Cricket World Cup 2007

... And At last it ends.

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This year’s world cup will go down in history as the worst ever. The tournament was too long and too boring for all. In pure cricketing terms there was only one team in the competition, and when the dust settled it was not surprising to find Australia being crowned champions once again. The rest were all playing catch-up with Sri Lanka emerging as the best of the rest.

If anyone thought this year’s edition would be better than the last one, well they must be terribly disappointed now. Other than India’s shock defeat to Bangladesh and Ireland defeating Pakistan, there were only 2 other close matches in the entire tournament. Most of the matches were one sided and it seemed the teams were completely in awe of the Aussies. So complete was the Aussie domination that they not only won all their matches, but did it with huge margins.

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From the start of the Super Eight itself the semifinalists were virtually decided. It never looked like any of the other teams would be able to dislodge the four teams who eventually made it to the semi finals. Though Bangladesh and Ireland deserved to be in the Super Eight, their presence rendered most of the matches at that stage meaningless. And with England and the West Indies turning in one disgraceful performance after another, the world cup never had the tight contests expected at that stage. Adding to the tournaments woes were two utterly one sided semi-finals and the tournament never generated the required excitement even at the business end of the tournament.

India and Pakistan have only themselves to blame for the sorry performance they put up on the greatest stage of the game. But their exit took away the major public interest from the game’s showpiece event. It is vital for the game that these two countries do well because of its immense popularity back home. However they both managed to let their countries and themselves down. There was so much infighting in both the teams that it would have put a soap opera to shame. There were accusations and counter accusations leaked to the media by sources close to all involved. Both India and Pakistan were more concerned about their own egos than playing for their fans which counts to millions.

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The matters off the field were getting more coverage than the ones on it. Bob Woolmer’s murder and the subsequent investigation fueled speculation to be at a fever pitch. One was constantly bombarded with different version of the death as well as the investigation everyday. The tragedy that had befallen Woolmer’s family was forgotten and media engaged in sensationalizing the entire episode with shocking insensitivity.

But the biggest blame for the tournament descending into such a farce must go to the ICC. They got their priorities mixed up when they concentrated more on satisfying the broadcasters and the sponsors than catering to the needs of the cricket loving public. Ticket prices were too high and the ICC robbed whatever excitement the crowd could bring in by putting in restriction on everything the fans could do once inside the stadium. The restrictions ranged from bringing in products of rivals of the official sponsors to the musical instruments that can be brought in. This virtually removed the carnival atmosphere that everyone has come to associate with cricket at the Caribbean. Instead what one saw was empty stadiums which was totally devoid of excitement.

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The less said about the format the better. Inclusion of 16 teams resulted in the initial group stages being banana skin encounters for the bigger teams. A good team ran the risk of going out of the tournament if they slipped up on a single day. But even if all the big teams had gotten through it would have been difficult to sustain interest in a tournament that stretches to almost two months. Looking back one can’t even remember the time the world cup started.

The ICC needs to do a thorough rethink as far as the format of the world cup is concerned. If they are trying to copy the football world cup then they should realize that cricket will never be as popular as football. Because of its wide popularity football can include 32 teams in its premier competition and still not suffer on quality. Cricket however is played by a small group of nations and when ICC tries to include more and more teams the quality of the tournament invariably suffers. They should also remember that due to the shortness in duration of the matches football can afford to have 2 – 4 matches in a day, thereby reducing the number of days the tournament is played out. Cricket due to its length can’t have more than two matches in a day and still cater to the needs of the broadcaster and the sponsors.

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This world cup had absolutely everything in it other than good quality matches. Retirements, resignations, step downs, sackings, under performances, intrigue and conspiracy all marred the tournament. Add a horrible murder to it and you are left wondering if it’s a sporting tournament that we are talking abAout or the latest Hollywood thriller. Cricket is at its all time low at the moment. Cricket authorities all over the world would do well to wake up and smell the coffee. Otherwise the game will lose its fans forever, the very people who are the reason for the bringing the big bucks into the game.

Ineffective BCCI

Pointing Fingers Indian Cricket Style

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Indian cricket is at it again!!! They are back to doing what they do best when faced with a crisis; pass the buck to someone else. And there has been a lot of that in the past few days and fingers have been pointed at all and sundry. In the midst of all this nonsense there is a former captain’s meeting with the board due next week. Hopefully at least these former greats will be able to knock some sense into some brainless cricket authorities.

The BCCI has always been a divided body, what with politics and power mongering always taking more importance than the welfare of the game itself. The new regime however brought with them a lot of hope and there was a genuine feeling that things would be different. One gets the feeling that the new regime is more interested in the balance sheet than the well being of the game in the country.

Right now everyone from the players to the selectors to the coach is being blamed for the debacle. The board president indulges in grand posturing and says that changes would be made to the team. But will that solve the problems afflicting Indian Cricket? The answer is a resounding no!!!

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Indian cricket’s problems are much deeper than what changing the team or even the captain and the coach could solve. The system itself is rotting. The number of teams in the domestic league is a joke. You can’t have tough competition and a true test of a player’s ability if you have 30 teams in a league. First class players score tons of runs and pick up buckets of wickets in domestic circuit but come up cropper when pitted against tough international opponents.

One can argue that the two tire system has brought about a change but it is only marginal. And the fact of the matter remains that the international players rarely come back and play in the domestic circuit. You can’t blame them too considering the amount of workload they are under in the international circuit.

