Trying -II

A short note amidst (and despite) consistently horrific hearings (and sightings) on the tsunami tragedy.

South Africa just battled out a tough draw against England, ending with no result a match that has been, at different times, swaying like a pendulum and delicately poised in conditions that have changed as much as the match direction. It was a thrilling last couple of sessions that I Managed to catch glimpses of, and it was truly unfortunate for England that it ended the way it did.

Unfortunate, but by no means unfair. Something a certain former captain would disagree with, it would seem. Nasser Hussain’s frowning and generally disagreeable demeanour (to me, at least) when he was a player has partly found its way into his voice and the commentary box. In fact, even into his interviewing skills- he grilled Simon Taufel with a ferocity that left in no doubt his opinion on the proceedings. In the same breath as his fellow commentators said how it was a consistent decision by the umpires, Hussain continued to harp on the “incredible” decision and wondered why Vaughan was not offered the option of bowling his spinners. Well, Nasser, nothing in the books (nor precedent) requires the umpires to do so. If Vaughan had seen it fit to switch ti himself and Giles of his own accord it may have postponed the umpires’ decision. If, in fact, he had even queried them on it on the pitch, they might have debated it (as Taufel mentioned). But Nasser Hussain’s insistence on a point agreed to be fair by the rest of the (English) commentators smacked of the same churlishness that seemed to dog his tenure as captain, and even bordered on whining.

He should, instead have been talking about the near 2 hours that Pollock and deVilliers defied the English attack.

Trying to Get Back - I

The first in (hopefully) a series of posts to get back into the writing habit- and finding the time.

Again, amongst tumultuous (happily so) times, I am trying to keep pace with the cricket. Indian cricket is at a terribly dull phase that promises to continue till at least Feb when the Pakistan team tours here on an itinerary as yet undecided. It is virtually January, the tour is little over a month away, and there is still no clarity on where the matches are being played and when. But for a board immersed in politics and legal battles on many fronts, I suppose the cricket is last priority. Who can blame them, I suppose. Power, money and international clout is far more important. In the bargain, someone, somewhere will find some way to administer a game that is left, largely, to run on its own- feed off its own money and its fans’ passion.

Talking of passion, it remains relatively inexplicable and heartening in equal measure, to see the Bangladeshi fans turn out in large numbers to watch their team play insipid and largely pathetic cricket. Barring flashes of brilliance (Ashraful’s century really was deserving of that adjective), and some general entertainment (like at the end of the first ODI), there is little for them to cheer about. Yet they shout, scream, and Mexican wave themselves into a frenzy that is wholly admirable. While the craze for cricket in India can often be attributed to the lack of even distantly world class sports stature in any other sport, in Bangladesh even the cricket team isn’t really world class. There is also little else (I may be wrong here) the nation participates in, sport-wise. And the people are probably starved of any sort of entertainment. And, more charitably and most hopefully, they probably love their cricket enough to come out in droves to see a team doing really well, even if that team is hammering their own.

The other subcontinental cauldron of passion, that epitome of talent, inconsistency and inexplicable waste- Pakistan- got pulverised in Perth. While the result itself was acceptable, the manner in which it came was absolutely spineless. Of course, clamours have begun for Woolmer’s head and Inzy’s paunch- neither of which can really be held entirely responsible.

Then there is Mr Akhtar- one of the most entertaining characters on and off the field in world cricket. Shoaib gets some advice- you should bowl fast. Then he gets some more- shorten your run up, you don’t need it to bowl at your pace. And of course, he comes out with a gem- “How can an airplane take-off without a runway?”
No answer for that one, Shoaib bhai.

I read a brief report that also stated that ESPN Star’s appeal against a Kerala High Court order has been postponed to January, meaning Doordarshan will telecast the remaining two ODIs as well. Why would a Kerala court decide that ESPN’s exclusive rights of the series in Bangladesh still called for a telecast on DD? Who can blame Prasar Bharti for the apathy? Half the telecasts it gets (most, actually) are de facto because it is a government body (supposedly autonomous), and it doesn’t really need to make too much effort.

Look out for that spark

Like I said, I have been erratic, and promise to be so for some more time.
(I wonder who's noticing, but heck- don't hurt saying it!)

Some exciting cricket is in prospect tomorrow onwards. First the Australian summer will hope to actually hot up against Pakistan, and then the English and South Africans take each other on. Both the visiting sides have had a torrid time in tour games, but for both that is unlikely to change the pre-tour predictions and chances.

