The Emperor definitely has no clothes on

Ashes 2009

Day One, Third test - Scorecard

It is there for all to see now. Obviously red as the innards of a hunted seal laid out by a polar bear hungrily against the pristine white snow. Well, England may not be polar bears...more like grey-haired lions come across easy two-legged meat instead of having to chase a tricky kangaroo...and then that snow - we may have stretched it a bit to call it pristine white - what with all the pollution and stuff like that in the arctic environment.

The supreme emperor of the world of cricket has no clothes on - Australia stands stark naked in this Ashes edition and there isn't quite as much the despondent skipper can do other than continue to look despondent.

203-8 at the moment, fighting to right a series fast slipping away....how deep has Australia slipped into the netherworld of mediocrity to be posing now as the whipping boys of the poms! And, a few teams have had their turns before the poms.

The blindest of denizens continuing to live in the floozy world of denial cannot refute the high contrast of this spillage - red of the fallen against the white hurts the eye inescapably, undeniably. But perhaps not as brightly as the red of brave warriors. Timid blood will water itself down very soon to shades of salmon pink or lesser...the depth of Australian cricket is much shallower than one was given to believe.

Is this good news?

I don't know if test cricket can afford another mediocre team. That too from a nation with a proud cricketing heritage. While their seemingly unending dominance too wasn't doing any good, at least teams were digging deep within themselves to put one across. That lifted the standards of play and heightened the spirit of combat in teams not usually known to consistently have them. Australia was a bar to be leapt over...and just because they were more capable than others to stay up there longer.

People might say umpiring had a significant role in maintaining those "high" standards - I'll probably agree with their premise only for the concluding portion of Australia's latest reign.

Ricky Ponting will have to live with a tainted legacy - of umpiring, behavious and importantly, inability to create and maintain a scorching team of winners. He is no gnome - he is a titan of the game in his own right - but he will have to live in the shadow of more illustrious predecessors than he as regards Australian captaincy.

Australian Captaincy was sold as the seal of approval from ancient cellars of fine years. It was imprinted upon teams grown when the sun and rain were just right. It usually meant a perfect blend of warring essence.

Of late, spurious stuff of lesser seasons was being bottled and sold under the same seal. Australia was defrauding its buyers - the grapes were characterless and the seal of guarantee merely a scam.

Australian Captaincy wasn't such a good binder after all...it couldn't guarantee the brightest extract and presentation from a bunch. The bunches were mere hunches which weren't really classic stuff. Pedigree was lost quite some time ago and credibility was traded in during the times of denial just as perhaps people are trading in past lives for mere sustenace during economic disasters.

There were many who refused to believe Australian cricket have been hobbling for long. And "Captaincy" was a very poor crutch when umpires refused to help. But there it is...on your TV screens...some of the most insipid, fightless, unworthy cricket played by Australia in six days of recent test cricket - five days of second test and first day of third test - absolutely wutliss!

There could be some excuses coming our way - perhaps the terribly errant one with Sampsonian locks is responsible for destroying the series before it began. But this is Australia we are talking about lads - they are no one man team are they?

Rustle up some worth Kangaroos! Give us some interesting combative cricket to watch!

Would BD also beat them now...in their respective frames of mind?

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WICBSUCKS.COM

That's the name of this new website which has been put up by those who clearly are unimpressed with WICB.

In characteristic Caribbean fashion criticism is scathing but couched in oodles of talent. That talent be humour or a riddim...plenty tongue in cheek stuff too - like this one called Lamentations of Julian Hunte. There's a revolution brewing in those parts.

About opinion on WICB, there never was any doubt as to what West Indians thought of in recent times. Most hoped for improvement and looked for that corner to turn.

Julian Hunte was welcomed by some^{Admin - CC.com}, nay almost feted in,^{JL Aaron@ Dreamcricket.com USA} as THE beacon of hope in what appeared to be a decade-long tunnel of incompetence. A sober introduction of Mr.Hunte is at Cricinfo, penned by Tony Cozier.

He may well prove to be all that ultimately, Julian Hunte may end up being the cleverest twist of a visionary, tradeunionist and manager to be able to set right WI cricket, but the rapidly diminishing stature of the said man over the past year and a half stands now at almost a residual molecule or two among the West Indians themselves.

At this point it may be worthwhile recalling the report delivered to the Annual General Meeting of the WICB by Julian Hunte himself on June 7, 2008, available with the archives of Caribbeancricket.com.^Link

I'll quote a significant sentence from it - "This year, June 2008 to May 2009 is perhaps the most important in the history of this Board. Radical changes are necessary if we are to survive both the external and internal challenges."

Whatever he may be or not, he certainly is a prophet of his own actions. Which is not always a bad thing you know...

While there appears to be no doubt that people who gravitate to such website satire have been disillusioned with WICB for a while, could it be possible that many more are gravitating to such measures after the recent instrangience of WICB, despite the toning down of their resistance by some senior WI players, resulting in continued embarrassment to the heritage of WI cricket heaped upon by the inexperienced performance of the selected "official" players most West Indians decry and deride as "scabs"?

Opinion among those for and against WIPA (there are not many who are really "FOR" WICB and one must necessarily consider WIPA or anti-DinaR demurrers as somewhat pro-WICB) has clearly condensed into one cup - WICBSUCKS.COM.

WICB is not without support, and there is a school of thought which hopes it comes out stronger and cleansed, but at the moment their relative mutedness appears to suggest it is difficult to support WICB in such circumstances.

Hopefully WI cricket will remain as WI cricket and not as a fractured entity of mediocre constituent teams who have decided to go it alone.

Let's watch how this action plays out.

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Welcome correct technology and its objective use

It is no secret what I think about ICC and its methods of selecting, monitoring and maintaining its umpires. Those who have been following me here since 2007, and before that at other sites, would know that I am a strong proponent of enabling on field umpires with the correct technology so that they can themselves make their own decisions instead of the third umpire. The need to consult a third umpire and the inability of on-field umpires to review an episode themselves conveys to them a sense of being examined, and hence they often fail to cross check with the third umpire. The experiment^{The Hindu} in the recent Indo-Lanka series in Sri Lanka is an example of that with its man made bloopers. There is great subjectivity in all this despite the presence of best available technology since the greatest hurdle for man's progress through history has always been his ego.

Sure, ego has its uses...important ones too...but by and large it prevents quick grasp and/or employment of an issue or useful idea. And cricket is a game where there is clear heirarchy on the field and space to allow egos to blossom and burgeon. One quiet space it breeds in an unbridled manner is that "sacred" 23 cm wide niche leading about two metres away from the pitch and wickets, and occupied and guarded by the umpire. There can be no "intrusion" into that niche, no corrective assistance even if its guardsman in debauched enough to dictate the game independent of the performance of players playing it. It is that pedestal upon which the sacred idol is installed under a limitlessly high dome.

