The Turbanator Speaks

Harbhajan has been the first of "Ganguly's boys (chamchas)" to speak out in favor of him and make gross accuasations against GC. One of them even includes a most indecent attempt of involvind RD who has stayed away from the issue.

Whether Harbhajan was bit by a stray dog for him to make such comments or he is just inherently foolish or he was prompted to do so by SG is anybody's guess. Hell, he even had the audacity to say that this mess should be cleared soon because it is preventing him from playing to his full potential. What audacity and arrogance that makes him feel that after all this he will still be allowed to play without any disciplinary action to be taken ?

One thing should be clear. Irrespective of what happens with GC or SG, HS should be banned for at least 6 months - for not being able to shut his mouth. Luckily the PCA has already given him a show-cause notice.

Also I don't really care if we lose HS as a result. I do not deny that he is a very good bowler and has won matches for us in the past, but it counts for nothing if one does not have the spirit and discipline. I'd rather have a bunch of ordinary players full of discipline and passion than some gifted megalomaniacs who are too big for their shoes.

So if anyone else wants to follow HS, he is most welcome - let us see your true colors !!

The Email That Shook Indian Cricket

The full text can be found here.
Exactly, as I had imagined. It was evident that Ganguly was not acting in the best interests of the team for the past year.

If this email is entirely false, SG should still be kicked out for sheer incompetency as captain and player.

If this email is even half-true, he should not just be kicked out but banned for a fair while.

Of Character Of Men

Ganguly has gone on record commenting on the 'character' of GC. Apparently he said something to the effect that you can judge the character of a man who within hours of a truce goes and does something like this.

The fool (and I am not going to think twice about using derogatory words here on) should realize how his character is being reflected through statements like these. What 'truce' is he talking about ? Does he think this is a family matter or a Bengali soap opera (one of which he might soon be producing) that there can be things like 'truces' and being all hunky-dory again ? This is professional cricket for God's sake and the person in-charge has to give his honest feedback.

In any case, it is now being apparent that the email was sent before the 'truce' happened and it was leaked yesterday evidently by someone who was sypathetic towards SG and malicious towards GC. This has to be someone from the JD camp in the board. I can't help feeling that SG is appearing to play a victim here but in reality it is GC who is being targetted.

I have also heard rumors that he is planning to quit. I hope that is not true. I hope he stays on and fights the system. Because we need him to. Someone has to cleanse this dirty system and to do that one has to be in it.

Talking of characters once again the sterling character of Rahul Dravid has stood out in all this saga. He never once uttered a word, never tried to take advantage of the situation and has always played every issue on its merit with a straight bat. Prem Panicker here is pretty close to what happens in Indian cricket and knows what happens at close quarters. He says so about RD in as many words here. And here is Outlook's take on the issue.

The Chappell Ganguly Saga

This is going to get reaaly interesting and really dirty. I just hope it has a happy ending (read Ganguly being sacked). We all know what has happened so rather than repeat all that here I think we should just start firing off. Anyone taking the first shot ?

All this mess could have been avoided had Ganguly been wise enough to quit a year ago when he was clearly on a high and had the respect of the team and the public. Or again it could have been avoided if the selectors hadn't made the stupid mistake of sacking Dravid after Sri Lanka.

Differences Begin To Show

Quietly but surely, Greg Chappell has begun making a difference - it was so heartening to see first Harbhajan Singh and then Zaheer Khan try out something different by going round the wicket. And to top it off, it has worked. Both have become successful. This is what I meant by saying we needed a tactically smart coach esp since the captain is tactically inept. Greg has all the knowledge, ideas and the belief - he knows the how the different angles will affect the batsmen. He has sorted it all out to a T. We must candidly admit that while both Zaheer and Harbhajan are very good bowlers with a good attitude they are brainwise quite limited. It was essential to make them see the light.

For The Record ...

India's first series win outside the subcontinent in 19 years. While it is nothing to be proud of, it was a shame we could not beat Zimbabwe in 2001 - so at least we did better on that count.

The controversies surrounding the Indian dressing-room do not look like dying down - with Zaheer Khan today asserting that that in recent times the atmosphere in the dressing room had been *upsetting* - after surprise surprise putting in a good performance !!

Aussies Wring In The Changes

The axe has fallen upon several high-profile members of the Australian squad int he wake of the Ashes defeat. This was to be expected but some of it is particularly incomprehensible.

The biggest of which is the absolutely unfair sacking of Damien Martyn. True, he had a poor series, but he had at least 2 very bad decisions and 1 great ball. His innings at Lord's was instrumental in that lone victory and most importantly, he has scored 6 hundreds in the past year - a lot of which have been in the subcontinent the self-proclaimed final frontier. This is indeed shortchanging that brave General who played a leading role in capturing that frontier. I won't be surprised if Martyn is declared the ICC Test Player of The Year in October Ceremony and wouldn't that be an irony ?? To make matters significantly more incomprehensible, his replacement in the squad is an all-rounder Shane Watson. Nowhere close to the batsman Damien Martyn is. And the 2 young guns - Clarke and Katich haven't really established themselves firmly yet - they have definitely not set the world on fire. In the past, harsh decisions have paid dividends for Australia but this one is not just harsh - it is downright stupid in my opinion.

Much more understandable is the omission of Hayden from the ODI squad. I have maintained for a long time that he is a highly overrated ODI player. Also expected were the sackings of Gillespie and Kasprowicz.

What do you all think ? Esp the Aussie fans. The full story here.

The Hundred Test Men

Sanath Jayasuriya becomes the first Sri Lankan to join the 100-Test club. It is, without doubt an elite club and in my opinion a benchmark for cricketing excellence and longevity. The other players and there are only about 30-odd to have reched this mark can be found here.

Without exception, each has been at least a very very good player.

Update: Jayasuriya has not had a great start to his hundredth test and Bangladesh are off to a good start.

Captains

I tend to think World Cricket is suffering from a lack of great captaincy at the moment . With the singular exception of Michael Vaughan who has done a sterling job. Fleming has been good but he has not always had a team to back up his efforts.

Ponting, as long as he needed to do nothing, seemed to be going well. The moment, questions were asked of him, he has come up way too short. About Ganguly the less said the better. I have lost all respect for this man. He has gone from being a hero to a villain quicker than anyone else in history.

Inzy is improving but has a long way to go. Smith has been so-so. Atapattu hasn't really been tested. Chanderpaul has been extremely average.

I would like to know your thoughts on this issue. Which captains do you like ? Whom do you hate ? Who are the tactically astute ones ? Who are good performers ? Just about anything you wish to say.

The Whole Chappell - Ganguly Blow Up

To make a long story short: GC was well within his rights to do what he did. (Though his timing may not have been quite right). SG had absolutely no business going public with his frustrations and disappointments. SG has lost it. This is a desperate man clutching at straws. He has got to go for the larger good of everyone. The sooner the better. Your comments ?

The Ashes

It is one of the greatest series of modern times and a tremendous achievement. Not that I am quite speechless for I am sure if I try hard enough I will be able to come up with an elaborate write up, but at the moment I somehow lack the inspiration. Hence I will just say Many Congratulations to England on a Superb Achievement. It is funny sometimes you look forward to an event so much with all kind of previews, tactics, suggestions and at the end of the spectacle you are at a loss for words.

Freddie, Tresco, Pietersen, Vaughany, Jones, Hoggard, Gilo, Harmy, Strauss - all have performed spledidly some time or the other. Of course, there were moments and periods of play that were crucial. McGrath's horribly ill-timed injuries, Ponting's terrible errors at the toss and on the field, Tresco's attacking batting at top, Freddie's magic at Edgbaston and powerful century at Trent Bridge and Pietersen's finishing touches at the Oval just to name a few.

For the Aussies Warne stood alone. There should be a lot of introspection in that camp. Clearly, this is not just a blip but a thorough exposition of the cracks in an apparently faultless unit. Personally I would like to see a change in captaincy. Warne would be my man. But let's see how it all goes.

The Gaffer

Alec Stewart whose body fat indices were found to be better than all models in Britain two years ago, is finally showing signs of looking his age.

Keeping Track Of Greg Chappell's Progress

GC had stated before the finals of the Videocon Cup that winning this final was only a secondary objective in the larger picture of continued long-term improvement in key areas. Let us see how far he has come in achieving this goal.
1. Fielding: Good progress. While India fielded diabolically in the Indianoil Cup final, their fielding throughout the Videocon Cup (including the final) was promising. Of course the addition of Agarkar to the squad was a big boost in the field. Kaif can always be relied upon while Yuvraj who seemed a touch lax was at it again. The others while still remaining predominantly poor fielders are trying to make an effort, most notably Pathan. It is very difficult to expect the likes of Nehra to improve.
2. Running between the wickets: Constantly lukewarm. Dipped to a low in the Indianoil Cup final as far as intent is concerned, but at least not getting worse.
3. Batting: Opening problem is far from solved. Sehwag still scores a half-century once every 12 innings. Although, thankfully he at least makes 30s and 40s now. Ganguly is a liability. Dravid's form is not a major worry. Kaif is looking good at 3, Yuvraj at 5 and Dhoni at 6 also look set in their roles. I think this is the best to come out for India this season. #3-#6 now seem more or less settled to go all the way. The inclusion of Agarkar and Yadav lend solidity to the lower order esp. with Pathan finding form
4. Bowling: Situation looks grim. Nehra seemed to have risen above his injuries and inconsistency to be the 1 constant factor in the attack but his poor performance in the finals and subsequent injury has banished both those hopes. Pathan and Zaheer seem content to bowl medium-pace and take loads of wickets in favorable conditions so as to compensate for poor performances in challenging ones. Agarkar is lacking confidence. Harbhajan has been more or less destroyed by a weird combination of himself, Ganguly and a certain Chris Broad.

