Ramblings of a crazed cricket fan

A fortnight away...

2005-09-11T12:36:00.000-04:00

So where are we after almost a fortnight of absence? India lost yet another final and came out with more questions than answers. England blew Australia away for most of the fourth test and yet again almost contrived to lose the Ashes in their fourth innings chase. Zimbabwe got humiliated yet again and will probably continue that form into the test series against India. We are into the fourth day of the fifth test has started and rain that threatened to blow at least one Ashes test has finally arrived much to the cheer of the England supporters. So where are we after a fortnight of absence?

Before I decide to lambaste the Indian performance here are a few positives that came out for me. It’s about time Md Kaif gave us a glimpse of what he is actually capable of. He needs a lesson in changing gears but he brings much needed solidity at number 3. Dravid in recent years has become a wonderful finisher and he needs a Yuvraj Singh and a Dhoni coming in at 5 and 6. When Tendulkar returns, the batting order will have a more solid look to it…the only problem being finding a place for the beleaguered Indian captain, whose future is starting to increasingly look dark. The problem with this Indian team has been an unbelievable tendency to swing from brilliant to below mediocre in a space of a few days. And the golden run from 2002 to 2004 seems increasingly just a bright spark but nothing more. The performances of this team have started to resemble some of the frustrating periods in the 90s. Who knows, this might actually be the story of Indian cricket…much like Pakistan cricket or Sri Lankan cricket. Always dangerous, but unlikely to be the best for any sustained period of time.

Very unlike the story of the England team though. This has been a collective rise of 11 individuals on the field to beat a colossus. Michael Vaughan may or may not rise to heights of his watershed Ashes tour down under, but his contribution to this team in a space of 18 months is immeasurable. Under his captaincy Harmison, Flintoff and Jones now form the best pace bowling attack in the world by some distance. Andrew Strauss has become one of the best opening bats in the world. Ashley Giles has thrived with a well-defined role for his limited capabilities and Kevin Pieterson has the license to go out and smash the best without any demons in his mind. And Flintoff! What would teams give to have a player like that? He is the fulcrum around which this England team hinges. England needs to handle him with extreme care if they need him to sustain his brilliance for the next decade. And as the rain falls on the fourth day of the final test, putting out the last of the Australian flame, this England team needs to be lauded and idolized for their efforts. But now comes the pressure of being number 1. There’s only one way to go from there…

So where are we after a fortnight of absence? The world changes for some, and remains the same for others. Much like life itself…

The next master-blaster?

2005-08-27T20:57:00.000-04:00

Here's a pic of Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun on the left at a recent nets session where Sachin is recuperating. Looking to loft the ball over long on, would you say? Though his front foot should be pointing straight down the pitch like his old man's...oh well, dad can straighten that technique out.

The good, the bad and the ugly

2005-08-24T22:05:00.000-04:00

The good…

The third Ashes test seems a distant memory and it feels like a fresh start to the series. It almost is! The two sides have had a welcome break. Shaun Tait provided a spark in the bowling missing in any Aussie bowler whose name is not Mcgrath, Warne or Lee, and England have had time to give the over-worked Flintoff and Harmison a breather. Trent Bridge promises a fast pitch and with four bowlers on view on either side who can top the 90mph mark, the toss and the first day might prove to be crucial. But then again, a fast pitch and if England bats first, they won’t be backing away from another Edgbaston-like assault on the first day. The Aussies might be prone to be a little more circumspect given their worrying batting form throughout this series. In six innings, only once have the Aussies been able to hold on; the last innings at Old Trafford, and they only barely held on. Hayden, Gilchrist, Martyn and Clarke have some catching up to do. England on the other hand need to shake off the Old Trafford disappointment and come back firing because the murmurings have begun again…the Aussies are below-par and England are playing their best cricket…and the series is still 1-1.

The bad…

India is in Zimbabwe on a series where they have nothing to gain and plenty to lose. Well, nothing to gain might be an exaggeration, but the whole controversy surrounding the captaincy issue, the unsettled look to the team, Tendulkar’s inclusion when he is less than confident about his elbow, some strange omissions from the side and a botched up itinerary, all paint yet another woeful picture of the working of the BCCI. New Zealand has been in Zimbabwe pretty much on a holiday. While their test credentials are suspect, they remain a strong one-day unit and with Shane Bond back at his fiery best, the Indians and Ganguly in particular have a lot to worry about. Ganguly looked totally out of sorts against the 140kph deliveries of Darren Powell and Jermaine Lawson in the Indian Oil tri-series. Shane Bond is in a totally different league to these bowlers in terms of speed and accuracy. This is a no-win situation for Ganguly. He needs to win the series and have a good performance with the bat to hold on to his captaincy and a place in the 11. A bad series with the bat and say a shock defeat to Zimbabwe in one of the ODIs and he might be handed the pink slip. This Indian line-up is still too suspect and the return of Ajit Agarkar suggests that the bench strength is worryingly bare.

The ugly…

Zimbabwe. They have stooped to whole new level of hapless and desperate. The return of Streak, Blignaut and Carlisle doesn’t seem to have helped much as NZ slaughtered them in the first match of the tri-series. You can’t help but feel sorry for Tatenda Taibu. He has been the one bright light in his side for a while and shows genuine potential to be a world class wicket-keeper batsman. He is captain of his team at an age when cricketers are still fine-tuning their game and have strong senior players to guide them. And much as we admire Heath Streak and Taibu, it is hard to ignore the fact that cricket in Zimbabwe is dying a slow and painful death. Bangladesh still has strong public and financial backing to sustain the game and they have unearthed a few genuinely talented cricketers. Zimbabwe on the other hand has the last of the players who are still involved for the love of the game and pride in representing their country. A pride which is slowly being eroded with every heavy defeat…

Ashes 4th Test Coverage
Videocon tri-series coverage

Money for nothing...

2005-08-17T22:53:00.000-04:00

So what do Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, Muthiah Muralitharan and Inzamam Ul-Haq derive from a dubiously set, unwanted, farcical tournament held under the banner of developing cricket in Africa and Asia? (Short answer: Nothing. For the long answer, read on…). “Cricket for Unity” is the slogan of the Afro-Asian cup and the irrepressible Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Afro-Asian Cricket Co-operation (!) proudly proclaimed “Singly we are strong, together we are even stronger”. Hmmm…that strength doesn’t seem to convince either the players on the field or the absentee spectators. Nor did it convince broadcasters, who usually tear each other apart for rights to a cricket series. And the much maligned Zee TV, which was on the wrong-end of a court decision, finally got the cricket telecast experience it needed…even though nobody probably bothered to watch the game. Dalmiya’s pet projects in recent years have usually been short-sighted money-making, vote-seeking exercises in disaster. His Asian Test Championship, the Toronto Ind-Pak series and the inclusion of Bangladesh in the test arena are three prime examples. The first and second ones, thankfully, died a quick death. The third one, unfortunately, just holds its nose above water from flash-in-the-pan performances in the one-day game. But give the man credit; if there is a buck to be made from cricket, he knows all the ways.

Normally, a cricket match in which one team wins by a 2-run margin is classified a thriller. In some rare cases, like in Edgbaston, it becomes an epic. But never is it a dry boring spectacle as it was in Centurion Park today. And the manner in which the match was played, official status notwithstanding, was more a leisurely hit-about on a Sunday afternoon. The African XI had one Kenyan player and the Asian XI had one Bangladeshi player. This match would have made a world of difference for players from these two teams, as rarely do they get to perform on a big stage along side some of the best talent. And they would have brought some more heart and soul into this match. But when has it ever been about the players? And it’s unsettling to think that this tournament has the ICC’s blessings, which not long ago sought to cleanup all meaningless tournaments to prevent match-fixing. Heck! Even match-fixing needs people to watch a cricket match first to earn its dirty money. And it is laughable to think that Uganda or Namibia gain anything out of this, apart from some of the promised proceeds of this series. If the opening match is anything to go by, they would be all the more disillusioned by the quality of cricket and permission to the players given by participating boards to skip the series.

Neil Manthrop aptly sums up the mood of the match in one paragraph

“Players came together to celebrate wickets in the same manner that accountants gather to discuss a book-keeping oddity and the tiny band of Indian supporters waving their national flag allowed it to droop in confusion when Shahid Afridi and Kumar Sangakkara teamed up to dismiss Nicky Boje.”

Cricket probably gained millions of new fans in the space of two pulsating Ashes test matches. But what does holding this series for three years propose to achieve for the game, the players and the spectators? Long story short: Nothing.

The Captain's Corner

2005-08-14T21:13:00.000-04:00

Watching the 4th day in the 3rd Ashes test match was fascinating. Not only because of the dominance of the England team but because of two contrasting figures that run their respective cricket teams. An air of total relaxation and fun surrounded Michael Vaughan as he sat in the player’s balcony at Old Trafford laughing, applauding every shot and genuinely enjoying Strauss’ elegance and Bell’s determination. And that in itself is fascinating as there are very few people who can remember that look on an England captain’s face in an Ashes series. And equally fascinating was watching a champion team slowly lose its edge in this series. And Ricky Ponting looked as tired and out of ideas as some of Vaughan’s predecessors. They say that a captain’s actions on the field mirror the form and confidence of the rest of the team. And that has been the stark contrast between the two men on view.