Our view has consistently been to collect the correct and required technology from the available methods and combine them all in such a manner where the on-field umpire with a hand held pocket gadget can himself select and replay the sections he wants to examine. And there should be clear guidelines whcih should ensure greater objectivity in selecting situations to examine rather than choosing as per mood and whim.

"Why do all this?" You may ask. After all cricket has survived without technology for so long.

You would be right and wrong. Technology has consistently been used in cricket as and when and where required. In subtle ways perhaps in comparison to the highly visible methods we are debating today. But even that isn't quite correct - the line replays which are an intrinsic part of cricket play today employ highly visible technology. Even domestic cricket in most test-playing countries cannot do without it today.

But there are murmurs. Cricket after all is supposed to mean that one accepts. That one is accepting humbly even while competing fiercely without ever disturbing the sangfroid of the crisp white flannels clothing the game. It is an exemplary ideal, written into generations by man but rarely practised by his masses. Perhaps Cricket wasn't meant to be so, but it is now irretrievably a game of masses in the countries it is played in. And the game is bent upon growing along those lines.

When more play the game and much follows performance in it, questions will be asked of the men, who are otherwise employed and empowered to make snap decisions of credible quality, but often impose such which can alter the course of the game and careers. What was written into character will then submit to instincts - of survival and winning. Outrage begins to bubble in more minds than ever before, and no longer can that be kept bottled under a tight cork - the cork shall inevitably pop atop sufficient pressure and the genie shall rush out like a hot geyser released, to singe this and that before subsiding till the next escape point. The game, unfortunately, cannot afford this recurring infamy. Not when people are questioning the very survival of test cricket - witness the empty stadia in every country from Australia through West Indies, England, India and back. Spirit has limits...too much abuse of it is unwelcome....and there is only so much spirit one can show to accommodate the irascible, instrangient mediocrity of white-coated egos and their incompetent employers.

In this year, this centenary year, we have watched umpires of all ilk regularly make elementary mistakes repeatedly, all around the globe, and without any sense of accountability or resp[onsibility. You could continue to run a sport this way and hope eyeballs and hearts will remain attached to it. Maybe some limpets will continue to cling on, no matter how debased their fondling game has become, but many will gradually lose attachment and drift away to what they feel is a more credible experience. Just because someone is mediocre and since his employers have not bothered to develop/train employees doesn't mean that one has to accept. Doesn't mean that that is the spirit of the game. Mediocrity in itself is not the problem...people can make efforts to improve...such efforts can be seen and sensed...but what do you do when there isn't any such from some umpires? When they go yell nationalistic murder at the drop of a hat, as a fig leaf of protection instead! When their agencies and supporters then join in?

Are these umpires the very best available from their countries?

Are these umpires the very best available in the world?

We cannot say 'yes' with any conviction to both questions.

That is because 1) ICC plays no (or only a minor) role in selecting the umpires, developing them and monitoring and maintaining them in terms of their skills and competency. 2) That is because the ICC Cricket Committee (currently headed by Clive Lloyd of West Indies) has little say in selecting the best umpires from respective countries. Barring Simon Taufel perhaps, no other member on board is also a member of their respective country's umpires' committee. And it is the umpiring committee of each nation which recommends names for ICC tenures. Hence, it is moot if only the best names make it to the ICC panel.

If you saw A Shocker De Silva, Billy Doctorerove, Mock Bendson, Ian Ghould, Ruddy inCorrectzen, BeLie Bode-n, DaReal Helper, and even the Pieman himself, ^Wikipedia performing in this ICC centenary year without the slightest care in the world, you would know that cricket cannot go on this way, no matter what romantic limpets continue to say. And we haven't mentioned the retirees yet!

Makarand Waingankar is an author I respect very much, and he too has veered around enough to a view that technology should be not subjectively applied.^{The Hindu - 23 July 2009}

At least now he acknowledges that umpires need help in some way or the other.

This is a far cry from his orthodox stance on use of technology to help umpires in cricket. It just wasn't done, according to him, to contaminate cricket with technology....at least the gist of his past views on this topic. I admire his articles greatly and he provokes serious thought on the touched subject.

I read as and when he writes, for I subscribe to this newspaper as a matter of my personal heritage....I recall at least one of my great-grandparents subscribing to this newspaper.

So, I feel a sense of elation. I begin to see some kind of confirmation of my own ideas in all this...for I respect Mr.Waingankar's views by habit. I am glad that esteemed authors are beginning to accept and argue for standards of technology and its objective application rather than trying to keep a rickety termite-ridden structure aloft forever. It is their keen eye and influential pen/keyboard which is required to ensure that correct technology, its best use and continuing evolution is employed efficiently in cricket.

Come October and cricket will become more self-nurturing.^Cricinfo

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Promoting the correct talent is important

India is in that stage of transition in its cricketing history when it should have established which players would be replacing the remaining veterans. It is no secret that the golden oldies we all love are on their home stretch. It is only a matter of time before they retire...that time could be this season for Laxman or after the WC for Sachin and Dravid....but there is an inevitability about it.

The game moves on. It stops for none, no matter how dominant that sportsperson has been or had been in his time. The game will genuflect in honour and acknowledgement for sometime - mostly sincerely, sometimes as a formality - and will move on giving space for new heroes while installing the recently aged ones in new chapters of nostalgia and recall.

It is that time when the game is bowing in honour of the hero which is most important. That is the last chance for the men who run the game to have identified and isolated the replacements who should be of such quality to step into at a moment's notice and begin to build his own legacy while ontributing to the continuity of the team.

India has been lucky in many ways in recent times as regards this crtical time period. Having four to five veterans on the brink of retirement within the odd year of each other firmly focusses the attention of men who matter to this task of selection. However, having good fortune is one thing but recognizing it and utilizing it well is a far bigger challenge. It requires sagacity and insight to pick the correct replacements.

Statistics are only an adjuvant to experience. The experience of sensing real talent, recognizing the temperament guiding that talent, and the experience of having watched the talent and temperament come together often enough to confirm the value invested in following it.

India is not yet there. It hasn't lined up the players who can step in as and when the notice arrives. Not that India and its selectors aren't trying, they are in fact studiously examining cases, docketing some, promoting a few and eliminating others. The unfortunate aspect is their methodology appears less scientific or inspired and more like serendipity of a drunken treasure hunter.

In the 2-3 years it has been busy examining and developing players, it has also glaringly failed to look at some places. I continue to question the selection of Emerging squads and probables for Champion's Trophy solely because the most glaring omission is also the most valuable talent spurned again. I have spoken of this before and I continue to do so because I find it difficult to reconcile with both facts and subjective judgement. Cheteshwar Pujara is the talent which every selectorial panel is refusing to examine. From More's panel downwards through Vengsarkar's panel to Srikkanth's current one - each one of them has failed to spot the diamond. Perhaps More's is less culpable than the other two recent panels for the diamond was only just emerging back then from the dark mines of Indian cricket.

