>breathtaking

>2 fours in a row, solanki is run out an they still need 39 to win. 3 wickets in hand.
If nothing else, surely spanking Australian bowlers around the park will give Pietersen a place all his own in the hearts of English fans.....

>Pietresen 43 off 43 balls.
England require 56 of 63.
Make that bloody 51 to the two toned big hitter
and 48 needed off 48
er- 44 of 47...am off to soak it all up

>34/0. 6 overs. a couple of sixes.
normal sericve resumes?

this is exciting stuff

whatever Australia make, though, England will fancy their chances...and more significantly, I doubt Australia will be fully confident of defending it.

oh, my holy...

Oh My God.

49.1 Gillespie to Aftab Ahmed, SIX, slower ball, Aftab picks it up and
       swings it over the midwicket fence.

7 needed off the last over. This is insane stuff.

McGrath to Mohammad Ashraful, one run, 100! for Ashraful.
There you go Will, a hundred for your sportsman's bet...

Bangladesh require another 28 runs with 6 wickets and 22 balls remaining

selling paper

Why would a supposedly leading newspaper like HT print such tripe?
My earlier thoughts on this non- issue are here, when I thought it was unecessarily blown out of proportion to make a nifty headline.

question time

From an interview of Bennet King in the Trinidad Express.

GW: Let's say in a year or two time, there hasn't been significant improvement in the way the team plays, would you consider changing jobs?
BK: What sort of question is that? (Offended by question)...

What is the answer he expected? "Yes, I will be sick of these non performing fools and I will leave them", or "I shall remain here until the end of my days, supporting the players I have grown to love as my own sons"

No, really please tell me what the heck sort of question is that to ask?
via

his mouth is his

As Chappell stressed on the need for the Indian team to focus, one journalist asked him whether the side had earlier lacked it.

"Don't put words in my mouth", Chappell said

I like it

Harsha on Lara

Some of my musings on Lara's recent form are better articulated by Mr.Bhogle:

There seems a new freedom now in Lara’s mind. The conflicts of a brilliant but slightly wayward youth appear to have been erased, the responsibility that seems to replace a smile with a scowl seems easily handled now

and he wonders how Lara shall feel at the end of his glittering (individual) career:

Allan Border and Steve Waugh, two that still stand ahead of him, weren’t quite as gifted, they were like forts to Lara’s horseman, but they played in winning teams. When the record is his, and his alone, even if for the moment, and Lara takes off those dancing shoes, he will ask himself what he would have preferred.

any loss is hard to swallow

A wrap up of the Aussie media's slamming of the team performances, while McGrath is getting tiresome in his verbal attacks. They're just too jaded, Glenn.

Graeme Smith thinks the English can give as good as they get, but he also said a few days ago he believes the Aussies will keep the urn.

concern

So Ranbir Mahendra is concerned about Saurav Ganguly's form? And, um, why shouldn't he be? Its not like he has things like professionalism in the BCCI, television rights or accountability to worry about.

What is really scary, though, is Adam Gilchrist at the crease, if you were to go with the opinion of 26 international bowlers.

MM

Talking of Mike Marqusee, he has a blog. An insightful article there that was recently published in Wisden Asia Cricket (which I miss severely) about his experience watching the deciding test match between India and Pakistan in Bangalore, with thoughts like these:

The economic deregulation of the last 15 years has fostered a cult of success – a non-stop media-promoted celebration of winners. And what many Indians now seem to want from cricket is principally a steady supply of winners, and above all a winning national team. Of course, all fans want their team to win, but dedicated sports fans retain their interest in the game, and their affection for the players, even in defeat.

and also one on Mohali

In England, banners, flags, placards, drums, whistles and klaxons are all banned from Test grounds. Here in India, they’ re essential cricket-watching accoutrements, and they help endow a day at the Test with a wonderfully festive vibrancy. The din is incessant, and prolonged and repeated exposure to an Indian cricket crowd could result in a severe case of tintinitis (the vibrating eardrum syndrome suffered by veteran rock musicians).

Thanks for the pointer, scott.

a perfect series

Mike Marqusee too is looking forward to the Ashes in an interesting article about cricket following in England that salivates at the prospect of the summer thus:

The real excitement...lies in the chance to enjoy a close-fought seesaw contest showcasing skill, sweat and inspiration. Like an ample 19th-century novel, the 12-week Australia-England showdown promises plot and subplot, major and minor characters, a wealth of incident and (if we're lucky) a result that is unpredictable yet somehow just, and in genuine doubt until stumps are drawn on the last day of the final Test at the Oval in September.