Great leaders come in many forms. In one sense solid leadership is a subjective thing, in another there are certain characteristics that are, by consensus, typical of quality leadership. It is the process of influencing team members to work hard towards, and be committed to, team goals. Steve Waugh was a prime example of that. He took a team of achievers and turned them into a ruthless unit of world beaters that single mindedly focused on destroying oppositions in every way possible, be it on the field or in the mind. Waugh and for that matter Hussain focused on a more task-oriented form of leadership where they demanded the very best from a player in any situation. Vaughan on the other hand seems to have a more people-oriented approach, where he has a set of talented individuals and tells them to go out and have fun. And sometimes it’s important that captains gauge the team dynamics and adapt their style of leadership. Waugh’s leadership had no time for mediocrity and half-efforts and Michael Slater was a player who fell by the wayside. Vaughan seems to be the guy you can hang out with and talk, in Hussain’s words, the “Playstation generation” talk. That is where Ponting has had a hard time, torn between carrying on Waugh’s legacy and at the same time stamping his own authority. Winning consistently papers over the cracks, but a team in adversity reflects the true characteristics of its leader. And if Australia does retain the Ashes from here, Ponting will have found the strength to create his own legacy, much like Waugh did after some hairy moments in the Caribbean series in ’99.

Good teams in the past and present have been characterized by strong and stable leaders. And it’s no surprise that the teams struggling at the moment lack a strong man at the helm. A good example being the musical chairs played over India’s captaincy. Ganguly has done wonders for Indian cricket and should be lauded for his efforts. But to judge Dravid on the basis of one series where the players were rusty and inexperienced was harsh. But the real question the selectors should be asking is the one Sachin Tendulkar answered for himself when he resigned. Who is more important? Ganguly the captain, or Ganguly the batsman? And the answer to this question, hopefully, is the reason for the selectors’ decision. Because, a characteristic of a good leader comes from the ability to perform and hence demand performance from the team. And Ganguly’s personal struggles might leave a legacy that might be hard for Indian cricket to overturn.

Chokers Inc.

2005-08-10T17:37:00.000-04:00

A World Cup final, a drawn test series against the Aussies down under, an unprecedented watershed tour of Pakistan, three of the greatest one-day batsmen in the team…all this looks good on the resume of any cricket team. And yet, the Indian cricketers seem to sweat and freeze at the same time when confronted with a difficult situation on a big stage. A situation that can be resolved by applying themselves to the basics suddenly turns into an exercise of performing the extraordinary. Basics?!? You would consider that to be the last thing a professional would screw up. But strange are the workings of the mind under pressure. From my own realm, the crappiest pieces of software in the market today are works of the best professionals under extreme deadlines and pressures.

In a brilliant article by Malcolm Gladwell titled “The Art of Failure”, he describes why some people panic or in sporting parlance, “choke” in the face of a challenge. He recreates that mind-boggling ’93 Wimbledon final between Jana Novotna and Steffi Graf, when Novotna leading 4-1, 40-30 in the final set inexplicably contrived to lose the match and the championship from there. Those brilliant volleys went into the net, that powerful forehand barely made it across…and he asked the question which Novotna herself could probably never answer. At that stage did she look across the net and suddenly realize that she was beating Steffi Graf, the greatest player of her generation? And in there lies the invisible boundary the mind suddenly crosses over and skills that becomes second nature to you, suddenly seem to desert you. A mind focusing on the task at hand suddenly becomes distracted with trying to the do the basic things right. In last night’s final, the Indians were 209/4 after 40 overs; the exact same score as the Sri Lankans at that stage. But then the aura of Murali probably took over at sometime, which resulted in trying to run non-existent runs and playing shots that weren’t on. And they made Murali, Chandana and Vaas look better on the day than they actually were. As they did on another forgettable day in Sharjah in 2000, when Indian cricket probably hit its nadir, match fixing apart. The Australian team is sensational and brilliant not because their cricketers are more gifted than any other cricketer, but because they have the belief in their skills to take them through in any situation. And that will be Greg Chappell’s biggest responsibility in his current assignment. His contribution will be valued not if he can coach Dhoni or Raina to have better techniques, but if he can coach them into performing on the big stage in pressure situations.

Confidence and self-belief are virtues often bandied about in post-match talks and pre-tournament discussions but rarely found in character on a cricket field. So doff your hats to the Flintoffs, the Dravids and the Warnes of this world because when they loose, it will be because the opponent was better, not because they “choked”.

Brilliant!

2005-08-08T23:13:00.000-04:00

Winning entry of the caption contest on Cricinfo. Absolutely brilliant!

A day of nerve-wrecking fightbacks

2005-08-07T17:04:00.000-04:00

"If we'd have lost the game and gone 2-0 down I don't think we'd have come back from there - not against a team like this."
-Michael Vaughan

“I thought 262 was a good score and we were sailing at one point. But it got too close for comfort in the end”
-Rahul Dravid

Two teams, one at the top and one almost at the bottom of the ladder, showed us the importance of why it’s never over until the fat lady decides to holler. Australia and West Indies came agonizingly close to creating a shudder that would have been heard around the cricketing world and relegated two teams to utter despair. India’s woes have been of their own causing persisting with a four bowler strategy when time and time again in this series the folly of that approach has been discovered. And England’s Ashes campaign almost came to a thundering halt when a routine two wickets to end an already incredible test match turned into an astonished heave to break the determination of Lee, Warne and Kasprowicz. The Aussies have now been involved in a tied test match, a one run, two run and a three run losses. But in the end, neither Ricky Ponting nor Sylvester Joseph, who captained the team in Chanderpaul's absence, would begrudge the fact that the better team won in the end.

West Indies came to Sri Lanka with virtually no hope of winning. Despite the encouraging sound bytes from their manager and captain, the only expectation anybody had was akin to the expectations people have of the Bangladesh or Zimbabwe teams; if they could show some semblance of fight in them. But in the two test matches, they troubled Sri Lanka plenty but did not have the batting skill to counter Vaas and Murali. Had these two players not been there, it might well have been a different story in those matches. And when India arrived for the triangular, again everybody rolled their eyes and muttered about meaningless triangulars where the final was already decided before a ball had been bowled. But the Windies bowlers were spirited and quick and troubled virtually every batsman, and shocked a few spectators who probably thought bowling at 120kmh on line and length was the only way to go. And finally when their batting clicked, the bowlers demolished the SL top order setting up a do-or-die match for the Indians. After today’s match, in which Darren Powell sent Ganguly to the hospital with a sickening blow to the hand, the Windies go out of the tournament as expected, but only after exposing glaring weaknesses in both of the more fancied teams and discovering some wonderful new talent for a bright future nobody thought existed.

After the second test, those familiar tunes of Aussie decline will be played until the third test begins and not all of it is unjustified. The Aussies have held onto the belief that whatever England does, they can do better. And who can blame them? It’s worked for over a decade. But the quality of a champion team is to show respect to the opposition and somehow the Aussie demeanor, watching some of the dreadful shots played, never really suggested that. It is a different England team and as much as they almost choked today, they have the players who can return every Aussie shot or bouncer with equal, if not greater, zeal. A team that is undefeated for 18 months beating the likes of SAF away cannot be undermined. And Ricky Ponting and co. would do well to go back to their drawing board and devise a plan not to play England on intimidation, but on the age-old characters of sound batting and tight bowling, as playing a waiting game is as effective as playing the bully. There is a long way to the end of the series and Mcgrath might very well not be part of it anymore.

Final shots…

Asked whether he preferred tight, testing matches like this, or flattening the opposition the way the Aussies so often do, Ponting laughed. "I'd rather be flattening 'em - at least I'd have some fingernails left!"
-Ricky Ponting

“We came into this series having no hope at all and we leave with a lot of positives for the future. I couldn’t have asked for anything more from the boys”
-Bennet King (WI coach)

Ashes 2nd Test Day 3 - A test match for the ages

2005-08-06T16:27:00.000-04:00

"I'm Andrew Flintoff, and this is the way I play."
-Andrew Flintoff

That line sums up the day today as one man battled a legend at the peak of his powers and leaden-footed batting from his mates, and ended up establishing arguably the most dominating individual performance since Botham’s test in 1981. If there was a player England can’t afford for to tread on stray cherries on the field, it would be this man. And if England does go on to win the Ashes from here, the most defining moments of the summer could well be the over Flintoff bowled to Langer and Ponting to turn a spirited run-chase at 47/0 into a fight for survival at 47/2.

England began the day at 25/1 facing up to a bowler who took his 100^th wicket on English soil in the same way he took his first. And things quickly got worse as Lee discovered the fire missing in his first innings effort and blew away Trescothick, Vaughan and Hoggard after England had added only 6 runs. From then on, it was the Warne show as he turned back the clock and displayed the blinding genius that people thought was eroded due to the ravages of age. At one stage England were tottering at 75-6 and in very real danger of handing the match back to the Aussies .Then cometh the man who battled Warne, Lee and a suspected dislocated shoulder to single handedly set a total which would require some batting from the Aussies to overhaul. The Aussies were more circumspect in their approach when they started out and got the chase off to a good start with Hayden and Langer slowly playing themselves in. At 47/0 there must have been a few flutters in the England camp. But a toss of the ball to Flintoff and in a flash of an over, the match turned on its head and the Aussies never got back from there. If there was evidence needed of the Aussie bemusement, it was seen in Adam Gilchrist’s shocking shimmy down the pitch to Giles and hit the ball down mid-on’s throat off only the fourth ball he faced. Flintoff’s desperation to win this match was none the more evident when during the England innings he went down the pitch to give Simon Jones an earful after the no. 11 had swished at one outside off. That final wicket partnership of 51 proved to be the turning point of this match.

