt, scoring a boundary almost every alternate over. And it was not a typical high-score chase, that is accompanied by slogs, maniacal six-hitting and a 35-ball 75 by one of the openers. Talking of sixes, England's first hit over the ropes was in the 33rd over, well after they had passed 200 !!. Till then, it was all about perfect timing, choosing the correct balls to hit and finding the gaps to perfection. Of course, your immediate reaction is that it was a toothless attack that India had, backed up by a pedestrian effort in the field. But, to be honest, India did not bowl very badly. Credit must be given to the English batsman, primarily to Andrew Strauss - who will not play a better innings than that - for their planning of the chase. And what should be worrying, and - in fact frightening - to MSD and his team's supporters, is that England never even tried to dominate the bowlers. There was no dancing down the wicket to Chawla, no reverse sweeps to upset the spinner's rhythm. That England were able to score freely without taking risks for almost 40 overs would be more than a cause for concern in the Indian camp. And it is when England broke away from that strategy, by taking the batting powerplay when they needed only 7.5 RPO with eight wickets in hand, that the problems started happening. A perfect chase suddenly turned into a mad slog, best exemplified by Collingwood's atrocious heave across the line. If England does end up underperforming in another World Cup, Strauss will reflect on the moment to take the batting powerplay when it was not needed.

That English innings had that moment of controversy when Bell got a reprieve via the UDRS clause. Watching it live, my first thought was it was quite adjacent. And when Billy ruled in favour of Bell, the first word that I shouted aloud was 'review'. Then came the 2.5m rule that saved Bell, even though Hawk Eye showed that the ball was going to hit about halfway up the middle stump. I only have two things to say about the incident. Firstly, I understand the 2.5m rule as a safegaurd against a technological limitation that the Hawk Eye cannot predict the trajectory of the ball when the distance to the stumps is more than 2.5m. But then, if I understood correctly, that when the distance is more than 2.5m, the on-field umpire's call stays, BUT he has the power to reverse his decision under 'exceptional' circumstances. Well, if a ball that is projected to hit halfway up the middle stump is not 'exceptional', then it boggles my mind as to what might constitute exceptional circumstances ??. Surely, Bowden, after looking at the replays on the big screen, should have mustered the courage to change his original mistake. Apparently, former player-turned umpire Paul Rieffel had done exactly that in similar circumstances during the England-Australia ODI series. Of course, there might be an Indian fan, rather than an unbiased observer, writing this, but then nothing helps the game better than a mistake rectified in time. My other point is regarding the 2.5m rule itself is, what will stop a batsman, especially a tall man like Pietersen, from standing outside his crease (to medium pacers at any rate) and then make a review completely irrelevant ? I am not sure if there is a safeguard against this. One thing for sure is that the skepticism shared by the Indian team and the BCCI would have multiplied manifold after this incident. It will be a long time before the DRS is seen in a bilateral series involving India, which would be a pity.

Cheers

Amit

My World Cup memories down the years... Part 2

2011-03-02T21:52:00.002+05:30

After the stunning highs (read quarter final) followed by the depressing lows (semi final) of the 96 WC, the next edition of the tournament was, atleast for me, a more sedate affair. Held in England in May-June 1999, it once again clashed with an examination, this time the sixth semester exams of my engineering course (considered by many to be the toughest semester). So the interest in the tournament was lukewarm. I used to go to college to study during the pre-exam preparatory leave, hence missed quite a few matches. In the initial stages, there was an agonizing defeat against Zimbabwe (which I did watch) where we literally threw away the game. Of course, there was the drama surrounding Sachin and his father's death. But then, he came back with a most emotional century against Kenya. Dada and Dravid then pummeled the Lankans into submission, followed by a great win against the hosts where, once again, our bowlers did a good job defending a small total. As the exams approached nearer, the interest kept growing. But apart from another victory over Pakistan, the men in blue really did not have much on offer in the Super Sixes and bowed out of the tournament. There was, in the end, the epic semi-final between Australia and South Africa, which, strangely, I hardly remember seeing, except THAT final over. Indeed, this is typical of my recollection of the 99 World Cup. Hardly anything to recollect.

When the next World Cup came along (2003 in South Africa), I was in IIM Bangalore during my first year. There it was a completely different atmosphere. There was, of course, no longer the comfort of watching the games from the drawing room couch. But then, watching the games in the common room at the hostel more than made up for it. Surrounded by hordes of friends, the common room had a carnival-like atmosphere. Dada's boys started slowly, losing to Australia but then came back strongly. Of the initial games, I particularly remember the game against England in Durban. Ashish Nehra was the hero that day with his prodigious swing (and I also distinctly remember him being clocked at 145+ kmph, a far cry from today !!). Then came the game against Pakistan at the Centurion (almost 8 years to the day, 1 March 2003). I had gone to a friend's place in Jayanagar. With few others, and with beer and snacks for company, we watched Sachin play one of his most memorable innings. The party continued much after the game. As Dada's boys progressed, there was only one topic of discussion on the campus. And when the day of the final dawned, the excitement reached fever-pitch. The chairs in the common room were taken by 12 noon (for a game starting at 2 pm !!). As the national anthem started before the game, we all (by that time there would have been around 200 people there !!) rose as one. With hands on our hearts, we wished the team all the very best. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the highest point of the day. As Ponting and Martyn put the attack to the sword, the interest dwindled and it turned out to be the biggest anti-climax. And after Sachin was dismissed in the first over, the common room was virtually empty. Still, in terms of the sheer atmosphere on campus, the 2003 tournament remains my most memorable.

In contrast, the last World Cup in 2007 hardly had any memories. With the unearthly timings being a problem, I watched very few matches. I had a bad feeling before the initial game against Bangladesh (refer my blog post then) and was proved right. That left Dravid and his men needing to beat Sri Lanka, a match which I thankfully missed as I was on my way to Baroda. On reaching there the following morning. I got the news that the campaign had ended. Thereafter, there was hardly anything to see. And for the first time, I missed even the final (and Gilchrist at his hitting best).

Lets see what memories 2011 CWC leaves me with. So far it has been quite good, especially the game on Sunday (more about that later) and, as I type, Kevin O'Brien from Ireland is playing the most splendid innings, not to mention the fastest WC century. An innings that will be remembered in 2015, 2019...

Cheers

Amit

My World Cup memories down the years... Part 1

2011-02-19T11:27:00.000+05:30

With just a few hours left for the first ball to be bowled in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, thought it was time for me to jog my memory and rewind to the World Cups that I remember over the past couple of decades....

The first World Cup that I distinctly remember was the 1992 World Cup down under. I would have been in the eight grade then. My only (very faint) memory of the 1987 edition was India beating Australia at Delhi on a festive day (Dasara or Diwali). But coming to the 1992 edition, it was a completely new viewing experience. Held in sunny Australia and New Zealand, broadcast by Channel Nine, first Cup to have coloured clothing and day-night games, the 1992 World Cup had all that a viewer could want (Not to mention, the best format till date !!. Very few boring games). I watched most of the matches at home. And though I was not allowed to bunk school for the sake of cricket, the day-night games meant that I could watch the last couple of hours after coming back from school. And so I watched India beat Pakistan at Sydney (complete with the More-Miandad show of love) in company of relatives at home and then subside meekly in the remaining matches. The classic India-Australia game was on a Sunday, hence could watch the entire match, though it ended in heartbreak with India losing by a run in most of the lethargic running one could ever see. When the final came, I could at last sneak in a half day from school and thus was able to watch the second innings, which of course, included Mushtaq Ahmed having the English batsman in a spin and Wasim Akram nailing the issue with successive jaffas to get Lamb and Lewis. I must confess that I am waiting for four years hence, when the Cup will go back to Australia and (if the ICC has its way) only 10 teams. It should be a fantastic experience, and I am already planning to use that as an excuse for visiting one of my favourite destinations.

By contrast the 1996 edition came at difficult times. After all, I was in the midst of my Standard XII board exams !!! Which meant of course, studying became difficult, not to mention the interruptions due to the screaming from the neighbours place. But even in the midst of all this, I still remember a few matches. The India-Australia game in Mumbai (the first game under lights at the Wankhede) was one I saw mostly fully (we were in the pre-exam study leave days), although the result was not a pleasing one. Then, of course, came the India-Pakistan quarter-final. It was a Saturday and we had finished our Physics paper and rushed home, just in time for the start. The holiday next day meant that one could afford to watch most of the game, which I dutifully did. And when India won the match, the whole building erupted in celebrations, which lasted way into the night. I managed to do well on Monday in the exams and felt that the team just needed to show up in two games to win the World Cup... which then brings me to my most vivid WC memory. The semi-final against Sri Lanka. I finished my Chemistry II paper and went to my friends place, determined to put all thoughts of cricket aside and concentrate on the next exam (Botany). As the first two Lankan wickets fell in the opening exchanges, the Botany text book was put aside and we were hooked to the TV sets. But as Aravinda and the rest prospered. we thankfully managed to get a couple of hours of study. But even then, I felt 251 was not enough and I rushed home during the break all set to see Sachin and the rest overhaul the challenge (book in hand, of course :)). What happened, of course, needs no recollection. Suffices to say that not only was the evening spoiled, my chances of cracking the Botany paper were ruined. After the game, I stayed up till 3 am, though the time was spent in brooding over the result and then being taken over by chilling fear as to the consequences on my educational career. I turned up at the Botany paper almost like a zombie (with only a couple of hours of sleep) and duly messed it up (and with it, probably the faint hopes I nursed of becoming a doctor !!). It was by far the World Cup match I remember most. Thereafter, of course, there was no joy in the 1996 World Cup, though I was watched Sri Lanka's day of glory the following Sunday over vada-paos.

Tune in for part 2 and the subsequent memories...
Cheers

Amit

The contenders: England

2011-02-12T13:26:00.000+05:30

England arrive for the 2011 edition of the World Cup on the back of one of their best years recently. It started with them finally winning a world title when they bagged the T20 trophy in the West Indies. That was followed by a typically successful home season, with Bangladesh and Pakistan beaten with ease in the test matches and 3-2 scorelines over Pakistan and Australia in the Natwest series. Then came the biggest moment of all: drubbing Australia in the Ashes in their own den. So it ought to be a very confident English team that turns up for the World Cup. But stacked against them are the odds. The tag of perennial underachievers at the World Cup (unlike the South Africans, they haven't got to a stage where they can throw it away !!) is likely to weigh on them. The recent 1-6 hammering at the hand of the Aussies reinforces the fact that England are yet to be a very good one-day team, even after four decades. And finally, they come to the sub-continent, which has often been a harsh place for them. The last ODI series against India in 2008 saw them on the wrong end of a 0-5 scoreline (before an early trip home after the Mumbai attacks). Also working against them would be the IPL factor. Hardly any of their side have played in the IPL and hence would have little recent knowledge, forget form, on Indian conditions. So we have a determined and much improved English side against the demons of history. Will they rise above all of that and add a second world title in under a year ?

World Cup Record: Mixed.. Played 59, Won 36. But in the last three editions, their record is nothing to shout home about.

Starting XI: Strauss, Prior, Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Collingwood, Bopara/Yardy, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Bresnan/Shahzad

The calming influence of Strauss is vital for England's chances of putting up, or chasing, huge scores. A vastly improved ODI player (average 34, SR 80), he would be the anchor at one end around which the likes of Trott, Pietersen and Bell flourish. An in-form Collingwood is also neccessary for English hopes. They also bat deep with Broad and Swann coming in at No.8 and 9. In the bowling, Swann would hold the key while Anderson would be hoping for some reverse swing of the flat tracks. But overall, the English bowling attack will not have anyone quaking in their boots. Having said all this, the man who would probably have the biggest influence on their fortunes would be their 12th man: Andy Flower !! Over the past couple of years, he has gained the respect of players and formed a great partnership with Strauss. Given his awesome record in India, it would be interesting to see how he guides his largely inexperienced team on the biggest stage of em all.

Key Games: Their match against the hosts (now at Bangalore) would be crucial in determining their early form and attitude. The positive for England is that both their crunch games (against West Indies and South Africa) are at Chennai, that pitch, if it plays to form, might interest Messrs Anderson, Bresnan and Broad. They can start having the idli-sambars right from now. Possible quarter final opponents would be the mercurial Pakistan or the formidable Sri Lanka, where they would need to play out of their skins.

Final Word: England arrive as outside of the favourites, which is probably how Flower and Strauss would want to have it. Important for them would be to master the conditions (indeed, 'embrace' the conditions as Harsha Bhogle put it). The title is not hopelessly beyond the English, but a semi-final spot would be a fair outcome.

Cheers

Amit

The contenders: Bangladesh

2011-02-08T20:23:00.000+05:30

Of course, the first thought that would come to your mind is: Why is the writer counting Bangladesh amongst the contenders ??. While no one, least of all the Bangladeshi fan, imagines Shakib Al Hasan lifting the trophy on the 2nd of April, I have this suspicion that Bangladesh might actually go quite far in this tournament. Since their entry into the event in 1999, the Bangladeshis had been merely making up the numbers. An odd victory apart (Pakistan in 1999 and India in 2007), they have not really gone as far as they would have liked to. In 2007, it was only because of the weird format (4 teams of 4 groups), that they got into the Super Eights. But this time, things might be different. Firstly, they are playing all their games at home. On the slow n low pitches, and in front of their boisterous home crowd, they can be quite a handful even for the top sides. And remember, in this World Cup, fringe teams like Bangladesh only need to upset the applecart once (assuming they win against the non-test playing nations) to gain entry into the quarter finals. And from then, of course, it is anyone's game. In addition, they are a vastly improved side since four years back. Under Shakib Al Hasan, the side has shown an ability to constantly hold the top teams in check. Has Bangladesh's time finally come ?

World Cup Record: Not very inspiring. Played 20, Won 5. But they will not get a better opportunity than this to improve that.

Likely XI: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Shahriar Nafees, Junaid Siddique, Md Ashraful, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Raheem, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzaq, Shaiful Islam, Rubel Hossain

The key players to watch would be Tamim Iqbal and the captain. Tamim has established himself as a dasher at the top and his audacious, and generally very good, shots up front have often given Bangladesh the early impetus. And in Shakib Al Hasan, they have an inspirational leader. One who contributes with both bat and ball (2834 runs at average of 35, 129 wickets at economy of only 4.25), he would hold the key to their fortunes. Not to mention the way he marshalls his troops and helps them absorb the pressure that can so easily turn your foe.

Key Games: The tournament opener against India promises to be a block-buster, not least because of what happened in the Carribbean in 2007. Indians would be thirsty for revenge, and the Bangladeshis would be just as pumped up to repeat the dose in front of a packed and partisan crowd. If Bangladesh can repeat the feat, it will set the tournament alight, not to mention a couple of riots in India !!. But even if they go down to India, what is heartening for Bangladesh is that the other two sub-continental sides are in the other group. That leaves England, South Africa and West Indies, none of whom are at home on the turning pitches in Bangladesh. I expect Al-Hasan and his men to win one (if not two) of these three matches. If Ireland and Netherlands can be negotiated comfortably, Bangladesh would find themselves in the quarters. There, of course, they would probably run into Australia. And in knock-out matches, of course, who knows what can happen on that day ?

Final Word: I would be watching their progress with keen interest. It may be that this World Cup might be Bangladesh team's coming-of-age tournament. I expect them in the quarters and they will give their opponent there a run for their money.

Cheers

Amit

The contenders: Australia

2011-02-06T20:18:00.000+05:30

We begin the assessment of the main contenders in alphabetical order, which means that the first squad is of the three-time defending champs. The Aussies are also, probably, the team that has been most under the hammer in recent times, much to the delight of cricket-lovers around the world. Their recent slump, atleast in the test arena, has been well-documented, but when you look at a 11-0 record in each of the last two WC's, you simply cannot argue with the pedigree of a champion side. They might have lost two Ashes series (not to mention four of their all-time greats) since the last WC, but they would simply have to be pencilled in as one of the three most likely to feature at the Wankhede in early April. And, worringly for the opposition teams, they seem to have put the Ashes defeat behind them, if their 6-1 hammering of England is any indication.

World Cup Record: Simply stunning. Played 69, Won 51 !!. And as mentioned before, the last match they lost was in the 1999 edition.

