Playing from Home

soft?

2007-08-06T15:56:00.000+08:00

Its amazing, the kind of things that capture the public imagination. Who would have thought some extremely dull sounding sweets for children would become the crux, the symbol and the persistent undercurrent of a Test match, and indeed a series? I mean, they were jelly beans for chrissake. They did not win one team the match nor lose it for the other. The irritated and upset one bowler, but they were not pivotal. And they were definitely not insulting. Heck, not even too much in bad taste- at least one can assume that considering how many the England players were consuming.
The evidence of this match makes it a bad blooded series? Come on! There’s been far worse, and far dirtier stuff. One sane voice I have read is, surprisingly, from Mr Bell.

And while Sreesanth has disgraced himself in more ways than one, a call to ban him on the evidence of the beamer is really a bit much. Athers can be quite insightful, but also sometimes a bit stuffy. In this case, I think- without putting too fine a point on it- you can really stuff it. How do you call for all bowlers to be banned after sending down beamers – “whether intentional or not” ? Whats with all the molly coddling players these days? They can hear anything remotely nasty, can take sweets lying on the pitch without getting upset, get shaken by a beamer? I admit it was one heck of a nasty delivery, but take a look at Viv Richards and Sunny Gavaskar playing the bowlers they did with a cap on, and taker a moment to go on about this.

ps- its been 3.5 months here. sheesh.

theme not to be

2007-04-22T00:28:00.000+08:00

Marlon Samuels you bloody clown. You just called time on one of the greatest careers of all time. You foolish, foolish man.
Adios, Brian Charles.

er....

2007-04-20T21:50:00.000+08:00

Er, who is supposed to open with Jaffer in the Tests? Karthik? Is this long term? Huh?

ODI squad: Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Manoj Tiwary, Dinesh Mongia, Piyush Chawla, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh.

Test squad: Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid (capt), VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Anil Kumble, Sreesanth, Zaheer Khan, VRV Singh, Ramesh Powar, Rajesh Pawar, Munaf Patel.

Pop cricket

2007-04-10T16:53:00.000+08:00

Ah. India and Pakistan.

Off it, they are cricket's Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. One, pure monied trash, influential for no other reason than having too much of it, the other straight-up trailer trash, cricket's true basket case. They are tabloid fodder, stumbling from one front page to another: religion, player factionalism, spats, coaching intrigues, politicking, doping and even possible murder.

yes, am back (from some travel).

Max? Min.

2007-03-24T01:39:00.000+08:00

I am amazed, dejected, infuriated, pissed off, stunned and defeated by Max's coverage of the World Cup. It is well and truly appalling.

.

2007-03-23T17:32:00.000+08:00

The sickness slowly rises like mental bile. My head aches, seemingly weighed down by bricks. The inarticulate nature of my thoughts seem understandable and inadequate at the same time. Thoughts swirl around with no purpose or direction. Most of me does not want to believe that a coach has been murdered, for reason as yet unknown but also reasons I am not even sure I want to know.
I won’t be naïve enough to think that this is a shock relative to world sport, but that’s almost pointless to say, anyway. Actually, I don’t even know what to write. I’m more than a little sickened.

May his soul be in peace.

foul play

2007-03-21T11:04:00.000+08:00

The initial reports - about the inconclusive nature of the autopsy, and, apparently that the Jamaican police has stated it could well be poisoning- are in. I, not surprisingly, refuse to believe this till its official.

But the sinking feeling has definitely made an appearance.

more lessons on fandom

2007-03-20T19:26:00.000+08:00

Anyone saw this banner at the ground yesterday, held by one of those cherishing, and much cherished; lovable, and loving fans of the Indian team?

"Last warning to Team India: Reach Barbados or stay forever in Trinidad."

Who are you, and who are you to issue a 'warning', and why should you, with such a mature viewpoint, even matter? But that's just me, and I don't matter either- I'm just another insignificant fan. Might I make a teeny weeny request though? Could said invaluable 'supporter' kindly find his abode in some obscure part of the world, thank you. Much obliged.

what a pass

2007-03-20T19:04:00.000+08:00

! moment: We here have decided to try and jot down moments we see during this wonderful tournament. Here's another one.

Vusi Sibanda's catch yesterday. Gayle nicks it, it takes a deflection from Taylor , just as Sibanda at first slip is moving to his right. The keeper gets a hand, it shoots towards Sibanda's left and he catches in an very unlikely direction shift of his body. An assist from Taylor, Michael Holding called it- hardly, its lucky they got it. It happened in the match against Ireland too, but this was a mite more...watchable.

Also, anyone see the 3rd umpire referral from Aleem Dar during the Indian innings yesterday? A stumping appeal was sent up to the 3rd umpire despite it being a called no ball by the umpire. Yes, you can't be stumped off a no-ball, so, er... why the referral? We is bemused.

encore!

2007-03-20T01:40:00.000+08:00

!moment :
Dwayne Leverock, the most recognisable cricketer not previously recognisable to anyone except anyone, pulls of a stunner at slip. His giant frame somehow initiates bullet-time, and with great visions of Neo floating in his mind, he latches onto a ball his considerable frame would not have thought possible. But the true cinematic performance comes after, when the policeman's emotions overflow, where all that usually spreads is his body mass. He runs this way, then that. He wards off team mates with a style footballers would be proud of. He blows kisses to his adoring fans, knowing he might just have had the best moment in his international sporting career, ever.

Meanwhile, a 17 year old kid who just got a wicket off his forst ball of the match, sheds a few tears. The team smothers him, celebrating more like they had just taken the 10th wicket for 100 than the first for 5. But hey, who can grudge them that. Here's another thing to learn from the associates- unabashed joy in the game.

addendum: and here it is:

venom

2007-03-19T15:34:00.000+08:00

Mr Panicker (who, it seems-delightfully- is blogging regularly again) puts forth precisely yet eloquently something one feels terribly strongly about.

'We lost religion and found sport,' The Telegraph's columnist Mihir Bose once wrote. And hatred seems, unfortunately, to be the corollary of religion, everywhere, throughout time.
The religions themselves do not preach hatred; our latest religion, sport, certainly does not. Yet we subvert those religions, and now sport, to our own purposes; we invest it with intolerance and bigotry and hatred.

…and also reacts thusly about someone who has been quick to gleefully write off team India.

