Playing with the master(-worma)

Did someone point out this particular interview of Irfan Pathan in the Telegraph? Because Prem's in such Dhoni-esqe form today, that I, for one, am unable to keep pace with his postings :-)

In that interview, what caught my eye was the mention of how Sachin guided him during that Nagpur innings...that what it means to play with the master(emphasis mine).

I did, thanks to Sachin’s presence at the other end... He guided me on the strengths of the bowlers and the shots I should go for... He made me feel so comfortable.

Also, good to see that his head is still screwed on right (I got this level-headedness in all his interviews till date)

I'’ll be inviting pressure if I keep thinking about it... Today, I don'’t see myself as an allrounder. My primary job is to get wickets and most of the effort is going to go towards bowling. To become an allrounder, I guess one needs five-six years of international experience. I haven'’t even completed two years... I need to have my feet on the ground and get over my limitations. I don'’t look at the mirror and tell myself that I've already become an allrounder.

The bias(-worma)

While much of mud-slinging that BCCI faces these days has been self-inflicted, there are also enough cases of kick-them-while-they're-down. A recent allegation from Scyld Berry in Telegraph saying that the tour venues have nothing to do with policy of rotation.

The Indian board justified the venues by saying that they had a policy of rotation and that various associations take it in turns to stage home Test matches. The reality is that the board are overwhelmed by political squabbles and lawsuits. Such is their incompetence that the venues for Sri Lanka's three Tests in India in December have yet to be announced

Here's a list of last 20 test matches played in India. Do decide for yourself if you see a more-or-less fair rotation of venues or not.

Eng 1st Test in Ind 2001/02 at Chandigarh
Eng 2nd Test in Ind 2001/02 at Ahmedabad
Eng 3rd Test in Ind 2001/02 at Bangalore
Zim 1st Test in Ind 2001/02 at Nagpur
Zim 2nd Test in Ind 2001/02 at Delhi
WI 1st Test in Ind 2002/03 at Mumbai
WI 2nd Test in Ind 2002/03 at Chennai
WI 3rd Test in Ind 2002/03 at Kolkata
NZ 1st Test in Ind 2003/04 at Ahmedabad
NZ 2nd Test in Ind 2003/04 at Chandigarh
Aus 1st Test in Ind 2004/05 at Bangalore
Aus 2nd Test in Ind 2004/05 at Chennai
Aus 3rd Test in Ind 2004/05 at Nagpur
Aus 4th Test in Ind 2004/05 at Mumbai
SA 1st Test in Ind 2004/05 at Kanpur
SA 2nd Test in Ind 2004/05 at Kolkata
Pak 1st Test in Ind 2004/05 at Chandigarh
Pak 2nd Test in Ind 2004/05 at Kolkata (refused to play in Ahmedabad)
Pak 3rd Test in Ind 2004/05 at Bangalore (Delhi stadium wasn't ready)

SL three tests at Delhi, Kanpur, Chennai

Eng three tests at Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Mumbai

What I do feel is that the Kanpur test given to SL could have been swapped with the Ahmedabad test of Eng. And who knows what would be done once Eng raises the safety bogey for Ahmedabad.

My own observation on the so called 'bias' is:

1)Kanpur seems to be missing in early stages, and I think there was some question mark about Kanpur's test status for a while....can't seem to remember exact details.

2)Rotation policy seems to be applied for choosing the venue for a series as a whole. And within the series, the distribution of the matches, to me, doesn't seem to follow the rotation policy as strictly.

But Berry goes on further, in his self-created logic

If there is any cricketing intent behind the selection of Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Mumbai, it must be that the board want three grounds that can provide slow, big-turning pitches. That would play into the hands of India's spinners and make life correspondingly hard for England's quartet of pace bowlers

So, he thinks Chennai and Kolkatta are not big turners? Where we defeated the mighty Aus team in 'that' series, and more recently Pak in Kolkatta, while having a good run against Aus again in Chennai? And does he even know the history of the last test played in Nagpur?

And then there's Arjuna's allegation of giving 'second class' status to SL ODI venues!

The POMS have landed(-worma)

And they are off to the goodwill generation activities for the tour. Vaughan and some others visited the earthquake affected areas.

Meanwhile Pak have announced their 16 man squad, with no surprises to spring. The eminently readable Osman Samiuddin, in this cricinfo piece, is not very pleased.