Shane Warne, who was out there at the end of the day at 20 not out, I’m sure, would not be begrudged by the state of affairs. After all he’s played so many Ashes series where the opponents have lost the match in the mind even before it started. A willing opponent this time gives him the chance of a perfect story he would like to script for his swansong Ashes campaign…just like the end of a long running soap opera. Final shot…

"Whoever writes my scripts seems to be doing it right - 599 going into Old Trafford, which is a very special place for me. And my parents are coming over, which was always planned. So I hope to get at least one wicket there for the 600."
-Shane Warne

Ashes 2nd Test Day 2 - Wheelie-bin strikes back!

2005-08-05T19:43:00.000-04:00

“I don't come out saying things to the press just to wind myself up. I'm just happy that having done my preparation I've come out and done well today."
-Ashley Giles

“The Return of the Empire” has been an oft repeated theme England has been promising after 18 months of unbelievable success. But it has taken 75 days since the Aussie touched the English shores, for the hyperbole and the expectations of a nation hungry after years of living on appetizers, to finally get ready to feast on the main course. When the madness of this test match dies down and Ashley Giles reminisces about this day, the one thing he would wish would be to take back that insecure emotional spewing of last week and let the events of this test match play out the way it has.

When the Aussies came out to bat today, everybody expected an English shellacking on a much meatier scale than what the home team doled out to the Aussies on the first day. But very few people expected an England bowling attack determined this time not to let the opportunity pass by like they did at Lords. The Aussie batsmen were caught between trying to attack and fend off some tight bowling especially from Giles and Flintoff. Case in point being Ricky Ponting’s frustration and eventual dismissal after a quiet period. Hoggard began the day for England brilliantly by dismissing Hayden first ball and Harmison decided that Langer needed some reminding of the pain from Lords. But Ponting and Clarke looked in good touch and Langer resolutely fought off the bowlers. But like the England innings on the first day, none of them were game for a grind and wickets fell pretty regularly to some tight but not extraordinary England bowling; the most shocking dismissal being Warne’s ugly heave across the line to Giles. In fact the best bowling during the day came in the latter part of the Aussie innings when Simon Jones bowled briskly and got some swing and Flintoff cleaned up the tail in the old-fashioned reverse-swinging yorker way. And an important achievement for this England team was to keep Adam Gilchrist away from the strike and prevent him from launching into his famous counter-attacking assaults.

It’s been a long time since England have come out on top two days in a row and it is important for them to keep batting throughout the day tomorrow and then some on the 4th day to set a big target for this Australian team. It’s going to be tough as seen by the one English wicket to fall today, when the ball from that great man turned square to bowl Strauss behind his legs. Because if the Aussies get a scent at a gettable target, a 4th and 5th day deteriorating pitch might not help England, as in the wheelie-bin’s own words; he ain’t no Shane Warne. Final shot…

So what sort of total would the Aussies ideally like to chase? Langer grinned again. "Well, we're already 125 behind - about 150? You saw how Warnie was turning it at the end ... That ball hopefully will have worried England, not just for this game but the whole of the series. The more Shane Warne demons we can get into the England dressing-room, the better."
-Justin Langer

Ashes 2nd Test Day 1 - The Edgbaston gang-bang

2005-08-04T20:03:00.000-04:00

"I've been letting my side of the bargain down for a while now, haven't I, so it was nice to spend some time with him in the middle. If we bat together, I think we're going to score quickly. He's in fine form, and hopefully I'm coming into some myself."
-Andrew Flintoff

If God writes a script for the perfect start to a Test Match, then Lords would have been his trial production and Edgbaston would be his finished product. In keeping with the nature of this series, the opening day produced some of the most bizzarely thrilling moments seen in a test match since another day in Calcutta in 2001 when VVS Laxman weaved his magic. And somehow the Aussies seem to bring this quality out of opponents; the need to do the extraordinary to get on top. 407 scorching runs were scored in 79.4 overs and 10 wickets fell. And it wasn’t so much the run rate, which was an equally unbelievable 5.13, but the way they were scored, inclusive of 55 fours and 10 sixes. And it’s a tribute to this Aussie team that at the end of the day, most pundits believe that they have the edge going into the second day.

The day started bizzarely enough when Glenn Mcgrath was ruled out of the match having twisted his ankle after stepping on a cricket ball and then Ponting misread the pitch and invited England to have a bat. The decision probably came looking at the history of the ground where only twice before had a team batted first and won. Steven Rouse, the curator, was wary about the pitch but obviously the batsmen thought nothing of it as they battered Gillespie, Lee, Kasprowicz and Warne around the park. None of the batsmen, stung by some of the criticism heaped on them after Lords, took a backward step against this attack. Obviously they were blessed by the absence of Mcgrath, against whom this tactic might have backfired. But they also discovered the caveat with this approach when a day they could have ended at about 360/4 with some measured batting at the later stages, ended up at 407 all out. Flintoff and Pieterson produced the most breathtaking passage of play before tea, when they put on 103 runs in 17.3 overs. Flintoff was especially brutal on Brett Lee hooking him for three sixes, all of ‘em with his eyes closed, and conjured visions of doing another Botham. But it wasn’t to be and his knock reflected the England innings at the end of the day; short, but boy was it sweet.

The Aussies were given a painful glimpse into the future with life without Mcgrath and Warne. If not for Warne, the score might have been higher putting huge question marks on the rest of the bowling. Gillespie looked a lot better with a little extra responsibility and Kasprowicz was steady despite the madness around him. But Lee needs a lesson in defensive bowling, especially when he is losing the battle against a batsman. England should be disappointed at not batting enough when they had the Aussies on the run. And they need to pray for a huge cloud cover tomorrow for Hoggy, Harmy and co., as there is the very real danger of seeing Hayden or Gilchrist blast back to form on this pitch. And looking at the corker Strauss got, Warney might easily get his 600 in this match. Final shot...

"Yeah, it was a pretty amazing day all round," he admitted. "I turned up expecting to have plenty of coffee and tea, and cake - and end up playing in a Test match."
-Michael Kasprowicz

TMS quote of the day:

Selvey: “Hoggard’s last four innings have produced 0, 1 and that pair at Lords”
Maxwell: “Well, he’s due for a big one isn’t he?”
-as Hoggard prepared to take strike for his first ball

Indian Oil Cup - Ind vs. SL

2005-08-03T05:28:00.000-04:00

Match Review
There come times when Mahela Jayawardene decides that he wants to remind people why he is so highly regarded in Sri Lanka. His lopsided stats in one-day and tests suggest that he suffers from serious concentration lapses in the limited overs version of the game. And that sometimes hurts Sri Lanka because he is a vital cog at no. 4. But today he kept his cool and his wits about him as he dragged Sri Lanka from dire straits at 95/6 in the 25th over to an absolutely stunning victory with 13 balls to spare. And he exposed a vital ingredient missing from Greg Chappell’s pre-tournament checklist for the Indian team; the ability to keep one’s wits in a pressure situation. Jayawardene and Chandana played beautifully and made this win possible by not only attacking the fifth bowler in Ganguly and Sehwag but also dismantling Harbhajan Singh’s spell with clinical precision. And once again, it wasn’t the lack of runs that hurt India in the end; it was the lack of another bowler. The inherent problem with Suresh Raina coming in at no. 7 is that he gets too little time to contribute anything substantial and more often than not will only have a fantastic fielding effort to show for the game. Irfan Pathan’s relative solidity with a bat should be encouraged a little more and it’s vital for India to bring Anil Kumble into the picture. If flexibility is the key Greg Chappell is looking for then it’s also responsibility at the top that he must emphasize. The top teams today are successful not because they are flexible but they have well-defined roles for the players. And that is the goal that this Indian team should hope to achieve…and hopefully also learn the art of mental strength along the way.

Won't be able to give more updates. It's 8:00am in the morning here in the US and I need to get to work. I'll give a match summary later.

Ind innings

50 overs 220/8 - Brilliant stuff from Irfan Pathan. He hammered 38 from 26 balls and has dragged India to a total that gives the bowlers something to defend. I think Dravid would think he is still 20 runs short on this pitch especially after a fairly decent if slow start. This certainly looks a much better pitch than the first time these two teams met. India now has had enough batsmen getting a hit in the middle and they should now look at playing a more attacking game as the tournament progresses. The tournament shifts to the Premadasa after this and that has traditionally been a good batting wicket. No Zaheer in the team today and Balaji needs to take a page out of Pathan's book and start landing 'em from ball one. Again, a weak fifth bowler for India might make the difference in this match. But then again, SL are without Jayasuriya.

48 overs 194/7 - What's the deal with SL and caught and bowled? Kaif gone caught and bowled for 33 off Maharoof. Good innings from Kaif, not fast but not Ganguly slow either. India should make it over 200, but how much will depend on Irfan Pathan who's batting well. Harbhajan Singh in now.

41 overs 161/6 - This is unbelievable stuff. Dilshan gets number 4. Raina caught and bowled off a brilliant catch. The Indian batting is falling off drastically. SL into the tail and India in real danger of being bowled out below 200 and before their 50 overs are up.