Pathetic

2007-03-19T13:55:00.000+08:00

Obsession, fanatical following of a sport that’s just not a game, emotion about something that’s larger than the mundanities of middle class life…and passion. Of all the clichés about Indian cricket fans, the worst is the kind of shameful, and shameless, reactions that follow a loss. I don’t care how much the ‘team performance’ means to you (and I have my doubts about that anyway), and I couldn’t care less about how a win will elevate your otherwise boring or unfulfilling life (it does mine, too by the way)- but you do not have the right to behave like violent, mindless hooligans (video).

You call the loss pathetic? I think you’re pathetic.

A larger world

2007-03-19T13:48:00.000+08:00

Bob Woolmer passes away, shockingly. All deaths are shocking, I suppose. But to come during the Cricket World Cup, in odd and sorry circumstances and in an odd and sorry situation…there is a feeling, for me, of it all being very surreal.
First a 22 year old cricket talent in Bangladesh, a few days later a 58 year old coaching pioneer. It all leaves one feeling a little small and disconnected.

much more here.

Capsized

2007-03-19T13:37:00.000+08:00

Freddie Flintoff is fined, stripped of his vice captaincy and dropped from the playing XI against Canada. All for having one too many drinks for a few too many hours.

pic courtesy

Contrasting reactions from (I paraphrase)
Nasser Hussain- “Well done to the Engliand management to show that even your best players have to abide by the rules of discipline”,
and Mr Botham- “Some people react to a loss by going to their rooms by 9.30pm, other need to go have a beer. I don’t think there’s anything wrong n what he’s done, the only mistake he made was …- getting caught.”
What do you say to that?!

St. Patrick's day

2007-03-18T17:46:00.000+08:00

I did not particularly want Pakistan to lose, but which neutral doesn’t like a fairy tale like win for an underdog that’s showing oodles of spirit and fight? Despite everything, I fear 2 easy points loom ahead for all the six teams playing Ireland in the Super 8s. But- it if it was ‘just’ an upset I would have been ok with that. Pakistan getting knocked out of the World Cup is just plain….weird.

Kya, yaar.

…and Osman Saimuddin vents. I feel for him.

Oh, no...

2007-03-18T13:42:00.000+08:00

A bunch of teenagers hammer India. For the proverbial Martian watching this, it would have seemed Bangladesh are the cricketing giants and India the almost-minnows. Despite some of the utterly hopeless performances dished out by India, I couldn’t help but be stunned at the way Bangladeshis turned up. A Spring in their step, aggressions and attitude brimming over, self belief in every action.

You’d think also that 190 was one of those clichéd neither here nor there scores, that on not-the-best of batting pitches would be a tricky task for a team that’s hardly won anything at a World Cup before. You’d be wrong, as most of us were. Tamim Iqbal looked at first (at least to me admittedly biased eyes) to be trying a little too much, and stuff beyond his depth. Soon he had the Indian bowlers not only on the backfoot, but tripping over themselves. Then Mushfiqur Rahim played with a panache almost unknown to any of his more ‘illustrious’ Indian counterparts today.

Eventually though, it was less about our bowling, a bit about how the top 4 flopped, but mostly about how unforgivable (and unfathomable) losing 5 wickets for 2 runs was. 157 for 4 to 159 for 9- I’m still reeling from that.

Mar 17

2007-03-18T01:10:00.000+08:00

191 is not going to be that easy to defend, moderately promising pitch nothwithstanding.
aargh.

meanwhile, it a great St Patrick's day for the leprechaun army. Not so good for the pakistani brethren.

India Cann

2007-03-16T16:36:00.000+08:00

Priceless.

"I can honestly say that we have a player called Lionel Cann," says Bermuda skipper Irving Romaine. "He loves India. He has named his child India. His biggest player is actually Tendulkar. Right now I'm hoping Tendulkar does not hit a catch to him because he will probably drop it to watch him bat."

If nothing else, the little stories that come out of these 'lesser-known' nations are worth their participation.

hat-tip: vishnu

track-shack

2007-03-15T13:23:00.000+08:00

I find it quite hard to believe that this man, veritable royalty, was not invited to the Opening Ceremony in his homeland. Astonishing. Meanwhile, Andy Roberts, has a couple of blunt things for the Indians.

The man with an impassive face, gave a disturbing piece of news to the Indians: "Don't think the wickets here are going to be too slow, like the last time you guys visited," he said. But what he said just before he got up to leave was more disconcerting. "Enjoy it while it lasts guys, your team won't be here after the Super Eight gets over."

This whole pitch thing is quite interesting. There has been a fair bit of talk about the subcontinental teams feeling at home. Sure, the Caribbean pitches have slowed down considerably in recent years, but I still would nto liken them to subcontinental conditions. Moreover, there has been no reason to think that the relaid pitches - while not quite reverting to the hey days of quick tracks- will be slow or turning. If the first couple of games, especially the opening match are anything to go by, this won't be as much of a 'spinner' tournament as has been suggested.

World Cup Ponderings – life

2007-03-14T09:53:00.000+08:00

Life is going to get very tricky. Watching matches through the night (app 9.30pm to 6am) is tough enough, but you would expect someone passionate enough about the game to , at the very least, attempt to do so. Add to that the minor technicality of going to work (presumably straight after, or a few hours later), and the dodgy-ness of it all becomes clearer. Even with a stoic acceptance of bleary eyes and blurry waking hours, the prospect is daunting. Life is going to get very tricky indeed.

I can’t wait.

This was written on Monday. Aforementioned work prevented me from even logging on since.

unningly staesthetic

2007-03-12T11:49:00.000+08:00

Andrew Miller's mostly entertaining account of the Opening Ceremony also has this gem:

00.04GMT Brace yourselves. It's Percy Sonn. "The West Indies must rank as the most idyllic and stunningly aesthetic cricket-playing country in the world," announces the President of the ICC. Gosh, try saying "stunningly aesthetic" when you're drunk ...

Ah.

Harmy's back. not.

2007-03-07T16:59:00.000+08:00

One of Sony's spots for the World Cup features none other than Steve Harmison. Yes, the same one who retired from ODIs a couple of months ago.
I am amazed.

Inept

2007-03-07T12:18:00.000+08:00

Time deLisle's enjoyable piece on the anti-Tendulkar. A couple of excerpts:

McGrath faces one ball per match. He has played 239 one-day internationals and faced 236 balls.
If he bats, it means Australia are in trouble; if he passes 5, they lose.
His favourite opponents are New Zealand, whom he has pummelled for 37 runs at a rate of more than one a match (31 games). Against South Africa, he has managed only 12 runs in 39 games.