Likely XI: Watson, Haddin, Ponting, Clarke, M Hussey, D Hussey, White, M Johnson, Lee, Hauritz, Tait

Their biggest power-players are at the top of the order, and on Shane Watson rests a lot of their hopes in the knock-out games. One of the preimer all-rounders in the limited overs game, Watson has run into great form against England, and the Aussies would be hoping he carries it to the WC. Add to that his experience of playing in the IPL , which means that Watson should have no problems adjusting his game to the sub-continental conditions. But under the scanner would be their returning captain. After a lengthy rest, he might just have refreshed himself mentally and would be raring to go. And with his splendid record at the World Cup (1537 runs at average of 48), Ricky Ponting would be the player to watch. In the bowling department, probably seen as the weaker link of the unit (isnt it the case with most teams ?) the successful return of Brett Lee would have considerably boosted Aussie hopes. If he can maintain his current form and be injury-free, and if Tait and Johnson can maintain their control, the Aussies have probably one of the best bowling units of the tournament. With Johnson batting at No. 8 and Clarke, David Hussey and White contributing 12-15 overs every game, they have extremely good balance. Finally, there is the IPL factor. Most of their side has played, and excelled in, the IPL and hence would be able to master the conditions better than most (remember that the last IPL was held around the same time in India last year).

Key Games: Being in the relatively easier of the two groups means that the Aussies really need not worry too much about the group games. Their game against Sri Lanka (March 5th at the Premadasa) should decide the group topper. If the Aussies do top, they can expect probably the West Indies or Bangladesh at Mirpur on March 23, which again should be an easy game.

Final words: They might not be intimidating as at the previous two editions, but you underestimate a champion side at your own peril. If the baggy green is missing in the semi-finals, I would consider it a big upset.

CWC 2011 is here...

2011-02-03T21:40:00.000+05:30

So we are just over two weeks from the start of the quadrennial show piece event in cricket and no better excuse to (once again) revitalize this blog !!!. When something happens once every four years, there is always a sense of anticipation and excitement preceding it, so what if the event is likely to consist of about a month of mostly mundane matches (I am not sure how many Delhiites would fill up the Kotla on the 7th of March to see Canada and Kenya battle it out). So if we, as spectators, are feeling even more than an iota of excitement, one can imagine what the players must be going through as they prepare to fly into the subcontinent. Indeed, for a Sachin or a Kallis, both giants across generations, it will be their final chance to feel a WC trophy in their hands. It is nothing short of a tragedy that one of them has to resign himself to a CV without a World Cup win on it.

So as we countdown to the Cup, this arm-chair expert will bring to you his analysis of the top eight contenders. However, to make predictions based on any kind of analysis is hazardous, since the format of the Cup has ensured that most, if not all, of these eight would have fairly smooth sailing till the quarters. And then, of course, all it takes are few bad overs, one bad shot or a costly fielding lapse (hopefully not an umpiring error) to end the World Cup dream !!. This is my biggest grouse against the World Cup. In that respect, the 1992 World Cup was the best format. Nine teams played each other with the semi-finals to follow. Even if you needed to have 14 teams, a better way would have been to straightaway have the semi-finals. With only two slots out of seven, it would have ensured that the two best teams over a period of a month, deservedly, got into the semis. This time, one can almost visualize Australia battling Bangladesh/West Indies (the only debatable QF slot), Sri Lanka taking on England, Pakistan v South Africa and India meeting New Zealand. And then, its all equal. Especially since there are no clear and overwhelming favourites. Hopefully, there will be that one team that will dominate the league stages and then, turn on the heat at the correct moments in the knock-out, leading all the way to the trophy at the Wankhede on the 2nd of April.

Be that as it may be, in subsequent posts, we take a look at the teams.

Cheers

Amit

One for the umpires...

2010-12-04T09:05:00.000+05:30

It would be an understatement to say that the umpire's job has become tougher over the past decade and a half. Long gone are the days when the umpires could easily and quickly make their decisions (one has to see the earlier English umpires, the speed at which they either raised their fingers or declined the appeal was amazing). Now of course the men in white deliberate in their minds before taking a decision, ever aware that technology has virtually taken over their role, their slightest mistake cruelly exposed before the eyes of demanding fans. And if the batsman in question is a Tendulkar or a Sehwag, then the umpire is made the villian of the piece.

No wonder then, that the job of the umpire is similar to housekeeping, It comes into focus only when there is a speck on the floor or the flower vase is dropped. A spotlessly clean room is hardly noticed, let alone appreciated. So when there is an instance of an umpire making brilliant judgement consistenly over a test match, then it deserves to be applauded. Aleem Dar's umpiring in the first Ashes test at the Gabba belonged to that category. A series of excellent decisions, that survived the scrutiny of the UDRS, firmly establised Aleem as one of the two best umpires of the day (along with Simon Taufel). For me, Aleem's moment of glory came at the very first ball of England's second hit. Consider the situation of the game then: England were 221 behind on the first innings, and came out to bat with just an uncomfortable hour to go on the third day. The very first ball, Strauss padded up to a fairly straight delivery from Peter Siddle. I was watching on TV and my first reaction was that Australia had got off to the dream start. But Aleem was unmoved. The Aussies refered the decisions, and the replays showed that the ball was going a couple of inches above the stumps. Aleem Dar was one of the very few who picked that up. Had he, like most other umpires -especially the ones who do not like batsman padding up - given that out, I doubt that Strauss would have referred (though as captain you have that luxury of not having to consult many other people). And with 0 for 1 with 221 behind, its possible that the test match, and maybe the series, would have taken a very different turn. If England reclaim the Ashes with a series victory, they would do well to reflect on this moment as one of the game-changing ones. And they would need to thank a good umpire for his excellent judgement.

Here's to you Aleem Dar, and all other umpires who have done a great job earlier !!

Cheers

Amit

Let the Ashes begin...

2010-11-24T20:06:00.003+05:30

In a few hours from now, either of Messrs Aleem Dar and Billy Doctrove will utter that four-letter word: ‘PLAY’ and with it, the action will begin. The reams of newsprint and hours of air-time spent in the months leading up to the event will no longer count. All that will matter is the performance on the field as the two oldest test-playing nations take the field in another edition of the oldest rivalry of them all. Bring on the Ashes.

And it promises to be an exciting one. The consensus view that seems to be emerging is that, while the Aussies might not be there for the taking, England certainly should be fancying their chances. For one, they are encountering a unsettled and confused unit (refer my last post) while the English themselves have known, for months now, the eleven that will take the field at the Gabba. And man-to-man they certainly match, if not score over, the men in Baggy Green. After all, they have probably the best spinner in the world today in their ranks, their captain has shown a pleasant inclination to lead from the front and they have chosen a new-ball attack carefully to suit Aussie conditions. But to believe that England can win even when not at their best is naïve. You can only beat Australia by playing at your very best. Very rarely do the Aussies hand over games on a platter through poor cricket. And this is where Strauss needs to seize the pivotal movements. A large part of the outcome of this series hinges on Strauss’ captaincy. Whether it be that inspired bowling change or the unusual field placement, the Ashes are going to be a test of Strauss’ tactical acumen and quick thinking. After all, not many English captains are expected to win in Australia (unless of course, you ask the British media !). Also on the radar would be Strauss’s ability to bring the best out of Kevin Pietersen. If Strauss and KP fire consistently through the five matches, England would be assured in batting.

And what about his opposing number ? Ricky Ponting has, justly so, garnered a fair share of criticism over the past few months. The 0-2 reversal in India and squandering of winning opportunities against the Lankans did not help. Ponting, of course, is aware that not only his captaincy, but his place, is on the line this series. A third Ashes loss as captain would be too much for the Australian public to swallow and there is no former captain in an Australian XI. Hence, Ponting would lose both the captaincy as well as his place, not withstanding his pedigree as a batsman, should England retain the Ashes.

So while there are twenty two who decide the outcome of the game, it is the face-off between the two captains that is the most captivating side-show of the Ashes. So let it begin tomorrow. I cannot wait to switch on to Channel Nine and their high quality of coverage, listening to Richie Benaud, Ian Chappell and the rest and soaking in the pleasures of (hopefully) high quality cricket.

May the best team win !!

Cheers

Amit

Kiwi resilience and Aussie (crisis of) confidence...

2010-11-21T14:19:00.000+05:30

The past week has been interesting, not least because of Test match cricket played at three different places across the world. In the Emirates, Pakistan and South Africa played out for a draw in the First Test, but not before the Pakistanis gave a good account for themselves in the fourth innings (so much so that Misbah-Ul-Haq, their latest captain, actually termed the result as equivalent to a win !!). The star there, in that innings, was of course, their comeback king Younis Khan with a fluent century. Though the Proteas were never in danger of losing, the strong Pakistan rearguard action means the second test would be interesting to watch. Over in Galle, the West Indies surprised most observers (including, perhaps, themselves) by asking Sri Lanka to follow-on on home soil (the last time it happened was in 1983 !!). There, it was the Gayle-force that did Sri Lanka in the first couple of days. Quite simply the most nonchalant and flamboyant cricketer around today, Gayle joined a select band of batsman who have scored two triple hundreds in Tests. And it lent further credence to the theory that the batsman most likely to break Lara's 400s would be a free-stroking dare-devil like Sehwag or Gayle rather than their technically accomplished, infinitely patient peers.

However, the big match of the week was the second test between India and New Zealand, which saw test cricket return to Hyderabad after 22 years. And again, it was a case of the Indians failing to drive home the advantage on the fourth and fifth days at home. This allowed New Zealand to post a strong second-innings total and to leave Hyderabad with a moral victory under their belts. Given that they had also reduce India to 15-5 on the fourth evening at Ahmedabad, it no longer looks a battle between No. 1 and No. 8. Indeed, should India not be able to win at Nagpur, it would be regarded as a series victory for the Kiwis. And to add, it would prove invaluable practice on Indian tracks ahead of the World Cup in February. After the hammering at the hands of the Bangladeshis, Vettori and his men have bounced back very well, showing that New Zealand, with their strong work ethic that more than makes up for their limited talent, should never be taken lightly.

Of course, no discussion these days excludes the Ashes. And in the run up to the first test at the Gabba next week, the Aussie selectors announced a team of 17 for the Gabba !!!! It left me dumbstruck. I have never, ever, heard of a home team announce a squad of 17 for a single game. And I am not sure whom it helped, if any. The ostensible reason given in the press is that to cover for injuries and to keep everyone, including the seniors, on their toes If so, surely a private word from the selectors and captain to the fringe players would have helped. Announcing a squad bigger than the entire touring party surely would not have given a Marcus North or a Xavier Doherty any comfort or confidence, For a team that used to announce its final XI a day before the match (so that the 12th person could be released to play domestic cricket), this has been quite a fall. And it betrays a lack of confidence in a shaken Aussie setup after their losses in India and against Sri Lanka. England has never had conditions so much in their favour even before the first ball is bowled. They better capatilize, else they have no one else to blame.

Cheers

Amit

TESTing times ahead...

2010-10-26T17:11:00.001+05:30

As a supporter of the Indian cricket team and a fan of the five-day game, the last three weeks could not have gone any better. A 2-0 win (or 'brownwash' as it has been called in some sections of the media) over the former numero uno side was something not many people would have thought of at the start of the series. And mind you, this was without employing the time-tested Indian victory formula: win the toss, bat first, declare around tea on the second afternoon at 600-5 and then let the spinners do the rest. Indeed, Dhoni lost both tosses (taking his unbroken tally to 10) and had to contend with tricky 4th innings chases on both occassions. In Mohali, a very very special innings did the trick in a heart-stopping finale, while at Bangalore, a debutant announced himself on the stage with a matured and composed knock (and credit must be given to Dhoni for sending Pujara at No. 3). All in all, a victory well-deserved and the No. 1 ranking looks set to stay for some more time to come.

But if the victory in Australia was heart-warming, it is what is coming up over the next 12 months or so that is truly mouth-watering if you are, as mentioned before, a test match lover. India play three tests in South Africa this December, followed by four in England next June and four more against the Aussies in their own backyard next summer. Eleven tests in demanding conditions and in places (atleast SAF and Australia) where India has not done well traditionally. This is not too say that England would be pushovers by any stretch of the imagination. But if South Africa and England are overcome, maybe Dhoni can call the tour to Australia next December as the 'final frontier' !! What a grand-stand finish would that be !! But to cut down on the castle-building, it is going to be one big test of Dhoni's boys on whether they can handle their No. 1 ranking and come back with their reputations enhanced.

All this makes the forthcoming series against New Zealand the perfect appetizer. Although it is generally accepted that team India should not have much trouble against the Kiwis, it would be a great opportunity for Kirsten & Dhoni to build the team for the post-SRT,RD,VVS era (similar to my earlier post where I talked about using the next 12 ODIs to build the WC team). In fact, it might also not be a bad idea to rest each one of them in a game and create that additional middle-order position. Who knows, someone like a Pujara or a Ajinkya Rahane can capatilize on, getting a good bench in place. In this context, what is also heartening is the BCCI decision to send some team members early to South Africa. It will immensely benefit, for example, Suresh Raina (on his first major test match tour) to play a first-class game in South Africa instead of playing the ODI's against New Zealand. With warm-up matches already belonging to a past era, this is the next best thing one can ask for. For some of the young bowlers too, it will be a good learning experience, for it is essential (and not widely appreciated) that bowlers also get some time to adjust to the bounce and lengths of foreign pitches. So an Ishant Sharma would be better off bowling in match conditions in Jo'burg or Cape Town instead of getting collared for 70 runs in 10 overs at Chennai by Messrs McCullum and Ross Taylor.

So starting November 4, the next 15-odd months promise to be one of the most crucial periods in recent memory. The stalwarts will silently ride into the sunset (its hard to imagine Dravid or VVS lasting beyond the start of 2012, with SRT you never know ;-)) but will the younger generation be ready to take over the torch from them ? Only time will tell, and I, for one, cannot wait.

Cheers

Amit

PS: My playing XI for the Ahmedabad test: Sehwag, Gambhir, Pujara, Tendulkar, VVS, Raina, Dhoni, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Ishant and Amit Mishra (Dravid rested)

Let the countdown begin..

2010-10-19T16:26:00.005+05:30

Its the 19th of October today. In exactly four months time, the World Cup will kick off with the co-hosts India and Bangladesh locking horns. And as the buildup to the big event starts, its that part of the countdown wherein each team starts focusing on the big event and the think-tank uses the matches leading up to the World Cup as opportunities to fine-tune their squads and develop new strategies. The Men in Blue have 12 one-dayers before the opening match of the World Cup (2 v/s Australia and five each against New Zealand and South Africa) and it is imperative that Messrs Srikanth, Kirsten and Dhoni use every match in getting all the remaining pieces right. And as far as India are concerned, following ought to be their main priorities:

a. Having the original prince in the side: That Yuvraj Singh is an integral member of the ODI team is beyond much of a doubt. Along with Tendulkar and Sehwag, he is the engine of the batting and by inference, the team too. But lately, the trouble has been getting the right Yuvi on the park. Hopefully, the test match snub (he is now further down the pecking order below Pujara and looks unlikely to make it to South Africa with the test team) will not rub off on his ODI form, where he remains, alongwith his handy left-arm spin, an important asset. And, of course, his fitness will be under watch. A good regimen under Kirsten's watchful gaze would help.

b. Getting the bench strength in place: The problem with the team is not really the playing eleven. Most of the team (Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Raina, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Harbhajan, Zaheer) select themselves, but its the remaining places and the bench-strength that can make all the difference. So it is upto Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Abhimanyu Mithun, Sreesanth and Ravichandra Ashwin etc. to put their hands up. I am particularly interested in Ashwin and would be keenly watching how he goes against the Kiwis and in South Africa.

c. Getting 15 overs from part-timers: Given that we have not yet found Kapil Paaji's replacement (but boy, do we persist at searching !!), it becomes absolutely imperative that Sehwag, Yuvraj and Raina cover for 15 overs (10 of the fifth + 5 assuming one of the frontliners has an off-day). So in the 12 matches, I would love to atleast two of them (if not all three) getting 3-4 overs in every game. That allows an extra batsman at No. 7 (with Dhoni at 6), which suddenly makes the side good on paper.

And last but not the least, as we all now....

d. Being more than competitive in the field: All of the above will come to nought if we dish out rubbish on the field. In my opinion, the fielding is going to decide India's fate in the World Cup. So it goes without saying that topmost priority needs to be accorded to it. Giving away 10-15 runs to limited mobility is simply not going to acceptable in the big event. So if it means that we have to look beyond people like Nehra and maybe even Zaheer, then so be it. These 12 games will give us that opportunity.

It is in the above aspects that the next four months leading up to the World Cup and going to be keenly watched. And if past experience is anything to go by, am sure Gary Kirsten and MSD have already got their minds together.

Cheers

Amit

The heart wept yesterday....

2009-11-06T19:47:00.002+05:30

The heart wept yesterday. Not for our country, but for our hero. And unless it was out of sheer exhaustion, I doubt if Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar would have slept yesterday. He is a fiercely private person and in his own private world yesterday night, I suspect he would have reflected on a lost opportunity and maybe, silently shed a tear or two.

