Category: Archive 2014-2010

Archived posts from 2010 to 2014.

Redemption! Jekyll and Hyde style..

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-20107 Comments
 Welcome to the real curtain raiser to the world Cup. What has gone before this, minnows bashing or champions breaking TVs, its all an entré to the main course. If Ponting or Dhoni was asked before the start of this World Cup, which captain they would love to avoid most till finals, they would have mentioned each other. The fact that they face up to each other today to decide who misses out on a berth in the semi finals, is an indication of how much under-par they have performed. Australia, though got drubbed by the Poms in test series, showed their opponents their rightful place in ODI series winning handsomely, and maintained their supremacy in the ODI ranking. India, who on the other hand came into this competition from a difficult tour to South Africa where in spite of their main players not participating, did quite well in the ODI series and certainly surprised their fans and opponents equally. While Aussies were coming from a high, Indians were coming home. And with their linchpins like Tendulkar, Sehwag and Gambhir returning and their spinners likely to find more bite from the tracks, Indians were certainly fancied to prevail in all the games they played. However, typical Jekyll and Hyde Indian show has had most of the their supporters, including die-hard fans like me, hesitant to consider them as firm favorites. It is difficult to predict the outcome of the game, at least for some one like me who has a soft corner for both the teams and would have loved to see them play the finals. That way I would have been the winner!! Not to be…

Let us analyse this sans emotions.Take strengths of both teams first:

  1. India have perhaps the most robust batting line up of all. There are proven match winners and three out of top five have scored tons in this comp. Sehwag, Tendulkar are at the top of the leader board of individual runs. With 5 centuries between them in this comp, Indian batting looks settled.
  2. Indians will be playing at home; home crowds and home wickets. Things can’t get any better.
  3. As for bowling, their spinners will be a little more difficult to get away than on normal roads.
  4. For Aussies, their pace battery is formidable due to their air speed which can negate slowness of the wicket to some extent.
  5. Aussie batsmen, though not looking in great form at present, are proven champs.
  6. Typical Australian never-say-die spirit has always given its opponents something more to worry about apart from their skills.
  7. Australian fielding has always been top class, even when they carry some players in their 30s.. 

And now for the negatives:

  1. Indian batting has had two collapses that defies logic. Their opponents will try to exploit that.
  2. Indian bowling has, except for Zak and Bhajji to some extent, looked insipid and at times, lacking ideas. 
  3. And of course, Indian fielding is made up of some slow movers and some who would not be selected in an international side, if fielding was a criteria. 
  4. Last but not the least for India, it is also a home-pressure and incredible hype of winning at home and giving their favored son a deserving farewell. 
  5. Australian batting, on the other hand has so far looked superior on paper more than on the turf. So far no a single batsman has scored a ton.
  6. While pace bowling looks formidable, back up spin department looks innocuous. So potentially 20 overs of loose bowling if Indian batsmen can time their assault properly.
  7. Most importantly, Australia looks a disjointed unit at present with the skipper being under-fire more from his own side than any opponent. This has to be the most unhappy looking Australian unit I have seen with its skipper at his grumpiest!! Ponting’s “love-affair” with India is not making it easy for him to feel at home, which I believe, is affecting his performance.

All in all, it seems like both the teams are competing with each other in accumulating negatives more than positives. Don’t forget that these are no. 1 and 2 ranked teams in the world, even at present. So the competition is going to be fierce. The way I feel is, small things will make big difference tonight. Like those small edges eluding stumps or hands or falling short; those lofted shots falling in no-man’s land or slashes flying over keeper’s head for a four or six, or a stinging straight drive touching a bowler’s finger-nail and running out a well set non-striker, or a miraculous direct hit!! Cricket’s uncertainties are about to unravel tonight and will make this game a most memorable one….That most important commodity which has never been given its due in this great game, will perhaps play a signature tune tonight…that commodity called luck!! Mind may say something different but my heart says luck will be with India tonight! Even if Sehwag may not be found fit to play!!!

Perhaps for the first time, I feel Indian and Australian fans both are in the same camp; camp of uncertainty!! For a team that has held an ownership of this Cup for as long as Aussies have, it is definately a new territory.On the other hand, for India, a team playing at home, in their favourable conditions and coming off a reasonably tough but successful campaign, it is equally unexpected to be in the same position. Rarely India and Australia have been so level in ODIs. Hopefully the Jeckyl and Hyde nature of the Indian team will work its magic tonight in their favour!!! India will never get a better chance at redemption for the World Cup final defeat of 2003!!!

May the best on the day, win!!

De Ghuma Ke World Cup…

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-20109 Comments

The world Cup 2011 is simmering and started living up to the lyrics of its anthem, “De Ghuma Ke”. It seems to have inspired quite a few players including a totally unknown teenager called Hiral Patel, of Canada!! The caning he gave to the world cup champions in a lost cause, especially the six over covers off the fastest bowler in the tournament Shaun Tait, will linger in the memory long long after the dust has settled in Mumbai. There has been a lot of talk about the minnows bashing; for a change it was nice to see Champion bashing! That’s the beauty of sport; king for a day is far better than a pauper for life. Love it!!

 One swallow does not make a summer, agreed; but it can make a painfully bad memory for life for some! Ask Zubin Surkari, who copped the brunt of Tait’s thunder and came away with three balls! The Great Australian selector Andrew Hilditch must have been moved sufficiently to say “Tait needs to improve“!! What? for missing the goolies?? For heaven’s sake, Taity looked like the best bowler even in that game with searing reverse swings! Ah, but then what else do you expect from an Aussie chairman of selectors, the only one to have lost three Ashes?