It seems quite clear where all GCs energies need to be focussed. He seems to be on the right track as he has already declared his intentions of putting together a bunch of 10 pace bowlers all of whom would be in contention for the World Cup.

The Ashes Test 5 Day 2

Nothing that happened at the Oval on Friday can possibly of greater significance that one thing that did not. The Aussies simply did not show any guts, courage and determination or sense and pathetically and disgracefully accepted the bad light. Langer says that the decision was not his and the management had decided not to take a chance with Flintoff reverse swinging the ball in less than perfect light. I believe him. It is very much in keeping with the attitude shown by Ricky Ponting and the Aussie team management on this tour to make negative defensive decisions such as this one. Looking at the statement itself, one can see the shallowness and cowardliness of the decision. By their own admission, the Aussies did not want to take the chance of losing a couple of wickets to Andrew Flintoff's reverse swing. The sprirt of the cricket clearly states that bad light should be taken only if there is a chance of physical injury. This kind of decision could have been understandable if a couple of tail-enders were batting. Given the context of the series, maybe not even then. Has Ricky Ponting forgotten that this Test has to be won if the Ashes are to be retained ? How dare he be afraid of defeat ? What difference is it going to make anyway whether they lose 2-1 or 3-1 ? Does he not know that iffy weather has been forecast for the rest of the Test ? I must say whatever little respect I had for Ponting as a leader has been destroyed by this decision. And my sympathies towards the Aussies have also decreased significantly alongwith. For the sake of cricket (and that of McGrath, Warne and Gilchrist) I still hope the weather gives both teams a fair chance to win.

This pathetic decision in the end clouded a good performance by the Aussie openers. Langer has looked in good touch but needs to now go on and make a hundred. Hayden buckled down well. Will all of it become inconsequential ? Time will tell

Nehra Out, Agarkar In

After going two ODI series (10 matches) without injury, the "great left-arm-king" of India is at it again. The handyman Agarkar has to fill in for him. No doubt, as soon as Nehra declares himself fit again, he will be given his place back on a platter, regardless of how the other bowlers perform. Agarkar has to take advantage of the situation and hope for the best. As the Bhagvad Geeta says:

"Karmanyevadhikaraste Ma Faleshu Kadacha Na"

Speaking of bowlers, I think Balaji and Kumble are the two that deserve to be in the starting lineup straight away. It should be left to the two remaining "left-arm-kings" and Ajit Agarkar to fight for the remaining two spots. On current form and given the history of Zimbabwe wickets Bhajji should not figure at all.

The Ashes Test 5 Day 1

England is in the grip of an unprecedented cricket fever. When a football-crazy nation proclaims in one voice that a cricket Test is the greatest sporting event in its history in the last 39 years, you have to sit up and take notice. Finally, cricket is no longer a game just for the guys, it is for all - young and old, male and female, black and white.

Last week Mrs. Flintoff very aptly said that she was glad that her husband is a cricketer not a footballer so that he is loved all over the country; not loved in one part and hated in the other. Truly, by its very nationalistic nature and the immense pride which is at stake in an international game, cricket has more potential as a national unifier than any other game. In football, the national team comes together only at World Cups and the Euros and that too where most of its stars arrive to represent their nations after playing overseas most of the time. I would like to know from the English fans what their opinions are on this cricket v football issue in particular regard to nationalism and what sentiments are aroused resultantly. If they agree with me in my hypothesis, why is it that cricket was so completely overshadowed by football up until this summer ??

So the whole country is cricket-crazy right now and while one wonders how long this euphoria will last, it needs to be cherished nevetherless. Just one word of warning though. The England cricket team and the ECB should not get carried away with it. If reports are to be believed, the arrangements are already in place for the cricketers to be paraded if they retain the Ashes. For God's sake, make sure you win the Ashed first, then talk about parades. This is just the kind of idea that is likely to give the players a sense of having already got home and let their guard down a bit. For the sake of England, I hope that that does not happen.

Coming to the game, the day dawned bright ane clear, not a cloud in the sky. The 25K capacity Brit Oval was packed to the rafters and when the two English batsmen walked out, the applause was deafening. England has hosted four World Cups, but I doubt if ever before this brilliant atmosphere was matched. It tends to happen at times at the MCG and at the Eden Gardens although sadly Indian audiences are not mature enough to appreciate real cricket and are more keen on the shorter version of the game. But this was just a moment to remember.

Coming to the game, what more can one say about Shane Warne ? With England off to a flyer, I was just thinking - OK let's see what Warne can do here - first morning, flat wicket, batsmen off to a flyer - all the adverse conditions and befire I had completed my thought process the champion had already got into the act. Relying purely on skill, intelligence and mental strength, he almost singlehandedly put Australia on top in the game. For a leg-spinner to take 4 wickets on the first morning of a test, 3 of them before lunch is just tremendous. But the image that will remain etched on the mind forever would be the destruction of Pietersen's stumps and the look on the faces of both batsman and bowler following that.

This was not a magical ball ala Mike Gatting, Basit Ali or Andrew Strauss but the way he priced out Pietersen was precious. Pietersen has this tendency of playing Warne towards mid-wicket and the genius lured him into the trap perfectly before spinning one through bat and pad. Pietersen was shell-shocked, Warne while celebrating emphatically, wore a look of smug satisfaction, of a plan executed to perfection.

Warne looked more and more like the leader Australia have lacked in this series. While he was always giving Ponting advice, on the field earlier, today it almost seemed to me he appeared to have taken matters in his own hands, directing fielders and encouraging bowlers while himself bowling nearly half of the overs of the day. You might be wondering if I have forgotten that there is another team playing in this series in the course of writing this post and that is actually the better team at the moment. My apologies to the English for drifting away so completely towards the Australian performance. Much as I wanted England to win the Ashes at the start of the series (and I had even started a series of advices) I can't help feeling sad for Warne and McGrath for they really do not deserve to lose. They are two of the greatest champions of the generation (also Gilchrist I think) so a part of me really wants the three of them to fire at their best and pull off a win for Australia. However, another part wishes England to take the trophy to bring an end to Aussie dominance and arrogance - most specifically that of Ricky Ponting, whom I never really liked as a person and a leader (great batsman that he is)

At the end of day 1, the match seems more or less in the balance, and I'm sure a part of me will have got what it wants at the end - Question is which part ??

The Mandatory Post-Mortem

I am getting really weary of writing these posts. Another final. Another loss. This should really say it all. But can't stop myself from making some points. Note that henceforth I will refer to the Indian captain as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (shortened HWMNBN). So when HWMNBN won the toss, I had this weird feeling that it would be better to chase. But the lessons learnt in the past of hopeless left-arm trundlers succumbing to the pressure of a final and being plundered of near-300 (often higher) scores in finals would have prompted him to bat first. What he forgot was that against NZ, India have generally done better chasing. Rather they have done worse batting first. In the 2000 ICC Knockout finals in Nairobi when HWMNBN was the World's best ODI batsman India had lost batting first despite his hundred courtesy of an innings for the ages by an injury-ridden Chris Cairns. The similarities between that day and today were eerie. With the exception that HWMNBN was now one of the World's worst ODI batsman and the fact that the African capital hosting the match was different, a lot of things remained the same. Most pertinently, Cairns was once again injury-ridden and was potentially dangerously preserved as a supersub ready to be unleashed when the situation demanded. That was most likely to emerge while chasing a big score. Clearly, Fleming wanted to chase and that should have been reason enough for HWMNBN to field first. But he had other ideas. As it turns out, Cairns was not needed. Other than that, it all went to script just as Fleming would have imagined. But choosing to bat first was one of HWMNBN's less-serious mistakes and hence I would not harp too much on that.

Just as an aside, another negative outcome of the television age in cricket has been the demise of the very polite and pleasant gesture of telling the opposition captain of what one plans to do after winning the toss. When that annoyingly omnipresent Ravi Shastri is out there ready to pounce on the (un)lucky captain who wins the toss with his senseless chatter, the captain often forgets to tell his counterpart of what he wants to do. (Or chooses to ignore him.) This is what happened today. HWMNBN felt no need to tell Fleming of his choice. Or Shastri felt no need to allow him the time to do so. Either way, Fleming had to infer that he was going to field first only from the meaningless conversation between the two Indians. This is very sad, to see another of those little niceties which make cricket the game it is bite the dust.

276 was a fair score. Not great, but not bad either. Given just the score, the team defending it should have backed itself. Indeed a team with a decent attack and a good leader would have defended it at least 7 times out of 10. Unfortunately India suffered from a lack of both. Pathan's lack of pace and peneteration is shocking. If a 20-year old is content to bowl line and length at medium pace and rely entirely on non-existent swing, it is a matter of great concern. Nehra too suffers when the conditions don't suit him. He was his old self bowling one bad ball per over and that is all that is needed with a few chances for a good team like the Kiwis to get off to a flyer. As usual, the axe is likely to fall on Agarkar, one of the most ill-treated cricketers in recent times (along with VVS Laxman) But truth is the damage had been done at the top. Agarkar is a bowler who thrives on getting early wickets. Of course, he has not been at his best, recently. But that is mostly because of the step-motherly treatment given to him by HWMNBN and the management. He is always given short change when the great left-arm kings come back after taking leisurely time-outs. But the worst was reserved for the middle stages of the innings.

After that flier, Harbhajan and Sehwag had bowled well to get India in with a chance. However HWMNBN showed no intentions of supporting them with attacking fields. I will have to write a separate post on how he has destroyed Harbhajan's career as an ODI bowler (while acknowledging that he had supported and encouraged Harbhajan in the early days) But today he refused to give Harbhajan close catchers to prize out wickets when clearly that was the only way the match could have been won. Worse, he did not trust Sehwag, the best bowler of the day to be able to bowl with the field restrictions. He brought in the hapless Pathan who was thrashed for 9 and then Yadav who was hammered for 14. There were several points in the match where India had a chance to turn things around. But this one with Sehwag and Harbhajan bowling well, was the last and decisive one. HWMNBN made a mess of it.

