Cricket-related comments...

Since February 2007, I have moved all my cricket-related ramblings to a multi-contributor blog named i3j3. Please visit http://i3j3cricket.wordpress.com for my cricket-related views.

Full calendar for Team India in 2007

The cricket calendar for 2007 is going to be quite crowded team India.

After the current 4 ODIs against Sri Lanka, India prepare to go to the World Cup.

The World Cup will see out March and April 2007.

In May, India play Bangladesh in 2 Tests and 3 ODIs. Clearly, this is nothing but an opportunity for the India players to shore up their averages before the year becomes gruelling again!

June appears to be an “off” month.

India will tour England from July to September to play 3 Tests and 7 ODIs. Playing 7 ODIs in England in a World Cup year — and that too, after the World Cup — seems a bit bizzarre to me! Nevertheless, that’s the plan.

In October, Australia visits India to play 7 ODIs.

India then hosts Pakistan for 3 Tests and 5 ODIs.

As a result of the Pakistan tour of India in November, the Indian tour to Australia from December through to March 2008 has been postponed by 3 weeks or so. In fact, while most previous tours of Australia have traditionally commenced in late-November, India’s tour of Australia in 2007-08 will probably only commence in the second week of December!

As a result, the 1st Test of the series will be the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, with the 2nd Test starting immediately after the conclusion of the 1st Test (on 2 Jan 2008). Two other Tests follow in January. The ODI tournament — which also involves Sri Lanka — would commence only in February!

An article on this re-scheduling appears in the Sydney Morning Herald today.

A busy cricket calendar for Team India!

– Mohan

Indian Team for the first two Sri Lanka matches...

The Indian team for the first two ODI matches against Sri Lanka has been announced. The team is along expected lines and reads:

Rahul Dravid (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, R Uthappa, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Virender Sehwag, S. Sreesanth.

Unless Virender Sehwag or Irfan Pathan or Munaf Patel blow it big time with either form or injury, it is very likely that this XV will be the team that goes to the World Cup in four weeks' time.

This team is not too different to the team that I had suggested in my blog entry a few weeks back. I had suggsted a World Cup XV of:

Rahul Dravid (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Robin Uthappa, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag, S. Sreesanth, Rudra Pratap Singh, Suresh Raina, Joginder Sharma.

The differences are Anil Kumble, Dinesh Karthik and Munaf Patel (in the team that the selectors chose) instead of Suresh Raina, R. P. Singh and Joginder Sharma that I had suggested in my team.

The selectors have probably got it right with their choices of Kumble, Karthik and Patel. I am just not sure about the durability of Munaf Patel.

The next four games are going to be quite vital for India's preparations. Sri Lanka are a good opposition although they will sorely miss Chaminda Vaas and Muthiag Muralitharan. But as coach Tom Moody said in a recent interview, it is also perhaps an opportunity for others to step up to the plate.

Runs galore...

With the cricket World Cup 'round the corner, I decided to take a peek at stats. If we take a look at the maximum number of career runs scored in ODIs the top-25 looks like this.

The columns read Matches, Innings, Not Outs, Runs, Highest Score, Avg, Strike Rate, Centuries, Fifties and Catches respectively [Source: Cricinfo].

01. SR Tendulkar        378  369  36 14728  186*  44.22  85.67  41 75  113
02. Inzamam-ul-Haq      370  342  52 11591  137*  39.96  74.48  10 83  108
03. ST Jayasuriya       375  364  16 11442  189   32.87  90.40  23 61  110
04. SC Ganguly          282  273  21 10302  183   40.88  73.92  22 62   96
05. BC Lara             290  281  31 10136  169   40.54  79.46  19 62  115
06. R Dravid            306  285  36  9973  153   40.05  70.71  12 76  182
07. RT Ponting          266  260  31  9670  164   42.22  79.32  21 57  117
08. M Azharuddin        334  308  54  9378  153*  36.92  73.99   7 58  156
09. PA de Silva         308  296  30  9284  145   34.90  81.13  11 64   95
10. Saeed Anwar         247  244  19  8823  194   39.21  80.66  20 43   42
11. DL Haynes           238  237  28  8648  152*  41.37  63.09  17 57   59
12. AC Gilchrist        253  246   9  8531  172   35.99  96.29  14 48  372
13. ME Waugh            244  236  20  8500  173   39.35  76.83  18 50  108
14. MS Atapattu         264  255  31  8448  132*  37.71  67.77  11 59   70
15. JH Kallis           242  231  40  8327  139   43.59  70.37  14 57   93
16. Mohammad Yousuf     228  215  31  7608  141*  41.34  74.07  11 51   50
17. SR Waugh            325  288  58  7569  120*  32.90  75.91   3 45  111
18. SP Fleming          265  254  19  7484  134*  31.84  70.74   6 45  128
19. A Ranatunga         269  255  47  7456  131*  35.84  77.91   4 49   63
20. Javed Miandad       233  218  41  7381  119*  41.70  66.99   8 50   71
21. Saleem Malik        283  256  38  7170  102   32.88  76.41   5 47   81
22. NJ Astle            223  217  14  7090  145*  34.92  72.64  16 41   83
23. MG Bevan            232  196  67  6912  108*  53.58  74.16   6 46   69
24. G Kirsten           185  185  19  6798  188*  40.95  72.04  13 45   61
25. A Flower            213  208  16  6786  145   35.34  74.60   4 55  141

If we now prune this to only include players playing currently, we get the following list:

01. SR Tendulkar        378  369  36 14728  186*  44.22  85.67  41 75  113
02. Inzamam-ul-Haq      370  342  52 11591  137*  39.96  74.48  10 83  108
03. ST Jayasuriya       375  364  16 11442  189   32.87  90.40  23 61  110
04. SC Ganguly          282  273  21 10302  183   40.88  73.92  22 62   96
05. BC Lara             290  281  31 10136  169   40.54  79.46  19 62  115
06. R Dravid            306  285  36  9973  153   40.05  70.71  12 76  182
07. RT Ponting          266  260  31  9670  164   42.22  79.32  21 57  117
12. AC Gilchrist        253  246   9  8531  172   35.99  96.29  14 48  372
14. MS Atapattu         264  255  31  8448  132*  37.71  67.77  11 59   70
15. JH Kallis           242  231  40  8327  139   43.59  70.37  14 57   93
16. Mohammad Yousuf     228  215  31  7608  141*  41.34  74.07  11 51   50
18. SP Fleming          265  254  19  7484  134*  31.84  70.74   6 45  128


In other words, only 12 of the top-25 ODI career-run-getters
are still playing. Of these, 3 are from India!

Indeed, if we assume that Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly will
score an additional 500 runs in the remaining 4 games before
the World Cup, in these three players, India would account for
a total of 36,000 runs -- that is a lot of experience!

Let us assume that Dravid gets another 27 runs in the remaining
4 ODIs prior to the World Cup. Seems reasonable to me! In that
event it is likely that only 6 batsmen will go into the World Cup
with 10,000+ runs to their credit. Of these, 3 will be from India!

Yes, India does play a lot of ODIs. So, just looking at aggregates
is probably unwise.

So, let us look at number of runs and averages together. Only 14 of
the top-50 ODI run getters of all time have an average of over 40.
Only 7 of these are still playing (8 if we include Inzamam, who
is so close ot an average of 40 that it is not funny!). Of these 8,
three are from India. This is, of course, assuming that Dravid's
average does not drop below 40 prior to the World Cup.

What is this saying? Nothing much really apart from the fact that
the Indian top order batting has a heck of a lot of experience and
capability. All they need is the right mental make up and the
application to pile on the runs.

On why Sachin and Sehwag should not be dropped...

I have seen some interesting posts in the last few days/weeks relating to Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. Some of these have been laughable and some of these have been plain annoying (to me!).

Several experts and non-experts (including close friends) have suggested that Sachin should be dropped from the team.

I have always been amused by these suggestions and looked at the (non-)experts dangle perilously as the pendulum -- their pendulum -- swung wildly from one end ("wow he is a legend") to the other ("ohhhh! kick him out..." or "he should retire") without as much as pausing for breath at a stable, central, core (read: rational) resting point. And would these (non-)experts ever think of either humble pie or (God forbid!) egg-on-faces in the light of his majestic match-winning innings in the 4th ODI against West Indies in Vadodhra yesterday (31 January 2007)? I do not think so. The manner in which he played was incredible [Photo below from Times of India]. Sachin Tendulkar first steadied the innings with Rahul Dravid and then slowly accelerated to a fine (match winning) century.

The (non-)experts would quietly move on to pick on the next random player to be either "sacked" or "incarcerated" or "chopped at the limbs" or some other form of extreme punishment, until it is time to pick on Sachin Tendulkar again. If these experts thought about eggs on faces, there would be a dearth of eggs in the land!

Captain Rahul Dravid himself captured this mood quite adequately in a series of comments laced with sarcasm which was so subtle and delicate that it probably didn't quite measure on their egg-on-faces-laden-Richter-scale! Dravid said, for example, "We were not unduly worried about Sachin. Maybe everyone else can stop worrying now so we can have a bit of peace around. But what will we discuss then?"

A look at Sachin Tendulkar's comparative stats in ODIs indicate the sheer fallacy of these chest thumping opinions. An interesting article today compares the batting stats forSachin vis-a-vis other international cricketers. Other than Mike Hussey -- and that lad is clearly in the zone -- Sachin has fared as well as the others in recent times! And no, lest the typical Indian cricket fan jumps up and down in non-factual hand-waving, in this comparative period that the author has chosen, India has not played either Bangladesh or Kenya!

Sachin Tendulkar is a proven match winner. Yes, he probably let himself and his team down in the manner in which he played in the 3rd Test in South Africa. But, let us not forget that he is a proven match winner. And he still knows how to hold a bat. And he still knows how to score runs.

The mere presence of Sachin Tendulkar in the team makes the opposition bowl negatively. They do not know what he will do on any given day. Similarly Sehwag. These are players that can (and have) taken games away from oppositions. This is why it is absolutely important that Sehwag goes to the World Cup. This is a view shared by John Wright (quite emphatically) and Arun Lal, in a roundtable discussion with Sanjay Manjrekar.

