Bruise Lee

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.

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

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.

blackcapwash

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.

gold and green

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.

exhilarating

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.

Gil-church

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.

state of shock

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

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

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

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

100 for the 7th wicket

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.

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.

return...

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.

Day 1 at The Oval

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

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.

not so (sub)tle

The Urn is not in a Pratt’s hands. Nor residing in a Fletcher smile, and definitely not in a Vaughan fist-pump. It is uncomfortably twitching between Aussie fingers, unsure of its fate, but preparing for some travel, Similarly, no smiles, taunts or rule-stretches are going to put it on a boat to the mother country- that ticket will be issued by two teams- one reluctantly , the other gleefully.

So why Ricky Ponting chooses now to let loose his deepest feelings about fielding substitutes might be open to debate, but is not much of a mystery to me. It serves little purpose at this juncture, but does reflect one thing- this captain, even this team, is rattled. Other words come to mind. Frustration. Haplessness. Cribbing. Venting.

Of course, I don’t say this because of the subs-issue; that itself is a sub-issue. It is a symptom, not a cause. Lets not worry- at this point- whether he is justified or not. Sure, bowlers going off at will for so-called nature calls is really a bit much, and Fletcher and Vaughan could do better to explain their subbing system (how, I don’t know, because the objective seems clear and only the most creative of excuses could convince most of us otherwise). So let that debate be. I just believe that this is hardly the time to get so touchy about it, irrespective of how long it has been troubling you. Surely there are more pressing matters at hand, ol’ chap- like a test match it is imperative for you to win. Is a sub is going to snatch that urn from under ya nose?
No, I thought not. So think about those who could mate, ‘cause it’s all ready to happen.

(like someone in office said- Warne and Mcgrath couod have their own team meeting and say- ok its you ‘n’ me mate, we gotta keep these burnt bails with us, awright?)

phew

aargh. No time to blog. What a match yesterday!
I thought Geraint Jones may just have ensured his public lynching but he now has Hoggard and Giles to thank. Warne and Lee- champion efforts from them. I hope Simon Jones recovers- it will be the first time all 5 Tests of an Ashes series have seen an unchanged English side since 1884-85! And, ideally, Pidgeon should be back as well- so everyone can give it all they've got. Its an Ashes beginning for so many people in the English side, but an end for many in the Aussie team...

And the session count is looking like a complete massacre. Who would've thought.

Meanwhile Ganguly wants the batsmen to perform. Watch out, a formidable Zimbabwean attack awaits...And uh, who plans this stuff anyway?

Trent Bridge- Day 1

Day 1 of the fourth test might have ended with England only just taking honours (and not as many of them as they looked set to), but that’s really not the point. For me, this day was all about something else. Not something we have seen for the first time this series, but something we have not seen in so consistent a manner- a lacklustre Australian side. The body language seemed low on energy, no-balls came in giant Christmas socks for the English, catches were dropped, and it was a bit of luck that saw them end the day having really lost only the one session, in my opinion.

Will England win the Ashes? Who knows, given that they have to bugger-all win both matches from here. But a drawn series here will be one that Australia will walk away from with much the heavier hearts than England. In that old inexplicable and sometimes silly phrase- a draw would almost be a ‘moral victory’ for England, and a would feel like escape for Australia- for they look much the less inspired team. Irrespective of how this series ends and where that little urn goes (or stays), Cricket Australia must be worrying.

If they aren’t, they should be.

Old Trafford

The third test is due to start in moments. Unfortunately, the only thing that keeps coming to mind is that how can we be anything but a tad let down. After Tests 1 & 2, how can anything match up to those thrills?
Then I think- maybe nothing can. But maybe nothing needs to. For that is the beauty of test cricket- maybe they will play sober, unfrenzied, dare I say, normal cricket- and we will still be fascinated, won’t we. I can only hope the tussle goes on, the fight is till the brilliant mixture of a street scrap and a polished contest.

McGrath is running around the pitch, bowling, even, and they seem hopeful. I have my doubts, but that’s not based on anything as such. Lee being back is great of course, without the both of them it might have been too much of a blow. With the both of them, it might be too much of a blow as well, but for the other side.

The calls everywhere have been for more ‘sane’ cricket, and that would seem logical. Neither team played conventional test cricket at Edgbaston, and that will be the most important thing for them to address. Of course, there will now be the fear of playing conventionally, carefully, and having the other side ambush you with an approach similar to the last match. And in doing so, take the game away in the matter of a couple of session, even a single one. Yet, I don’t believe either team should be (will be?) foolhardy enough to throw caution to the winds again. The Flintoffs, KPs and Gilchrists should play as is their wont- nothing changes there. It is the Haydens, Clarkes, Strausses (or “Straussy”, as Warne would say). The Vaughans, Martyns and Bells that need to get their act together.
Either way, it is another cracker in prospect in a series that hasd already surpassed my expectations.

And that’s the toss- England bat, and they will face Lee and Mcgrath.

Session count

1st Test
day1-E/E/A day2-d/A/A day3-A/E/A day4-A

2nd Test
day1-E/E/A day2-E/E/E day3-A/d/E day4-E

3rd Test
day1-E/E/E day2-E/A/E day3-A day4-E/E/E day5- E/d/A


4th Test
day1-E/A day2-E/E/E day3-E/A/E day4-E/E/E

5th Test - does it matter???:)

This post has been updating and is linked from the ‘session count’ in the sidebar.

thoughts on the live advert for Test cricket

My two-pie bit on yesterday, and indeed, the preceding 3 days. I might not say anything epochal, but then- what do I know, I just write.