Meanwhile, rediff sensationalises this issue that is not so new anymore, (and kartikeya writes about it)

Personae?

2007-03-06T12:07:00.000+08:00

Men in White's post on Australia has caused a bit of a stir in the comments section. leaving aside that argument (which you can enjoy here), the post itself is a bit odd. It seems like it was left midway, for one. 'Dramatis Personae' led me to believe we would read about Mr Kesavan's impressions of the key personalities from this team, or for the World Cup in general. Neither really happened. Its basically a comment on why he would like to see Australia lose.

World Cup regulations-scheduling

2007-02-28T15:50:00.000+08:00

The ICC decided some time ago to fine tune the World Cup schedule, specifically the Super 8 match-ups. A top seeded team in a group will be considered at the ‘#1’ team in that group, even if they are second on points. For example, if South Africa top group A, Australia will still be ‘A1’ for the purposes of figuring who is playing whom and when, in the Super8s. The only change to this will be if one of the ‘minnows’ makes it through. Then it will replace the team it has eliminated. (For example, Scotland will become A1 if they oust Australia. Ya, right).

The reasoning would seem sound- this will be a big help for the press, media in general, broadcasters, administrators and travelling fans to plan their schedules. For example- again, you’d think Australia will make it to the second stage, but now don’t have to wait to see where they stand in the group to know when and where they will play once they are through.

Yet, given that this change to the schedule (from its original generic one) has been made on the ICC site without them, apparently, offering any explicit reason, it will come across as predictive rather than practical; nonsensical rather than sensible. Also, shouldn’t this have been decided much, much earlier for it to fully serve the purposes mentioned above?

giving the finger

2007-02-28T15:00:00.000+08:00

Jacob Oram goes Eklavya on us about the World Cup.

"If it means cutting the finger off, if that's the worse case scenario, if that's the last resort, I'll do that, there's no way I'm missing this."

update: ok then, ha ha.

our game is like this only

2007-02-28T12:40:00.000+08:00

The meaning of the Konkani lyrics in the new Nike ad:

'Wait, partner, wait
First let me play
If you don't play, I'll keep
chasing you all day
Our game is like this only
Where we have no time to think
It is the game of cat and mouse
That I have begun to love
And in the falling running breaking
My destiny is entwined'

Semi-prediction

2007-02-27T19:13:00.000+08:00

What do you know. Someone is actually, definitively- if in passing- backing India to win the World Cup. I think most India supporters will be hoping rather than expecting; a neutral is far more likely to contemplate more…while another in the Guardian puts them through to the semis.
Also in the piece:

There are five survivors from the 1992 World Cup, four of which you can name at the drop of a helmet: Lara, Inzamam, Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya. To get the fifth you may need a Wisden in your anorak. Anderson Cummins played for West Indies in 1992; this time, at the age of 40, he will represent Canada, where he now resides.

World Cup Regulations

2007-02-27T12:42:00.000+08:00

Over at Zainub’s I find a curious article. The Dawn reports that there are a few rule changes in the World Cup, but chooses not to say when or where this was announced, or by who. Given that some of the so-called changes are not insignificant, it’s a trifle strange.

For one, there’s the bit about edges. Once an umpire refers a catch for the usual reasons (bump ball/clean catch), if the 3rd umpire notices that there is actually no nick he can convey this to the on-field umpire. It will then be given not out. What about fine nicks? Nicks that require the Snickometer?

Also, they claim a 5-stage system will be introduced to decide which team go through in the event of a tie. I would think the regular ones are head-to-head, number of total wins and NRR, but they will also be bowl outs, though no details are given. If I am not mistaken, bowl outs were also the last option in ties for the previous edition of the WC.

Either way, its odd none of this has been reported anywhere, which means The Dawn are either very well connected or very alert.

update: I find these condition are in fact present in the ICC’s WC 2007 regulations. What they state is pretty much how I have interpreted above for the caught decisions. The system for tied matches is also outlined, though surprisingly head-to-head results will be relevant only as a 4th level of decision making.
Also, a tie in the semis will mean an immediate bowl out. So South Africa's '99 plight is not an option this time.

update2: there was a cricinfo report day before.

discount? absolutely.

2007-02-26T22:01:00.000+08:00

Starhub is the local cable service. Those of us crazy enough to do so, pay a sizeable S$26/month to watch cricket on the so-called Cricket Channel, which basically obtains the feeds of different rights holders and shows us a lot of matches from around the world. So one was waiting to see if their World Cup coverage would be priced, as some expected, extortionately.

Now some points about this:

- The mailer loudly shouted “Who will be the champion batting team of the world?” (er, its cricket, not The Batting Game.)
- The World cup would be available on two PPV channels for a cool S$100 for all the matches. “Not too bad”, one thinks. After all, 2 months of the Cricket channel would be $52, so this was basically double. Also:
- Current 'cricket channel' subscribers would get a 30% discount. Which means I would pay only $70, not much more than the usual amount I fork out.

- When I called, I was told that I would be given the 30% discount only if I continued my subscription to the Cricket Channel during the World Cup.
“But there will be no cricket on the cricket channel during that time”, I protested.
“I’m sorry sir, then you can take the World Cup PPV for 100, like any other customer.”
It failed to make a difference to them that their ‘discount’, would make me effectively pay about 125 during the WC. So I, as a ‘faithful cricket subscriber’ would be paying more than the average Joe, Jatin or Jhoolan.
- To cut a long- and infuriating- story short, I asked to be called back by a manager or something. To be fair, they were prompt enough to do so in a few hours, and offered me, instead, a 15% discount. So I am now paying 85. But, I politely told them they are misleading and misinforming their customers.
“yes, sir, I understand where you are coming from… but that’s all I can offer.”

And to think, these matches will run broadly from 9pm to 6am our time! How much will one be able to see? What about work???

add: apparently there's also a complaint letter in Monday's Straits Times in the Forum section. Lets wait and see if that yields anything.

a dry spell, and sms

2007-02-26T13:49:00.000+08:00

A piece about a hard and almost-tragic life. And yes, also about cricket.

And this from ol' Ricky:

"I got some pretty funny text messages from him after every one of the games - 'how are you ... are you on the next flight over?' and 'you can have your job back, I don't want it any more'."

