bah

What a bummer.
Michael Vaughan and Trescothick are out of the first test (at the very least), while Jones is uncertain after (another) injury scare in the nets. I know there are many who would rejoice at this, and others who are saying “heck, its their problem if they can’t even stay fit’”. While the second might have its merits, it doesn’t take away from the fact this series would have been funner with the English captain, vice captain and potential strike bowler in the side, not out of it.
Oh, well.

Desicritics

One has become a part of Desicritics, where one hopes to once in a while (or more) spout some gyaan or thoughts on different things, though cricket looks the most likely to provide fodder....

onwards, then.

the past, England and some pointlessness

I am all for people expressing their opinions freely.

Yet my first reaction after reading Dileep Premachandran’s latest, was one of disappointment. I always look forward to his pieces, more so the non-reporting kind- opinion pieces or features. This one just left me flat, asking no one in particular- “er, what exactly was the point of this?”.

Sure, there was some reminiscing- which can be pleasing- and lots of honesty, which is welcome. But really, it said little to me besides suggesting that Dileep is holding on to his dislike for the England team and English cricketers for all the wrong reasons. One foot stuck in the past, clinging on to the monotony of Aussie dominance for support, in a time when both that past and the monotony are unwanted.

See, the thing is this- I actually get this concept of ‘anyone but England’. I felt it for years as well, but because of the colonial hangover- not in me but what I saw reflected in some English cricketers. And mostly because they were a boring team, with little charisma for someone who was just finding the joys of cricket and passion in it. Or so I saw it.
But I don’t cling on to it, because I would like to believe I have let this current team start to show me that good, hard, fun cricket overrides any childhood prejudices or perceptions. I don’t cling on to it just because its there.

And oh, I don’t think he’s being racist, not at all. But the point is valid- how would he, or any Indian, react to a similar article from an Englishman? I am, unfortunately, sure there will be defensive reactions, claiming racist bias. So ok, maybe he won’t react thus, and that's fair enough- he needn’t molly-coddle his readers.

I just believe there could have been something in the piece, though, that left us feeling he had moved on a bit, and appreciated the beginning of change in the current bunch- not just on the field, but off it. That he doesn’t seem to acknowledge this at all is what leaves me feeling incomplete; this feeling of having read something uni-dimensional. This is Dileep Premachandran, after all- I really like his writing.

And for the record, I am not now a rabid England supporter, but if they play good cricket and look like they’re enjoying the game and what it has to offer, all it has to offer, I might like them more.

cross posted on Desicritics

GICs*

then there's a (very) funnyMan's post on Indian cricketers. Despite all the cracking up, the Sachin entry I liked best.
Couldn't help it. I am like that only. Also.

*Great Indian cricketers

Punter

This gem from TheSpin's Quote of the week:

"I would not have Bangladesh and Zimbabwe playing Tests at present"

- Ricky Ponting, quoted in the Telegraph, on February 14

"If it takes teams like Australia playing teams like Bangladesh for the developing Test nations to improve their skills, then I'm all for it. I'm looking forward to the challenge of leading Australia in Bangladesh"

- Ricky Ponting two days later, after a quiet word from Cricket Australia

And while we're at Charlie Brown, what's with his steely graphite-al resolve to continue with his bat a bit more? Is it me, or isn't this just flagrant disregard?

on bowl-out over, one in progress?

As India stutter starting their hunt for 162 runs and a series win, the twenty 20 between NZ and West indies ends in thrilling fashion. After a low score from the Windies, the Kiwis could not do much better- in fact no better at all, but also no worse. Match tied, a bowlout would decide who won. After three rounds (thats 6 bowlers bowling 2 balls each) with not a single ball hitting the stumps, the policeman struck twice in two and eventually the kiwis won! So the windies bowlers finished with no hits from 8 attempts!

Despite myself, I am interested- I would like to watch a Twenty-20 right proper, at least to know if it is as much fun as it threatens to be.

sane, superstitious, strange

Feels good to hear a sane and fair voice on Sachin. As always, Rohit Brijnath is a good read.