Edgbaston was a rollicking ride that test cricket has always the ability to be, sometimes is, and often is supposed to not be. For even the hardiest of believers in the charm of Test cricket, though- old school or new- this was a roller coaster that threatened to leave you giddy with exhilaration. Much like a good long row of full beer mugs would, actually, but I digress.

The second test was pivotal, really, immeasurably so for one team- and that is the team that played the match with the desperation that they surely felt coursing through their veins in the lead up. A 2-0 deficit was always going to be virtually another end to another Ashes in the most hopelessly predictable of ways. It must have been a possibility England would have been all to aware of, with substantial help from their unforgiving media. We’ll never know how much of a boost the exit of McGrath just before the toss would have been for team morale, but it was definitely reflected on the pitch. Ponting’s call at the toss might have been right, but his call on whether to bat or bowl was not. It is a decision that, I suspect, he is not getting too much (neough) flak for as yet. A certain toss in Brisbane and a certain England captain come to mind, though conditions, and teams, were substantially different then. It is only at the end of the series that this call might look more, or less, telling.

Again, I wonder if it was the absence of McGrath that allowed the English batsman to play with such abandon in the first innings. More likely a combination of a plan and a matter of striking while the iron was hot, the end result was stunning. England racked up an astonishing 407 on the first day and set was would be an equally astonishing tone for the rest of the match.
All batsmen then batted with similar lack of caution that sometimes bordered on, and often was, reckless. It was the sort of batting that ensured we were on the edge of our seats, couches, beds or bar stools- but it was also poor play.

I am not sure what is better- uniformly rash cricket or good judgement from one team and not so good from another; seeing that the former is more likely to produce thrills of the sort we have just been through, while the latter is what we have gotten used to (and bored of) in Australia’s long reign at the top. It really works both ways, for both are fabulous to behold. Somehow, though, coming at the time it did- when Australia’s supremacy was starting to border on the dull, and when the oldest rivalry was being played out- I’m rather enamoured by this impetuousness that offers equality.

Australia almost entered the match on the same high they left Lord’s with, tempered at the last minute by the withdrawal of their most dependable performer. The feeling of loss that they then stepped onto the pitch with, was never really assuaged. England, on the other hand, had an unexpected boost to what was surely an already fired up mind and body. They never let either go.

Today, Australia will be smarting but can’t be expected to wallow in their loss. They will be charged up in a way they seldom have been in recent years, for they will be fighting for pride that has very rarely been attacked thus. England, on the other hand, might still be feeling the rush. Letting that disturb their focus is a worry that we should not have about this England team- as long as they are concerned about it. It’s the one thing that could ruin them- getting carried away. I don’t expect them to, though- and Old Trafford promises to be a cracker. The only thing is- how can anything top what we have seen till now?

And, can anything at all top the most diversely and bizarrely entertaining opening days we have seen at Lord’s and Edgbaston? I don’t think so, but then- what do I know.

Sunday

What was a scintillating Saturday should make for an overwhelming weekend as England are poised for a famou win. Spearheaded by the talented, spirited, passionate and thoroughly enjoyable Andrew Flintoff, England are on the brink of an Ashes victory that actually matters, squaring up a series that is justifying all the hype that preceded it. This the second match truly was a crucial one- a win for Australia would pretty much ensure which way the Ashes were blowing- the same theu have been for 17 years. In the face of that, England have come up with a spirited performance in a seesawing match- in the process entertaining us no end. While this is hardly conventional Test cricket, no one can argue that this is afr too entertaining to condemn. One day hangover or carelessness, who cares?

Meanwhile theother cricket for the Sunday has turned out to be a semi final with the West Indies oulling off a surprise win over Sri Lanka yesterday. And, this was a Lankan side that included Murali, Zoysa and Jayasuriya. Today, though, they will be without the consistent though irritating Chanderpaul, leaving them a terribly inexperienced side (um, they have been one all tour, actually). Kumble and Yuvraj come in from the previous match, but I have still seen pretty much nothing of the series, and it promises to stay that way.

The Ashes, on the other hand, are coming out of my ears- and I would not have it any other way. Who cares who to support, when there is such fantastic cricket to see, and cricket with such an edge.

Edgbaston

The second test is not too far away now, and there is a lot of excitement not because of anything else but because a certain MLL* has just been ruled out of the match, and we await the news on how bad his ankle is. Apparently he fell over on a cricket ball, while chasing a football. Or so Darren Lehmann says. Saw a few pictures, he seemed to be in a lot of pain, and I find it a little incongruous people are laughing about it. Can't expect Englishmen to not be upbeat from it, but heck some discretion might be in order. :)

Either way, this should definitely even things up a bit. Its still overcast over in Edgbaston, but with the MLL* out, they're thinking it might work for Australia to bat first and let Warne loose on Days 4 and 5. Open house on how much this will affect the match- my take is that could be pretty crucial. Gillespie and Kasper might not be able to fill in the shoes too well. They'll miss the guidance of McGrath. Crucial, yes- whether it will be decisive, only time will tell.

Toss- Australia win and will have a bowl. There's some of that discretion I was talking about from Marc Nicholas. Vaughan maintains they were going to have a bat anyway; now I can't say how good (bad) the pitch might be, but England have a great chance here to rack up some runs and negate the Warne factor towards the end of the match, if it goes the distance. The second test, and the excitement is on again. Over at Will's the barrage of comments should be starting anytime now...!

*MLL- Master of Line&Length