Cricket crazy

2007-02-25T19:49:00.001+08:00

A new cricket ad in India. Not necessarily 'out of the box', but nicely done. Definitely a good watch.

we're not that good

2007-02-23T14:18:00.000+08:00

i find it a tad odd that a player comes out with a negative comparison on his team leading up to the World Cup. Murali has done just that, stating his belief that the WC winning Sri Lankan side of '96 was better than the one now heading to Caribbean. In some ways I suppose its a refreshing change from the insipid and predictable quotes that media-managed players tend to offer these days; but it does seem a bit pointless putting down your own team so.

allrounder?!

2007-02-23T13:41:00.000+08:00

The great Sobers on, amongst other things, all rounders:

Something I've never heard of before is the wicketkeeper-allrounder! Clyde Walcott was a wicketkeeper but they never said he was an all-rounder, but Adam Gilchrist is called one!

Bruise Lee

2007-02-23T12:15:00.000+08:00

I have to admit I am nowhere near glad or relieved that Lee is notmaking it for the World Cup. Sure, it helps make the tournament a little more open, but we really could have done with his searing energy and considerable white-ball skills. What a pity.

quotable

2007-02-22T17:24:00.000+08:00

Hussey on their losses, from Cricinfo quotes:

"I actually don't think we did too badly with the ball and in the field."

...and, from HT cricket:

Australian captain Michael Hussey has said Australia's drubbing at the hands of New Zealand was due to bowlers' failing to make breakthrough and not because of excess workload.

Hmmm.

oh, kasper

2007-02-22T17:03:00.000+08:00

Kasper's getting smarter with age:

"My theory is that every time a batsman plays and misses he should be asked to take off one piece of protective clothing of the bowler's choice."

Sure, then maybe every two no-balls or wides bowled, bowlers can bowl with their wrong hand next delivery. Or if Kasper likes, they could take off one item of clothing at a time.

adios noodle straps

2007-02-22T13:37:00.000+08:00

I still don't know to what extent I will be subjected to her and Charu during the World Cup, but look at this:

(Fashion Designer) Satya Paul has designed some cricket-related saris for me. I have got one sari with signatures of cricketers on it. Another sari is designed with press cuttings of headlines about cricket. Another one has animations of cricketer players. There is also this interesting red sari, which has the seam of the cricket ball printed on the chest. They're designing 50 outfits for the World Cup for me.

Oh my.

new blue, old blue

2007-02-22T00:40:00.000+08:00

So much for the new blue. Sorry BCCI & Nike, you'll have to wait, says the ICC.
Awaiting further weird details on this.

> Or,then again, maybe not. The team will wear the new threads, but with changes in sponsor logo placement. Should have known.

"i've got a bad feeling about this..."

2007-02-21T17:14:00.001+08:00

There's a lot of Australia bashing and debate going on. Are they past it? Is this the end of an era? Are they a (relatively) spent force? Is their finally proximity between them and the rest of the pack?

Its a bit early for me to be able to answer in the affirmative to any of these. I am wary of writing them off-nay, even belittling them- for they have shown that they are champions in more ways than one. Yet, one cannot elude the feeling that they have lost a bit of their edge- depleted team, injuries and exhaustion notwithstanding. Losing 6 from 7, and the manner of some of these losses, is just very...un-Australian.

Simon Barnes lays into the (erstwhile?) champion team a bit, and justifies gloating very persuasively. He goes a bit jedi in this bit, which admittedly sounds rather right:

The luck has deserted Australia along with the confidence and sureness of touch. It always does when a side starts to lose. One crucial injury has followed another: that’s the way things happen with losers. When the force is with you, an injury seems to become a positive advantage, forcing a new and brilliant player into the front line. Australian are at present a team deserted by the force.

I do believe one must refrain from getting carried away with all this bashing/rejoicing/moping (depending on your perspective), for this team is most dangerous when faced with the need to recover. The lack of recovery time and the spate of injuries is sure to hamper that bounce-back-ability, but only their results in the World Cup will show us where the future lies. Just when I started to think that Mr Barnes might be a tad overdone,

Is this a terminal decline for Australia? Or is it merely a brief moment of regrouping? Who can tell? The one certainty is that the great Australia cricket dynasty reached some kind of punctuation point at the end of the Ashes series, and right now it looks more like a full stop than a comma.

Perfect.

Anything less than a slot in the World Cup final will, as I see it, be taken as a confirmation that the flow of world cricket (at least in ODIs) has taken a turn. Until that time, which is a substantial ten weeks away, lets wait.

new blue

2007-02-21T12:48:00.000+08:00

India's 'World Cup Colours' are revealed, with Nike expectedly calling them hi-tech. They seem a little too light in colour for my liking, and shiny, though both of these might seem more than they are thanks to the stage lights in the pics. Also the green of the flag is quite low on the shirt, notice how its lost on so many of these players, once tucked in.

Pic: Uday Kuckian

The colours of the graphics on the new jersey take inspiration from the Indian flag and represent speed and motion.

I just hope they also ensure some speed in the field, the lack of which is possibly the team's biggest weakness going into the tournament.

My question is- what happened to these grand plans that were unveiled when Nike signed on as sponsors well over a year ago??

blackcapwash

2007-02-20T17:36:00.000+08:00

Another unbelievable match comes to an end. Not only was it an entertaining and bloody exciting game, the contextmade the Kiwi chase one of the best. Coming from 40/4 to chase down 347 is really special.
Sure, there will be those who say this Aussie unit did not have Ponting, Gilly, Lee and Symonds and Mcgrath, but the Kiwis played without Vettori, Bond and Oram as well. Though once you set a target of 347 and have bowlers from your World Cup 15 defending it, there's no way you can use that excuse.
Whats worse- hayden seems to have broken his toe. With Symonds looking dodgy (and on his return, who can be sure of his ability to bowl and throw from the deep), Lee with an ankle injury that doesn't look good at all, and now Hayden's worry, things are looking a little anxious for Australia. The side that always had enough bench strength to cover most eventualities, suddenly isn't so sure of that.
I felt for Huseey though- what an induction as skipper- a whitewash to the neighbours. Ouch.

wake up!

2007-02-17T19:35:00.000+08:00

Remember the story about Sehwag being held by the collar by John Wright once, when he'd just come back in dismissed off a rash shot? I wonder what would have happened if he had walked back in after today's dismissal. Hats off to Sangakarra, but that was unforgivable from Viru. Wake up!