I end by averring that we are unlikely to win any ODI series (and definitely not any final) so long as HWMNBN is in charge. This is a bunch of talented individuals but a very poor team. The weakest link in the team is the leadership, rather the lack of it. Unless, there is a change at the top, we can expect to see more such pathetic defeats in the near future.

Ricky Ponting's Outburst

I can understand one getting so upset. After all, he was well set ready to play another match-saving innings. But for crying out loud, this substitute method has been going on for years in England and no one has complained before. Not least the Aussies when they were winning so comprehensively last 3 tours.

And on this occasion definitely the reason for the sub was genuine with Simon Jones out with a serious injury. He did point out to this whole sub thing at the start of the series but well there is no excuse for taking a poor run like that.

I can understand his outburst but I would like to see him punished. Not just get off with an apology. Let's see if Ranjan Madugalle has the gall to adequately punish an Australian captain. After all, if it was a certain Indian prince in Ponting's shoes he would have probably been banned for 6 Tests by now ...

Too Harsh ?!?!

The Aussies appear to have taken most the defeat (sorry I should say the way they have been outplayed so far) rather sportingly. Of course there was the Ponting outburst and a couple of small things with Hayden at the start - but they have accepted the decisions that have gone against them most sportingly and have not hesitated in praising the English performances and admitting to their poor ones.

Similar is the case with the Aussie press. But on the latter front, they seem to have gone too far. Especially Peter English here in this article on Cricinfo:

"The first innings was a batting embarrassment expected from Zimbabwe or Bangladesh. Perhaps even those teams would be upset to have their efforts compared to this limp display. Folding for 218 in 49.1 overs, Australia followed-on for the first time since playing Pakistan in 1988, the year the country celebrated its bicentenary of European settlement, Brisbane hosted the World Expo, Shaun Tait cheered his fifth birthday, and England held the Ashes."

Really ?? Isn't that exaggerating a bit too much ?? I mean Bangladesh and Zimbabwe for God's sake !!

Question

The other day, I saw Simon Jones duck into a Brett Lee bouncer, get hit on the head and the ball thudded onto the stumps. But the bails did not come off and Jones survived. The rules say that the bails have to be dislodged. Fine.

Now the question: Why is the lbw mode of dismissal still prevalent then ?? Why can't the batsman or umpire claim that yes, the ball would definitely have hit the stumps, but I can't be 100% certain that the bails will be dislodged. And hence the benefit of the doubt has to go to You-Know-Who.

Fair question, ain't it ?? After all, this is a batsman's game.

And just FYI, the question did not occur to a cricketing guru like me. It occured to my mom - any justifications you experts can give to the lay cricket fan ??

The New Boost Commercial

Just saw the new Boost commercial with Brett Lee and Sachin Tendulkar. Surprising how Lee agreed to a commercial in which he is clearly shown to come out second best. Of course the ad must have been made for Indian audiences so ...

Tearaways

It is always exciting when a young tearaway is going to make his debut. Hang on, as of now there are only 2 "tearaways" in the game and we know who they are. But both Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee made their debuts over 5 years ago and to be frank, at least in Shoaib's case I did not know he was a tearaway before he made his debut. It was after a couple of games that it struck. With Brett Lee, yes, he was hyped as Australia's answer to Shoaib and hence we had more of an inkling. However, I thought that Lee on debut, though express, was not really in the Shoaib category as far as speed goes.He gradually got there. There was a little bit of a murmur caused in most part by Ian Botham when Simon Jones and Steve Harmison were going to make their debut. Though fine bowlers both, they didnt really threaten to force Lee and Shoaib to extend the membership of their very exclusive club. That Shane Bond did before injuries did him in. Today, another young tearaway stands on the doorstep. Shaun Tait will be making his debut for Australia and I am quite eager to see him in action. From the reports he gave Justin Langer a really torrid time in the nets the other day that in the end clinched him his spot.

Powerful Questions

When the match has been reduced to say, 44 overs like the other day, there will be two powerplays: one with 5 overs and one with 3. Now is there any restriction on whether the longer powerplay should be used before the shorter one ?? If so, what is the logic behind it ?? Also in the Afro-Asia Cup, when the game was reduced by 2 overs one of the powerplays was reduced by 1 over. Now here the game has been reduced by 6 overs and the powerplay has been reduced by 2 overs. So what exactly is the mathematics here ? Or is it just heuristics ?? In the same breath, now even 20 overs per side constitutes a game. So will there be no powerplay at all ?? Again, if the game is halted sometime after it starts will there be different rules of powerplays for the 2 teams. Will that be really fair then if one captain has full freedom to decide his powerplays while the other will be facing severe restrictions ??

Gavaskar On Vettori's Selection

Sunil Gavaskar is vehemently supporting Daniel Vettori and defending his decision to include him in both the Test and ODI squads of the World X1. Well we all know what are the kinds of actions that require such vehement defence don't we ? After all, there is no need of defending the inclusion of Jacques Kallis or Brian Lara in the both the squads. The fact that Sunny finds it necessary to defend Vettori in intself tells a story. For me, I think Vettori was included just to please New Zealand and make sure that they don't feel left out. Because definitely Anil Kumble and then Harbhajan Singh (and perhaps Danish Kaneria) deserved the nod ahead of him.

Different Levels Of Cricket

Really, if what we witnessed at Edgbaston and Old Trafford over the last fortnight manifested the best in this great game of cricket, what is happening around the World right now certainly comes somewhere close to the first. No doubt one cringes to think that the humiliation New Zealand are imposing upon ZImbabwe is also classified as Test match cricket along with the magnificent classic that Australia and England are playing out. But even that is not so bad compared to the absolute farce that is the Afro-Asian series which is officially being played for the benefit of cricket in Africa but which no doubt is just a ploy to further enhance the coffins of the BCCI. Obviously the patriotic feeling so inherent in a cricket match is lacking but what's more there is not even any sort of team spirit - there can't be because this is a set of individuals who hardly ever play together. No wonder that Africa managed to pull home in the end - the whole team was comprised mostly of South Africans !! But I would have to admit that even that does not seem so bad when one witnesses the absolute 20-20 farce that is going on today in Bangalore in the name of the great Don Bradman. Organising a tournament like this in the name of the greatest legend of the game is playing with the boundaries of indecent behavior.

Gavaskar On New Rules And Spinners

Gavaskar says that the powerplay and supersub rules won't put the spinners out of the game. He says that quality spinners will always have a role to play. Really Sunny ?? Well, how would you explain what is happening to Kumble ? Who are the quality spinners left in the game today anyway ?? As far as I know it is just Warne and Murali, Kumble and Harbhajan. Some others might vie for Rafique and Giles, Vettori and Kaneria. Warne has already retired from the ODI game, Kumble is being forced out. Murali is preparing to leave after the World Cup and Kaneria also is used really sparingly in this form of the game. So who are these quality spinners that Sunny is talking about ??

Vow ! It feels nice to see Harsha again on TV.

Shut Your Big Mouth, Will You ??

There is a fine line between exercising your right to free speech in a candid, frank, honest manner and in making rash, irresponsible claims. Virender Sehwag might just have crossed that this time. The decisive factor in these delicate situations often boils down to how much authority one has over the matter.

He threatened to do that earlier on 2 occasions in the recent past. First at the start of the last season he went on record to say that he would prefer Akash Chopra as an opening partner to Yuvraj. Really not his to decide although he did have some sort of interest in the matter. Then last season after the defeat to Pakistan in the Bangalore Test, he very publicly announced that he knew that he was the only one who could have won the Test for India. True and at that moment felt very right - but again really responsible ?? What would the other members of the team feel ? Luckily, that story died a natural death.

And now, he comes up for no rhyme or reason with this statement that Dada is the best man for captaincy- well you are entitled to your opinions but certainly, one should think twice before voicing them in public !! Next time, when he is having a partnership with Dravid won't this issue rankle at the back of Dravid's mind ?? Worse, when (rather than if) Ganguly is injured or suspended again and Dravid has to lead, what trust will he have in Sehwag ? Was that the reason why Sehwag was so ordinary as a bowler in the Sri Lanka tri-series ?? Worse scenario, if following Sehwag's example other players like Yuvraj, Kaif and the rest start stating their preferences for skipper wouldn't that lead to a steep rift in the side ??

And this guy is looked upon and to be groomed as future captain ...

Chuckster here seems to agree with my views

Team For Zimbabwe Triangular

Now that the unfotunate (and sadistic, populistic, regressive and ultra-political) decision of restoring the captaincy to Sourav Ganguly has been made it is time to look at the composition of the side.

Me, I would bring in Agarkar instead of Zaheer Khan. GC needs to take a look at all resources before the WC and meaningless series such as this are the perfect scenarios for doing something like this. Zaheer was very much average in the Indianoil Cup and pathetic in the finals. While Agarkar could do worse, it is worth trying since he brings in much more value definitely in the field and hopefully with the bat.

I would also bring in Powar for Kumble. I'm not necessarily writing off Kumble as an ODI bowler but again we need to find some bowlers who can contribute handy runs with the bat and in that spirit are the 2 changes.

Also I would drop JP Yadav as we can accomodate only 15 players and I have never been a fan of his type anyway.

Im prepared to give Dhoni another chance although I was fairly shocked by his keeping the other day. Another couple of poor performances and he should be out.