Since subjective views based on observation and instinct are proving quite worthless, let me try some amateur statistics.

Rohit Sharma looks a fantastic talent when in the mood. He gleams shinier than the Kohinoor when he swings the ball over the ropes with languid ease. He looks the lord and master of that moment. Then comes a touch of reality.

He has been put through different situations and has only succeeded in exhausting the glow of that T20 hundred he once scored to impress one Dilip Vengsarkar of Mumbai. Extra shine is being sought from this stone by constantly grinding him through endless opportunities. There is a gleam about him, isn't it? And he is the primeest among the identified jewels, isn't it?

In three years of FC cricket, he has played 28 matches and scored 1923 runs off 42 innings with a wonderful average of 49.30 and five centuries...two of which were scored in the same match, his last FC match.

There will be questions asked about how much Mumbai required his runs and tons or how they helped Mumbai and on how many occasions, but we will not go into that...runs are runs and tons are tons. They matter always and you have to score them anyway.

He has 84 List A games with 2112 runs coming at an average of 33.52 and a strike rate of 81.38 with three hundreds in all.

He has 50 Twenty20 matches with 1246 runs at an average of 33.94 and coming at a strike rate of 131.65. He has that one hundred and 7 fifties.

Brilliant domestic record that...no doubt about it, without going into it subjectively.

In the international arena, he has 41 ODIs with 695 runs, 4 fifties and no hundreds yet (Sachin took over 80 ODIs...so it is OK and Rohit has only now begun to open)...at a SR of 72.24 and an average of 24.82.

Add to that, 13 T20 Internationals, 238 runs in them at 34.00 and a SR of 122.68. Two fifties in that.

These international stats are those of a beginner and can only improve with time, is the prevailing consensus.

Now let us see Pujara.

Cheteshwar Pujara has the curious reputation of being a stodgy player. I am unsure how that has come about. One has heard important men of Indian cricket pedal that idea along.

Since one cannot place much emphasis on subjective observations, and one cannot accurately describe his game without resorting to the kind of language and words poets and romanticists use in their craft...interesting, expressive, but open to interpretaion as to the degrees of the minds registering them...let us just see what his domestic record is like. At this point, I must mention that his stats lack international colour unlike Rohit Sharma's.

This 21 year old has already played 40 FC games in four years for his team Saurashtra. Almost three thousand runs, 2862 runs to be precise, at 53.00 with 11 hundreds and a highest of 302*.

In this article things like a weak team, propping it up usually etc. are immaterial and are not to be considered.

He has also played 29 List A matches. I guess that's all the opportunity he gets for he has a reputation stuck upon him. In those 29 List A matches, he has scored 1063 runs at an average of 46.21 and a strike rate of 77.64. two hundreds in there as well.

He has just 4 Twenty20 games and in that limited opportunity he has smashed 110 runs off 64 balls faced in total for a strike rate of 171.87 and an average of 36.66.

Believe me, there have been many Indians with far lesser figures than those two above and with poorer subjective assessment to support them who have gone on to play for India and for extraordianry lengths of time.

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Three Test Matches

In the past few days, I was able to watch snatches of the three test matches in progress - Australia vs England in the 2009 episode of the Ashes, West Indies vs Bangladesh in West Indies, and Pakistan vs Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.

Two of these matches have concluded and the third is about to conclude. A bit of history has been made and will be added to.

Ashes 2009

Australia had England down at the tip of their bayonet but could not summon enough character to plunge it through the heart. Australia could not draw first blood in the series, despite being marshalled excellently into a purposeful fighting unit by Ricky Ponting, simply because their slinging arms were weakened by the grim defence by the stout Collingwood.

Andrew Strauss gains heart from his team's poor play on a batsman's pitch - he is emboldened by the sneaky escape conjured up between the batsmen, him and the minions thronging the dressing room. Captain Strauss feels they have weathered the worst this version of Australia's Ashes army can attack them with. The English media is squeakily relieved...they can breathe again now for the final ball of the Cardiff test has been bowled and Australia were a wicket short.

Has Australia given its best and England less that its best and yet survived?

Whenever such a situation arises, it always appears so. What one must not forget that the only session which truly belonged and was dominated by England without any worry was the first hour on the first day on a batting track. Forget any partnerships later...they were always repairing wounds.

England's bowling was mostly as meaningless as the field placings, and unless it is helped along by very typical English conditions, could remain so. What must also not be forgotten is the regimented captaincy Strauss executed - his bowlers being bowled in fixed, inflexible quotas in a well-marked sequence irrespective of the state and cry of the game. It was only to Monty that he provided attacking fields, which were otherwise largely defensive.

This test match could just be a "probing session" of sorts, England trying to guage the strength at the opposition's command, but that argument isn't convincing unless it is an extention of the media hysteria over the Great Ashcape. There is more if you look around to applaud Collingwood's deserved efforts and the resistance offered.

But it is a little over the top when you consider Ricky's Ponting's protests over timw wasting.

Time wasting is an age-old phenomenon...we all do it, everybody does it in their own way. Cricket's laws are more liberal in comparison to other games in this regard.

But consider this and consider this.

Both are links from the archives of an institution of sorts - BBC's cricket records. Can you spot the difference in the two besides the teams playing/involved?

Observe the difference in tone and tenor of the two articles from the same Beeb. You could say, the Beeb has probably matured over time and is less icky-picky about silly tactics. Eight years later, it is more charitable and is willing to brush it off as a laugh. No, I didn't say that was because England was playing in 2009!

Then, as now, the number of overs, or time lost was not the issue..probably not enough to matter anyway. The protests (of Shaun Pollock then and Ricky Ponting now) are probably more out of respective disappointments.

But there is a twist - Dinanath Ramnarine and Mervyn Dillon were pulled up by one MH Denness (sound familiar? From a SA tour?)), who was the match referee then, and reprimanded soundly for their tactics. Pat Rosseau, the WICB headman, supported the action.^Cricinfo

You might ask why not JJ Crowe do a MH Denness?

I leave it to difference in perceptions - MH Denness was stung by what he saw and JJ Crowe turned a buffy back to what he witnessed. Both are right in their own ways and there is no end to the debate.

If however you feel ICC ( not the Imperial Cricket Conference of yore but the International Cricket Council of today ) still treats different teams and different players...well...differently, then that's your perception. Like MH Denness and JJ Crowe's opposite interpretations and resultant action on the same issue being both acceptable, your view also could be considered fair alongside an opposite one.