The saddest part in all this is that even though we have 30 teams in the circuit the BCCI is not represented by the whole nation. There are no cricket associations in some of the states in the east like Sikkim. While a state like Maharashtra has 4 associations. This proves that even after becoming the richest sporting body in the world the BCCI has fallen woefully short in spreading the game to every nook and corner of this nation. Unless they do that we will miss out on talent and the opportunity to tap the country’s full potential.

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The selection policy is also flawed. When you pick selectors based on their zones there is bound to be parochialism, and the quota system will always be a hindrance to selecting the best possible team for the country. Why can’t we pick 5 bale selectors, irrespective of their place of origin, and assign each zone to them. The zones allotted to each should be rotated at regular intervals of time so as to avoid any one selector getting too attached to the zone assigned to him.

The pitches in this country do not provide anything to the bowlers. If at all they do provide some assistance it is to the spin bowlers. But they are made ineffective because the boundary of grounds across the nation is becoming shorter and shorter everyday. The logic behind this is that people love to see runs being scored. So in an effort to avoid being pulverized by the batsmen on flat batting tracks the spinner bowls flat and quick which quickly makes them ineffective as potent wicket taking bowlers. Add to that the short boundaries and the spinner has no other option but to bowl flat and quick. And we lament that India is not producing young spinners anymore.

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Young talent in this country is not properly groomed. Opening up a plethora of cricket academies alone is not the solution to this. They should be given enough opportunities to hone their skills. They should be playing against tougher opponents to gain the necessary temperament needed to survive at the big stage. Above all they should have an exposure to as many different kinds of conditions as they possibly can. Right now they are reared on flat tracks which serve no one. Bowlers get disheartened. The batsmen are found wanting if there is even the slightest of movement or pace in the pitch. If India is to improve on their away record then they have to learn to play on fast bouncy pitches that are found around the world.

What the BCCI, before making all round changes to the team, has to do is to take a look at itself in the mirror and be honest about what they see. If they are to shake up anything then it is the system itself that should be shaken up first. I am not saying that the players, coach and the selectors are not to be blamed. But they will only be as good as the system allows them to be. So if the BCCI genuinely has an interest in the welfare of the game then they should start the drastic changes from within themselves. Otherwise cricket might go the hockey way and then they wont have anything left even in the balance sheet to talk about.

Cricket World Cup 2007

The Great Indian Dream Over

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So that’s it then. India is out of the world cup after being defeated by Sri Lanka for 69 runs. It would be a time of reflection and introspection. The team needs to be rebuilt and Indian cricket in general has a lot of rebuilding to do. And please let’s not go and vandalize their homes and engage in petty public posturing, although it would be wise for the Indian team not to come back to the country straight away. There is a chance that India could still go through if a miracle occurs (read Bermuda beating Bangladesh), but the saddest truth of it all is that we were not good enough to deserve going to the next round.

Was this unexpected? If the Indian fans were to answer honestly they would say no. And it would seem from their body language that the Indian team did not believe in itself. Even though the team was able to cover up its inadequacies with some good performances at home, they had always struggled in the last one year. It was very clear to see that the Indians were yet to recover from their defeat against Bangladesh. There was a very palpable sense of fear in the way the Indians approached this match. Much as Sri Lanka, my favorite to win the cup, played brilliantly Indian batting was equally pathetic.

This is where the coach’s role needs to be questioned. Agreed the coach doesn’t have a direct hand to play in the events on field. But definitely it is the coach’s job to make the players believe in themselves. This was not the case. It is the coach’s job to make the fitness if not the fielding better. This was also not the case and it was never expected to. I have always believed that most of the criticisms against Chappell were unwarranted. But when a coach who took over with the sole purpose of doing well at the world cup, and whose various experiments were indulged with in the hope that it would help the team do well at the competition, only to see them dumped out of it in the first round itself… well criticism is inevitable.

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Dravid’s captaincy has been disappointing to say the least. He seemed to be following a set pattern and incapable of adapting to the situation. The much celebrated batting line up too should share bulk of the burden. Tough decisions need to be taken. Places in the side should be based on merit and not on past performances. If the great players feel that they are being given a raw deal then let them prove their worth in domestic cricket and come back. Dravid was not able to motivate the players. He has not able to galvanize the team into a single unit. And he along with the coach has to take responsibility for that.

But keep in mind the trinity of Sachin, Sourav and Dravid are not getting younger. It is for them to decide the timing of their retirement from the game. It has to happen sooner or later. And the sooner we start grooming the youngsters the better. If we don’t have enough talent out there then at least instill in them some fighting spirit. Matches are not won by talent alone. Bangladesh and the Australian team of 1987 are testament to that.

Another big concern to me right now is Sachin Tendulkar. I have always been a huge fan of Tendulkar. I have always stuck up to people asking him to be sacked. This is why it was disappointing to see him play the way he did in this world cup. He just doesn’t seem to be there mentally. He has to sit down and assess if he still has the hunger in him. If not retirement at least take a break from the game and start from scratch. There is no disgrace in taking a step backward to reassess one’s strengths. But it is belittling his own achievements and reputation if he continues to play this way.

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The BCCI too is responsible for this debacle. This is a result of the board’s lack of vision in developing the game at the grass roots. It is all fine that the board makes money, but the focus shouldn’t just be on balance sheets. The money gained from the sport should be spent in improving the infrastructure and ability of the players. The Ranji league needs to be revamped and the number of competing teams reduced thereby reducing the number of matches. Only then will we have quality players playing each other regularly. The pitches need to have more variety so that they have the technique to counter any condition. Right now our batting line up is too full of blind bashers who come up copper when playing on a pitch that offers even the slightest of assistance to the bowler.

There couldn’t have been a bigger blow to this world cup commercially than the exit of India and Pakistan. But then again for a World Cup reeling under an avalanche of controversies and scandals this would seem like just another thing that went horribly wrong.