Being Sachin Tendulkar would be many times more difficult that all of us can imagine. The man cannot step outside his home for fear of being mobbed by millions of his devotees. And yet, amongst those millions, there is an extremely tiny minority of churlish fans who hold that ultimate grudge against him: he does not perform in high-pressure run chases and take his side to victory. No matter what the statistics might say, this has always been held against the maestro, just like a one-inch long scratch in a corner of a Van Gogh masterpiece. And while Sachin is above all this and hardly needs to respond to any of this mindless chatter, he would certainly have been aware of this (so-called) missing jewel in his crown. And yesterday it all seemed to be finally coming together. The man was batting in a different zone and was well on his way to taking India to what would have been the second highest successful chase in ODI history (behind only that incredible 437 chased by South Africa). And the icing on the cake was that Sachin was well on his way to becoming the first man to score an ODI double-hundred (atleast until Jadeja hit those couple of boundaries). And can you imagine what a fairly-tale ending it would have been ? India 351/6, Sachin 201 not out !!!. In an instant, he would have risen another level in the stratosphere, much above all of us mortals, including the churlish minority. In an instant, he would be permanently abolished any lingering doubts held by anyone about his batting greatness even that the age of 36. In fact, had he been of the emotional variety or of the Sunny Gavaskar school of thought, he would have had half-a-mind to announce his immediate retirement !!!. And while all and sundry readily acknowledged that the 175 was one of the greatest innings of all-time, there is little doubt that 201 not out would have made it THE greatest of all time.

Alas, it was not meant to be that way. And that ill-fated paddle sweep has made its way into cricketing folklore, ranking up there with Gatting's reverse sweep. Only that Gatting's folly impacted the World Cup, while the paddle sweep has meant that a legend, a batting God would still need to live with that finger pointing towards him. Yesterday was one of the great tragedies of sport. Which is why the heart wept yesterday..... :(

~ Amit

What now for Team India ??

2009-09-30T21:44:00.010+05:30

So in the end, the miracle did not happen !!. Australia squeaked home with two wickets and thus marched into the Champions Trophy semi-finals and in doing so, dashed the hopes of millions across India. Not that the hopes would have been too great, since an honest Indian fan will admit that India got out of jail on Monday, saved by the thunderstorm that hit Centurion. Therefore, Indian fans had no real business wanting Pakistan to win. Our team was clearly not amongst the top four teams in this competition and hence are on their way back.

And once they do come back, Dhoni and co. have some thinking to do. Hopefully, they would not walk into a more-than-neccessary adverse reaction. The team at an overall level are still amongst the top four teams in world cricket and they were missing three of their main ODI players. But the fact remains that for the second time in four months, India have failed to qualify for the last four in a major ICC event. Shades of South Africa anyone ? Hope not !!!

Two questions will be uppermost on the minds of Dhoni and the selectors when they meet to select the team for the next (meaningless ?) ODI assignment - 7 ODI's against Australia starting October 25th. The first would be the vexed question of what to do know with Rahul Dravid ??? He was recalled after seeing the young brigade jumping like a cat on a hot tin roof in the T20 World Cup, in the expectation that pitches in South Africa would be similar in nature. Instead, what we encountered were slow turners, first in Sri Lanka (expectedly) and then in Centurion (not so expectedly). And our man has managed returns of 14, 47, 39, 76 and 4. Not bad at all, though some people can still be harsh on him in saying that the 76 could have been scored slightly quickly. But now the question begs, what next with him ? Do we again push him back in the ODI wilderness (especially once Sehwag and Yuvraj are back) or keep him until he calls it a day on his own terms. It seems that the former is the more distinct possibility. I guess when the throw hit the stumps directly some time back (in the game against the Windies), Rahul Dravid himself realized that he had ran himself out of the Indian ODI squad. And that would be a sad end to the ODI career of one of India's best servants.

The other question is that of the pace bowling. Ashish Nehra apart, the rest looked plain ordinary in South Africa. Zaheer was, of course, missed but the form of Ishant Sharma is worrying. His honeymoon is clearly over and, given his limited batting and fielding ability, some time away from the ODI team might do him a world of good. With RP Singh also struggling, the pace bowling cupboard looks bare again. Sreesanth must be seeing the Indian team recall closer than ever. When it comes to spin bowling, things are not that better either. We need to develop an alternative to Harbhajan, and the ODI version might be the best place to start. Mishra performed creditably in the Australia game, but we need others to step in. Piyush Chawla faded away after some promise, but the boy has age on his side and must be persisted with. Ditto with Pragyan Ojha. Its time that Bhajji is rotated along with the other spinners in the ODIs and T20. And of course, our search for that successor to Kapil Dev continues !!! First Agarkar, then Irfan Pathan and now Yusuf Pathan. But like a mirage, that dream keeps running away from us.

So it is quite a task for the selectors. And just to put myself in their boots, here is my 14 member squad for the Australia series (assuming Yuvraj and Zaheer not fit till then):

Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar (to be replaced by Yuvraj when fit), Suresh Raina, VIrat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, S Badrinath, MS Dhoni (C and WK), Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, S Sreesanth, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha

Of course, performances in the Challenger Trophy starting October 8th can change the above !!

Cheers

Amit

Drama galore in the Rainbow nation..!!

2009-09-28T12:44:00.009+05:30

So the Champions Trophy is a week old and before you know it, it will be over as well !!!. In my previous post, I mentioned the importance of the CT in preserving the 50-over game. On the evidence of the eight matches so far, it has certainly been successful in doing so. And maybe there is a lesson there for the ICC. Short tournaments (involving only the best teams in the world) being held regularly (maybe every year) might be the next big thing. In fact, it was widely believed that this would be the last CT. I guess that is no longer certain now. Who knows, the ICC might just schedule one next year !!!.

And the cricket in South Africa has been of quite a decent standard. The results have been nothing short of shocking. The hosts have, yet again, been found wanting in a home event. The team that was virtually written off before the tournament started as a second string side have performed quite creditably. And another team that lost six of seven games in the last fortnight has suddenly become the team to beat. Maybe this is England's best chance of bagging its first ever ICC ODI title. The fate of the other two favourites, India and Australia hangs in the balance, with both of them facing off in a virtual QF later today. All in all, no one can be certain who will be holding aloff the trophy come next Monday at the Centurion. And that is just what the doctor ordered for the fifty over game.

To add to the exciting cricket has been the drama. The latest incident being Strauss's refusal to allow his opposite number, Graeme Smith, a runner during the late stages of Smith's epic 141 yesterday. While many have lambasted Strauss (no doubt taken in by the high emotion surrounding Smith's heroic effort), I am on Strauss's side. This incident also brings into focus the particulary thorny issue of having a runner in the first place. The reason I agree with Strauss is that cramps do not constitute an injury. Wikipedia defines cramps as 'unpleasant, often painful sensations caused by contractions or over-shortening of muscles.. and excessive dehydration'. Hence cramps are the natural side effects of spending hours on the fields, first fielding and then batting for virtually the entire innings. Therefore a runner should not be allowed for pure cramps. Much as I salute the effort of the South African captain, I do not agree with a runner to be given to him. And the on-field umpires have the final say in the matter, not the fielding captain. Hence it is time that the on-field umpires arrive at a general consensus on when should a runner be allowed (in my book, it should be only in the case of leg injury sustained during the course of play (hence, I am not sure if, earlier in the day, Ryder should have been allowed a runner as well - It seemed he came into the game with the hamstring problem).

Nevertheless, the CT is gearing for an exciting finale !! Hope the last few matches give us an even better spectacle and make this fortnight a time to remember !!.

Cheers

Amit

The test of the ODI format !!

2009-09-13T13:03:00.003+05:30

A new season has begun for the Men in Blue (now-a-days just a few days rest is enough to distinguish between two seasons !!) and they start off, like they seem to do quite often, by playing ODI's in Sri Lanka. And playing day-night matches at the Premadasa means that the most important moment of the match happens before the first ball is bowled !! Have some decent spinners in your side and call right at the toss, and you have done more than your bit :). Then back your batsmen to score 300 and only an outrageously good batting performance by the opposition (or some really poor bowling) will get them home. Yesterday, Dhoni was on the receiving end at the toss, maybe he needs to practice tossing the coin more than batting or wicket-keeping before the final tommorow.

After that, Dhoni and boys go to South Africa for the Champions Trophy. On most occasions, this would have been the show piece event of the year (and I am so glad that it will be telecast on ESPN Star, with Harsha and gang in tow). But with the ICC T20 World Cup and the Ashes having just concluded, the tournament has been relegated to the back stage. To add to that is the raging debate about the existence of ODI's itself. The fifty over game finds itself squeezed on both sides. Above it is that purest of forms of cricket, the five-day game. The connoisseurs delight, Test match cricket will always live on since it is highly regarded by both the players and administrators alike. And with contests like the Ashes and Indo-Australia still delivering rivetting cricket, it is still a economically viable proposition, atleast in some parts of the world. Below the ODI format is that brash young upstart, the T20 format. In a little over six years since the first such international game was played, it has taken the world by storm. So much so that we are seeing the unique spectacle (possibly unparalleled in any other sport) of World Cup tournaments in successive years (April-May 2010 will see the teams gathering in the Carribbean for another few weeks of slam-bang cricket). The blockbuster that brings in the moolah, it is inevitable that T20 will soon overrun the ODI format, both in terms of its prominence and popularity. So with both the other formats squeezing it out of the spectator's imagination, where does ODI cricket go from here ?

The events in South Africa from Sept 22 to October 5 will go a long way in providing the answer. ODI cricket, in fact cricket in general, badly needs a good Champions Trophy. And the format could not have been better. Only eight of the best teams (disregarding the plight of the West Indies), only 15 matches, no Super-6's or Super-8s and the whole tournament done and dusted in under two weeks !! It promises action for the entire duration of the event, unlike the 2007 World Cup where most matches of the early round were an exercise in futility. I for one, cannot wait for the long weekend starting September 26th, with India taking on Pakistan that day and then the Aussies two days later (on Dassera day !!)*. It is going to nothing short of a treat !!. But a word of caution. Irrespective of how the Champions Trophy pans out, the ICC urgently needs to bring some innovation to the game. To be fair to them, they have tried quite a lot. The Super-Sub rule, though excellent in theory, was badly executed (the super-sub should have been named after the toss). Now there are still more changes being thought of. Two innings of 25 overs each is the latest and Ian Chappell also mentions a few more in his article on Cricinfo. The ICC needs to implement the best ideas in a better manner in order to revive spectator interest in the 50 over format.

Till then, lets hope that we see some really good cricket in South Africa and may the best team win !!

Cheers
Amit

Some good lessons to be learned !!

2009-06-17T16:12:00.003+05:30

Back again on this blog after two months !!! And two months of non-stop T20 cricket, first with the IPL and now with the World T20. And for MS Dhoni, life seems to have changed quite a bit in these last two months. In mid-April, he returned with the Indian team with a test series victory after 41 years. He was being hailed in the media as the best Indian captain ever (starting with the 2007 World T20 victory, the CB Series truimph in Australia followed by ODI series victories in Sri Lanka, test series wins against Australia, England and New Zealand). But as Indian hopes in the World T20 faded (in tandem with the mid-summer days sun setting on London on Sunday), there were already calls for his head !! How things change !!!!

But I have been pleasantly surprised to see the T20 game develop over the past two months. In South Africa, against all expectations, we saw the spinners coming into their own on the late-season slow tracks there. A species of cricketers thought to be cannon-fodder for the rampaging willow-wielders suddenly became a potent weapon. Even part-timers like Jean Paul Duminy began to bowl 4 overs in most games, keeping the runs in check and taking important wickets. Now, on fresher wickets in England, it is raw pace and aggression that has become important. And the Indians, quite plainly, have been found out.

So the first important lesson for the Men in Blue is that raw pace (accurately directed, of course, else Brett Lee would not have suffered so much in the Gayle-storm) will always remain a weapon in any form of the game. Make no mistake, more than anything else, it was the surprise that both West Indies and England threw up in the form of chest high balls that did India in. Our top order, already missing a prolific cutter and puller in Sehwag, simply did not have the practice and experience in handling such pace and fell easy prey. So it is back to the drawing board for Raina, Rohit and co. and one hopes that Gary Kirsten, with all his experience and skill in handling opening bowlers, will fix up that lacunae soon.

Another important lesson to be learnt is in the team selection itself. In the last two games the bench strength was: Ojha, Karthik, Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan. None of them a top-middle order batsman. After Sehwag was ruled out, it suddenly turned out that the Indians had not selected a back-up batsmen in their squad of 15 !!!.. And even then, the selectors had no one to turn to and finally settled for Karthik based on this IPL performance. So quite clearly, there is room for one or two young, pure batsman in the T20 team. As for Ravindra Jadeja, one felt sorry watching him bat at Lords. Evidently, the 'pace attacks' one faces in the IPL are no comparison to international bowling. But I do hope he returns after this scarring a better cricketer and man.

So a lot for the team to think to when the put their feet up after a week or so (after playing a set of irrelevant ODI's in the Windies !!). And hope to see them return in the coming season, a better team. One setback, after all, should not undo the good work of the past eighteen months or so.

Cheers
Amit

Indians in Kiwiland: Job well done !!!

2009-04-15T18:54:00.005+05:30

So the Men in Blue are back from Kiwiland (and already in South Africa for the second edition of what is arguably cricket's biggest party today !!). And Dhoni and his boys can look back at the 45 odd days in New Zealand with some satisfaction. While much was made of the fact that it was India's first series win there in 41 years, it should be remembered that the Indians were expected to win the series anyways. So to that extent, 1-0 in the end was not a suprising result by any means.

However, that is not to take away from the neat manner in which the Indians went about their job, particularly in the Test matches. And in doing so, they have taken yet another significant step in their quest of becoming an all-round side. And for the Indians, the story of the series was, of course, Gautam Gambhir. From being just one of the good young players in the side, he became an integral member of the Test squad during the course of his twin hundreds. And he is possibly India's best player over all the three forms of the game combined. A certainty in the XI in any format. Most importantly, his match-saving effort at Napier showed his temperament in the longest form of the game, prompting Sehwag to rate him as the best Indian opener since Gavaskar. Given the musical chairs we used to play with the openers during the 90s (remember Vikram Rathour, SS Das, Sadagopan Ramesh, Devang Gandhi ??), Sehwag's assessment has probably more meat to it. Another important factor was Harbhajan's good showing in the Tests. In his first overseas tour as the premier spinner, he performed creditably, not just throttling the runs but also picking crucial wickets (am sure he would have been delighted to see the pitches that were on offer !!). With Zaheer also close to his best and Ishant being steady, the bowling attack served India pretty well. The third seamer was, of course, the weak link. Munaf Patel emerged with hardly anything to his credit and you can be sure that the likes of RP Singh, Sreesanth, Balaji et al will be breathing down his neck. An even bigger dissapointment was Yuvraj Singh. Here he was, given three tests on batsmen-friendly conditions overseas to cement his place in the middle-order, and he managed to blow it up. Like Munaf, his performance (or lack of it) might have escaped notice because of the splendid efforts of his senior batsmen, but there is no mistaking the fact that the middle-order cupboard after the Dravid and Sachin era looks a little barren. It is time for the next wave of great Indian batsmen to stand up !!!.. But will we find them ????.

All in all, a more than creditable showing against a side that was competent at best and on pitches that simply did not resemble the traditional New Zealand pitches. But a series win is a series win, and the Indians will take it. Later this year, they will tour South Africa is what would definitely be their biggest challenge, but till then, the Indian fan can sit assured that his team is poised to take on the best in the world, anywhere in the world !!!

Cheers

Amit

BCCI's dadagiri !!!!...

2009-03-16T08:12:00.002+05:30

Over the past week or so, the BCCI's latest acts of dadagiri on two fronts (the IPL scheduling dilemma and their insistence on disallowing anyone smelling of ICL to come anywhere close to them and their players) are nothing short of disgraceful. In the latter case, the NZ media has very rightly taken the BCCI to task, something that the NZ Cricket Board cannot do for fear of offending the hand that feeds it. But by 'requesting' that Craig McMillan not be allowed to do commentary on Sky Sports during the test series (because of his ICL links), the BCCI surely have overshot their limits. Not sure what gives them the right to decide who should be working with a private TV channel, that too in a foreign land ? But as the saying goes: 'absolute power corrupts absolutely'. Once you have the power of money backing you, everything seems within your kingdom !!.