The tournament has by far, looked the best in all editions…………er, except 1983! Writing this just before the 39th game between South Africa and Bangladesh begins, a couple of upsets, an associate member scalping a test side, a high scoring tie, smash-bang batting, 19 tons, 6 fifers and two hat-tricks! Bowlers in general have been at the receiving end though with the advent of subcontinent spring (which is more than summer in some participating countries) slowly but steadily, they are beginning to dictate. The wickets like highways earlier, have started changing their nature to more brown coloured and slow low challenging 22 yards that normally batsmen, that spoiled species of this sport,  lament; some indeed start calling it names like “rolled mud“! Thank god for the summer, or the killing fields of the subcontinent would make every young boy and girl throw the ball away for a bat. I don’t mind wickets yielding a bit of spin or slowing down a bit. This is sub-continent and you expect that. Gives bowlers something to work with and generates a bit of doubt in the minds of the batsman and prevents him from clearing the front foot and give it a heave-ho! Thank god for the summer for bringing cricket back to its original form rather than converting it into that cross-batted Yankee contraption, better known as Baseball…..

That’s why I am very happy to note two wonderful new comers, two bowlers, two leg spinners, who have announced themselves in this world cup. South Africa’s import from Pakistan, Imran Tahir has had a great start. At the time of writing this, in 3 games Tahir has highest wickets of any in SA camp. 11 wickets at 8.9 ea and a great economy rate of 3.84.
And bowling against Bangla later today,  he will have every opportunity to improve upon that. Admittedly, while he has is yet to play against major teams playing spin well, like India and Sri Lanka, his start is looking very promising.

Tahir though is not a young man as this next fellow, Devendra Bishoo. What a gem this kid is. I reckon we will hear more about him in future, if Windies management treat him properly. At the young age of 25, his control over leggies was quite remarkable, even while playing against experienced English batters. He is also a very good fielder. I am not sure if he will play against India in the last group game or not; I would love to see more of him and against top batters. He has a good slider but I did not see a good googly. Enough time for the young man to learn a few tricks of the trade, which in my opinion, is the hardest skill to master in cricket.

Talk of surprises..It is very hard to expect surprises from Ricky Ponting. Like it was no surprise to see a glum and grumpy Punter hurling the ball on the ground in disgust after catching a Canadian batsman; annoyed at his younger colleague Steve Smith for rushing in for the same catch. Now, neither the batsman nor his team were likely to derail Aussie world cup campaign. Perhaps, Ponting’s grumpiness reveals the stress he and his team may be feeling in this world cup campaign? May be all is not that well within the team?? However, the surprise was when Ponting offered an apology in an interview for his behavior, after the game! I did look for the morning Sun in the west!! While Aussies have been the only team to win all of their games so far, they do not look that dominant as in previous editions of the world cup. They were lucky to escape spin-test against SL due to rain. They will be tested tonight against Pakistan. Aussie batsmen have struggled to put up runs which is clear from the fact that not a single batsman, on these batting friendly wickets, has been able to post a three-figure mark so far. Countries like Netherlands and Ireland have batsmen who have got tons, but no Australian!! Now that IS a surprise.

Really this world cup is the most open we have seen for a long long time. Hard to predict who will be able to wrap their hands around this trophy on 2nd April. And that is good to see. Any one from South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia or even England could be holding the trophy ….could feel like an April Fool joke, a day late!!

Is this World Cup about minnows bashing?

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-20102 Comments

Long awaited ICC World Cup has begun and results have been going as per seedings…so far. Meaning all the minnows so far have been bashed. And in some case, have been reminded about their status in no uncertain terms, as well. Perhaps Veeru’s emotions boiled over after his terrific innings against Bangladeshis; even though Indian win by no means was a washout. At 182/2 off ~30 overs only, Bangladeshis were in the scrap. To think of a cricket game as a revenge is a bit too much, but for those who suffered 4 years back at Port of Spain, the kind of back lash from the fans and everyone else, that you see only in India, it must have felt like redemption. If that defeat in the Caribbean was a motivation to play well, Indians succeeded. However, World Cups are more about proving you are a champion side rather than an ego trip. Having said that, Veeru is one of the very few players on the international circuit whose uttering on cricket and especially his opponents, have any thing  to do with ego. He talks as he bats….you see’em, you hit’em!! I would love to see Veeru continue with what he has begun. The way in which he was batting, he seemed to be in the zone to go past the double hundred mark. He will have plenty of opportunities in next 6 weeks to do so. Perhaps, this world cup is one for him. For too long, this mercurial player has remained in the shadows, in the ODIs. Time for him to stamp his authority in this format as well…

Three other games involving lower ranked teams produced disastrous results for the minnows. Only Zimbabwe gave a good account of themselves in the field; though they could not come even close to a modest Australian total. That is the problem with minnows. they will get caught out in either bowling or batting. And with the subcontinent wickets largely being batsman friendly, if their batting fails, they have no chance to remain competitive. The results have started the on-again off-again debate on whether to include associate member teams in the premier event like 50 over World Cup. Indeed, some feel even some of the regular test playing nations are not worthy of this honour!! Much as it has generated the brouhaha from ICC membership, there is a lot of truth in what Ricki Ponting has said. Premier tournaments are more about finding who is best rather than providing an opportunity for minnows to show how far they have progressed. There are other ways to do so. I would not use the arguments like: it is disheartening for lower ranked teams to loose massively or they hardly learn anything from such games etc. I think these arguments are patronising. Minnows need opportunity, not sympathy. One learns more about one’s capabilities from defeats.

In fact, I agree with Punter that it is best to restrict the number of participants to 8 rather than full membership of 10 nations (Zimbabwe is still a full member). If ICC goes with only 8 teams it won’t be anything new. Not every country playing Soccer gets a shot at the title and same is true for field hockey. Accordingly, out of 10 full members any two from last 4 ranked will miss out. To decide this, last 4 full member teams (ranked 7,8,9 and 10) will participate in a 10 team qualifying tournament, made up of 6 best Associate teams. Here is the opportunity for the minnows to play against weaker of the full member sides and knock them out of the main draw.