He's just described the near perfect series (like this one), but if we get 60% of that I will be thrilled.

Oh my- an update

update: Oh well, the Australians do lose tour matches. They lost in 2001 to Middlesex and in 1997 to Worcester.

Should we temper down the chatter, then? Umm, am not sure- they have still been beaten spectacularly in both matches, and it is this manner of loss that is making us raise questions. First, the batsmen were crushed, and while they are probably satisfied from yesterday,:

There was a worrying sloppiness about the Australians in the field. There were also a shaming number of misfields, culminating in costly slips by Glenn McGrath and Simon Katich on an outfield left greasy by rain.

Thus reported The Telegraph, one of the main reasons for Ponting's anger and embarassment. Meanwhile, though I don't believe this loss is completely inconsequential, the Stumpcam wants all these pointless matches to get out of the way. That's right- bring on the real stuff now! Meanwhile, Warne has his own kind of preparation going on.

Oh my

Oh my.
This is very interesting indeed. Cricinfo refused to load up last night, and here I am now, reading how the mighty-aspiring for invincibility- nothing can hurt us- Australians have been humbled in a tour match, and how. My thoughts are tingling at the prospect that there could actually be some nerves in this team touring the old rivals. Could there? Are the Australians a little edgy coming into this tour? Am I getting as carried away as I believed some other were a couple of days ago?

I think not. My money would still be on the Aussies to retain the Ashes, but that is not the point here. The Australians do not stumble, period. They do not lose even the most insignificant of matches. And they definitely do not lose to county sides in warm up One Day matches. That too, after piling up 342 - three hundred and forty two runs. So what is happening here?
I don't think we can condemn the batsmen retiring after getting in- the idea was to make sure everyone got into some sort of knick. It could, but doesn't, smack of arrogance- after all, they did end up piling on the runs. Yet a bowling attack with McGrath, Lee and Kasprowicz could not restrict the Somerset batting lineup.
Leave aside all the analysis. This one must really be hurting. And these guys are not familiar with this kind of pain.

Kumble & the wave

Hmm, now this I did not know. Don't remember reading about Kumble and the tsunami at all...

"I was at the reception, totally ignorant about what had happened. Our cottage was about 60 metres from the beach and it did get affected, so I consider myself very lucky. It wasn't until we got home and turned on our TV that we realised the full extent of what had happened."

I saw Sky having a chat with him during the match, but by the time I had turned the volume up I had missed most of what he said (now here).

'Warne to cricket fan', no more

The Tsunami match is just getting underway, with Lara leading his team on to bowl to Fleming and Gayle.
But there has been a revelation that is terribly putting off. The great spectacle that some poor/lucky bloke was going to make of himself by facing Shane Warne out in the middle during the innings break, is not happenng anymore. The guy who bid a reported 50,000 pounds to have this honour, it turns out, was a hoaxer.

What a little sh**t.

Read on, gnat

Will you be able to reach the end of this sentence and still actually care what it is that the sentence is trying to say?
Unlikely, if you're from this generation-because you probably have the "attention span of a gnat". Thus opines Martin Johnson while writing about slow death from the frenzy of modern cricket.

Like this on Twenty-20:

It's a bit like cutting straight to the Duckworth-Lewis revised target, but without having to huddle under an umbrella, or watch the motorised whale doing its stuff on the outfield

Or this about changing spectator attitudes:

There was a county match at Old Trafford in the Sixties, with Harry Pilling of Lancashire studiously blocking away on eight not out, when a purple-faced occupant of the members' enclosure threw down his newspaper and shouted: "Bloody hell, Pilling. You're still eight not out in the Manchester Evening News!" Nowadays, if no one's hit a six before 10 past 11, you're more likely to hear a cry of "'ave a go, yer mug!"

Link (free registration required)

Twenty-20

Irrespective of the status of the game (none, really), and irrespective of what this means to the teams per se (very little), 'England beat Australia' has one crucial element that ensures Australia are not going to steamroll the excitement just yet. That element is 'beat'.

So it doesn't matter (surely not to an England supporter) that this match has little bearing, technically, on the rest of the summer. It deifnitely doesn't matter to me. As I see it (I'd like to believe relatively objectively), this adds to the hype, lets us feed off the possibility that Englanda could challenge Australia this season, and we could get to see some hard fought cricket.