Hence the team would look like:
Ganguly
Dravid
Sehwag
Laxman
Yuvraj
Kaif
Raina
Rao
Dhoni
Pathan
Nehra
Balaji
Agarkar
Harbhajan
Powar

So What Went Wrong ?

Another final ... another toss lost ... another big score conceded ... another time the batting chokes under pressure ... all too common. Nothing unexpected about it.

India went into the match with 5 bowlers. They had played with 7 batsmen and 4 bowlers all through the series to conclude that the bowling lacked firepower and that the top oder was too complacent and took things easy because of the presence of an extra batsman. Hence the decision. What happened ?? It was the bowlers that took things easy now - Zaheer Khan though economical was a pathetic trundler who looked like he was 55 years old, Pathan was up and down and never recovered from the atrocious way that increasingly annoying Mahendra Singh Dhoni kept to him, Nehra was good with three early wickets and three late ones but still conceded 6 an over. Harbhajan was tidy without threatening and Kumble was back to being his old self of 1997 where Jayasuriya (with DeSilva) would play him with disdainful contempt.

And then the batting - the start was pretty good - Sehwag for once did his job well - and the fact that we were in the hunt up until the 35th over was a pleasant surprise. But when you play with 5 bowlers we need to realize that we cannot expect ANYTHING from thwm with the bat. Yes - all 5 of them flatly refused to even reach double figures. Add to that Mahendra Dhoni's inexplicable shot to a straight ball from Chandana and it was patently evident how the 5 batsman ploy emphatically backfired. I would not like to condone Dravid and Yuvaraj here for throwing away their wickets at exactly the wrong time - but to put things in perspective such things happen - it is usually upto the lower order to shore things up - not many teams chase 280 with 2 wickets down too often - the fact that that represented India's only chance of a win itself is a disgrace. When Sri Lanka chased down 221 in the league game against India how great a support role did Chandana play in aiding Jayawardene ?? Today even after Dravid's departure Kaif was eager and willing to take the fight - but the pathetic lower order flatly refused to give him company - either that - or they are just horribly incompetent with the bat - either way it is really worrying.

Now coming to the fielding - the less said about it the better. To be brutally frank and harsh the likes of Nehra, Zaheer, Kumble and Ganguly are a disgrace to fielding anywhere in the outfield. Contrast this with how well the Lankans fielded, even when the Dravid-Yuvaraj partnership was going great guns. It was their fielding and not letting the ones being converted into twos that kept them in the game ultimately forcing Yuvaraj to play a big shot. And look at the way the Arnold-Jayawardene partnership put the pressure on the fielders. At 122/4 with Jayasuriya gone things looked rosy for India but without hitting any risky shots or even flamboyant shots the 2 kept ticking the scorecard so well - Harbhajan was the only one who displayed some sense of commitment in the outfield.

All in all, a well-deserved and expected defeat. It will be interesting to see what happens from now on. Hopefully this would have given Greg Chappell a clear-cut idea of the mess Indian cricket finds itself in. It is now that he comes into picture - what he comes up with from between now and the next triangular in Zimbabwe - there too we should reach the final comfortably but going by our record we should lose it - let's see if Chappeli can do something to avoid that.

When Lady Luck Has Her Way ...

Less than half-a dozen hours ago it was Australia that held all the aces in the Ashes series. Now things have not quite undergone a U-turn but are almost threatening to do so. All courtesy a freak injury to the greatest fast-medium bowling machine of modern times. With McGrath out, Australia look a ghostly shadow of themselves.

England on the other hand seem to have come up with the only possible way they could - go on an all-out attack and boy, it has been exhilirating stuff. I had said that a lot would have to go right for this English lineup to fire - the one factor I had overlooked (well disregarded) was Marcus Trescothick. I felt that his batting against Australia was always a lottery. Guess what - when the luck is with you the heavens will burst without restraint - Trescothick, no doubt a bit fortunately goes on to biff a great 90 and with support from Strauss England fairly raced along.

Well a bit of a comeback by Australia when the Vaughan-Bell pair yet again floundered, but Pietersen and Flintoff finally live up to the expectations of a grand symbiosis. Flintoff is especially surprising. I had reservations about his ability against quality spin and still do but he has played one magnificent innings - attacking Warne with full intent - really the best strategy - looking forward to more glorious strokeplay after tea.

Some people say McGrath may be out for Old Trafford too, others rumor that he may be out for the whole series ... wow !! Now we have a contest on our hands !!

Updates
9:34 - Flintoff OUT immediately after tea. Gillespie strikes. Australia get a foot back in the door.

The Master Craftsman

Mahela Jayawardene

The Master Craftsman finally produced a masterpiece yesterday at the Rangiri Dambulla stadium. Mahela Jayawardene makes batting look astonishingly elegant. A mystery why he is the underachiever he is. Not for nothing do the ones who really know him talk about him in the same breath as the great Aravinda Desilva. He is one of those rare Sri Lankan batsmen these days who do not frustrate me to death by their clinical and at times artless performances.

Lots of praise for Jayawardene all over the media today - surprisingly quiet in the blogosphere though.

As far the Indian team's performance I think it is a real royal mess and I'm really not in the mood to comment on it right now ...

Surely Not ?!?!

After Michael Vaughan's injury people have already started talking about the comeback of Graham Thorpe but Graeme Hick ?!?! First impression, I though it was preposterous but on second thoughts it is not totally inconceivable !! Wouldn't that add to all the excitement of this series ??

If Anything Can Go Wrong ...

... IT WILL.

Michael Vaughan has injured his elbow (remeber hearing of a famous batsman with a broken elbow in the news elsewhere in the past year ?) - interestingly, his right elbow (the significance of that side amusing some here) and hence must have surely caused the English setup some deal of anxiety - I would say panic but the English are staunchly refraining from using that word. This, coming when the top and middle order was so ruthlessly exposed in the last game would have really set the cat among the pigeons.

Now if Vaughan (fingers crossed) makes it to the lineup Thursday, a major crisis could still be averted; but in case that does not happen England face the daunting prospect of playing with a #3,#4,#5 with a combined experience of 7 Test matches (Bell 4, Pietersen 1, Collingwood 2) against an attack that has close to 1400 Test wickets between them. Add to that the fact that Strauss is just a year-old in the game, a "veteran" of 15 Tests and in what can be generously described as "indifferent" form; Flintoff averages 12 against India, 20 against Sri Lanka and 1.5 against Australia (the 3 sides in the World to possess quality spinners) and Trescothick's eternal susceptibility against the new ball and you have a classic recipe for disaster.

Jagadish says he can already picture the selectors pleading before Thorpe and I fully endorse that view. I think this Ashes campaign has gone horribly wrong. After all the hype, the talk and the bravado, a combination of poor scheduling, absurd and populist selection decisions, indifferent form and mental diffidence has shaken this English batting lineup to the core and it is very difficult to bet against a 2-0 lead for the Aussies by the time they leave Edgbaston.

I could go on about strategies and batting orders but I'm afraid it is too late to recover now. It is up to these 6 players to lift their game to their highest ability; perhaps even beyond to salvage anything worthwhile from the situation.

Amazing - To Say The Least

Just read this article - it is quite amazing. Perhaps a tad pathetic, a tad true, a tad reckless but definitely quite amazing. It is true that Ashley Giles is an ordinary spinner but he has played his part in England and still deserves his spot for the lack of options if nothing else. The criticism he has been receiving has bordered on a witch-hunt but to come up with this sort of public response full of self-pity ?? I don't think the Aussies will forget to remind him of this once play starts at Edgbaston - boy, whatever happens it is going to be exciting.

He Is Back

Probably a defining moment in the history of Indian cricket when (rather than if) Sourav Ganguly plays under Rahul Dravid tomorrow. This will be the first time that he will be playing under his best mate and vice-captain for 5 years. As things stand, it is uncertain whether the roles will be switched at the end of the series. My gut feeling is that they won't. However, Sourav has apparently not yet decided to give up the throne voluntarily as he says here:

"Actually, I don't mind it [lack of attention]. I had a lot of attention for five years. If for the next three or four games, or whatever happens in this series, I am not too worried. Whatever will happen, will happen."

Personally I think Ganguly should attempt to give Rahul Dravid all the support that Dravid gave him when he himself was in charge. And I don't just mean in the form of expert advice but also in terms of sheer weight of runs. And Dravid should make Ganguly feel very much at home.

When the 2 made their debut on that rainy summer morning at Lord's 9 years ago, it was the beginning of an indelible chapter in the annals of Indian cricket. For years after that when one thought of Sourav Ganguly he could not but think of Rahul Dravid in the same breath. In recent years that might have changed - first because they took slightly different paths to greatness. Dravid became the World's leading batsman leaving Ganguly far behind in that respect while Ganguly went on to be the most influential (and successful) Indian captain ever - both monumental achievements and in harmony with each other. However, disturbingly in the last season and never more prominently than in the last Pakistan series there were whispers of a growing rift between the two.

It would be sad if that rift was allowed to grow. This is the time for the 2 stalwarts of Indian cricket to shake hands, have a nice chat about the old times, accept the switched roles and move on for the good of the team. It would be a fitting finale if Ganguly scored the winning runs and took the Man Of The Series Award in the World Cup Final in Barbados 2 years hence under the leadership of Dravid.

Asia vs Africa (Rubbish)

The squads have been announced
Asia:
Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Kumar Sangakarra, Sanath Jayasuriya, Yousuf Youhana, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Naved-ul-Hasan, Irfan Pathan, Mohammad Ashraful, Anil Kumble, Shoaib Akhtar. Reserves Marvan Atapattu, Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Khaled Mashud

Africa:
Shaun Pollock, Graeme Smith, Boeta Dippenaar, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, Albie Morkel, Mark Boucher, Monde Zondeki, Jacques Rudolph, Nicky Boje, Justin Ontong, Steve Tikolo, Collins Obuya, Thomas Odoyo, Heath Streak, Tatenda Taibu, Andy Blignaut, Dale Steyn

You would think I would have more to say when it comes to squad selection - but this is such a pointless affair, it is best ignored.