This is one of the reasons I feel Sehwag should go. And I agree wholeheartedly with Prem Sanjay Vuthandam when he pleads, "Leave Sachin alone". The presence of these two is, I believe, worth 40 runs on the field. Opposition teams would often take risks to set of target of 280 when 240 may have sufficed, because they know that, with Sachin and Sehwag in the team, India can take the game away from them. They might bowl a negative/defensive line because they may not know what the realms of possibilities are when these two guys are on song.

We have a habit, in India, of putting people on terribly high pedestals. I feel we do that so that we retain the right to be able to drag them off it whenever we chose to do so. This is surely a sad state of affairs! This has been commented on recently in a lucid and frank interview by Greg Chappell. Sachin Tendulkar himself responded rather tersely (and I think, uncharacteristically) to this issue when asked about the pressures on him at the conclusion of the 4th ODI against the West Indies yesterday.

There must be stable ground somewhere between those two extremes.

One step closer :: India name 12 for the 4th ODI

India named its 12-member team for the 4th ODI against the Windies to be played today (31 January 2007). There are few surprises. And as I suggested a few days back, the team management appears to be slowly honing in on a final combination. Dravid stated yesterday that the team management has more or less pencilled in 17-18 players from which the final 15 that will travel to the World Cup will be chosen. To me, the big surprise in this statement was that both Kumble and Harbhajan would go to the Windies and that Powar will need to fight it out with a pace bowler for a spot in the 15-member team!

It is clear that the team management have invested a lot of faith in Irfan Pathan. In that sense, Pathan seems to be a certainty to go to the Windies. One certainly hopes that Pathan can deliver. Dravid also confirmed that Ganguly and Uthappa will open.

So, the 12-member team for the 4th ODI (in possible batting order) is:

1. Saurav Ganguly, 2. Robin Uthappa, 3. Irfan Pathan, 4. Sachin Tendulkar, 5. Rahul Dravid, 6. Yuvraj Singh, 7. M. S. Dhoni, 8. Ajit Agarkar, 9. Harbhajan Singh, 10. Anil Kumble, 11. Zaheer Khan, [12th man] Dinesh Karthik

I suspect Dinesh Karthik will carry the drinks. He would also field after Kumble finishes his quota and runs of feigning a non-existent injury!

I would certainly advocate Pathan coming in at #3 in the batting order.

Again, the absence of Virender Sehwag is quite telling. If, as I had suggested the other day, Sehwag were to occupy the #6 position, just after Yuvraj Singh, the composition would look a lot more balanced and even... But then, perhaps the thinking in the team is that Sehwag would be in competition with Irfan Pathan for the #3 spot.

Either way, given Dravid's comments on Sreesanth it looks like the final XV would be the 12 chosen for this match plus Virender Sehwag, [either Romesh Powar or Sreesanth], Munaf Patel. Munaf Patel appears a sure look-in given the positive comments expressed by Dravid. The team seems to be pinning a heck of a lot of hopes on Munaf Patel (moreover, the other pace bowlers have been sent home). Given his propensity to break down at crucial times, this choice is a potentially risky proposition. But it looks as if the team management has painted itself into some sort of a corner here.

Possible team for the 4th ODI :: A few iterations short of the final chapter

So, India lost the 3rd ODI match against the Windies. I think that that is perfectly fine. It'd have been poor, in my view, for India to have won all eight lead-up games given the teams that they have taken into each game. They are clearly experimenting around a few key spots. Winning all 8 games would perhaps give the team management a sense of "we are doing things right". They are not -- and I feel that Dravid-Chappell-Vengsarkar troika know that. As I said right from the first match of this series, they are a few iterations short of a balanced team. This loss actually got them closer to a winning combination, in my view. Yes, the cliche kings will be out with "but winning is a habit" and other assorted cliches. But I think the loss could not have come at a better time.

What did India learn?

• Of Uthappa and Gambhir, the former, thanks to his whirlwind 70 off 41 balls, should win the World Cup berth.
• Ajit Agarkar -- much as I dislike accepting it -- will be given the plane ticket to the West Indies.
• Given the rate of his free-fall, Suresh Raina may not even get a plane ticket to Ghaziabad, which is where I believe he lives. He is perhaps hanging on mainly due to his fielding.
  
• The jury is probably still out on Karthik.
• Kumble may have to hang up his ODI shoes (at least, I hope he does).
• Powar seems to have got his numbers (and game) right although he might himself endorse a petition to have the "all rounder" moniker wiped off his bio.
  
• Sreesanth has possibly lost his grip on the team although he may yet earn a plane plane ticket to the Windies.
  

India should now start fine tuning its final team composition. A loss from here on in -- in the remaining match against the Windies and the 4 match series against Sri Lanka -- would not be great. India should try and win every game from now on.

The loss in the 3rd ODI couldn't have, as I said at the start of this post, come at a better time...

I'd suggest that the team for the 4th ODI should be (in batting order):

Saurav Ganguly, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, M. S. Dhoni, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan

This team would still be one "bit bowler" short. So, the only question mark would then be on whether Sehwag makes the cut instead of Dinesh Karthik in the final XI. My preference would be to have Sehwag in the XI, mainly because, Pathan, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Yuvraj and Sehwag can (together) bowl 20 overs.

On the point of bowl-outs of the last 10 overs (or the 5th bowlers' quota) by "bit bowlers", I believe that the thinking has shifted -- slowly but perceptibly. Previously, teams were only looking to bowl-out just the last 10 overs with one or two "bit bowlers". The current thinking is that teams need a good mix of a few players who are able to bowl-out 20 overs. That way, teams can take in 3 mainline bowlers and take a clutch of bowlers who can bowl-out the remaining 20 overs.

I think India should adopt this strategy that Australia and South Africa have successfully employed over the last 2-3 years or so. Australia only look to 3 bowlers bowling-out their 10-over quota. Typically, this would be Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken. The remaining 20 overs would be bowled-out by a combination of Mitchell Johnson (of late), Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds and Cameron White.

Similarly, for India.

I do not believe that the team should look to have Pathan bowl-out his 10 overs. He is not a 10 over bowler in ODIs. He should be treated as a "bit bowler" in the same mould as a Jacques Kallis or a Michael Clarke or an Andrew Symonds. That may help clarify his role in the team a bit better. Of course, there will be days when he bowls magnificently to have figures of 10-2-35-3. But then, these should be bonuses rather than the norm.

I believe India should look to bowl-out Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, while a combination of Pathan, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Sehwag and Yuvraj should bowl-out the remaining 20 overs.

If Sehwag does play in the XI, my suggestion would be that he bats in the middle order, just ahead of Dhoni. He can then unleash his array of strokes in the final overs. With Dhoni, it would be an interesting mayhem to watch!

The irony of it all is quite amazing. Here is a cricketer, low on technique who is a Test opener but a one day middle order player! Hummpphhh! So much for logic and rationale... But then, that is the type of cricketer Sehwag is. He does defy logic and rationale in almost everything he does.

Sehwag is set to play 3 ODI games for Delhi-A against Delhi-B, as part of Delhi's preparation for the Ranji ODI Tournament (slated to commence Feb 10). Sehwag leads one of the teams while regular Delhi captain, Mithun Manhas leads the other. The timing of these practice games appears somewhat manufactured. Clearly DDCA is keen to get Sehwag back in Team India -- and why not! The practice games have been so hastily organised that even some of the Delhi team players appear to be unaware. The three games are on Monday 29 January, Tuesday 30 January and Thursday 1 February. Sehwag is clearly sweating and hungry at the moment. And that can only be good for Indian cricket. The team needs him there with a fiery hunger -- and not lackadaisical complacency -- in his belly.

Apart from the XI named above for the next game against the Windies, the remaining 4 players in the XV could be: Virender Sehwag, [Anil Kumble or Ramesh Powar], [Munaf Patel or S. Sreesanth], [Suresh Raina or Gautam Gambhir or Joginder Sharma].

If the 4 that are selected are Sehwag, Powar, Munaf and Raina (very likely), unfortunately, that means that India will go with 4 seamers and 2 spinners in the XV. But that's they way things have panned out, especially since R. P. Singh and Joginder Sharma have been sent home.

India Vs West Indies :: 3rd ODI :: 27 Jan 2006 :: Team Composition

After winning two games of the 4-game series, India appear to be on a track that spells confidence. Captain, Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell have insisted that it is more about process and less about outcomes. And that's exactly what I feel they have done. They have concentrated on getting the right personnel in the right spots. They seem to have got a few things right along the way. They have won a few games along the way too -- after a disastrous tour to South Africa and after a series of ills in the shortened form of the game. India's plan appears to be coming together.

The team management seems to be inextricably zeroing in on a workable team composition. One gets the feeling that, at least in the minds of captain, coach and selector, tickets have been booked for much of the 15-member team for the World Cup. They now seem to be iterating around the edges to fine-tune a few remaining spots.

So what have we learned from the selections so far?

Given that the team has rested Saurav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, M. S. Dhoni and Zaheer Khan for the 3rd ODI in Chennai today, I think that this quartet has already booked its place on the final XV to the World Cup. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are also definitely in.

I'd find it hard to believe that a fit Yuvraj Singh won't make it. He is an important player in the overall scheme of things. The remaining 6 matches of India's preparations should sharpen him up. These matches are a chance for him to prove that he is match-fit. It would be nice for him to be allowed the opportunity to work himself to peak fitness with the body and the bat/ball. His presence in the field is as important for India as his ability to score in the death overs.

Given the importance that both the coach and captain place on an in-form Irfan Pathan, I'd find it hard to believe that Pathan is left out when the final-cut is decided on.

So, that makes it 8 definite spots taken (in my books at least).

The team for the Chennai match is (in possible batting order):
Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar, Anil Kumble, Sreesanth.

This is a good team roll that has its composition targetted to the World Cup.

This is Uthappa's big chance. He may be in a fight with Gambhir for the openers' slot. I do hope Uthappa shines in this match. I rate him highly. I'd like to see him on the plane to the Windies.

This may also be a fight between Dinesh Karthik and Suresh Raina for a slot in the middle order.

Ajit Agarkar may have done enough to book a ticket to West Indies.

I think this is also a test for Sreesanth to see if he has it in him to bowl tight and straight for 10 overs.