40 overs 157/5 - Dilshan is really hurting India. Dhoni goes caught and bowled. Came down the wicket and hammered him straight back to the bowler. Dilshan has 3. Raina coming in and India need to get it into about 220 for a competetive total. Even without Murali and Vaas, this SL bowling attack just squeezing the runs.

33.2 overs 128/4 - Dravid gone first ball to Dilshan. Very very dubious decision by the umpire. The ball hit outside the line and the umpire walked around a little bit before he gave his decision. Big wicket and India in big trouble. Again puts Ganguly's slow-go in perspective. Kaif in and another big opportunity for Kaif.

33 overs 127/3 - Ganguly gone for 51. Chandana getting one through the gate and this was always the danger of going slow. The run rate has been low and this is the time he should ideally have been wanting to accelerate. Dravid is coming in and these two should look to bat for the next 10-12 overs.

29.5 117/2 - Big off-spinner from Dilshan and Laxman is bowled through the gate. Big opportunity lost for Laxman. He was starting to look good there and played himself him. Surprise, surprise! Dhoni in. I think in a quest to up the momentum a little bit. And also get him to run into some form. I think this is a good move.

10,000 runs for Ganguly - Becomes the third batsman after Tendulkar and Inzaman to get there. I believe he's also the fastest of the three. His innings of 33 so far has been painstaking, off about 80 balls. Laxman still doesn't look like he's liking it in there. He's been beaten umpteen times outside off. This pitch looks a little better than the previous games. 240-250 looks par for the course.

18 overs 69/1 - Laxman got a huge letoff off the last over from Fernando. A big sound but Daryl Harper probably didn't hear the nick. No foot movement from Laxman in the dozen odd deliveries he's faced. Ganguly has developed a strange habit of falling over when hitting his leg-side shots. He plonks his right-leg in front of middle and tries to hit the leg side balls around that front foot. Wonder if that is a habit he picked from county cricket or just an after effect of playing really cautiously.

15.1 overs 67/1 - Sehwag finally decides that if the fielders aren't catching 'em then he will drag one onto his stumps from a foot outside. First international wicket for Jayaprakashdaran. This should bring Laxman in. Another batsman making a comeback and hopefully Atapattu should attack more. He seems to be held back with no Murali and Vaas in this team. Probably feels he doesn't have enough firepower to blow this batting away.

13 overs 50/0 - SL has helped India reach 50/0. Helped because there are clearly two out of form batsmen here and 2 catches have gone down, several misfields and Atapattu just refuses to attack. The SL captain seems to be playing this by the reputations of Ganguly and Sehwag. Sehwag decided that he wanted to hit his way out of trouble. The concering thing for Greg Chappell is that Sehwag especially doesn't seem to spend some time in the middle and play the ball around a little bit. Ganguly meanwhile is 12 short of 10,000 runs.

The Art of Criticism

2005-08-01T23:42:00.000-04:00

“If my critics saw me walking over the Thames they would say it was because I couldn't swim”
-Margaret Thatcher

So what is a critic? I looked up Webster and came up with these definitions.

1. One who expresses a reasoned opinion on any matter especially involving a judgment of its value, truth, righteousness, beauty, or technique.
2. One who engages often professionally in the analysis, evaluation, or appreciation of works of art or artistic performances.
3. One given to harsh or captious judgment

“Reasoned opinion”, “judgment of value, truth…”, “analysis, evaluation, appreciation”…naah can’t be. Webster probably added the third definition looking at what the art of criticism in the present day has become. The story of a sportsman is defined not only by his performances but also by the media’s perception of his performances. It doesn’t take much to induce the seeds of doubt in a reader and being read is a quality analogous to gaining an individual’s trust. Which is why in the big picture, handling the media becomes a skill as important to the sportsman as the skills he displays on the field.

The Ashley Giles double outburst, at first glance, not only sound like the little-boy cries of a hurt ego, but are a damaging preamble to a test match that desperately needs England to perform out of their skins. But dig a little deeper and a visual of a moderately gifted cricketer emerges; having to constantly lift himself to a level deemed acceptable to play among the sea of talent in his side. Cricket has many such dark stories of men more talented than Giles broken down by the might of the media attack, justified or not. A few days back I read a post on Prem Panicker’s blog about how the dignity of a former Indian fast-bowler on the fringes of national selection was played around with by a cricketing legend turned popular commentator. His words were and still are deemed gospel for most Indian cricket fans, and he abused that trust to achieve a laugh and fulfill his own agenda. The English media covering the Ashes has a bunch of former players, captains and legends who were responsible for building this series as a changing of the guard in world cricket. They sneered at Hayden’s anger, laughed at Gillespie’s form, snickered at Warne’s broken marriage and had a dig at virtually every Australian player. After just one test match, they turned to what was easy for them as it is for cricket writers in most countries; pick a player and blame him for everything that went wrong. And it’s safe because if the player does perform next time, the readers forget the previous lash outs. And if they don’t, it’s always food for their next column.

I had speculated on Giles’ future in a previous post and it’s unfortunate that he has been made painfully aware of his limitations. His frustration is understandable but his method of dealing with it was daft. But to put him in a situation from where he can’t defend himself was irresponsible by the same men who condoned his performances over the last 18 months. Unfortunately, that is what the art of criticism is all about.

Indian Oil Cup - Ind vs. WI

2005-07-30T23:45:00.000-04:00

West Indies win the toss and elect to bat. Still no place for Anil Kumble in the side. I thought this is a little bit surprising considering they were a bowler short in the previous match and West Indies should be a team India should approach with a little more confidence.

Ind Innings

Ind win by 6 wickets
36 overs 180/4 - Sorry about the lack of updates for the Indian innings. Dozed off for a while and then it got pretty interesting in the middle. Thought it might be a routine run-chase, but it got a little hairy for the top order partly due to the WI opening bowlers. Both Powell and Lawson got pace and bounce off the wicket and Sehwag disappeared off the second ball of the innings. Raina was dropped twice and swayed out of the way of some well-directed bouncers. But the enthusiasm also produced some wayward deliveries and dropped catches. Raina particularily showed some attacking instincts. Good to see the young batsman get some runs after his first ball dismissal yesterday. Tino Best also bowled some pacy deliveries and troubled Yuvraj Singh in particular. It was good to see Yuvraj spend some time in the middle. But he again got out after playing himself in. In the end it was the cool head of Dravid again that saw India through with plenty to spare and a bonus point in the kitty. Dravid has looked really good in the two matches so far both with his captaincy and his batting. It was a good move to give Kaif a chance at the top of the order to run into some form. The Indian batting still looks rusty, but the bowling has been consistent. It might be interesting to see how Dravid reacts to a rampaging Jayasuriya or a Sangakkara. West Indies came out and fought well, but there is too much inexperience and poor technique at the top of the order. They show spirit but just end up doing a few daft things in the field that keeps costing them the match. A little bit of experience and they might turn into a really good team. But with their current form and ability, I don't see them winning a game in this tournament.

WI Innings

47.3 overs 178 all out - Well! Disappointing cricket all around. Dropped catches, misfields and some senseless batting from WI ensures that India has a fairly comfortable chase in the end. Sehwag redeemed himself somewhat by getting the Windies top scorer Deonarine LBW for 41. But Best came in and smashed a few around. The wicketkeeper Ramadhin looks like a good test batsman, but just struggled to get the ball of the square. Nehra then got 2 in two balls when Ramadhin went for a wild swipe and missed and Darren Powell got an inside edge to his stumps. When we all expected Best to sheperd the strike to ensure WI plays the 50 overs, he tried to smash one out of the ground off Zaheer and got caught at long on for 24.

This has not been a terribly impressive display by India in the field. They just went off the boil a little bit and made a few basic mistakes. And Greg Chappell, who has emphasized so much on getting the basics right will not be impressed with a few balls going through flapping legs and awkward fielding efforts. The bowling was tight from the regular bowlers without being extraordinary. India should do this easily. Apparently, Kaif will be opening with Sehwag, and Raina will be coming in at number 3.

33.2 overs 109-6 - Dwayne Smith smashed 20 runs from 7 balls off Sehwag and Raina and is caught behind by an absolutely beautiful doosra from Harbhajan. The wicketkeeper Ramadhin is in and he played well in the test series. He is back in a familiar dismal situation. It's interesting to see Dravid's attitude towards his part-timers. Ganguly tended to mix his part-timers around and was a little more adventurous with his bowling changes. Dravid immediately reverts back to his regular bowlers once the part-timers start leaking a few runs. Not sure how to read this, but this strategy could backfire if one of the regular bowlers has a bad day and India persists with its 4 bowler approach.

31.1 overs 84-5 - Powell bowled by Sehwag through the gate. Should have waited a couple of minutes before writing all that I wrote below about Powell. Dwayne Smith is in and has smashed his first two balls for 4 and 6.

30.3 overs 84-4 - Raina gets Chanderpaul plumb in front, his first international wicket. Chanderpaul had a 52 run partnership with Deonarine. Deonarine cracked Sehwag for a huge six and there seemed to be an up in the tempo with Raina and Sehwag bowling in tandem. Raina isn't turning the ball at all and it was strange to see Chanderpaul trying to sweep an absolute straight ball. Ricardo Powell in and this is interesting. Cast your mind back to Coca Cola cup 1999 and Powell hammered the Indians, scored 100 odd in 80 balls.

