Today's story (by worma)

Here is what Sanjay Manjreker has to say on 'the issue'...this portion is the theme of his opinion

For me, this difficult choice that they have to make, is not so much between two people as it is between two ways to go ahead in Indian cricket.

..but before choosing, those in the say must also heed to this:

Coming back to the current issue, before the decision is made, the BCCI will surely talk to Chappell and Ganguly and if after that, they feel they need to go the Chappell way, it’s important they also find out whether the rest of the team and not only the new captain is ready to go the Chappell way.

For, you are talking of those players who found much of their success the Ganguly way.

Peter Roebuck also has a look at the controversy, and has advice for sides.

Meanwhile, there's even a leak of the questions that the committee is supposedly going to put up to GC and SG!

This story, in HT, gives a list of names supposedly on 'one side' and this one carries Bhajji's explanation on what he 'actually' meant, while giving statement in support of SG(and supposedly against GC)

Meanwhile, news doing the rounds that the dices are getting loaded in favour of SG, for the review meeting. Calling up the tour manager, who has already started giving statements refuting GC's claims, is one of them. Ahh...looks like big mess-up coming up.


A personal note, there would be a week-long blogging hiatus from my side...am on 'vacation' as they say here (yes in my part of the world they do have it!). Anyways...will keep a close eye on the 'news' around the showdown....and may the 'best' side win :-)

update : Do read this piece from Rahul Bhattacharya on the current situation. So far, probably the most balanced analysis of all the issues.

Strike 2 ? (by worma)

As soon as the 'leak' of email came out, my opinion had been that this doesn't look like GC vs SG anymore. And therefore the core members of the team need to sit down and discuss it together, sans GC and SG, and probably moderated by Sunny, Shastri etc since they can take those opinions and recommendations to the review committee as well.

And now it does seem that all's not well in the dressing rooms. Read here , here, and here. And in this one, Bhajji is the first player to openly speak out on this issue.

Right...all that on what 'should' happen, and here's what more likely to happen. JD may actually be right this time! If this email did come before the second test, and if the so called 'truce' was brokered on top of the knowledge gained from this, then there are chances that it may still partially hold, with some additional compromises thrown in for all parties.

Meanwhile, on a different note, Harsha, in his latest article, is visibly disappointed at the sorry state of affairs in Indian cricket administration. Here's a warning shot at us fans

Oh, and meanwhile, there is the issue of television rights to sort out. I can tell you already that you cannot get a genuine world class telecast for the matches starting October 25. There isn’t enough time for it.

So for heaven’s sake don’t ask why the coverage of the Ashes looked so much better. Channel 4 had a year to plan their first telecast, Sky Sports have a year to think about the tests next year, Channel 9 have had their contract extended well before the earlier one ended.

We have a year to go before the next juicy, terrible, election.

whoa !

..and another interview of Chappell...to me it looks different from the one that Prem had commented on yesterday...or the one which I had also linked to in my posts. Atleast he has thrown light one a few new issues here. I have a feeling I may be reading too much into the lines here....so I'll leave it for you all to read and judge.

But one thing I can still say, as a strictly personal opinion, I have a feeling Greg is talking to the media too much. And not now, but right from the beginning of his stint. Perhaps that's my personal preference, perhaps its the effect of the reclusive John Wright on me....but I would have liked him to work 'a bit' more behind the scenes. Although maybe not as much as Wright who gave these many interviews in probably his entire stint!

For I feel that especially in the Indian media, the more he speaks, the more are chances of over-analysis, needless controversies pulling back on actual work (and people like me trying to read too much into it :-)

Here's an express analysis of this issue in light of the email contents, and what he revealed in his interviews.

Here another analysis from Guardian. Gives a good idea of the outsider's view of the affair.

One line, about SG, that I found amusing was Ganguly scored his first Test hundred in two years in Bulawayo and a media truce was cobbled together, with Chappell pictured playing pool with his captain - Ganguly, a cerebral, upper-class type, does not much care for pool, unless perhaps he can get a servant to play it for him.

Despite being cautious not to read too much into a presumably harmless witticism, it still hints at the underlying 'sentiment' prevailing in the British (and maybe Aussie) media and public about Ganguly. And I've sometimes got this impression from generally innocuous comments about SG in Eng blogs etc. Ahh...I wish SG and the team could get back to its 2001-2004 level...and give the Eng tourists a good dose of the 'Waugh medicine'...if only just for the fun of reading the shock and horror reports in their media...

the 'actual' leaked report

Here is the translation of the article that appeared in Ananadabazar patrika. Note they are the ones who would probably have had access to the actual leaked report, the other media channels picking the story from them..and this from another of our regulars here kban1. Thanks a lot kban1.
*********************************************************************************************
GC has indicated in strong terms that he does not want SG as captain. This is expressed in a 6 page email sent to RS Mahendra within hours of GC and SG’s public patch up. For the first time in world history, a coach has come out in writing against the team captain.

The email makes the following main complaints about SG

1) SG is desperate to retain leadership in the team --he has created rifts and groups within the team to accomplish this
2) Physical and mental fitness of SG is not up to par.
3) He has lost the his teammates trust and confidence.
4) SG provides imagined /feigned injuries as excuses.
5) If 2007 WC is the goal, then SG’s outlook and attitude is far from ideal.
6) SG does not follow through with training /regimen programs set for him

As per the report, despite the win in the test series, the team is divided with RD, AK, and several others siding with GC while HS, ZK, and possibly VS are in SG’s corner. The faction livid with GC has already spoken with Gavaskar in Harare while the faction in favor of GC has already spoken with Ravi Shastri in Harare. A situation has developed which is reminiscent of the rifts that were present during the SG-Kapil and Azzu-SRT eras.

When SG was contacted by the paper he responded by saying “I have heard of the email. What I need to say, I shall say to the board. Hopefully, the Board will give me a chance to explain my position”.

Within trusted circles, SG has been furious about the issue saying “this speaks volumes about the character of any person who writes such an email within hours of publicly making up”.

SG is particularly furious about the insinuation about a so-called “divide and rule” policy. He has confided to a close friend in Harare:
In 5 years of captaining the team I have never heard this accusation. The practice of regionalism and favoritism in selection ended during my tenure as captain. Even my harshest critics cannot complain that I back players out of regional favoritism. Yet GC, who hasn’t been with the team for more than a few days, suddenly arrives at the conclusion that I am creating groups to hold on to my captaincy.

Speaking with trusted people, SG has opined that “he couldn’t ever imagine GC behaving like this in such a short time”.

The paper adds that it is well known that RD and other senior players wanted Tom Moody as coach while SG wanted GC. In fact Steve Waugh wanted SG to choose Moody, not GC. Waugh had warned SG in Calcutta that SG was making a mistake by backing GC’s candidacy, a warning that SG must be remembering now.