The way I see, the World Cup program can be divided in three stages:

First, a league phase where all 8 teams to play each other. At the end of league phase last two teams (no. 7 & 8) will be eliminated.

Second, teams 1 to 6 will then play in play-offs to determine semi final berths. This can be based upon old McIntyre 6 system used in AFL (Australian Rules Football League). Basically there will be three games: 

Game A 4 V 5  
Game B 3 V 6
Game C 1 V 2

From Game C (1 or 2) winner will get an opportunity to play against lowest ranked winner of Games A and B, while looser will play the highest ranked winner from games A & B. This allows both top ranked teams a certainty of a place in semi-finals while still giving 2 extra teams (no. 5 & 6) an additional chance to go to knock-out stage.

Finally, a knock out stage will determine the eventual winner.

This will provide each participating team sufficient opportunity to pick up form in the seven league games they will play. The beauty of this is, top ranked teams may play each other three times (once in league phase, once in play-offs and possibly in the finals) during the tournament. I see this scheme better than best of three finals between finalists. Total number of games in the comp will be 21 games for league phase, 3 play offs, 2 semis and one final = 27 games. This should be finished in 5 weeks with majority of games producing competitive cricket that should make the spectators, players and sponsors equally happy.

Sure, minnows have a role to play in the globalisation of the game, but through performance rather than quota system. The fact of life is, if you get an undeserved opportunity and get thrashing, it will neither translate into improved performance nor generate interest in the sport within that country. One-off upsets have not propelled the protagonists to higher level. India V Bangladesh’s game in this world cup is a proof of that.

Year 2010 was Very Very Special!

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-20102 Comments

2010 was perhaps the best year for Indian cricket in a long time. Perhaps only one that can match it was 1971, when India won two overseas series for the first time against powerful cricket nations, WI and England; not counting 1983 when India became world champions in One day cricket against the run of the play. In spite of Tendulkar, the Ram, being so dominant in Indian cricket, to me 2010 was the year of (VVS) Laxman. Five superlative innings that not only saved India but converted defeats into victories and changed the fate of every series. Review the following games and you will find VVS as the common denominator; the pillar of strength.

    1. SA vs India in India
    2. India vs Sri Lanka in SL
    3. Australia vs India in India
    4. New Zealand vs India in India
    5. India vs SA in SA

And the last one against South Africa will be remembered for a very very long time. Indeed a water-shed moment in Indian cricket as it helped India to level the series for the first time in South Africa. Laxman was all grace and attack; standing up to the ferocity of Steyn and Morkel while scoring the only 50 of the match as if he was batting on a completely different track to any one else in that game. Didn’t surprise may of us though, did it? The man has done it before; quite a few times. Indeed India now EXPECTS him to do so when every one else fails. What a psychological edge to have for the Indian team when the push comes to shove.

Lot has been written about this one of the finest batsman in the history of cricket. Very Very Special, Silky Steel and what not. And no one has missed a chance to wax lyrical about him; Bhogle to blogger and all in between. VVS Laxman is one of the few batsman who can unite all in consensus about his art, regardless of national boundaries. And when it comes to one country, he just turns from great to a colossus. No prizes for guessing that Australia’s love-hate relationship with Laxman is one of the most enduring and endearing one. Many in Australia do not know whether to love him or hate him. Many love to hate him when he bats but hate to see him get out. The identity of a true champion is that even your enemy wants to embrace you….after loosing. I would like to think that out of all recent players the three who got the most respect from Aussie crowd were Tendulkar, Lara and Laxman. We know his name VVS Laxman stands for Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman. It could very well be Vengipurappu Venkata Sachin Laxman, because when it comes to Australia, he can be double the Sachin. And I am sure, Tendulkar will take no offense at that.

For long, Laxman has been indisputably the best Indian batsman for 2nd innings as well as the fourth of the test match. What a gem of an innings he played on Tuesday, 4th of October against Aussies. While Ishant Sharma was a very ably ally in the rescue act that turned triumphant, Laxman’s presence at the other end must have been like a balm on a burn. The confidence with which Laxman let Ishant face more deliveries in a partnership than he did, must have encouraged the young man to repay the faith. Bit of Steve Waugh in that Laxman. He read the situation very well and scored off every possible opportunity. Now that is not very hard for an immensely gifted artist like him but often many celebrated players have been known to opt for caution over aggression and give the impetus back to the opponent. To his credit, Laxman did not allow any Australian bowler to settle, let alone dictate.  50 of 48 balls and eventual 73 n.o. of 79 balls. He had to waste more than 6 balls in farming the strike after Ishant was given out, meaning he played at a rate of well over run a ball! There in lies the genius of the man. On 7 August 2010, he played yet another master class; he is almost making a habit of doing that now. On a turning track rampaging Sri Lankan spinners discovered what Australians know for over a decade that this man turns into a superman when his team is thrown a gauntlet. From that point he is quite un-Indian batsman. Australians love him perhaps because of this typical “खडूस” (khadoos) Australianness.. But he is not just an axeman like a Hayden or a bloody minded never-say-die Steve Waugh. He combines the steel of a Waugh, stroke-play of a Ponting and dominating verve of a Hayden. And all without looking violent. His blade is like a Ninja’s katana. The victim does not know when the cut was made till it is all too late and indeed, dies admiring. Laxman has played many symphonies for his team, the best being the great 281 on Eaden Gardens against his arch rivals, the Aussies. But this last one will be remembered equally fondly since it was a very similar fight from the death-bed; lost hope turned to triumph; रुदन से रम्बा……Probably the new age axiom in cricket is that the game is never over till Lax(st)man is out!! Aussies and South Africans will agree most emphatically.