Pakistan, famously, are unpredictable. It is unlikely there is any other adjective used with such frequent consistency for any other team as this one for these guys. The series is unlikely to have any scoreline besides 3-0, barring the weather. Yet, Pakistan is one of those teams (nesides your own) who you don't mind watching despite knowing they are most likely to lose. In fact, their losses often conceal thrilling spells of cricket and dazzling bursts of passion that get lost in the scoreline. Those few periods of excitement are always worth waiting for, just that you never know when they will hit and you- and you might miss them just as easily. All talk Shoaib can still serve up some spectacular bursts of raw speed and destruction, though who knows if he will. His spells will hold the key- first up, and the reverse swinging second/third spells. If he is ineffective in all of these, the others will be hard pressed to put the Aussies batting under any sort of pressure.

England, on the other hand, are likely to win despite their tour loss- at least on paper. They probably have the most backers (and justifiably) for the second best team in the world tag. Not without good reason. Harmison and Flintoff are going to be key men in the series, and the batting lineup shood come through moe often than not. No one looks a sure shot for a glut or runs in the series, but as a lineup they should come through. Kallis, Smith and Co. will be happy to be back in home conditions facing predominantly pace bowling on familiar tracks. They will suddenly loook far more complete than they did In India, but whther the bowling can back them up enough is yet to be seen. i would guess England winning 3-1 or something. It is a long tour, though, and the poms could tire. Especially for the seven ODIs to follow. But that's a while away.

Closer still is the second test at Chittagong, with little likely to change the pattern of Bangladesh cricket. India should win again, and win big. Of some interest will be the possibility of any more records. Oh well, let see. It is a boring December season for India, while there will be few more sparks (or at least, more weighty if predictable sparks) around the holiday season elsewhere.

ps- Rhodes doesn't want to be the fielding consultant at the India NCA. What a pity. He wants to "take a break from cricket and learn the ropes in the corporate world", he says. Though he 'hastens to add that he does not rule out cricket coaching'.

Bangabandhu, and catchup

Boy it has been along time. I have been absconding for a week, and with good reason (yet little to actually occupy me). It seems possible there shall be some more sporadic behaviour on my part, but more on that later- when the reasons are little clearer!

A delayed start today for the subcontinental clash (if you can call it that). Delayed first by a day (thanks to the first- but apparently not very worrisome- terrorist threat made directly towards cricketers); and delayed this morning by excessive moisture in the playing surface. The curator, poor chap, decided to water it yesterday as the match had been pushed by 24 hours, and then today's cloudy conditions ensured the pitch was too wet to play on. We actually saw (in the hole where the stump was) that you could make a deep indentation even an inch below the surface.

After that everything went according to script, pretty much. In fact, the Bangladeshis probably got a little more than they should have, though 180 is hardly spectacular. The focus was naturally on Anil Kumble finally becoming the leading wicket taker for India, an achievment (repeatedly phrased) as truly great. Yup, got that right. He had a nice little chat with Bhogle, Shastri and Wasim at the end of day's play. Which reminds me, even a relatively dull day of Test cricket seemed like an oasis after the stifling depression that was sports broadcasting on Doordarshan. Thank God for small mercies.

Haven't written for a week, so of course there a quite afew things that have happened- maybe stale to go into right now. The death of a footballer on the field of play was something tragic, extremely disheartening and also angering. In-stadia conditions in this country have always been sub standard, yet it takes something this drastic to bring the matter into focus. Unfortunately, I can still not say for sure that this will shake up authorities enough to ensure facilities that can even approach world class- and that is whas is the scariest part. Like any sport (including cricket) it is the administration (combined with a despairing lack of it) that leaves the game in tatters in India.

The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy ended today in a damp squib. There were a great couple of matches, reminding us that the fighting Kiwi spirit was alive and well (and that the ODI game offered far more opportunity to challenge the world champions). What apity today had to be abandoned- the Gabba seems to rain out quite a bit of cricket.

VVS Laxman is extremely disapppointed that he has not been included in the ODI squad. It is with some reason that he is hurt about the way he is treated and the lack of acknowledgement coming his way, but in this case, dear Venkatsai, I will have to agree with the wise men. I think it is time he is eased out of the shorter format, and someone else takes his place (eg- a wicket keeper). Bangladesh is the best place for it to happen. It might be an easy but assuring entry for Dhoni (hope the actually play him), while Laxman in the team would have probably got some runs against the hapless neighbours and it would seem that all is well for a while. In truth, he is slower in the field than he used to be, he still is not able to maintain pace and rhythm through an innings that requires the urgency of ODI cricket, and his running between wickets has deteriorated.