The headline-grabbing decision will be the inclusion of five spinners; three specialist and two part-timers. Much has been made - too much perhaps? - of the part spin is likely to play in this series; Mushtaq Ahmed's recall two years after his last, depressingly flat appearance, has been and will continue to be the focal point of the argument.

and also

But another less immediately apparent, and eminently more bizarre decision, also merits remark only because it poses a greater and longer-term concern. Not very often are 16-man squads chosen with only one man who can be deemed a specialist opener. And over six Tests, Salman Butt has only twice hinted at being special.

Gradually, over the course of ten Tests, nine different opening combinations and six different players, panic has attached itself to the openers' dilemma. Partnerships that could have been developed - and even the most failed surely deserve more than two Tests together - have been shunted out. The solution, on the evidence of this squad, suggests that openers, as an entity, have ceased to exist in Pakistan; that Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umar, Yasir Hameed are not in fact, as we have come to regard them, openers.

Nine combinations and six players in ten tests!!...and we complain about our selectors not being consistent enough ;-)

And did you know that Alex Loudon, the young English offspinner selected for his debut tour to Pak, learnt to bowl the doosra from an Indian!

"I had a friend at school called Gurikk Maan who showed me how to bowl the ball," he said. "His father was a famous Punjabi pop star, apparently on the same level as Robbie Williams in England.

I presume the singer in question here is Gurdas Maan? Anyone?

And meanwhile, the BCCI has 'promptly' announced the itinerary for the Eng series after much pushing and prodding from ECB. Must've come as a relief for the tourists. Ohh..O..hang on....I see a test match proposed for Ahmedabad. Hmm...more fireworks coming up for Diwali season I guess :-)

What can they do(-worma)

I mean the WI in Australia...what's it going to be? Holding is already clear on a 3-0 whitewash. No..not of the Collingwood 3-0 Eng against Pak variety :-). And Holding's rants are along the same lines we've been reading quite often recently. Attitude problems.

"People don't like to hear the truth but this group does not possess the right attitude to win Test matches," Holding said. "I'm concerned about their general focus. They aren't focused on their game enough, they aren't focused on representing the Windies enough."

I'm sure most of you would have read WI batsmen did pretty well against Queensland attack that had Kasper, Watson(16 ovrs for 84, no wkts) and Symond in it. Samuels, on his way to 257, broke few records...and a car. He's definitely exciting to watch, impressive right from his early days. Lara batted at number 8 because of a finger injury. He's terribly short of match practice as we saw in super series, and apparently not in good shape either.

His form after a lengthy lay-off, that had seen his 36-year-old frame pad out to the point former Test quick Jeff Thomson labeled him "fatter than Fat Albert", will be a major concern for the Windies.

But then, as we all know, this is Brian Lara we are talking about. Didn't he make a recent 'comeback' against Pak with a few runs right away ;-)

Talking of injuries, Justin Langer has a cracked rib, playing against Victoria. But no problem, he's up for the first test. Just a minor matter of handling this pain thing

"I'll definitely be playing on Thursday," he said. "I have a cracked rib, which will worry me. The thing I will have to get used to is the pain. "There's nothing I can do about it, but it won't keep me out of the team."

To me, frankly, Langer with his fighter (literally) approach and all sounds really scary! Thankfully he's not terribly gifted with the bat ;-)

In passing, Lara has a 'bat problem'...is getting more from India (yeah, as a confirmation of that story which Prem posted few days back.

The Book(-worma)

As I described sometime earlier in anticipation, the Waugh autobiography seemed like the definitive cricket book of my generation (so far :-). Even while I wait to lay my hands on a copy, one of our regulars here, Rupak Das, has already plunged into one. He has kindly agreed to share some snippets, impressions etc.

I will therefore, from time to time, keep bringing the topic back here. But I do promise not to reveal the ending and spoil the fun for you all :-))

At this stage I would also add my declaration that I have no links and/or agreements, financial or otherwise, whatsoever with the publishers of the book ;-)

First up...one of the forewards is by Rahul Dravid..who can surely be defined as one of the disciples of the Waugh School of Gritting It Out. Here's what he says on Waugh in the book.

Steve's legacy is hard to define, but I will remember him because he gave grit a good name. He proved that it is not only the pretty player who can capture the imagination, but also the tough and determined. Suddenly these qualities became as vital, as spoken about, as silken grace and sublime timing.

and another

I will remember the pain of not beating him in that last Test of his, in Sydney in January 2004, but also recall fondly his final innings in cricket against us, for it was a typical Steve Waugh innings: mind over matter, a man not in form but soldiering on, taking his team to safety.