Although SG would not comment to the paper, the paper has learnt from a reliable source that SG has already gathered his fitness and progress report cards (that will refute the allegations) from the training staff to bolster his defense.

The article surmises that it is obvious both parties have lost faith and confidence in each other and working together in the future will be a problem. The question is who will have to leave ?

Which in turn raises the question (as per the paper) – what is the actual problem ? Sourav backers say it is definitely strange that a person who has managed the team well over the past 5 years has turned bad overnight. The same people point out that anti SG comments were made by GC as far back as Colombo, where SG was not even the captain.

SG’s personal opinion (again expressed to his trusted circle) is that the problem stems from the question –who is the actual boss ? And it is this main issue that has led to other issues.

This theory has been supported by several other people in the know, all of whom have indicated that the main problem is one related to leadership issues.

As per the paper’s sources, problems between the 2 reached a boiling point in Zimbabwe and was characterized by a few high pitched exchanges between the two. One of these (in front of VVS) got to a point that SG told GC that the latter would do well to learn ODI’s batting from the former.

The rest of the article (1.5 paragraphs) talks about which way Team India will go – Chappel way or Sourav Ave, the review on September 27th and asks who will sit in judgment – Mahendra or Pawar etc. It mentions that the team returns to India on Friday night.

*************************************************************************************

the indian storm....some updates

The BCCI AGM has been adjourned, and would meet in two months time. This is important bit The elections will be held before November 30 when the AGM convenes again. There will be a review meeting of the BCCI on September 27. The announcements were made by Rajeev Shukla, BCCI vice-president.. So, it means that hopefully that review on 27th would achieve some kind of solution, or atleast a step towards it, and not wait for Nov 30th for it. What happens to the selectors? Do they continue? Do they again have the same dilemma of not being able to select a long-term captain because of their limited tenure? Yeah...no answers...

Meanwhile, its interesting to read this latest Chappell interview in light of recent events. Clearly, the whole situation, as it stands today, is not all about SG alone.

This bit I find important "I find it interesting if players complain that pressure of selection is getting to them. It is part and parcel of life of an international cricketer.
"I have no control over the selection process but worrying about it is not going to help. All we can do is to take on things which we can do. We have to prepare properly and give ourselves enough chance as individuals and as a team.

Especially in context of this which he later says "Certain risks come into equation for cricket is a tough game. But that's the only thing we can do as group. There are some players who would perform and others won't. If the selectors buy into the process, they would recognize the effort and give them some leeway,

In his understanding, a lot here seems to be depending on the selectors getting things right, understanding the logic and rationale of the performances all the time. Chappell should soon learn that he would have to tackle some of these player insecurities himself(along with the captain), for selectors aren't going to be as level-headed as he(and we) desires.

On a (not totally)separate note, this sounds eerily familiar...although coming from a distant land.

And Dravid in place of SRT in ODI team for super series, which means they are giving up an opener option for middle order strength. Gayle for Gibbs (which means they were considering Gibbs for opening slot, and now Gayle and Sehwag are most likely ODI openers). Inzamam gets his much cried-for place in the test team, although IMO Vaughan would have been better.

More of same

mock turtle, another of the regulars haunting this place, has given us this transcription of some of the post match comments today. Since it hasn't appeared in any of the match/series reports or analysis, and since we don't know what colour and shape it would take before making its way to the public, I am putting it here for us to see it for what it is.

Thanks a ton, mock.

**********************************************************************

Gautam goes to Zaheer and talks about his bolwing today and he says that he discussed with "other players in the team" and decided to go round the wicket and that helped etc. and then says "i am happy i bowled well today and we won esp. since there has been a lot of negative going-ons(can't recall the exact word he used after negative...could be 'happening') in the dressing room for the past TWO MONTHS".
Then Gautam talks to GC and mentions Zaheer and GC says "yes, we discussed about his bowling round the wicket and that has helped him" Note that Zaheer did not say a word about GC and said "some players" helped him.

And when asked about Zaheer's comments about negative happenings, GC said he is disappoitned that players decide to talk about negative things instead of the positives and then some usual stuff about winning should be a habit etc. and that will remove all negativity.

After that, Gavaskar was asked by Harsha if he thinks any progress has been made on the captaincy conundrum and Gavaskar goes :there is no confusion, Ganguly is a good captain and we should continue with him etc.

****************************************************************************

I think Zaheer (and also VVS earlier) may have been referring to the issue of their being dropped from the ODI team, apparently due to the selectors acting on coach's( or captain's) suggestions. And hence they felt that there was 'negative vibe' in the dressing room. Also, this is the issue which Harsha, and Rohit have referred in their recent articles...that its not fair on the whole selection process that the selectors leak the goings-on of the selectorial meetings to the concerned players...in terms of who suggested/recommended against them.

Ind-ZIM T2 Day3 : Open Thread

Lets see how soon we get this over today. Streak jokes about having to play an opener's role. Funny but sad.

Ind-Zim T2 Day2 - Open Thread

So...India comfortably placed as of now. Lets see if Yuv and Karthik get a chance to bat, for they can certainly do with a decent hit in the middle. If we don't have a mid innings hiccup like last game(where 3 wkts fell relatively quickly) then India might already have a big lead by tea time, and can look to declare even before end of the day today. Especially if GG stays a while beyond his ton.

Open thread for the days play...


Some news bits...Sachin would not go for Super Series...Inzy might get his chance to refuse after all :-)

Flintoff reveals, in his upcoming book, that he was "shot at" during an ODI in Delhi! Intriguing...what he says about these 'pellets' which he found. Anyone knows more?

And one last bit....I'm sure most of you have seen this story, it appeared in all the media channels since yesterday(e.g. check out here, here and here)...but this one chooses to have the most...umm...'interesting' title. No comments.

Ind-Zim T2 Day1 Open Thread

Right...so here comes India's chance to get a series win. Not much news about the actual game preparations doing the rounds, but SG did say the pitch looks dry and India would play the same team(2 spinners). He could be bluffing, for Curran said that the pitch would assist seamers, and isn't one to the liking of the Indians(or maybe Curran is trying to play mindgames).

For Zim, if this pitch really has any help for any seamers, it could be a chance to gain a modest advantage if they bowl first on winning the toss, with Streak being fitter than the last match.

..open thread for the day....


p.s. Did you see the Aus squad for the superseries? Some predictable, and some surprise changes. All in all, they look to be starting their experimentation with the new insertions right away. Martyn is dropped from the tests, which, though a bit surprising, is a good decision on part of CA. While he did look more comfortable than Hayden and Gilchrist (and even Katich) at the crease, the application was most noticeably missing in his game. Hodge takes his place in the middle order.