All said and done, Australia failed to nail it. Strauss can still smirk after abjectness over all days, and the British Media can take out a graphic .pdf document over chronicling the evening! That...that's a sign of how things have changed for Australia but not for England.

The last laugh, however, may yet be something like this.

Scorecard

- 0 -

Bangladesh open their overseas scorecard

From the sordid ending of a test match between two well-hyped teams either of which couldn't win it, we now go across to St.Vincent to celebrate a slice of history.

Bangladesh recorded its first test win overseas. That monkey is now off its back now.

Mohammadullah sealed it with an eight wicket haul for the match. He is the debutant on the BD side and hence shows greater fortitude than all the debutants in the opposition team.

One was thoroughly disappointed with the way BD played initially on their best chance to win overseas at the moment. Ashraful continues to cause despair, but Tamim Iqbal. another talented youngster, who often unfortunately tends to the Ashraful way of throwing it away, was able to hold it all together to record his maiden hundred. And waht an important one it was for BD! Overseas and in their first victory on distant shores! Could this be the innings which steers this talented nephew of Akram Khan, BD's first captain, away from the Ashraful stagnation? Can it give him more purpose to perform more usefully for BD? One has learnt to be wary about predictions when it comes to BD players...but we can hope.

I must applaud Shakib Al Hasan here. Not just the bowling and useful thumps lower down the order, his contribution to the direction BD should take as stand-in captain were exemplary.

This was a match which could test the soft-hearted - you would have wanted the West Indies team to do well...to save pride dragged out onto the streets already by their own people..."Scabs" they were being called, when it is certain that many will only be playing just the test or two in their lives and were stepping in for players who refused to don their national colours and take field.

But would you also not want BD to do well? A team at the recieving end of most and searching for inspiration beyond just one star - Mohammed Ashraful.

Well done Shakib, Tamim, Mohammadulla and BD! Also, well played Philips, Bernard, Roach, Sammy. No shame there.

Scorecard

- 0 -

Lanka register their first series win at home against Pakistan

Like they say, it took a long time coming baby!

But come it did, thanks to Herath and Kulasekara.

Fawad Alam tried his best to do what we know Pakistan generally like to do - come back in from behind in a match - with a brilliant century on debut. But to no avail! None other than Younis Khan supported him.


Pakistan's batting has been iffy and I don't really know what Misbah is contributing as a lead player of the team other than hausla afzai.

Play Abdul Razzaq instead...he gives you two options - a good experienced batsman and a bowler in one. Surely, he can do no worse than Misbah in this series? Play Misbah only against India and forget about the rest. They too good for him.

Well done Sri Lanka! Well played Fawad Alam!

Scorecard

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Like Krazy Krejza, Hauritz shouldn't be...

...taking all those wickets! It just isn't right for all these part timers pretending to be real spinners. Look...on any other day, under different conditions, you'd have played Hauritz differently and he wouldn't have looked so effective.

Ian Chappell speaking on the Australian selection with Alex Brown of Cricinfo went as follows -


AB: Just carrying forward from that - can Australia afford to go in with Nathan Hauritz? He has obviously struggled in the tour games, but if you play four quicks there is the issue of balance. Do you think they can afford to go with Hauritz?

IC: I just don't believe that part-time spinners can do the job for you. They should have learnt the lesson after what they tried in India. That was an abject failure. You might get away with it on occasions, but not over the long-haul. Having been a part-time spinner myself, the thinking behind being a part-time spinner and a full-time one is poles apart. You shouldn't win Tests against teams by relying on part-time spinners, in my book.

I think the selectors have made an absolute of nonsense of what they have done with spinners. I am not just talking about Beau Casson; it goes back as far as when they didn't take Stuart MacGill to India as the second spinner - that was a ridiculous non-selection. I would have wanted to have Bryce McGain in England on the basis that England are renowned for trying to read things into legspin that sometimes aren't there. To pick him in the final Test in South Africa, when it is his first Test… there is always a chance that things can go wrong in a guy's first Test, which it did, but McGain is a better bowler than what he showed in South Africa. I think they have messed Jason Krejza around, and I think there has been poor selection as far as spinners are concerned.



NM Hauritz 7.6 2 14 2 1.75


He's right though....some of the stuff Hauritz bowled should have been put away properly. I love Chappelli! I feel the same way about the hiatus Warney's retirement has left.

An unrelated comment - But what about the two spinners in tandem? Weren't they suppposed to be the best combo after M&M? But M&Ms aren't really spinners what?

Ashes 2009 - Day Five, First Test, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Scorecard

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Will Cardiff Relent?

Ashes 2009 - Day Five, First Test, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Scorecard

Yesterday Cardiff decided to circle the wagons around the Three Lions Team and force the bounding Kangaroos to drench their enthusiasm with rainwater instead of champagne. Today the weather could relent for enough play to keep one interested. ^{BBC Weather for Cardiff}



Captain Strauss would like to stave off the carnivorous Kangaroos with his bat. Meanwhile the Roos would be having their plans ready to sling down eight wicket taking deliveries before long.

The Englishmen must also be praying for the Cardiff weather to relent in the manner of their own interpretation, and remain true to its character and bring down loads more rain than predicted well before close of play.

Kevin Pietersen will have to play his second significant innings of the match. I am not sure how good he is at doing it on the trot twice in a match.

On paper, this match looks a draw...but when one says it out aloud to oneself, the conviction is missing. One knows, between Australia and England, the Ozzies always have a crucial one hidden up the sleeve. Will it Siddle or Katich or Pup the Englishmen with a purple spell of that label?

And yes, in at least two of the three test matches going on concurrently now, in this Golden Year of ICC, the umpiring has been significantly defective to influence course of play. A Shocker DeSilva, Billy Doctorerove are two who spring to mind effortlessly. It is said, Da Real Harper also had his moments, but I cannot vouch for it because I did not see.

UPDATE

Kevin Pietersen is slung out by Ben Hilfenhaus. Off stump goes for a walk! Ugly way to play that ball, it must be said.

Hilfy's been the best Ozzie bowler on display without as many wickets to show for it though in this test match.

Like one felt, it isn't often that KP plays two worthwhile innings in a test match.

Over to Collingwood and Captain Strauss now.

England 31/3. 94.2 overs remaining.

UPDATE

Hauritz tempts Captain Strauss another time and, as we all know, you must be wary if the same bait keeps reappearing..the Captain is cut down and England almost mortally wounded now as Haddin takes the edge off a cut intended to cull a second successive four to the point boundary.

England 47/4 (17.2 ov)

Overs remaining 87.4

Collingwood 10* Prior 0*

UPDATE

Ozzies stalling a bit here. Collingwood and Prior surviving and settling in.

A draw would be a huge re-boost for England and they could come back next match ready to crash into a wall again enthusiastically.