Dog interruption on the field. Wait a minute, two dogs out there.

25 overs 57-3 - A painful grind this for WI. Chanderpaul got a huge let off when Sehwag put down a sitter at 2nd slip. Sehwag's looked off color on the field even in the first match. But the batsmen have simply not put the bowlers under any pressure. Nehra has gotten away with about 4 half-volleys on leg stump. Drinks have been called and Srinath gives his analysis for the first half of the WI innings...groan! Sehwag is in now, and hopefully Chanderpaul and Deonarine can push the scoring along.

13.3 overs 32-3 - Harbhajan gets Marshall off the 3rd ball of his spell. Big off-spinner first ball, Doosra second ball and the straight arm ball to get him caught in the slips. All the variations in the first 3 balls. Marshall scored 26 of the 32 runs so far. Chanderpaul in and obviously he is the key batsman for WI. Good captaincy by Dravid, slip and silly point for both batsmen for Harbhajan.

Rain interruption again!

9.1 overs 23-2 - If there was ever evidence needed of inexperience, this is it. Absolutely silly attempt of a second run with the ball inside the circle and Raina's getting a little bit of a reputation here. Joseph is gone and to make matters worse, their first run wasn't counted because Marshall grounded his bat well short of the crease while turning back for the second. Deonarine in and that's weird because Chanderpaul was slotted to come in. He's probably holding himself back for a more desperate situation. It might come very soon. Good to have Tony Cozier in the commentary box. Hearing him after a long time.

2.4 overs 1/1 - Pathan gets Morton LBW. Pathan has had a beautiful shape on the ball so far and has rapped the pads about 4 times already. This time he gets the perfect inswinger and Morton just doesn't have the technique to counter it. Sylvester Joseph the new batsman in.

Covers off - Xavier Marshall and Runako Morton opening the batting. Marshall had a bad time against Chaminda Vass's inswing in the test matches. Will keep Pathan interested.

Update - Rain has delayed the start of the match. Kinda disappointing. Apparently the Sri Lankan groundsmen are the best when it comes to predicting rain. No weather forecasts needed, just a look up to the sky and they are in with the covers even before the rain comes down.

Indian Oil Cup - Ind vs. SL

2005-07-29T23:35:00.000-04:00

Final thoughts on the match
There was never any doubt who were favorites going into this match. And in the end, it was experience that won the match for SL. Jayasuriya's injury was a blessing in disguise as he guided his younger players with him till the end. And that's where India came unstuck having Rao and Raina in the middle order. Rao played well and showed good signs, but perhaps just needed a stronger batsman at the other end. Dravid's captaincy was agressive and proactive and his batting was measured and calm. But he and Greg Chappell would do well to reconsider India's age old tactics of 7 batsmen and 4 bowlers. The situation after the 40th over in the SL innings just needed the mean accuracy of Kumble to squeeze some pressure on the batsmen. Tommorow should see India post their first victory of the tournament over West Indies, but they need to win comfortably to get some confidence for the tournament ahead. As for SL, their top order still looks out of sorts and they almost lost it in the end. Jayawardane is a real worry for them, he just seems to mentally switch off at times and throw his wicket away. Jayasuriya was declared MOM, though I felt they could have given it to the debutant Lokuhettige for his excellent bowling and quickfire 21 when runs were hard to come by.

SL innings

Atapattu and Sangakkara opening for SL. No word on Jayasuriya yet. Pathan bowling first up. On a side note, Javagal Srinath is a commentator here. I don't have any special regards for his writing skills but his commentating is pathetic. Lot of personal rants against batsmen being captains and not understanding bowlers' needs...Yawn!

SL win by 3 wickets - Maharoof played a good little cameo and most importantly stayed with Jayasuriya till the end. The difference in the end in a low scoring match ended up being Sehwag's bowling figures. What match to start of the tournament!

40.3 overs 172/7 - Zaheer gets Chandana caught behind trying to tickle it down to thirdman. This had been an attacking partnership and Jayasuriya's batting beautifully. Good to get into the tail and now put some real pressure on Jayasuriya. Interesting to note Jayasuriya slapping his bat on the ground after that daft shot from Chandana. Don't usually see him too animated while batting. Dravid's doing this well, setting attacking fields pretty much throughout the innings.

32.2 overs 140/6 - Pathan gets Lokuhettige bowled off an inside edge. Well! Dravid's bowling changes seem to be working well here. This should definitely get Chandana in. Boy! What a game this is turning out to be.

32 overs 139/5 - Well! Now it makes sense why they sent Lokuhettige. He's on 20 of 13 balls including a huge six off Sehwag. Jayasuriya is batting well, taking a single and getting the strike to the youngster. It's drinks now and Srinath is back going yada-yada over India not going in with a fifth bowler. I think he makes a good point. Just wish he didn't make it sound so personal.

29.4 overs 112/5 - Arnold gone and Harbhajan's got two. That was awesome, bowled off spinners throughout and then slipped in the straight fast one right through Arnold's gate. Arnold had no clue at all. This is going down to the wire. Suprising that Lokuhettige is coming in. Thought Chandana should be coming in.

27 overs 104/4 - Perfect timing! Harbhajan gets Dilshan LBW. Dilshan going for a sweep and is caught plumb in front. As I write this, I hear a huge roar and it can only mean Jayasuriya is in. This looks like it's going to be a close one.

26 overs 102/3 - Good strong partnership between Arnold and Dilshan here. Jayasuriya seems to have got some repair work done to his shoulder. He might be the next man in. The match is still a little tight. A wicket here and it's Chandana, an injured Jayasuriya and the tail. Dilshan encountered a torrid time with his first run coming off his 21st delivery. But he's looked pretty good from there. And it's about time Dravid has to get his fifth bowler. This might be the crucial time in this innings. A wicket here and India could get it back all even. At this moment, it looks to be SL's game.

15.3 overs 60/3 - Jayawardane gone! Absolute beauty from Zaheer, a little bit of swing into the batsman and through the gate to rattle the stumps. And I was just wondering if Zaheer should be taken off. The problem Dravid has is the 10 overs from Sehwag and Yuvraj. Arnold in and game definitely on.

13.1 overs 55/2 - Brilliant piece of fielding from Raina. Direct hit with one stump to aim at and Atapattu's gone. This has been a match of strange captaincy. Dravid has Pathan and Zaheer still going despite a few errors in line and length from both bowlers. I would have thought he might have bought Nehra or Harbhajan in at some point. Dilshan in to bat. Still no Jayasuriya.

4.3 overs 19/1 - Pathan gets Sangakkara LBW with a beauty. Swings in the air and catches him right in front of middle. Big big wicket. Sangakkara was looking in brilliant form smashing Zaheer for 10 off his second over. Gets Jayawardane to the crease. Zaheer Khan looks out of sorts but Pathan seems to have a good rythmn going.

Indian innings

50 overs 205/9 - Murali spun his web around the Indian lower-order and it was pretty desperate stuff at one stage at 159-8 in the 43rd over. Pathan and Rao batted well but slowly to stitch together a 37 run partnership. But Murali got Pathan caught in the deep and Rao caught behind off his 5th and 6th delivery of his 9th over. And then Atapattu did the inexplicable and got Fernando and Arnold bowling. Why would you deny a man on a hat-trick an over with two tail-enders out there with no chance of picking his deliveries? Fernando got belted by Harbhajan and Zaheer and ended up conceding 61 off his 10. It might prove to be crucial given the only two teams have ever chased more than 200 on this ground before.

And to add to the drama, when Murali eventually came back, Harbhajan reverse-swept him on his hat-trick ball. Harbhajan and Zaheer added 43 off 33 balls and got the Indians past the psychological 200 mark. With speculation on whether Jayasuriya might bat, these extra runs might be crucial. I think Atapattu missed a trick here. He had India on the mat but bowled his part-timers for too long instead of going for the kill. I also think the Indian think tank made an error by sending in two debutants at 5 and 6. Venugopal Rao looks an accomplished batsman but not one to hit a few out of the ground. He was clearly not comfortable trying to force the pace. Might make sense in the next match to have either Kaif or Yuvraj bat there and give maybe Rao a chance higher up. I say Rao because, given his first ball dismissal, Raina might have to make way for Laxman in the next match.

A total of 205 gives Pathan and co. a reasonable target to defend and the history of the ground suggests that the ball tends to zip around in the evening session. A few early wickets and this might be a cracker of a match. Stay tuned!

32.5 overs 122/6 - Dravid goes, bowled around his legs by Chandana for 54. This is a huge wicket for the Sri Lankans. Dravid just looked to up the tempo with Murali off the attack. This brings us to the tail. Pathan is in.

30 overs 108/5 - This has been a good fightback from the Indians. Rao did ride his luck with a few lucky edges. Dravid is batting solid on 43. The plan is to keep Murali out and then get a few off the other bowlers. Chandana doesn't look as threatening. If the Indians can keep this going for another 10 overs, then they should be well set up to get as close to the 220 that looks like a good score for this pitch. It's a little two-paced and should give Harbhajan Singh a good chance on this pitch.

19.1 overs 63/5 - India in dire straits now. Kaif got one that stopped on him and he had to check his drive at the last minute. Couldn't keep it down and Murali takes a good one. And then Murali gets Suresh Raina first ball with a peach of a doosra. Raina had no idea at all. This brings in the next debutant Venugopal Rao. Another interesting update is that Jayasuriya has dislocated his shoulder due to a painful spill on the field. Might be interesting to see if he comes out to bat.

