Mysterious departures from the English woman’s team.

If it was England cricket coach Mark Dobson who quit rather suddenly last Friday, today it was the long-time wicketkeeper Jane Smit who quit on the eve of its Ashes defense .

England team manager Clare Connors, who flew in late last week from London and left last night, strongly denied that Mark Dobson's and Jane Smit's departures were related. "They are not connected," Connors said. "Mark Dobson had to return for personal reasons and that won't be discussed. With Jane Smit, she has 16 years of cricket behind her, and retired from yesterday … They have no connection. To my knowledge, they are not romantically involved."

If there was no connection, romantic or otherwise, then why did Mark Dobson and Jane Smit leave? The English seem to have a penchant for quitting for personal reasons with no explanations made to the public.

IPL - Player bid values

Here are the reserve prices for the players:

 

$400,000: Dhoni, Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Ganguly, Dravid.

$300,000: McGrath, Mohammed, Yousuf, Ponting.

$275,000: Lee, Gilchrist.

$250,000: Gayle, Jayasuriya, Mahela, Jayawardene, Murali, Warne, Sangakkara, Kumble, Harbhajan Singh.

$225,000: Sarwan, Afridi, Younis Khan, Mohammed Asif, Shoaib Akhtar, Symonds, Clarke, Hayden, Vettori, Smith, G Gibbs, Gillespie.

$200,000: Malinga, Bracken, Styris, Pollock, Morkel, Kallis, Katich, Agharkar, Ghambir, Khartik M, Zaheer Khan, Sehwag, Sreesanth, Khartik D, RP Singh, Uthappa, Nel.

$175,000: Chanderpaul, Vaas, McCullum, Langer, Devilliers, Ntini, Boucher, Pathan.

$150,000: Mahroof, Fernando, Fleming, Oram, Prince, Laxman, Chawla, Jaffer, Powar.

$125,000: Kaif, Raina.

$100,000: Zoysa, Shoaib Malik, M.Johnson, Haddin, C.White, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma.

No reserve price: P. Jayawardene, Umar Gul, Kamran Akmal, Justin Kemp, Mortaza Ashraful.

My thoughts follows below

The highest reserve prices are obviously for the Indian players and noticeably  though his reserve price is low, Ishant's is bound to draw a higher price.

It is disappointing to see Laxman bracketed alongside Chawla,Powar and Jaffer and if Fleming's retirement rumours are true, he is bound to pull in a bid equal to Gayle and Jayasuriya.

Your thoughts?

Presenting the New and Magnanimous Clark- a loser and a sometime crystal - ball gazer.

Do you remember a guy called Stuart Clark? That's right, he is the same guy who aspired to be a McGrath and went about making 'predictions'.

Just to jog your memory he went as far as predicting a 4-0 whitewash: the end result ,he ended up with nothing much to speak off in terms of wickets and the Australian team ended up with self- doubts.

My blabbering continues after this advertisement

Now having learnt his lessons he has switched tracks. Instead of predictions he is into magnanimity.

"They can think whatever they want I suppose," he said.

"They've made bold statements for a little while now and we have a bit of a laugh about it. They're allowed to think whatever they like, that's their choice.

Thanks for being large hearted and generous and for permitting us to think whatever we want.

You say we have been making some bold statements for a while,true, we have atleast backed it up by action, what about you and your team, it is high time you and your team played like a champion.

Just so that you know we Indians are as magnanimous as you are, here is a piece of advice you undoubtedly don't want to hear, stop thinking about IPL and start playing cricket.

Conserving Ishant

Undoubtedly with a bit more refinement and experience Ishant Sharma, popularly known as ‘Lambu’, is going to be our spearhead. It would not be an exaggeration to call him ‘precious’, a word which means both ‘valuable’ and ‘frail’.

Now that he is both valuable and frail it is important to ensure that he does not suffer a breakdown or a grievous injury and has his career cut short. So how can we save him from falling prey to crippling injuries and ensure that he is fresh and willing?

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For starters,this tri-series, let him sit out the matches against Sri Lanka. As for the immediate future he should be protected from heartless tracks like Kotla and play, atleast during the initial years, on surfaces like Mohali in India.

For the sake of Indian cricket, would it be too daring to suggest that he should play in the Tests and avoid the 20/20’s and the ODI’s like the plague?