Hayden again dropped from ODI squad, which should almost be the end of his ODI prospects. He was anyway never indispensable in ODIs, and recently even more pedestrian. Gillespie and Kasper also not retained, but Hohns did say they have a chance of making a comeback if they improve.

But what did HE say?

He(as in He the mighty Flintoff, and not He the Indian Prince :-) said We beat Australia, now we've got to be like Australia.. He is definitely the most dangerous cricketer today, and reading here, he seems to have the perfect attitude going as well. We're not the best country in the world in the rankings. Australia still are, and quite rightly, and They've lost one series, but they have dominated for 10 years. That's got to be our objective now

This one alarms me the most We want to get there and then we want to dominate. I don't think many of us have reached our prime. We are a way from being at the peak. He is right, IMO this Eng team is still playing below their best, and most of their key components are on their way up. Strauss, Pieterson, Flintoff, Harmison can get much better with time(although Harmison has equal chances of going either way). But imagine, Flintoff getting better...becoming a complete test batsman also, capable of the playing a big hand in all possible test situations...this can be even bigger than the current role played by Gilchrist!! He scares me :-(


Meanwhile, Eng is set to declare their winter squad. The usual suspects are doing the round...Tremlett of Anderson as the backup pacer, Batty the spinner. Read or Foster or Prior for G Jones. But its the batting which is more important from Eng point of view, as they need to keep the subcontinent attitude in mind. Robert Key and Owais Shah seem to be in the hunt for that reserve place (Shah has had a wonderful local season, scoring at an avg of 68, if I remember correctly). But no debutants doing the round in Joyce or Cook. And probably rightly so. A subcontinent tour is not the right place to blood a youngster(Clarke, I feel, was a high risk strategy, but then thats how Aus works). And even for young Bell it may be a tough tour, since he hasn't coped well against the relatively easy attack of Aussies also.

But Collingwodd still looks to retain his place. For him, I feel they should define the role as clearly as possible. He should play test matches probably as a genuine batsman(with his bowling called upon as a backup) as the Eng commentators were also noting during the Ashes series.

Update : The squads have been declared. Shaun Udal gets a recall as the backup spinner! Prior for G Jones. Key, Shah missing out. Anderson and Tremlett are in, but I think one of them would miss out on confirmation of Simon Jone. Meanwhile, any more info/thoughts on Udal, Plunkett, Loudon?

It's in the air...

Yep, the flavour of the time seems to be interview. So here's one, which may not be there on any site yet. One of the regulars on the blog, neelan, has apparently translated the whole tv chat of Greg Chappel with Harsha and Ravi. I'm highlighting some parts I thought were important in current context.

Neelan, thanks again mate, great work.

*********************************************

This is what Chappel had to say abt the match, controversy in a discussion at the end of the match with Harsha, Sunny and Shastri

Harsha : Irfan Pathan, the man of the match, has a pretty good game isnt it?

GC:Yes its a very good all round performance, He's worked very hard on all aspects of his game, fielding, batting as well as bowling. He is swinging the new ball well and he bowled a good length in this game, he felt he was little short on the first day, the second morning and the last evening, I thought he bowled pretty well

Ravi: Greg, good performance by India to win this game, but how do you take it forward to Harare? Do you want certain things to improve even more when you go into Harare?

GC: Yes Ravi, we have just got to keep working on those process, have to stop worrying about outcomes, you get ahead of yourself or you start falling behind yourself thinking abt how things could have been better, and I think if we can continue to get our process right, bowl the ball in the right areas, put pressure on the opposition both with the ball and in the field and put pressure on the opposition by scoring runs and running well between the wickets, these are things we are judging ourselves at the moment and we need to keep improving in those areas. Zimbabwe is an young team an inexperienced team, we will get more pressure than they were able to put on us from other teams, so we need to keep developing those process

Harsha: And as well Greg as I suspect get rid of the irritants that can sometimes come in the way of process, that seems to the process is confined to what happens in the team meetings and on what happens on the ground, Sometimes they can be irritants to the process and we need to debug it as quickly as possible

GC: Yeah, there are some things that you cant control obviously Harsha, what things are being said outside in the media by supporters whatever, we cant worry about that, we have to concentrate and focus on what we are doing and we are attempting to do that and hopefully get better at it.

Harsha: Well you have never played in India Greg, but I guess the process of understanding India is well under way, having been a month and a half into this job and as you know we Indias are very passionate cricket followers and want to know everything about the side, Is there is a little reassurance that you want to give to this Indian side that look there is a lot happening there in the media, but this Indian side will continue to play the kind of cricket you wanted them to play?

GC: Well thats what we can do, and thats what we want to do, Obviously we are happy that so many people follow the Indian team so closely but from time to time it can be intrusive if we let it and its important that we focus on what we are doing and whatever happens outside the group we cant control and we cant spend too much time worrying about, we just got make sure that we keep doing what we do as well as possible

Harsha: Was it a bother though, the fact that somuch attention is devoted to things that happened off the field than on the field?

GC, Oh not really, I have been thru all this stuff before Harsha, always going to be something bubbling around the place, once it gets a bit of oxygen it can take off and be blown out of all proportions, we cant worry about these things like that and get involved in it, we have to keep focusing on what we are doing.

Harsha: And looking ahead to Harare, I know historical stats dont have too much meaning but India has never won a test match, infact lost two

GC: Thankyou verymuch for reminding this. Obviously again we cant control what happened in the past and all we can do is look forward to whats coming up next week and prepare ourselves as well as possible, I have been very happy with the way the guys have performed, training sessions have been very good, very enthusiastic, the support staff have done a fantastic job, all in all we are doing as much as possible what we can do at the moment and we just got to keep winning, get into a habit of winning, it takes a lot of pressure off in lot of areas

Harsha: There are a couple of aspects a lot of people in India would be focussing on in the next 3 or 4 days, is how this team get its act together because there has been a few things said in recent times by couple of lead batsmen and obviously thats not going to help matters, whats the team going to do to get everyone together, maybe just say look our job is to play cricket

GC: Well yeah we have talked about those issues and I mean as things come up from time to time, people get frustrated, say things that perhaps they dont really mean or as important as they are made out to be, again its a matter of focussing on the process and if we can continue to have success, I think lot of these other issues just fade away

Ravi: Greg, what time you playing golf with Sourav tomorrow

GC: Probably in the afternoon sometime I would think

Harsha: Did you have a long chat with him, because the way he played, bcause lot of us here have watched Sourav Ganguly bat for the last 9 years now, and hardly ever seen this kind of batting from him, grafting out 6 hrs to score a hundred, was that something you have talked about this kind of innings as well together

GC: We have talked about a whole range of issues, including batting, captaincy and all sorts of things and we continue to talk about those things but we got to understand that Sourav was under lot of pressure and obviously he also wanted to put that pressure behind him, he worked very hard to get that hundred, I would rather look at the positives and the result of the game than get involved in anything else

Harsha: One other thing we saw this morning is we havent seen too much of when Harbhajan got his 200th wicket is he bowled a lot more with fizz, that he bowled a lot more round the wicket , was it something you were experimenting with?