If this incident leaves a bad taste in the mouth, then the way the BCCI (and the IPL council and Mr. Modi in particular) is standing up to the government is nothing short of shocking. Of course, the terror attacks in Lahore precipitated this chain of events, since both parties knew of each other's schedules much before March 3rd. To be sure, the government should have raised the security concerns involved in having the IPL and elections simultaneously much before the Lahore attacks. Now it is being seen as having lost its nerve in the wake of what happened in Lahore, much to the delight of the barbarians behind all these acts of violence. But on the other hand, the way the IPL council is defiant on its stand of continuing with the IPL is not funny. Quite how Mr. Modi can proclaim that 'players security is our responsibility from the minute they land in India to the minute they leave', when the very agencies that he depends on to provide security are not willing to take any chances, is beyond comprehension. It is quite like declaring 'I am the safest in the world' when your body-guard is carrying a kid's toy gun. To add insult to injury, the BCCI's knowledgable badshaahs are now linking the IPL to national pride !!!!!. I admit I cannot take that any longer (though I have nothing against the IPL enjoyed the first season every bit) and having seen the drama for more than a week now, I seriously wish the Home Ministry should simply put its foot down and withdraw from providing security to the IPL. Once that is done, the IPL will be as good as dead, since even if Mr. Modi buys the services of the best private agencies using his dollars, they would simply not be equipped to handle terror attacks. And if the IPL is indeed dead (atleast for this year), I would not be shedding tears since the arrogance of a power-drunk cricket board cannot and should not be allowed to come in the way of national security.

This would also teach a good lesson to the 'travelling goons' of the BCCI !!!!

Cheers
Amit

Much gloom but some hope !!!...

2009-03-09T14:34:00.002+05:30

This would pretty much sum up the week, and most of the last month, for most international bowlers. The past month or so has seen the odds so much stacked against them that you could forgive them for refusing to show up for warm-ups on the morning of the match. The recent Pakistan-Sri Lanka series (tragically aborted) provided as much activity as one can see in a glass of soda left open since yesterday. Over in the Carribbean, the last three games have been played on wickets which were so devoid of any life that had timeless tests been played in this day and age, this series would have continued almost till the start of the English summer !!. Teams have regularly got 600+ in their first innings only to see their opposition trump them to that score. Such matches used to be dime-a-dozen in the Ranji Trophy till some time back (when matches used to be decided on 1st innings lead if drawn: this led to one memorable match between Delhi and Karnataka in 1981 or so when one team scored 700 in the 1st innings but the other team got to that score late on the 5th day and hence won !!!). But to see such matches at test match level is sorely dissapointing. Surely the curators can do better than that. And if the pitch is OK, short boundaries make matters equally worse. Yesterday, at Christchurch, 726 runs were scored in an otherwise thrilling match. But the area of the playing field had as much a role to play in the run-fest as did pathetic bowling (I hardly saw a slower ball bowled throughout the day).

But amongst all the dark clouds was the proverbial silver lining in the form of Mitchell Johnson's opening spell at Durban. Now Durban is one of the few grounds remaining that still holds some hope for the bowlers. And while I did not see the spell, to have two of world's premier batsmen injured is quite a feat !!. This spell further establishes Johnson's credentials as an exciting talent. Add to that his near-hundred in Johannesburg, and he seems to have the 'x-factor' in him !!. No wonder Ponting and his men are on top in that series...

Cheers
Amit

Challenge in Kiwiland !!

2009-02-25T08:41:00.002+05:30

I return to my blog after a gap of nearly two months. Not much has happened for Team India in the interim. The cancellation of the Pakistan tour opened up a gap in the calendar which was promptly filled in by the 10-day trip to Sri Lanka (and it was really heartening to see an additional test scheduled in New Zealand rather than a couple of extra one-dayers !!). To their credit, the Men in Blue played really well. The batting looked in great shape, the bowling was sharp and incisive (Ojha is proving to be a capable backup in the ODIs) and MS Dhoni seems to be more in control of things with each passing day. Off the field also, the past couple of months have been relatively quiet, except for the IPL gathering momentum with the second auction.

Now, Team India finds itself deep in the Southern Hemisphere in a land that not many of them have experienced, let alone played cricket in. The battle against New Zealand (that starts in just over a couple of hours) carries more significance than a normal series. This will be a good test of a largely inexperienced Indian side as they progress in their quest to being the top team in the world in all forms of the game. And while they have improved their overseas showing with each tour (to the point that they are actually being termed favourites to clinch this series), New Zealand presents completely different challenges and is one place the Indians have traditionally struggled to make an impact . Part of the problem, of course, is that these two teams do not meet each other with the same frequency as say India-Australia or India-Sri Lanka. The last time we visited there led to an experience we would rather forget. And while we are unlikely to encounter the same conditions now (Mark Richardson notes wryly in his column on Cricinfo that the NZ Board is now aware of who feeds it ;), playing and winning in New Zealand still remains a challenge. Cold and windy conditions, small but irregular grounds and of course, lack of match practice all pose significant hurdles. And while the hosts do not boast of any bonafide superstar in their ranks (they traditionally have never), the team consists of a set of more than competent individuals, led by an intelligent and stable captain in Daniel Vettori. And like most teams, they are a different kettle of fish on home soil. So the Indians would be tested, more so in the test matches where the likes of Yuvraj (provided he gets a middle order berth) and Gambhir will have to be at their best to counter the moving ball and the cold conditions. The others, of course, are more experienced but with Dravid and Laxman not having the best of times lately, batting might still turn out as India's weak link. A lot will depend, as usual, on Sehwag and Sachin. The bowling of course looks fit and raring to go. Zaheer and Ishant have formed a potent opening attack and Balaji, Munaf and newcomer Dhawal Kulkarni capable of providing more than adequate backup (though I would have liked to see someone like Sreesanth or RP Singh in the team).

But before the test matches are the T20 and ODIs (which is a good thing for the Indians). There the variability is much less and thus the Men in Blue should prevail over the Kiwis. All in all though, it promises to be an exciting series and if the Indians can emerge on top, they would not only have conquered their 'last frontier' but also can lay claim, unquestionably, of being one of the top two sides in the world.

Cheers
Amit

The passing of the baton !!!!!

2008-12-30T08:37:00.002+05:30

An extraordinary year ends with an extra-ordinary event as far as cricket is concerned !!!!!. At 2.06pm local time on the penultimate day of the year, the Aussies lose a test series at home for the first time in 16 years. The demise of a great player or team is always hard to watch. And while the dethroning of the Aussies may not cause the same sense of sadness in opposition fans as that when the Caribbean greats of the 80s were toppled in 1995 (by the Australians themselves), there is still a tinge of disappointment at seeing Ricky Ponting and his men made to look so ordinary.

This, of course, should not detract from a great performance from the Proteas. For all the strides that the Indian team has taken this year, the South Africans have been the team to beat (they have not lost any of their last 10 series now !!!!). The triumph at the MCG caps off a remarkable year for South African cricket and for Graeme Smith in particular (who incidentally, has made himself a kind of a specialist in fourth innings run-chases). Remember they had come to India in the sweltering heat of April and had drawn the series there (in which the hosts were bowled out for 76 on the first morning). Then they won in England and now storming the fortress Down Under (especially at the MCG where the Australians had won their last nine tests). And while they may not quite dominate world cricket the way the Baggy Green did , they will certainly be a force to reckon with for some years to come, what with young talent like de Villiers, Duminy, Steyn and Morkel around.

And what about their opponents ?? As they officially surrender the crown, it might be the start of another transition phase. Of course, by no means will they suffer the kind of alarming and sorry decline the West Indies did post 1995, but the days of dominating teams at home would be a thing of the past. (I guess the British press would already be dreaming of the Ashes coming back ;-)). But from an immediate viewpoint, there are definitely big-time problems. Hayden seems set to be the latest of the stalwarts to walk into the sunset. There will be questions asked regarding Ponting's captaincy (not just this series but right from Sydney-gate 2008) and if he were to lose his job, then the Aussies are not exactly known for having former captains playing in the XI. And Lee has hardly looked threatening last few months. The only bright spots in an otherwise disastrous year for the Australians have been Katich, Haddin and Johnson. So clearly, places are up for grabs as they begin their process of rebuilding.

So as we set foot into 2009, the cricketing playing field appears a lot more level than it has been for quite some time !! Hope this leads to a great year ahead...

Cheers
Amit

My Sehwag theory !!!

2008-12-16T08:25:00.002+05:30

After his audacious (there is no better adjective) innings at Chennai that set India on course for a historic win (and even though I am a Sachin fan and his long-awaited fourth-innings winning century was special, I did not doubt one bit as to who the man of the match was), I have confirmed my little Sehwag theory which I had held for some time now.

As per this thought, I believe that when the opposition bowler begins his run-up, the Nawab of Najafgarh is transported into another world. And along with him are transported only two other things, the ball (of course) and his instinct. Nothing else is present there, neither the crowd, the stadium, the pitch nor his own team-mates, the fielders.. no, not even the bowler !!!!.. Absolutely nothing else... In this world, he faces up to a ball which is delivered from behind a white screen. Therefore he has no clue as to who is delivering it from behind that screen (OK, at best he knows which way its going to turn or if the 'bowler' is delivering from 15 paces or 5). Similarly he is also playing on a snow-white surface, hence he doesn't any pre-conceived notions of how the ball is going to turn or bounce once it hits that surface. Then we come to the most important thing. At that point of time, in that faraway world , his brain does not have any memory cells. Therefore, he does not remember his own score, his team score, how many runs are required to win, whether its the last ball before lunch, whether he was dropped of the previous delivery etc etc. He has total amnesia. This allows him to do things which even the best genuises of this world cannot do, like going to a double-hundred with a six. Of course, this also enables him to do things which the most ordinary batsman in this world would not do, like getting trapped in front without moving his feet and getting out to an 'ugly' hoick when the team needs him to stay in the middle. He has only the instinct and the basic knowledge of how to wield a cricket bat.

So now imagine this scene in the faraway world: Sehwag is playing on a white surface and facing up to a ball delivered to him from behind a white screen. There is no living being around him. No wicket-keeper, no fielders, no crowd and no team-mates. He just sees the ball coming to him and when its within striking distance, that instinct takes over instantenously. If the ball is to be hit, he simply goes for it and hits it as hard as he can. Or in some cases, he also carresses the ball with the greatest of finesse. Only after he has played the ball does he get transported back to the earthly world. And then, of course, he might find that the ball has gone for a six over third-man, or edged behind the keeper or dragged back on the stumps. If he survives the delivery, then the same act is repeated all over again !!! Go to the faraway world, face up to a delivery from behind a white screen with no-one around and then purely rely on your instinct.

Seems simple isnt it !!!!...:-))

Cheers
Amit

Absolutely hiralious !!!

2008-11-29T11:35:00.001+05:30

Below is genuinely funny piece regarding the dearth of spin bowling options in the Australian team. Reading this was wonderful in light of what is otherwise happening around us !!!

http://blogs.cricinfo.com/inbox/archives/2008/11/letter_to_mr_hilditch.php#more

Cheers
Amit

Change in the world order !!!!

2008-11-16T11:21:00.003+05:30

So finally, the much-awaited and much-hyped Indo-Aussie clash for the Border-Gavaskar trophy is over with (and even before the dust has settled on that contest, the Indians are back on the road taking on the English - such is modern day cricket !!). And, looking back in hindsight - which is always such a great thing - the most ardent of Indian supporters can even dare say that the series was a cakewalk for the home team. Let us not kid ourselves on that count. True, the Indians looked the better team throughout (except for the first 3 days in Bangalore) and neither of the two wins were even close. But in the end it was a well-fought and therefore, well-deserved victory.

This victory has no doubt had grave ramifications in world cricket. Now, even the most die-hard of Australian supporters are admitting that their decade-old dominance has come to a close. Not that the Aussies will slip into the decline that the Windies found themselves in after 1995 (their domestic structure is too strong for that), but the days when they simply bulldozed the opposition are now past. Now even the baggy green will have to earn every bit of its victory. Talks of the 'empire crumbling' are already doing the rounds, and, as is customary, even the English are talking about retaining the Ashes the coming summer. But, as they say, never underestimate a tiger when it is injured and hurt. And injured and hurt no doubt the Aussies are. Otherwise, I cannot think of any other reason behind Hayden's unfortunate and uncalled for comments. To blame sight-screen movements for poor over rates is beyond comprehension. The comment has inadvertently exposed the Aussie frustration which happens to every sportsman and every team who is now forced to toil hard after a prolonged period of dominance.

Coming back to the series, one of the key sessions in the series was the post-tea session on the 3rd day in Bangalore. Along with the subsequent heroics of Gambhir, Sehwag, Sachin, Laxman et al, India also has to thank, in no small measure, the partnership between Bhajji and Zaheer that day. The 'fab four' had flattered to deceive, and had not that partnership flourished, India would certainly have lost the first test and, given our penchant (or lack of it) in bouncing back after early losses, it would meant kissing the BG trophy good bye in Bangalore itself. The other key reason was, of course, the absence of a certain blond leggie. Forget him, even his impostor would have done better instead of Messrs White and Krejza (while the latter is a decent bowler, most of his 12 victims came because of the opposition underestimating him). To add to that, the pace attack proved ineffective, which meant that Gambhir and Sehwag provided India with excellent starts in almost every innings. This sure seems an opening combination as good as Hayden-Langer or Greenidge-Haynes.

Now where do India go from here ?? They must guard themselves against any complacency against the English. And of course, they now need to starting filling the shoes of the stalwarts of the previous generation. The first test will immediately be when either of Rohit Sharma or Raina or maybe even Yuvraj gets Ganguly's place in December. And for all his successes against the Australians, Amit Mishra should know that he has miles to go to even catch the shadow of the great man he replaces. All the right signs are there, it is just a matter of putting them together and sustaining it.

So many congratulations to the Indian team on its victory !!!!..
Cheers
Amit

A new dawn ????

2008-09-28T12:29:00.005+05:30

As I clear the dust (so to speak, of course !!) that has gathered on my cricket blog, and start to write a post after 3 months, the Indian team would be also be looking to clear their whites and start a new season (in today's parlance, a month's break is enough to signify the change-over between seasons !!).

But the upcoming series against Australia signifies more than just the start of a new season. But before we come to that, a word about the series itself. There is much to feel happy about the Indo-Aussie clash. Firstly, for the connoisseurs, it is a throw-back to the tours of times long gone by, which used to feature only test matches without any pyjamas or chaddis (as T20 is sometimes disparagingly called) around. So it will be only about 5 day Test cricket for the next month and a half, and one-day specialists will be temporarily relegated to the background. Secondly of course, is the keen balance between the two teams and the recent history they have shared. That in itself would pretty much gaurantee a close and hard-fought series. So the combination of an old-fashonied 'tests-only' series and the fact that India v Australia is currently THE rivalry in world cricket, means that a cricket follower, no matter where in the world he is, would not want to miss any of the action(a 5th Test in Mumbai would have been even more fantastic !!!).

But as far as Indian cricket is concerned, as mentioned, this is more than just a marquee series. It is, indeed, the harbinger of times to come. This series will decide the shape that Indian cricket takes over the next few years. Already, the obituaries of the "Fab Four" have been written (as has been the story of the great man's career, not many seem to care about Kumble's impending departure and how his shoes are going to be filled). In fact ,one of the four legs of the chair has been cut (and the fact that it happened without more than a murmur in Kolkata suggests that even his loyalists have begun to accept that the end has come for Ganguly). Laxman and Dravid will be on trial throughout the series and while Tendulkar can still write his own retirement date, his supporters are beginning to show more than a whiff of restlessness. Infact, I did not find it amusing that he chose to skip the Irani Trophy game and then, in less than a week, be fit for an important test series. Clearly, the end of a golden era of Indian batting seems near, and I say this NOT on the basis of the performance in Sri Lanka.

The more important questions are: who will be ready to take over the baton from Sachin, Dravid and co. One might immediately point out that there seem to be none who can come close to the Fab Four as far as test cricket is concerned. But the other side of the coin is that, simply put, we have not consistenlty tried any middle-order bat in Tests for quite a few years now (with the exception of Yuvraj). Hence, we do not have sufficient evidence to pass judgement on the test capabilities of a Rohit Sharma or a Suresh Raina. The coming series (or atleast the contests against England and Pakistan later in the season) would provide an ideal opportunity to start grooming atleast a couple of guys who can take over from the old guard. Ganguly's exclusion has already created a place in the XI and should any of the other three be sorted out by Lee and co., then we would need two young batsmen to successfully fill the breach. And the sooner we unearth those two gentlemen, the smoother the transition would be. To add to the mixture, we now have a new selection committee at the helm. And if Srikkanth's method of selecting is anywhere close to his method of playing, then we are in for quite a ride over the next few months.

So hope you are gearing yourself up for one heck of a series !!! I sure I am....

Cheers
Amit

An exciting new debate !!! (Part 2)

2008-06-23T19:50:00.004+05:30

Firstly, let me disclose at the very beginning that the reason to split this post into 2 parts is not because I did any earth-shattering thinking in the interim !!! :).. It is just because I wanted a gap between the two posts, a single post would have been like a saas-bahu serial that refuses to end. But having said that, there is a strong case to sit back, clear your head of most biases both for and against KP's 'switch-hit' and then present a balanced viewpoint. So, as mentioned in the previous post, here are my two cents in the form of responses to some oft-seen comments:

1. "Reverse sweep has been in the game for long, so whats new about this ?" :

Well, there is a world of difference. In the case of reverse sweep, the batsman does not change his grip or stance. This is a very important point. Hence, the field to which the bowler had originally bowled remains in play. The reverse sweep, much like Sachin's lift over the slips or the Mareiller scoop, is another shot in the armoury of good batsmen to upset the bowlers rythm. To equate it with switch-hitting is far-fetched.