And from the introduction section of the book, Waugh describes his early days thus...when he was very insecure as a player, unsure whether his future belonged in the sport.

Nestled among the sun-stealing skyscrapers of Hong Kong lies a small cricket ground. In 1988, this speck of greenery was the venue for a friendly match between the Australian touring team, en route back to Oz after a disastrous tour of Pakistan, and a Hong Kong XI. It was here, on perhaps cricket's most expensive piece of real estate, where I reached a point where something had to give. .... Well, I was experiencing what every sportsperson goes through at least once in his or her career - that deep, disturbing inner voice of negativity, the one that says, You aren't good enough, stop wasting your time, no more torture, take the easy option. Just fade away and be happy to lead a normal, controlled and relaxed life.

Then..going into the book...a funny story of Steve and Mark's first brush with the sport they would later grow up to conquer

Our very first official game of cricket was in many ways a disaster, and over before we realised what had happened. Not having a coach wasn't a promising start, and it was left to a group of mothers to guide the debutants of Panania-East Hills Under 10s. Not only did we
collapse to be all out for the grand total of four, which included three wides, but the Waugh boys lasted a meagre three deliveries. Mark had his stumps knocked over first ball, while I was fortunate that a full toss landed on my bat first up before I lost my stumps to the very next delivery. But it wasn't the pair of ducks or the
pitiful total that hurt us the most - it was the embarrassment of wearing our only pad on the wrong leg and the placement (by our parents) of our protectors on our kneecaps.

That's all for today...I'll keep coming back on this until the day you guys grow sick of it and cry out in pain ;-) And Rupak, thanks once again mate for the effort.

India vs SL - 2nd ODI - Open Thread

Seems like not many people are up for this one?...or maybe the alarms are set to go off anytime now ;-)

Chalo...see you all's sleepy faces in the thread...

Harsha, Shoaib and a few others

Harsha screams Yaahooo in his write-up after India demolished the Lankans at Nagpur. Of course, most of it was on Tendulkar's resurgence as a batting bully. He suggests that the maestro's problems were in his mind.

It happens to the best. The mind is made up and instinct is buried. We seek to become conformists, from making the rules we bow to them. Sometimes we grow weary with battle, the next conquest becomes daunting. We start looking at obstacles rather than opportunities, worry about getting out rather than think of scoring runs; once again we see the fielders not the gaps between them.

I for one think that it was Tendulkar's physical problems which made him prolong his cautious approach to batting. The injury so obviously hampered his ability to play some of his best shots and reluctant as he might have been, Sachin was forced to curtail his agressive approach.
Something I like about Harsha's columns is his optimism and I thought this was lacking in recent times. Hopefully, the coming days will continue to provide him (and us ) with more joy.

Elsewhere, Shoaib continues his life in normal fashion. His latest grievance is against someone who remarked on his unchanging attitude to discipline, using the analogy of a dog's tail that never straightens.

"This TV channel aired derogatory remarks against me without any rhyme and reason and tomorrow they can also do so against my country. I will fully pursue litigation against this TV channel instead of accepting an apology from them."

It is funny how people resort to grandiose arguments when they have nothing else to put forward. Shoaib in this case seems to think that Pakistan as a country is under threat from unsuspecting ESPN. I say, Pakistan will be well served if he is engrossed with the litigation processes and misses the England series as a result.

WI suffered their first casuality when Wavell Hinds fractured his little finger. Devon Smith will now accompany Gayle at the top. The team desperately needs Lara to fire on all cylinders and the rest to provide able support if they are to pose any kind of challenge to the Australians.

Finally, in the Guardian, Mike Selvey writes on the Englishmen touring Pakistan. The article is a day old but Inzi's fitness and training methods under Miandad's able tutelage are particularly interesting.

It all bypassed Inzy, who had yet to leave the airconditioning of the dressing room. Fielding drills followed, during which he emerged, tracksuited and padded up. He wandered across to a large wicker chair by the nets and slumped down to observe the efforts of his team-mates.
Then came a net session that he also viewed nonchalantly for a while before deciding it was time for a spot of batting. So he unzipped his top, removed it, placed his green Pakistan helmet on his head, and strolled into the nearest net, where for 20 minutes he proceeded to bat like a prince, before deciding enough was enough. Out he came, collecting his extraneous gear on the way, and disappeared back to the dressing room, not to be seen again. Next day, of course, he made a century.

I wonder if Inzi is given the same kind of treatment with Woolmer in charge.