Pakistan is trying to ready itself for the Aussie onslaught, but not with much success, it would seem. Hussey's taken them to the cleaners, and Kaneria & Farhat took 5 of the 9 wickets on a WACA patch. Except for seeing Akhtar get Langer cheaply, it all looks a little fearsome for the Pakistanis.

Whoa. The highest score in any form of the game by any sort of team was cored in Mumbai, when the Anjuman-I-Islam Fort English School team scored 1125 (yes eleven hundred and twenty five runs!) including a mammoth 531 runs partnership. Still short of the historic 664 that Tendulkar and Kambli put on though.

Meanwhile, Dravid has got his record and Kumble his, on the very first day of the Bangla tour. Will Sri Tendulkar please follow suit...?

Kolkata Day 5

The crowds poured in, the CAB raked it in, and South Africa simply caved in. When Sachin (oh, our sachin!) Tendulkar scored the winning runs, India won their second series of three played this year, and 4th test of 10, losing 3. The problem of course, is not how many we lost but how we lost them.

But that is for later. Today, the team played with ease and skill to make sure there were no upsets. In fact, there were not even any scares, with the 8 wicket margin being an accurate indication of the gap between the sides. Eventually, despite a good accquital by the youngsters from South Africa, they always looked like the the team most likely to lose, and at best draw the series.

The first hour or so, in which the remaining five South African wickets fell with not much of a resistance, was marred by the Pollock dismissal, if one can call it that. You could say that Ganguly's obviously not out LBW and Kallis's nick yesterday sort of made up for Amla's and Pollock's decisions, and everything evens out and all that. But the way Shaun Pollock had to leave was nothing short of shocking. Given out caught at short leg, there was absolutely no contact between bat and ball. What was really bizarre though, was Daryl Harper's decision to not even go to the third umpire with the catch. While Gambhir (let us give him the benefit, he could have genuinely believed it was a clean ctach- and it may have been) claimed it alright, there was no way a third umpire would have been able to rule assuredly that it was a clean catch, there was way too much doubt.

But the spinners bowled really well. Bhajji's guile and flight was showcased never better than in Kallis's wicket. On the face of it a really soft dismissal, he was in fact fooled by the flight, misjudged it entirely and returned such a simple catch to the bowler that it took a split second to realise he actually was out. Kumble's third and their last wicket was a beauty that Tsolikele seemed sure he had covered, till he realised it had snuck past his bat and clipped his off stump. In doing so, of course, he has equalled Kapil's record and will soon be the highest wicket taker in Indian cricket history. It really is a remarkable feat, especially for someone who was so often branded (and sometimes, it must be admitted, was) one dimensional and dependent on conditions.

The Mozzrekar update- Sehwag in the second innings takes a second run to retain strike against Ntini, who got him in the first innings with a snorter.
"What is really good to see is the attitude- Sehwag is looking to get back on strike when he could easily have found it easier to stay off strike against Ntini. It is good to see"
And that's out! V Sehwag caught at slip, bowled Ntini.
Ugh.

India played out their second innings comfortably, if a tad tediously at times. The series was closer to forgettable than memorable, but to say it was a total wash out (in terms of fans or viewers or spectators) would be unfair. The South Africans were truly inexperienced and had no spinner worth his salt in these conditions. I am not sure Nicky Boje would have turned the tide for them at any point had he been around, but surely he would have added more value than those tried out. South Africa go back to play England, and while the latter should be favourites (or at least, have the upper hand) this side could well fightback at home.

For India, Bangladesh beckons. It really should ensure that Kapil's record is eclipsed and Sunny's at least equalled. These two tests really should be all about getting back into the groove, and we better be in for some exciting Indian performances, if not a contest. (Don't speak too soon, ol chap).
Of course the one thing we Definitely can look forward to is being rid of the absolutely depressing and heart rending 'Fourth Umpire' show on DD Sports. I really don't have the heart to go into how it completely depresses you, but believe me it does. After the first few days, when you could see the lighter side and enjoy the unintentional entertainment, it had just been an ordeal I have chosen to not go through. Teh ordeal however continues through the rest of the telecast with the extended ad breaks, cut offs through player interviews and commentator discussions....aaarrgh here I go again, and I couldnt be bothered. ESPN StarSports, save us.

* * *

Meanwhile Ganguly has gone ahead and gotten himself fined again. It looks like he is quietly taking it, and that is just fine. He got lucky with the Castle ruling, and should be happy now. More on this later, perhaps.