That was a thrilling display of typical Yuvi batting, by the way.

laptop advertising

2007-02-17T16:33:00.000+08:00

I'd been wondering when there'd be more obvious 'commercial' use of the laptops and other stuff that can be seen so often in the dressing rooms. This series the Lankans have had Toshiba plastered across their notebooks as they analyse the game.

gold and green

2007-02-16T14:24:00.000+08:00

It had slipped my mind that Australia had decided on separate home and away kits. It was a pleasure to see them back in their yellow against the Kiwis today (where they are staring at defeat at the moment). Albeit muted compared to their recent bright canary yellow, its far more 'Australian' (to me) than the too-dark green they unvelied in the CB series.

So they will basically wear the green stuff for a month every year during the tri series down under. Seems the theory about it being best suited for the current series sponsor isn't so unlikely after all.

SA squad?

2007-02-16T02:17:00.000+08:00

A quick question thats been bothering me- where is South Africa's team for the World Cup? I can't seem to see it announced anywhere...?

edit: I have eventually found this. Wasn't the deadline yesterday ( I mean, the 14th- this team was announced on thursday, the 15th) ?

surveyor's chain

2007-02-16T00:09:00.000+08:00

very bloody interesting.

not your day

2007-02-15T19:16:00.000+08:00

In a very readable list, is this pricless one:

Proof that when you are having an off day, nothing goes your way. In Lahore during England's wretched 1987-88 tour of Pakistan, French was minding his own business in the nets when he was hit on the head by a throw from a spectator returning a stray ball. He was taken to hospital where he was struck by a car outside the main entrance. He had his wound stitched without incident, only to crack it on a low-hanging light fitting as he got up to leave.

exhilarating

2007-02-12T15:11:00.000+08:00

Sri Lanka pulled off an unexpected comeback yesterday, Pakistan were thrashed again in a see saw series, the Indian World Cup squad will be announced anytime now, less than 24 hours after the team snatched defeat from the backside of victory… but till then England’s astounding CB series win is top of the news for me.

I missed the whole match (one cricket channel=India-SL match), though I followed it on the net. No one will believe that England are suddenly world-beaters in ODIs, nor that Australia have lost their mojo, but to see either of those as a reality- even if temporary- is particularly thrilling.
And oh, Mr Buchanan, cocky comments have a habit of biting you in the behind. Just as well you made them so close to the end of your tenure.

new ground...

2007-02-08T00:27:00.000+08:00

3 ODIs against Australia in Ireland. Perfect preparation, one would presume, for the 3 tests against England that follow. Take a look at India's schedule starting now till next April- its quite staggering, really.
No, Mr deLisle, no one seems to think less is more. Its the goose and eggs, again...but who seems to care.

faith

2007-02-05T11:02:00.000+08:00

You have to feel for this guy.

"I sincerely feel that I deserve a couple of chances to prove myself all over
again. I have played for India over six years and 100 ODIs with distinction, so
that stage is passed where I have to prove my capabilities. It's just about
getting runs in the kitty. Until I get that opportunity, how do I show my form."

Kaif averages 19.31 in his last 20 matches, with three half-centuries. Raina, for one, averages 18.94 in his last 20, with two 50s.
Who would you go for?

My World Cup 14...

2007-02-02T12:18:00.000+08:00

...(cause I can't decide on the 15th!)

Dravid
Sachin
Ganguly
Yuvi
Sehwag
Dhoni
Karthik
Uhtappa
Pathan
Bhajji
Kumble
Agarkar
Zaheer
Sreesanth
This is a toss up for me between Powar and Munaf I suppose. I don’t really know.

I believe Raina should miss out because his (really)extended run has yielded little. Karthik has impressed in far fewer chances (and theirs is the ‘face-off, I’d think). It’s a pity Kaif has gone so off the radar. He’s had a bit of a raw deal, it would seem to me, by not getting enough chances, or erratic ones. Pathan is a tough call, but the balance he brings hope of is very very tempting. I cringe thinking of Munaf’s fielding, too.

you've done it again, mr latif...

2007-02-02T12:15:00.000+08:00

...put your foot in that proverbial place

"Paul Nixon is the best wicketkeeper in the world at the moment. His
collection is absolutely superb up at the stumps and to the fast bowlers. "

unjust...

2007-01-12T12:02:00.000+08:00

Simon Wilde as the English supporter, mopes through this piece on Adelaide, and eloquently so.

It was sport as nightmare, the kind of ghastly dream in which you run naked
through your old school in search of the exam for which you have not prepared.
It was cricket as it might have been written by Kafka: a hideous punishment, as
unjust as it was incomprehensible, inflicted on people who had earned the right
to expect better things from life.

I empathise with him more than he would know. Except that while he is grappling with the novelty of this feeling, I have to deal with the familiarity of it.
- I’m an Indian fan, you see.

Elsewhere, some Aussies seem to have given up on the English t provide any real cricketing entertainment, so have taken it upon themselves. Um or should I say taken it off
via

trim

2007-01-11T15:21:00.000+08:00

Rameez Raja has got a haircut. Praise be the lord.

Gil-church

2007-01-10T14:15:00.000+08:00

An interesting aside to the near- farcical Twenty20 match last night (or wait, were the asides more interesting than the match?) was Vaughan, Gilly and Ponting on the talkbacks with the commentators.
Or should I say Church instead of Gilly? I won’t, cause it sounds stupid, but its not his nickname because- as the Guardian mentions- the last part of his name is Christ. Chatting with the commentators while batting, he spoke of being approached for an autograph in his first Ashes series. He was with a couple of legends, and the kid said, “you’re Steve Waugh…you’re Glen Mcgrath…and you’re Adam Gilchurch”. Apparently it sorta stuck.

They also got Gilly to do a bit of a commentary stint while keeping, claiming he was interested in commentary. I have to say, he was pretty good, especially as he threw it to a break with “Australia right on top…”. Then again, I suppose anyone could say that these days without having any idea of the match state.

And oh, he also said, on that kid, “I hope he knows who I am now”. I am sure he does, Gilly, I am sure he does.

NOOO!!!

2006-12-21T13:15:00.000+08:00

Be the soap operatic, melodramatic bugger that you are, and say it was all wrong. You don;t mean to go out. Not just yet.
What do I watch when Australia plays now?

the race is on

2006-11-17T20:43:00.000+08:00

I can’t say this with too much vehemence, but I sometimes feel like there is too much political correctness going around for my liking. Rather, the need for it. And the perceived need for this utmost care in most issues has also spawned the easy option of falling back on bigotry as excuses/explanations for too many situations.