Laxman saves his best for the worst situation. In that he is similar to another immensely gifted Aussie, Mark “Junior” Waugh. Both displayed the same characteristics; their levels of concentration, artistry and dominance were directly proportional to the skill, challenge and degree of difficulty their opponents presented. That is why, both these  batsmen are remarkably similar in stats. Junior scored over 8000 runs with 20 tons at an average slightly over 41. Mere look at the  cold statistics reveal as much as they hide. It appears as if both these artists under-performed. With the gift of supple wrists and a hawk-eye for picking up the length quickly, they could have scored lot more international runs than they have. Since they are immensely talented, scoring runs against any attack in any condition comes easily to them. But artists get bored very quickly; and easy task may soon become uninspiring resulting in loss in concentration and wicket. A workman like player, a technical perfectionist (and who could be better than G. Boycott ?) will strive to score runs every time he goes out to bat. For a pro like Sunny Gavaskar it does not matter who the opponent is; since he has no eye, time or mind for the bowler; he sees only the ball. However an artist thrives on inspiration, responds to a challenge; like a cry from his team mates to wake him up from the slumber and do what is expected. And usually it is done so easily as if saying, “silly, what did you wake me up for?”. Result is not the only bonus when they bat; every run scored is dipped in delight. When you analyse their performance in critical moments of a game, they attain a colossus status. That describes the magic of both VVS and Junior. That is what their stats hide. These two guys are special, “पैसा वसूल” (Paisa vasool) players.

I believe that Laxman as d’Artagnan compliments the three musketeers of modern Indian cricket: Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly. They along with Kumble, Harbhajan, Zaheer Khan and Dhoni have been responsible for taking India to the pinnacle of test cricket. Recently Laxman was given a Padma Shri Award by Indian government. He is certainly a “Padma” (lotus) of Indian cricket. I believe even a “Bharat Ratna” award would be most fitting recognition for this humble student of the game. As the name of the award suggests, he is truly an “Indian Gem”. It is the exploits of such gems like VVS and Tendulkar that gives meaning to the much-loved slogan “India Shining!”

Listed below are some of the finest innings played by VVS; gems in the history of Indian cricket. If you get a chance to watch them, don’t miss. Guaranteed to make anyone forget the national boundaries and nationalistic fervor.

  • In his debut test against SA in Ahmedabad, he made a crucial 51 in second innings out of 191; top score  that helped India win the low scoring test. He showed this ability to bat with the lower order that early in his career. Since then, he has been the best Indian batsman to play with lower order batsmen and score runs in the fourth innings.
  • His first test hundred came in  Sydney test of the new millennium in Jan 2000. It was one of the finest innings in a hopelessly lost cause; a scintillating second innings 167 out of a team total of 261; a whopping 64% of the total. Even though, Aussies had given Indians a drubbing, at the end of that test they appeared dazed by the brilliance of Laxman’s fightback; an innings scored  at a strike rate of 83, while wickets were tumbling all around him. Certainly Aussies got a glimpse of things to come. Laxman has lived up to that image of Aussie Tormentor ever since. I was indeed lucky to watch that innings on SCG.
  • Classified as one of the best ever in the history of test cricket by Cricinfo, his colossus 281 against Aussies at Eden Gardens in March 2001, completely changed not only the course of the game but series. India became a force to reckon with after this series and haven’t looked back since.
  • India V Australia, 4th test of 2004 series at Wankhede stadium produced another amazing contest between these arch rivals. On a raging turner, the game didn’t last even 3 full days. With wicket at its treacherous best, who else but Laxman scored the most emphatic innings of 69 in the third innings of the test match. Batting at no. 3, he was the main batsman in two match wining partnerships; 91 with Tendulkar and 48 with Dravid. The value of his innings can be judged from the fact that later on the same day, whole Australian side got dismissed for 93 chasing 103 for a win!
  • On 2006 tour of SA, Indians drew blood in the first test wining their first ever test on SA soil. While Sreesanth was undoubtedly the hero of this test, Laxman came to the rescue, as usual, in the second innings. With India tottering at 4/61 with Tendulkar, Dravid and Sehwag all in the hut, Laxman resurrected Indian innings with a superb 73, to put the lead beyond SA batsmen. In this innings he again showed his ability to bat with the tail.
  • March 2009, another superlative second innings unbeaten 124 against Kiwis at Napier. India after wining the first test, were made to follow on and in dire straits at 3/260 still the deficit not wiped out. He played in two crucial partnerships with Gambhir and Yuvraj, nursing both junior players and took India to safety and series win in NZ after a long time.

Add 2010’s five superlative innings to the above and you get a resume that is hard to equal for the best of the best; 143 not out against SA at Eden Gardens, 103 not out against Sri Lanka, 73 not out against Australia, 91 against NZ and finally, 96 against SA. He has given immense joy to the cricket fans regardless of the nationalities, since his runs have mostly come when his team needed them most; often he was the last man standing.

Salaam to the most humble servant of Indian cricket!

Fly On The Wall Catches…………………Achhoo!

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-20102 Comments

Sorry, have been flying around, so no contact. Heard this when I was a fly on the wall somewhere..