Views from all three sides of the fence:
Will is understandably elated, but tries to temper it with some normalcy.
The stumpcam seems more balanced, and the new Ashes blog (which is good stuff if you want to follow this season closely) seems unconvinced that this is a sign Australia's form, but more of its initial lethargy.The gameboys call it a real hiding but end off on a realistic note, while the pundits maintain their silence. Wake up, gentlemen, the summer is upon us!

update: Andrew Miller's unabashed joy is apparent, but what is disturbing is that he seems to think Australia are really in for it this summer. A sample of some of the terms he uses: Exhilirating, , wildest fantasies, extraordinary, and most notably 'surpass all expectation' (that England could well do so) . Over the top? You bet. This is a particularly flippant part:

Forget all the pretence that this performance will count for nothing when the real event gets underway on July 21. England were victorious in their last Test against Australia in 2002-03; they won magnificently over 50 overs in last summer's Champions' Trophy, and now they taken a howitzer to the popgun variety of the game as well. If the secret in Test cricket is to win every session, then Australia have just put in a 34.3-over performance that would have shamed Bangladesh.

Easy does it. Crush Australia similarly in the Natwest Series, and we might be seeing a really driven side. Ponting, of course, plays it down as just an ordinary day that will have little effect on either side.

Shonar Bangla!

Bashar and his boys finally have something to smile about- an actual win. It's not bad at all actually, even if it was not against the best Worcester side possible. A tour win in England still counts for much. Whether, as this bulletin puts it, it could be a turning point for them in this tour, I don't know. Will the (only slight, surely) confidence gained from this take them to an ODI win against Australia or England? I don't think so. Maybe though, just maybe, they could not fall apart as spectacularly in the Natwest Series as in the Tests.

Warne

Atherton has written a piece on Shane Warne, and it makes for interesting reading.

I always felt in a battle against not only a great bowler but a dominant personality as well. The pause and gather at the end of his mark; the slow, measured run-up, the ball dancing to his tune, the inevitable stare once the ball was dead, the knowing smile whether it had gone for four or none, and a well-chosen word or two were all designed to give the impression that it was the bowler who was in control.

This truly is such an integral part of the Shane Warne performance- and it looks to me like that attitude is what the painting at Lord's has captured the best.

The one area where Warne is still incomparable is what I would call his cricketing craft. He is simply the smartest bowler I ever played against, and is still the smartest around. As his physical powers decline, and his genius fades, it is his knowledge, his nous, his competitive instincts and his ability to work out a batsman quicker than anyone else that are keeping his ageing body ahead of the pack.

And this is something I have loved to watch. It is the reason i will come back after ad breaks or other distractions, even if I have missed the other bowler's over in a not so interesting match- to watch Warnre bowl with that glint in his eye. Many years ago, when my interest in cricket turned into some sort of passion, I started admiring Warne. None of that has diminished. It has been complicated by his so called misdemeanours, accentuated by his steely resolve, confounded by his maverick tendencies, but always, deepened by his undying craft.

in a hut...

and we worry that the Windies may not have their stadiums ready in time?
Learn from the Germans, I say!

The India Room, and Sachin

So The Oval is going to have a new stand with an 'India Room' ( to be inagurated by Sachin). Interesting.

It will seat about 160 people, but 160 very rich people I am sure ("well heeled expats" as the report offers). I am interested as to what memorabilia they are going to have there, and what are the technicalities of the 'India Room'- will it accommodate only Indians? (Maybe Will would know)

If you have gone and read the above Telegraph report , you would have read this about Sachin Tendulkar:

Speaking from his Mumbai residence on Wednesday evening, he added: “I realise a role awaits me both at Lord’s and The Oval, but I would have gone even if I had nothing to do. It’s about supporting a cause.” Of course.

Can someone please explain to me what this 'of course' means? Is it, unbelievably, a dig at Sachin? If it is, it's ridiculous, and if it not, it is redundant in the context.

And talking of pointlessness, what is the need for this, in the footnote of the same report:

Sachin hasn’t exactly been following international cricket for the past few weeks, but is aware that Brian Lara is fast catching up. The West Indian had 26 Test hundreds when Sachin got the world record-equalling 34th last December. Since then, Lara has added four to be only four adrift…

The 'hasn't exactly been following...but is aware' (er, well, what do you think?), and the '...' at the end, trying to create a sense of competition...ooohh, I'm all excited now.

Pointless...