How would you go about conserving Ishant?

Some profound statements from Jayawardene

Jaywardene on everything:

"If you don't perform on that given day, you can be beaten,"

"We just need to come back strong after the last outing that we had.

"Our batting is a bit of a concern.

"You can have those kinds of days. That happened to the Aussies yesterday. They batted seven guys and they couldn't get 160.

"There are no excuses for the way we batted. The application out there that day wasn't good.

"For us we just need to forget about what happened the other day and concentrate on how we are going to go about things.

Here is his best:

"For us we need to think positive. We think we can win the next four or five games in a row and get ourselves into that final."

It’s a wonder that he didn’t choke on this gibberish.

Young quick’s set up an Indian Victory.

India’s fiery twins Sharma and Sreesanth took 7 wickets and demolished the Australian’s in 43.1 overs.

Though 159 runs was gettable the familiar Indian middle order jitters, saw a composed Rohit and an unflappable Dhoni cut out the frills, run the singles hard and ensure the five-wicket win.

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However, the Indians put in a patchy performance during the tense encounter. The part time bowlers gave some breathing space to the Australian batsmen and the middle order collapse let in a ray of hope for their bowlers.

By beating Australia, India leads the points table.

Race Quota blow up in South Africa

Should the tour of Bangladesh used to meet the transformation demands of seven players of color?

This question seems to have set off a virtual war between the coach and the selectors on one side and the CSA President on the other.

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The CSA President believes the tour of Bangladesh should be used to the transformation demands of seven players of colour. Obviously the coach and the selectors deem it other wise. They are keen to use it as a preparation for the Indian series.

Both the coach Arthur and the CSA President have been roundly condemned for squabbling and name calling in public. However, with Cricket South Africa (CSA), the national body, going so far to say that the matter would be handled "internally" hopes of truce or a compromise being worked out atleast to save face have surfaced.

Unfortunately, if reports are to be believed, Coach Arthur has been axed from the selection panel thus effectively taking him out of the equation and reiterating the stand taken by the CSA President.

Now the question is how long will Arthur stay on as a coach?

India feeling the absence of Dravid, Ganguly?

Australian speedster Brett Lee reckons that the young Indian cricket team was struggling to find its feet in the absence of experienced batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.

I doubt whether the youngsters were over awed by the occasion. This young lot is competitive and they care two hoots to who they are playing against.They are confident enough to take on the opposition on equal terms.

More than finding their feet, it is the bounce which is doing them in.If you notice the newcomers all got out to balls which took off from the shoulder of their bat.

In a way, the rained out matches helped them get good match practice.

Lets hope with match practice under their belt, they will start firing from tomorrow.

How much is a sports psychologist paid?

How much ever it is, if you are to go by the following facts, it is too much.

The New Zealand team's sports psychologist Gary Hermansson visited you on the boundary immediately after that over. Did he want to talk over something deep and meaningful about your childhood? How did he couch his words?

He just said "well bowled".

You pay a huge retainer to a sports psychologist and all he can come up with is an earth shattering insight, "well bowled"?

I am sure Boyc's mum can come up with something better.

Taufel in Utopia

Here is an excerpt from Cricketnext.com:

 

Does the thought of the stature of players or teams ever cross an umpires' mind?

 

Taufel: No, I try to treat all players and teams the same – as equals. The bowler is a bowler and a batsman is there with two pads on down the other end. Every decision in cricket is an important one regardless of what level you are umpiring and every player deserves your best effort on the day – from number 1 to number 11.

 

I doubt it. It is humanly impossible to negate it. The umpires should either be made of Teflon or they must be cocooned or otherwise they must be imbibing some mythical potion.

  

Is it me or do you notice a bit of 'delusion of grandeur'?

 

 

 

 

South African Cricket in a Race Row

"A race row over the number of black players in the South African cricket team is threatening to split the sport in that country."

 

The lofty ideal of integrating communities is the compulsion behind the quota system in South Africa. However does it not harm the very social fabric if one is preferred over the other on this basis?

 

Morever, I assume that they are following the same quota system in the domestic championship. That should give an opportunity to integrate the players and judge their talent. Unfortunately, the players are found wanting, so why force them on a national side?