Small Boss (b): Sir, this is brewing into a big problem.
Big Boss (B): (snaps out of his snooze with a Homer Simpson drawl) Brew, ahhaaaa….I love my brew. How can brewing be a problem?
b: Sir, I mean the cricket scandal; this spot-fixing by cricketers may fix us.
B: (suddenly sits up) How?
b: Well Sir, obviously everyone will think if cricketers are so corrupt what about the cricket board?
B: How can people connect cricketers to the Board? We said and did nothing when IPL kicked out cricketers, did we?
b: Errrr..well, (coughs), sir, we sort of managed it…newspapers did report Sports minister’s complain to his counterpart about being snubbed and a national insult and all the patriotic emotional…..
B: (cuts him off) Well, that is just standard political rhetoric. Does not prove our connection to the players. If anything, it will prove to the world that the government is also operating as per international standards like that…what do you call it? (snaps his fingers) aaha, the ISO!! But anyway, I do accept that we have to be seen to be doing something. After all, that IS our job. What do you think?
b: Well, sir,we can put the blame on an external influence…(winks)
B: Aha! Got you now. We better stay out of this whole thing, or we will have to answer the fans and government or even intelligence agency…(shiver runs through him) now, that could get messy. So the best outcome will be blaming BCCI and/or Indian government. The gullible fans will just lap it up. We can probably motivate some government official to blame Indians somehow?
b: That would be most wise, Sir. Batting, bookies and Indians are synonymous anyway. Remember John the bookie? I think if we dig hard enough, we can discover a Moolchand somewhere??
B: Moolchand?
b: Moolchand or Mazhar, what’s in a name, Sir. If he is a bookie, he out to be Indian!
B: Good, call the High Commissioner to London; time for him to start paying back for all the bloody free tickets he has been enjoying. It is best that government handle this or we can offend cricket’s Big Brother…and as you know, without Him, all our high-flying lifestyle will come down crashing!! Also tell the coach this time to keep his mouth shut unlike the previous one, who spilled the bloody beans on the Sydney test!
b: Sir, with all the due respect, we may still need plan B. You know what, Sir, its a pity that we were not playing at home..
B: Why do you say that?
b: Because then our intelligent agency would have “explained” that video footage evidence suitably. Unfortunately we are dealing with Scotland Yard..
B: (with a large grin showing paan-chewed, gold-capped teeth): You gave me an idea Chhotu. Isn’t it correct that even though we are playing in England, we are the host nation? So we can claim we are still the host board for this series. We should have home advantage and hence we can summon our police to do the investigation instead of the Scotland Yard! Problem solved!!
b: Umm, Sir, but the home series was against the Australians. Against England, we are visitors.
B: Oh well, ok. May be I should keep my eyes open in the meetings! Bloody meetings, why do we keep them after Lunch? Anyway, that will be our plan B.
b: What exactly are you saying, Sir?
B: Well, I tell you what. If the players have not left the country after completing the home series, they are, technically speaking, still at home!!
Chhotu looks stunned!! And seems like that is not a first.. Big B continues.. 
B: Plan B; let us blame the ECB for bringing in foreign police to do the investigation. Frankly, my dear chap, it is racism!! And to be perfectly honest, our intelligence agency would do a lot better job than Scotland yard. They have received plenty of recommendations from foreign governments like India and USA!!
b: Well, Sir, ECB has actually been very kind to us in hosting Australian series. That may not go down well..
B: Well, Poms need Pounds too. Don’t worry, I will explain it all to that fellow, what’s his name…ah well, whoever, when we meet at the Champions League T20 retreat in South Africa… He understands sub-continent politics quite well…
b: Brilliant, Sir, as usual…aap ka jawab nahi..Just for my curiosity, do you seriously believe there is Indian hand in everything wrong happening here?
B: Absolutely..no doubts.
b: Even in natural disasters like the floods, tropical cyclones, earthquakes etc?
B: Of course. I am amazed you can’t see that, Chhotu. May be that is why you are small. India gave us the wrong side of the land. But more importantly, if they had not separated, it would have been India suffering now! I tell you, they are rogues..
b: (opens his mouth to say something but words do not emerge)….
B: I must confess though, that I do not see Indian hand in everything.
b: So are you really saying there was some calamity in which there was no Indian hand? Which one Sir?
B: Well, the tropical cyclone Phet, which hit us hard and completely missed India!
b: So you are saying that India was not responsible for the cyclone Phet, correct?
B: I didn’t say that Chhotu. I said, there was no Indian HAND in that. There were plenty of Indian mouths!!
b: (almost falling off his chair) What?
B: Well, I tell you; mark my words my dear chap. It was those billions of Indian mouths that were blowing hard at the cyclone and diverted it from their western sea coast to Karachi!
b: (suddenly tumbles out of his chair and touches the feet of Big B): Tusi badi top ho Sir! Now I know why no one except you deserves to sit on this chair..

Been sneezing since…Now I know how even a fly on the wall catches cold!! 

Not Happy John!

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-2010Leave a comment

So John Howard, ex-PM of Australia has failed another “election”. In some ways you can say that he lost a winnable one this time unlike the one he lost to Kevin Rudd in Nov 2007. I honestly thought he would have got used to loosing by now! Apparently, you can neither take out the politics from the politician nor a politician from politics!! Most Pollies in all countries have a very sharp sense of smell; they will smell-out power even from a chook-raffle! Top level sports administration, obviously represents a pot of honey to a bear; especially to those who are missing their power-fix. And when a sport interests lots of people and spins a few bobs, it is certainly like a full syringe to a junkie.

But you can fool some people sometimes. Little Johhny is now facing the barbs from the thorns he nurtured during his tenure. While he did some excellent work to turn Australian economy around, his ultra-conservative beliefs could not adept to the fast changing canvas of this small but increasingly multi-cultural society. For whatever reason, even at the peak of his powers, he was viewed by many (and not necessarily coloured population only) as a torch-bearer of long defunct white-Australia policy. His utter refusal to apologise to the aborigines for whatever reason, did not help his cause. For all I know, he may be merely simplistic; convinced that anything different from his belief does not merit any attention from him. Fair enough, for an individual. Unfortunately that is not a trait of a leader. Great leaders never divide; they have a gift to unite the most diverse. Looking at the diverse nature of ICC, where 10 full member countries represent a myriad of colours and cultures, I was surprised that Cricket Australia manipulated Howard above what would have been a very welcome candidate like the kiwi Sir John Anderson, especially when Australia already had their turn in Malcolm Grey. All those detractors crying foul and complaining today about subcontinent’s so-called power “abuse”, very conveniently forget that CA did exactly the same by bullying New Zealand cricket. CA did that simply because they could. Those who live in glass houses don’t throw stones at others.