GC: Yes we worked on those issues with Harbhajan, looking at different angles, talking to him about different angles and different batsmen and different ways to bowl, particularly when conditions arent in favor, when ball spinning a lot sometimes its good to change the angles, Yeah he is had a bit of pressure on him as well, getting the 200th wicket I think, took the pressure off a bit, I thought he bowled pretty well this morning, So I mean its a matter of confidence, continue to take wickets, if he can do that, I am sure his bowling will only get better and better

Harsha: Ravi has talked about a round of Golf, Arun lal was here and he said you might go bungee jumping with Sourav together

GC : Well he is on his own there, I am afraid bungee is not my go

Harsha: Thankyou very much Greg for taking time off and congratulations on your first test win

GC: Thankyou very much

**********************************************************

real test cricket(should finish soon today): Ind-Zim Day4 Open Thread

Gone through all the media reports about SG, GC, RD, VVS, YS, MK, SB(senior bowler)etc...and ohh boy...what a storm they have cooked up...wonder what's it really worth :)...we'll find out in due time I guess...as I don't see any answers coming up anytime soon..

Meanwhile...open thread for the day's game...which hopefully wouldn't last the whole day. I have work to do this morning, will hopefully pop in later in the day.

Ind-Zim Day3 open thread

The game's progressing on pretty predictable lines...with India, having wrapped the Zim innings fairly satisfactorily, and then built on the initial advantage with a good opening partnership, are looking to play relatively safely, so that they have to bat only once(and big). They covered the smaller milestones in that journey fairly perfectly. Not loosing any extra wickets and Laxman and Ganguly refraining themselves towards the end of the day.

Laxman, while acknowledging the weakness of the attack, is fairly pleased with his effort, coming from a break of sorts, understandably so...although I wished he hadn't spoken about the 'negative vibes' in the team. Dropping hints like these serves no purpose for his or team good. But still, given the kind of troubles he has faced in the last years, some vent is probably due. I hope he does it more with the bat, though. In this match, the next, and the next.. :-)

And btw, ICC called up a special PC to trash the speculations about the match fixing investigation going on. Now this issue surely looks dead to me...but I guess with the knowledge of the past, as we have, its never safe to discount all possibilities.

Anyways....open thread for the day....

We Are The Champions

So says Simon Jones I think people should start realizing we are the best team because we have beaten Australia, even though points-wise we are not - Oh well...if they say so..must be true. After all, they invented the game didn't they. But really, does he have a clue about the cricket happening around in the rest of the world? And he isn't alone in the great proclamation...hoards of journalists, ex-cricketers, fans join him in the chorus.

To Jones' credit, he does go on to say Australia are statistically the best side in the world, and rightly so, but from what I've read, there are many who disagree with him on this.

And, now that they are the 'World Champions in Test Cricket'...the next sight is on the ODI World Cup. Not that its a wrong aim, sure Eng are improving fast in ODIs, and can, if built up properly, reach the peak by WC07 time. But I hope they realize that there is a peak to be climbed in the test cricket arena as well. They may have crossed one of the big hurdles, but there are a few more coming up.

Woolmer thinks that his team can play well enough to cut short the World Champion song. And they have an inclination to do it with spin, with a possible recall to Mushtaq Ahmed (which, IMO, would be a great move. He's no Warne, yet the next best thing in leg spin, and Eng would be wary of it. He has a dangerous reputation also in the county circuit) Pakistan has always had the dilemma of going for pace or spin friendly conditions at home (with Imran, if I remember correctly, openly opting for pace, going by his team's strengths). While Pak pace attack is still good enough to trouble the best lineup (which Eng isn't), I think with Mushtaq-Kaneria(+Saqlain?) spin combo they can not only match that, but also lessen the threat of Eng 'quartet'! Would be a good move by Woolmer. This should be an interesting series, if only Pak batsmen show as much gut for a fight as they did in the Ind tour.

real test cricket continues - Ind-Zim Day2 Open Thread

A dull first day....India being good and ineffective in patches...in bowling and fielding. Khan good in second spell, Kumble not at his best throughout, Pathan only in first spell(without sticking to a consistently good line and length)...Bhajji was good, with a few missed chances (atleast 2 catches and 1 stumping, I remember)...all in all..probably Zim 50 runs more than what India would have ideally liked...not that there's much cause for worry yet...this being their first test match day of the season.

Meanwhile a news bit, a strong Aus A beaten by a stronger Pak A. And looking at the scorecard....some gains for Aus A-Phil Jaques made the highest score of the match in their first innings, White took all 3 Pak wickets to fall in the second innings.

Anyway....open thread for the day...

Time for 'real' cricket - Ind-Zim: Open thread

Some news updates : LP Sahi, from his reliable sources, tells us that Yuvraj may get the nod ahead of Kaif. And that Balaji has an leg injury, may not play. Bhajji and Agarkar will fight it out for the place (meaning Kumble, Pathan, Khan are in starting lineup)

Match fixing related news, first reported in TOI (hence received with a pinch of salt) has turned out to be true indeed. Cricinfo and Rediff are the others having picked it up so far.

It mentions that below par performance of India and Nz resting key players in the league game are the main issues. IMO, either our entire last year was fixed, or we performed 'consistent' with our current form. Atleast it was similar to our performances in SL, with a bit of 'more' effort, not less. So, don't know where this is coming from. We'll soon find out.

Anyways.....open thread for the rest of the day...

Ashes T5-Day5 Open Thread

The final day of the great series. The series result is open, the match result is open.

In this test, Aussie have surely been the better side, battling it out in conditions heavily in favor of bowling(the type of conditions, when one decent bowler can run through a good lineup, and Eng had three!). They can still win, although for that they would need a herculean effort from their bowlers. A repeat of Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, on Hayden again, Deano feels he's been given more chances than normal, and yet knows that its not game over for him. "Given enough chances he was always going to make a hundred," said Jones, who claimed that Hayden must now back up with another big score in his next match to repay the enormous faith shown in him.

Good insight in the same article, from reading Boon's comments, about the thinking of the Aussie selectors. Again hints towards more chances coming Hayden's way yet.