2. "The bowler does not indicate whether he is bowling a slow ball or bouncer, so why should the batsmen declare his stance ??"

I almost gulped when I read this. What kind of comparison between the batsman's stance and the type of ball bowled ??? A more apt comparison would be the bowler announcing that he is bowling a bouncer and the batsman indicating that he is going to hook. So imagine someone like David Shepherd announcing before a ball, "Ladies and Gentlemen, here is Mr. Brett Lee bowling a bouncer while Mr. Tendulkar will try and hook it. All the best to both !!!!" Surely, I would not pay to watch such cricket.

Put it another way, another apt comparison would be the bowler suddenly switching from right-arm to left-arm during his run-up. That is one very important point most people seem to be missing. 'Switching and batting' is easier, relatively speaking, for batsmen. It is almost impossible for the bowler to 'switch and bowl' . The only near example that I can recall is Debashish Mohanty, who delivered with both hands in the same motion. It would be disconcerting for the batsmen facing him to not know which hand the bowl is being delivered from. So why should be the batsmen be allowed to change from left-handed to right-handed when the bowler is about to deliver the ball ??.

All this might indicate that I am dead against the switch-hit. Not at all !! Firstly, it is quite difficult to play, with only the somewhat ambidextrous being able to play that well. The downside of the shot is huge, Even if the batsmen does not pay with his wicket, he is almost certain to look like a fool if he mis-attempts something like that. So I believe that the shot would not be that frequent as thought by some of the administrators. But if someone can play and get away with that kind of shot regularly, it is most welcome !! But if someone is game to try that, then I advocate a more level playing field for the bowlers. By this I mean, leg before wickets and wides should be adjudicated by taking into account the batsmen's original stance since the bowler is bowling to that. Finally, one should also take into account that a good bowler who consistently bowls to his field will always get good returns. Where switch-hitting, if at all it is used, might help is lessen the degree of negative bowling that we see today. For example, a left-arm spinner or leg spinner bowling outside the right-hander's leg stump might suddenly be startled to see the batsmen suddenly turn into a left-hander, thereby freeing his legs out of the way and then using the natural drift of the ball to hoik it over (right-handers) extra cover for six (in any case, there will not be many fielders on the right hander's off-side). That would be some shot to see and would definitely make the bowler think twice before going negative again. On the other hand, a good agressive bowler bowling to a plan will always get the batsmen out, left-handed or right-handed.

So while such shots are extremely difficult to execute and will be used sparingly, if at all, it is in the game's best interests to encourage such innovation but at the same time, safeguard the bowler's interest. A good and innovative batsman facing up to an intelligent bowler is always a good sight.

An exciting new debate !!! (Part 1)

2008-06-18T09:04:00.006+05:30

These really are exciting times in the game of cricket !!!!. Firstly, we had the IPL revolution that not only took the cricketing world by storm (atleast in the country with the most influence, money and TV audiences) but actually forced the administrators, former and current players as well as the spectators to ponder the future of the other formats of the game. Test cricket was deemed to be in danger according to many (which in my opinion, is an entirely misplaced notion). Now that the fear has receeded (thanks to a couple of good Test matches subsequently, more notably the Windies attempt to get 475 at Bridgetown), it is time for a fresh new issue to confront all those linked to the game. And thankfully, this has got nothing to do with franchises and dollars or with throwing and umpiring. It has got to do with one batsman's outstanding little stunt (and I use the word with the nicest of intentions) of switching his stance in the middle of the bowler's run up and ending up a mirror image his initial stance. And if that was not enough, he managed to clout a couple of sixes with this new stance of his. Clearly, Kevin Pietersen has given the cricket world a lot to chew on.

Predictably, the reactions have been varied. Read Mike Atherton in the Times, Mike Holding and Richard Hadlee giving the bowler's viewpoint (and apparently, Mikey said that while it requires a lot of nerve and skill to break a lock and steal some jewellery, it doesn't make the act right !!). And here are opinions from some other former cricketers. The comments made by some of the viewers are also quite interesting. Some, leaving no doubt as to whose side they are on, have commented that if the bowlers are not required to reveal if they are bowling a slower ball, bouncer or yorker, then there is no case for a batsmen to disclose whether he would be batting left-handed or right-handed for a particular Another point in favour of batsmen is that since reverse sweeps et al have been part of the game for some time now (as Mike Gatting would readily testify) so there should not be much fuss on this either. From the bowlers corner, the point being made is that since it is impossible for the bowler to switch from right-arm to left-arm during the delivery stride, then the batsman should also not be allowed to change his stance either. But above all, there has widespread admiration of the 'genuis' shown by Pietersen (I suspect the reactions would have been completely different had he been bowled on that delivery and probably this debate would not have arisen).

But now that it has arisen, it is something sensible that we cricket fans. So let me also introspect over it and come back with my two cents worth opinion in the follow-up post.

Cheers
Amit

The IPL's greatest triumph !!!!

2008-05-27T08:22:00.002+05:30

The Indian Premier League might just have scored its biggest triumph yesterday.

As I followed every twist and turn in the dramatic match between the Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals, I felt an ever-increasing surge of adrenaline just sitting at home. And the more I got involved in the match, much to wife's dismay, nothing else happening around me seemed to matter. And when the final act in the shoddy fielding saga of the Mumbai Indians (a saga which started on Saturday against the Daredevils) was played out on the last ball, costing the Mumbai Indians the match and, perhaps deservingly so, a semi-final spot, I recall having more than a tinge of sadness in my heart. Infact, post the match, I was sulking as never before and I would rank yesterday as one of my saddest days as a cricket supporter and spectator. And why, you might ask, given that the IPL is nothing but a circus with lots of money thrown in ? The answer was provided by the Marathi daily Loksatta in today's headline which read 'Mumbai harlich !!' (Mumbai lost !!!). Yes, that was the answer. It was not the Mumbai Indians who lost, it was Mumbai who lost.

Which is why I say that the IPL might have scored its biggest triumph yesterday. It finally managed to install, in its very first season, a sense of city loyalty that is inherently strong and sustaining. In fact, some of it was apparent the other day at the Wankhede when a section of the crowd booed their own countrymen playing for the Kings XI Punjab, prompting Yuvraj to remind the crowd at the post-match presentation that some of them also play for India. As I said before, the shock of yesterday's loss was possibly more than any I have experienced as a Team India supporter. And I am sure that there would be many in Delhi and Chennai who would have rejoiced when Tendulkar was caught and bowled or when Jayasuriya missed that final runout opportunity. Let me be very candid in admitting that my love for my city slightly exceeds my sense of national patriotism, atleast at this point in time (having said that though, I take objection to the name 'Mumbai Indians' itself and feel that the IPL governing council should not have allowed that name). It is quite natural that the sense of belonging and identity increases as the boundaries between you and them are drawn closer to your space. This would explain the strong attachment that you have to your locality first, next the city, then the state and finally the country. Let me add here that all this is relative to the context and when India is playing Australia, it does not matter much to me whether Sachin Tendulkar from Mumbai or Yuvraj Singh from Mohali hits the hundred which takes India to victory. Therefore, in today's context of eight city-based teams/franchises slugging it out against each other, it is quite natural that you will support your city irrespective of who is playing for your side. But what has definitely taken me by surprise is the strength of this devotion that one has for your city. That the IPL has managed to unearth it in its very first season is the triumph that I talk about. This will only increase in the coming years. For now though, I am a true blue Mumbai Indian fan !!!!!!!

Coming back to the cricket, while Mumbai seem down and out, just imagine how utterly romantic it would be if Rohit Sharma of the Deccan Chargers plays a blinder today against Chennai and gives his city the lifeline it so desperately needs to hang on in this tournament !!!! Fantasies of a hopeless supporter, did anyone say ???

Cheers
Amit

The IPL: Mid-Term Review !!!!

2008-05-06T13:19:00.003+05:30

So we have almost reached the half-way mark of the league stage of the IPL circus !!! All over India, people now go back from work and instinctively switch on the television to catch the latest episode of the saga. I think this is precisely why the IPL seems to have succeeded, not that many people had any doubts. As for me, although I was never a fan of the T20 and the IPL concept, I have to admit that it has kept me pretty interested. I still remember the very first match and the first six of the IPL !! McCullum tried to slog the ball over mid-wicket, the bowl took the leading edge and actually went over third man for six. A 'shot' that I had never seen before in about two decades of watching cricket. My first thought on seeing that was: 'I hope the IPL is not all about such shots !!'. Thankfully, it is not. While batsman have definitely dominated (as expected), the bowlers have also had their moments. And if you are an all-time great like McGrath, then you will always produce results, irrespective of the format. So what I have liked the most about the IPL (despite all my initial skepticism) is that it has not always been the bat dominating. The average first innings score has been around 150-170, which would indicate that the bowlers have had some say in proceedings.

Now to talk about the people. Deccan Chargers have been the biggest dissapointments so far. With a lineup that read Gilchrist, Symonds, Laxman, Rohit Sharma, Gibbs and Afridi, they really had no business to be at the bottom of the table. The misery of the Bangalore Royal Challengers is slightly more believable, given that their lineup is slightly better off batting a day and a half to save a game. Mumbai Indians have been severly handicapped by the Master Blaster's absence, but they seem to have put that (and Bhajji's Slapgate) behind them and have bounced back with 2 wins. With Sachin set to be back to face Warne tommorow, they might well turn out to be the team to watch in the 2nd half. The Knight Riders are also slipping badly after starting off well and that would no doubt be a concern for SRK as well as Kolkata's cricket crazy public.

That leaves us with the remaining teams, who at this point look most likely to reach the semis. Amon gst them, the Chennai Super Kings have also slipped to consecutive losses recently and seem to be missing Mathew Hayden. MS Dhoni would need to guard against any more slip ups. On the other hand, the Punjab Kings XI have bounced back in style. They look a much better organized team with bowling prowess (Sreesanth, Pathan, Chawla and VRV Singh) as well as batting muscle (Marsh, Yuvraj, Sangakkara, Jaywardene). The Delhi Daredevils also look to be upto the mark in all departments, more so with fantastic pairs of opening batsman (Sehwag-Gambhir) as well opening bowlers (McGrath, Asif). But if I had to pick the best team, it would simply have to be the Rajasthan Royals. And most of the credit should go to Shane Warne. By his leadership, he has transformed one of the weakest teams on paper into a formidable unit, with five wins on the trot. And more importantly, they have unearthed heroes from the most unlikeliest of people. In fact, Warne's captaincy in this tournament has prompted a few, like Ian Chappell, to hail him as the greatest captain Australia never had. Under him, the Rajasthan Royals appear to be the side who have gelled the best and it is showing in their performances.

So what began with a swashbuckling batting performance has changed into a more even contest between batsmen and bowlers. Consequently, the IPL has produced a number of excellent matches. It has held almost an entire nation glued to their TV sets in the summer evenings and has converted, not fully though, many nay-sayers like yours truly. Hopefully the 2nd half of the league, alongwith the semis and finals, will live up to the hype.

Cheers
Amit

The Sree and Bhajji Show !!!

2008-04-27T11:30:00.000+05:30

In hindsight, one can be very wise and say it was bound to happen. Two of Indian cricket's most outspoken personalities have found themselves in the news once again. The IPL so far has brought some interesting battles: Warne bowling to Gilchrist, Kallis facing up to Pollock, Ishant locking horns with MS Dhoni et al. But never have these 'gentlemen' have let their adrenaline get the better of them (and I don't think anyone can accuse them of playing the IPL with any less intensity than when donning national colours). But when Messrs Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh were in opposite dressing rooms playing a high profile contest (and under immense pressure since both their teams were yet to register a win), something had to give. And frankly, what happened at the lovely PCA stadium on Friday had left all cricket lovers, not just Indian, feel really ashamed.

In my memory, it is the first recorded instance of a cricketer actually striking a fellow-cricketer. Of course, there have been near-misses before (Raman Lamba chasing Rashid Patel with a bat, that famous Miandad-Lillie spat about 25 years ago, to name a few). But (and I say APPARENTLY, since no television camera seems to have captured Bhajji red-handed), Bhajji seems to have hit bulls-eye in the form of Sreesanth's cheek. That physical action is enough to invite the most severe punishment (not withstanding even his past record). If proved that Bhajji indeed slapped Sreesanth (whatever have been the provocation), then nothing less than a 1-year ban would suffice. Let me just play devil's advocate here (though I am no fan of Bhajji's : couple of months back I had pointed out to his ordinary bowling form). Nobody, not even Sreesanth, has said on camera that Bhajji did slap. So there are no witnesses, atleast on TV (that you can attribute to Mr Lalit Modi immediately putting gag orders on everyone concerned, including probably Preity Zinta ;-) so as to protect the IPL's reputation). Hopefully, things will be much more clearer behind the closed doors of Farookh Engineer's hearing room (and the words 'hearing room' and 'trial' are appearing far too regularly in cricket these days :(). But, just imagine, if the prosecution cannot find even a single witness against Bhajji and he is actually exonarated ???.. I guess he can peacefully retire then, having successfully sued the media and the Kings Punjab XI for millions of dollars !!! Either way, the outcome is not going to be preity... oops.. pretty . Of course, if he is guilty, then as I said, nothing less than a 1-year ban would do. Monday 28th April would see more action off the field than on it !!!

A final word about the other party as well. What I find difficult to comprehend is this: no camera captured Bhajji slapping Sreesanth. Hence, one can assume that the 'crime' happened inside the dressing room. Then did Mr. Santhakumaran Sreesanth come out after the act only to weep in front of full public view ???? Could'nt he have shed his tears in that same dressing room ???? Sounds very odd to me !! What is not odd is that the two principal actors in the latest drama are the ones who almost suit this to the T . It is time both Sree and Harbhajan introspect into their nature and realize that theatrics will only get you so far.

Cheers
Amit Gokhale

End to all discussion !!!!!

2008-03-28T20:46:00.002+05:30

It doesnt matter....

that the guy doesn't have a great technique..
that he can be found out by good wickets on helpful pitches..
that he has an ordinary one-day record..
that he has a poor second-innings record..
that the pitch had about as much life as that on Mars..
that the bowling attack was not the best in the world..

Any man who can score two triple hundreds in a career should be undisputedly regarded as one of the all time greats of the game !!! PERIOD....

Cheers
Amit

The strange case of Harbhajan Singh !!!

2008-03-09T14:00:00.000+05:30

So finally, the saga Down Under has come to a close. And after a summer in which the off-field action matched the action on the field, the Men in Blue have returned not only with the CB Series trophy in their kitty, but also with their heads held high. True to their fickle loyalty, the fans have treated them as though they were the jawaans coming back from the front (which I admit, is not entierly far-fetched given what has happened over the past 3 months). And one man in particular, must be feeling on top of the world. For Harbhajan Singh, it would seem that he has finally had the last laugh in his battle against the Aussie players, media and the public in general. To top it all, it was poetic justice that he claimed the wicket of Symonds in both the finals in addition to claiming Hayden in the first final and running him out in the second. Indeed, for the 27 year old Sardar, the Australian tour of 2007-08 has been as much about off-the-field incidents as much as on-the-field exploits. He has had the support of the entire nation during the Sydney-gate controversy and then again, during the last stages of the tour during the 'weed' saga. His captains, his team-mates, the Indian press and the country at large were firmly behind him and in the end, it would seem he has won the war.

But if he were to closely examine his performances not only on his tour but also over the past couple of years, Bhajji would realize that it is all well to be aggressive on the field, have mock fist fights with your team-mate and to indulge in a war of words with the opposition. But the base on which all that is built is the batting, bowling or fielding performance of the concerned individual. And that is where Bhajji would seem to have a problem. All the happenings over the past 3 months have, in fact, diverted public attention away from the fact that India's premier off-spinner is losing his way in Test cricket. Apart from the two CB series finals, his bowling on the tour was but a shadow of 2001. To put some numbers in, Bhajji's last 10 test matches (since March 2006) have seen him take only 35 wickets at an average of 40.20 !!!! (See the stats here). Even these figures are propped by a spell of 5-13 at Jamaica in 2006 in which his victims were Messrs Dwayne Bravo, Ramdin, Pedro Collins, Sarwan and Ganga. Take that spell out and the average shoots to 46.4 !!. Clearly, these are unacceptable figures by any standards. His ODI figures are not to better either, though I admit he is a better bowler in the 50 over format. In the last 2 years, 54 ODIs have bought him only 51 wickets at an average of 39.47 (compared to a career average of 33.51) The economy also is slightly higher than his career rate. When was the last time that Bhajji ran through the middle-order of the opposition ? One would struggle to remember. And let it not be mistaken that his performance has been affected because of the off-field incidents, since the waning of his bowling prowess started even before all these controversies started. To put in plainly, Harbhajan Singh, on pure form, does not deserve his place in the Test side. And that is especially worrying for India since their Test captain and leading spinner is close to retirement (in fact I worry that Dhoni's continuing success might put pressure on the selectors to make him the Test captain sooner that they would like to, thus virtually pushing Kumble to retirement). And if Kumble were to retire at some point next year, and if Bhajji's bowling form continues to be the way it is, India would have huge problems in test matches. Suitable successors need to be unearthed as soon as possible. In fact, I would play a Piyush Chawla or a Pragyan Ojha along with Kumble for the test s against South Africa just to test out the spin bowling cupboard.