And finally, it appears also that there is a fight between Powar and Kumble for an extra spinners' slot. I have a feeling that Powar may have done enough with some accurate bowling in the last match, but there may be a few questions on his batting. Is he as good with the bat as people around him (and his Ranji scores) seem to make out?

So, it would seem to me that the team for the World Cup is shaping up to be:
Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, M. S. Dhoni, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, [Gautam Gambhir / Robin Uthappa], [Suresh Raina / Dinesh Karthik], Ajit Agarkar, [S. Sreesanth], [Ramesh Powar / Anil Kumble].

From what I have read, S. Sreesanth may be in a fight for a spot with Munaf Patel.

That would leave two spots.

One of them would have to be Virender Sehwag. He has, in my view, sweated enough and it is perhaps time to bring him into the equation for the games against Sri Lanka.

The final bits of polish can be applied to the team at that point. In my view, things are shaping up nicely from a selection point of view.

India Vs West Indies :: 2nd ODI :: 24 Jan 2006 :: Team Composition

The team for the 2nd ODI against the Windies certainly looks a bit more balanced and better, in my view. The team management has realised that the balance wasn't quite right. I alluded to this balance issue in my post on this blog a few minutes before the commencement of the 1st ODI of the series.

India went into that game with 4 bowlers. And that is just not on.

The team for the 2nd ODI is also not right, in my view. They are a batsman short.

However, one can see that the team is working on a path that will get them from a starting point to an ideal finsihing point with just a few swaps-and-changes. They appear to have started this journey really well.

It also helps that the team is winning along the way!

So the team for the 2nd ODI (as announced) is:
Gambhir, Ganguly, Dravid, Tendulkar, Karthik, Dhoni, Agarkar, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Powar, Joginder.

My suspicion is that the batting order will be:
Ganbhir, Ganguly, Joginder, Tendulkar, Dravid, Karthik, Dhoni, Powar, Agarkar, Harbhajan, Zaheer

Sreesanth and Raina miss out from the last game. One suspects that both of them are probably going to miss the plane to the World Cup.

This team, though better, in terms of balance, than the team for the 1st ODI, still lacks in one or two departments. It has 5 mainline bowlers in Zaheer, Agarkar, Harbhajan, Powar and Joginder. In addition, it has 2 'other bowlers' in Ganguly and Tendulkar.

It lacks 3 all rounders, in my view.

They are, in my view, Sehwag (for Gambhir), Yuvraj for Karthik/Powar and Pathan for Agarkar.

But one can witness a progression towards that state.

I believe Pathan and Yuvraj should make it into the team for the last 2 ODIs when the 15-member team is announced tomorrow by the selectors. They should replace R. P. Singh and Raina. There were some clues to Rainas' dropping in Dravids' pre-match interview. Pathan's case is helped by his recent wicket taking -- in particular, in the Ranji semi-final against Mumbai (where Mumbai were 0 for 6 wickets at one stage, with Pathan claiming 3 of these)!

Good luck to Team India...

Revamping the Indian domestic competition...

In recent times, I have heard many people suggesting that the Indian Domestic Competition needs an overhaul.

A good first-step was taken a few years ago, thanks to a movement led by Sunil Gavaskar. The traditional zonal-manner in which the Ranji Trophy tournament was organised up until then was scrapped. We saw the Ranji league divided into two leagues:

• the Super League consisting of 15 teams in two divisions of 8 and 7 each, and
• the Plate League consisting of 13 teams in two divisions of 7 and 6 each.
  

It is not clear why the Super League has two divisions of 8 and 7 each. It is also not clear why the Plate league has two imbalanced divisions of 7 and 6 each. Some things are best left without much questioning, I guess!

This was a good first step initiated by Sunil Gavaskar.

However, the future of Indian cricket can not rely on the Ranji Championship to throw up super cricketers. If you see the Australian scene there are a few teams that slug it out in a near-International-standard cricket competition. The main reason is that the Ranji leagues have too many teams. The better players emerge from a competition with only a few teams that slug it out. The best players need to play against each other. This is why the Australian league is one of the strongest.

So, here is a suggestion on a revamp of the system:

While I can understand the need for teams like Orissa, Assam and Bihar to participate in the national competition, we need to assemble a competition with fewer and better teams to slug it out. A smaller and stronger competition will unearth the best players.

After the Ranji competition is completed, why not create two Super-Six Divisions?

The First Super-Six Division will consist of the top-6 teams from the Super-League -- three from each Division. We could get them to play a home-away Ranji-Super-Six-Championship-League.

The Second Super-Six Division will decide who gets relegated to the Plate Division. The bottom 4 teams from the Super-League and the top 2 teams from the Plate Division can play in the Second Super-Six Division. We could get them to slug it out in a home-away league to decide who gets relegated (2 bottom teams) and who stays in the Super league (top 4).

A change is required to unravel the best players in Indian domestic cricket. This is but one suggestion...

India Vs West Indies :: 1st ODI :: 21 Jan 2006 :: Team Composition

This is being written a few minutes before the start of the 1st ODI between India and West Indies at Nagpur. India has 8 games (4 against the Windies and 4 against Sri Lanka) to fine tune their preparations for the World Cup. And I must say I do not quite like the way they have started this journey... A few things are right, but not all of it, in my view.

The team composition just doesn't look right. The balance is just not there.

I do hope they lose, for this will make them go back to the drawing board.

India has gone in with:
Gautham Gambhir, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, K. K. D. Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Sree Sreesanth, Zaheer Khan.

Joginder Sharpa, Robin Uthappa, Romesh Pawar and R.P. Singh have been left out.

What is wrong?

In my view, we should not open with Gambhir and Ganguly. In his pre-match interview, Dravid said that India has gone in with Ganguly and Gambhir (a left-left combination) to nullify the Windies opening bowlers. Why does that matter? They should have their eye on the World Cup and cannot afford Gambhir carrying out an opportunistic cementing of his place! [Note: Good luck to Gambhir if he does cement his place with a quick-fire 50 or so].

What India needs is a right-left explosive opening partnership. In the absence of Uthappa, they should have gone in with a Dhoni-Ganguly opening partnership. My crystal ball says Gambhir will make a quick 50 or so and they will be stuck with him till the World Cup.

I also do not think they should go with just 4 bowlers. It looks like Ganguly-Tendulkar-Raina will bowl out the 5th bowlers' quota of 10 overs. The balance is not right. The time was ripe to blood Joginder Sharma. In the absence of an out of form Irfan Pathan, they should have played in Joginder Sharma in the remaining games. They may have missed the boat on this. Again, my fear-stricken crystal ball says that the Ganguly-Tendulkar-Raina combination may bowl 10 overs for 20 and get 3 wickets. This may make the team stick with this combination for the remaining games.

I can see egg and faces from a mile!

However, the basics are there. It is, in my view, right for Tendulkar to drop further down the order. This is a bold move and a move that is to be applauded. I feel that he will stabilise the middle-overs. It is right for Ganguly to open. It is just not right for Dravid to come in at #3 (which is how the team sheet has been announced). Tendulkar or Dhoni or Karthik should come in at #3.

I am hoping for a Gambhir failure. I am hoping for a Karthik failure (get Joginder in please). And I am hoping for a Tendulkar-Ganguly-Raina (5th bowler) failure. And I am hoping India loses badly to make the management go back to the drawing board. However, I feel I will be proved wrong -- unfortunately. I may not get my wishes... But one lives in hope.

However, it was nice to see Dravid's attitude in a Cricinfo interview. Unlike past captains, he admitted that there were a few glitches. He indicated that the team was not quite the finished book. He indicated that Sachin Tendulkar would bat further down the order. He straight-talked on Sehwag. He said, "[Sehwag] when playing well, when he's in a good state of mind mentally and physically, is an asset. Sometimes, playing games helps but sometimes a bit of time off - switching off mentally - can be beneficial as well. The selectors have taken a decision and we need to respect that... sometimes being away from the game can do you a world of good. As far as I see it, the best players must go to the World Cup - in terms of form and fitness. It's not reputations that we need to go by." Straight-talking here. He's left a door open for Sehwag, perhaps? But one door is certainly shut.

He was clear on his own form too. He did not duck like an Azharuddin. He did not stutter like a Tendulkar. He did not play verbal-gymnastics or politics and sweet-talk like a Ganguly. He hit it straight down the middle. He said, "When I've got runs, it's made a difference to the side. I was happy with my form till I broke my finger in South Africa. But it was a strange tour for me. It's not easy to miss four weeks in the middle of the tour and then to come back. Things didn't go as well as I would have liked in the Tests as well. In a close series, one key innings can change the series. It's not about the number of runs or averages. It's about getting the critical innings when it matters. It didn't happen but we need to pull up our socks and move on."

Straight-talk.

He then made it clear -- in what can be seen by Sehwag, Yuvraj, Kumble and Pathan as a clear indication that time is ticking dangerously -- that there were only a few cogs in the World Cup selection-wheel that needed to be set right. He said, "We're very close to identifying key players for the World Cup squad. You must have a key group and we've identified them a while back. There have been a few form blips, a few fitness issues - obviously some spots available for selection - but we have a good idea of our plans."

More straight-talk... More power to him.

Bigot Brother...

So Shilpa Shetty is in the midst of a major crisis. Rediff has a "Special" on it to match its "Specials" on issues such as the the Gujarat riots, the Tsunami, the Jessica Lal murder case, the brutal Noida killings or the Mumbai Blast case. Seriously!

The issue has been raised in The Commons by Labour MP Keith Vaz (an MP of Indian origin). The Prime Minister, Tony Blair responded to the question at question-time. Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was forced to field questions on this issue while leading a high-level delegation of business people to India. Neither Brown nor Blair had seen the program. And why would they?

The Guardian has commented on it. The Times in London has written about it. Germaine Greer got in on the act with a column in The Guardian. The episode even made it to TV news bulletins and also on to the mainstream, respected AM package in Australia's own ABC!

I don't know Shilpa Shetty. But in an attempt to find out more about her, I tried to find her web-presence. I reached her website. However, in an attempt to field the surge in traffic to her website a few intro pages appear to have been added to her website by her managers. This includes contact details of her manager as well as a statement from her management.

Good on them for cashing in. Why won't they?