Anyways...right now there's some business to be finished, for this Aussie bunch. They may even have to bat again ! Exciting prospect....open thread...



Update on SL-Bdesh game. Since I last reported, Bdesh went on from 155/2 to 188 allout, as only they can! Murali gleefully gobbled up the tail. Bashar made 84 off 96 balls before being unfortunately runout.

Some non-ashes news (-worma)

As we all may have read by know, Murali Karthik took 10 wickets for Lancashire in their Division two game against Essex. Scorecard here

Taking ten wickets in a county game is surely not as big as an international achievement, and we all know Pak discards like Mahmood, Saqlain, Mushtaq keep doing it regularly. But still, to put it in perspective, some facts:

1) This is the same ground (don't know if its the same pitch) where Aus conceded 500+ runs to the Essex side

2) This Essex side is much stronger than the one Aus faced, since they have recalled their international imports like Flower brothers etc.

3) Wickets taken by Karthik in first innings: Andy Flower, Ronny Irani, James Foster, Andre Adams, Darren Gough

4) Wickets in second innings: W Jefferson, G Flower, A Flower, Gough, A Adams.

I guess, its important to keep an eye on his performance, since he is already our second choice in ODIs. If he keeps doing well, he may nudge Bhajji for the lone place. Even in tests he can keep Bhajji on his toes, even nudge him out, on current form.

Other news, Chappel says he is seeing positive results in Indian showing on the field. As you all already know my views on this, I do agree with him. Sure, its still no-where close to satisfactory, but Chappel also didn't say so. Its improving, is what he said, and compared to where we started in this season, there's no denying it.

And Aus A, touring Pak now, is facing a bit of a tough time in their first game. We all are aware that this A tour (and their U19 tour to India) can be important for CA, since they all looking for some long term prospects to take up the mantle from some of their current stars.

As I had mentioned earlier, Pak team has the lookup of their national side (throw in Inzy, and it looks like a re-conciliatory national team, fresh from an internal bust-up :). Even the Aus side is strong through Hodge, Hussey, Watson, Haddin, Bracken, White(he should be closely watched)

Meanwhile, the other surprise, Bangladesh being made to bat first in their first test against SL, are 130/2 in 30 overs!

Ashes: T5 Day4 Open Thread

The Aussies have to bat the whole day today, or atleast a big part of it, and hope for atleast a lead of around 100. Flintoff is bowling extremely well, and Harmison seemed to be coming to his elements in his last spell yesterday. The first session is again important, especially because the new ball is also due. If these two are still fired up and manage to run through the middle order, most of the Aussie hopes would end then and there.

So, exciting day ahead. If only the weather holds up. Open thread....

So what about him? (by worma)

The biggest topic, as we all have been discussing, is Hayden, and whether he has managed to avoid the dreaded 'sunset' ?:) Well, to me it looks like he still struggled against the good bowling, and especially on the entire first day of Aus innings. And there are indications that he will continue to do so. He is not at his fluent best. But still, if you have a century to show against the best attack in the world, who the heck cares how you play, right? And as I earlier said, I suspect he will get full backing from his captain and teammates, and thus use the little window of doubt in the selectors mind to retain the place. Here is Langer on him Over the last couple of weeks he has been under increasing pressure from various critics who have questioned his form and subsequent place in the side. Watching him fight his way back into form was a joy to watch.

I also think, that though he played well below his normal style, he was not selfish in his approach. I believe the team would planned this, and would be happy if any of their batsmen make big score in this game, going by the kind of form they all were in. He is playing the anchor role, and the others(even Langer) trying to play around him. Its new for him, but its not unconventional for an opener. So forgetting that this is 'Mat the Bat' Hayden, I think he is doing a good job in terms of run and overall approach (esp knowing the fact that he would have lasted half this distance with his normal game)

Ashes : T5 day3 - Open Thread

Weekend morning...just managed to wake up in time to catch the start. Lets see if it happens on time(cricinfo is still on yesterday, tv converage is on ads :)

Haven't caught up with reports on yesterday's game, but I guess besides Hayden's cautious tread on path to a mini-survival, and Eng's self-inflicted thin-ness of bowling attack, not much else to check.

Anyway...open thread...

Ashes T5, Day2 : Open Thread

Big day of the game, first one hour would probably decide the fate of the series. Aus have done the hard work (for it was nothing else, their performance yesterday, but hard work and Shane Warne). Now if they get Eng under 400, and then go on to show even as much application in their batting approach as Trent Bridge second innings, they have a chance.

But that's still quite a lot to expect, of this Aussie bunch, at this moment. Lets see how the day goes....open thread...

Some more thoughts (by worma)

Glen McGrath showed the difference a champion bowler makes to the side. Even when he is not at his best. McGrath himself was probably not at his probing best, but providing enough support for Warne to make their "strange-n-strike" strategy outdo Eng batsmen. Boycott, in this article(which I linked earlier), has the same thoughts. Had Warne got even such 'normal' support, the whole series could have been different for Aus.Warne has now taken 33 wickets at 19 in the series and if Australia had had decent bowlers at the other end or batted better then they would be walking away with this contest.

And meanwhile, Aussie have atleast shown some application in their catching effort. Hayden's effort to get rid of Tresco, and Katich for Strauss were brilliant. Maybe they do have a stronger resolve, lets see if it shows in their batting(I thought there were enough glimpses of it in their Trent Bridge 2nd innings, against a Jones-less Eng attack.)

Also Vaughan confirms that all those cries of world champion tag for this Eng team are pre-mature. "I don't think so," Vaughan said when asked if an Ashes win would confirm his team as world's best." "I think over periods of time the ICC rankings would suggest Australia would still be No.1 and for us to be No.1 we have to do it over a more regular basis as Australia have done over the last five years."

And finally to round it off, another Warne bit here, where he confirms that there was hardly anything in the pitch for him, except maybe an odd one turning a bit. That he went on to take a five-for is another story."I much prefer to bowl in the second and fourth innings. To bowl on day one I used all my experience to change the pace and flight of the ball." "There wasn't much on offer from the pitch so I had to make subtle variations with my deliveries and it worked.". Just to put it in perspective, even on our Indian pitches, we consider Kumble's/Bhajji's five-fors etc on an opening day a big success(as in the opening day of last Chennai test against Australia).

Some thoughts on T5 day 1 (by worma)

As I said yesterday, the Aussie performance this series keeps reminding me of the old Indian team, the peak days of Sachin. An ordinary team with a few extraordinary performers sprinkled in. Every game someone rising up, and trying to carry the team on his shoulders. And all members of the team have their own 'story', burdening them further.

But Warne has risen so high in this series. Partially due to contrast, a luxury he hardly ever got in such abundance in this Aussie team anytime earlier.