Predictions Predictions

I still feel that Sri Lanka is the strongest team in the competition. But I am not sure if they are playing their best cricket. India, on the other hand, are beginning to warm up. I would not be surprised if they end up as winners of the tournament and Man of the Series is none other than Ganguly himself. For he is that sort of a man.

This is not me talking. It is that wily old fox of Sri Lankan Cricket - Arjuna Ranatunga on Cricinfo. I tend to agree somewhat. I have this feeling we are going to see a special performance from Ganguly in these coming matches.

Look ! I Found Something !

Runs, Glorious runs !! What a relief finding them for the battered England captain !! He was supposed to skip this match for Yorkshire I think but with a changr of heart he played and opened and has scored 116* in 129 balls in a total of 216/6 ... could this be a sign of things to come ??

If It Broke Fix It !!

Not sure if that follows from its more popular negated version but I think that's what the English selectors should have done when they sat down to pick the squad for the second Ashes Test. Instead, theyv'e "displayed confidence" in the squad of players that has "been doing SO well" for the last year or so.

I think this is going to backfire. For there are obvious weaknesses in this English batting lineup. To avoid defeat against Australia, the batting needs to fire big time and that means that a LOT of things need to go right all at the same time. A LOT. Firstly, Strauss needs to regain his touch as does Vaughan. Bell needs to mature so fast it is almost cruel to expect. Pietersen needs to repeat his Lord's heroics and Freddie somehow has to find a way to play Warne. Now these things may happen and if they do all will click beautifully making me look like a fool BUT I am trying to emphasize that this is a high-risk approach England are taking. They have just the Plan A and no Plan B whatsoever. They simply have no buffer.

No buffer that Graham Thorpe used to provide. My insistence on Thorpe has been well-documented. See here and here. But now that he is no longer there I would have at least gone for Paul Collingwood to lend stability to the lineup. He is in fine form having scored 3 hundreds last week - 2 in a match. He looked the part in his sole test and he has also had a very good Natwest series.

Throughout the 90's the England team suffered from the pick-and-drop approach. Now they are erring on the other side of the spectrum. They are resisting change to what I think is only a moderately good batting lineup and refusing to be flexible. That is not the approach that is going to be of any help in halting the Aussies.

India - West Indies Match Thread

8:03 am: Much better news this morning ... India have bowled out the West Indies B for 178 and look set for a resounding victory ... or are they ?? Sehwag gone second ball - this is getting worrying.
Thread open for comments and discussions.

8:06: Raina looking very nervous. Survived a shout first ball and dropped a second. But both batsmen now tickle boundaries to leg to get going.

8:27: Both looking fairly comfortable and scoring at a brisk rate thanks in large part to the inconsistency of the bowlers. A couple of boundaries full of flair from the youngster Raina who finally seems to have got over his nerves.

8:40: Kaif and particularly Raina are now on fire smashing boundaries. Lawson horribly wayward.

8:46: West Indies have completed 11 overs and they have bowled an astonishing 11 wides so far. That's 1 wide per over and 2 overs extra. None of the bowlers want to be left behind as each has got his name on the wide sheet. However the main culprit remains Lawson with 6 wides - this is getting almost boringly simple. I wouldn't mind a wicket now just to spice things up a bit ...

8:48: Oh My God !!! Just when I said it. A good delivery accounts for Kaif !! 68/2 and game not over yet people. The Wall walks in ... I was expecting Yuvraj ... mental note: expect the unexpected

9:02: O O !! Raina goes. An innings full of attractive but risky strokes. Not sure about him just yet. 82/3

9:17: 3 boundaries in a row for the Indian captain !! 3 very positive strokes and each different - regaining the momentum for India here

17.5 Best to Dravid, FOUR, fuller this time, and Dravid duly drives through the cover region for his third successive boundary, room and width and full in length, and Dravid duly obliges

17.4 Best to Dravid, FOUR, short and wide again!! and Dravid goes after it, interntionally plays it in the air to the thirdman region, one bounce and it crashes into the advertising boards there

17.3 Best to Dravid, FOUR, shot!!! Best bowls it a bit quicker, offers Dravid a bit of room, and Dravid pounces on itm, cuts it hard and the ball runs away to the point fence like a tracer bullet

9:54: Going on pretty smoothly ... this is the sort of thing I expected ... of course with Dravid there you can be pretty assured; good to see Yuvraj back in the runs 141/3 and only 38 needed

10:07: Excitement !! Just when I thought this was such a tame affair. India should still romp home easily though.

31.4 Lawson to Yuvraj Singh, OUT: good length delivery on the middle and
off stump line, Yuvraj plays all over it and gets cleaned up!
second wicket for Lawson - India four down

India 143/4, Partnership of 61
Yuvraj Singh b Lawson 28 (58b 3x4 0x6)
R Dravid 35* (49b 4x4) JJC Lawson 6.4-0-38-2 (6w)

was a nothing shot in the end, just stood his ground and tried to
hit through the line, he missed the bowler hit !
Dhoni is the next man in
31.5 Lawson to Dhoni, one run, Dropped! not again! flicked away in the
air, straight to Smith at backward point who puts down an easy
chance - this is cricket at its worst

10:25:
Another 50 to Dravid - lot of aggressive shots towards the end. It is quite pointless to go on raving about the amazing consistency of the man ... he is quite undoubtedly Mr. India ... just 4 needed now

10:26: OOOOH ! What a finish
35.6 Lawson to Dhoni, SIX, what a finish! short and drifting down the leg side, Dhoni swings hard and gets it on the middle, ball sails over the fine leg fence - India win by 6 wickets!

Good strong win for India. The bowlers came to the fore again first up. Then with the bat Raina showed some promise and Kaif and Yuvraj found some runs. Sehwag's form remains a worry though. Man Of The Match ??

10:37: Yes !! It is Rahul Dravid. Leaving now ... probably will write more on the game later. We have a couple of days off ... Wednesday we will play Sri Lanka again and Sourav Ganguly will be back ... will add a whole new exciting dimension to the game

The Chappell Era Begins

The first patent indication of the beginning of the Chappell era - the promotion of Mohammad Kaif to open the innings. This cannot be the brainchild of Rahul Dravid - it has to be that shrewd campaigner. Not sure about the merits of the move but am very much happy at the willingness to experiment !!!

The First Difference

I have always maintained that the time was ripe for the transition of the mantle of captaincy from Ganguly to Dravid right through the last season. And today one of the immediate consequences (on the positive side) was there to see. Harbhajan Singh, that very able off-spinner was once more an attacking bowler in ODIs flighting the ball at times and willing to buy his wickets - he took 2 crucial scalps be it at a relatively higher price of 44 runs in 10 overs. Under Ganguly he had "deteriorated" into a defensive bowler who used to only hold down the runs in the middle overs.

Then of course, it will be interesting to see how Dravid uses him when India are fielding first cause that's where the problem has been on most occasions but I'm hopeful that he will allow Harbhajan the freedom to demonstrate his art.

Big Questions Small Questions

... As I wake up this morning to check the scorecard and see that India have been quite comprehensively routed by Sri Lanka ... lest I am too hasty ... the Indian batting has been quite comprehensively routed by the Sri Lankan bowlers. Not entirely shocking but a bit under par for even a most pragmatic cricket follower like me.

And hence the questions flow. Mostly all to be asked of Greg Chappell and Rahul Dravid.
1. WHY NOT LAXMAN ???
2. Why Yuvraj at 3 ?(Corollary of 1)
3. Why Kaif at 4 ?(Corollary of 1 & 2)
4. Why Raina ?(Corollary of 1)

Is this some kind of trick ?? I better hope it is. Otherwise it is pretty daft. To not play someone of the calibre of Laxman in the opening game ... I mean if you are looking to blood the youngsters surely the best time would be against the inexperienced Windies or once our qualification for the finals has been guaranteed ?!?!

For all his great reputation and acumen, I am williing to give Chappell the benefit of the doubt. But I hope he has a real good trick up his sleeve otherwise ... sorry to say ... the Chappell era would be just a continuation of last season's pathetic abysmal lows.

Update 1: Zaheer Khan has just clean bowled Mahela Jayawardene to leave Sri Lanka tottering at 60/3. Heck, he's given that annoying pest Russell Arnold a loose ball to hit a boundary first up !! (This is one thing that the new management has desperately gotta work on ... the inconsistency in bowling)

Update 2: Another wicket would be great - just about now. After a torrid 20 balls Dilshan has finally broken the shackles with a boundary - shouldn't have let him do that - but well ... wicket ! wicket ! get a wicket !
Just read on the Times website that Laxman had been ruled out with back spasms in the morning . Bit of a blow that ... and for me ... being too hasty to criticize ... but hell it was not mentioned anywhere on Cricinfo bulletin ... how was I supposed to know ?? Anyway this now puts the above questions into irrelevance and India are up with a fight on their hands

Update 3: Brilliant !! Harbhajan Singh has struck twice in 2 overs to dismiss Dilshan and Arnold but on the flip side he gave a boundary the next ball on both occasions - to that sleeping giant Jayasuriya ... batting at Number 6 due to a shoulder injury !! Really at 117/5 this is now a 50-50 game ... get Jayasuriya here and we are almost done !