While Australia and New Zealand had an option to choose their representative to head ICC, their representative was eventually going to represent all member countries. With an incredibly complex cultural mix of ICC, what you need is a candidate acceptable to all. If CA had applied that criteria, Howard would have failed in CA’s board room itself. I am sure CA board members are not naive. So the obvious inference is that they wanted to bring in Howard as their Axe-man; someone who would not hesitate to seek and chuck out the “rotten eggs”. After all, those backward third world and corrupt countries can only produce corrupt leaders who are now corrupting the beautiful English game. Why is that so hard to understand? What all the “chest-beaters” in Australia (I can actually hear a giggle from across the Tasman sea!) conveniently forget is that CA (probably with support from England) tried a political stunt which back fired. It happens; get on with it.

In politics, there is a critical process called face-saving formula. What now, is the face-saving formula for CA? Re-nominating Howard would be provocative and more importantly, likely to get  snubbed again! I am not sure if CA is actually that masochistic! Sir John Anderson is hardly going to accept the used-towel nomination, especially when his claim to the nomination merited first-choice. In fact I can see NZ completely washing their hands off this affair. CA can dig in their heels and refuse to nominate any one. That will certainly look churlish. Like it or not, political and economic reality is that CA has to participate in this process as a part of ICC board and nominate someone who can take the attention away from this affair and still become a respected board member and a fantastic representative of all cricket playing countries. Some one like Gideon Haigh (who seems to have a one-point agenda of BCCI bashing) claims there was no better nominee for CA than John Howard. Get real Haighy; Mark Taylor will be well respected and will contribute towards bringing closer, all cricket boards. And that is lot more worthy cause than mending the ruffled ego of little Johny…

ODI to become HDI (Half Day International)

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-2010Leave a comment

Cricket Australia has taken a bold step in revamping Ford Ranger cup (Domestic limited overs cricket tournament) by deciding to make them as split-innings one dayers. I like it. I hope they still maintain 50 overs per innings, rather than making it 2 games of T20 each. Obviously there are arguments for and against this. Those against it are worried that batsmen will struggle to restart their innings after fielding for 25 overs; spectators may shun first “innings” (20 or 25 overs from each side) and watch only the second “innings”, etc. Ricky Ponting is reportedly not totally impressed with CA’s announcement before any kind of consultation with the Australian players. In today’s Sydney Morning Herald, Channel Nine is quoted to be seeking all ten wickets in the second part of the split innings, making effectively a separate game altogether. The article also quotes English second division’s trial in split innings games. Apparently it has not received plus marks because “Coaches in that competition have expressed frustration over matches essentially decided in the first innings when a batting line-up folds”. Channel Nine’s Brad McNamara claims the patent on ODIs saying “…We would really like the batting order to start again, if you take that away then we’ve got a few concerns about how that might pan out.” Basically Commercial TV networks are merely aiming at the entertainment value of the game, in the name of improvement. While Channel Nine’s claim to the inventions of ODIs are undisputed, the quote “‘Not everyone is going to get a bat, but it’s about getting the best batters to bat twice. Last summer we saw Chris Gayle dismissed in the first over and the game was over”; is a joke! If CA follow that advise, even when the team will comprise of 11 players, some may be just spectators on the ground! In the greed for the cash, commercial channels seem to be forgetting that the game’s developmental aspect comes first and for that, opportunity to budding cricketers rather than marquee players must dictate the path to improvement.
I am sure we all have experienced the thrill of emergence of a new star when the established stars have failed to deliver. While the huge amount of money in the game is definitely due to television rights, they need to remember that ultimately it is the spectators who will determine the fate of the game and the value of their TV rights. And at present spectators are not greatly enamored by what they see in 50 overs cricket, in spite of what Ricky Ponting may feel. The game does need a bit of revamping and I am convinced at least trialling split innings is a way to go.

I am also not convinced about some objections to this innovation, especially those about the players needing to refocus on their innings after fielding for 25 overs. As the game has grown, there has been a constant demand on the skill level of players. A run rate of 4 per over that counted as fast in 70s has become almost normal  today. In transition from test cricket to limited overs ODI to T20, the demand has always been upon the batsman to start scoring runs straight away. The luxury of getting “your eye in” is a thing of the past. Majority of the players coming through the system anywhere in the world with competitive domestic cricket set up, are now used to the demand to maintain  a run rate of more than 4 runs per over. Factors like covered wickets, consistent wicket preparation standards and better equipment have helped but the major change has been to the mind-set of the players. Thus current international player is already adjusted to the requirement of readjusting their focus. Playing competitive cricket at night was unthinkable in my time, but today’s players are able to tune their biological rhythm to give their best even at the time when our bodies struggle to stay in peak performance mode.

While the changes may have been forced upon due to 50 overs inning becoming very predictable and sudden huge popularity of T20, I believe the real reason for improving should be the empowerment of bowlers. What has happened with the advent of slam-bang cricket is an almost annihilation of bowlers due to feather-bed wickets, shorter boundaries, better equipment and some stupid, batsmen friendly rules (like one bouncer and leg side wide). I believe we need to restore the balance in the game by giving something back to the bowlers.