His performance yesterday was magical, without a single delivery being in that category! His game has risen beyond mundane matter of degree of turn he gets off the pitch. So often we hear that good cricket is like a chess game, his performance is the best ever example that I've witnessed of the mindgames of cricket.

Here is a nice story of Warne in this ashes series. This bit is interesting Although coach John Buchanan denied it, Warne was so active during England's tense run-chase it seemed he was running the show, not captain Ricky Ponting.. In any other country, he could have been their most successful captain. In Australia, they had Waugh in the same era!

On another note, another story on Merlyn the bowling machine that Eng claims helped them conquer Warne. And they talk as if they are really serious about it! Well 4 hundreds in 9 innings from the entire team is hardly conquering. Australia has been short of sometimes even half-decent support to Warne which helped Eng make some(not enough) runs. And then their bowlers won the matches for them. Bowling machine or not.

Justin Langer here starting to rub it in, that Eng has played a bowler less, and not batted well enough. True, but we still have to see if Aus have anything in store. Warne, we already knew, could do his stuff.

Strauss says if Eng can score 370+ they are in the game. Well he must be banking on his bowlers(minus Jones) to once again stand up and cover for the less than fulfilling batting performance. Boycott agrees that Eng batting, once again, was careless.

He also says Pietersen's hubris seems to be getting the better of him. He wants to be the superstar, he wants the acclaim and the adulation but he has not yet put in the performances to back up that attitude.. I have also often argued that Pieterson may have the potential, yet has hardly done enough to show his test match attitude. Even his debut innings was an ODI style hit and miss affair. Since we know he can hit good balls off good bowlers, so there's no doubt that he can go far.

THE ASHES: T5, Day 1 - Open Thread

Right...the big game...the series decider...the proverbial changing of guard...the supposed milestone in modern cricketing history...the cliched mother of all battles...the...the open thread :-)

And meanwhile, if you can't seem to have enough of it, and if you haven't seen this one already, here read Waugh's stirring reminder to the Aus team of what they are capable of, and how they should go about their business in the crunch game.

Some of it is inane, but it does give an idea of the kind of motivator Waugh can be, besides the good tactician and doggedly determined person that we already know him as. Anyone thinks he can be next in line for the top job?

back to..."would(should) he play"?

About McGrath, it seems(and rightly so) that the Aussie management is desperate enough to take a chance with his injury, as long as they think he can perform through the entire duration of the game. That's because he's a champion, and they need the win. And we, in India, so often complain the decision to get Sachin back into the Aussie series, despite his less than complete recovery. The decision has to come from the player, but if he is ready to risk his short-term career(and participation in some future matches) and the team management thinks its a gamble worth taking in a big enough situation, then why not?

And Warne here gets it right, when he says Everybody would like to know where they stand and what the side is as early as possible. But when it's Glenn McGrath, arguably the best fast bowler in the world, you want to give him every chance to play. If that means it's a last-minute decision, it's a last-minute decision.

Meanwhile Vaughan thinks Collingwood is a good bet, because he makes up for his less than penetrative bowling with the extra runs he would get(as compared to a regular bowler like Jones or Anderson). I have a feeling they might stick with this theory, although the main reason may be that they don't have enough confidence that Anderson would be effective in the conditions at Oval. The trouble with Anderson is, that if he does not get helpful conditions, and therefore is not effective, he becomes easy meat. He cannot, in that case, bowl even that many overs that Collingwood can bring. That's why I feel they erred in not getting Tremlett into the picture.

Finally, this seems to be very interesting. Australia, atleast in their immediate team selection process, seem to be stubbornly following their principle of backing the proven performers. Although, in this series, it has let them down big-time. But they feel, its not yet time to give it up. Its failed over just 3 tests, and has been successful for long enough to make them still have faith in it.

So, what this essentially means is that they would not only keep Hayden as the opener(that was known for some time now), but are also considering playing five bowlers if McGrath doesn't come through. That would mean dropping a batsman which, at this stage, seems to be Katich. Not Martyn who, as I said, is their proven performer but has looked much less comfortable at crease than Katich. It would also mean that Gilchrist would bat higher, and would be burdened with more responsibility since now he would have less cushion above him.

And the starting lineup would ready Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Martyn, Clarke, Gilchrist - which means an alternating thread of hits and flops. Wow...isn't this interesting ! And although I do want to see McGrath play, because that evens up the competition much more, wouldn't I still love to see how the above scenario works out! Either its going to gee them all up to perform way out of their skin, or backfire real big-time. Either way, good fun :-)

Tug hard at the mask..

No, this surely cannot be an Aussie captain. Ponting says "I would hate to think if we lost this series it is only my fault," and also "I have never taken all the accolades when the team has gone well. It would be unfair if it was my fault we lost.. Sure we all understand that its not entirely in the hands of the captain, but there are some levels of responsibility. That's why the term 'captain'?

Anyway, that's not the point. This is not how captain of Australia, the best and most dominant team in the world, should react after being out-played in...what..three games, is that all? Its not unbecoming to accept the inferiority that they have shown in their game, when compared to Eng. But going to the level of finding who, where and how to blame. Hmm...the disease seems to run deep now.

But I do agree, when he says If we happen to win this last Test match then I am sure a lot of the stuff we are talking about here right now will be forgotten.. It should not be forgotten, but it will be.

Open thread of Ind-NZ FINAL

Hi guys, so here is the open thread for the big game. Unfortunately, I wont be there for most of the game, darned unavoidable meetings...but hopefully Prem would come in, as he had said last time.

So, about the game ? Our dear L P Sahi from Telegraph says, as he heard from his 'reliable sources', that India is looking to bat first to send a strong signal to Nz and Bond. And no changes in batting order. Lets hope we win the toss, I also want to see us bat first.

here it comes

Just as we had been discussing through this ashes series, here it comes. ICC will experiment on this new technology for judging lbw through replays.

And, guess what, it happened because Aus (and Eng sometimes) were feeling the heat of the 'wrong' decisions of umpires. And the likes of Warne were making the sounds. Doesn't matter that we have been getting the stick from the same umpires for so many series.

And the justification What if Steve Harmison had been out in similar fashion, giving Australia the victory they needed to retain the Ashes?

It would take some of the gloss off the biggest sporting event of the year if human error decided the outcome.

So, the less bigger sporting events of the year (umm e.g. Ind-Pak test series) are not important. Hence those did not merit a rethink on re-use of technology.

It hardly matters

Australia got through the Essex barrier without much problems. But with hardly any gains either. They learned that their bowlers, minus Warne and McGrath, are not as effective on flat tracks (read: they are not miracle workers) and that Hayden can still flay poor attacks. But so can one of his prospective usurper Hodge (he also scored run-a-ball 150+ today). Gilchrist can't though. He's gone down way too much in confidence it seems, and his prospective replacement Haddin scored a quick 50+.