As for Bhajji, he would do well to reflect on his bowling performance rather than continue with his verbal volleys even after the tour has ended. Aggression without being backed by performances looks pretty much silly.

Cheers
Amit

The 'Art' of Batting, Bowling, Fielding and ...... ???

2008-02-29T21:50:00.001+05:30

For a long time now, humble spectators like me have believed that the wonderful game of cricket was all about batting, bowling and fielding. Indeed, these three disciplines were called 'art' and the cricketers who mastered them were rightfully known as artists. We used to called GR Vishwanath an artist because of his impeccable late cuts and square drives. Similarly we called Shane Warne an artist because of the wonderful control he exhibited over that most difficult art of wrist spin bowling. But now, we are told, there are also some other arts that every school kid must learn if he has to be a top international cricketer. And one of them is the 'art' of sledging. And this amazing discovery of a new art form comes from no less a person than the captain of the Indian cricket team. As much as I have liked his on-field captaincy in the ongoing CB series, that comment from Mahender Singh Dhoni left me shocked and cold.

Almost immediately and inevitably, the media was full of debate on whether sledging has a place in international cricket or not. One faction called for the ICC to immediately ban sledging in any form. The other party argued that 'sledging' made for a more interesting game and without it, players would just be going about their business in much the same way as robots do. In order to make sense of all this and to give MS Dhoni a fair trial, I looked at the online Oxford Dictionary for the meaning of the word 'sledging / to sledge'. Ironically, one meaning of the word 'sledge' takes us back to Santa Claus and his sledge (vehicle) driven by Rudolph the reindeer. It reminds us of a time when we were all children, innocent and free from any aminosity towards each other. The other definition, staggeringly, is refered only to in cricket and it means ' offensive remarks made by a fielder to a batsman in order to break their concentration' (read it here). Do we interpret that to mean that sledging is prevalant only in cricket and not in other sports ?? So the dictionary definition states that 'to sledge' neccessarily means to make offensive remarks at somebody else. While it is too much to expect any cricket captain to know the dictionary definition of any word, we do expect him to be careful about his remarks. And if the Indian captain wants us to believe that to make 'offensive remarks' is an 'art form' which all youngsters should learn, then I have to reconsider my support to his team. Mind you, I do not subscribe to the view that cricketers should walk on the field with duct tape on their mouths and thoughts. Some emotion is perfectly acceptable, indeed required, on the field. Frustration and disgust at playing a wrong shot or bowling a full toss, dissapointment and dissent at being given a bad decision is not bad at all, since it shows your committment on the field of play. But to direct that frustration against an opposing team member is simply not on. And when it escalates into a war of words even off the field, then the umpires and ICC should act quickly.

Anyways coming back to the point, if MS Dhoni really meant what he said and if we are going to see his team indulge in all sorts of on-field chatter (there again, humorous chatter is fine, the umpire must know where to draw the line if the players are not mature enough), then I believe he has got off even more lightly than Mathew Hayden has. Sadly, in the midst of all the jingoism of 'big bad Aussies' vs Us, we (including the BCCI) have completely overlooked a potentially serious comment made by our own captain and he has gone scot-free.

Oh and there are 2-3 cricket matches yet to be played before this tour finally ends. I only hope that they pass of peacefully !!!!

Cheers
Amit

Coming this summer, the biggest circus of them all !!!!

2008-02-23T10:39:00.000+05:30

So its official now. The game of cricket, certainly the 44 day circus called the Indian Premier League, can be safely classified in the category of 'Sports Entertainment', alongwith with the likes of WWE. Each cricketer has been valuated, just as equity research houses throughout the world value stocks. The difference, of course, is that the cricketers valuation is lacking any fundamental analysis (and some would say, also lacking rhyme or reason). But today, every cricketer worth his salt has a price tag attached to him and is avaliable for being bought and sold, just like any stock, commodity, toothbrush and toilet paper. Most of the reactions to the auction last week have been extreme. Some have lamented the 'death of cricket' while others have written that 'it was pathetic to see Rahul Dravid sitting besides Vijay Mallya like his secretary'. The best quote comes from Andrew Webster in the Sydney Morning Herald and it goes '"While a cricketer's value can be determined by a salivating squillionaire, a man's worth can only be determined by his actions," . After all this outburst, the stage now will shift to the grounds where the eight franchises (note that I refuse to call them 'teams' because this motley formation is an insult to that word since I cannot see, for example, any common objective being shared by Brett Lee and Sreesanth while playing for Chandigarh) will 'do battle' against each other. But I am terribly sceptical about the level of competition that will be on display. The reasons are many:
1. At 44 days, the tournament is too long a la the World Cup last year. Each franchisee playing 14 games is a bit too much. And even though they will be playing at night, it can be terribly hot and sweaty during summer evenings here.
2. So many games can also bring in spectator fatigue which in turn can affect the players' level of intensity.
3. But most importantly, is there going to be any pride for which they will be playing for. A large of part of sports thrives on pride (whether it be local, state or national) and the emotions arising out of that pride is what drives true sportsman more than being employed for a million dollars by an industrialist/Bollywood superstar to do a job. In the absence of this pride, how will this galaxy of stars motivate themselves ? We all remember the terrible cricket dished out by the ICC World XI in the super series a few years back.

To add to this, what about the spectators ? The onus of the success of the IPL (and other leagues of its ilk) depends on the support by the fans, both in terms of attendances as well as television eyeballs). But the majority of spectators in India watch the game only because of national pride which is why reactions are so extremely good or extremely bad. Now I live in Mumbai but will I support the Mumbai franchisee ? Atleast I have my talisman player in 'my' franchisee but what about someone living in Chennai ? Will he support the Chennai franchisee and the likes of Dhoni and Hayden ? On what grounds should he ? As of today, there is not even a single local player in that franchisee. To make matters worse, a Rohit Sharma is playing for Hyderabad. Now if he is playing against the Mumbai franchisee at the Wankhede and is leading a run chase, do i egg him on or pray for his dismissal ? A point also made by Kunal Pradhan in the Indian Express. The least that they could have done is to remove the cities from this whole mess and called them simply "Reliance Industries XI" or "King Khan's Superstars" or "Priety Zinta's Heroes" !!!. Spectators are going to find it hard to support their franchisee. and It is all going to be quite confusing. But inspite of all this, and inspite of the fact that I am not a great fan of this whole concept, I find it unlikely that the IPL circus will fail. Alas !!

Amit

Stats and the 'truth' !!!

2008-02-16T12:13:00.002+05:30

For all of those with a keen interest in cricket, and especially of cricket facts and figures, the blog 'It Figures' on Cricinfo (link here) offers more than just food for thought. For those who have not yet checked it out, I suggest you stop reading further and click on the above link. An excellent blog by some of the most famed cricket-lovers (and number-crunchers !!).

More than anything else, it brings out the dichotomy between figures and judgement i.e. statistics hide more than they reveal. Of particular interest is the latest post on the blog, which talks about the most 'consistent' bowlers in test cricket history. Now, putting a quantitative measure of the word 'consistent' is itself daunting. Statistically, consistent would mean a distribution in which maximum no. of points are near the median. Translated into cricketing terms, it would imply a batsman who mostly has scores close to his test average (and who is therefore deemed more consistent than, say, a guy who averages about the same but is more of the '100-5-2-150-5' variety). When it comes to bowlers, things are not that simple. So what the writer of the blog has done is to come up with a measure of bowling consistency. What it implies (read the blog to understand it fully) is that a bowler who most often gets a wicket in an average spell (7 overs for a medium-pacer and 11 overs for a spinner) is more consistent than a bowler who bowls 3 wicket-less spells and then gains a bucketful of scalps in his next spell (even though, both the guys end up with similar bowling averages). It is certainly quite interesting and has invited a host of comments from readers (ranging from appreciative to dismissive and a few downright silly - mostly from readers whose favourites could not find a high-enough position on that list).

All in all, a quite brilliant blog in that it exposes us to how our judgement on who the best is might change when subjected to science.

May the blog live long !!!

Cheers
Amit

Young Guns start off well !!!!

2008-02-13T21:45:00.001+05:30

We are now half-way through the tri-series in Australia and for all the fans that were optimistic, or even apprehensive, about how the 'Gen-Next' of Indian cricket would perform, the news has largely been good. The team has performed admirably on most counts and though it is way too early to use phrases like 'best Indian team in last decade', 'genuine contenders for the next World Cup' etc, it cannot be denied that this team has displayed enough to suggest that better days lie ahead. I would not read much into yesterday's loss against the Lankans. A rain-shortened always tends to favour the side batting second, especially on a good batting track and with a good batting lineup. And after the veteran of the side turned the clock back in one memorable over from Sreesanth and pocketed 23 runs, there was always going to be one result thereafter. Having said that though, Dhoni probably missed a trick in not selecting an extra bowler especially when the toss happened after the rain delay. Picking 7 batsmen for a 29 over match is always an overkill. Robin Utthapa must be wondering what is he doing in Australia.

But coming back to the series overall, it has been quite an impressive performance. Though the first two games could not be completed, one can safely say that in neither of those games did the rain rescue India. Against the Aussies, with the way our bowling went just before the last shower, the result could have gone either way. In the second game, India would have fancied their chances after scoring 267 in their innings. But it was the win against Australia on Sunday that would have given their supports much joy. And two of the heroes of that day have been real revelations. Messrs Ishant and Rohit have more in common than their surname. Both are young, talented but more importantly, eager to learn. In many ways, Ishant Sharma reminds one of Srinath in his early days. Tall and thin with a similar high-arm action, both have made their names on a tour to Australia (Srinath in 1991-92). But where Ishant scores is his pace. I was pleasantly shocked to see an Indian clock 147kph more than once during the test series. And even during yesterday's match, the ball to Dilshan (in Ishant's first over) hit the bat rather than the other way around. Srinath used to do that in his youth (though at slightly lesser pace). Like Srinath, Ishant has the priceless ability of bringing the ball back to right-handers through the air, but straightening after pitching. Thats what got Ponting out, both at the WACA and the MCG. Ishant needs to watch out for his no-balls, it might hurt him at a crucial time. But, lets not heap too much praise on the young lad at such an early stage in his career. His moves hereafter will be closely watched.

On the other hand, Rohit Sharma has shown a good temperament in his last two knocks, especially in a tight run-chase against the World champions. He seems to have most of the shots in the book in addition to a decent technique. And though Ian Chappell may have gone slightly overboard in proclaiming him as India's No 4 bat after Sachin, it is clear that the 20-year old has a bright future ahead of him. Another heartening feature of our performance has been the running between the wickets. In recent matches, I can be fairly sure that we have gained 10-15 runs just because of the fast legs on the field. It may lead to a seemingly stupid run-out once in a while, but over the long run it will pay good dividends.

On the debit side though is the form of Yuvraj Singh. Clearly, whether it is because of injury or some 'other' factor, he is hardly looking the player that he was during the T20 World Cup. And it was particulary shocking to see him fielding at mid off instead of the usual backward point. Clearly, something is seriously wrong there and India needs a fit and hungry Yuvi. And we need to give some chances quickly to young Piyush Chawla. Kumble's journey into the sunset might be just a few test matches way and we only need to look at Australia's plight to realize what the loss of a champion bowler can do to your team. If Chawla is seen as the next best bet after Anil, then it is vitally important that he be given as many chances as possible, even partnering the captain in the upcoming test series against South Africa. Similarly, Suresh Raina also deserves a chance. He has played some good knocks in the domestic season and is stil one of our best fielders. And dont forget, he is only 22.

But the fact that players like Raina and Chawla cannot find places, tells us something about the depth of the side. Give this side a year or so and they hopefully will start delivering the results. For now, one can only say 'so far so good'.

Cheers
Amit

A cricketing colossus goes into the sunset !!!!

2008-01-29T21:30:00.000+05:30

Every once in a couple of generations, comes a sportsman who is so different from the rest that he sets new benchmarks for the rest that ply his trade. Talking specifically about cricket, such champions can be counted on the fingers. All batsman, however great, come a distant second when compared to the Don. Hardly any all-rounder is mentioned in the same breath as Sir Gary Sobers. When it comes to leg-spin bowling, Shane Warne is widely regarded to be the best that ever was. And when it comes to the clan of wicketkeeper-batsmen, you need to look no further than Adam Gilchrist. Which is why his retirement holds so much significance for international, let alone Australian, cricket.

In fact, if you think about it, the phrase 'wicketkeeper-batsman' is a relatively new one in cricket. And Adam Gilchrist can perhaps lay a legitimate claim to be its inventor. Before he burst on the scene in the late 90s, a wicketkeeper was looked upon as not much more than just that, a wicket keeper. A batting average in the late 20s was perfectly acceptable, along with the ability to hang around with a top order batsmen. Some wicketkeepers had a couple of exceptional days in their careers where they made centuries. But that was an honourable exception. And how things have changed !!! Today, a choice between two glovesmen inevitably comes down to who is better with the bat in hand. And in fact, quite often, the better wicket keeper loses out. Blame that on Adam Gilchrist. Today a keeper is not good enough if he only contributes 30s and 40s. He needs to have the ability of scoring 70s and 80s, and even a hundred, on a frequent basis. All because of the man who changed the way the world looked at wicket-keeping forever. Which is why I stick my neck out to say that Adam Gilchrist was one-in-every-two-generations cricketer.

I hardly need to repeat the figures. What is more important is the way that Gilchrist turned matches on their head. In his second test match, Australia were set 369 to win by Pakistan at Hobart. At 126 for 5, things looked bleak. Enter Gilchrist to slam an undefeated 148 of 163 balls (against Akram, Waqar, Shoaib and Saqlain no less !!) and lead the Aussies to a 4 wicket win, a win so improbable that it gave the team the belief to go for another 14 consecutive wins. At Mumbai in 2001 (on a turning track), Bhajji was wreaking havoc and Australia were 99 for 5. The man walks in and slams 122 off 112 balls, the Aussies completing a 10 wicket win on the 4th day. At the Wanderers in 2002, he walked in the relative comfort of 293 for 5, but still clubbed 204 off 213 balls, taking his team to 652 for 7 and an innings+360 runs win. If the South Africans thought it was Gilchrist at his best, they were mistaken. In the next test, Australia were 185 for 6 but managed 382, because of one man and his innings of 138 off 108 balls. There are numerous such examples. But let no one mistake Gilchrist only as one of the most explosive batsman of all time. In his primary role of a wicket-keeper, he was quite good as well. Standing up to Warne and McGill, and standing back to the pace of Lee, and succeeding most of the times, is no mean achievement. He might not be the greatest wicket-keeper of all time, but as a package, he was irresistible. And, not to forget, in a team with a reputation of being the bad boys of cricket, he stood out with his hard-but-fair approach.

He was one of the cornerstones in both the 16-test-win run achieved by the Australians. His contribution was no less than that of McGrath, Warne, Ponting or Hayden. Which is why it would be interesting to see how Australia handle his departure. Warne's absence is already showing quite alarmingly if you are an Aussie fan. It is also proving hard to replace McGrath. But Gilchrist's absence could hurt them even more. Brad Haddin is talked about as being as good a batsmen as Gilly, and if it is anywhere close to the truth, bowlers around the world might as well give up. But even if someone becomes the second Adam Gilchrist, we will always cherish the original !!!

Thanks for the memories Gilly !!!

Cheers
Amit

India's 'could-have-been' man !!!

2008-01-22T11:59:00.001+05:30

So finally, Messrs Vengsarkar and Co have unveiled, or so it seems, the vision of Indian cricket's future (atleast in the ODIs). The golden oldies have been sidelined and in come the young blood. I am no big fan of Ganguly, but I confess to have been surprised by his exclusion. But on second thoughts, one can see the selectors rationale and I only hope that the by-now-mandatory-kolkata-outcry will die down and hopefully, these events will not affect our team in Adelaide.

But, amidst all this clamour for youth, there will be one man contemplating his now-fragile future as an Indian cricketer. Although he is no longer young, having turned 30 last month, he was till recently, a virtual certainty for the Indian ODI team. He certainly does not fail the selector's new criteria (throwing, running between the wickets et al). In fact, he is still considered to be one of the best outfielders we have. But when he ponders over his exclusion (especially for a tour where he was a success last time around), Ajit Bhalchandra Agarkar might do well to reflect on a career that was but, more importantly, that could have been.