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Lanka Dominating from Day One

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 2009 - Day One, 2nd Test, P Sara Oval, Colombo

Scorecard

Pakistan carried on from where they left off in the previous test match and collapsed in regular decrements to be bowled out for a sub-100 total. This time the total was 90 with Kulasekara and Thilan Thushara undermining the Pakistan team from the top downwards, with Mendis cleaning up after.

Now what this means is Sri Lanka will adopt a riskless approach to try and grind out Pakistan from this match and any fantasies they may be entertaining. Meanwhile, Pakistan will be suitably chastened by their efforts and come in to play knowing that it is they who have to be playmakers in this match till it is done. Sri Lanka can be more patient.

It is in this kind of situation that Pakistan is the most dangerous. When the going is easy, they take it easy and when things come to a head under serious pressure, they are able to squeeze the best out of themselves. Lanka will want to be wary of that without losing their own focus.

Pakistan are coming to terms with the effects of not having a lot of cricket to play. Once they get into the scheme of things, they'll begin to produce results.

You can never say what can transpire when Asian teams are playing- brilliance and inexplicable mediocrity appear like conjoined twins - more so when Pakistan is one of them. So this test match isn't over till it is actually over.

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13.91 vs 2.00

Bangladesh vs West Indies 2009 - 1st Test, Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, St Vincent

Scorecard

The title represents the relative average test experience of the two teams in the fray - Bangladesh is over six times more experienced at playing test cricket than West Indies.

Needless to say most of the current Windies players are in their first test match while the Bangla boys have been around for a little while. The most experienced in terms of international cricket in this match is Mohammed Ashraful, and also perhaps the most accomplished batsman of all. He averages a little over 23 and appears intent on keeping it there or thereabouts. He was out yet again in the customary sorry manner which has now ceased to have us tearing our hair off.

In many ways this describes the way Bangla Boys applied themselves against a team set up in a hurry. They trail the boys from the University of West Indies led by Floyd Reifer.

But we are uncharitable to the B'desis.

For starters, it is never easy to go abroad and win (the match is still in progress, I must mention here), even if the home team is unable to field their best fifteen players.

Then, due to the circumstances in which the West Indies team was born in and the fact that a significant number of them have common UWI moorings, where the captain Floyd Reifer then goes on to speak to his men in this manner - "You have a contract with the WICB...thats one matter..But never forget that you are playing for the West Indian People" - it is natural to expect them, the windfall team, to come out bounding to compensate with their unity, humility and enthusiasm, any shortfallings they may be facing due to lack of experience.

As a result Bangladesh are trailing the West Indian team. Floyd Reifer could be an able captain...perhaps even a general!

In contrast, Omar Philips, Dave Bernard and Darren Sammy applied themselves like men possessed! Kemar Roach bowled like wildfire and so did Tino Best. Whether they will do well consistently or against other teams is as yet unknown.

More than the trailing, the manner in which Ashraful left when he needed to stay on, trells us that if BD are unable to compete with a team of first class players, then it is time to create a niche bracket for such teams so that they can play tests without the burden of expectations and with plenty to motivate them to graduate out of the niche.

All said and done (my disappointment with Ashraful-BD is long and acute and colours my views) the match looks to be more evenly matched than the other two going on simultaneously.

England and Pakistan have placed themselves in truly horrible positions in their respective tests.

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A Test Match At Cardiff

Ashes 2009

Australia is playing a test match at Cardiff, whereas England is playing a hypothesis - actually a complex compound of different hypotheses fused into one - developed by observing on television various teams mauling Australia, and recently honed by playing a series of matches against one team - an interested West Indies in West Indies and a disintersted West Indies in England.

The parts of the compound hypothesis are 1) Australia are on the decline and the Roos are easy meat for the pride of lions and 2) England have developed a fantastic bowling attack. It is quite another matter that teams have struggled hard to beat Australia and they know it is still a fight. Also, England's bowling prowess selectively includes performances to form a basis. The final component is 3) England have transformed into a world beating team following the complete anhilation of West Indies in all forms and aspects recently at home. Let's ignore the 51 all out in the Caribbeans earlier on a flat docile typically neo-caribbean pitch for the purposes of discussion and stick to England bowlers scattering the cold, homesick and forlon Windians.

Ponting may be everybody's bunny these days but England's. At Cardiff he knocked up a familiar Ashes hundred.

The "useless" bowling attack of Australia somehow managed to bowl out England in good time on a flat track. We shall hear of the "real reasons" of how and why soon enough....just as we did after the one-off 51 all out and too many more instances to keep track of.

The five-prong ace bowling unit of England have yet to progress beyond the fifth wicket and 628 runs have leaked past. Just a small matter of chance that...the Roos lucked out. Ashoka de Silva? Billy Doctrove? Must be something there to explain it all...

One could go on...the Australians were supposed to tumble like pins and leak runs like sphincterless bladders...everything in this test series indicates England's approach to be such...in contrast, Australia has been anything but that.

So there is only one team playing test cricket here and it is very boring to see another drubbing in the making. And without the likes of Warne in the Ozzie camp! and on a batsman's pitch which is only now helping the English bowlers!

Talking about boredom and Warney - The Wizard used to spin tails aroud the urn.

He owned it.

Warne spun the most fascinating of his dreams around the English circuit....especially the Ashes.

It was here that he was able to get full worth for all the imagination he employed. There wasn't a Sachin or Sidhu or Inzy to tonk him around like a rag doll and mask his innovativeness.

As a result, viewers got to see methods around the bat and pads they could never imagine.

Anticipation hung in the air permanently when he bowled for the Ashes, like the cloudy breath of Himalayan dragons sitting atop unseen peaks.

I always enjoyed Warney bowl...often, sitting in front of an Ashes screen, I tried to anticipate the kind of ball he'd be bowling and imagine I was the batsman. Invariably, I'd always guess correctly, be in the right place at the right time, and deposit the ball into my account in the stands....then I'd hear the clataaaax or Healy/Gilly yelling away and the dream would pop.

I miss that kind of Ashes pasttime today.

You can bet your last pound that England will only rise to land a punch when it is fruitless...when the series is lost and nothing's to be gained from it. That is if Australia budge to give them an inch. I do not think the Ozzies are so punchdrunk as to give the Englishmen that comfort on the same ledge yet.

We gotta see this mismatch for the next...how many weeks?

Boring as hell..placid pitches, one hoss matches, mediocre bowling/captaincy/attitude from other...and not one like Warney to dilute the ennui. I shudder to cover it on a day to day basis...to write about the same old hackneyed play, fielding positions, tactics and result! The same old useless singing in the aisles which achieves nothing and one cannot even decipher over the television. Michael Atherton "forward press"-ing us often from the commie box, Beefy beefing, Bumble bumbling, Nasser gnashing over the looooong batting line-up now...five strong cups of coffee since play began today for me already ....the fun of Ashes! Gatritis!