Not that all this matters, Hayden and Gilchrist are too precious to be handed over, just yet. Even if this is a crucial ashes test. Aus management, and selectors, feel that the chances of these two coming good are still better than a newcomer coming in and firing right away.

Eng, meanwhile, have recalled Anderson into the side. Tremlett misses out because he's short of match practice in recent times. And he's short of match practice because he was mostly with Eng squad as num 12! Talk of 'justifications', the Eng selectors are trying to outdo our desi version (remember Balaji, after getting just one ODI in SL, being dropped from Zim ODIs because they want to give chance to newcomers!)

Anyways, our Indian selectors, as we already know, have proven themselves to be equally patient while holding their judgment on our star performer of past, Saurav. Whether its for same reasons or not shouldn't matter. And Saurav would one day learn that when one is going through a lean patch, it doesn't matter at the end of the day whether he got out playing from the middle of the bat, a full blooded shot, or a lame attempt to fending. People Just Want Runs On The Board. Or so it seems. It also doesn't matter whether today he was looking to leave the short ball instead of falling for the hook/pull bait.

But, in case of some others like Rao, its not the runs that matter, its the speed at which he got those, and the manner in which he got those. (And it doesn't matter whether he was grafting as per team instructions or personal will or even the fact that Saurav Ganguly specially praised him along with Yuv and Dhoni at the post match interview, obviously for some unfathomable reasons).

While in some other cases, as Yuv is finding out, it also doesn't matter how many runs and in what manner he gets it. Because he is already seen as inconsistent performer, playing for his place, performing only when under the axe. As Sunil Gavaskar was also heard commenting, to him it seems that the main batting lineup is the 'untouchables' of the team i.e. they won't go anywhere, however they perform, while the bowlers can be shuffled around.

So what did we get from this match. That not everyone will get the runs on all the days, and its ok as long as we get to see the right application. And that was there for the Indians, as much as there can be in such a low consequential match. The batsmen were all 'looking' to play well, the fielding was still good. The bowling was as good as it can be given that some of them were getting their first game of the season. Rahul and Veeru would need to sort out things in their mind, because not much looks wrong out in the middle(Veeru can move his feet a bit more, but in his case that's hardly consequential)

And also that its a pleasant problem of plenty for the team management as a choice between Yuv and Kaif for that all important middle order slot in the test lineup.

India-Zimbabwe open thread

Hi all, its Saturday night, and despite the promise of this exciting match tomorrow morning, I somehow don't feel so sure that I would make it from the start :-)
So here's an open thread in advance. And see you all here during the game.

And btw, besides the Zim contract problems etc (some of those I linked to in the comments section of previous post), Streak has decided to take a break for this game, nurse his injury, and be fresh for the tests. Ofcourse the tests themselves are in a shadow of doubt with this new dispute breaking up.

India may go in with as much experiment as possible, with still a minimum safety-belt of experience around for, you know, just in case. Expect Karthik(Bhajji) and RP(Pathan) to play, maybe both Raina(Kaif?) and Rao(Supersub) as well ???

...the path ahead

Something on the lines of what I mentioned in the post after the Ind-Nz match, GC here underlines the fact that its constant development he is concerned with, more than the results. "We're not judging a team on outcomes such as winning the series," and "We've judging them more on whether they're improving in critical areas.

But, before we think that is an early excuse for loosing the final, here's more on what he has to say : "If we won the series that would be a confidence boost but if we win without doing things we need to do well then it will be a less important victory."

and also, on missing bond and vettori in the last fight "We won't be in a position to judge whether we've improved at all until we're put under pressure by those bowlers," Chappell conceded.

For me, as I said, the sign of consistent development is not so much in the 'short term' results as much as in the components of the game. Like our fielding, or the willingness to stay at the wicket while batting, or the fight with bowling (even when going for runs)...in fact the whole overall 'presence' that the team displays out there in the center.

And yes, sure, we all know that in the long term its the results that count. But lets wait for those, and look at it after a reasonable period...lets say..end of the season (after the WI tour, is it?)

Is this the future ?

I don't know how many of you are following the Aus vs Essex game. At one point of time Essex, having chosen to bat first, were 123/0 in 24 overs. As I write this, they are 238/1 in 52 overs. Against an Aus side, which has thrown its entire kitchen sink and dishwasher into the bowling attack. Tait, McGill, Kasper, Gillespie, Lee.

So, if there is no Warne and McGrath, the 'team' is not a great team after all ? Sure, they may also go on to score 500 in a day, but that would hardly mean anything. Because, as we all know, to become a good test team the bowling attack is the most vital cog. For all these years when we were hailing the great Aussie juggernaut, did ever think how much reliant they were on those two.

And btw, does anyone know more about the Chelmsford pitch etc ? Is it so flat always ? Or the Aussies holding back (sure McGill can't be, his selection is on the line) ?

Beleaguered batsman's story

No, not about Ganguly, this one's on Hayden :-) Here he speaks out on what he believes is right and wrong, and how he intends to tackle it. He also feels that there are too many advises on techniques, while the solution lies in the mind. People have done a lot of analysis but I don't think it's an analysis thing. It may come down to how mentally sharp you are feeling - I feel fine - but I don't believe it's technique.

Also about long term changes "I can't change, particularly not in the middle of a series. I'm not saying that in the long term I couldn't touch some things up.

But this one's funny "I just wouldn't want to play like Geoff Boycott and take all the shots out of our game. Geoffrey won't be amused !

In such situations, how often we find good players backing their natural style, often rightly so, because that's what helped them reach where they did. And this reminds me, once again, of what Sachin Tendulkar is capable of achieving as a technical batsman. He cut down his natural style in Sydney to the effect of 240 n.o. runs. For those of you not aware, go check out his wagon wheel of that innings here and notice his low percentage of runs on the off side.

Not that this if the first time he has changed his game, or dropped a particular shot, to suit the game situation and the demands of body.