I don't know any of the movies Shilpa Shetty has acted in. I don't care either. The fact that she is not mentioned in the same breath as Shabana Azmi, Rekha, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Nandita Das, Smitha Patil, Madhir Dixit, Juhi Chawla, Rani Mukherjee, et al suggests that she is probably not an A-Grade actress.

I heard a clip on radio in which she asks, "Why does everyone hate me? Why am I so hated?". I then understood why she wasn't being mentioned in the same missives as the afore-mentioned Indian actors. She is probably just an actor that's acting out there on the "Not-so-Celebrity BIGot Brother" that's going on in the UK!

Does anyone really believe that this Bigot Brother thing is for real? Isn't it all staged... badly? It seems to me that the only thing that is for real in this reality-TV caper is the TV!

The fact that Shilpa Shetty is now a 10/3 favourite to win the show just indicates how out of touch I am with popular culture!

Good luck to her and her tribe...

Gibbs again...

Michael Gleeson in The Age today (Wednesday 17 January 2007) expresses views on the Herschelle Gibbs story that are not dissimilar to mine.

Did Herschelle Gibbs get off lightly?

Herschelle Gibbs, the South African player was found guilty of a Level 3 offence when he uttered rascist comments in the 1st Cricket Test between South African and Pakistan. These comments were made between overs of the Test match and were picked up by the stump microphones.

No doubt there were some extraordinary mitigating circumstances. Gibbs and his team-mate, Paul Harris, were constantly nagged by a few of the Pakistan fans. Another team-mate, Makhaya Ntini, was knocked on the head. No doubt the said players were frustrated and provoked by the unruly spectators. However, the manner in which Gibbs chose to deal with the resulting frustration was unbecoming of an elite sportsperson. Period. What transpired was racially offensive. Gibbs admitted his guilt.

The reaction of Mikey Arthur, the South African coach was... shall we say... interesting. He blamed it on the stump microphones that picked up Gibbs's slur saying that the microphones were "too intrusuve"! Duh! I don't get it? Is Arthur saying that it is ok to pass on rascist slurs as long as they are not picked up by microphones?

While I found Gibbs's utterances terrible, I found Arthur's comments offensive. Gibbs had "heat of the moment" as a possible defence. Arthur must serve time too, for he was in the cold comfort of his team dressing room. Clearly, South Africa has someone rather dodgy at the helm!

Rascist slurs are bad. Period. They should not be tolerated. Period.

Cricket should have (and should be seen to have) "zero tolerance" for rascism.

The fact that this "intrusive microphones" chorus was also picked up by Herschelle Gibbs's father just goes to show that some people just haven't got it. The fact that the microphones picked up the slur does not absolve the player of guilt. It just proves it. The player is guilty. Period. And for that, he must do time.

Now, a Level 3 offence carries a punishment of either 4 Tests or 8 one-days. I wonder why Gibbs got away with a 2-Test ban? Is that because South Africa play only 2 Tests and no other games prior to the all-important World Cup in West Indies? This smacks of a convenience that sacrifices the games' integrity. I'm afraid Chris Broad, the match referee in this instance, has let the cricketing fraternity down. Again!

It is time that cricket stamped out rascism and the manner in which it handles bad behaviour. The starting point should be that it needs to get tougher on its Match Referees.

Dissecting the World Cup probables...

Vengsarkar, the Chairman of selectors announced the 30 probables for India's cricket World Cup campaign (Feb-Mar 2007).

The probables are:
Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Suresh Raina, Ramesh Powar, Anil Kumble, Rudra Pratap Singh, Dinesh Mongia, VRV Singh, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, Sourav Ganguly, Parthiv Patel, Zaheer Khan, VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, S. Badrinath, Ishant Sharma, Rajesh Pawar, Joginder Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara.

This list is not a million miles away from one I had suggested early yesterday on this blog. The two outside choices that I'd alluded to -- Robin Uthappa and Joginder Sharma -- are both in. By the way, another reason for my penchant for Uthappa is that he keeps wickets. He was an India U-19 wicketkeeper not long ago and in that sense, is in the 'Dravid mould'. So, if Karthik does not make the final cut, Uthappa can don the gloves in case of an injury to Dhoni...

Joginder Sharma did not set the world on fire against Bangladesh in his debut series. It was a series in which India lost an ODI to Bangladesh! However, times have changed and he is a changed cricketer. I have a feeling he will come good. He occupies the all-rounder's spot if Irfan Pathan does not manage to get it all together.

The list of probables can be broken into three categories of 10 players in each: CERTAIN, NO-WAY and MAYBE

CERTAIN (10):
Rahul Dravid (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Robin Uthappa, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, S. Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Zaheer Khan.

MAYBE (10):
Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Joginder Sharma, Ramesh Powar, Dinesh Karthik, Munaf Patel, VRV Singh, Gautam Gambhir.

NO-WAY (10):
Mohammad Kaif, Anil Kumble, Dinesh Mongia, Parthiv Patel, VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma, S. Badrinath, Ishant Sharma, Rajesh Pawar, Cheteshwar Pujara.

Arguably, guys like Kumble, VVS, Kaif and Mongia could make it to the "MAYBE" list. However, I do not think that that would happen. At least, I do not wish that to happen! Mongia has fluffed many an opportunity. Kaif has rarely grabbed any of the many opportunities he has been given. He can cringe about the revolving-door-policy that he has endured (and he has whined about it lately). However, there were many opportunities for him to stand up and be counted. He has fluffed them all and to me, doesn't look like a cricketer who wants to put his hand up when there is a fight going on. Similarly VVS. He is just not suited to the one-day caper. He can take his dodgy knee with him, settle himself on a couch and watch the proceedings from there instead of watching it from 1st slip, which is really the only place he prefers to be on a cricket field these days!

Party Patel Rohit Sharma, Badrinath, Ishant, Rajesh Pawar and Pujara are, one feels, just making up the numbers at this stage. So, in that sense, my "CERTAIN" and "MAYBE" self-select themselves by a process of elimination!

The trick is to then select 5 from the MAYBE list so that the final list has balance and strength: Balance in terms of experience, age, batting-bowling and agility; Strength in terms of capability, match-winning-ability, cool-headedness, maturity etc.

The 10 in my "CERTAIN" list includes 5 bowlers, 4 bats and 1 'keeper.

Yuvraj Singh has to go if he is fit.

My view is that this is a wake-up call for Sehwag and Pathan. They just have to work hard on their game and come back into the frame. They have to get hungry for success once again. I like the mean-edge to the selection. I also like the fact that, through the re-selections of Ganguly and Zaheer Khan, the selection committee has signalled strongly that "dropped does not mean dropped forever". Time is not on the side of Sehwag and Pathan. Unfortunately for them, nor are there any first class matches for either of them. But they just have to put in the hard yards and use their dropping as a spur to come back hungrier than ever.

Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik will fight it out in the first few games of the trial games against West Indies. I have a feeling that Raina will edge Karthik out...

The last place should, I feel, go to Joginder Sharma.

So the likely final XV could be:
Rahul Dravid (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Robin Uthappa, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, S. Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Joginder Sharma.

Not a bad effort, in my view...

The Indian World Cup Probables announced...

The Indian selectors announced the probables for the World Cup and also named the 15 for the first two "scene-setting" ODIs against West Indies.

As expected (and as I had 'predicted' earlier today), Uthappa and Joginder Sharma got the selectors' nods for the West Indies games. Sehwag and Pathan have been left out. My feeling is that this is a scare the spur them onto getting their houses (and more importantly, their minds) in order. I can't somehow imagine an Indian ODI team without Sehwag and Pathan in it. This has to be a scare tactic...

The surprise packets for the games against the Windies include Ramesh Powar and Gautam Gambhir. I must say the selection of Powar baffles me somewhat...

Pathan and Sehwag are in the WC probables list of 30 though. I'd expect thatboth Pathan and Sehwag will come in to the final WC XV at the expense of Powar and Gambhir (from the current team of XV announced for the first 2 ODIs). My suspicion is that Powar and Gambhir are keeping the seat warm for Pathan and Sehwag respectively while the latter two sweat it out a bit in the nets! The slight worry is that Delhi have no Ranji games left in the competition...

Given the surprise inclusion of Powar, the team for the first 2 ODIs looks like a well balanced ODI team.

West Indies one-dayers (in probable batting order)
Sachin Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly
Robin Uthappa / Dinesh Karthik / Gautham Gambhir
Rahul Dravid (capt)
Suresh Raina
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk)
Joginder Sharma / Ajit Agarkar
Harbhajan Singh / Ramesh Powar
Zaheer Khan
S. Sreesanth
Rudra Pratap Singh

The probables include a few surprises too. My sense is that VVS. Laxman, Mohammed Kaif, Cheteshwar Pujara, Dinesh Mongia and Rohit Sharma are just making up the numbers -- just as I had RS. Sodhi, et al in my list of 30 probables earlier in the day! The surprise packet in the 30 is Parthiv Patel. This must be a joke!

Oh well... Here's hoping that the Pathan-Sehwag scare works well...

World Cup probables
Rahul Dravid, Robin Uthappa, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Parthiv Patel, Anil Kumble, Gautham Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Ramesh Powar, Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Joginder Sharma, Ajit Agarkar, Rudra Pratap Singh, VRV Singh, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Rohit Sharma, S Badrinath, Cheteshwar Pujara, Dinesh Mongia, Ishanth Sharma, Rajesh Powar

India Team for the World Cup

The Times of India adopted an interesting approach to selecting probables for India's upcoming ODI matches against West Indies, Sri Lanka and then, the big one... The World Cup. It categorised players into "Certainties", "Up for a Fight", "Comeback", "Under Pressure", "Unlikely" and "Injured".

Apart from the fact that they omitted Yuvraj Singh from a place in any of their buckets, I am not sure that their categorisation, although useful, is spot on. I'd like to adopt this approach and instead, categorise players into:

CERTAINTIES (7):
Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni (wk), Zaheer Khan, S. Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh

GOOD CASE EXISTS (6):
Dinesh Karthik (wk), Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly, Robin Uthappa, R. P. Singh, V. R. V. Singh

RISKY -- either due to injury or form or both (9):
Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Suresh Raina, Mohammed Kaif, Ramesh Powar, Munaf Patel, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, VVS Laxman

OUTSIDE CHANCE (8):
Wasim Jaffer, S. Badrinath, Joginder Sharma, G. Gambhir, A. Nehra, J. P. Yadav, R. S. Sodhi, Venugopal Rao

I have gone for 30 probables here. I'd be rather surprised if the 30 probables chosen by Vengsarkar and his co-selectors will be too different to the above list.