Update 4: OK ... I said it would now be Jayasuriya between India and victory ... but there is an unexpected twist here ... in the form of Lokuhettige (pardon me if I got the spelling wrong) who seems to be a mightily aggressive character. He has taken a liking to the spinners ... hitting 3 4s and a 6 ... to score 20 off 17 balls and is fairly taking the game away from India ... wicket please !! Will Dravid get back the quick men ?? Although I tend to think one of the spinners might get him out if they keep tempting him ... the only problem is only 67 runs to play with. Also Dravid has to get in half of the remaining overs from his fifth bowler ... now I dont blame him really ... he had to go for the attack right away at the start ... interesting to see how he handles it from now on.

Update 5:

34.2 Pathan to Dilhara, OUT: width outside the off stump and Dilhara goes after it, ball clips the inside edge and crashes into the stumps, bowling change works for India, Sri Lanka six down Sri Lanka 140/6, Partnership of 28 LHD Dilhara b Pathan 21 (20b 3x4 1x6) ST Jayasuriya 12* (15b 2x4) IK Pathan 7.2-2-30-2 (1w) was not a wicket taking delivery and was was outside the off stump, Dilhara dragged it back on to his stumps, sad end to a promising innings - this match is not over yet!

Dravid's move works !! Yippee !! So happy for him. Game on ... though he went against my instincts of sticking with the spinners ! Jayasuriya still there though and that tough cookie Chandana walks in ... but get one of these out ... and we are really into the tail

Update 6: Just as I thought it was all over Zaheer strikes !! Wow this is getting exciting 34 runs with 3 wicktes left

Update 7: That wily fox Jayasuriya is taking Sri Lanka home. Aah ... so close yet so far ... it still needs a couple of good balls though now one must consider Sri Lanka reasonable favourites to romp home

Update 8: All over. Jayasuriya takes them home aided by an impetuous innings by Maharoof. Credit to the Indian fielders and bowlers for putting up a fight but in the end just lacked the firepower to blast out the lower order resistance. Not that that is a particularly new problem for this Indian team. But Greg needs to note it quickly and try to find ways to cover this deficiency. Full marks to Dravid first for a captain's innings and then for a well-led fight on the field. After all, we are ranked #7 in the World compared to Sri Lanka's #2. However I don't see too many ways we can improve as of now with this particular set of players. I dont know how many of you feel that this match resembled a good deal to the match against Pakistan in the ICC Knockout last September. India, batting first were rocked by the Pakistani pacemen, shored by Dravid and then kept in the fight throughout by the honest efforts of the bowlers only to lose it at the end. The score that day was 200 today it was 205. Different conditions of course but similar pattern of play and scoring.

Anyway off now ... will post more analyses later ... and hope the team puts up a strong performance against the West Indies B side tomorrow.

Digital McGrath

Mike Selvey writes in The Guardian:

"In this technological age it should be possible for a computer programmer to sit at a screen and digitally devise the ultimate bowler for the ultimate end at the ultimate Test ground.
The specifications might be thus: tall, with long arms to obtain bounce and exacerbate variations in such; a straight run to counter the gravitational pull of the slope from left to right; delivery from close to the stumps so that movement off the slope does not angle down the leg side and a straight ball offers a challenge; pace but not so much that a batsman cannot spot a modicum of movement and be drawn into following it; Job's patience; Nelson's strategical acumen; the ruthlessness of Vlad the Impaler. Press "enter". Bugger, it's Glenn McGrath."

Then of course that which is digital, automated, computerised has to be under human control - some human should be and will be able to conquer it - all that it needs is -

"England, though, can draw on that in their plans to counter him. They will not encounter him in such conditions again but they do need to formulate a strategy. This could take several forms.
The first is to test his patience as much as he does that of the batsmen. His off-stump line will not be so perilous to ignore because no other Test ground in England has such a slope. If he continues just to plug away - he is, by his own admission, a defensive bowler in that he induces error through the long-term application of pressure - then it becomes a waiting game. Who will crack first?"

Pietersen Acknowledged But What About The Rest ?

I must emphasize that despite my continuous insistence on the selection of Graham Thorpe in the English squad for the Ashes, I never seriously dismissed Pietersen's talent and rightful claim to a place in the side. True, were it a clear-cut binary decision I would have opted for Thorpe in place of Pietersen and I still stand by it. But I was more than happy to go with a combination that could somehow fit in both - I emphatically supported Shane Warne's theory of playing without Simon Jones for instance (though Jones has done well, in hindsight) and despite the promise young Ian Bell shows I was not averse to the idea of making him sit out to accomodate both Thorpey and Pietersen either.

Pietersen has delivered. In the most trying circumstances, he scored a very creditable 55 and is currently valiantly holding up the last shreds of resistance. Pietersen has justified his selection but not the exclusion of Graham Thorpe. People might argue that it was Pietersen's knock in the first innings that kept England in the hunt at least until Day 2. No question but I argue that a combination of Pietersen and Thorpe would have given England a realistic chance of taking a lead and then who knows how the momentum might have changed. Ian Bell has clearly done nothing in this game and while it may sound real harsh on the youngster to judge him on a sole performance, unfortunately the first Test of an Ashes really is no place to allow people to find their feet.

It is unfair to single out Bell - Trescothick is always a suspect especially at the start of an Ashes series. Much was expected of Strauss - while he may still come good, it could prove too late against the Aussies. After all Strauss' USP was to score big at the start of the series to set the tone which he did in SOuth Africa and at home last season - he has not been able to deliver that on the big occasion. Vaughan is a man for crisis situations - but again if the flow continues this way the series could well be lost before it is realized. Flintoff looks totally out of sorts too.

When the English top-order is firing, Thorpe can be a bit of a luxury; but in a situation like this he would have been absolutely invaluable. I still think he should have a quiet chat with the selectors about their plans for the second Test - things could still be salvaged - any further delay in taking action and the Ashes can be bid goodbye for another 2 years at least ...

He Will Be Missed

Graham Thorpe might never have been blessed with the heavenly sense of timing of the other great English left-hander before him David Gower (or Sourav Ganguly for that matter). However, he did not let that be a problem while batting, overcoming this deficiency with some superb skills in other aspects: most importantly tremendous patience, a great mind and a big heart, not to mention very good technique. Off the field however his lack of timing has let him down over and over again.

Don't really mean to go into his notorious exploits - skipping tours due to family problems, abandoning the team on the morning of a Test match, making himself available and withdrawing himself within a few hours, spending a whole test with mind completely elsewhere to be subsequently left out in the cold for a year ... no, not even his (in my opinion) pretty stupid public announcement of accepting a full-time coaching job with New South Wales. All thse reek of bad timing but today on the second day of the first test of a potentially thrilling series his announcement of retirement is baffling to say the least.

True, dropping him was a HUGE mistake. And I say this despite Pietersen his replacement top-scoring today ... for Thorpe and Pietersen are not like-for-like replacements at all. In fact I would stick my hat out and say that had Thorpe been playing today he might have well taken England to 220 ... and the Test match could well have been on the other end of the scales. As it stands, the Aussies are overwhelming favourites - they are likely to wrap this Test up, take the confidence to Edgbaston and a 2-0 lead seems an overwhelmingly likely occurence.

I had clearly maintained that England would sooner or later require the services of Graham Thorpe. With the top order in the kind of form it is in, it was inevitable that Thorpe would be sent another SOS - much like he was against South Africa at the Oval - where he responded with a championesque 100 !! Looking at England's batting performance yesterday I for one felt that that call would come as early as Edgbaston Pietersen's heroics notwhithstanding .... in place of Bell perhaps or at the expense of Giles ... but this enigma has to go and announce his retirement the very next day ... WHY ?? ... he could be rightly angry with the selectors but to let his anger jeopardize the chances of himself and his team in this manner ?? Or did he truly not want to play ?? Or was it just another whim - another in a long list ?? I refuse to believe that he was afraid of the challenge ... Does he wish to make the selectors grovel before him requesting his comeback ... surely he should know bettter than that ...his last act like much of his career will remain a mystery. A great batsman he undoubtedly will be remembered as, much more so than his mate Nasser Hussain ... but he just could not get the kind of farewell Hussain did ... in reasonable part thanks to his own injudicious acts.

Thorpe was one of the first great players to make his debut after I started watching cricket. From his very first ODI against Australia I noticed a certain amount of quality in him, an observation vindicated by his debut century. There seems little point noting Thorpe's great innings - they are all over the electronic media today - the Lahore Abstinence act, the twilight crusade in Karachi, the series winning innings in Sri Lanka, the swashbuckling 200 in New Zealand (the fastest at the time), the tail-shepherding masterpieces in the West Indies ... just to name a few ... but what is most poignant is his contribution in his last series (sorry Bangladesh) last "real" series in South Africa ... while he scored next to nothing in the matches that ended in a result the series would have been clearly lost but for his heroic hundred at Durban and life-saving 86 at Centurion. Such is the story of Graham Thorpe - enigmatic but one which delivers acts of brilliance exactly when needed most ... he will surely be missed for the Ashes. OR will he ?? Something tells me he might yet be asked to make a comeback ... ah well ...

Of Declines And All ...

There has been a great uproar in the media (blogosphere and otherwise) about the impending decline of the Australian cricket team and you can see desperate English fans carefully trying to portray a cautious optimism for the Ashes series. A day like today helps to put it all in perspective - today for the first time Australia field first and whoops ... we are back to the good old days where the Aussies cruise through chasing a moderate English total ... I was confused as to why Australia were not fielding first more often ... I think they did win the toss on a couple of occasions - didnt they ??

England are a good team - but I still think the Ashes is just 1 step beyond them this time too ...

What A Climax !!