Apart from the big three, Agarkar's is the name that has evoked the most debate amongst cricket fans. Lets get the numbers out of the way. If you had come from Mars (with some knowledge of cricket, of course) and someone gave you the statistics of Indian bowlers, then you would have seen that Agarkar's bowling average and strike rate are better than Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel (only Pathan compares well with him on these parameters). And of course, he bats and fields well than all of the above-mentioned bowlers except Pathan. Then, why on earth (no pun intended :)), you might well ask, is he being left out ??? The answer probably lies in the fact is that the Indian cricket fans, the selectrors included, have run out of patience with him. And that, in turn, is because even his worst detractors know that he had the potential to offer a lot to Indian cricket than what we has given us. And though I am still an Agarkar supporter, I feel he has contributed to his own decline. For one, not a lot of thought was put into his bowling. The misplaced tendency to bowl short and aggressive, in a manner not suited to his stature, paid him rich dividends in his early days. But soon, it was found out by top batsmen and thereafter, an Agarkar short delivery was promptly cut through point or pulled in front of square. Then there is also that terrible disease of bowling a boundary ball after four good deliveries in an over. When he has bowled within himself and looked to swing the ball, he has done well for himself.

But just as it takes two to tango, somewhere he has also not got his full due. His batting, for example. During the Chappell-Dravid regime in 2005/06, all and sundry were tried at the No 3 position, but somehow, Agarkar never got a chance up at the top. Keep in mind, that in the 4 innings that he has batted at No 3, he has scored 182 runs (including the career best 95 no.). Pathan grabbed that opportunity and has never looked back since, atleast when it comes to batting. Maybe, just maybe, success batting at No 3 would have rubbed on his bowling as well. He was well worth trying out at No 3, given that he is a good timer of the ball and not afraid to go over the top in the Powerplays (and can hit some clean sixes as well). Also, the insane comparisions with Kapil Dev did not help either.

But, all might not be lost as yet. While he might be 30, he still seems fit enough to compete with the young guys. And if only he can clear his mind and find his way back, he might well script another successful comeback story.

Cheers
Amit

A victory to savour !!!!!!

2008-01-20T18:47:00.000+05:30

'Ek Aur Karega ?' will definitely go down as the most famous question in Indian Cricket History. It was a question that, to my mind, changed the course of the test match and just maybe, will change the course this Indian team takes. Had this question not been put, an Australian win might have become a real possibility. Ponting had done well to survive that torrid working-over from Ishant (albeit with a slice of luck) and a different bowler coming in would have released the pressure off him and we all know what a great batsman he is once on song. With a strong line-up to follow, Australia would have well fancied their chances. And one thing is for sure: If the Aussies had won this match, their aura of invincibility would have increased manifold, other teams would have resigned themselves to the contest of the best No 2 team, and world cricket would have been in further danger.

This is of course, not to say, that India won simply because of that twist of fate. Indeed, the above question would have become irrelevant had Ponting been given out leg before previously in his innings. This victory, and I have no doubt that it would rate as the best overseas victory for Indian cricket (possibly alongwith Port Of Spain 1971 and definitely better than Adelaide 2003), has been achieved because the Men in Blue simply outplayed the Aussies in most contests. An inexpeirenced opening pair (how Hayden was missed in the second knock !!) was put under pressure by a trio of medium pacers whom everyone expected to finish second best to Lee, Clark et al. In fact, I admit that I did not think Pathan was good enough to be part of a 4 bowler attack (he is ideal as the 5th bowler and No 7), but I am happy to have been proved wrong. All the hoopla about the Perth track being 'red-hot' was rendered useless, the bowler who played only to take advantage of the track went wicketless (again proving that only raw pace has never bothered anyone). And India's batsman chipped in with useful contributions all the way through. Aided by brisk efforts by Sehwag at the top (how we missed him at the MCG !!), the middle-order did a great job building on that momentum. Dravid and Sachin ensured that we put in a decent score in the 1st innings, while Laxman held together the innings second time around (with great support from Dhoni). And of course, there was the skipper himself, getting to yet another milestone in a glorious career. He will no doubt remember wicket no 600, more so because of the result.

And I also dont believe in the theory that this win is poetic justice, after looking at what happened in Sdnyey. Sure, the Indians have done an excellent job in lifting themselves up after the events of the past week and came back hard at the Australians, but to say that this win was simply meant to be is to undermine the efforts put in by the boys, as well as the fact that it was a thrilling match. The only time poetic justice was delivered was with Andrew Symonds. An outside edge went unnoticed in Sdnyey and granted him a life, while an inside edge to pad off the same bat also went unnoticed at Perth only this time, he was at the wrong end of an umpiring error. What goes around, as they say, comes around. But apart from that, the umpiring errors evened out and thank goodness for that !!!!

A great win by a team full of self-belief, lead by an astute cricket veteran, backed by high performing seniors and talented and fearless juniors !!!

Congratulations Team India and all the very best for the future !!!!

Cheers
Amit

Blunders Down Under !!!!

2008-01-09T22:45:00.001+05:30

Its been nearly 72 hours since that dramatic Sunday when all hell broke loose down under. Thankfully, things are getting back to normal. The tour continues, so we have a match in Perth (where the worry I have is that the Aussies will trample all over us, aided by the famous Perth wicket and then people will wonder what the whole fuss was all about) and the teams (atleast the captain) seem to be on talking terms again. But the relief that things will return to normal should not overshadow the fact that what happened during those 5 days (and the night afterwards) has serious implications for cricket in general. In fact I feel there are three distinct issues that took place during the Sydney test, each one of them so serious that, had it even occured in isolation, would have proved quite damaging to cricket's reputation in world sports. The fact that ALL three of them happened in the same match explains the volcano of emotions that swept the nation. Hence, all three issues deserve a seperate hearing.

Issue # 1

The substandard officiating in the match

By now, reams of newsprint and hours of TV time have been spent on this, so I will not flog a dead horse further. Would like to make one point though: As human beings, we all get things wrong sometimes, just that this match did not see wrong decisions even out for both sides and when the side that has suffered the most loses so heart-breakingly there are bound to be extreme reactions (I can assure you the reactions would have slightly tempered had, say, Kumble and Dhoni batted out those overs). But what worries me more about the umpiring is that, in recent times, the officals have shown blatant ignorance of the game's laws (World Cup final anyone ?) or logical thinking. For e.g. in case of Ganguly, if both umpires are not sure whether the catch carried (as it was then) it should have either been refferred to the third umpire or the batsman should have been given benefit of the doubt. How can one ever trust the players on the ground in this ? (Pre-series agreement or not) Surely, Messrs Bucknor and Benson should have known better. So the ICC has a serious issue on hand: to improve the standard of world umpiring in quick time. Currently, the elite panel of umpires is really elite: only 8 members, of which one (Mr Hair) is no longer officiating and another (Mr. Bucknor) who will no longer enjoy the trust of the players irrespective of which game he officiates. (The best of them is an Australian and hence cannot officiate in Australia). So it needs to have more in that club. But the question is: are there umpires good enough to join the elite group ??. At least in India, the answer is no. The signs for cricket are not good indeed.
The ICC has also set a dangerous precedent by removing Bucknor from the next test. You bet that there will be games as worse as the Sdnyey test as far as the standard of umpiring is concerned. So does it mean that the ICC will start changing umpires after every badly officiated match ?

Issue # 2

The whole racisim row

Probably the most serious and the saddest of them all. At first, it reminded me of an incident in my childhood. I must have been in the 5th standard or so. While playing with a guy a year younger than me, I inadvertently let a cuss word escape my mouth. He promptly reported the incident to my mother, who then gave me more than a earful. What I am trying to get at is this: not everything that is spoken on the field deserve to be reported, especially if no one apart from the two parties has heard or seen anything. In most cases, you cannot give justice based on one man's word against another. Hard evidence needs to follow. Given this, Bhajji has certainly been convicted without a fair trial and the appeal against the verdict was certainly required. But here again, to hold the entire tour to ransom based on two demands was not on, in my book. When writers in other countries argue about how India is taking undue advantage of the situation given its power in world cricket, there are not entirely misplaced. Finally better sense has prevailed and the tour goes on.

Also, another dangerous precedent has been set: the ICC might need to appoint a battery of lawyers and judge along with the match referee for each match, especially if all teams decide to report everything that has been said on the field. And in due course of time, we will have microphones attached to every player on the field. And what about abuse from the dressing room ??? So have mics there too !!.

Issue # 3

General player conduct on the field

In addition to sledging and racist comments, this also includes general conduct on the field as well as the yardsticks applied by the players to various situations. Here, quite a few instances come to mind. Ponting's continued insistence (in the press conference) that he had held a clean catch off Dhoni was shocking to say the least. In fact, it is interesting to note that he himself bought up the word 'integrity' during the press conference. Most of the journalists would not have thought of it till then. The Aussie captain also proved himself to be a 'master' at judging the legitimacy of dubious catches couple of hours earlier, during the Ganguly dismissal. How we could have been so confident so as to raise the dreaded finger when even TV replies were inconclusive, we would never know. Then there was Adam Gilchrist. Normally renowned to one of the fairer players in the Aussie side, he is the one who is known to walk after edging without waiting for the umpire's verdict. But still, his was the most vociferous appeal when Dravid thrust his pad out while facing that delivery. He would not have been more than 2 meters away from Dravid and he surely would have quite clearly seen that the ball was miles away from Dravid's bat or glove. Yet, you turn your throat sore in appealing. Now, I dont expect cricketers to be saints, but trying to spread a saint-like image while conveniently indulging in double-standard does nothing but expose you as a person (Witness Ponting saying: "If you have to question my integrity, then you just have to look at the first innings when I didnt claim the catch at slip"). But after seeing the Ponting in the 1st innings vs the 2nd innings, we do question his integrity. After all, in such cases, a man with conveniently changing morals is worse than a man with no morals at all.

So, a lot has happened over the past 72 hours, and lets hope all the affected parties: the players, ICC, the cricket boards and world cricket in general, takes the right lessons out of it.

Cheers
Amit

Down Under: Here we come !!!

2007-12-15T11:46:00.001+05:30

So finally, Anil Kumble and his men are ready to go Down Under to battle the world champions in their own yard. While there may be understable hoopla post the series victory against Pakistan, the skipper would know better than anyone else the enormity of the challenge ahead. Even at the best of times, Australia is a tough place to tour. Now, with an ageing middle order and a not-so-great bowling attack, the Men in Blue (or Whites during the tests) should have to do something out of the ordinary to rattle the Aussies.

This is probably what the selectors had in mind when they took the Sehwag gamble. Evidently, memories of Boxing Day in 2003 are still fresh in their minds, and if Viru can play even one innings close to that, the selectors might be vindicated. But if not, then we would start off with problems right at the top. Jaffer has never played against Australia in tests (and since he is not in ODIs, he probably has never seen an Australian team on the field before !!). So, it will be expecting much of him to provide the good starts that we need to have the middle-order fire. He might still do it, in which case it will be a huge bonus (in fact, I believe Jaffer's performance might go a long way in deciding the course of the series !!). But by picking Sehwag, the selectors are sure to give a severe headache to Kumble on Christmas day, when he has to finalize the 11 who would walk out at the MCG. Whom does he leave out ??? If Sehwag is in the 16, then it does not make sense to leave him out of the 11. So Karthik gets benched. And then the wretched question: What abt Yuvraj ???. I saw his 169 at Bangalore and, while the bowling was pedestrian and the pitch benign, it still was a damn good innings (especially coming at 61/4). But, if he is to be picked, then who goes out ?? Dravid is too good a player to be left out, Sachin is in good form and is still our best bet, Sourav is in the form of his life while Laxman is being counted out on to score against the Aussies. It is going to be an interesting decision.

On the other hand, when it comes to bowling, Kumble has the opposite problem: Whom does he pick ??? Zaheer and RP Singh are sure to play if fit. The fourth bowler is the question: Harbhajan has played only 1 test in Australia so far and anyways, the pitches their wont require 2 spinners. But of the remaining three bowlers, Ishant Sharma and Pankaj Singh are raw and untried. Picking either of them is a gamble which no captain can afford especially when he is going in with only 4 bowlers (to understand that, Just look at Pakistan's plight at Bangalore when Shoaib walked off). With 4 bowlers, you simply cannot afford any bowler to lose his line and length, or worse still, be injured. And in my book, on Australian pitches, Irfan Pathan is only as good as the 5th bowler who bats quite decently and bowls 12-15 overs a day of line and length. My guess is that Kumble would play safe and go with Zaheer, RP, himself and Pathan and rely on Ganguly and Sachin to bowl those 12 overs. Either ways, never in recent memory would the selection of a final 11 of a Test match be so tough.

All the best to Kumble and his men !! I cannot wait for 26 December, 5.30 am !!!

Cheers
Amit

2007-11-13T14:03:00.000+05:30

In the evening of his illustrious career, one of India’s greatest cricketer finally gets the coveted hot seat. With his appointment as India’s Test cricket captain, Anil Kumble’s cap of achievements finally got that last golden feather. No one doubts that this honor should have been conferred to Kumble much earlier but ironically still, he had very few backers all these years, at least in the captaincy stakes. But then, this is how Anil Kumble the person is. He is not the one who would send a capacity crowd into frenzy with a flurry of sixes or with a 150kph bouncer. He is the practitioner of an art widely acknowledged to be cricket’s toughest: the art of wrist-spin. And there is no doubt he is one of the very best.

For a long time, the one word that was used to describe Anil Kumble and his contribution to Indian cricket was: ‘servant’. He was, and still is, thought to be a great servant to Indian cricket. And this was is in no way disparaging. He was always the behind-the-scenes worker while his more illustrious compatriots at the top of the order became Indian cricket’s poster boys or MTV’s Youth Icons or, indeed, Indian cricket captains. All this while, he went about his job with almost boring nonchalance. But he has had his fair share in providing Indian cricket with its champagne moments during the past decade and a half: his routing of England in 1992-93, his 6-12 in the final of the Hero Cup against the Windies in 1993, the unforgettable sight of him coming out with a plastered jaw to bowl in the Caribbean in 2002 (and trapping Brian Lara in front), one of the most romantic centuries hit by an Indian at the Oval a few months ago. And not to forget the crowning glory: the all-ten against Pakistan in New Delhi in 1999. But inspite of all this, he was hardly ever a captaincy candidate. Even now, he has got the job almost by accident. His Karnataka team-mate and predecessor gives up the job, another former captain declines a third shot at the captaincy and the natural successor for the job is thought to be too young to take over, especially with two big series round the corner. One can almost imagine the following scene: The selectors are at a loss to decide who the next captain would be. Then they look at the team sheet and see one familiar name. One of the selectors suddenly realizes that this guy has played 118 Tests without ever captaining in one of them. He suggests Anil Kumble’s name. The others look at each other with shocked looks that say ‘Why didn’t we think of him earlier?’ While this scene might sound exaggerated, this is largely how Anil Kumble’s career has played out.

But accident or no accident, Anil Kumble will accept this challenge, as he has accepted so many over the past 15 years: bowling on unhelpful tracks abroad, being expected to bowl India to victory at home irrespective of opposition and pitch,. And he would be the first to acknowledge that his appointment is only till MS Dhoni is deemed to be ready to take over. It would be refreshing to see a bowler captaining a cricket side. It brings a different dimension to the game, simply because bowler-captains have been so uncommon in the history of cricket. Indeed, Kumble is the first specialist bowler to captain India since Venkatraghavan almost 3 decades ago (Kapil Dev excluded). It would be really interesting to see how he handles the team, particularly his fellow bowlers in getting those 20 wickets required to win test matches, especially since the one complaint about batsmen-captain has always been that they do not understand their own bowlers. And for once, let’s not demand immediate results. Kumble’s first two assignments are probably the most toughest series: Pakistan at home and Australia away. Let no one be under any illusions as to the enormity of the task ahead. But for once, let’s put results aside. Let us applaud India’s new cricket captain on his long-deserved appointment and back him through thick and thin, just as he has backed Indian cricket ever since he made his debut as a 19 year old kid with spectacles in Old Trafford in 1990 (in which, he was promptly overshadowed by Tendulkar hitting his first test hundred).

For once, the servant has become the master !!

Cheers

Amit

Ian Chappell v/s Ian Botham

2007-10-25T08:16:00.000+05:30

Here is some stuff on one of the most high-profile but lessser-remembered match-ups off the field...

http://blogs.cricinfo.com/robslobs/archives/2007/10/both_v_chappelli_part_31.php

Two ways of looking at it:
- It sad that two great cricketers should still harbour grudges against an incident that happened three decades ago..
- On the other hand, something like this today would certainly spice up the game.. ;-).. How abt Sreesanth getting into the act with some Australians later this year Down Under ????.. On seconds though, Sree will always give about 6 inches and 60 odd pounds in a physical match-up with the Aussies (and that does not include guys like Hayden n Symonds), so he is better off not attempting it :)

The need for change !!!