14 overs, 44/3 - Sorry about the delay guys. Couldn't access blogger.com for a while. But the story so far, Dravid won the toss and elected to bat. Laxman withdrew at the start of the match with back spasms. So two debutants for India, Venugopal Rao and Suresh Raina. But have been watching the match through this time. Strange happenings, Sehwag hammered for a while, Dhoni swished and Yuvraj Singh played a dreadful pull shot. The wicket looks painfully slow and the Sri Lankan bowlers are doing the basics right. Maharoof and the new guy Loukahettige are just putting it on a length and keeping it tight. So far looking par for about 220-240.

The Indian Oil Cup - Uhh..what now?

2005-07-28T23:44:00.000-04:00

The good part about the Indian Oil Cup is that it comes at a time when the focus of the cricketing fraternity is on the big battle up north between the old foes. This gives the teams some breathing space in terms of performance and also some time to iron out some deficiencies before the long season ahead. The outcome of this tournament is not really important to the three teams as much as identifying a core group of players who can take them to the 2007 World cup. The sad part about this triangular is that this could have been a cracking contest had the contracts dispute in the Windies been resolved and the likes of Lara, Gayle and Sarwan been there. Now its just a tournament where the teams appearing in the final is a foregone conclusion and Windies play the role Bangladesh played in the Natwest series, hoping for an upset here and a bit of international exposure for some of the kids in the team.

Of the three teams Sri Lanka seem to easily be the favorites to take the cup. They have a more settled look to their side with the old guns Atapattu and Jayasuriya in there. Jayawardane didn't exactly rattle the cages in the test series but is a class player and Sangakkara is in brilliant form, making his omission from the World XI for the super-series puzzling. The bowling attack has been similar for a while and their tactics have remained the same at home; choke the runs with a bunch of slow bowlers and let the opposition try their luck with that man, Murali. A more important concern for the team would be to find a reliable opening partner for Jayasuriya. India on the other hand is here without Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly, something that has not happened for a while. And even though Ganguly's ban has been reduced, it will be interesting to see if he is drafted into the team, especially if one of the younger players (Suresh Raina most probably) fires in the opening matches. Also interesting for India will be the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. He is leading this team for a full series for the first time, and his methods might be food for thought for the selectors who have subtly indicated that Ganguly's days might be numbered if his poor form continues. As for West Indies, they have nothing to lose and are probably in the best position to show some spirit in the field. They did show some fight in the two test matches which indicates they have some talent. The one-dayers might give them a chance to spring a surprise or two. The series also marks the ODI debut for Tom Moody and overall debut for Greg Chappell as international coaches. Even though it would be too early to judge their methods, it might provide an insight into their vision for the teams.

I've bought the live streaming webcast package for the first two India matches over the weekend and the finals next weekend. I'll be trying my hand at live blogging for these two games ah la Will & Avinash. Hope it's as much fun as it looks on the blog. If not, I'll just go back to writing reviews at the end of the match. Much easier and you can read everybody else's opinion before forming yours :-).

Elsewhere New Zealand leave for their Zimbabwe tour...ho hum.

Coverage of the Indian Oil Cup at Cricinfo.

This is why we need a six :-)

2005-07-26T21:16:00.000-04:00

A wonderful read from Anecdotage...

"If you think it is mathematically or athletically impossible to concede more than 36 runs in an over, think again. The Times Diary notes the unusual performance of one 'Cogg,' whose first name was not preserved in the annals of cricket history.

"It happened in Western Australia in 1894 and legend has it that Cogg approached the visiting batsman in a slow, loping jog. He sent off a ball which filled the batsman with no fear whatsoever, as this gentleman dispatched it with such force that it cleared the boundary still sufficiently airborne to land in a nearby tree. There it was caught very firmly and held in the fork between three branches.

"The umpire, being a man who knew his rules and who was obviously blessed with better eyesight than some of his modern-day contemporaries, noted that the ball was still visible and had not reached the ground. Therefore, he ruled, the batsmen should carry on running.

"Two fielders attempted to retrieve the ball by climbing the tree, but the lower branches could not handle their weight and collapsed. As staring at the ball did not help, a team decision was taken to chop the tree down. This resulted in a lengthy search for an axe, complicated by the nervous tension caused by seeing the other team's batsmen still running, albeit now at a more leisurely pace.

"Eventually concensus was reached that the search for an axe was as fruitless as staring or swearing at the ball. The quest for an axe was not entirely in vain, however, as it did produce a rifle. This being the best available instrument of retrieval, the afternoon calm was disturbed by the angry sound of rifle shots as the fielding team attempted to shoot the ball down.

"They finally gave up when they realised the visitors had declared after completing 286 runs. The two batsmen were no longer running and the entire team had retired to the stands, from where they were showing their appreciation for the extravagant fielding of the home side."

Ashes 3rd & 4th day review - The Return of the Kings

2005-07-24T22:26:00.000-04:00

"At 100 for 3 in their second innings we had an opportunity to take the game by the scruff of the neck, but we didn't and that became the story of the game."

-Michael Vaughan (Cricinfo)

From an opening day that conjured dreams of a changing of guard to a shambolic collapse that saw the last 4 batsmen out for nought, England have risen and fallen like many among the tribe of Atherton and Hussain. Like India discovered last year after being beaten at home, this Australian team only gives you a few bites at the cherry and if you don't take them, you might as well consign yourselves to starving. And to know that the old tormentors, Mcgrath and Warne did it again so easily for the Aussies must not only be worrying for England, but must be a huge moral dampener for Harmy and co. who bowled their hearts out to make a match out of this.

The third day started with the Aussies on 279/7 with an overall lead of 314. It was generally agreed that anything under 400 would keep England interested and the Aussies a little wary with Flintoff and Pieterson in the ranks. But Simon Katich, who has easily been the best Aussie batsman on view in the first test, batted beautifully and coaxed another 105 runs out of the last 3. It's a tribute to the Aussie spirit that even Mcgrath (Avg. 7.12) scored a vital 20 to contribute with the bat. England started well enough to see off Mcgrath and Lee and finally post a fighting opening stand. But as soon as Warne came on, the complexion of the match changed. Both Trescothick and Strauss looked visibly uncomfortable and Tresco decided that an all out attack would serve him well. But that didn't last long and after Strauss played a strange shot and was brilliantly caught by Lee, a procession of out of form batsmen followed. Only Pieterson redeemed himself with a typically attacking innings of 64, but that couldn't make up for his match turning dropped catch of Clarke. And the tail was not as much blown away as it was scornfully thrown away by Mcgrath like a kid tired of his new toy. 239 runs is a huge margin of defeat and Vaughan and Fletcher have plenty to think about.

But it's not all rosy for the Aussies. Hayden and Ponting are still struggling with their game, Gillespie sleep walked through this test match and Lee looks a much better bowler but still lacks the all important ingredient of a great bowler; the ability to run through a side. Take Mcgrath and Warne out of this attack and the cupboard looks bare for the Aussies. But while these two bowlers are around, as much as we would like to see them show their age, let's celebrate them for their incredible achievements and their absolute genius with a ball in hand. The game is richer for that. Final shot...

"I wouldn't say we've destroyed their confidence, but we've gone some way towards doing that."

-Ricky Ponting (Cricinfo)

Battle of the tail-enders

2005-07-23T00:57:00.000-04:00

The top order's been breaking, there just ain't no glue...

It required a strong tail, to get 'em outta the blue...

So I have this poll through the Ashes, which one will get his due?

I choose Warney, what about you?

Ashes Day 2 Review - The day of the debutants

2005-07-22T18:58:00.000-04:00

And what of Kevin Pietersen's dropped catch, when Clarke had only made 21? "Yeah, I think I owe Kevin a beer or two ..."
-I owe Kevin a beer or two (Cricinfo)

Today was the day where two players playing their first Ashes test stamped their mark for rivalries in years to come. There is a lot in common about the entry of Clarke and Pieterson into cricket. Both these players made an astonishing mark in the one-day game before they entered the Test arena. And both these players forced two ageing but brilliant cricketers out of the test side, though Lehmann didn't play as many tests as Thorpe did.

The morning marked Pieterson's counter-attack against the man unplayable on the first day. It must have been a bit of a shock for Mcgrath to see 3 balls disappear for 4,6,4 as Pieterson raced to his half-century. Harmy and Jones slogged as best as they knew and coaxed the total to 155; within striking distance of the Aussies. When the Aussies came out a second time, Langer got run out from another piece of brilliance from KP. When Hayden and Ponting disappeared, things looked a bit wobbly at 100/3. But a sedate start and the company of a solid Damien Martyn ensured that Clarke first played himself him and then unfurled some gorgeous shots. When he eventually got out owing to frustration and some good captaincy, he had spanked 91 of 106 balls with 15 boundaries finally laying to rest the debate about any demons in the pitch. The last 9 overs of the day produced 24 runs and 4 wickets, and at 279/7, the game is brilliantly poised for an absorbing day tommorow. If England can blow away the tail like they did in the first innings, they have 2 days and a bit to get about 350. At this stage, Australia still ahead but only by an inch. Final shot...