I think the 7 "certainties" will go.

Of the 6 "good case exists", I don't think Karthik should go, despite his good showing in the 3rd Test of the recently concluded Test Series against South Africa. If Karthik does go, it will be as a batsman.

I don't think Kumble should go either, again, despite his good showing in the ODIs against South Africa. Harbhajan bowled well in the ODIs in West Indies last year (2005) and should do well there.

Ganguly has done enough to be on the plane, perhaps as opener, along with Tendulkar.

Uthappa is firing on all cylinders and must have a shoe in. He is the highest scorer in the Ranjis this season and he couldn't have timed his 109-ball 108 against Saurashtra any better! Greg Chappell, all the selectors and Dravid (his Karnataka team-mate) are all there in Rajkot to select the 30 World Cup probables.

Only one of R.P. Singh or V.R.V. Singh will go I feel. Taking both of them will be a bit of an over-kill in terms of 'cover'. I think R. P. Singh would have his nose in front slightly in the short form of the game.

A dark horse, however, is Joginder Sharma. He has had an impressive Ranji season and is the leading wicket taker in India this year. He is a nippy pace bowler. He is also an impressive bat and a good fielder. He could well make the cut instead of R. P. Singh. People are already talking him up as India's long-awaited answer to Kapil Dev (it also helps that Joginder Sharma plays for Haryana!).

A totally dark horse is Ishant Sharma, the young delhi tear-away. But it is perhaps early days for him -- he is in only his first season of first-class cricket!

So, that leaves 7 "certainties" and 3 "good case exists" (4 if we add Karthik).

That leaves the "risky" people... If Yuvraj Singh proves his fitness, he must get in. He is an important player that can hold the middle innings together. Irfan Pathan, similarly, is an important player who must go. The decision to send him back to India from South Africa may just have been a terrific one. He seems to have re-discovered his bowling mojo.

Dinesh Mongia and Mohammed Kaif have thrown many an opportunity, one feels. I think Ramesh Powar will be a liability in the West Indies.

Calls for VVS Laxman to make a comeback into the ODI team have been almost as strident as those for Ganguly's return. Since his showing in the Test matches in South Africa and considering his possible inclusion in the context of a string of poor shows from the young-brigade (the likes of Raina, Kaif, et al) the constant VVS-related cacophony in the Indian media is perhaps understandable. However, Laxman is a liability in the field and his running between wickets is just slightly better than a duck on a twaddle in the park! Already, the team will be trying to hide Ganguly (and possibly Munaf) in the field. Laxman should be left behind and told that his career as a ODI player for India is over.

That leaves Suresh Raina, Munaf Patel and Virender Sehwag.

If Munaf is fit, he should go. I say this despite his woeful fielding. He is an accurate bowler and could be a handy player in the West Indies. I know that this selection is a tad illogical in the context of the previous paragraph, wherein I suggested the axing of Laxman because of his fielding inadequacies. The difference here is that the bowling cupboard does not look all that well-stocked. It is my submission that there is an adequate stock of capable batsmen in India. If Munaf goes, one just needs to hide him (too) in the field. Sigh!

It would then be a battle between Sehwag and Raina! Sehwag should go, if nothing for the sheer number of games he has won for India. He needs to re-discover his scoring touch and could be a match winner for India once again. His experience will be valuable. So also his bowling.

So the 14 for the 8 lead-up games and the World Cup would be:

BATSMEN (2): Rahul Dravid, Robin Uthappa
BOWLERS (6): Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh, Munaf Patel
ALL-ROUND(6): Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni (wk), Virendar Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan

This leaves one last spot (the 15th spot). This could go to either Dinesh Karthik, Anil Kumble or Suresh Raina. I’d go with Suresh Raina to bolster the fielding. Raina could also be the cover for Sehwag and Uthappa in the batting department.

EXTRA (1): Suresh Raina / Anil Kumble / Dinesh Karthik

The likely XI could be:
1. Sachin Tendulkar
2. Sourav Ganguly
3. Irfan Pathan
4. Virender Sehwag / R. Uthappa / S. Raina
5. Rahul Dravid
6. Yuvraj Singh
7. MS Dhoni (wk)
8. Harbhajan Singh
9. Ajit Agarkar / R. P. Singh / Munaf Patel
10. Zaheer Khan
11. S. Sreesanth

Dark Horse - 1: Joginder Sharma for R. P. Singh or Munaf Patel

Dark Horse - 2: Dinesh Karthik for S. Raina

Why did India lose to South Africa?

India squandered a great opportunity to beat South Africa in South Africa in the recently concluded Test series. After the terrific win in the first test of the series, most fans would have harboured hopes of a rare away series victory for India. Although I had alluded to the possibility of a bounce-back by South Africa, it still is disappointing to see India go down the way she did.

The result was certainly not a bad one for India. The team can hold its head high amidst the clamour around them. Acheiving (even) a test match win outside India has always been hard for this team. They are now doing it reasonably regularly. What they do not yet have is that killer instinct that takes them from winning one match to winning a series. Every now and then, they take their foot off the pedal and allow the opponent back into the game. The team has to learn from this and move on.

In the 3rd test, there were a few reasons for India's loss. I will try and list them out here:

India did not put enough runs on the board in the first innings:

• I know it is stating the obvious, but that was the start of India's problems. India was about 50 runs short in the 1st innings. These runs could have been made easily.
  
• India was in a terrific position, thanks to the terrific start by openers, Dinesh Karthik and Wasim Jaffer. Dinesh Karthik was given out wrongly by the umpires who progressed from there to have a shocker of a test match. Even so, the rest of the batsmen should have capitalised on that wonder start. However, none of them, barring Ganguly and Sehwag really showed intent to get on top of the bowlers.
• After starting off with a basket of crisply hit boundaries, Dravid lapsed into a sudden and almost inexplicable shell. It was almost as if he said to himself, "Why am I hitting all these boundaries when all we want to do is draw the match?"
  
• Tendulkar scratched around for a well made 66, but always kept South Africa in the game as he did it. Similarly Laxman. The intent to dominate the bowling was just not there. Perhaps team India had decided right then that it did not want to win the match?
• After playing himself into form with a clever 40 runs, Sehwag then threw it all away with a rash stroke against debutant Harris.
• Ganguly, who was well-set at that point, then proceeded to not farm the strike. Perhaps he had way too much confidence in the tail that he had to bat with.
• All of this leads me to think that one of the key issues for India going forward is to drive home the importance of being situation-aware.
  

Positive playing by South Africa

• Right through the game, South Africa played positively. They played with intent. They wanted to win. They showed that hunger.
• In the first innings, Smith and Amla played well and applied themselves to the task (winning) stoically. They had a plan and they went about it.
• Even when they were 6 down for 281, Boucher and Pollock batted positively to ensure that India's lead was never too much.

Second Innings batting by India

• Apart from the intent demonstrated by sending Sehwag to open, India did not really show any willingness to take the game to the opposition.
• Sehwag was a disappointment as an opener. After hitting a crisp four, he lashed out weakly and needlessly at a wide ball. He let the team down and showed that his problems are all of his own making. It is in his mind and he needs to have a deep, hard look at himself.
• Apart from Ganguly and Karthik none of the batsmen really showed self-belief. And that's where the team was let down. Every ball was made out to be a wicket-taking ball. When Ganguly and Karthik were playing, the same balls were made out to be run-scoring balls.
  
• Self-belief was constantly replaced by self-doubt.

Basic cricketing hygiene:

• What surprised me most was the lack of overall hygiene.
• Given that we have two people at the top (Chappell and Dravid) who are somewhat consumed by process and not results, this lack of hygiene was most surprising.
• For example, should Munaf Patel have been chosen at all? The coach and captain should have been on top of that, surely? He was clearly labouring even in the 1st innings and could barely bowl in the second dig.
  
• The running between wickets was somewhat woeful. Witness the run outs of Laxman and Zaheer Khan. Laxman's run out would have cost India at least 30 runs. Zaheer had Karthik at the other end who was batting like a dream. Zaheer's run out cost India at least 30 runs.
• The ground fielding was embarassing. This cost India at least 40 runs in the match.
  
• One can blame the umpires for Munaf Patel's dismissal in the 7th ball of Steyn's over! However, that is outside the team's control. Basic cricketing hygiene is well within the team's control. The coach and captain take the rap for this, I'm afraid...
  

Put all of the above together and what we get is a rather sorry tale. India can do better in its international outings. But before any chest-thumping, India must pay attention to three basic things (a) winning mindset, (b) situation-awareness and (c) basic cricketing hygiene.

Without these there is little hope of India doing well anywhere -- even in India!

One Eyed?

I've often been labelled as being a bit one-eyed in my support of (and faith in) Team India in cricket. A recent episode wherein I questioned my friends' lack of belief/faith in the team (in response to a comment around "I think they let South Africa get away in the first innings (of the 1st test in the ongoing 2006-07 series between South Africa and India). They should have bundled them out for less than 84"!!!!) got me into an argument mode and then led me to a deeper inquiry of why I have so much faith in this team than any other past teams.

Believe me, I have been a believer in Team India only after Mohammed Azharuddin departed as captain. That one event (and the concommitant dragging down of Manoj Prabhakar) turned me from being a non-believer into one that has faith in this team. It marked what was probably, in my view at least, the brightest spark in Indian cricket. The structuring of this current team (I am talking Test team here by the way) commenced at that point in time, in my view. It has then progressed through the captaincy of Sachin and Ganguly before it rests very comfortably in Dravid's shoulders.

Listen to Dravid's interview on Cricinfo and decide for yourself on the clarity of the thought process in this group. He clearly states, even amidst the euphoria surrounding the win, that there are areas where the team can improve. The team knows that the South Africans will be hungry and will come at them hard. They know they have areas to improve. They aren't getting carried away. They want to play a 2-day game prior to the second Test to iron out a few areas where it can improve.