Some serious magic required to revive the Ashes for viewers outside UK and Oz. Bring on Warney!

What I now await is which of these two batsmen will retire to allow Mitch Johnson come in and fire a quick hundred in 10 overs or so. You see, so far back has England receded from the optimism built over the past two years that it may be extremely difficult now for them to come back into the match.

Fourth hundred of the innings - Haddin records his trophy! Well done Brad Haddin...at least he tries to keep things interesting with his methods.

What a five-man bowling faculty! Absolutely the very best of the entire cricketing world we were told.

Pickney Broad? He bowled short, shorter and shortest...but he no accountable to anyone.

Oh, I know what it will be...it was that Welsh anthem at the start of the Ashes. Have you ever heard of such a thing in an Ashes series? And an Ashes match at Cardiff? No wonder the 2009 series went swirling down River Taff and into the Severn estuary.

Here is England wobbling to a team others are fancying their chances against! Bring on the two-tier system of test cricket I say! The multi-tiered one would be better!

Maybe England could yank Beefy out from behind that microphone and put him up there in the centre to give a practical demonstration of how to cock a snook at the Ozzies singlehandedly.

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The Fixtures

What used to be present permanently in one corner of our lives is no longer there. seeing all the cricketing activity on TV, I headed over to check. A little concerned, apprehensive, that I hadn't heard much from that corner of my life I believe is truly mine. The comfortable knowledge that cricket would come around sooner or later with an Indian team in the fray was given...

But look what the Cricinfo page looks like...a screenshot and a link...




The Fixtures have escaped! The diary is empty! And that's May 2010 mind you!

And BCCI still mulching over this and that. It is possible this is the end of one cycle for India and the start of a new one so fixtures aren't announced yet, but Bala, i think you have the answer to your question there!

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Greetings Mr.Gavaskar

On his sixtieth birthday, our best wishes to Sunny bhai.

Sunny's contribution to the development of self-esteem and resilience of the Indian team cannot be underestimated. He brought a professional pride into the game where there was little or none. Being a mixture of nascent modernism and values of the past, he was able to define pride and value for one's efforts in more than one way.

He will remain a defining character of Indian cricketing history forever.

And his stance - probably one of the easiest and most comfortable of all stances. I used to follow the same principles on which it was based in my gully cricket maidans. So I owe him a huge thanks!

Now when is the Shastipoorthi Sunny bhai?

He speaks with Ayaaz Memon at Cricinfo.

The Hindu has an article of recollections.

Hindustan Times has a short photorecall titled Sweet 60

And his profile at Cricinfo with an characteristically brief brief stub about him from them. But the figures are complete I guess.

EDITED TO ADD

A must read - Bamble's An ode to SMG at Arm Ball

Fantastic post that.



The Gavaskar page at CNN-IBN.

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Drought fears

Along with the rest of my nation, I am also reeling under the effects of a failed monsoon. Power cuts, sapped energy, grilling heat, mindless markets...just some of the things which have caused one to choke-up on blogging when so much...so many dramatic events are going on in cricket and in the related field outside play....one is missing keeping a record of events.

The West Indies brouhaha, the continued dominance of Australia in the Ashes to the instense disappointment of Englishmen, Ricky Ponting's chance to overhaul Sachin's tally, the SPL, the changes being devised for test crikcet, the opportunity for Bangaldesh to record its first overseas win, a look at some exciting new Windian players, the various churnings within Indian domestic cricket, Bhookha Naan's pamphleteering, the dramatic Lankan victory in the first test...just some of the things on is losing track of.

They are contemplating whether to or not to call it a drought as of now.

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Dravid back in ODI scheme of things!!!

DRAVID IS BACK in ODI scheme of things and that is what the selectors want us to believe by naming him in the 30 men probables squad. It's a big surprise for me and only Badri getting a good run under Dhoni at a stable slot would upstage it. Dravid is not getting younger nor is he getting any quicker. He may strike better but his running and fielding will cost us more.

Selectors may have considered Dravid's utility value in SA or they may be keeping him as a back up for Sachin Tendulkar, to ensure a senior is in the team, or unhappy with our dancing middle order that's struggling against short stuff or just sending a message to Raina, Rohit and Co. Whatever be the reason it still is a retrograde step. I am not against Dravid. He is a class act and I always love to see him bat. But then if he makes a comeback then that's a strong negative statement on India's bench and the youth.

I don't see a certain Pujara or Tiwary in the squad. I would like to see selectors showing more faith in Badri and Pujara. These two have scored loads of runs in the past seasons. You take the last 4 of 5 domestic seasons, one of these names have always dominated the scene. Why are they not receiving the faith or the rope that Rohit and to some extent Raina is receiving. At least I can understand Raina but not Rohit. Despite poor technique against short ball and poor performance Rohit Sharma is still leading his life as India cricketer. Why not Pujara? Why is he not in the squad? Shouldn't the selectors try him and Badri before even thinking about Dravid for ODIs? Badri is either out or warming the bench and Pujara despite strong performances is way away from making it to the top.

With the world cup in 2011 nothing could be suicidal than carrying an unsettled squad into 2011. It could happen if Dravid makes the squad and performs well enough to remain in the squad for few more series'. I just wish this does not distract Dravid and he focuses on his test career and lengthening it with strong performances against SL in October 2009.

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Unfortunate all around

Two years after they got IPL off the blocks, BCCI hasn't been able to convince ICC members of a permanent slot within the FTP calendar ( even if ICC has adopted the perfected model with aplomb and made ICC T20 WCs an annual event henceforth - Pakistan deserved two years wih the cup, my sympathies). As a result, th tournament has looked a proverbial square peg within the round hole. The delay caused by IPL's flip-flopping ahead of India's general elections and its subsequent transplantation overseas exaggerated the misfit. The Indian team felt it most since their carefully devised programme did not have the stamina to accommodate delays and rescheduling.

Not only did the transplant result in IPL looking more of a misfit than ever, what with some countries going out of their way to ensure this aspect would remain arclighted for no reason other than envy, this transplant also gave wings to dangerous ideas.

Firstly, the domestic T20 event was scrapped for IPL and instead of that being the basis for identifying talent pool (as it was before the 2007 T20), IPL was accorded the status. In a sense, it was left to the whims and fancies of privateers and overseas coaches to examine local talent. BCCI gave up its task of sifting through the talent and selecting a team for T20 WC. Perhaps it never had any intention to look beyond the existing players...and we have seen the results of that. If you tell me there aren't better/as good T20 players in the country, I'll think you are past your date. By not examining the field or giving them opportunities, you, BCCI, avoided one of your key functions of selecting an Indian team from a list of probables.

