state of shock

As the utter insanity unfolds at The Wanderers, the only thing crazier for me is that I am not watching a shred of it. A highlights package tomorrow, sure- but its unbelievable I am not watching the most impossibly exciting one-day match, possibly ever.

434. Shock.
It sinks in- more shock.
'Poor SA'- sympathy.
SA replies- amazement.
SA actually gets close- sheer disbelief.

update: 14 off the 45th over, and Van der Wath is on to 27 off 12. SA need 47 from the last 30 balls, and in between pinching myself to know this is really happening, I am as breathless as pure silence in front of a tv monitor can be.
update: they need 20 off 15, and someone explain to me why, with 3 overs to go, Lee is not bowlingthe 48th and 50th (when he has three over left!). Instead Lewis, who before the over had 98 taken off his 9 overs, is brought on. What??
Now it is 13 off 12!! The unthinkable is round the corner!

And they've done it. Forgive me if I need to recover. The state of shock I started this post with has been added to with a weird sort of helpless, numb, mad incomprehension at what's just happened.

the geese again

So while i was talking about geese, eggs and their colour, Mr Modi and the BCCI were enumerating just how well balanced and sensible they are. here is their take, and the Mumbai Mirror's, on the small matter of money. Falling television ratings (and general perception being less excited ) with each passing series is obviously the precise reason to play Pakistan more often.

Keep at it guys, you fill me with confidence and pride.

excitement

The second test is underway at Mohali, and it is terribly exciting to see both Munaf Patel and Piyush Chawla (the boy was born in 1988...88!) in the lineup. I can't quite decide which one I am more expectant about, so I'll just go ahead and wait with bated breath on both. Best of luck, chaps.

odds

Sure, the future is what you look ahead to. But who told Kiran More that his statement had any point whatsoever? So there are going to be lots of debates about this (like this call for their heads), and more fuel to a fire that needs to die out yesterday, but really- does the head of the selection committee have no sense of tact at all?

Meanwhile, it would seem the ratings on television for the India Pak series have dropped across the three series since 2004. Somewhere here there are cricketing equivalents of geese, eggs and the colour gold, but who’s to tell hungry boards that?