After a great final at Wimbledon today, it seems almost dreamy that the Natwest Series should reach such an amazing climax !! It is indeed a great day for sport in London. Amazing fightback by England to match Australia's score. The tie will surely give England much more satisfaction than Australia after they were reduced to 33/5 !! Once again Australia's lack of backup bowling prowess has been exposed - with Gillespie being out of form - and I have always considered Symonds and Hogg as overrated bowlers - who do well only due to the pressure built up by McGrath and Co. early on. Great that Jones and Collingwood exploited this weakness - and full marks to Goughie and Giles for keeping their cool. I think the fact that Australia let England come so close itself was a mistake and something they should kick themselves for. They should have buried them by giving McGrath and Lee more overs perhaps at the start or at least in the middle.

Anyway, it is a pity that the ECB have decided to scrap the Natwest series from next season. It is one of the few ODI tournaments in the World that produces great cricket - well not always, but it has this time and it definitely did in that glorious summer of 2002.

So the Natwest Trophy is shared huh !! I hope that won't be the case with the Ashes though - it would be a pity to see it end at 2-2. Btw anyone knows what the bookies say now about the Ashes and how much have the odds changed since the moment the Aussies put their foot on British shores ??

England Crawling

England are crawling their way back into the match ... chasing a modest total of 196 ... and being devastated at 33/5 ... well Jones and Collingwood trying to string together a painfully slow but crucial partnership ... let's see where this goes.

Surely they must have wished that the substitution rule was in force for this game ....

Update: Destroying the monotony, Geraint Jones has hit a SIX ... albeit slightly streaky ... hmm

10:54 Central Time Partnership of 37 in 17 overs ... nice ... mainly because they survived that long ... now is the time to start scoring a bit

11:23 Central Time Partnership still going and England look like they are in with a shot ... they might regret allowing Andrew Symonds to bowl his 10 overs for 23 though

11:37 Jones making a fight of it !! Go England !! Another 6

The Old Order Restored

Here. Was away on vacation and then going through some periods in which I did not feel like blogging for personal reasons. Hence missed out on all the excitement what with the Bangles beating the Aussies and the first signs of a change in the order of World Cricket and some amazing pieces of batsmanship by the Grand Master Brian Lara and the fiery Bengal tiger cub - Mohammad Ashraful - yeah so sorry - couldn't quite appreciate all that - but now that some sort of order has been restored in the World cricket hierarchy hope the same happens in my blogging.

"They Don't Play Cricket !!"

Could be the root cause of a lot of problems related to Americans according to a theory.
That could be the reason for their flawed foreign policy which gives birth to and nurtures demons that rebound onto them, for the general hatred the rest of the World has towards their arrogance and self-centeredness and the reason why despite boasting of being a great democracy any democratic opinion that does not coincide with that of the President is considered "unpatriotic" and also the reason why people like Mike Marqusse have left its shores to settle in greener pastures overseas.

Although he goes on to oppose that theory he finds it interesting and so do I. Here he points out another parallel in history:

"The argument echoed historian G.M. Trevelyan’s quip about the French Revolution: “if the French noblesse had been capable of playing cricket with their peasants, their chateaux would never have been burnt.”"

Yeh Hi Hai Right Choice Baby !! Aha !!

Remember that good old Pepsi jingle before the more ordinary "Yeh Pyaas Hai Badi" and the great "Yeh Dil Maange More" ?? Well that's how I would describe the selection of Greg Chappell for the post of India coach. (For my non-Indian readers, it translates quite simply to "This Truly Is The Right Choice, Baby !"). Out of the 4 shortlisted candidates, his choice was quite obvious; of the others I thought only Waugh and Jones would have been any competition for Chappell. What is a pleasant surprise however, is that the panel of the Gavaskars and Shastris actually made such a sensible, rational decision.

This is the first event in the cricketing world for a long time that has inspired me to blog promptly - What with rather pathetic series going on in the West Indies, a meaningless 30-man squad being declared for the Super Series and nothing else on the horizon !!

Coming back to Greg, I think sooner or later he should get Rahul Dravid as his captain and the two should be able to form a good combination. The Wright-Ganguly combo was one of the best things to have happened to Indian cricket. They built a team from a bunch of talented individuals, developed a professional approach, a strong work ethic and a passion for commitment and excellence. Unfortunately, they were not tactically the most acute.

If tactical acumen is not Greg Chappell's strongest point, I don't know what it is. He is one of the most respected brains in the game and has the ability to think out of the box (asking his brother to bowl underarm off the last ball of an ODI is sufficient evidence of this). True he has talked about commitment, discipline and the usual stuff to the media but I'm sure every other candidate would have talked about that. What distinguishes Chappell and is his unique selling point (besides his greatness as a cricketer which shouldn't really matter) is his tactical brilliance.

He has said that he will not be averse to shufling this "set-in-stone" Indian batting line-up particulary promoting Tendulkar to open in Test matches (something we thought about for so long, but knew would never materialize) although in today's scenario what he would need more than a promotion is a kick-up-the-ass but at least the ideas are there, the innovative thinking is there. Contrast this to what the Ganguly-Wright regime would have thought about this - "We have one of the best batting line-ups in the World and soon they will fire" - sure but do we just keep waiting for that and keep accepting defeat after defeat until that one glorious performance eventually comes ?? No ! Greg is the way to go; he is innovative, courageous, has a hands-on approach and most importantly willing to adapt continuously.

When Ganguly and Wright started off honestly, we could not afford this flexibility. We had to stick to a combination in the process of team-building. They built the foundation from which India could launch into a quest for greatness. I think Chappell is the man to help India take the next step.

Fair

Would be a fair word to describe the selection of the 39 players for the 2 World X1 Squads. Not that that is a compliment in any sense. 30 is such a large number that it is difficult to do a really bad job while selecting 30 players. I mean I don't see any point in selecting this probable squad and then trimming it down except to provide some consolation to the players who are eventually going to be left out - it will make them feel - "OK We could not make it to the last 12 but at least we made it to the 30". Why should I bother about making them feel happy ?? In that case one might as well have started off last year with a 100-man probable squad and then trimmed it down to 30 !! Then everyone would have been happy !!! Make no mistake, selecting 25-30 probables is fine when you are selecting a national squad for a camp because it helps the fringe players to get a feel; improve their skills by matching them with the best and demonstrate their abilities to the coach in the training camp or whatever. Here, these 30 players are never going to meet each other. So clearly there is no rational explanation for their nomination than the aforementioned desire to please.

Among those who would feel justfiably disappointed to be left out:
1) Matthew Hoggard - if youngsters like Pathan and Rana Naved could get the nod, I think this genuine swing bowler, one of a species in danger deserved a look-in
2) Yuvraj Singh - for the ODIs? - well, could be a marginal call.
3) Chris Cairns - again for the ODIs? - He's always done well against Australia and is a genuine match-winner.
4) Jacob Oram - a huge talent and had scored a brilliant 100 at Brisbane last October, but maybe his fitness disqualified him ??
5) Mahela Jayawardene and Marwan Atapattu - again both exceptionally talented, and had good tours of Australia last year. Atapattu scored 2 centuries against Australia last year.
6) Shivnarine Chanderpaul ?

Of the ones I think lucky to be in there include
1) Irfan Pathan - no questions about his talent and potential but he has yet to establish himself firmly, is also suffering from injuries and bad form
2) Rana Naved - superb series in India - but just that - again yet to establish himself. I would have picked Hoggard over either of these
3) Kevin Pietersen - same arguement applies - great last series but nothing more
4) Shoab Malik - I fail to see where he really is going to fit in

The Ultimate Deja vu

July 13, 2002:
A monsoon evening in Pune - my birthplace and the place where I spent the first near-22 years of my life.
The occasion:
The Natwest series final - India vs England - a match that would later come to be recognized as one of the greatest matches of all times. For the moment though, it is just another final - the 9th (or 10th) in a row that India are choking. After a routine hammering in the field, in which they allow the opponents to score 325, India are given a good start by captain Ganguly and Sehwag but as usual there is a collapse and as usual Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar fails on the big occasion. As usual, a hero-worshipping nation switches off it's TV sets as one and go out to watch the movies. The story of how Mohammad Kaif's family switched off the TV just as thier son walked in and went out to see Devdas is stuff of legend. I take the middle ground - although I keep the TV on I lose hope and promptly fall off to sleep on the sofa. By the time I wake up Yuvraj and Kaif are still going and India need 80-odd to win in 70-odd balls - what happens next is written in golden letters in the history of Indian cricket.

May 08, 2005:
A spring evening in Iowa City - the place where I have spent the better part of the last 2 years of my life.
The Occasion:
It has been gloomy all day and only now has the sun threatened to make a cameo appearance. I have an exam in 3 days time and am graduating in under a week. There is a whole future out there waiting to be explored - but for the moment I'm just bored of studying as usual and need something to relax my mind with.
Out comes the DVD from the messy interiors of my drawer - the DVD of the same aforementioned, now-immortal game of cricket. This time however I enjoy every run England score and even every look of anguish on the faces of the Indian fielders. Hindsight is a wonderful gift. Once again, I marvel at the big shots played by Ganguly and tear my hand as to how the same person who can look so royal at times also look so pedestrian so often these days ?? I smirk with contempt and disdain and quiet satisfaction at the atrocious shot Tendulkar plays to get clean bowled off the bowling of that great English spinner Ashley Giles - and then, would you believe it - on my bed in the hall, I doze off again. Sunday evenings do that to me sometimes - but the sheer timing is amazing - if you thought that was all, there is more to come, once again when I wake up India need 80-0dd to win off 70-balls. And once again I cheer as Mohammad Kaif takes India to victory. What a Deja-vu !!!

Anyway, I should take a moment here to mention that I am not a completely idiotic sleeper gloating over what I have missed in my sleep - I have of course watched that amazing partnership several times over !!!

Suddenly, I begin to pine for another glorious sunny day at Lord's, hosting another memorable game of cricket - a game in which one does not have to feel contempt for every run the batsman scores or pity every time the bowler is taken for runs (as was the case in the recent India Pakistan series) - a game in which Ganguly is the Lord not a beggar hunting for every run that can come his way and overall a game in which India shows the desire and guts to pull off a great chase (all ingredients missing recently)

Early To Rise, Early To Set ??