In huge number of ODIs, often side winning the toss ends up gaining significant advantage; sometimes so much that the second side is always playing catch up. This is especially true in day-night games where external factors like dew play havoc with the bowlers. Split-innings will reduce the impact of this to some extent. If on the other hand the wicket does a bit, the side batting first will have some opportunity to exploit that as well.

Even though a side batting first does so only for maximum 3.5 hours in the current format of the ODI, often the nature of the wicket changes significantly for the side batting second to have the same condition while chasing. Splitting the innings will provide side batting second some foothold.

This innovation will also demand some new tactics from captains and coaches on how to utilize their resources, over the full game. May be some more work for the dynamic duo of Messrs Duckworth and Lewis, MBE  to come up with split formula (congratulations to the duo on their achievement); gives them an opportunity to earn a full Knighthood!!

Neither here nor there..

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-20105 Comments

It was not surprising that Aussies and Ricky Ponting have started their preparation for the upcoming series against Pakistan. If you are looking for details on a cricket camp you sadly underrate Aussies. Their preparation begins by hurling a few testing verbal bouncers at their opponents. Ponting decided to “compliment” the new Pakistani test captain Shahid Afridi (any one remembers how many have come and gone?). Nothing new there. Aussies believe in softening the opponent captain first. However the quantum of statements about Afridi (“He hasn’t played much Test cricket of late, has he?” OR “he’s….not necessarily one of their best Test players” etc), especially after winning the last series, tells me that he may be a tad worried about Pakistan team getting together under this new captain. Read his last sentence…”…we just have to make sure we’re focusing on our little things to be the best team we can be when we play them.” Lovely! If you read that last sentence without the benefit of full text, you may be excused for searching for the rising Sun in the west! Don’t worry, Ponting and Aussies are as consistent as the heavenly bodies!! But hey, what is this “..I think we can sort him out in Test cricket for sure” thingy?? Mate, you don’t have to worry about sorting this opponent. If the last series is any indication, they are champs at doing it themselves! Aussies just have to turn up and leave the rest to their opponents!! I wonder, just wonder, what the Pakistan Board is planning, though. If you are seriously doubting your own team for loosing games for money, I wonder how can you keep this series clean that is being played in England, where there are huge number of Pakistani ex-patriots? May be by sweeping previous decisions under the carpet!

Is this “Match fixing” मौसम or what? Doubts are also probably raised about the Indian team’s performance in Zimbabwe! There is hardly anything worthwhile writing about the two “shocking” losses to Zombies…oops, Zimbos. What is surprising is the facile win by Indians against Sri Lankan team in the first game, probably the strongest team on paper in the comp. So are Indians being “obliging” guests? A few wins against a highly ranked team can divert the attention off the beleaguered Zimbabwe Cricket Association. Remember how Bangladesh got the nod of ICC? While not detracting from the terrific performance of the Zimbabweans, they may have benefited from the charitable gestures not only from Harbhajan Singh, but also the India selectors! How else can you explain experienced pacers like Ishant and Appam cooling their heels when a completely new look, new ball attack opens for India? Every time a team plays, it has to do so with the respect for the opponents. Sadly, Indian selectors have forgotten that. Or is it that India and Sri Lanka have decided that the hosts must play the finals; the opponents will fight it out for a spot in the finals??  It looks like Indian team management is absolutely committed to experiment in this series even at the cost of being thrashed. That can constitute match-fixing of a sort, isn’t it? Your guess is as good as mine. Seems to me that match-fixing is a disease easily traversing across the LOC!! Poor Raina is on a hiding to nothing…

Some very very interesting things have emerged from the whole IPL mess..I would strongly suggest all  read the copy of email from ECB Chairman Giles Clarke to BCCI President Shashank Manohar. Modern soap opera. If it is made into a sit-com it can easily give a run for the money to “क्योंकि सास भी कभी बहु थी”. Apparently Clarke himself is not that much popular within England County Cricket set up that makes up the ECB. Majority counties and especially those with major stadia are looking to increase revenue and Lalit Modi’s proposed “rebel league” in England was very interesting. While Modi is being portrayed as the biggest villain to hit cricket, it seems that the men present in Delhi meeting admire him as a visionary. All charges and his “bigger-than-the-game-attitude” notwithstanding, his contributions to BCCI and Indian cricket can not be denied. I hope current BCCI stake-holders understand that sooner than later. In last couple of days it has become apparent that the typically Indian ‘Narangi” (mandarin) unity is being exposed as the skin is being peeled off slowly in this IPL mess. Seems now that Sharad Pawar and even the interim  IPL chairman Chirau Amin are as “clean” as Lalit Modi and Shashi Tharoor. Looks like Modi is on a course to take a few down with him. Does it mean that the English motto of “Divide and Rule” will succeed again? Empire Strikes Back?? Will money win over the beauty of this game? Will the real Gods of cricket like GGT (Great God Tendulkar) become merely the ushers to the virtual Gods of Cricket like Modis, Clarkes, Pawars?? Keep watching the drama…at least it is better than the insipid cricket Indian team has been dishing out of late!! Legendary Kishor Kumar is blaring out loud and clear on my stereo “पैसा यह पैसा, कोई नहीं ऐसा, यह हो मुसीबत, न हो मुसीबत…”
Cheers Folks..

Pakistan embroiled in Match fixing…again!!

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-20104 Comments

Heard that ICC’s anti corruption bureau has been investigating Pakistan’s tour of Australia..goodonya ICC! A bit late but देर आये दुरुस्त आये; better late than never. Or is it a case of “oops, we missed the most obvious so better start doing something now” syndrome? It smacks more of politics than a real intention of doing something good for the game.