 

I prefer selections made on the basis of merit rather than one to satisfy a quota system.

 

How do you view it?

 

 

Slip and slip catching

Ponting on the recent slip catching woes:

 

"We've had guys moving all over the place in the cordon. Andrew Symonds coming in, Michael Clarke moving around first and second, me the other night being probably a specialist second-slipper finding myself at first slip and I put one down there."

 

I don't understand the fine distinction. I don't think there is much of a difference standing in the first slip and the second slip or for the matter any slip. How you position yourself for the catch is what matters.

 

Can slip catchers throw some light?

 

The IPL and Cricket Australia stand-off

If I remember correctly, almost all cricket associations around the world had backed IPL. Why then the reported stand-off between IPL and CA?

 

Was CA concerned that the Australian cricketers would prefer playing in the IPL rather than for their nation or was it concerned about player's burn –out?

 

Unsurprisingly, it is none of the above, it is the money.

 

"The Australian board is concerned that its players might endorse products that clash with its own deals, as part of their IPL agreements."

 

If it happens, CA stands to lose quiet a substantial sum. Obviously CA can't let that happen.

 

 

An umpire selection panel

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to appoint a four-member selection panel for the appointment of umpires before March this year.

 

A move I welcome with one reservation. I would prefer the appointments to be for just 1 year. It will keep the umpires on their toes and prevent complacency setting in and more over it gives the ICC leeway to get rid of incompetent and biased umpires.

 

 

On catches and excuses

During my long cricketing career, I have dropped many catches. The beauty is I can still vividly recollect most of them. Some of catches were difficult but the majority of them were catches a two year old would have caught.

However, more than the catches I was known for my inventive excuses. There was one, I will never forget.

Since I was well know for my ‘goals’ (letting the ball through my legs) I was unanimously made the first slip. Readers may recollect that I had mentioned that I was an animated fielder, particularly when my Captains sister used to watch us from the balcony. Fittingly on this memorable occasion, I dropped one with her watching.

I really do not know how it happened, but all I remember was I had just turned to take my stance (after a lot of waving to her), when the ball (tennis ball) hit me flush on my nose. Never one to accept blame, I immediately trotted out the excuse, that I was blinded by the wicketkeeper. This elicited disbelieving laughter; through my swelling nose, I saw that my Captain was still fuming and looked menacing.

I understood later what happened. The Captain had seen me waving to his sister and snatching the ball away from the bowler’s hand he had run up to the slips. Seeing me, turn he had thrown the ball with full force, which as you all know caught me on my nose.

Needless to add I was banished to long on and never batted above No.11.

Can you recollect any of your ‘dropped catches’?

Race row - is it good for cricket?

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor says the Harbhajan Singh-Andrew Symonds controversy is good for the promotion of cricket, at least in the short term.

 

''I guess it's detrimental in the short term but there's no doubt that controversy breeds news and people like me talk about it on TV. That is a promotion for the game and you could say maybe not the right promotion but it does promote the game. Hopefully in the long term it will bring more new spectators to the game and they'll stay with the game,''

 

I beg to differ. It is important to attract the right kind of followers. Unseemly controversies attract polarized followers who view the game through a prism of hatred, jingoism, racism and false national or regional pride.

 

What cricket wants is followers who view it as a refined sport, fans who spend money to watch Symonds /Harbhajan exhibit their skills, fans that come to applaud and not to throw bottles.

 

Your thoughts?

David Lloyd tips England, Pietersen and Strauss

Undeniably, New Zealand, hit by a spate of premature retirements, is the weaker side. Therefore, there is nothing surprising to see David Lloyd predicting England to win both ODI's and Test series against New Zealand.

 

However, I contest his claim that Pietersen and Strauss will score the bulk of the runs. Pietersen's cross – batted heaves are a recipe for failure in New Zealand. Strauss is another big joke; for the last one year he has done nothing of significance.

 

For me, Cook and Bell are the key batsmen and as for Vaughn, he is simply coasting on his accomplishments. I am also looking at a fit Collingwood to counter punch in the middle order.

 

Your thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

Let go or call off the series

I have grave misgivings on continuing to play in Australia.

 

All parties concerned say the Symonds – Harbhajan saga is finished but in the same breath, come out with statements indicating otherwise.