Pietersen's debut was hyped like no-one's since Graeme Hick for England, and he admitted to a few nerves before he finally went in to bat yesterday. "There was a lot of talk about how I'd bat if England were 50 for 3 or 60 for 3 or whatever. And, whew, we were 20 for 5, weren't we?! But I enjoyed it this morning, having the freedom to smack a few."

-I owe Kevin a beer or two (Cricinfo)

Blower's quote of the day,

"Rudi Coertzen shakes his head firmly as a rather disgruntled pigeon flies across the ground. Probably lost its way and saw Martyn and Clarke again and decided it's going in circles"

-after the umpire turned down an LBW appeal from Simon Jones.

Ashes Day 1 Review - Up yours Hoggy!

2005-07-21T19:18:00.000-04:00

"Hoggard, 28, challenged McGrath to make it to the end of the five-Test series in September. "It's going to be tough on the body, it'll be interesting to see if he is the world-class bowler he was..."
-Aussie age a target (Cricinfo)

Well Hoggy! Your top order didn't see enough of him today did they? What an incredible day of test cricket. Most news headlines today would say "Day 1 belongs to Australia" like they have for the past decade (barring another astonishing day in Edbagston '97). But this time it was different. Sometime after Harmison clanged Langer, Hayden and Ponting, it was pretty evident that this was the start of a refreshing change. The memorable opening overs in past Ashes have been the maulings Defraites and Gough got in '94 and '01. It is a little weird why the Aussies didn't buckle down for a bit after they lost their top 5. Giles didn't even get a bowl in the Aussie innings. Gilly played in the way he knows best and Warne flayed it around a bit. But they were never going to last long. Katich looked the most accomplished of batsmen on either side.

If Harmy bounced his way past the Aussies, Mcgrath homed in on his favorite line and length and let the pitch and the batsmen do the rest. It was good to see the two Ashes debutants, Jones and Pieterson make a superb fightback. KP finally proved that he belongs among the big boys in tests too, and Thorpe might book that ticket to NSW a little early. So was the pitch a nightmare? Mcgrath reckoned it was an ordinary first-day pitch but Harmy thought it wasn't bad enough for 17 wickets. The worry for the Aussies; Gillespie's continued lacklustre bowling. Final shot...

"Someone asked whether McGrath had seen all the pre-match hype about how the Australian fast bowlers were over the hill and ready for a pasting. He smiled. "Yeah, I had a bit of a laugh when I read it."

I'm following the match on BBC radio with Jonathan Agnew, Henry Blofeld, Mike Gatting and...hold yer breath lads...Merv Hughes!! Here are a couple of priceless moments.

Merv: "Aww c'mon! He was only a bit over..."

Aggers (in mild irritation): "He only needs to be a bit over, Merv."

-after Brett Lee had Giles caught off a no-ball

Blowers: "This is an excellent fightback by Vaughan...oh dear! Vaughan's not out there now, is he?"

-after Jones smacked Gillespie for another boundary, Blowers probably woke up for the first time after tea.

Bring on the gladiators!

2005-07-19T15:19:00.000-04:00

Two days to go before the most awaited and hyped series in recent times commences. Even Glenn Mcgrath, the king of opposition belittling has shown a soft and wary side to him. First he paid Harmison a compliment and then just about admitted that Pieterson's first class record indicated that he might be ready for the step up. Of course, mean ol' thing that he is, he promised a rough welcome to all the Ashes debutants while planning his 500th Test wicket.

For the first time since the India series, the Aussies are playing with a point to prove. Mcgrath wants his 500 and show the world that he still has the legs to last until the 2007 world cup. Warne wants to put his personal afflictions on the back burner and go past 600. Lee is coming in after 18 months. Kasper and Gillespie want to put their horrendous one-day maulings behind them. Michael Clarke has hardly scored a run and has Katich and Hussey breathing down his back. Hayden and Ponting want to get back among the top tier of batsmen in the world. And add to that the fact that this might be the last Ashes for a number of them...it's been a long time since we saw so many Aussies having a personal worry or two. And that's where opinion gets divided. While this gives England their best chance in years, it also makes this Aussie team hungrier than ever.

Off all things Ashes, I am interested in watching how the careers of Gillespie, Kasprowicz and Giles change after this. Dizzy and Kasper are pretty much consigned to fighting for the third seamer's spot for a while unless Lee does something horribly wrong or Mcgrath gets injured/decides to retire. Giles is holding on to his spot on the strength of his improved batting and lack of spinning options for the hosts. He did have a phenomenal 2004 capped by his being named Wisden Cricketer of the Year. But a bad series with bat and ball will definitely bring out the old critics calling for his neck.

And finally the two captains, who not only need to get it right on the field but desperately need a good series with the bat as they are vital cogs at number 3. Both Vaughan and Ponting have shown themselves to be decent leaders, but this will be the iron test which could decide the future of their captaincy.

So my take on this, if Australia win comfortably at Lords, the Ashes is over. If England win, series on! Final score, Aussies win 3-1, with one test being washed out ;-). Enough with the previews, let's get on with the show.

EA Sports - Cricket 2005 anyone?

2005-07-13T00:13:00.000-04:00

Let's face it. The only people picking up a cricket game are the hardcore cricket fans. It's easily the hardest game to pull off for the PC or the console. There are just too many individual styles to model if you have to impress the hardcore fan. And when you see Glenn Mcgrath and Mashrafe Mortaza ("Who" you ask? C'mon guys, the Bangladesh opening bowler) bowling with the same action and speed, it kinda puts you off. Thus goes the story of EA Sports' Cricket series. I've played the 97, 2000, 2002 and the 2004 versions of this game. The game engine and the graphics have improved considerably over time. Unfortunately the gameplay hasn't. Especially when it comes to bowling. And this is the only time that Richie Benaud will really grate your nerves. I haven't played Brian Lara cricket, and that's generally been a better rated game.

And now Cricket 2005 is out and the consensus ain't that good. Check out the reviews here. Going by looks, this doesn't look all that different from 2004. Check out the screenshot above of 2004 and the one on the left of 2005. Anybody try this game? I have played only the PC versions. Is it a little better on PS2/XBox?

If you are interested in the game you can get it here. I wonder why they put Daniel Vettori on the cover.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

A word about the London blasts

2005-07-09T00:18:00.000-04:00

My deepest condolences go out to all those affected by these acts of barbarism. Though it is wierd why the MCC and ECB would allow the games to continue. Life must go on but sufficient time must also be given to recover from a tragedy. A massive amount of security and medical resources are being used for two meaningless one-day games when they could be required elsewhere.

Also puts into perspective, ECB's refusal to play in Karachi...

Just more, not merrier!

2005-07-08T20:33:00.000-04:00

So the first one dayer with the new rules ended with England winning and the Aussies groaning about when they can just get on with the main course. The two supersubs didn't do much in the game, though Hogg took the only English wicket to fall. The new rules really didn't make much of an impact and time will tell how much of a success they will be. And this begs the question, is cricket in its current state good enough to warrant expansion in other countries?

Cricket, unlike other sports, has held on to its somewhat elitist and aloof nature. The game for too long had been nurtured and protected by the old-school romantics. That's why the ICC trophy is a noble effort to promote the game in newer countries and give them a chance to compete in the World Cup. But even with the beaten-to-death phrase of "cricket's glorius uncertainties", its difficult to imagine these countries being able to sustain the level of competition. It's a tough call to be able to give them exposure and at the same time prevent too many one-sided games. And that has been one-day cricket's inherent problem in the last 6 years (let's leave test cricket aside). The high proportion of unimportant, one-sided matches. The last world cup saw Namibia, Netherlands and Canada in the fray with the big boys. And despite John Davison's brilliant century against the Windies, how many matches from the last World cup can you actually remember? The final obviously, which in its total one-sidedness could almost rival the mauling Pakistan got in the 1999 edition. SAF-Windies, Eng-Aus and the Ind-Pak encounters are all I can recall. There were talks among journalists and cricketers about the length of the tournament and the tiring schedule. And thats the other problem, the schedule. Add Bermuda, Ireland, Kenya and say Scotland into the picture and there is no off season for the players. The injuries would never heal, the importance of bench strength becomes bigger and careers would be shortened given the workload. Not to mention the cheap runs and wickets that can be collected against these minnows. That would also lessen the number of test matches that are played, and being somewhat of a romantic myself, I'd hate to see that.

Commercially speaking, cricket promises huge potential for sponsors. Which other sport allows you to show commercials every two minutes in the game? And this even after you've decorated the ground and the players with your logo. But when you look at the largest untapped market, the US, how do you sell a game that needs 5 days to come to a decision (or maybe not) or an 8 hour affair in a single day to people who are bred on the more fast-paced fare of football, basketball or Nascar? This is the fine balance the ICC and other countries have to strike; to create an entertaining medium without diluting the history and spirit of the game. Twenty-Twenty promises much but needs a whole sea change in the attitude of the players before they, including the Aussies, stop laughing it off. Sure! We'd love more teams and more action on the field. But we don't want to effectively end the terms "grafter", "anchor" and "flight and loop" in cricket. After all, didn't we all love watching Dravid or Thorpe fight to save a match or Warne's leg-break drift in to leg and hit off?

The power of hope...