Indian cricket is facing a crisis and it would be better if all involved gets up and smell the coffee before its too late.

Woolmer Murdered!!!

Death due to Asphyxiation caused by manual strangulation

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The shocks and scandals at this world cup just keep on coming. It has reached a crescendo with the police announcing that Bob Woolmer was indeed murdered. The Jamaican police have announced that the cause of death is due to Asphyxiation caused by manual strangulation. They reached this conclusion after autopsy reports confirmed rumors that he had injuries in and around his neck. The Jamaican police have asked for the help of the Scotland Yard and two detectives are already on their way to the Caribbean to help in the investigation.

This event will now overshadow everything that has happened and will happen at this world cup. Speculation is going to be at a fever pitch now since the Jamaican police have not given the details regarding either the motive or the suspects in the case. In fact they have asked for the general public to come forward with any sort of information that they might have.

What is known though is that the transcript of the book that Woolmer was working on is missing. This is significant because it was widely believed that Woolmer was set to bring to light many more dark secrets regarding the match fixing scandal and also the bookie-player nexus. Considering that it would have taken more than one person to strangulate a big man like Woolmer the police is saying that there is a strang possibility that more than one person might be involved in the murder. When you have more than one person involved in a murder then by definition there was a conspiracy. This also now puts a cloud of suspicion over the death of former South African captain Hansie Cronje. He it might be remembered also died in a private plane crash. Cronje was previously banned for life for his alleged involvement in the match fixing.

What is also disturbing is that the security cameras at the hotel were only pointing to the entrances to the hotel and also to the floors but it was not pointing to the doors of the rooms. Also it should also be kept in mind that one had to a use an access card to get into the hotel. So far the no one from the Pakistan team or from the cricketing fraternity is a suspect in the crime so far.

So what does this entire episode mean to cricket in general and the world cup in particular? ICC has already announced that the world cup would continue as scheduled. But it would be difficult for everyone involved to put this tragic episode out of their mind. Cricket on its part should be thankful that no one from its fraternity is involved in the murder yet. If that happens then this story would get even more explosive. Let’s hope for the game’s sake that that is not the case.

World Cup Cricket 2007

A glimmer of hope

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What a strange thing hope is. It is at the same time man’s greatest strength and his biggest downfall. It springs eternal from the human breast according to the poet Ernest Lawrence Thayer. And now a billion Indian cricket fans are left with nothing else to cling on to other than this very thing. For their overrated bunch of heroes have made things extremely difficult for themselves by losing to Bangladesh at the world cup. It would take some brilliant performances aided by a fair degree of luck for these guys to go through to the next round.

The Indian cricket team must be one of the most fickle of teams in sporting history. After having demolished West Indies in a warm up game they have promptly gone on to lose to a lesser established team like Bangladesh. Nothing clicked for India on that fateful day against Bangladesh. Their batting wilted, seemingly from the fear of losing. The bowling was as penetrative as a blunt knife. And the fielding was all butter fingers. Indians were outplayed and embarrassed at each aspect of the game, even at the post game press conference. The Indians were forced to come out of the match with their tails between their legs and deservedly so.

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So it must have been relief to everyone involved with Indian cricket when they saw that the next scheduled match was between an even smaller team – Bermuda. The Indian went about thrashing them thereby boosting their bloated egos. The whole country is waiting though. Everybody knows that this is just the calm before the storm. Their real test would be between their crucial encounter against Sri Lanka. And even if India wins that game whether or not they would go through to the Super Eight would still depend on somebody up there liking them. India needs luck to be on their side to get a favorable net run rate equation to go through.

Sri Lanka would be a much tougher cookie to crack than Bermuda. For one thing their bowling is far more potent than India’s. For another their batting can be as destructive as India’s. Add a much better fielding ability to the mix and the scale tends to shift in Sri Lanka’s favor. But as was illustrated in the match against Bangladesh cricket is nothing but a game of glorious uncertainties. And that’s where Indian cricket fans are clinging their hopes on.

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For India to beat Sri Lanka, our batting needs to come good. I am sure that if we can get to the 30th over without losing too many wickets then the big guns coming in later can blast off. This is why I want Dravid to come up early in the innings, maybe as high as 3. He should drop the sheath anchor with the later explosive batsmen playing around him. I would also bring in Pathan into the eleven. He solidifies the batting line up especially the tail which looks very long at the moment. If he goes at around 4 runs an over then we should consider him as having done his job instead of expecting him to do the great things he used to do in the past.

Finally this is the last chance for the golden generation of players who have managed to consistently underachieve at the big stage. But this time they will have only themselves to blame and the general public may not be as forgiving as before. Like one banner said at the Trinidad the other day “This is your last chance India. Win this or else stay in Trinidad forever”.

Cricket World Cup 2007

Gavaskar vs Australia and Sledging

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Off late the controversy involving Sunil Gavaskar and the Australian cricket team has been snowballing out of control. The whole thing started off with Gavaskar opening up the topic of sledging and accusing the Australians of being the primary perpetrators. He accused the Australian team of being abusive on the field of play. He went on to say that the Australians are the most unpopular champions in the history of the game.

As can be expected the Australians, especially their current captain Ricky Ponting, were none too happy about it. He responded strongly by referring to Gavaskar’s walkout of a test match when he was captain of the Indian team over alleged abuse from the Australian team. He also put his foot in his mouth when he then went on to talk of unrelated topics like India’s performance lately.