2007-10-20T13:56:00.000+05:30

A lot has happened since that euphoric night of 24th September. The country first witnessed an unparalleled, and almost obscene, victory celebration in which politicans outdid each other, first in announcing cash prizes for the Men in Blue and then in trying to hog the limelight in the aftermath of the win. Oh, and not to forget the outcry it evoked from the rest of the sporting fraternity, and quite rightly so !!! (read my take on that). Then, in a mere five days after the win, the boys were back on the field, and that too in a gruelling 7 match ODI series against the World Champs (in the 50 over version). Given all that, I am not suprised that we ended second best.

Quite a few things have changed over the past month or so. And one man, in particular, would agree more than anyone else. From occupying the hottest seat in Indian public life (even the PM I suspect has a easier time) to suddenly finding no seat amongst the first eleven, life has changed dramatically for Rahul Dravid. I suspect there are two main factors behind this slide. The first are the doubts in Dravid's own mind. He is too classy a player even in ODIs to not be considered in any starting line-up (in tests of course he remains our best batsman and I pray that he does not carry over his current form to the tests against Pakistan and in Australia later). So he just has to get over the demons in his head and clear his mind. But he is not helped at all by the silly and outrageous cries from the public to drop the senior brigade from the team (which is the second factor). People have got so carried away by the T20 win that a fundamental difference between the 20 over and 50 over format seems to have been overlooked. In a 50 over game, there is always need for experience on several fronts: in seeing off the first 10 overs, gauging what is a competitive score if you are batting first, in juggling your bowlers as per the demands etc etc. So you still need the old heads on the field in the 50 overs. Sachin Tendulkar has been our highest scorer in the recent ODIs, followed by Sourav Ganguly (while Gambhir and Karthik have struggled) and that should put the case to rest. But while dropping all three is not the answer, neither is playing all three. This is where we are not doing a good job of change management. We have five major players in the evening of their careers (including Laxman and Kumble) and hence the need for a smooth transition is critical. A similar thing happened with Australia in 1984 when Greg Chappell, Rod Marsh and Dennis Lillie all said goodbye in the same test. For about 4 years after that, Australia were close to being the worst team in the world (dont believe me, then sample this; England beat them in the 85 and 86-87 Ashes, New Zealand beat them in 85-86 in Australia, and had it not been for the weather, we would have also beaten them 2-0 in the 85-86 series Down Under). But then the 1987 World Cup victory happened, and Aussie cricket has not looked back since. We dont have the robustness of the Aussie system to bounce back that well, and hence if the five of them leave at once, it will set us back a long time atleast in the Tests. Which is why I firmly believe that Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly should henceforth, never play in the same ODI. Having only the two will give one extra place in the batting order and there are quite a few knocking at the door (Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Cheteshwar Pujara etc). Not to mention the positive effect the infusion of youth will have in the field. And I am sure that some amongst them would be good enough to make the transition to test matches as and when the big five call it a day.

The way forward is neither one extreme nor the other. As with most other things in life, the truth lies somewhere in between. How well we understand that will determine where Indian cricket goes from here.

A (young) gentleman's game !!

2007-09-23T14:22:00.000+05:30

The last two weeks have been a real spectacle in the world of cricket. The baby born on September 11^th has not only learnt to walk and talk, but is in fact taking giant strides on its way to living and prospering with the big boys i.e. Tests and ODIs. Before the World T20 began, there were a lot of skeptics of the format, yours truly included. The apprehensions were various: T20 would make bowlers an extinct species, it would entice youngsters into slogging thereby hampering their development and, of course, the suggestion, rather unkind at that, that T20 is nothing but a 3 hour evening entertainment show rather than a contest between bat and ball. On most counts, T20 has proven everyone wrong. Although we have seen a lot of big hitting in this competition, hardly any has been of the shut-your-eyes-and-swing-the-bat variety. The bowlers have suffered quite a bit but there is plenty of evidence that the good ones (notably Vettori, Asif et al) will not only adjust to this format but also become the key men for their sides. Spinners have managed to hold their own against the marauders at the batting crease and in some cases have actually turned the match around. And most importantly, it has bought the crowds back to cricket, at least in South Africa where there was a significant drop in game attendances over the past few years. All in all, the World T20 Cup has been an unqualified success, converting even stalwarts of the old school of batting like Boycott into ardent fans.

And at the end of two-weeks of high quality cricket, we are left with two teams and the dream final: India vs. Pakistan. Not many, not least the organizers, would have thought of this lineup. But such has been the level-playing field that T20 has provided, very much in contrast to test matches. And the two finalists have every right to be there: Both have defeated the current World Champs plus another high-quality team (South Africa and Sri Lanka respectively). So this final match-up is no fluke. But for me, having two sub- continental teams in the final means a lot more than just a dream matchup (not to mention the artillery outside the field that goes with it !!). It is symbolic of the way the T20 format has opened up new and exciting possibilities in the game of cricket. For years, Indian and Pakistan were thought of as having a bunch of very talented cricketers, but the word ‘team’ did not fit in very well alongside them. But the advent of a new form has changed things around: for starters, both teams left out their senior players. They were quick to grasp what T20 was all about and invested in youth. A bunch of first-timers were pushed onto the world stage and they have delivered, whether it be Misbah-ul-Haq, Sohail Tanvir or Rohit Sharma. Both teams have young and new captains with fresh and aggressive ideas, ideally suited to this format. And most significantly, the T20 format has cleared the cobwebs in the mind and has unleashed the raw striking talent that cricketers from our part of the world have. While I have been awed by each of the dozen-odd sixes that Yuvraj has hit so far, what has struck me even more than he is playing with a very clear mind. He is no more wondering whether to attack or keep wickets intact, to go over the top or keep it safe along the ground. T20 teaches you to play in only one style: your natural style. And the natural instincts of Yuvraj Singh have finally come out in gay abandon. And yes, I will go as far as to say that this has been the cleanest hitting (no slogs mind you !!) that I have seen in my two decades of watching cricket. And the running between the wickets has also been the best I have seen from the Men in Blue for a long, long time. The concoction of youth, natural talent, energy, fearlessness and T20, of course, makes for a very intoxicating drink indeed !!!!

So irrespective of the result on Monday, there is some evidence that it will be these kind of players and teams that have them who will lead the world in dominating this brand of cricket. The rest of the world would do well to see the signs. Win or lose tomorrow, both India and Pakistan will leave South Africa two steps ahead in their understanding of this fine game.

New-age Cricket !!!

2007-09-16T10:21:00.000+05:30

We are entering a new age in cricket. Cricket’s latest avatar is taking the world by storm. Started just about 2 years back, it has got everyone’s attention like nothing else before. Already, the ICC deems it worthy of a World Cup (remember, the 50 over format had a low-key WC more than a decade after the limited-overs game was introduced in England). And to follow that up, four of the world’s richest and most influential cricket boards have joined hands to create an ‘official’ Twenty-20 international league, much on the lines of the Champions League in European football. I suspect the dynamics of world cricket are going to be altered fundamentally in the years to come.

So what is it about T20??? The first word that is usually associated with T20 is ‘fun’. Talk to about half the cricketers about the new baby, and this is the word that you would find in their first sentence. Yes, it is very much about fun, primarily for the spectators. A game that is done and dusted in three hours is ideal to take your family and friends out to on an evening after work. The innovators have also made some smart moves to ensure more activity and fun for the players. The ‘dressing room’ has been bought on to the field (you surely wont find anyone dressing thereJ), so that the tensions and tactics of the games can be seen by all. The new batsman pretty much sprints to the wicket or else he is timed out. And not to forget the cheer leaders entertaining the crowd after every boundary or wicket. There is a definite carnival atmosphere to this format of the game. For the organizers, this attracts newer segments of the population to the game which hitherto had stayed away from game because of its slowness and excessive length. It is truer in England than anywhere else, where the overwhelming success of the format has resuscitated the game in the counties. It is therefore, without a doubt, a win-win both for the authorities and the spectators.

But what about the players? I saw the first game of the World Cup and the frightening manner in which Gayle and Gibbs murdered the bowling put me off a bit. I have always been an advocate of an equal contest between bat and ball, and that game did not do the bowlers any favours. Thankfully though, the other games have seen more of a level playing field, with the India-Pakistan contest being a real classic to rival any ODI or Test match. Still, the T20 format inherently favours the batsmen. Here, they have the license to go for the big hits from the first ball without too much worry about wickets (you have to be really ordinary to lose 10 wickets in 20 overs !!). Infact, after the first game, I thought that having only 8 batsman bat (i.e. maximum of 7 wickets only) might be a useful thing to try out. The pitches and conditions in Durban and Cape Town have favoured the bowlers a bit, which is why you see first-innings scores of 130-150 rather than 200+. This makes for a much more interesting game. But these pitches are the exception rather than the norm, and therefore, expect the bowlers to suffer a lot more in T20. This needs to be addressed sooner or latter by the ICC. That apart, this World Cup looks set to be a great success and the T20 format would sooner or later be the primary format of cricket played over the globe.

Cheers
Amit

End of series but start of a journey...

2007-09-14T19:13:00.001+05:30

A lot has happened in the week since my last post. India have finished the one-day series in England with mixed success, the World T20 Cup has taken off in spectacular fashion in South Africa, almost simultaneously, 4 of the biggest cricket boards in the world have united to form an ‘official’ league of the Twenty20 format. And today comes the news that India’s cricket captain has abruptly decided to step down from what arguably is one of the hottest seats in Indian contemporary life.

We can look back at the 7-match ODI series with a mix of positives and negatives. However, when seen with a long-term perspective, the negatives seem to outweigh the positives. The batting did mostly fine, but the best batsmen in the series are all above 32 and are approaching the evening of their careers. It is upto Yuvraj and Dhoni to take over the mantle of the batting through the next few years. They, hopefully alongwith Sehwag, would be the fulcrum around which the next generation of talented batsman can build their careers. It was good to see Utthapa succeeding at the The Oval, this will hopefully go a long way in his development as a decent international cricketer. For the team management, now is the time to keep on blooding new guys in the one-day team. In fact, I would even suggest a rotation policy where one of Sourav, Sachin and Rahul is rested in every match and fresh talent is given a chance. To take it further, if Sachin were to retire later this year as reported, not only would it be a fitting end to a great career and would also pave the way for Gen-Next to make their mark. Coming back to the series, the bowling and fielding looked pretty ordinary though. Apart from Zaheer and Powar, the others were too inconsistent (although Chawla has a good future ahead of him). As for the fielding, we really need to improve our standards (as mentioned in the previous post) to be able to compete with top international sides. To sum up, the series provided us with quite a few lessons. Hopefully, we will be good learners and take two steps forward in our journey towards the next World Cup and beyond.

Cheers

Amit

Warnie's final googly !!!

2007-09-04T20:07:00.000+05:30

The irresistible Shane Warne has done it again. After getting 708 victims on the field with that mesmerizing mix of flippers, googlies and leg breaks, he has now delivered yet another googly that has left many stumped. And he might have got a few ‘wickets’ in the process as well. His list of Top 50 cricketers (cleverly executed as a daily countdown of 10 each) was bound to raise some eyebrows and, of course, a lot of controversy.

I see no reason why any rankings/ratings/list should generate any controversy. But cricket has a history of having too many such ratings and, not surprisingly, lots of controversies to go along with. Remember the Wisdens top 5 players of the century and how we were shocked at seeing Sachin out ?. Ratings and lists are no more than opinions of either individuals or panels, who are helped by their own vast experiences of playing, commentating or writing about the game and also by the enormous statistics available at their disposal. But finally, they are still opinions and therefore, bound to vary. But in Shane Warne’s case, what is very obvious is that he has allowed ‘non-cricketing’ issues to creep in his judgement of his Top 50. I wonder what Steve Waugh will tell Warne the next time they meet. Waugh at No. 26 cannot be a pure cricketing opinion. Warne defends the rating on two counts: a). Waugh being a match-saver than a match-winner b). he being handed a great time by Mark Taylor. Somehow, I find it hard to buy that. While the second argument might be true, and Taylor also was a better captain that Steve, it was under Steve that the Aussies developed that ruthless streak of winning matches (remember that 16-Test winning streak ?). Therefore, to brand Steve Waugh as a defensive captain is baffling. He might not have been one of the greats entertainers as a batsman and that might be where Warne is coming from. But, all said and done, Waugh at 26 is too hard to digest. And yes, there have been enough theories going around in the past few days to account for that, which I find hard to shun.

Some other Australians also seem to have got the advantage of being part of a great team. Brett Lee ahead of Donald and Pollock seems too biased. So does Darren Lehmann. Six Indians find a place in the 50 (most after Aussies and English), which is testimony to the hard-fought Indo-Aussie rivalry over the past decade or so. But even there, Laxman has reason to feel aggrieved, having tackled Warne with almost as much distinction as Sachin and Lara. And Dilip Vengsarkar, though a very fine player overall, finds a place even though he would have faced Warne in only 2 tests on that 1991-92 tour, where neither performed with much distinction.

Finally, as one of the letters in the English newspapers said, Shane Warne has a right to name his own children, so why not his Top 50 ? All we need to acknowledge that these are no more than opinions of one man and live with the baggage of non-objectivity that comes along with it. Read it, chuckle and forget it rather than spending hours debating on captaincy rifts.

PS: Here is a good article by Tim De Lisle on the selection

The Great Indian Team Balancing Act. !!

2007-09-02T08:50:00.000+05:30

India's woes in the ongoing one day series in England are very much evident for all to see. The defeat at Old Trafford must be especially demoralizing, because when you have got the opposition on the mat at 114/7 with another 100 to get, you expect 9 out of 10 times to finish the job. Sadly, that didnt happen and instead of a 2-2 scoreline (which would made the last 3 games potential classics), we are down 1-3 and wondering where the next win is going to come from.

Coming to the issues that plague the Men in Blue, while they are embarrasingly obvious, there is no quick-fix to it. The 2 most burning issues are: Fielding and Team Balance. Ground fielding has been India's achilles heel for years now. While we may be good at catching, covering the outfield and sending good returns in is an area where we are, quite literally, few yards behind the rest of the world. Recently of course, we have got the best man for the job. Robin Singh not only was one of our best fielders, he also was a classic example of sincerity and hard work. And that is what is needed in fielding. Not great skills or even speed, but just hours of hard practice put in. However, he needs to work with the youngsters in the team, possibly even the Under-21s. I dont see what improvements Robin can bring about in, say, a Ganguly or a Dravid, because you get the passion for fielding at 17, not at 34. But hopefully, give Robin enough time and he will give some results.

The problem of balance arises because, as Harsha Bhogle put it so succicintly, "bowlers cant bat and batsman cant bowl !!". We are comfortable neither with the 7-batters nor the 5-bowlers and keep shifting from one strategy to other. Thats where the all-rounder and utility players come in handy. In fact, I have put together a summary of the strengths of each of the curent members in each of the three departments and the sum of the scores is what they bring to the table. The sheet reads as follows (note that the numbers are based on current form)

Bat Bowl Field Total
Ganguly 7 5 5 17
Tendulkar 8 5 6.5 19.5
Dravid 8.5 1 6 15.5
Gambhir 6 0 6 12
Karthik 6 1 7 14
Yuvraj 8 4 8 20
Dhoni 7 0 6 13
Agarkar 5 6 7 18
Zaheer 4 8 5 17
Chawla 5 7 6 18
Powar 5 7 5 17
RP Singh 3 7 5 15
Munaf 3 7 2 12

One look at the sheet and you realize why Yuvraj and Tendulkar are India's MVP in one-dayers. They contribute in all three departments. Agarkar, inspite of his rotten bowling form, should be in the side on most days while youngsters like Chawla should be groomed carefullyl. Those below 15 should consider at improving another aspect of their game to make themselves a saleable proposition in the limited overs game. On the other hand, there is also the danger of picking too many bits and pieces players. England and West Indies used to do it in the past but without much success. My own theory is that you have need to have a minimum of 3 very good batsman, 3 very good bowlers and a good wicketkeeper-batsman (say 8 and above). If anyone of these contributes in the other department, thats a bonus. The remaining 4 can be utility cricketers. And needless to say, most should be atleast 7 or more on the field. For India, this remains a distinct dream. Two guys currently out in the cold need to do what Dada did in 2006 and come back better players. We need Sehwag and Pathan back as more fitter players and also, with their heads clear. They are going to be crucial over the next few years.

In the past, a very close association of India was with the Great Indian Rope Balancing Act. We need a Great Indian Team Balancing Act now !!!

Cheers
Amit