Secondly, this transplant made megalomaniacs out of some BCCI functionaries. The focus was lost - from IPL being a domestic event of a player-maturing or player-unveiling kind, they sought to make it a travelling world circus.^{A Mistake Mr.Modi} It is possible the boardroom atmospherics of the IPL parliament is strongly contributory to the impetus in this direction. BCCI has ceded control to those who used to once sit in the sponsors boxes. As a result, differences in focus have come firmly to the fore.

India has given up many crucial tasks to privateers without attendant accountability or checks. Cricket is gradually becoming another such field. Priorities of privateers are very different from established ones. Changes introduced will be with a view to generate more business than develop cricket. There are some tasks which must be measured by their social viability rather than just economic viability - selection of a team from a pool of probables is one of them. Just being on the roster of a franchisee does not mean that is the cream....the best T20 pool. Not till their scouting methods are well established and transparent and conducted by men with integrity. You had experimentalists without any real stake mesing around in IPL...for instance the KKR camp...and you make such a tournament the basis for selecting a national T20 WC team! You could but you sought the easier way...by letting the impression govern that only the best were actively playing in IPL, you played truant with your own role...for you felt it was tedious to watch all domestic matches and select from a larger pool of players.

Now the parliament of privateers which has gradually begun to dominate the structure of Indian cricket, instead of sitting in the passenger seat, has decided that being a travelling circus, a la bollywood stage shows and South African swimsuit calendar shoot trips, is more beneficial to their interests than Indian cricket's. They are gradually driving the game away from its home and their able ally is Lalit Modi. A man with a foot in BCCI but his entire soul hvering in that parliament of privateers

Now they tried to pull yet another fast one - IPL knocks Deodhar off BCCI calendar

IPL is consumed and is turning out to be all consuming. Then, the Southern League will get off the ground despite the current Kiwi reluctance. Indicaions to that are the bold public suggestions by Haroon Lorgat, the ICC biggie, to pare down test cricket to four days. I am all for that in the second or third divisions of a tiered test cricket structure, but not in the top tier. All this is to accomodate two leagues per year...IPL being one (in a metamorphosed form with strategic alliances such as England, different venues and all) and SPL being other, perhaps with South Africa being in the lead role.

Perhaps the death of 50-50 is officially much closer than we imagine - there are enough soundbytes and quotables from former and current cricketers to suggest that - but BCCI is doing a disservice to itself by jumping the gun at home.

It can bloody well disband itself and hand over cricket to the parliament of privateers if it wants no further role in the tedious business of nurturing the game in India.

What is worse is that BCCI listens to only goon language. Unfortunate...that we must now also see this not as the serious issue affecting Indian cricket but more as an issue of trophysizing Maratha pride for the pleasure of a well-muscled group! BCCI is now cheap...cricket in India has been sold.

Not that it has reversed its decision...it merely has promised to review to assuage the known local muscle of the protesting grouping.

I was a supporter of the concept of T20 and leagues being the future engines of cricket. I supported the drivers in the past. I still believe T20 eventually will be the engine running all forms of the game. But I belive it must be done in a structured and consensual manner. I stop here...this is where my line is drawn...my support does not extend beyond this. It is time Modi is driven out of BCCI if he continues on this esoteric POA and the real BCCI steps forward to take over the reins of cricket again from the pirating hands of the parliament of privateers. IPL can be run without Modi...and there will be a slew of other privateers lining up if these must go. Fund providers get their share of publicity...that's what they pay for...they should not be made to sit on the throne of decision making for the nation. That's asking for more than they are collectively worth!

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Dis done!

Screenshot of Cricinfo's frontpage

Another ODI series in West Indies was won without much play. India was leading the West Indies on all fronts when the rain came pouring down. This is only India's second ODI series win there and matches their test series record in the Caribbeans.

I have read headlines and comments which suggest India's wins were unconvincing or thanks to divine help such as rain.

There is a grain/drop of truth in that if one sits down to examine, but the greater truth was that this Indian selection - some call it India C or India B - was able to play just enough better cricket than West Indies to prevail. Maybe WI were overconfident after their most recent run before this series in contrast to India's. Maybe they played worse than India did to lose this series. Maybe they invested too heavily in some clichés - Gayle's swinging club, Sarwan and Chanderpaul's amrtitiform revival playing India, XYZs having the match of their lives playing India (a la Faoud Bacchus and like), JT and cos' continued success with the mystery short balls, Ravi Rampaul repeating his act...and so on. Yes, maybe they didn't accommodate for some new ideas and possibilities.

That India could perhaps learn to guess those bouncers truly, that Rampaul was unlikely to have purple patches every day, that Ishant Sharma could slip in a KO CLATAAAAAX with the new ball, that the bouncer trip could be turned around as Nehra began to show rather effectively...that the momentum had shifted inexorably and rain just happened to interrupt a serious application of themselves by India. West Indies were walking on water before the rains.

But headlines and comments are just opinions at the end of the day.

However one thing is for certain, there are plenty of things India needs to correct in its own stable.

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No early psychological advantage yet

Ashes 2009 - Australia vs England Lions

England Lions haven't delivered a grogging punch to the visiting Australians at the commencement of this edition of the Ashes. One of the purposes of this warm-up game was to drive a peg or two into the confidence of the Kangaroos ahead of the first test match.

This is a strong Lions team, at least in terms of bowling.

MEK Hussey is doing his usual stuff; gathering the English fluff floating around the ground into meaningful first-class runs.

Marcus North wants in. Compulsive chap this. He wants to register his name in the chapter on glowing debuts in the annals of Ashes encounters, and he isn't wasting any time getting there. Australia will expect consistency from him to hold it all together at 6.

But the man who makes me squirm in PJ Hughes - I think this player has tremendous talent and have also backed him in fantasy leagues by including him in my team. While the real thing hasn't commenced yet, the manner of his two dismissals portend likely embarrassment for me in future on this count.

I hope poor form isn't hounding him at the start of the series.

Australia look serious this time. They perhaps have accepted their weakness in some areas and are willing to work hard on them. They know this will be a different kind of Ashes this time....more evenly matched.

Lee struck quick form to quell detracting voices, but can he sustain it? That's been his problem generally through his career.

And yes, I've heard so much about the prodigious Rashid. The youngster needs more time to develop his craft. England will be relying heavily on Swann and Anderson. Maybe Onions has a better series too than this match.