However if anyone thought that would be the last they would hear of the matter they were proved wrong as Gavaskar decided to put his foot in the mouth as well. He responded to Ricky Ponting by saying that the language the Australians use on the field could get them into trouble in a bar. He even cited the example of David Hookes, a former Australian player who got killed in a bar incident. This stirred a lot of strong reactions from Australian players including Allan Border.

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My personal take on the subject is that both Gavaskar and Ponting crossed the line by responding to comments made by each other. It was wrong on Ponting’s part to respond to such kind of comments. He would have been better served if he gave the answer on the field with their performance and conduct. As for Gavaskar, dragging in Hooke’s name into the whole thing was totally uncalled for. He should have shown a lot more respect to the memories of a deceased person.

My whole take on sledging is slightly different from that of Gavaskar. In the heat of the moment, in the middle of a crunch situation, it could and will get a bit volatile out there. But doesn’t that add more color and character to the whole proceedings?

International cricket is not about a bunch of small kids playing in the local park for them to be protected from such intensity. They are more than capable of taking it and dishing it out back to them in equal terms.

Sledging creates some funny banter from time to time. My favorites are the stories involving Merv Hughes. It is said that after being hit all over the ground in a match by Hansie Cronje, he went down the pitch to Cronje, stood near him and farted!!! He followed it up with the line “Try hitting that for a boundary”.

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Another memorable incident was when Viv Richard, upon being stared by Merv said “In my culture we don’t stare”. Merv got him out later and said “In my culture we just say F**k off”.

Merv has got it back from others too. After Robin Smith played and missed a delivery Merv snarled at him and said “You f**king can’t bat”. Robin Smith hit the next ball for a four and replied “We make quite a pair, don’t we? I f**king cant bat and you f**king can’t ball”.

But the one I like the most was from Fred Trueman. In a county game one of his team mates miss fielded the ball by letting it get through between his legs. Trueman’s reply, “No you bastard, your mother should have”.

Sledging is not always fun to bear for the players. Take for instance the McGrath – Sarwan incident. McGrath started it by asking Sarwan, “Tell me, how does Brian Lara’s d**k taste like”. Sarwan promptly replied “Ask your wife”. The bid to instigate Sarwan and make him lose his cool backfired on the Aussie and McGrath went berserk accompanied by a few of his team mates. The reason – his wife was battling cancer. Earlier McGrath wasn’t so touchy about his wife. Once he had asked the plump Eddo Brandes “Why are you so f**king fat?” Brandes replied, “That’s because every time I had sex with your wife, she gave me biscuit.” Play resumed only after 5 minutes as every on the field was rolling over with laughter.

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The principle of sledging is that if you can’t take it back then don’t give it. If you can’t take it at all then the message should be, “sorry mate, but this isn’t boys scout.” As a footnote, I haven’t see McGrath sledge after the Sarwan incident.

Cricket World Cup 2007

World’s Most Ignored Sport Fans.

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There were a couple of matches going on at the world cup yesterday. Australia, the favorites for the tournament, was playing against minnows Scotland. In another match a war of the minnows were going on between Kenya and Canada. Both matches had predictable results. Both were a cure for those suffering from even the acutest insomnia. The case is the same for the matches scheduled for today. In fact barring one match in each of the 4 groups there are no matches in the group stage of this world cup which would make even the most ardent of cricket fans to lose his sleep over.

Personally, the author of this post was not interested in following the matches after a tough day at the office. I was looking for some entertainment which would take my mind off the hectic workload I was bombarded with for the day. Usually I would have followed a cricket match on any given day, but yesterday I couldn’t watch it even for 5 minutes. Watching the Australian toying around with the Scots was as exciting as a watching a match of chess between two unknowns. There was nothing to even stimulate the slightest of interest in the match. David and Goliath is one thing, but this was Goliath and a 90 year old. As for the other match it was a bit more evenly balanced. But even that match failed to generate even the slightest excitement.

My point is who is actually watching these matches? Is there anybody out there who might be watching these matches the full distance other than the guys who get paid for it? The media and the ex-cricketers need to write and discuss about these matches. So they might endure this torture. But what about the ordinary fan. The one person everybody including the ICC, the broadcasters and the advertisers all seem to have forgotten. What about his interests?

The ICC is of the opinion that subjecting the smaller teams to such slaughter at the hands of their more established opponents would help these teams get better. Ya Right!!! Get them better at running away from a cricket field, if they ever were to lay their eyes on one again. The ICC is being delusional if they honestly believe that anyone’s confidence gets better by getting battered black and blue by a bigger opponent. And confidence is the key to success in any sport. There are other better ways of developing the sport in new territories than subjecting these teams to utter humiliation every 4 years.

The broadcasters as well as the ICC believes that pumping in more matches equates to more viewers and hence more revenue by way of advertisements. They are all forgetting the basic rule of demand and supply here. Any time a surplus occur demand obviously goes down thereby devaluing the product. Both these parties need to realize that corporate guys would clamor over one another to advertise their product only if they believe that there is a significant number of people out there would receive their message. They will plug the moment they understand that nobody cares for the sport. So the most important person everybody should be caring about is the fan.

To keep the interest of a fan (the customer) the ICC (the producer) should provide the product that he wants. And the fans want to see good competitive matches. He wants excitement; he wants to see players with skills exhibiting their prowess on the field against equally tough opponents. But this is not how the ICC feels. They feel that they will make a substandard product and have deluded themselves into believing that the audience will lap it up. In an effort to attract new audiences, they are in fact alienating existing ones. I also don’t understand how anyone who watches cricket for the first time will be taken to it when they see Australia playing Scotland.