What is common to Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and Shaun Peter Pollock ?? Both came onto the scene with a bang. Both shone in the limelight for their respective teams. Both were the most consistent, reliable performers for a number of years. Both were automatic choices for any kind of World X1 anyone ever thought of assembling and both dominated the cricket ratings.

Today both continue to be integreal members of their side - but no longer seem indispensable. From India, you hardly notice a couple of frowns when Tendulkar misses matches all so often due to injuries whereas earlier it would seem a national crisis. South Africa too as they demonstrated in the West Indies can do very well without Pollock. Not that these 2 are no longer very good players; they are - perhaps even great still - but they no longer inspire the fear in the heart of the opponent.

Perhaps these prodigies who achieve so much at a young age do have a limited span and hence are settling into their sunset relatively early. Contrast this with someone like Anil Kumble who also started out young, but did not have a smooth ride as these - he had to fight it out most of the while - as a result his ambition is still burning as high as ever and he is enjoying the high noon of his career.

The Coach

As predicted in my last post, Dean Jones has not been shortlisted for the position of coach by the wise men of Indian cricket. The short list includes:

Mohinder Amarnath
Greg Chappell
Tom Moody
Sandip Patil

I don't think Mohinder will make it. He is too nice a guy to be able to win over the others. His coaching resume is also limited in comparison and honestly, I don't see him being able to command Team India.

Sandip Patil, to be fair, has done a great job with Kenya and has worked his way up hence is a deserving candidate. But again, I'm not sure he is entirely free of the biases that haunt Indian cricket. However, I wouldn't mind him being given a go.

Tom Moody may have done a great job at Worcestershire but handling an international team - altogether different - especially since almost all players of this team have accomplished more than Moody ever did.

No such issues with Greg Chappell - he was a great batsman - and also seems to be a hard task-master. He seems to have done a good job with South Australia as coach as well - so, well the only thing that worries me is his proximity to Ganguly. While it is great that a captain and coach get on well - Indian cricket needs Ganguly to change his approach, perhaps play a different role. SOurav meanwhile seems quite happy to let things drift as they are. I hope Greg does not agree with him on this issue. I hope he makes Ganguly realize the need for change instead. If that can be done, I would vote for Greg Chappell out of these 4.

However, he is extremely expensive - so the BCCI might just think twice about him - that leaves Patil in with a chance

Of Selectors

Though selection in India has undergone a vast improvement in the last few years, there will always remain problems so long as the selctors are doing an honorary job on a regional basis. And now there is this funnily constituted selection commitee for the selection of the coach !! The commitee comprises of -

SK Nair - BCCI seceretary and convenor of the commitee
Mahendra - BCCI President
Dalmiya - Of Course !!
Gavaskar - Second highest run-scorer for India
Shastri - The Worst Commentator ever
Venkat - India's greatest umpire

Other than Venkat, the other names on the list do not inspire me with confidence. We all know what is going to be top of the agenda of Nair, Mahendra and Dalmiya. It is going to be money, power, perhaps the welfare of Ganguly in Dalmiya's case but certainly not the best interests of the team.

And Gavaskar and Shastri are the most eleigible yes-men of the 2 liabilities of the Indian team - Sachin Tendulkar and SOurav Ganguly - so what these 2 men will look for in the candidate is nothing other than the willingness to protect the interests of these players - for e.g. Dean Jones had suggested in a recent interview that the Indian batting should be flexible in ODIs allowing Yuvraj and Kaif to go up the order at times and that Tendulkar should not always open.

Is it difficult to imagine the reaction of Gavaskar and Shastri to such a "sacriligeous" suggestion - "After all these years and after scoring so many hundreds at the top of the order ... how can one even think of putting him down ... blah blah blah "

You get what I mean - these 2 will be always ready to take indirect shots at the youngsters however - "Sometimes the India cap is given too early ... and it is not valued enough ... and some players after their success in the U-19 World Cup perhaps got the cap too easily ..." and all that rubbish

Most Influential Men And All That

Cricket Australia has come up with the idea of nominating Sir Donald Bradman and Kerry Packer as the 2 most influential figures in Australian cricket in the century ... or something like that ... or whatever. No complaints about the choice of people but why this obsession over nominations ?? It is not as if they are going to be given some award or something like that. Just something to get people to start talking I suppose. Just to be in the limelight and keep telling people we exist and are doing something.

I can cocneive the BCCI propmtly coming up with its own nominees soon - I tend to think they are likely to be Sachin Tendulkar, Jagmohan Dalmiya, Marc Mascarenhas, Kapil Dev and the like don't you ???

On the other hand, do you really care ??

Dear Wavell ...

Why Oh Why did you have to do something stupid to get yourself into this mess ?? That too on the 5th day of a "friendly" match ?? I do not know what Graeme did to anger you; assuming he did say something that angered you, you should have realised that by doing something like this you would be the one to suffer. Was there any chance that an ICC match referee would have the nerves to take action against a South African captain, assuming he was guilty ?? Not a chance.

The Truth

Here is what Inzamam-ul-Haq has to say about the omission of Shoaib Akhtar from the Pakistan squad for the Caribbean tour - what I tend to believe is truth. And that makes me so happy. Not only has Inzamam developed confidence as a leader to make, or at least influence decisions such as leaving his "spearhead" out of the side and Bob Woolmer given full power to handle the players according to his own rational judgement, but the skipper is also now courageous enough to speak his mind in the press. This is the sign of a well-functioning establishment that has the best interests of the team at heart.

I am sure Pakistan will benefit greatly from the abscence of Shoaib Akhtar as they did on the tour to India.

More On The Antigua Wicket

"A Stereotype Of Road Construction Throughout The Caribbean" is how Tony Cozier would like it to be described. In this article in the Barbados Nation he goes on to say "After five days traffic, there was not the semblance of a pothole. The same cannot be said of many highways in the region."

I would also like to describe it in the following alternate ways:
1. A panacea for the West Indies to avoid whitewashes (coming in the past 2 years they were 0-3 down and 0-2 down this year)
2. A platform for batsmen to record their highest individual scores (it will be interesting to see if there is any other ground in the World that has more highest scores scored than this one - for goodness sake if Ajay Ratra can score a 100 !!)
3. A comic relief for cricketers in the midst of a stressful activity
4. A playfield for wicket-keepers who are wannabe bowlers

What A Farce

As expected on the pathetic wicket at Antigua, test match cricket continues to be a farce. 9 of the South Africans have bowled so far and seems like Gibbs and Boucher will complete the quota soon. In 2002, India had also bowled all 11 bowlers. The only thing that is making this Test match interesting is some of the snippets on the commentary on Cricinfo:

Boucher to bowl, and yes he does take the hat off, remembers to
give the umpire his sunglasses
Has never even bowled in a first class match
Even measured out a run-up

232.6 Prince to Bravo, no run, another change, defends down the pitch
232.5 Prince to Bravo, no run, defends to the off
232.4 Prince to Bravo, no run, major change, defends to the off
232.3 Prince to Bravo, no run, defends to the on side
232.2 Prince to Bravo, no run, defends to the on side
232.1 Prince to Bravo, no run, defends to the on side

Can anyone out there gives us any indication what the point is of
this Test continuing, apart from that the ICC says it must

And while the "experts" were so eager and quick to lambast the wicket in Mumbai last year which produced a fantastically entertaining 2-day Test, they will sit quietly now and keep applauding the eight hundreds that have been scored. Really !!!

From Good To Great

Chris Gayle is on a rampage - the man has scored 162 in even time as I write - which makes me tear my hair in despair as to why it has to come to this every time - the series lost and the pride almost irrecoverably lost before these talented young West Indians fire.

Yes, as much as I try to deny it, the similarity is uncanny. All through the 90s Sachin Tendulkar used to fight vain losing battles for India - that time too there were "good" players like Dravid and Ganguly and Laxman around. What was required was to take the next step to greatness. In due course Dravid did, and the other two flirted around it.

This is exactly what is happening with the West Indies right now. Lara is virtually single-handedly trying to ward off the enemy !! There can be no doubt about the talent that both Gayle and Sarwan possess - varying talent I might add - for young players, remember they are only 25 and 24, their averages of 37 and 41 are also fairly decent. Unfortunately they cant afford the luxury of time to attain greatness. They need to do so now while Brian Lara is still around otherwise it will be the end of West Indies cricket as we know it and it will be too late for them to exhibit their works.

Chucking Resolved ??

The question marks are in place still because this is such a haunting issue that it is always prudent to be cautious. Many efforts have been made to resolve this issue - most well-intentioned, like the biomechanical tests which concluded that the 15 degrees rule should come into effect, Muttaiah Muralitharan's arm-in-cast experiment and such. But as long as the Bedis of this World have their right to speech and the Broads their right to - well, referee - a position which is a complete waste of time, the issue will never really die down.

But what matters most is not what these souls think - what matters is whether my independent thought process convinces me of the validity of the ICC ruling. To this end, I tried out what Matthew Engel in his editorial notes in the Wisden Cricketer's Almanac suggested:

"Sit in the bath and strectch your arm straight ahead of you. Then raise your forearm until the elbow is at right angles, as if flexing your biceps, Popeye-style. Then go back halfway between the positions: that's 45 degrees. Then reduce that angle by a further two-thirds: that's 15 degrees. Can you tell if your arm's straight or not ? Then imagine yourdelf wearing a long-sleeved shirt running in to bowl at full-pace, and tell me if someone can judge a 15-degree arm movement from square leg. ICC has got this one right."

I am convinced. Try it out for yourself.