 

Take for instance Vengsarkar, the Chief of Selectors, he wants Procter's head. The less said about FICA President Tim May the better. He, if I am to understand correctly, wants ICC and CA mulcted.

 

The Australian players follow him. If reports are to believed the Australian cricketers are sending a letter to the CA expressing solidarity with Symonds and indicating their anguish at the lack of support from their association.

 

No one, I say no one wants to let go. All of them want retribution and everything short of bloodshed and mayhem.

 

Taking a cue from the players, officials and associations, the highly excitable public has started their rough and ready justice.

 

As a precursor, there are reports that Murali had egg thrown in his face. If this is the fate of an unconnected person, imagine what is in store for India.

 

To prevent relations from deteriorating further, call off the series and conduct it later at a neutral avenue.

Sri Lankan Cricket - Solidarity in hope of a loan?

There are conflicting reports emanating out of Sri Lanka on the Harbhajan ban.

 

We heard the great white chief Ranatunga saying that Sri Lanka may have quit one-day series if Harbhajan's was slapped with a ban.

 

The beauty is, this supposed walk – out became known after the repeal of the ban, a brazen attempt to cozy up to India without antagonising Australia.

 

This impression gained ascendancy when numerous reports of cash strapped Sri Lankan CA relying on the BCCI for financial support. So now, this belated statement of solidarity would have worked if Ranatunga had ensured that everyone in the Sri Lankan CA knew that the walkout talk was an eyewash.

 

Unfortunately, for Ranatunga, he forgot to tell his Captain Jayawardene about this ploy. The result Jayawardene has unwittingly revealed Harbhajans ban or no ban they were always going to play.

 

Aha! The talk of a walk out was for milking India for a loan.

 

Now, Ranatunga has the unenviable task of proffering explanations to the BCCI.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Muzzle Sreesanth

In an obvious reference to sledging, Sreesanth says, “We can give it back with interest.”

Henceforth he should be

until he agrees to keep his mouth shut.

Captain Gaurav Ganguly?

I just came across a spoof on BCCI's emails (Inbox).

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The most funny of all the purported messages is the one from Chandu Borde (Fifth from the top). Considering his age and his well known habit of mixing up the names it is highly plausible. The beauty is he is supposedly unaware that Dravid is the Captain.Hilarious.

Click on this link for better viewing. http://www.indusladies.com/forums/forward-messages-and-jokes/20143-bcci-s-inbox-before-t20.html

Uncompromising cricket and all the other assorted rot.

Will Ponting ever learn? Here he is as usual pulling the Aussie bullshit:

"We tend to play uncompromising and fair, that's the way we Australians play cricket. We take as much as we give," he said.

Someone should get through to his midget brain that everyone plays uncompromising and fair cricket. Therefore, what makes it Australian?

We have seen for past decade and more what it means. It is just an excuse for bad behaviour.

Pointing should first learn to look beyond his nose, understand that cricket is not his grand father’s property (I use it in the Indian sense), and stop trying to make the obvious profound.

By the way, what is this “we take as much as we give”? Is this what Hayden described as a glitch in the Aussie radar?

 

Dhoni permits chitchat

I ask what the hell?

 

Have they forgotten that they are playing international cricket. A nations pride is at stake and a chartered jet is idling on the tarmac.

 

This is serious business, cut out the chitchat, and get to the core.

 

Go and ground the Aussies to dust.

 

 

 

 

On Walkers and Walking

Bob Simpson on why he decided against walking:

The two main reasons for that were: 1) Most of the major controversies of that time were caused by the so-called walkers turning their backs on umpires and trying to bluff their way through an appeal despite being out. They relied on their reputation as walkers to get away with it.

2) A number of umpires felt that the batsmen walk after an obvious snick when they had a good score, but stay put even after making a fine contact with the ball when they only had a few runs on the board.

I may be a cynic, but I doubt if I have ever seen a true walker.

 

Actually, as a guy who has done these and more, I agree with Simpson.

Your thoughts?

Yuvraj unwilling to risk himself

Yuvraj should have been rearing to play and prove himself. Sadly the facts speak otherwise.

Though Yuvraj has been declared fit by physio John Gloster but he is reluctant to test himself out in the first ODI against Australia in Brisbane on February 3.