If there is someone out there who watches these matches just out of the love of the game then the ICC should find him out and get him some important position in the organization. But before doing that they might do well to check if his sanity. On second thought maybe that’s the exact profile the existing honchos of the ICC has.

Related Reads:

Can India bring the world cup home?
The Big Fat Caribbean World Cup
Dropped, Doped or Duped? – The drug scandal in cricket
World Cup Unforgettables – Australia v South Africa, 1999
World Cup Unforgettables – India v Pakistan 1996
The Caribbean Carnival Begins
West Indies wins on the back of good show by young guns

2007 Cricket World Cup – WI v Pak

West Indies wins on the back of good show by young guns

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In a contest between two of the most mercurial sides in world cricket West Indies came out triumphant over an erratic Pakistan. What would be most heartening about this victory is that its chief architects were from the younger generation of its players. Players like Samuels, Smith and Bravo came to the party in a big way.

Pakistan won the toss in the morning and elected to field first, on a pitch which had something in it for the bowlers. Lara later on said that he would have done the same had he won the toss. The surprise inclusion in the Pakistani team was that of Danish Kaneria who hasn’t been a part of their ODI scheme of things for almost a year now, mainly due to his fielding prowess or lack thereof. This was a big gamble, considering that the West Indies have in the ranks some really good players of spin, not to mention the small grounds over there.

The WIndies innings started off rather shakily with Chris Gayle getting out in the third over for 2. Sarwan walked in and slashed at the first ball he faced; more nerves than anything else. The ball took the outside edge and was flying towards Younis Khan at second slip, who dropped the chance. In fact the Pakistani bowlers did not receive much support from their fielders all throughout the innings. The prime example of it all was when Danish Kaneria fielded an innocuous defensive push from Chanderpaul and then promptly hurled it over the wicket keeper’s head for four overthrows.

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After the fall of Gayle, West Indies adopted a cautious approach for a majority of their innings. It was understandable considering their penchant for collapses. However by the time Lara came in, at the fall of Sarwan’s wicket for a well made 49, the West Indies score was a paltry 3-77 in the 24th over. Lara and Samuels then went about trying to provide some much needed impetuous to the West Indian innings.

The trigger for it was when Samuels hit Iftikar Anjum for a four and a six off consecutive balls and thereby taking 14 runs off the 28th over of the innings. He followed it up by taking another 14 runs in the 31st over bowled by Kaneria which included two fours and a huge six over long on. Kaneria came in for some punishment from Lara too when the great man hit him for a four and a superb flat six over mid off in a single over.

Samuels brought up his 50 off 58 balls when he hit Shoaib Malik for a huge six over the bowlers head in the 41st over. The fourth wicket partnership was worth 91 off 103 balls before Hafeez broke it; Lara had walked after he had edged a sweep to Akmal with the West Indies score at 4-168 in the 42nd over. Samuels too departed soon after adding just 13 runs to the total. And when Ramdin was stumped by Akmal off Kaneria in the very next over we all thought that the West Indies would lose its way once again. The score then was 6-184 off 45 overs. It seemed they would struggle to put a competitive total on the board.

That was when a superlative cameo from Dwayne Smith changed the complexion of the innings. The all rounder made a quick fire 32 off 15 balls which included 3 boundaries and 2 towering sixes. Helped by some lusty hitting from the tail towards the end of the innings, the West Indies took their score to 9-241 in their 50 overs. The momentum was clearly in their favor especially after the last ball six by Collymore off Anjum.

West Indies clearly demonstrated the virtues of the old fashioned approach of keeping the wickets in hand. Pakistan on their part was rather listless on the field while Inzamam’s captaincy was too laid back for his own good. I felt he missed a trick or two when he failed to utilize the full quota of overs from his main bowlers especially Umar Gul. I also felt that he was at a loss of ideas when his bowlers were getting plundered all across the park.

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The way Pakistan’s innings started off was an epitome of their inconsistency. Imran Nazir left alone the first ball. The next one he hit for a six. The next ball he was out caught behind. In walked Younis Khan and he hit a four off the very first ball he faced. It was a surprise when the last two deliveries of the over did not generate any drama at all.

However Younis Khan too did not last long and was out top edging a delivery while trying to hook a ball that got too big on him. The score was 2-17 in 4 overs when he left. And when Mohammed Hafeez left trying to up the tempo in the 11th over, Pakistan was tottering at 3-39. This brought their two most experienced batsmen together in the middle in the form of Inzamam and Yousuf. It was up to them to steady the ship and take the cause forward.

Steady the ship they did; but they ate up a lot of balls in doing so. The pair went about their task in such a snail’s pace that they added only 60 runs in 18.3 over. Their problems were further accentuated by the dismissal of Yousuf by Smith. Pakistan’s total at the time was 4-99 in 29 overs. In the 33rd over Smith also accounted for Inzamam Ul Haq with the score at 5-116. With the asking rate climbing to over 7 runs an over it was up to Akmal and Malik to salvage the situation.

However that was not to be as Akmal was out to a brilliant low catch by Bravo at gully off that man Smith once again, who was rightfully adjudged the man of the match. Whatever hopes Pakistan had of winning the match was virtually over then. Even though Malik put up some token resistance towards the end the task at hand was always too daunting for the Pakistanis. When Bravo finished off the tail he was only putting in the finishing touches to a determined performance by the WIndies.

Image Courtsey : smh.com.au

Pakistan looked very weak without Razzaq and Afridi. Their presence could have been crucial in this innings as they would given more depth to the batting line up which was sorely missing some firepower in the latter stages of the match, Malik’s exploits not withstanding. Inzamam has a lot of thinking to do if they are to put a good show in this world cup. Remember they haven’t beaten a test playing nation at the world cup since 1999. West Indies would be happy to have got the points under their belt which they are almost certain to carry forward to the Super-Eight stage. They will be a tough side to beat if they can take build on this and get some semblance of consistency into their game.