Years back when Salim Malik, Mohammad Azaharrduddin and Hanse Kronje got exposed as match-fixers I could not believe any player would throw his innings (as a batsman I never wanted to get out) or his pride as a fielder to drop a catch or miss a stumping deliberately. I often spent sleepless nights for dropping a hard chance or a stumping while standing up, playing backyard cricket with a tennis ball on wet concrete floor. And I am sure I am not alone. What is it that makes a player do so? I still find it hard to believe that when for elite cricketers there is so much money to be made legally, a player would tank his game for money…isn’t pride in your success at least, as much important as money? Or am I too old fashioned? It is still difficult to digest that cricket may have changed so much where a man would not hesitate to sell his sporting achievement for a few bobs.

Of course, now there is enough smoke to infer that there must be fire; may be just a small amber burning somewhere. I was convinced about that after the Sydney test this new year. Pakistanis definitely tanked that game; Aussies had no business wining that one and all that brouhaha about the best win from death and all that crap was just that, crap!! Pakistanis lost, plain and simple. I have seen videos of Kamran Akmal’s keeping in that test a few times and could not believe that any wicketkeeper would go through such a horrendous spell in a day; not even a sixth grade, 130 kg, wide as a barn door and no-where-else-to-hide, reluctant with gloves and pads, back-stopper..In my opinion Akmal missed those catches, stumping and run out deliberately. What is not clear is, why? Could be for money or for proving a point?? May be the Pakistan camp was so badly divided that Akmal took it upon himself to “stamp his authority”..or may be he thought he could kill two birds with one “glove”, make his point and earn some dough? Wicket keeper is the engine-room of the fielding side and his abject failure can corrode the morals of the fielders quite easily and quickly. Akmal’s performance that day is an example of that.

There was sufficient doubt about Akmal’s performance even within the Pakistan camp when the coach Intikhab Alam asked his keeper to fall on his own sword. That done, somehow he returned to Pakistan team for the T20 world cup. Does it mean that if Akmal fixed the game, the team selectors have an equal role to play in the drama? How else can one explain his return? Probably all thought, Akmal behind the stumps, is the only fool-proof plan to lose!! May be everyone is on the gravy train!!

Then again, when your country is in strife like Pakistan is in today and suicide bombers are dime a dozen, it must be hard to keep focus on cricket. Pakistan as a state is falling on its own dagger; one that it has used for long against its neighbor is now aimed at its own heart. Terrorism, a product which was designed strictly for export market has now become a huge commodity for local consumption. Probably a poetic justice, but very sad! It is a chaos out there and the cricketers are only humans. What do you achieve by winning a cricket match when the value of humanity is next to zero? When there is no pride in winning, there is no pain in loosing. May be then the allure of money takes over. What a pity! I hope I am wrong since I am convinced that Indian V Australia is still a distant second to the Mahabharat of Indian V Pakistan..get your act together Pakistan. Believe it or not, you have a huge fan followers within India..even traditionalists would love to see Pakistan cricket up on its feet and playing trademark hard fought cricket…

Blame the Poms!

On By deepozIn Archive 2014-20102 Comments

What the heck! Since when is it that you can’t call ordinary, ordinary?? Isn’t it lot better than telling a player “Good Morning, how is your wife and my kids?” (alleged famous sledge by Rodney Marsh to Ian Botham).

Gautam Gambhir got reprimanded for calling Rajasthan Royal batsmen ordinary. Here is what he said;
“I think Rajasthan was never a threat. Except for Yusuf Pathan, the other guys were pretty ordinary,” Gambhir said. “We weren’t really worried about anyone else.” He was found guilty of Level 1 offense due to
“Public criticism of, or inappropriate comment in relation to an incident occurring in a Match or any Player, Team Official, Match Official or Team participating in any Match, irrespective of when such criticism or inappropriate comment is made.” Poor Gambhir, with a name like that he is taken seriously every time he opens the mouth!! (Gambhir in Hindi means serious).

That put the bee in the bonnet of IPL’s Lord Lalit Modi JEE. Why? Is it because Gauti called the players of a team he loves ordinary? Did Gambhir actually said that the PLAYERS were ordinary? Or did he say they PLAYED ordinary? Those in agreement with reprimand answer yes to the former while those opposing, to the latter. Harsha Bhogle said reprimanding a player for honest observations “could only lead to more boring, vanilla statements of the sort we now get at press conferences”.I much prefer Hokey Pokey to vanilla!

If you ask me, I think it is all due to Bloody Poms!! If they had not brought their language to the subcontinent none of this would have happened (we don’t mind the game!). Been ages since Indians are speaking English in India. So much so that young ones start speaking in English even before they can master their mother tongue and the parents actually take pride in it! Bloody Poms! However, Indians are very adaptable; they will Indianise anything, even a language. If you live on the sub-continent long enough, you will realize that what goes in the name of English  is actually Indish, the only truly Indian language with a smattering of English; it may probably make Shakespeare’s skeleton rattle in his grave. .I sincerely believe it is a truly Gandhian way of taking a revenge for centuries of subservience! Give a few years; this new India will convert Hollywood into Mumwood!! (Cricky! even this blog is beginning to sound so..).

Sorry, I am drifting..what has Gambhir’s reprimand got to do with English? Well, everything; mainly since I am convinced that all the problems in the world are due to Poms!! Especially after I have become an Aussie!! ha ha…

Seriously, I believe if Gambhir had answered in Hindi, he would have said “युसूफ के सिवा सभी खिलाडी बेकार थे”. which does not necessarily criticize players but translate as “युसूफ के सिवा सभी बेकार खेले और हमे उनसे डरने की कोई जरुरत नहीं लगी”.(all played badly and we were not worried about them). Put this one against Gambhir as a lack of language skill rather than arrogance or public criticism of players. Same as Bhajji’s famous “Teri Maaki..” statement.

About time Mody JEE stopped being more English than English! After all Cricket is an Indian game now!! Screw the Poms! We beat them even in Lagaan!!:-))