Before I ramble too much (what’s new) in this hopefully returning post to Playing From Home (or work, as the case may be), let me clarify. Its easy for any suspect decision taken by someone whose skin colour doesn’t need Fair & Lovely to be labelled racist. It’s a scary trend, and without actually making a call on the merits of any case per se, its hardly comforting to know that the non Asian members of this sport can spend quite a bit of time worrying that decisions against their subcontinental colleagues will be misconstrued. Its almost as shameful as being racist, is using the race card indiscriminately. (and well said, NK.)

Then there’s the CA chief, who believes that “stupid Indian” is not racist. I don’t care to quibble on semantics, but is that the only question? What are you gaining by making that point? Surely not being ‘racist’ doesn’t preclude the phrase from being crude, boorish and quite simply pathetic? I haven’t been to a game Down Under, so I naturally can’t say; and not for a moment do I think that this is true of all the crowds, or most of the people in Australia. But there are enough to make this an issue and smear the sporting spirit that country is so proud of (and indeed, looked up to for). Get down to trying to fix it, not making irrelevant points.

on a bad length

2006-05-11T17:25:00.000+08:00

I find the ICC ruling on pitch standards a trifle worrying. It could well turn out to be just a measure to ensure that sub standard, one-sided or pitches that are plain dangerous aren’t found anymore (which is what its purpose should be).

According to the ICC's parameters, the perfect pitch for Test cricket should
have "good carry, limited seam movement and consistent bounce throughout, little
or no turn on the first two days but natural wear sufficient to be responsive to
spin later in the game."

It’s the way it is worded that puts me off a bit; it defines how a ‘good’ pitch should be. In my mind, the ICC need only define what is a not good pitch. As long as a strip meets those conditions, there should be no further interference. A good pitch in cricket can mean many different things and I just hope the ICC has the purpose of this pitch ‘standardisation’ sorted out clearly. Next thing you know they’ll want standardise the cloud cover.

In other irritations, this overdose of cricket is becoming truly maddening. A glance at the ICC’s FTP for the next six years, and you’ll see a liberal dosage of 7 match ODI series- especially involving India. Some of the statistics regarding free days/weeks and playing days in a year are startling. I can see the most ardent fan just tiring of endless, relatively meaningless matches.

And what do they do in the midst of this debate? They issue a curt gag on the Indian vice-captain. Bah!

recently...

2006-04-15T17:29:00.000+08:00

That day, I was close enough to take a photo of this, the most amazing of trophies....and I got one with me in it as well, of course. Its a good feeling, I tell you.

state of shock

2006-03-12T23:21:00.000+08:00

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

2006-03-10T13:28:00.000+08:00

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

2006-03-09T13:28:00.000+08:00

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

2006-03-06T17:24:00.000+08:00

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?

bah

2006-02-27T17:53:00.000+08:00

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

2006-02-25T13:11:00.000+08:00

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

2006-02-24T12:46:00.000+08:00

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*

2006-02-23T13:38:00.000+08:00

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

2006-02-23T13:17:00.000+08:00

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?

2006-02-16T18:40:00.000+08:00

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

2006-02-16T12:52:00.000+08:00

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!

2006-02-09T11:10:00.000+08:00

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

2006-02-08T17:36:00.000+08:00

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

2006-02-08T14:44:00.000+08:00

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!

2006-02-06T16:04:00.000+08:00

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

2006-02-06T13:37:00.000+08:00

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...

2006-02-06T13:04:00.000+08:00

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!

2006-02-03T15:39:00.000+08:00

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

(thanks zainub)

It was so cool...

2006-01-29T15:34:00.000+08:00

listening to 'Kajra Re' play in the stadium at Karachi during the lunch break- crowd cheers, whistles and all.
Truly.

the past

2006-01-26T10:19:00.000+08:00

Reading about cricket seems always to be just round the corner for me. It is not for lack of interest, for I still think of myself as a cricket…well fan. Of the game, then of a team and players. Yet, I would also instinctively not call myself a cricketing illiterate by any stretch, though a fountain of information on it would be a bit much too.
I suppose, if one’s fingers are in pies (such as this blog) that are directly connected to cricket, it also makes sense for one to keep up to date with not only the present but some measure of the past.

How relevant this is for someone who skills lie on the field of play, is quite another thing. We can’t seriously expect a cricketer to be well versed with history, or at least not believe that it is required of him. I must say I was a bit staggered as well with Sehwag’s response. I even ventured to believe that “"No. I don't know anything about them. I haven't heard about them”, could merely mean he wasn’t thinking about Roy and Mankad vis-a vis the partnership he was involved in, but who am I kidding. Harsha Bhogle, for one, believes being scandalised loses out to pragmatism.

I suppose the fact that a leading cricketer is not even aware of a couple of the early heroes of the game in his country could be construed as shameless disregard for heritage. From an Aussie player, for one, I would be truly shocked to see such ignorance. In India though. I think a player’s background plays a huge role. We would expect a Dravid to be well versed with his cricket history- he is, for sure, inspired by it. But a typical Indian team is made up of such a motley bunch- the cultural background, the education, they way they are brought up… all point to unpredictable off-the field profiles of Indian cricketers.

Atherton’s absorbing piece on not bunking history draws this out:

It won't make him a better player, but it gives him a link with both the past and the future; it provides some context and some meaning, so that, long after the bones have stiffened and the eyes have gone, it still matters. He is simply one link in the chain.

I think another part of his piece mixes up the issue though. The tradition of a player number being stitched on to shirts and caps might not be widespread in the cricketing world, but is one that mostly draws approving nods. A sense of history, is what we say it provides. In saying the very England players who displayed a scant knowledge of their cricketing history are the ones who instigated this tradition, he figures that:

By instigating such a custom, today's players show a surreptitious interest in what went before them and, by inference, what will come after them.

For me, this is different from learning about your cricketing past to give context to your present. A player number is just that. It probably gives a sense of existence; a feeling that you are part of a honour-roll of a select few that have represented the country; more a sense of self than an awareness of context; you are a link in the chain, but with an identity.

But that’s just me. If you ask Sehwag about 239, he’ll probably just say it’s a low score for him.

> Vaneisa Baksh, to finish off her longish piece inspired by Lagaan, points young people in the game toward cricket literature. (hat tip: ryan)

gift

2006-01-24T12:21:00.000+08:00

I only managed to see the one (relatively inconclusive) replay of his dismissal, but did Sachin actually gift his wicket yesterday?

update: gaurav definitely thinks so.
damn. that book would a depressing bestseller.