Related Reads:

Can India bring the world cup home?
The Big Fat Caribbean World Cup
Dropped, Doped or Duped? – The drug scandal in cricket
World Cup Unforgettables – Australia v South Africa, 1999
World Cup Unforgettables – India v Pakistan 1996
The Caribbean Carnival Begins

Cricket World Cup 2007

The Big Fat Caribbean World Cup

The ICC cricket world cup 2007 begins on the 13th of this month. Or does it? The group stage of this world cup is so meaningless that you can sleep through the entire first fortnight and still wouldn’t have missed anything. All the top eight teams would have qualified. Why should I stay awake in the night to watch substandard matches and then be late for work?

The ICC in an effort to fill their coffers has made this the longest world cup in history. Hell, maybe even the longest of all sporting events. As an excuse to popularize the game in yet uncharted territories, they have included 5 teams from the associate cricket playing nations. This is in addition to Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Kenya and all the other major test playing teams taking the overall tally of participating teams to 16.

Mind you, I am not against the minnows playing in the world cup at all. But I can’t digest the bloated number of teams inducted into the tournament. The ideal situation, as the great Michael Holding suggested, would have been the inclusion of just the top ranked associate member team. With Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Kenya still needing a lot to improve this would have taken the total team tally to a more competitive number of 12 teams and would have brought down the number of matches considerably.

Cricket does not have the depth as in soccer to cause any real upsets in the group stages. While in soccer world cups the group stages are at least watchable due to strong performances from the Asian and African teams, cricket suffers because the associate member teams are yet to reach the standards required. This is inherently because of the complexity of cricket as a sport which requires a significant amount of time to come good in it. Rushing the smaller fishes into the company of sharks will only hasten their demise.

Right now nobody is happy with the situation other than the ICC and the broadcasting companies. They stand to gain good amounts of money from the advertisement time sold in this commercial friendly game. The players are not happy for obvious reasons. Their burden has been increased in an already over crowded calendar year of fixtures.

As for the minnows, the ICC believes that they will learn more about the game by getting slaughtered and embarrassed by the bigger teams. I wonder how any nation would be attracted to a sport where its players look like lambs at a slaughter house. If the ICC is really serious about spreading the game then it shouldn’t just be a once in four year effort. The top ranked associate countries must be played against better teams regularly. ‘A Team’ tours from other test playing nations to the associate countries would be the ideal solution for this.

But the ICC has forgotten the concern of its primary stake holder; the spectators. Who in his right mind would stay awake (in India) to watch India play Bermuda or Australia playing Scotland? This will boost up the ratings for a world cup which will anyway suffer due to the difference in time zone? The ICC is forgetting the basic principle of selling a product. You should sell what the customer wants and not try and thrust something they don’t want down their throats. Let’s hope that in an effort to spread the game Cricket does not lose the fans it already has.

Related Reads:

Can India bring the world cup home?
Dropped, Doped or Duped? – The drug scandal in cricket
World Cup Unforgettables – Australia v South Africa, 1999
World Cup Unforgettables – India v Pakistan 1996
World Cup Unforgettables – India v Australia 1992
Rahul Dravid – The Great Wall of India
Saurav Ganguly – The Return of the Prince
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - Hero, Villain or Victim?

India’s chances

Can India bring the world cup home?

No world cup starts off without the whole of India dreaming of an encore to that glorious day in June 1983, when we were crowned champions of the world in cricket. Every four years from that memorable day the whole country undertakes their favorite pastime of ascertaining their team’s chances at that particular edition of the World Cup. Every ‘Couch Potato Expert’ worth his salt in the country debates, discusses and speculates the team’s chances. Since it’s futile to try and escape this nation wide phenomenon, I thought I might throw my hats into it as well. So here goes…

If you are wondering why the Indian team captain talks of managing his fielders and about placing the right people at the right place, it is only because of the fact that we are one of the poorest fielding sides going into this world cup. Most of our senior players are on the wrong side of 30 and the daddy brigade was never good fielders in the first place. So as Dravid put it, we need be better in the other two departments of the game if we are to stand any chance of winning back the World Cup. Let’s forget temporarily that no team, other than Pakistan in 1992, has won the world cup without being a good fielding side as well.

So what should our players look to do at the world cup? Since our bowling does not inspire much confidence, our only chance of winning the world cup lies in batting out the opposition. This is where the gamble of picking Sehwag assumes significance. Coming into the world cup Sehwag has not done anything to inspire confidence. We are banking heavily on his past performances and his coming good during the course of the tournament. But the team should be realistic enough to drop him if his woeful form continues. Uthappa, even though I have doubts on his ability perform consistently, should be considered if Sehwag does not fire in the group matches. India definitely cannot take a blind chance on Sehwag in the super eight matches.

So our opening batting line up should be Ganguly and Sehwag/Uthappa. Dravid at one down is in the best possible position of the batting line up. The No.3 is the position around which the team should revolve around. I hope the team does not continue with their experiment (if you can still call it that) of sending Pathan up the order on a regular basis. That tactic should be used sparingly and India should look to Dravid coming in at no.3 regularly.

No matter what the situation of the game is Sachin Tendulkar should come in at No.4. We should play him in the middle order to provide stability and strength as that position requires experience and no one in world cricket can provide you as much experience and caliber as the master himself. Putting him any lower would be a waste of his talent. He has the ability to adapt himself to any situation and can steer the side home in tight situations.

