lout

It seems increasingly likely that I will not post my thoughts on the Ashes. I never meant for a series review, more an out pouring of the moments and memories that led most of us to push all other sporting activity to the side for the span of a couple of months. So I chose to use a relatively good week at work to ‘recover’ (bah, what an excuse) from the cricket, and now, faced with far more demanding work weeks, don’t see myself spouting eloquently on this gargantuan series.

Of course, meanwhile other things keep happening. The wheel keep turning in world cricket, or threaten to fall off if you’re talking about the Indian perspective. Everyone has read everything there is to about Ganguly “being asked to step down”. There are many things to ponder, debate and argue but it seems more and more unlikely to me that Ganguly will be able to gracefully walk away (as a captain) into the sunset like he deserved to for his contributions to Indian cricket. Instead, what must surely be the fag end of his captaincy career (let his batsmanship still have a chance), is marked by the very bickering and pettiness that he helped us forget about. It’s a pity, really.

While his unglamorous hundred the other day was a display of gritting your teeth and trying hard, in some ways it can also be seen as symbolic, and symptomatic, of something else you’d think ails Indian cricket- the desire, always, to ensure your place in the setup is safe. This is not to say his innings was at the cost of team interest- it was not, but too often, starting with the administration, it is too much about keeping your place, your power and your hold.

And oh, I sound far more cynical than I feel, by the way.