If the physio has given him a clean bill of health he should play.Readers may remember he pulled the same stunt during the T20 semis. The only charitable reason I can think of is that he trying to prove his indispensability to the team.

The selectors should not permit him to pick and choose when or where he plays.

 

 

The last word on the racism row

That's it guys- this blog feels it is time to leave this topic and go on to other things in cricket.

Disclaimer: However this blogger reserves the right to return to it at his discretion. :)

IPL- Will it choke other sports?

There is a real danger that IPL will suck up all the advertising money, leaving other sports starving for sponsors.

Here are some facts:

A closely fought bidding war recently saw business tycoons and film stars putting in big money to buy the eight IPL teams for anything between Rs272 crore and Rs441 crore.

The next round of auction on February 8 will determine which cricketers will join which team. Media planners are keenly watching the development, and would decide their exact game plan soon. But they are already saying that the advertising pie will grow with IPL coming in.

It is plainly obvious that the IPL will draw many eyeballs and which in turn will attract sponsors and advertising.

However, if it becomes wildly popular, as I believe it will be, will there be any money left for other sports?

If there is no sponsor interest, then staging them will prove financially disastrous. Consider this factor too , if there is no advertising revenue, the TV channels will ignore these events thus depriving them off much needed exposure.

Seriously, IPL proves alluring to the money bags, it could sound the death knell for all the other sports.

The real reason why Bhajji's ban was overturned.

Wonder why CA succumbed?

Cricket Australia was anxious to have the charge dropped because it feared its board would be sued for a figure understood to be about $60 million if India quit the tour. India's broadcast partner, ESPN, owns the lucrative contract to beam cricket from Australia into the subcontinent. If ESPN sued successfully, it could take 10 years to recoup the losses, Cricket Australia told the players

Don't you get it? BCCI with its money power bought ESPN and ESPN now owned by BCCI threatened to sue.

Boohoo! Poor CA, poor Ponting, poor Symonds and by the way poor stump mike.

Yuck!

Manohar does a Jethmalini

Old timers may remember the ploy Ram Jethmalini used to defend Harshad Mehta.

For the benefit of those who missed it, here is a brief. Harshad Mehta was a hotshot stockbroker who was accused of bribing Narasimha Rao, our then PM. One crore rupees in a brief case was supposed to have changed hands. Mehta employed Jethmalini as his advocate. At a press conference Jethmalini physically proved that carrying one crore in a briefcase was impossible. I do not know whether this demo had any legal validity, however nothing more was heard.

Our man V R Manohar, the BCCI-appointed lawyer for defending Harbhajan seems to have taken a leaf out of Jethmalini’s book.

Here he is explaining how he brought upon Bhajji’s acquittal.

"It was also explained that Harbhajan knew Symonds only as an Australian player and nothing more about his race or religion,"

Where is the question of intent when there is no prior knowledge? Cheers Mr.Manohar you have blasted the allegations to kingdom come.

A copy of what the stump mike picked up

I reproduce what NDTV says is an exact word for word copy of the conversation between Harbhajan, Symonds, Hayden, Clark and Ponting

 

Symonds: We don't need it, do it to your teammates (on Harbhajan patting Brett Lee on his back with his bat)

Harbhajan: Audio inaudible

Symonds: Don't yell, go and yell at your teammates

Harbhajan: Audio inaudible

Symonds: (First part inaudible) what monkey, big monkey, you don't know what you've said.

Hayden: You know this is a S*** word, this is racial vilification. This is the second time you're doing this

Hayden: You don't know what you have done.

Harbhajan: Audio inaudible

(Audio inaudible when Sachin tries to calm things down)

Ponting to Harbhajan: (First part inaudible) You have had it, you've had it, mate!

Harbhajan to Ponting: He started it, not me.

(Audio inaudible when Ponting goes to Bucknor)

(Audio inaudible when Benson is talking to Harbhajan. Lip movement suggests Benson saying, "Did you say it?")

Harbhajan: (Audio inaudible but lip movement suggests) "No, no, I didn't say that, I didn't say anything."

 

 

One immediately notices that there is no Clark anywhere in this transcript. Unfortunately, to a rabid Indian fan, it looks like a set –up. Nevertheless, it is clear Harbhajan was abusive that a waiting Hayden, Symonds and the rest pounced upon.