Yuvraj should come in next as he is one of the better finishers in the game right now. He should look to play out the full quota of overs if he is playing with the tailenders and should play with a lot more freedom if any of the other top order batsmen are at the other. He should be followed by Dhoni who with his powerful hitting can take the game away from any opposition. India would be looking at these two to take them home during the business end of an innings.

I would pick Irfan Pathan over Dinesh Karthick, even without his bowling prowess. If Pathan is able to bowl even 6 overs at 5 runs an over, I would still pick him over Karthick. I have my own reasons for saying this. For one, I think Pathan is a more consistent batsman than Karthick. For another if he bowls decently enough he brings in another option to the captain which Karthick cant. I would at least start off with Pathan during the group stages and then make a call from there. If Pathan has an off day with the ball he can be covered for by others in the team like Tendulkar, Yuvraj and Sehwag.

In the bowling department, I would play both Kumble and Harbhajjan. If the West Indies pitches behave like what we have seen in the last few years, then without a shadow of doubt these two should be played. The slow low pitches in the Caribbean would be ideal for the Indian spinners and India should be able capitalize on the experience, not to mention the skill, that these two would bring in.

Zaheer Khan should spearhead the attack. He has been in spectacular form after his return to the team and thankfully that has made up for Pathan’s problems with confidence. The question would be as to who would partner him. Sreeshant still needs to prove himself in the shorter version of the game. It’s a close call between Agarkar and Patel. At the moment the odds are slightly in favor of Agarkar. Patel will have to grab his chances if he has to barge his way into the team.

So can India win the cup? Well, if we are to win, then it would require a great deal of luck too. My heart says that we will win, but more realistically I would be hoping for it rather than believing it. But who knows? Nobody believed the 1983 Indian team to be crowned champions either. So all the best boys and bring home that cup. It’s about time you did!!!

Related Reads:

Dropped, Doped or Duped? – The drug scandal in cricket
World Cup Unforgettables – Australia v South Africa, 1999
World Cup Unforgettables – India v Pakistan 1996
World Cup Unforgettables – India v Australia 1992
Rahul Dravid – The Great Wall of India
Saurav Ganguly – The Return of the Prince
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - Hero, Villain or Victim?

Shoaib Akhtar

Dropped, Doped or Duped? – The drug scandal in cricket

The drug scandal has hit yet another spot. After the perpetual doping cloud hovering over cycling and a whole gamut of other athletic and sporting events, it is now cricket’s turn to face this most scandalous of controversies. Needless to say, the failed drug test of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif is the biggest crisis the sport has faced after the match fixing scandals in the early part of the millennium.

To start off, the way the ICC has dealt with the whole issue is baffling. During the last world cup in 2003, Shane Warne had the dubious distinction of being the first player to be caught of doping. However the ICC gave him only a token punishment of just 1 year. It was in no way the right signal to send to would be offenders. The punishment was too lenient to be a deterrent to others.

But what was even most baffling is the claim by the ICC that drug test would be conducted only for its own premier events; like the world cup and the Champions Trophy. More than anything, this showed how ineffectual the ICC is in running the game. Is the ICC saying that a player is free to take drugs for other tournaments and series, but for some haloed reason the World Cup and such events need to be treated with utmost reverence? Or are they still naïve enough to believe that cricket is still a gentleman’s game and that they lose their honesty only during the World Cup and such event?

Coming back to the Akhtar and Asif saga, these two players were first found to be having high quantities of Nandrolone in their blood in an internal drug test conducted just prior to the Champions Trophy in India. They were subsequently pulled out of the Champions Trophy and were promptly suspended for two years. However they were let off by an appellate tribunal. The duo then went on to play for Pakistan in their recent tour of South Africa.

But there was no doubt that the shadow of doubt regarding their drug offence still persisted and it was no secret that they would be targeted for another round of testing at the World Cup. Probably realizing this, the PCB allegedly sent both these players to England in a futile attempt to flush the traces of Nandrolone from their body. They were even missing from the mandatory drug tests that all their players were subjected to. The excuse given was that the duo was undergoing treatment for their respective injuries.

The entire episode smelt strongly of a massive cover up. If Akhtar and Asif were genuinely injured, the secrecy and intrigue surrounding it defied logic. Both left for treatment on the same plane and went to the same country. But then the place or the kind of treatment they underwent is shrouded in mystery.

The PCB needs to explain to its stake holders the very purpose of their drug tests. Is it for finding drug offenders and punishing them suitably? Or is it for protecting their own players from getting a life ban? The PCB has put at risk its own credibility by choosing to take the later option. They need to make up their minds and convince the rest of the world that Akhtar and Asif were indeed injured and hence were dropped. Otherwise they should come out into the open and take proper action against the duo, thereby admitting to their guilt. But right now the PCB has opted for the stupidest and easiest option. They are trying to dupe the whole world. Only problem is that the world is not as full of fools as they thought

World Cup Unforgettables – India v Australia 1992

Countdown to ICC Cricket World Cup 2007

The world cup of 1992 was one of the most memorable ever. It was the first world cup to be played under artificial lights, colored clothing and the white ball. However this was also a world cup marred by a stupid rain rule. In an effort to make the calculation of the target simpler, in case of the match being shortened due to rain interruptions, the organizers really botched it up with the most ridiculous rule ever. The absurdity of this rule was not realized until after the matches began and the rules actually implemented. We are featuring one such match now. It was also the first and only World Cup where the teams were not split into group and hence was conducted in a round robin fashion.