It is such clarity of thought that convinces me that Team India is worth reposing faith in.

It is possible that India may still lose this series. It would be disappointing if that were to happen. But it could happen. The South africans will come back hard at India. But I believe there is a will to fight it out; a strength to guts it out; an ability to back it up with performances...

Ganguly (along with John Wright) taught this team pride and self-belief. Dravid (along with Greg Chappell) is providing them with collective steel and process-hygiene ("focus on the process and not the outcomes").

I have faith in them as a Test group. Yes, they will screw up every now and then. Yes, they won't score 95,965 runs every time they go out to bat. Yes, Saurav Ganguly will play a rash stroke and get out for 25. Yes, they will bowl out the opposition for "only" 84! Yes, they will never have either the fighting spirit or the energy of the Australian team. And every now and then, they will make a complete hash of things, as they did in Pakistan earlier this year in the Tests. But, more often than not, they will play their hearts out and play with pride. And that's enough for me!

Meanwhile, while I still remain a great fan of Ganguly (play with pride and play with spirit... a leader who has inspired his players to give off their best) Dravid is providing inspirational leadership in his own way:

• Dravid was there in a larger-than-life form when we won in Leeds (who can forget that memorable first day when he battled it out with Bangar?).
• He was there in Adelaide (if not for his double century, for his stupendous catch to get rid of Steve Waugh off Tendulkar).
• He architected our first win on Pakistan soil (he captained when Ganguly was injured and won that first test when the Sultan of Multan scored 309 and when, as captain, he declared the innings close when the master blaster was on 194!).
• He captained India's the first win in 35 years in West Indies (and played a great hand in it himself).
• And now, he has captained India's first win in RSA.

To sledge or not to sledge

Ian Chappell introduced it. Well no, Percy Sledge introduced it, thanks to his epic "When a man loves a woman". Today, almost everyone does it. The Indians too get in on the act.

Sledging is an artefact of cricket. It is here. I dislike it. But it is here. And it will stay. Steve Waugh called it "mental disintegration". It is when a player (typically from the fielding team -- and more often than not, the bowler or the wicketkeeper) insults the batsman to mentally disturb the latter's concentration. It is a form of gamesmanship that I detest.

However, when the Indians sledge it is often seen as incorrect. Yet, when sledged, if Nel hangs his cheek out, Nel is seen as being fiesty or cheeky! Duh! Where's the logic?

Let me state very clearly that I am not a fan of sledging in any shape or form. I hate it when Nel carries on. I dislike it when Sreesanth carries on. I detest it when McGrath carries on. It is just not a pretty sight and is a blight on cricket.

However, it does happen. One has a choice here. Either you are in it. Or you are not.

If you are in it, you just need to jump in head, feet and all. There are no half measures. And as they say, when you throw a stone in the gutter, expect a splash!

Samir Chopra, in his blog seems to indicate that Indians should not sledge. He asks the Indian team to take Jacques Rudolphs' comments seriously! Ahem! Why? If anything, I'd ask the Indians to get better at it. If Sreesanth wishes to sledge, good luck to him. He needs to ensure that that instrument works effectively for him!

Rudolph talked about Sreesanth's sledging as an act of "stupidity"! Hmmm! I wonder what he makes of Nel's antics?

I'd get the Indian team management to offer lessons in sledging. Those who are interested in adding this arrow to their quiver should take it up and refine this through diligent practice.

The resurrection of Ganguly

At the time of writing this (end of the 2nd day's play), the first test between India and South Africa is excitingly poised. India has an overall lead of 311 with 3 days to play. Laxman and Dhoni are still batting for India. I'd be very surprised if India lose this one. For the first time, India will have won a test match in South Africa.

When/if it happens, this will be an impressive achievement for a team that has traditionally done poorly in South Africa; a team that travels poorly; a team that just suffered a 4-0 whitewash in the recently concluded ODI series against the same opposition (one game in the series was rained off).

Apart from some excellent bowling in the first innings by India, my view is that India is in this position mainly because of the efforts of three people: Saurav Ganguly, Zaheer Khan and V.V.S.Laxman --- the forgotten people in Indian cricket over the last year or so.

Agreed, Ganguly played a rash stroke in the second dig. However, the maturity, tenacity and will that he displayed in India's first dig was nothing short of sensational. He is a strange man with some strange inadequacies. However, he is also a pugnacious fighter. These were the qualities he showed as he shepherded and then commandeered India's first innings. These were the qualities that got India the first innings score that she could bowl at.

Sadly these were the qualities that were absent in the Indian middle order in the previous year or so. The middle order has looked far too brittle. The faith that the new management had placed on the new turks (Yuvraj, Kaif, Raina, et al) wasn't fully repaid. The young turks will come good one day. They will have their day. But for the moment, it appears to me that Ganguly and Laxman have seized the second opportunity that they have got.

Realistically speaking, Laxman was never really out of the Test game. However, his absence from the ODI scheme will now be seriously questioned. It is conceivable that, Ganguly will also make a bid to be in the ODI frame.

All of this is good, in my view.

I have always maintained that Ganguly was never accorded the farewell that a good and honest servant of Indian cricket deserved. This second coming will afford that courtsey to him. He can now chose the time and manner of his going.

My hope is that he choses it well and sagaciously this time.

Pitching double standards in cricket

For as long as I can remember, there has been a strange double-standard in cricket. What is right for the Aussies, New Zealand, South Africans and England (ANSE) seems not quite right for India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan (ISP). The ANSE quartet has viewed every ISP move with suspicion and vice-versa. This needs to be curbed and cured for cricket to prosper, in my view.

Let us focus on pitches as an example where this malaise plays out particularly gallingly.

It is almost impossible for Indian and Sri Lankan curators to curate a WACA or Wanderers or Basin Reserve type pitch in Bangalore or Faisalabad or Kandy, in my view. The best that they can do is to prepare a drop in pitch flown in from Perth or wherever. But after a few seasons the pitch will return to its natural conditions. The local environment, the micro climate there and soil conditions determine the nature of the pitches to a largeextent. And so it should. One does not travel to the Carribean to expect to see Trafalgar Square in the rain over there. One goes there to experience the weather, the people the climate and the dust that prevails in the Carribean. My own view is that pitches are the way they are in places they are in because that is precisely what the local environmental conditions afford.

To expect a fast and pacy pitch in Kandy is as alien a concept as an expectation I'll have for a warm, sunny and sweaty day in Moscow in December! Most of the ANSE teams feign surprise and express disgust when faced with the type of pitches they see in Bangalore and Kandy. Well I think the respective Boards must ask their respective players to grow up and get used to it. I haven't seen Sri Lanka complain when they tour New Zealand. In 2002-03 India toured New Zealand. The pitches were under-prepared, fast and low. So much so that even the El Nino factor was cited as a lame excuse for the pitch conditions. No one complained. The team got on with it. Badly no doubt. But they got on with it.

Almost every ANSE team that tours ISP countries whinge, moan and complain about the nature of the pitches. Unfortunately, there is a terribly silly move by the ISP countries to go the other way and prepare artificially fast pitches in the face of these constant complaints from the ANSE teams. This is plain silly, in my view. These whinges should, in fact urge ISP curators to prepare more pitches that turn squarely on day one! After all, it requires technique to play spin, just as technique is necessary fro playing pace.

For example the pitch that was prepared in Nagpur when Australia visited India in 2004 was more of an Aussie pitch than most Aussie pitches! Why? Why prepare such pitches for ISP teams? ISP countries should prepare more pitches like the one they did in Mumbai for the final test of the series that had Ponting spewing. In that series, Buchanan, the Aussie coach complained and whined about the pitch in Bangalore and called it "terrible" from the moment he saw it. He found something else to whine about the moment he saw Australia score 474 in its first innings!

I am not saying ISP countries shouldn't play on fast pitches. I believe ISP countries should prepare a mix of bouncy pitches, fast pitches, green tops and dust bowls for their local competition. But just as one expects nothing by fast, bouncy green tops on a tour of New Zealand or South Africa, one should expect nothing but huge turners when teams visit India, Sri Lanka or Pakistan. And that is fair enough, in my view!

Now, take the example of "instructing" groundsmen on the preparation of wickets. I do not think it is fair enough for the local coach or the local Board to instruct its ground-staff on the nature of pitches that they will prepare. The theory is that local ground-staff should prepare pitches that the local soil conditions afford them. Almost all ANSE teams that visit the ISP countries whinge and complain and adopt the high moral ground. Yet there is no sense of outrage when we see, for example, Micky Arthur, the South African coach, instuct his ground-staff to prepare fast and bouncy pitches.

What makes that ok?

Why the hue and cry when Ganguly instructed his ground-staff to prepare spinning pitches in India?

Is is ok just because it is fast? Or is it ok just because it is ANSE?

Cricket needs a rethink.

A. R. Rahman's Guru: A review...

Over the weekend, I listened to music from Mani Rathnam's movie "Guru". The movie is slated for release late in 2006. The music was released a few weeks ago.

I don't somehow think there will be too many 'hits' from 'Guru' as most hits these days seem to me to be of the dhol-type or the club-mix-type! This is more kick-back-and-relax-genre. Rahman tunes Gulzar's lyrics in Guru. Guru is a Ratnam-Rahman combination; a collaboration that worked really well in blockbuster movies like Roja, Bombay, Dil Se and Alaipayude (Saathiya).

Guru is Rahman's first (Bollywood) movie music release since Rang De Basanti, which was towards the end of 2005. It was therefore, quite an anticipated release. I have to say that it did not match my expectations completely. This does not mean that the songs are bad in Guru. Not at all! Indeed, some of the songs are actually quite good. However, after many super hits from movies like Earth, Roja, Taal, Dil Se, Pukar, Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities, Rangeela, Saathiya, Lagaan, Kisna, Yuva, Swades, Rang De Basanti, etc, one expected much more. Maybe that's more because of the standard of music we have come to expect from Rahman.

But after listening to Guru, one can't help but admire Rahman's versatility and courage. Gone are the days when he used to just belt out tunes that the Producer or the Director of the film felt the audience would like. He has, one feels, entered a phase where he makes music that defines himself as a musician. One feels that he is not content with just belting out tunes. He wants to leave a stamp; create an impact. In Guru, I feel that he is starting to break free of the Bollywood formula stranglehold. Guru is, one feels, a statement from Rahman although not an indulgence. Good luck to him.