Ind-NZ afterthought

This is my first post on sight screen. I feel honoured to post here as this blog is becoming my favorite as far as cricket is concerned. It could not be better to start on a day when India have won a cricket match (notwithstanding the absence of Bond and Vettori). I feel nice and hope that all feel the same too. Although not much should be read on just a single victory (especially as we Indians have mastered this habbit of pampering our cricketers just too much, which to me is the topmost reason for what happened after pak'04), still there are some things which could be taken note of:

1. Emergence of kaif as a No.3/4- I think the time has come for Kaif to cement his place in that position. When SRT comes, he can grab the opener's slot, though I personally would see VS, SG and SRT rotating 1,2 and 3 positions according to team needs. Then we can have Dravid and Yuvraj at 5 and 6 who played so beautifully at those positions in WC. Dravid of 02-03 was a vital cog in the Indian wheel. Off late, he has been a little bit subdued which takes me back to his old ODI years. Dravid will be at his best in ODI, when he keeps on rotating strike, giving yuvrajs and dhonis the chance to expode from other end. Also, he can provide stability if the top order fails occasionally.
2. Issue of supersubs- I think SG could have been more astute today. He had Karthik today as supersub. Now, what was the point of wasting one player by taking a frontline bowler. An allrounder could have been a better bet or even a batsman-part timer. In fact, he could have got 4-5 overs from karthik by exhausting one of three seamers early when they were going for plenty. Somehow SG does not seem to show and confidence in Karthik who has bowled brilliantly sometimes.
Whoever has formulated this supersub rule probably was in too much of a hurry. The rule just gives so much favor to the team winning toss. Would it not be better if we had 12 players selected before the toss and then have playing 11 from them after the toss (and not before it)?
3. Agarkar has been so much maligned but he seems to come up with some good performances every time. I think he is one person who should be on GC's top priority list. GC must mould him in a utility cricketer given his outstanding fielding skills. Two of his problems are: inconsistency and not supporting his bowler mates adeqately (for example, releasing pressure often after new ball bowlers did their job). There has to be someone who can sort it out.
4.And please somebody tell Saurav that he did not make 10k runs with hook and pull shots...Looks like his ego has completely done him..Even when he was regaining his strengths he looked up to his weaknesses:).. Wonder what happens if Bond was there..He just lost a golden opportunity today I guess and we may see implications after the finals:).

Its coming back

Not yet there, but the vital ingredients of a good ODI setup seem to be coming back for this Indian team. They'd been down and out so much, and for so long(in ODIs) that it was difficult to imagine them doing the reversal in a single solid act. It needed lots of hardwork and patience in turning the wheel bit by bit. And some of it was bound to look less appealing (as their approach to the Zim game last week). Chappel said before this match something to the effect that if hardwork has any value, then we should soon see good results.

There were, in-fact, results of some of these changes starting to appear from the last match. If that was about spending time in the middle, no matter how, then this one was spending 'good' time in the middle. Most of the time the batsmen looked comfortable. Sure the attack wasn't as great, but then how many Shane Bond's are there in the world ? And Nz have been a good ODI team with and without Shane Bond. Yes on another day some of these bowlers would do better, but then same can be said of our bowlers.

And the Ind players 'looked' positive and charged in the field too, and not only because of the run-outs. They were putting pressure on the batsmen, often charging to the ball to stop those extra runs they were getting used to gifting, as was evident in the past few performances (And never mind the commentators cliche 'they won't mind the singles'...these bunch of Indians are a different breed from the Shastri, AL era. Wright and Chappel would have ensured that they bloody well mind those singles).

Not that this means they don't have issues to sort out. Quite some way to go. As Prem pointed out during the game, too many dot balls, hitting to the fielders (albeit from the middle of the bat). And the propensity of our in-form bowlers to suddenly be off the boil for a match or a period. Class bowlers don't do that. They make their form count. In their miserly-ness atleast, if not the wickets. And Saurav's captaincy had good signs, as well as the well discussed bad one of using Bhajji in a defensive mode.

Meanwhile this is a nice story. Good to hear that not only is the Indian team doing something good (outside the field) but also getting to relax and enjoy the tour. One of the ignored but important aspect of having a good tour.

Ind-NZ open thread

Right, here's the open thread for the (relatively) big game. I'll join in around mid-way into the first innings. Hopefully Prem and you guys are all in there by then.

Meanwhile, if you're in early, here's Telegraph's usual take on probable team for today. And the funny part, this about Rao's chances "He’s a youngster and, as important, doesn't lack character. For example, he didn'’t mind opening the other day. So, if an opportunity can be given, he won'’t be denied", a well-placed source pointed out from Harare. Hmm I wonder who this 'well placed' source can be :-)

Who should play ?

So, what about the selection dilemmas facing the Aussies now ? Should they play Kasper and Tait again, should they get in McGill because Warne is their most effective bowler and none of the English players are looking too confident playing spin ?

Dean Jones here suggests a radical approach. Getting Watson in place of Katich, Hussey in place of Hayden, McGill (doesn't name whom he should replace). He also wants McGrath to clear up the confusion regarding his fitness atleast 3 days in advance. Seems like Jones' nerves, like ours, are not able to bear the suspense! I think Ponting won't mind McGrath joining the team at the last minute also.

Hayden sure looks having been sorted out, and his loss of form is not specific to English attack. So there is a possibility of letting him rest, though I don't see that as a permanent move. They will give him a few more chances, even if later.

Katich is the surprise target, IMO. In the second innings at Trent Bridge, when Aussie batsmen were looking to apply themselves, he looked comfortable and in for a long innings. It would be unfair on him, when all around him you see others struggling even when trying hard. Gilchrist and Martyn are case in point. And bringing in Shane Watson to replace him on what grounds ? A double hundred in county, well Rana Naved scored a run-a-ball hundred in county. I think this English attack is a bit more troublesome than Warwickshire. The kind of form that Katich has been right throughout this series, he would have scored loads of run in county, where margin of errors are much higher.

I wonder why he spared Gilchrist ? He looks equally troubled as Hayden at the crease most of the time.

But, I feel, the bigger point that he seems to miss is that this English attack is damn good, and most of the top tier batsmen would struggle against it (on these pitches atleast). Therefore, asking new replacements to face them in a crucial final test, and succeed in their first attempt at it, is asking a bit too much. So the Aussie management would keep the changes to the least. What do you guys think ?

Confusion and my self

On Prem's post regarding my introduction, someone commented that its a good idea because sometimes there was a mix-up (I assume due to my comments?).

Imagine the scenario of me creating the posts, and then bombarding them with my comments (as I sometimes do, alone too, to a few of Prem's posts).Talk of confusion!

In fact, coming to think of it, I am now feeling that Prem has allowed me to post just so that I stop those barrage of comments :-) Ain't gonna happen though.

Ok, more seriously....besides being Worma in the troll world, I'm Manish Varma in real life (yeah the Worma is due to 'that') and have my own blog on cricket. You don't necessarily need to click on that, though.

I hope to contribute here on Sight Screen regularly through my opinions, news, links etc. And hope to get similar feedback from your guys (or maybe more critical?).

That's it for now, see you in the comments world.

Oh, and do note that I'm based in Helsinki, Finland. So following GMT+3 time zone in my summer time.