Of inevitability and power

2006-01-23T15:59:00.000+08:00

Sometime in the near future, you can expect to see a stodgy but articulate chap standing on one leg, hands firmly grasped around a mouldy pillar, its base creaking in crumbling mud. That chap would be ol’ Athers, and the pillar he’ll be so dearly clinging onto will be an illusion borne of an archaic impression of the world order.

At best sharp, precise and handy with his laptop; at worst Michael Atherton has shown glimpses of a perspective still mired in a word I myself am loathe to use- a colonial attitude. If he has his way, we will all be standing with him in that very quagmire. Except, as he himself points out, a lot of the people in the cricketing world are not from that order, and do not believe- indeed, have no reason to- in the need for a continuance of status quo.
It seems pretty obvious to most but the likes of him, that there is no justification for the home seasons, or itineraries, of England and Australia to be sacrosanct, and those of the others pliable accordingly. Nor is there any reason for those with the financial clout to let those without it run the game as they wish.

Yet, for me, this is not about Michael Atherton, nor his diatribe against the BCCI, nor his new-found passion for the ICC. At the end of it all, it calls for little surprise, that the one member that effectively funds this sport, is the one who will call most of the shots. It may not be the best setup, but it is the most inevitable in a sport that is as much about bat and ball as about banks and balance sheets. Romanticism about a sport that uplifts and impassions first and earns people money later, is exactly that- a rose-tinted view that I would be the first to enjoy, but one none of us can realistically expect the world to live by.

What pinches in all of this- in fact, has pinched since well before the doughty former England opener stirred up sub continental indignation- is the way the inevitability of today’s cricket world seems to panning out. The alacrity with which the new BCCI regime has fast-tracked it’s new ideas smacks less of the desire to right any perceived wrongs, and more of a frenzied wish to rake in as much as they can while the cherry is still red. Worse, it reeks of a selfishness that is, if not unexpected, particularly distasteful in its intensity. It would have made sense- for themselves more than anyone else- if the BCCI had, for once, delved into their musty tact-store and used some of that precious commodity. With their obvious economic strength in the game comes the requirement for grounded feet and, dare I say, even some good-heartedness. That they project neither is a sad, disheartening and unnerving truth.
Perhaps they missed out on the Spiderman phenomenon, or they might have listened to old Uncle Parker’s advice. You know- that bit about great power and responsibility…

Meanwhile, Athers would do well to cling on not to that pillar of cricket he is rooting for, but rather to the lip-smacking prospect of new traditions being created, and co-existing with the old ones.

pakistan...

2006-01-19T23:51:00.000+08:00

What a lovely entry on the pakistan tour diary here. Nothing revelatory or spectacular, but lovely nevertheless. it reminds me of these musings of mine....which i have a sudden urge to pen down again...but not at this time...maybe tomorrow...

over a grand for 7. whoa.

2006-01-16T20:13:00.000+08:00

What an astounding pile-up of runs, and what astounding batting performances for me to completely miss! Sheesh.
Like the blitzkreig from Afridi (and lesser from Akmal) and the foundations laid by Yousuf and Younis, Sehwag and Dravid's innings have been on a eminently forgettable strip, but a lot of the batting we have seen is memorable despite that. To come out nearly 700 runs behind against your arch rival and its excellent bowling attack and pound it to dust thus (yes, yes what a sodding pitch this is) is an amazing display of will, strength and skill. Especially considering that bit of mess that the team and its peripheral issues are in right now...

test bat

2006-01-15T14:36:00.000+08:00

I don't need to get into the absurd rates the Pakistanis scored at yesterday, and now the Indian openers have chugged along at over 5 an over. Hats off to the adventurous spirit of their blades, but really- what the heck sort of pitch is this anyway? test cricket? Nah, just test the bowlers...

100 for the 7th wicket

2006-01-15T14:15:00.000+08:00

From a startling 71/6, Australia have recovered to a (as yet still unimposing) 172/6.
What is head-shakingly amazing yet almost predictable in its uniqueness, is Australia's ability to not let a bad situation slide into abject despair. Bret Lee is on 44 of a mere 54 balls and with Huseey past his 50, they might actually not need to lose a bowler to accommodate Hopes the batsman, which seemed a virtual certainty when Clarke departed. Now I will be suprised if the bowlers don't make a match of it.

I have oft spoken about and discussed over work, lunch or beer what it is that drives the Australians thus. There may be temporary answers, but I rarely feel closer to actually understanding what lies behind their indomitable (and insatiable) spirit.

that sinking feeling

2006-01-14T11:23:00.000+08:00

This is so depressing, whatever elements of untruth may be in it- pleading with ganguly? ugh.

Apparently Dean Jones was on yesterday (on similar footage of Dravid, Ganguly and Chappell), that indeed it was Ganguly who was pleading to be included in the playing XI. It all smacks of the petty and political behaviour we have all become used to so vocally disliking over the last few years. It seems, in some ways, that it is a vestige of those times- to accommodate this one 'issue'- but it still leaves one terribly disheartened.

Far, far more than 326/2.

2006-01-04T15:11:00.000+08:00

a gilly special underway. this is delicious. I wouldn't have minded seeing teh Aussies under some pressure, but what better than a Gilly hundred to take them out of the...
there you go- out. 86. aargh.

black and blue

2005-12-29T13:09:00.000+08:00

So the Indian cricket team's nike sponsorship shall come along with a new kit, a piece of news that seems to be buried in few parts of the web. Its a dark blue, though more like a blue-black, harkening to the days of the 1992 World Cup. But there seems to be no yellow or saffron elements in it, and it seems a bit 'neither here nor there'. A better call can be made when we actually see them unveiled in the Pak ODIs I suppose.
Assuming , of course, they actually 'unveil it' in a reasonable manner, unless they believe these dashing chaps here holding them up is good enough till the MiBB* march out.

pic AFP

*Men in BlueBlack

tony-shony

2005-12-22T14:42:00.000+08:00

I know I am probably being petty, but isn't there something incongruous in Tony Greig waxing eloquent here. And did the report have to be titled 'Tony Greig sees the future in black and white'? And And I might as well go the whole hog and be unecessarily hyper:

I always took it as a bit of a compliment to cop it from the crowd out here, but
we always went down the light-hearted course. There were no racist overtones

And how would you know, Tony? Racists overtones to a team full of white people? I don't think so.

inanity

2005-12-22T14:36:00.000+08:00

In typical fashion, Star News declared in their post match, pre- pakistan tour analysis that Harbhajan had never bowled in Pakistan, Kumble and Pathan a mere 3 tests each. What inexperience!
Well, given we played in Pakistan in 2004 after years, what did you expect? Bring back Kapil?

slurs

2005-12-21T20:47:00.000+08:00

so what is with people? if you spend the money to go watch a cricket match (and, I assume, the beer you consume there), why waste it if all you end up doing is this? Get a life. I suppose these are the people who have Lehmann posters up in their rooms.