As B Rangan says in his blog review of Guru: "There’s very little in his music that’s instantly catchy and fun anymore, because he’s no longer just making soundtracks; he’s painting soundscapes."

The movie has seven songs.

Two of these are, in my view, not that great ("baazi laga" and "ek lo ek muft"). Three songs are just awesome ("tere bina", "ay hairathe" and "jaage hain") and I feel that one other song ("mayya") will grow on me. And I am undecided on one of them ("barso re").

I did not get the point of a simple song like "baazi laga" (sung by Udit Narayan, Madhushree and Shweta Bargavee). I did not quite get this song and where it came from. It may be a situational song with a lot of prancing around aimlessly. But, w have come to expect such lofty ideals for Rahman's music that this song falls short.

Rahman's tunes are normally extremely melodious and are solidly based on classical or folk idioms. There is a sheer craftsmanship to his music. To him, composed music is a carefully sculpted piece of art. he takes it seriously. Therefore, one tends to find many layers to his music and the more you peel (for those who want to peel) the more you see. Rahman's music, therefore, caters to a wide audience. Those who want to hear a song in order to discover something new, will! And yet, his songs also cater to those that didn't want to tax themselves. The songs are fun enough for them too!

Bappi Lahiri sings "ek lo ek muft". Perhaps Rahman wanted to re-create the "mumbai se aaya mera dost" mood in a tapori-type bhang song? Especially since the movie also has Mithun Chakraborty, the original "mumbai se aya mera dost". All of this is random speculation, of course. However, what is certainly not speculation is that this song doesn't work for me... yet! And I have heard it only 5-6 times now. But then again, maybe this song will grow on me too?

Then we have "barso re", a song by Shreya Ghosal and Uday Mazumdar. While it is certainly not in the "baazi laga" category, it is not a sit-up-and-take-notice type of song, in my view. The beat is simple and effective and there are a few clever loops that run through the song. But the song just doesn't lift. It does have some fascinating layers in it though -- like the nice staccato beats. So perhaps the song will grow on me through these layers. Who knows? I felt a bit frustrated with this song though. The vocals by Shreya Ghosal are terrific and Naveen's flute is magic. The soundscape suggests a folk setting, but one can never be too sure with Rahman. There is always this tension between the imagined soundscape and the actual. But therein lies my frustration with this song. Just as the rustic drums worked in "chinnamma chilakkamma" (from Meenaxi) the strange drums (B. Rangan calls it "fire crackers in a tin can" -- how appropriate!) sometimes drown out the sweet vocals in this song. Maybe this is a layer-thing? I am hoping that a few more listens will move this one from the "undecided" category to "I can't get enough of this"!

The songs in the movie that are worth raving about are "tere bina", "ay hairathe" and "jaage hain". A mild warning though. You can easily get hooked on these songs! They are awfully catchy and they are incredibly melodious. Hariharan's voice in "ay hairathe" is awesome and so is Alka's. Chinmayee is a revelation. A. R. Rahman's singing is also awesome in "tere bina".

Of these three songs, "tere bina" is Rahman's tribute to Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. There is no doubt that Rahman, like a whole generation of sub-continental musicians (and music directors) has been hugely influenced by the great Nusrat. The "tere bina" tune is simple and the song is good in (or maybe because of) its simplicity. Chinmayee adds to the layers of the song. She sings quite mellifluosly and effortlessly. Rahman's rapid-fire solfeggio-singing as part of the first interlude is nice and quite Nusrat-esque. However, although it is quite good and while it is a nice tribute to Nusrat, it falls somewhat short of a total Nusrat impression for me. If you want to hear a take that is a bit truer to Nusrat style of rapid-free-solfeggio, listen to "ali ali" sung by a singer called Krishna in the movie Deewar! Of all the names for a person singing a Sufi Qawaali, the name Krishna seems almost as bizzarre as Imran Khan donning whites to turn up to play for India in a game of cricket! The song "ali ali" is from Deewar with music by Aadesh Shrivastava. I have been quite impressed with Aadesh Shrivastava lately. He has had a few clever songs like "ali ali", "rang deni" (the Kailash Kher offering), etc from movies like K3G, Dev, Deewar, Chalte Chalte, etc.

Anyway, back to "tere bina"... It is a lovely song with a catchy refrain. Chinmayee is quite good in this too. The segment that Chinmayee sings in the lower octaves towards the end of the song is quite haunting. She projects her clear and sweet voice right through the song. It is quite Alisha-Chinoy-ish in some parts too! Perhaps Chinmayee is in her more mature phase and one hopes that she lives up to the immense promise she showed when she burst onto the scene as a teenager! The "dum tara dum tara" refrain is sung by Murtuza Khan and Kadir Khan (who sang the terrific "noor-un-ala" Qawali from the movie Meenaxi). The acoustic guitar chords that play right through the song create a wonderful backdrop for the song. Overall, "tere bina" is quite good and I can see that this will become a favourite soon.

By the way, the "dum tara dum tara" refrain sounds very similar to the "ga ga re ga ga re ga re ga" solfeggio that Shankar Mahadevan and Sadhana Sargam sing in "goonji si hai" from Kyon! Ho Gaya Na. There's nothing patently wrong with that mind you. Just an observation. The refrain is also quite similar to "maangalyam" in Saathiya (Alaipayude)!

The song "ay hairathe" is a wonderful ghazal-type number sung by Hariharan and Alka Yagnik. The song starts of in a wonderfully quirky manner. An accordian plays softly accompanied by only the dayan beats of a tabla, also played in a muted manner. The entry of the bayan of the tabla is, therefore, quite dramatic and creates an immediate impact before the synth and electric guitar join in a melodious fusion. The "dum tara dum tara" refrain is heard in this song too, this time sung by Rahman in quite an impressive high pitch.

Anyway, "ay hairathe" is a good song that shows of the versatility of Hariharan and Alka. The movement from a ghazal arrangement (simplicity of arrangement with tabla, accordian, synth, electric guitar) to a Scottish highland tune in the first interlude shows Rahman's ability to switch genres seamlessly (as he did in Lagaan, Bombay Dreams and many more of his projects). Towards the end of the song, Alka Yagnik launches into singing "dum tara dum tara" and turns what is essentially a Qawali refrain right through the song to create a bhajan-type mood. Quite nice.

The last good song in the album is "jaage hain". Perhaps it is also the last song in the movie? It has a melancholic air to it and suggests a possible death-bed scene to it. I suggest that we be prepared for a few heart-string-tugs when we watch the picturisation of this song. Perhaps Dhirubhai Ambani on his death bed? [Guru is supposedly inspired by Ambani's life]. Chitra and Rahman have combined to make "jaage hain" a really nice song. It presents some really confident and strident vocals by Rahman. However, his entry into the song is a soft whisper. The horn and string arrangements in this are quite excellent. The string arrangement is presumably played by the Madras Qartret -- a group that Rahman uses in almost all of his movies (they travel on his live concerts too). The group includes V. R. Sekar on the Cello -- Kunnakudi Vaidhyanathan's son.

Lastly a song called "mayya" sung by Maryem Hassan Toller and Chinmayee. This is quite a nice song too. It is quite likely that Rahman got exposed to Maryem Toller's singing while he was based in Toronto (in preparation for his compositional magnum opus -- Lord of The Rings: The Musical). Maryem is an Arabic/Tukish singer based in Toronto, Canada. And "mayya" is an Arabic-inspired song supposedly picturised in Turkey with Mallika Sherawat dancing away. Rahman has always had a huge Arabic influence in his music (hear "satrangi re" from Dil Se). And "mayya" is a song that has a distinct "khalbali" (Rang De Basanti) hangover. It also has a "bhanno rani" flavour (the song from Earth:1947 that is said to have launched Sadhana Sargam), especially in its background loops, its rhythmic structure and its cleaver use of a heavy tambourine to accent the flowing rhythm. It is likely that the picturisation of the song, especially with the curvy Mallika Sherawat dancing away, will lift the song!

The lyrics and meanings of the songs are at: http://passionforcinema.com/gulzar-in-guru/

You can watch a clip of "tere bina" at: http://havetoremember.wordpress.com/2006/11/18/tere-bina-from-guru/

Finally Guru is not a funky KANK-type album. You won't be dancing to any of these songs in a tearing hurry! The songs will not play in pubs, bars and nightclubs. It may play in a few cafes. It will hopefully play in living rooms! I think that Guru is a good Rahman album. I wish he hadn't made "baazi laga" or "ek lo ek muft" or made something else in their place. I do want to wait and see what Mani Ratnam and Rajeev Menon do with the songs. If they don't pull it off, some of the songs will probably be forgotten.

But I have a feeling that the three-four good songs in this album will play repeatedly on my iPod...

Why is the Australian team disliked in World Cricket?

The recently concluded Champions Trophy saw Australia claim the Cup after a terrific team performance. Their key players fired at the right times. They had a good balance to their team.

However, their journey was once again marred by the Michael Clarke incident with Chris Gayle. Admittedly Gayle was the one who was fined in that incident, but one could not help noticing that, yet again, the Aussies are not great at receiving the slegdges as they are, giving it. We have seen time and time again, the preciousness of McGrath (with Sarawan, which even the Aussie PM weighed into), Hayden (with Simon Jones and Collingwood) and Ponting (with almost everyone).

The Aussie team's Champions Cup journey was spectacularly marred by the team behaving in a disrespectully unruly manner as they appeared to bundle the Chief Guest off the stage so that they could have their photos taken. Rapproachment was again needed. Given the amount of money Aussie cricketers make in India, cynics would easily understand the urgency of the apology! But this is an embarassing cycle of rudeness-apology-rudeness-apology that begs a deeper and more sincere look at what drives and motivates such behaviour.

I remember Langer once pontificated that he was immensely upset when a young rookie leg-spinner (W. D. Balaji Rao) sledged Steve Waugh in a tour game in India in 2001 (India 'A' Vs Australia). I remember Langer saying he could not stomach the fact that the rookie Rao was sledging Steve Waugh, by then a legend of the game. The same pontificator was standing close in and applauding when Bracken had some choice words to say to Sachin Tendulkar -- and in World cricket, they don't come bigger in the legend-stages than Sachin. Three words come to mind -- pot, kettle, black!