 

The transcript shows Procter in poor light. He clearly has a warped sense of the law. In this he said-she said situation; he should have gone by the evidence. Instead, he concluded the lack of evidence in Harbhajan's defense as evidence of crime.  

 

Another person who comes of badly is Symonds. He was the instigator who knowing well Harbhajan's explosive temper set about riling him. Surely, if this wasn't deliberate then what was the neccesity for him to 'stick up for his friend' when Lee himself wasn't bothered. In addition, wants one to ask Symonds, tell me mate, what bothers you if Harbhajan pats Lee on his backside? Are you sticking it up there?

 

Pati Patni aur Woh!

Pardon my Hindi. I just wanted to draw your attention to the fact that Sri Lanka, who make up the trio in the tri-series, are in Australia and looking to redeem their reputation.

Avid cricket fans are likely to salivate as Sri Lanka not only beat India comprehensively but also went on to lose to Australia in the WC finals. All in all a cracker of an ODI series is in sight.

If we consider their WC form, then we cut a sorry figure, as both Australia and Sri Lanka are far ahead of us.

How many of you are bold enough to say that India is the favorite?

Technorati Tags: Tri-Series,ODI,India,Australia,Sri Lanka,WC

India- a worthy No.2?

Being a true sportsman,Ponting rained wholesome praise on India:

"It was an enjoyable series, a hard-fought contest over the last one month. India played some very good cricket and proved that they are the number two team in the world," Ponting said.

I feel it is a bit premature, India has to beat South Africa comprehensively to be a worthy No.2.

Do you agree?

 

Technorati Tags: ICC rankings,Cricket,India,Ponting,SA,Australia

Bhajji is toast

A stump mike 'transcript' evidence has caught the BCCI by surprise and the buzz doing the rounds is that the 'evidence' puts Harbhajan and even Sachin Tendulkar in poor light.

Indications are that the BCCI would refuse to accept it as evidence, however the question remains, whether their refusal stands up to legal scrutiny.

Looks like Harbhajan is toast.

A Way Out

It is unlikely that Harbhajan will escape unscathed. For one it will reflect adversely on all parties concerned.

If it were to happen, India and its cricketing body will stand accused of ‘flexing their financial muscles’. The Australian players will be pilloried for employing dirty tricks, in this case racism, to subjugate their opponents and the ICC will be slammed yet again for being weak- kneed.

Normally this sort of situation an acceptable political compromise is the norm. However, there is one uncompromising element in this mix, the Indian players. They are adamant that Harbhajan is innocent and unwilling to compromise. This adds a complexity to the situation as they have taken the high moral ground by excusing Brad Hogg.

How do you think they will resolve the situation?

 

Technorati Tags: Harbhajan,Symonds,racism,hearing,ICC,BCCI,Australia,India

Test matches earn more than ODI's

Here is an excerpt from an ECB media release.

The review concluded "excluding overheads and financial costs the average Test match generates a total contribution of about £1.5m for the club".

"On the same basis the average one-day international generates an average total contribution of £240k. 

I was under the impression that Test matches were a losing proposition. The truth is other wise. Both make money, however Tests score over ODI's.

ICC associate members oppose reduction

The associate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) have opposed moves by India and Pakistan to reduce the number of teams at the next World Cup in 2011.

They allege, “what they actually want is reduce chances of their elimination at the preliminary rounds.

To ensure this, they have suggested only two groups of 14 teams, instead of the current four groups of four teams each.”

I believe the associate members. Do you?

The End Game

The Test series is winding down and Harbhajans ban coming up for review. The BCCI has started cranking up the pressure and as a first step; Procter’s ruling been made public and now the second step

IN AN ominous sign that Bollyline is about to turn toxic, Indian cricket powerbroker Lalit Modi has warned there will be Australian "casualties" from the Sydney Test.

It is an obvious attempt to remind the CAB and the players particularly the 'accusers' that they have a lot to lose. Undoubtedly, the ban will be overturned citing lack of corroborative evidence.

The End game is on.

IceRocket Tags: Racial abuse,Harbhajan,Symonds,CAB,BCCI,Ban,hearing,IPL

Tactical claims

Interesting end to the game today, the teams accused each other of playing for a draw.