2005-07-06T20:56:00.000-04:00

Hope is a beautiful thing in sport. It's the light at the end of a long and despairing tunnel. It's the reason Tatenda Taibu dons his Zimbabwe colors despite yet another politician crying out for his country's ban. It's the reason Dav Whatmore gets up in the morning and goes to work despite yet another walloping. It's the reason Saurav Ganguly fights for yet another youngster despite his own place in the team being doubtful...and its the reason why the cricket fan in Trinidad pays his hard-earned cash and dances to yet another calypso rythm while he watches a game Brian Lara decided not to play because WICB and Digicel hurt his ego.

As WICB, WIPA, Digicel and Cable & Wireless square up for their latest showdown, you wonder if they actually care about the cricketers who sacrifice education, time with their loved ones and strive hard to become one of the best 11 in their country. You wonder if they actually care about cricket fans who bring their kids who might one day become cricketers. When the future of a game hangs by the decision on a disputed contract clause, it becomes a situation worse than fixing the outcome of a match. Fazeer Mohammed in an excellent article on Cricinfo outlines the state of bemusement and chaos that exists in the Windies right now. Here is an excerpt from that article.

"(Roger) Brathwaite maintains that the Board can afford no more, particularly with a tour of Australia still to come in November. It seems to be a reasonable, bottom-line-based position, given that by September, the WICB is forecasting an overall debt position in excess of US$14 million..."

If that is the case why would the board not be more open and forthright in their stand? And why would they resort to such underhanded techniques like trying to recruit the 'A' team players while negotiationg with the WIPA? Here's another excerpt,

"And what of WIPA? Hasn't the same public clamoured for their heroes to stand up to the Board and tell them where to get off, to demand what is rightfully theirs as the true flag-bearers of West Indies Cricket? That is precisely what Dinanath Ramnarine is trying to do. Maybe he is indulging too much in the telling off department and not stressing the rightfully theirs bit enough..."

Player representation is now pretty common in most cricket playing countries. But in these countries their primary goal is to create (or attempt to create) a good working relationship between the players and the board. Isn't that how a good organization works? It is hard to believe that Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle who have potentially more than a decade of cricket left in them, would never regret skipping the flight to Sri Lanka. A professional thrives on challenges, and performing against a team thas has hardly lost anything at home would be a true test of their skills. And what would it do to players like Xavier Marshall, Ryan Ramdass and Narasingh Deonarine when they are discarded when Lara and co. do decide to return? Doesn't WIPA represent the interests of these players too?

So, do I think West Indies can win a match in Sri Lanka? Well, the Natwest series proved that strange things can happen. Do I think they can win the series? Hell no! Do I think that there is an end to this mess?...well, hope is a beautiful thing.

The gloating poms

2005-07-04T19:02:00.000-04:00

You know, England might win the Ashes and everybody could be vindicated but here's a collection of articles I call "The Gloating Poms". I'll keep this post updated over the summer.

Snicker, snicker, Mike Atherton's choking over ways to describe the Aussie "downfall"
http://www.sport.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2005/06/26/scathe26.xml&sSheet=/sport/2005/06/26/ixcrick.html
http://www.sport.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2005/06/19/scathe19.xml&sSheet=/sport/2005/06/19/ixcrick.html

and they call the Aussies too old to hold on to their mantle...ouch!
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/ashes2005/story/0,15993,1510411,00.html

...and of course the Aussie pride is hurt.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/englands-cricket-quality-133-in-commentary-box/2005/06/24/1119321908818.html?oneclick=true
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/sport/story/0,6903,1509990,00.html

John Buchanan's had enough :-D
http://content.cricinfo.com/australia/content/story/212656.html

The psychological edge?

2005-07-04T18:39:00.000-04:00

I’m stuck on level 8 of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. So I quit and got to reading a bunch of articles about the Ashes and a strange phenomenon being exchanged so often. So what’s the big deal about a psychological edge? The Aussies have had the psychological edge over the Poms for 18 years. But after losses to Bangladesh, England and sharing the Natwest trophy which they should have won, the long-suffering Englishmen finally have the psychological edge over them. But Strauss and Trescothick have gone out cheap against McGrath and Lee. So maybe these two bowlers have the psychological edge. But wait a minute, apparently Simon Jones has a psychological edge over Hayden, again apparently, after their spat in the previous game. Hmmm…

So what is this thing and how could you lose/gain it in a few weeks what you haven’t/have had for a long time? So like any research-oriented goal-driven person who really wants to know…I googled it. And you expect probably a psychology site or even better, a shrink who explains it. Uh-uh. Pages 1, 2, and 3 of google search return mostly cricket, soccer and some rugby related articles. I think to myself, how could an individual oriented sport like tennis not be there. Didn’t Roger Federer just blast Hewitt and Roddick into despair? Finally I got through to an article from a sports psychologist. Here’s an extract,

“To give a person a psychological edge is to give them the mental strength and motivation to believe in their own skills and hence the ability to exploit the flaws of the opposing player”

Let’s take that definition and apply it to a team sport. For a team to have a psychological edge over another team would involve having them collectively have no doubts in their own ability and be able to consistently exploit the opposing team’s flaws. Hmm…that’s weird because the Natwest series for the teams in question had one win apiece, a washed out game and a tie. And to believe that Trescothick, Strauss, Ponting and Gillespie have no doubts going into the series is kinda hard. The way I see it, we finally have an Ashes contest where we don’t need to put contest in quotation marks anymore.

So anyway back to the psychological edge. Maybe it’s a thing commentators and cricket writers cook up to play up a series more than its worth. Maybe cricketers laugh about it in the confines of their dressing rooms. Maybe it’s something the bookies need to fix the odds of a cricket game…I don’t know. I do know that the only edge Mcgrath is looking for is the edge of an Englishman’s bat. Even better with three slips and a gully. You know what? I’ll give level 8 another shot. Those damn AI driven, computer animated gunmen have such a psychological edge over me.

Confessions of a great cricketer

2005-07-02T00:43:00.000-04:00

Hi I’m Sachin Tendulkar. I’m 32 years old and I’m happily married with two beautiful kids. I am a cricketer by profession and have been for the past 16 years. I am extremely fortunate to do something that I love for a living and have earned more than I ever imagined. Of course, it takes a lot out of me and my family that I’m away from them so much. But when you play a sport and represent your country…that takes precedent over anything else right? I have scored almost 24,000 international runs which is more than any other player by a distance. I have scored 72 international centuries and that’s light years more than any other batsman who’s ever played the game. I’m respected by everyone and still rank among the top 10 batsmen bowlers most fear…

I don’t mean to brag about my achievements. These are things I tell myself every time another journalist, ex-cricketer, actor, the paan-bedi shop owner at the corner, or the postman who delivers my mail thinks I should retire or go back to doing what I did at age 24. At age 24, I didn’t have a broken toe, a bad back or an elbow suffering from wear and tear. At age 24 I didn’t have a young family which needed my attention when I was not playing cricket. At age 24, I didn’t have a Sehwag, Dravid or a Ganguly who don’t panic when I’m walking back to the pavilion. I usually had Azharuddin and Jadeja whose commitment to the team ultimately proved to be dubious. People say I don’t win enough matches on my own, like Brian Lara does. With all due respect to Brian Lara, hopefully I won’t end up being on a losing side as much as him. I’ve never had a problem with motivation playing for my country and I’ve never let money get to my head. So why do I always end up on the losing side of an argument about my value to the team?

I usually keep my emotions to myself. I hardly talk to the press and I’m intensely private about my life. But the glare, the criticisms and the unsolicited and useless advice sometimes gets to me. If you’re not a doctor or a physiotherapist, and your name is not Greg Chappell or Saurav Ganguly, please don’t tell me what bat I should use to help my back and elbow, what position I should bat in, how I should be contributing to the team or why my Ferrari and my endorsements should not be distracting me. I love the adulation, respect and awe but 16 years is a long time being in the public eye and the polite façade I put up just slips from time to time. I have 3, maybe 4 years in the game considering the way my body is breaking down. I know my best days are behind me…I’ve accepted it and moved on. Please move on with me…

P.S: I'm not really Sachin Tendulkar.

P.P.S: I'm not a doctor, a physiotherapist and my name is not Greg Chappel or Saurav Gaunguly.

P.P.P.S: I don't give a rat's behind about Sachin's bat, his batting position or his endorsements. I do like his Ferrari though :-).

Why a cricket blog?

2005-06-30T02:40:00.000-04:00

So of all the things in the world, why did I choose to blog about cricket? So in classic Dave Letterman style, here are my top 10 reasons (drums rolling…)

10. My old blog about a brief period in my life was only read by my friends and they didn’t even comment on it.

9. Where I live, cricket is a thing that lives in trees and dark corners and makes annoying noises. So nobody likes talking about it.

8. I really don’t have an opinion on anything else in life.

7. I sometimes read articles on Indiatimes.com and wince at their “expert analysis”.

6. I can’t bat, bowl or field to save my life. So why not bitch about people who actually can?

5. I needed Google Adsense and Amazon Associates to supplement my income.

4. There is no “This is the stupidest survey ever” option for surveys that ask inane questions like “Should Tendulkar retire?”, “Is Irfan Pathan affected by all the hype?”, “Is Zaheer Khan jealous of Pathan and Balaji?”.

3. There is a serious dearth of good cricket blogs on the net.

2. I hope someone from Cricinfo reads my blog and offers me the job of a cricket correspondent…my life-long dream.

And the number one reason (more drums rolling...)

1. Hey! It’s the greatest game in the world for me. Why shouldn’t I write about it? :-)

Like it or hate it, I'd love to hear your comments.