Langer once professed, after he had signed the Australian players' self-motivated "Spirit of Cricket" treaty that he would strive to play the game in the spirit in which it should be played. At the time of the historic signing, I did wonder if it was genuine or whether it was all nothing but gloss, sheen and spin to cope with the dreadful image Australian cricket had in the International arena. At the time, Langer said he would accept umpiring decisions in a sporting manner. Yet, he still continued to shake his head annoyingly almost after each LBW decision that was given against him! Such was the vigorousness of his head-shakes that I was afraid his neck would detach itself from his body one day -- in protest, if not out of repetitive stress weakness!

Indeed, barely a week after Langer had made his pledge, we saw a curious set of incidents in the Brisbane Test. Langer, had received a huge repreive when on almost nothing. Subsequently, after having scored more than a hundred, he was given out LBW. He shook his head all the way in a slow walk to the pavillion that would have made both an Indian Manipuri slow-dance dancer as well as Phil Simmons think about re-training their trades! The ball that got Langer would have hit middle and leg! Even if we ignore the huge repreive Langer had received when he had scored not much, the head-shake-slow-walk made a total nonsense of Langer's "spirit of cricket" proclamations!

Meanwhile, when the Indians were batting, Sachin Tendulkar received yet another shocker from Steve Bucknor. Gillespie bowled and Sachin had left the ball alone as it climbed and thudded into the top of his thigh pad! Gillespie suppressed an appeal. Bucknor thought about it and nodded slowly. Sachin looked up, and had a surprised look on his face. He then turned around quickly and walked fast and straight to the pavillion, head bowed.

The difference was palpable. The difference was that Sachin had not done any pre-match talking (read: spin) about sportsmanship. He didn't need to. He was (and remains) a true sportsman. His actions mean that words are not required. He did the walking. Langer had done the pre-match chest-beat and was looking like a pillock... again!

But I digress!

I do admire the Australian cricket team for their ability to play good, strong, hard, committed cricket. They are the best cricket team in the world today. Of that there is no doubt in my mind. I have played club cricket in Australia to know that they receive solid grounding at the grass-roots level. They are polished and grounded in every aspect of the game right from a young age -- the committment to training, the seriousness with which they take their sport, the winning habit, as well as the sledging!

Lest you think otherwise, let me state that I am not a puritan. I believe that if players want to sledge, they should. However, they should also learn that if they give it, they should be prepared to take it too. It has been reported that Parthiv Patel whispered to Steve Waugh, "Go on mate. Give us one last slog-sweep." in that famous last Test in Sydney that Australia hung on to dear life to save. Steve Waugh is reported to have said, "Give us some respect young lad. You were in your nappies when I started playing cricket"!

Duh! So, there are rules for "appropriate and proper sledging"?

Mind you, I do have a lot of respect for Steve Waugh. He did not suffer fools. He played hard and overcame all sorts of obstacles to become a true legend of the game. But could he really take it as well as he dished out his "mental disintegration"? He was tested by Saurav Ganguly and in my view, he "disintegrated" himself. Saurav Ganguly's toss-tactics and return-sledges during the famous Laxman-281 series made Steve Waugh boil. Perhaps the great Waugh had been beaten at his own game?

My view is that those who throw stones in the gutter should expect a splash or two to soil their own clothes. There are no anti-splash rules once you throw that stone in.

McGrath just can not claim "but there's a line in the sand and comments about my wife are not on", when he himself is reported to have sledged Sarawan with the choice words -- "So what does Lara's **** taste like?"

I don't get it. Where does McGrath get his halo from?

But where was I?

The Aussies... yes! They are a good cricket team. They are hard-nosed and bloody-nosed. I umpired for 4-5 seasons principally to learn more about the Aussies and the way they tick. They play hard and work hard. But they are also willing to (and they do) play the "mental disintegration" card at all levels. They are taught to play hard and train hard. And they are good at it. They are taught to sledge and they are terrific at it.

So it is not surprising that Warne, Martyn, Watson, Hayden, McGrath, Healy, Chappell, Border, Ponting, et al turn out the way they do!

I do admire them as people of immense calibre. I do not admire them as sportsmen.

To be "a sport" is to be fair, even-handed, respectful and level-headed in things that you do in the sporting field -- and these days, out of it too. Impact comes not merely from the number of cups that one has in ones trophy cabinet. History differentiates great sporting teams from good ones on the basis of how the team played and not merely on how many cups the team won. Long lasting success comes only if the 'means' and the 'ends' are balanced. The end rarely justifies the means.

A true champion (and almost everyones' sporting hero), will be a Roger Federer or a Tiger Woods or a Sachin Tendulkar. They enjoy their sport. They play fair. They play hard. They play strong. They dig deep when their backs are to the wall. They query bad calls. But they get on with it. They have fun. They leave an impression. They are modest. They are level-headed. They are geniuses. They are also as good on the field as they are out of it. They are icons. They are role-models.

We like them not just because they win. That is a fact. They just do! We like them because of the way they win.

I will applaud when Federer or Tiger Woods or Tendulkar win (for they are true champions). I will also empathise with them when they lose.

However, I will continue to rejoice (along with the whole world, perhaps?) when Australia loses. The difference is that they are champions of the game (temporary). They are not champions of the sport (permanent).

So it does depend on ones outlook. Do we want temporary success or permanent glory?

May be it is time for the Aussies to ponder why almost the whole cricketing world dislikes them. If they believe the world hates them because they keep winning, they need to look at Federer and Tiger Woods (habitual winners who are loved) of the world and learn a bit.

England in India, 2006: A Preview

The India-England series is going to be an extremely interesting one for world cricket. At the start of the series, England is second in the ICC Test rankings and India is third. Only 2 points separate the two teams. A series win by England will consolidate its hold on the second spot while a series win by India will propel it to the second spot. On paper, the teams appear to be evenly matched, but then Test matches are seldom played on paper!

England have not won a test match in India for 21 years and with the personnel it has and given its rather disastrous start to the Tour, it is unlikely to win one this year! After having won its Tour opener against a weak CCI Team, England slumped to an embarassing defeat against a young Board Presidents' XI team. At the time of writing this, Treskotick is already back in England and that is a body blow for the team as he is England’s best player of spin. Vaughn’s dodgy knee has become dodgier. Pietersen is down with a sore back and is uncertain to play in Nagpur. Paul Collingwood is down with a sore back too. Besides these setbacks, a few players, including Simon Jones, have had a stomach bug.

A few things have gone right for India though. By confirming that they will play two openers and have Dravid come in at #3, they have junked the plan that led them astray in Pakistan. Despite Gambhir’s good showing in the tour game, the choice of Jaffer is a good one. Jaffer is in the form of his life and, provided he plays with a free and unburdened mind, he should do well. It appears as though he is hungry to regain his spot and, after nearly 4 years in the sidelines, a Hayden-like resurrection may well be in the offing.

In Pakistan, the Dravid-as-opener folly was adopted as a strategy aimed at accommodating Ganguly. Now, with Ganguly’s ouster, such bravado is unnecessary and the worlds’ best #3 (or second best, if one has Ponting as the best) can play at #3, where he should! With Ganguly gone, the captain and coach will have the dressing room to themselves. They can put their strategies and plans in place and build to the future. Team India looks fresh and revitalized. The accent is on youth blending with experience. The accent is on energy, commitment, flexibility, strategy and process. “Focus on the basics. Outcomes will follow”, seems to me to be the mantra.

After a long time, India’s pace attack looks solid and good. Even though India has Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and J. Balaji cooling their heels, the current India team has top talent in Irfan Pathan, S. Sreesanth, V. R. V. Singh and R. P. Singh. I believe the selectors missed a trick in not selecting Munaf Patel ahead of V.R.V.Singh, who had a listless outing for the Presidents’ XI against England. Munaf Patel, on the other hand, had the English batsmen ducking and weaving. But I think this is a moot point anyway, for it may well be Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth (and/or R. P. Singh) that play in the final XI. Pathan and Sreesanth are the form bowlers right now. Although Pathan has dropped his pace somewhat, he has made up for it by using the seam, the crease and the variations in his pace rather cleverly. After a lively presence in the one-dayers against Pakistan Sreesanth may be slightly ahead of R. P. Singh to grab the second pacers’ spot.

Even though the recently prolific Yuvraj is absent through injury, given Pathan’s and Dhoni’s recent exploits with the bat, India’s batting looks solid, with Sehwag, Jaffer, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Dhoni and Pathan forming the batting nexus. Instead of playing a Kaif or Raina at #6, ahead of Dhoni in the batting order, India should, I believe, bite the bullet, believe in the strengths of Jaffer, Pathan and Dhoni (as bats) and blood young Piyush Chawla. At 17 years and 67 days old, Piyush could well be the second youngest player to make his debut for India (behind Sachin Tendulkar)! And get this! If he plays in the first Test, he will be less than half Anil Kumble’s age! Talk of the master and the apprentice!

Without Treskothick, England are vulnerable against spin. Time and time again, they fell to the wiles of Kaneria on their tour of Pakistan. Together, Chawla and Kumble can make them dance. And for a bit of rest from that, they can be fed a dose of the wily Turbanator!

Piyush Chawla’s repertoire, line-length, his ability to bowl the googly on target from round the wicket (Tendulkar got out in exactly the same manner in the 2005 Challenger Series) as well as his current form (after an excellent showing in the recently concluded Under 19 World Cup) makes this the time for his initiation into the mens’ game!

England will fight and fight hard. The recent Ashes series has given the team resolve and a strong belief in themselves. Despite the bad outing in Pakistan, I think that that tour will have prepared them better for travels in the sub-continent. England probably have the best fast bowling attack in world cricket today. Overall, this team looks better balanced and better prepared to tackle India.

However, given the start that England has had, I’d find it hard to believe that the door which has now been left open, cannot be seized on by a hungry, young and revitalized India.

If India can maintain the pressure, wait for the right opportunity and seize their chances, this could be a 1-0 or a 2-0 outcome in favour of India.