India's opening batsmen Virender Sehwag accused the Australians of batting defensively because they were "scared" of losing while Australia's Matthew Hayden claimed the Indians had resorted to bowling wides to restrict their scoring opportunities.

Will India claim ‘moral superiority’ (victory) at the end of the series?

 

Technorati Tags: Indian,Australia,Sehwag,Hayden

Rethinking Azharuddin’s Captaincy

One off field event summed up my impression of Azharruddin’s captaincy. I remember a press conference, Azharuddin when asked about the Warne threat; replied that he has four people (batsmen) who can take care of him. This led me to consider him a Captain who largely relied on his players to come through or to be more exact expected his players to pull their weight.

However, Mark Taylor lists Azharuddin as one his favourite captains because, “The fields he set for spinners would be very good. He’d been captaining for some years before I did and I found those field settings imaginative and effective.”

I would have never associated the word imaginative with Azharuddin or his captaincy. (Despite his apparent lack of imagination, his taste (Sangeeta Bijlani) was impeccable). Maybe, I should revisit my opinion on Azharuddin

Would you rate Azharuddin’s captaincy as ‘imaginative’?

Technorati Tags: Captain,Cricket,captaincy,Azharuddin,Mark Taylor

Sachin needs to change to a lighter bat

I know that we have all discussed this threadbare in different forums. However, Spiro Zavos article “Sachin Tendulkar’s bat is too heavy” has some fresh insights. He argues that Sachin probably would have an even more imposing record with a lighter bat.

However, I’ve noticed that Tendulkar often misses with his cross bat shots, the cuts and the hooks that were easy pickings for Don Bradman. To me the reason for this is obvious. The bat Tendulkar uses is just too heavy to get up and then through with his cross bat to deal with the shorter deliveries. Unlike say Brian Lara or Don Bradman, Tendulkar does not make a huge number of massive double centuries. Again, I believe that the heavy bat just gets too heavy over the course of a long innings and he makes a mistake of timing he might not have made with a lighter bat.

I agree with Spiro Zavos, albeit with a difference. I think Sachin needs to change to a lighter bat.

Maybe it is due to wear and tear or even due to the minor changes he had made in his grip to prevent a recurrence of tennis elbow, it is evident that Sachins arms are not as steely as they were before.

Therefore, I posit that the recent spate of ‘played on’ dismissals are due to a combination of weakening forearms and a heavy bat.

Do you agree that Sachin needs to change to a lighter bat?

Technorati Tags: Sachin Tendulkar,Bat,Weight,Heavy,Cricket,India

Will IPL Kill Ranji and Duleep Trophy?

Our very own Kapil ‘ICL’ Dev think so.

I am really concerned if there would be interest left for Ranji and Duleep Trophy matches, the Irani up match, or the matches involving juniors. This way you are luring players into a world where the dazzle of big money can create a disturbing influence, he warned.

On the contrary, these tournaments will draw more players. It will be provide the ‘wannabes’ a platform to display their skills. Granted the money will attract them, nevertheless these tournaments will survive.

What do you say?

Technorati Tags: Cricket,IPL,ICL,Kapil Dev.Duleep Trophy,Ranji Trophy

ICC Contemplates Action Against Sunil Gavaskar

Amidst accusation of bowing to the BCCI, the ICC managed to wriggle out of the mess in Sydney. Despite other pressing affairs, they have now opened a new front; they have taken on Gavaskar in a belated bid to enforce discipline in their ranks.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is all set to take action against it's Cricket Committee chairman Sunil Gavaskar for his outburst against match referee Mike Procter, who had slapped a three-Test ban on Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for racist abuse.

Since I am not well versed in the ICC rules, I take it “they have a strong case against Gavaskar”. However, if the BCCI comes out in support of Gavaskar and ICC loses the case, is it another example of BCCI flexing its muscle?

IceRocket Tags: BCCI,ICC,Gavaskar

How Procter found Harbhajan guilty

I cannot make head or tail of Procter’s statement on Harbhajan ruling.

On one side, it seems he has arrived at the decision going by the evidence proffered. The problem is that all the corroborative evidence comes from the Australian side. That is outwardly logical but how does he negate the motivation. On the other side, he dismisses Tendulkar’s statement saying that he was nowhere near the scene of the ‘crime’.