Meanwhile, I don't quite get why Ganguly should be meeting with Pawar. It smacks of either political overtones, desperation, pettiness, or all of these- and I am not saying its one-sided either. If he makes it to Pakistan now, it will be seen as a tainted selection; if he is not picked in the playing XI (which he might not if this man has anything to say), there will be another uproar- treating a former captain with no respect by letting him (forcing him) to languish in the dressing room.

Sigh. The webs they weave...

Motera

2005-12-20T15:06:00.000+08:00

So 'Pao Bhajji' had the Lankans in a spin with some good bouncy off-spin stuff. (Talking of bouncy, Warney's leg breaks are hitting chaps on the helmet in Perth...), but the Lankans are making sure India doesn't have it easy. India is 2 down, and SL's body language is real positive.

Is it just me, or does the Motera crowd seem rather genenerous (by Indian standards) with their applause?

return...

2005-12-19T17:34:00.000+08:00

It is after very long that I write here. But enough about that already. Suffice it to say that multiple blogs are hard to maintain- not to mention indulgent, ambitious and fun. If one did not have a job, one would write more.
Or would one…

It is also after very long that the Indian team is without both Dravid and Ganguly in this the third Test against Sri Lanka being played in Ahmedabad. ‘nuff said about Ganguly and his unceremonious exit, though- I only hope I don’t write on this topic because the melodrama takes another twist soon.
94 tests is a long time, and a lineup sans Dravid leaves me a little uncomfortable, and a tad wistful. In a few years time, after a couple of (dare I say it) retirements, things shall get very difficult indeed. I mean- I don’t know about the team, they’ll be difficult for me.

What a packed day, though. As Pathan follows up his excellent batting innings with a wicket, things are back to normal at Perth after South Africa threatened to take the Aussies to the brink in their backyard. Hodge and Hussey are having a rollicking time of it, and Clarke must wonder whatever happened to the Golden ~~Boy~~ Pup he had become. And an obviously (but unjustifiably) tiring (and depleted) English side are trying to restrict the Pakistanis and equalise a series.
What a day to return to cricket blogging. I only hope I stick around, because at the moment my brain is still somewhere in Delhi.
I, of course, am not.

break

2005-10-13T12:51:00.000+08:00

normal service after servicing

lout

2005-09-19T18:39:00.000+08:00

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.

waiting

2005-09-15T14:38:00.000+08:00

How long can one wait to 'do justice' in words to the series just concluded?

One

2005-09-09T23:48:00.000+08:00

1 year to this blog today.

no big deal, I guess, especially with the layoff for a couple of months when I moved countries. just thought I would note it.

Day 1 at The Oval

2005-09-09T12:09:00.000+08:00

The Rock Star & the One Man Band
Shane Warne’s sheer poetry with the ball is drowned out by the clashing beats of his persona. Bowling with a majesty that is nothing if not riveting, his art could have been poetry if it weren’t for the way he is- he is more the in-your-face rock star than the beautiful poet, more Morrison than Blake.

Yesterday, he was a lone warrior. If there was one reason any English supporter (or a neutral who might ‘feel’ for them, and be glad that the dominating team is being challenged) would not mind Australia retaining The Ashes, it would be Shane Warne. He is the one you would feel bad for, his passion. And this defiance in the face of loss or adversity was visible yesterday. On a first day pitch that offered only a little assistance, amidst a bowling attack that looked toothless at worst and manageable at best, he donned his leather jacket and took to the stage in a blinding flash of drama and style. What followed was a mesmerising act, leaving all who witnessed it in awe of the depth, character and talent that characterise his performances. If Australia lose the Ashes, more than anyone else, it will be a travesty to this man.

Side notes:
Simon Katich had been speaking to Warne a few overs before the Strauss dismissal, and moving in straighter from his sill mid-off position. At one time, he and Warne chatted, and I could hear Warne say as he walked back to his mark “just ask punter”. Not long after, Katich took that stunner (photos 4 & 5) to dismiss Strauss.

Andrew Flintoff
Played beautifully, played with class. When he gout out, though, it seemed to me there might have been a bit of anxiety writ on his face as he walked off, knowing that England might be looking at a score lower than what would take the heat off (photo 18) them. Unlike Flintoof, who looks at ease and like he is enjoying himself most of the time.

It might just have been both teams were a tad defensive (safe) in the way they played yesterday- England once Warne was bowling, Australia most of the time Warne was not.

Awaiting

2005-09-08T11:46:00.000+08:00

In about 6 hours, the most anticipated test in recent history shall commence. Well, at least the most anticipated Test since Lord’s in July, or Edgbaston or Old Trafford…
Its been that sort of series, hasn’t it.

At the start, most of us would have, at best, hoped wildly that the series would come down to the last test. How many actually believed that The Oval would host a decider is quite another thing. Expectations ranged, not so widely, from England wining nothing to winning a dead test to winning a solitary live one. Everything else was in the realm of hope, be it for an Englishman or a neutral. And everything else was in the realm of the unreal, even nightmarish, for everyone down under.

Yet, 43 days and four tests later this is no nightmare. Not even the most ardent Australian fan can fault the series. It is more than anyone could have asked or hoped for, more than the most gifted of scriptwriters could have created- anticipation has, inexplicably and wonderfully, risen from test to test.

Today we are left talking about how much Jones and McGrath will affect this decider, whether some players who till recently were atop a hill are over it, whether the lions will be left licking their wounds, or will they claw their way back, if weather will, eventually, play a part in this series, or if it could boil down to the toss of a coin.

Truth be told, none of it really matters. This series has already transcended such trivialities- leaving them as mere points of discussion. We would be better off contemplating the riveting charm of this game, yet it can be hardly articulated, so we settle for the normalcy of such discussions. Its just that sometimes, they seem almost incidental in the bigger picture.

After every test I have tried to consciously lower my expectations, not wanting to be disappointed, not believeing such exhilarating cricket could sustain itself. Every time, I have been proved wrong. Every time, I have been left happily shaking my head. Whatever happens at the Oval, I will still be here, marvelling at this game.
Its been that sort of series, hasn't it.