England is thrashing Zimbabwe (really?!) and the Hadle Chappell trophy is up soon. Hope the Kiwis put up a better showing in the ODIs. Am moderately excited about the Pakistanis down under though- you just never know what you can expect. So while I dont see them winning the series (haha) or even a test (very unlikely), they might just provide some excitement. After the NZ series, I guess it cannot get worse for the Aussie spectators.

That's it then. The same team heads for Bangladesh soon, with the addition of Gagandeep Singh from Punjab who I have never seen. Unlikely he will get a game- there is no reason to experiment. Except for Sehwag who can check out how long he can stay the crease and ho many different shots he can play. The batsmen had better be licking their lips, and had better play positively.

Kolkata Day 4

A Jennings of Hope

Ray Jennings stated yesterday that he looked forward to wrapping up the Indian lower order, batting positively, and setting India 200 in the last two sessions on Day 5. It would seem, unfortunately for the outspoken new coach, that there is only an outside chance of that happening. Unless we (are shocked to) see Kallis and de Bruyen come out all guns blazing (and hitting the target several times over), that is one way this match looks unlikely to head. Predictions on the last day of a wearing Indian pitch are hardly the best idea, especially with a home team still looking for the fluency in batting it is used to- but the South Africans will be pulling something out of a hat here of they manage a (series) win.

To be fair, the visitors stuck to their task admirably, but the morning session still unfolded in a way that neither side would moan about, or be ecstatic. Surely though, the Indians would have been the happier lot going in to a lunch break 106 runs ahead and set to bowl after a few bananas and miscellaneous fruit. Yet, South Africa would have initially been happy they dislodged Pathan, who could have proved to be dangerous, pretty quickly. Karthik played with enough spirit , and effectiveness, to assuage any doubts on his ability to wield the willow. Without tearing through the tail, they couldnt help but give away at least the 50 odd runs they eventually did.

Smith and Hall provided a reassuring, sensible and prosperous start. The two left armers loooked nowhere near as menacing as they did on Day 2, and the openers survived- flourished, even. The advent of Kumble initially did not seem like much cause for concern, but once Harbhajan came on, things looked different. The pitch, providing glimpses over the last few sessions of how it would aid quality spinners, got its first chance to do so. It was then, for quite a while, the Turbanator all the way. With an irresistible rough around the right hander’s leg stump, Kumble insisted on bowling around the wicket for a large part of his spell, without much success. It was Bhajji who looked likely to take a wicket, proceeding to take all of the first four.

That his first four did not include Jaques Kallis when it should have, has been a great talking point since. In real time live play, I must say, it looked terribly and surely out. There was no doubt in my mind at home, and in the players'- and, as you can see here , in Bhajji's. Daryl Haprer, unfortunately, thought otherwise. Things 'evened out' later on when Hashim Amla was given out though in replays it seemed he hadn’t nicked it. But the value of Kallis and the value of Amla....oh well, this will or won't continue to be a talking point only after tomorrow's result.

It was with more than a little surprise that we saw Dravid suddenly out of slip and in at short leg. Commentators were puzzled and found it quite absurd, till Laxman (now at slip) pulled off a stunner to dismiss Smith- truly plucking it out from almost behind and above himself. Of course, Laxman's skill at slip was not the reason for Dravid moving out. Later Mozzrekar even ventured to say it was a sign of his team spirit that Dravid was at short leg instead of Gambhir, recognising how crucial that position could be in terms of an outcome in the match.

Sachin had little part to play today except manfully patrolling the square leg and deep square leg positions. There was a little girl in the stands, though, who was interested in things other than Mr Tendulkar. In an assuredly smile-inducing shot, we could see her holding up a poster that said- "Hi Sachin. How is Sara? Can we be friends?" This was followed by the girl's name and phone number! Sara of course, is Sachin's daughter who though, I suspect, is younger to the girl in the stadium.

On the field of play, not many are younger that Dinesh Karthik who acquitted himself honourably behind the stumps. Between him, the spinners, the umpires and a couple of South Africans will be decided the fate of this match. In the noisy cauldron that is Eden Gardens, it will be amazing if the South Africans pull of a victory.
On a dusty Day 5 pitch in India, a prediction is hardly the best idea, but this not the minefield that Wankhede was, and the Indians will fancy chasing a small target. First though, they must dislodge Kallis and then the aggressive Polly. If the left armers can get any purchase first up, or if the spinners still hold all the cards, remains to be seen. Either way, we finally have an almost guaranteed exciting day's play in store. Not something you could have said too often in this series.