Apart from this at the end, he says, “Once I had read the verdict to the players, I heard submissions from Chetan Chauhan and Dr.M.V.Sridhar. I gave them some thought five to ten minutes and then I imposed a penalty of a three Test-match ban.”

If we are to take the last statement at face value, it seems that hearing took just a few minutes, but then how does he account for the hearing that went past midnight.

Any conspiracy theories?

IceRocket Tags: Harbhajan,Symonds,monkey chants,racial abuse,India,Procter,Australia

ODI's - Dhoni and his 'select' boys have to deliver

Soulberry in his blog post King, Dhoni and Yuvraj muses on the controversy surrounding the omission of Ganguly from the ODI team.

Primarily the story doing the rounds in the media is that the physical trainer King’s report that the lower half of Ganguly could collapse (calf muscles?) caused Dhoni and Yuvraj argue against his inclusion.

Most of the media are reporting the same and Dhoni’s ill –advised press conference has made one believe that there could be some truth to the story, atleast the part played by Dhoni..

In principle, I am with Dhoni. As a Captain, he desired to have a team of his choice and the selectors have done the right thing in giving him just that.

Surprisingly Vengsarkar has also come out smelling roses and commended for supporting his Captain.

Now it is for Dhoni and the boys he has put his faith in to deliver.

Technorati Tags: ODI,India,Australia,Sri Lanka,Tri-series,Dhoni,Yuvraj,Ganguly

Adelaide Test - India goes with a makeshift Opener

Despite the openers, putting in better performance in the last Test, India has gone in with a makeshift opener. (At the time of writing, Irfan Pathan was already out for nine).

I fail to understand the logic behind this. The Perth Test had amply proved the value of genuine openers. Our openers averaged a partnership around 40’s, whereas Australian openers failed to average 30. The initial partnership undoubtedly contributed to the Indian win.

The decision to include five bowlers is a sound strategy. It would have a far greater impact if they included Karthick at the expense of Dhoni. In my estimation, Karthick matches Dhoni in wicket keeping skills. Additionally, he, Karthick, gives us the flexibility to bring in five bowlers without going in for a makeshift opener.

Will we rue this decision?

Technorati Tags: Adelaide,Test,Indian Eleven,Australia,Openers,Jaffer,Kaarthick,Dhoni,Pathan

Go with five bowlers

If we are serious about winning at Adelaide we need to have five bowlers. The best combination would have Karthick in place of Dhoni.

Karthick is ideal because he can open and obviously keep wickets.This will ensure that we don't go into a crucial Test match with a patently uncomfortable Dravid or an untried Irfan trying to stay afloat at the top.

Technorati Tags: cricket,dhoni

Technorati Tags: Kaarthick,Irfan,Indian Eleven,Adelaide

Hayden's 'surge' and 'counter' strategy.

Hayden has revealed that he will take an off-stump guard to counter our swing bowlers. Additionally he has indicated that he will be standing well outside the crease to negate the swing and look to walk down the pitch.

 

Now that Hayden has revealed 'all' here are some suggestions to counter his 'surge'.

 

An immediate strategy that comes to the mind is to bowl short –pitched deliveries. Another is to bowl Harbhajan first – up with the new- ball and disarm him with a doosra.

 

However, the best way to counter his 'surge' would be to bowl an in swinger that will sting his um…-nether regions.

 

Any suggestions?

 

England teases Australia

The ECB yesterday unveiled the logo for the 2009 Ashes series and along with it they are releasing a 'viral video' teasing the Australians about their 2005 Ashes loss.

 

It will be interesting to watch how the Australians react. I assume that they give a hiding that will leave the England 'smarting'?

 

 

Can you trust a grounds man's word?

Report suggests that the Adelaide pitch is a turner. Not that one distrusts the grounds man's word; it is just that one other worthy had spoken of a fast pitch last week. The pitch was so fast that the match ended in four days.

 

The knowledge and expertise exhibited by the one at Perth has heightened the regard one had for these Super soaker trundlers.

 

Nevertheless, one is still constrained to ask, can we trust the Adelaide grounds man? Is he as capable as the one in Perth?

 

If so, should we pack the side with our version of pace bowlers?