India came into the world cup on the back of an abysmal tour of Australia. They had lost the test series 4-0 and were comprehensively beaten in the final of a triangular tournament by the host, with West Indies being the other team. The world cup was being conducted at the fag end of that tour and the Indian team seemed to be devoid of motivation. Before meeting the Australians, India had already lost to England and their match against Sri Lanka was rained out.

Australia on the other hand came into the world cup as the firm favorites to lift the tournament in their own backyard. However they started poorly and came into the match against India having lost both their opening matches to New Zealand and South Africa.

Allan Border won the toss and elected to bat. They started really badly. They were at 2 for 38 at one stage when Dean Jones joined David Boon and began the recovery. The two took the score to 102 with some breath taking running between the wickets. After Boon fell for 43, Jones continued to take the Australian cause forward with partnerships first with Steve Waugh and then with Tom Moody. However the Australian innings fell apart after the dismissal of Jones, setting India a target of 238 runs.

To say that the Indian chase started off disastrously would be an understatement. Srikkanth got out for a duck when the team total was only six. The way Ravi Shastri batted then defied logic. When he got out he had taken up 75 balls for his 25 runs and the Indian total at that time was a paltry 58 with almost half the overs already gone. Tendulkar came next and was dismissed for 11 trying to up the tempo. Kapil Dev came in next and scored a rapid fire 21 off 26 balls thereby providing some much needed impetus to the innings. When he left India still was in a precarious position of 4 for128.

Then came the superb partnership between Azharuddin and Sanjay Manjrekar. The two took the score to 194 before Azharuddin departed for a well made 93. The partnership was broken in the only way it seemed possible, through a run out. Then the rain started playing its part in the match. 3 overs were reduced from the Indian innings while only 2 runs were reduced from the target. After the rain interval India kept losing wickets while inching towards the target.

Off the last ball India needed 4 runs to win with 1 wicket in hand. Javagal Srinath was facing the bowler with Venkatapathy Raju at the other end. To this day I remember vividly the commentary of that last ball by Bill Lawry while watching it on TV. Tom Moody bowls the last delivery. Srinath takes an almighty swing at the ball and hits it high towards long on. Bill Lawry screams “It’s a SIX!!!”. I start jumping up and down like crazy (I was 14 at the time). But I froze suddenly as both myself and Lawry realize that it’s not going for six but infact going into the hands of Steve Waugh. Incredibly Waugh drops the catch. Elation again!!! Waugh recovers quickly and throws the ball to the wicket keeper’s end. Raju sets off for the 3rd run which would make the match a tie. Lawry momentarily forgets that he is an Australian and yells “RUN!!! RUN!!! RUN!!!” The throw is wide and everyone including myself is praying that Raju does a superman. But the keeper recovers quickly enough to run him out and I was left with the biggest heartbreak of my life. That was the first and only time I had tears in my eyes after watching a cricket match. Just couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed!!!

Rahul Dravid – The Great Wall of India

Countdown to ICC Cricket World Cup 2007

Rahul Dravid completes our look on the holy trinity of Indian batsmen, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly being the other two. Dravid has been India’s Mr. Dependable for quite some time now. His stride to the middle always brings about a calm in both the dressing room as well as in the hearts of a billion fans. One can be rest assured that whatever be the situation of the match that he walks into, he will give his 100% out there on the field. It is no wonder that over the years his has become the most prized wicket in the Indian batting line up.

When he first started off he was the man who somehow seemed destined to be overshadowed by somebody else. He had a very impressive debut in England and missed a century there by a whisker. However people remember that test for the century on debut at Lords by Ganguly. When he scored his highest scores in ODI somebody else overshadowed him, twice! He had a hand in one of the greatest rescue acts in the history of cricket at Kolkata in 2000. Even that match is remembered for the exploits of his partner at the other end, VVS Laxman. It was one of those magical moments in test cricket when both of them batted for a whole day and turned a certain defeat into a miraculous victory.

He has always been one of the most technically equipped batsmen in the modern era, in an era when fast scoring is the norm and throwing your bat at all and sundry seems to be the only way to perform, Dravid stands out for his superb technique. It is but a reflection of the time he is playing that once he was thought to be a bit too technical and heavily criticized for his slow batting. There were even suggestions that he should only be played in the tests and be dropped for the ODI, which they eventually did. Thankfully better sense prevailed and before long he returned as a much improved batsmen. He later on became such an integral part of the team that he has now taken over the captaincy from Ganguly in both forms of the game.

Dravid’s utility to the team is unquestionable. Take a look at any of our major victories in India or abroad and you will have Dravid playing a major role in it. Be it the one at Kolkata, Headingly, Adelaide, Jamaica or Rawalpindi. It is a proof of his technical prowess that he has been able to negotiate the seam and bounce of foreign pitches. Some may not find him to be entertaining. But he gets you the results. Sometimes in pursuit of victory you might have to cut out some of the flashiness and grind it out. What matters most is not if you have entertained the crowd, it is whether you have won the match or not.

Dravid has time and again proven that he is a perfect team man. Who can forget the times when he would keep the wickets so that the team would get some much needed balance? This was the single most important factor for India’s successful run at the world cup last time. You can see the elation or pain etched on his face depending on the fortunes of the team. Just look at the way he celebrates when the team wins, it is a 1000 time more emotional than when he reaches a personal milestone. His commitment to the team is absolute.

Dravid as a captain has been less of a success than as a batsman. He has been found strangely devoid of ideas at crucial moments when the going gets tough for the team. Dravid by character is a quiet and restrained man. But on the field he needs to show a bit more aggression. Then again all this would matter less if he is able to bring back the World Cup to India after a long gap of 24 years. Dravid would know that a billion people will be rooting for his team, and there is no better man to rest our faiths with.