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Mohammed Aamer - Impressive start

Day one, First Test, Sri Lanka vs Pakistan 2009 in Sri Lanka

Scorecard



1.6
Mohammad Aamer to Warnapura, OUT, he knocks him out in his first over! He bangs it in short of a length outside off and gets it to swerve back in sharply with the angle, Warnapura is completely cramped for room as he shapes to cut and chops the ball onto the stumps

BSM Warnapura b Mohammad Aamer 2 (9m 8b 0x4 0x6) SR: 25.00

3.4
Mohammad Aamer to Paranavitana, FOUR, Dropped Oh boy that should have been taken, Aamer fires it inwards on a full length and induces a thick leading edge, I think it was Younis who fluffed the catch at third slip falling to his right, the ball rolls away to third man

5.1
Mohammad Aamer to Sangakkara, OUT, This time the fielders make no mistake! Aamer bowls it short of a length and gets the ball to straighten outside off, a tentative Sanga pokes his bat out and gets a thick outside edge which settles in malik's palms at third slip, waist high, he didn't have to move an inch

KC Sangakkara c Shoaib Malik b Mohammad Aamer 9 (17m 9b 1x4 0x6) SR: 100.00

7.2
Mohammad Aamer to Jayawardene, no run, Dropped Akmal's the culprit, Aamer bowls it in the corridor outside off and induces a nick, Akmal didn't have to move, he's dropped a sitter



Source - Cricinfo

The first four overs in test cricket from this whippy Pakistani teenager were indeed eventful!

Despite those dropped catches, Pakistan have Sri Lanka on the mat. In fact before the match began for Murali was ruled out. Lanka are not yet out of it but that's been because of stiff rearguard resistance from debutant Angelo Mathews and Kulasekara.

Abdur Rauf, the 30 year old newbie paceman, had a fruitful debut as well.

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An overwhelming vote

In a previous post I asked "Will you miss Tendulkar when he retires?"

Among of the twelve respondents, the motion was unanimous - Sachin Tendulkar would be missed. The difference only being in minor degrees for some are preparing in advance and have accepted that that day must someday come.

Sunny Gavaskar made me vex, "What after?" I used to worry. Tendulkar came along within no time at all...just a couple of years after Sunny's retirement...to be the workhorse of the Indian team. Then he was joined by Dravid and all was almost secure again...Gavaskar and Vishy were adequately replaced. (India have never lost when Vishy or Gavaskar have scored hundreds in the same match I think).

Sourav and Laxman were bonus and Sehwag was a windfall. Not just Sunny and Vishy, but Mohinder, Vengsarkar, Chetan Chauhan et al also were aptly replaced! But the question remains - "Did they all together change the face of Indian cricket enough?" If so, how significantly and in which directions, did this class of Indian cricket change the game?

Also, do we have a situation where 3-4 years after Sachin retires someone capable, of true quality steps in?

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Badbwais Beat Dun WI

India vs West Indies 2009, Third ODI, Beausejour Stadium, Grose Islet, St.Lucia

Scorecard

What is merely a coincidence is beginning to appropriate the irrationalization which goes beyond coincidence: India invariably win when I am not watching them play! The blue boys who couldn't put a step right till now managed to overhaul the proud hot West Indians in a game rapidly changing with every drop of rain pelting down from the clouds on this beautiful stadium. I must credit Dhoni here with leading the way in this series through personal example.

Gambhir was beaten this season. His mind was shot to pieces by the enormous concentration constructing a grand season required. He was playing and erring, knowing but not correcting, like a gramophone needle led astray by an errant track. But in this match, in this crucial match serieswise, he came good. I cannot tell you how he played, for I didn't watch the match and shall catch it only on the replay, but it must have been better than what he has played till now this season. Or maybe the luck went alongwith him...whatever. When he fires at the top, India is able to sustain a healthy momentum.

DK continues to make serious contributions. He got a beauty from JT the last game unlike others who perished to Ravi Rampaul's seductions (also called rotibelly by WI supporters/detractors of his in WI cricket forums due to his fullish girth for a fast bowler, according to them). This time he appeared to have beaten the dun out of JT...yet again, JT proves most expensive. But he is the kind of player who will win you games on one day and let it go the other. It was all LIXXXXXXXXXXX today though for him...

Gambo and DK should have completed the task once they had the West Indians on the run, but we are Indians, we like to download and write in tortuous plots and subplots from our imagination into reality. These twists and turns spring up at you as if saying boo! People have tried to figure out why...they theorize that we are a naturally hysterical people with a liking for the flash and adrenaline rush...most blame it however on the spices we tend to eat. Indians are emotionally labile peeps with fertile imagination because the spices are shooting fire out of their backsides and rocketing them into the orbits of fantasyland. They need the rush...often they get their fix by watching cricket matches and riding the esses introduced by the Indian players. Dhoni stepped up to marshall the innings here in such a situation.

But before all this, the worry continues that Ishant Sharma has been overbowled in the past two years. remember, he is still just 20 years old or thereabouts. His physical maturity isn't complete and he may well be a pile of useless burnout before men take cognizance.

He isn't ready for LOI bowling...if he has to play then he has wasted his time in that KKR team as well...he's have learnt at least a thing or two if he had been playing alongside McGrath and under TA Sekhar's guidance. I know that he playing for KKR is not his or our choice but the bidder's choice...and this is a disservice of sorts done my the KKR team management to India's brightest hope in pace bowling.

The lad cannot figure out the nuances easily and he might just end up losing both his shoulder and test match bowling prowess in the process. Let him mature first...let him try out things...give him 2-3 years...spread out his burden as well logically...he could end up being a dangerous bowler in all forms. As of now, he simply doesn't know how to bowl in LOIs...yeah, he'll do well against peeps like us, but not Gayle!

Continuing with the hyperbole-fantasy-bollywoodistic (or Tolly or Lolly or Polly or Molly or Kolly or whatever) mindset of the average Indian and extending it further, if suppose Sarwan and Chanders were laid out in their last moments and were asked for a last wish, I am sure they would immediately clamour, with all remaining energies, to play one last game against India. For you see that is like amrit for them. Remember the vish-amrit games played when one was a toddler? They are revived when they play India...they stand up and puff out to gigantic proportions after having been snuffed out gradually by other teams...the ordinary spinners of other teams will trouble Chanders to no end, but he will play the champion spinners of India as if they were less than other novices. Sarwan will burgeon the myth of him being an all-conqueror when he has actually success loaded in certain pockets of his career. Take a look at him now...it is difficult to imagine that this is the man who has been stuttering in recent times in ODIs or T20s. Chanders failed this time. Rare one that against India.

Abhishek Nayar debuted but didn't get a chance to either bowl or bat. I hope that will not be the case for I think he will be a useful player for India in ODIs/T20. Welcome him.

Now it is the time for Dhoni to do a Dada - like Sourav Ganguly did, he's got the Caribbeans in a bind and musn't take his foot off the pressure...Gayle or no Gayle, Sarwan or no Sarwan, Chanders or no Chanders....and the other XYZs who generally prosper against India ONLY (read as Morton and like).

Beat dun the WI in West Indies!

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