He does not ask for favours, but only to be accorded the same dignity he
has brought to the game. We need not swoon over him, neither must we revile him.
...
Tendulkar was always a reluctant God and perhaps it is just that we
have become impatient worshippers. His decline may eventually be more revealing
about us than about him.

and while on Sachin- this is quirky,interesting:

“I realised (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni was going great guns… I decided not to come
out of the shower thinking the momentum might just get lost. I asked Harbhajan
(Singh) to keep me updated on the score from outside.
“I must have had the longest shower of my life… It almost stretched to 40 minutes"

...while Judy here (from the surfer) does something odd but its all good for a scrapbook I suppose.

ha!

I can't believe Cricinfo actually published this...

Javed Miandad, on Asif's prospects at Headingley later this year:

Gaand phaar de ga angrez ki ("He will blow the a*****es of the English")

Priceless

wronging rights

I haven’t bought the rights to write this, but I’m going to ahead and say it anyway.

I can’t for the life of me understand how the PCB could sell “global SMS rights” for the Pakistan-India series. A certain Vectracom went ahead and lapped it up, as must be, of course, anything that has the Pakistan- India tag. Marksman Marketing Services thought they too had hit the bullseye by grabbing the said rights for India, as must any rights that are attached to anything India- Pakistan. Now a Chennai court has inexplicably held up the appeal by these Marksman sharp shooters and stopped any score updates by mobile networks in India.

There was a period of time where I thought- am I missing something here? But I realised that this is simply unfigure-outable- how can anyone own the rights to disseminate this information? This logic can be extended indefinitely- forget live scores on the net, updates via RSS or tickers at the bottom of news channels- not unless these guys buy the rights to do it.

You could, of course, call a friend who’s watching it on telly and ask him, but listen- just be sure he has obtained the rights to tell you, ok? You never know…

understanding and obstructing

So the YogiBear says he can’t say much because he is bound by ICC regulations. He then promptly proceeds to say as much as he could on his dismissal yesterday, and the ‘larger picture’ which he believes it is part of.

I am not even sure whether I should go into this right now, but by writing that article (or crediting it with his name), Inzamam has done the very thing he claims to have advised his boys to not- make an issue of his dismissal. More so because he seems to be bothered as much with his dismissal per se, as with his belief that the Indians have acted in a spirit that does not belonging to the great gentleman’s game.

One gets the impression that his outburst (for this is what it must classify as) is borne more of frustration- after Faisalabad and Peshawar, he seems to be at a loss at understanding the laws of the game he plays. Sorry, Inzy, that’s nobody’s fault but yours. As is the fact that yesterday, you were strolling a couple of feet out of crease when the ball was still in play. Add to that your words questioning the sense of fair play in the opposing captain and his boys, and you’ve just made a hat-trick of goofups in the space of a day.

6 for 23!

A scrambled end of 6 for 23, and India has ended at least 15-20 runs short of what they were heading for. Truth be told, if you don't defend 328 you dont deserve to win at all, but given the way this pitch has played and the way things went the last time india was here, you never know...

And hello- where the hell did Sreesanth get that helmet from?

supersub

Ok. i dont get this. Whats with Arshad Khan as the super sub, when Pakistan decided to win the toss and bowl? Do you see yourself using your supersub in an optimum way now? Baffling.

update: so it seems to have worked out ok (at least in terms of an option), given that Gul got hammered for a mere 35 off his 3 overs. But I still maintain thats providence, and the initial decision still makes little sense to me.

and again...

You know , I don't get it.
in the third test, they were going on about how Sachin was looking real good in that second dig, he was determined etc...he was out within a few runs of that.
Now they're at it again. Dean Jones talks about how Sachin is looking in good nick ("I reall really get the feeling..."), when the man is on 10. 10.
Sheesh.

oi england!

Is it really a subcontinental war you're preparing for, or is this just your version of bondage bonding?

(thanks zainub)