The West Indies tour of Australia

The West Indies tour of Australia may not be as exciting as Ashes(that's not saying much, is it :-) or even the England tour of Pakistan....but still it may not be another steam-rolling assignment for Australia as it used to be.

The reason for my 'optimism'? Well...WI has had pretty good batsmen for a while...and now, to me, their bowling lineup also looks exciting, going by their last few series performances. Powell and Bravo did well in the tour match against Queensland which had Hayden, Love, Symond, Maher, Watson in the lineup. And they have Lawson waiting in the wings. So...an attack low in experience, but quite high in sheer pace, talent and capability to rattle the batsmen.

Another reason being that Aus batting, despite their show of recovery in the Super Test, is still looking a bit shaky...and the new strategy of playing Watson instead of a specialist batsman has also weakened the lineup. Speaking of which, Aus have almost finalised their playing XI by declaring Bracken as the twelth man instead of Hodge. It would be a toss-up between McGill and Bracken for the final spot..and IMO its gonna be McGill since its highly unlikely of Aus to play five bowlers(including Watson) with 4 seamers.

Ofcourse, we need to see how much, and how soon, can the West Indies players come together as a team after their despute settlement. And then, there's this minor matter of the form of this gentleman called Lara :-)

Eng in Pak: some updates(-worma)

With most of the discussion around the Indian match already done(and likely to continue) I thought maybe its a good idea to change focus a bit..

So Vaughan has this to say about their prospects of facing spin attack in Pak(emphasis mine):

"I would be very surprised if we go to Pakistan and it doesn't spin. But we have become decent players of spin over the last few years," said Vaughan. "Look at the World XI team (in the recent ICC Super Test in Australia) and the success Stuart MacGill and Shane Warne (both leg spinners) had against the best players in the world. That shows what success we had against Warne. He managed to take 40 wickets but we took him for a few an over."

Can someone please update me what's he talking about?...I must've been dream-watching another Ashes in a parallel universe! Read the full article here.

And other update..Akhtar's chances seem to have brightened after he did a reasonably impressive workout in the nets, showing a couple of days late for training (so what...didn't he still grace the occasion?..some people never appreciate small mercies ;-)

Akhtar's slated to play the practice game against the visitors. With Mushtaq Ahmed also lined up for that game, the balance of Pak attack, and therefore its strategy, may be hanging on that show...although IMO they are not considering Mushtaq seriously since Woolmer has already announced Malik as the opener, and Afridi would most likely play, since his performance in last two test series has been pretty impressive.

The Poms are coming(-worma)

Well..not exactly coming to India...but close enough. And the wheels have been set in motion. While Akhtar faces a tough fitness test today, and not many are rating his chances high, here is an English look at the Pak prospects.

Scyld Berry in Telegraph rates the Pak players Eng should watch out for here, and also looks at the English chances here. He expects a result-laden series

In Mudassar's day Pakistan was the home of bore-draws, of flat batting pitches and 27½-hour Tests (2½ hours shorter than anywhere else). Not any more, because they have discovered a supply of fast bowlers and wrist-spinners like no other country on earth. In the five years since England fought their rearguard action under Nasser Hussain to win the series 1-0 at the final gasp, there has been one drawn Test in Pakistan.

Their board were so miffed at England's defensive strategy that they ordered most of the pitches to be dug up and relaid to provide more bounce. As rain almost never features in Pakistan, we can expect at least two of the three Tests to be decided.

While Simon Hughes, also in Telegraph, seems to disagree.

Because of the dew at the beginning of the day and the fading evening light, it may be hard to get a result in the Tests. To that end, England will miss Simon Jones, the likeliest wicket-taker on the relatively lifeless surfaces.

To me, his analysis of English chances is more balanced, and he doesn't expect an easy time for the English bowlers

Andrew Caddick struggled then, and Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison may this time. It could present an opportunity for James Anderson or the highly-rated but raw young Durham speedster Liam Plunkett should England decide to go with four quickies. Flintoff and Giles will be key, chipping away at the patience of Pakistan's impetuous batsmen.

Although even in batting front, he does expect England to face some challenge from the relatively less known Pak pace attack and is rightly counting Kaneria as the main threat(and no talk of Mushtaq....who, I felt, was more of 'ploy' by Pak to mislead the Eng management?), he rightly highlights the key factor in a possible successful Eng tour to be tied to their capacity to handle the tour in their non-playing hours.

Clearly the main threat to England's well-being will be the leg spinner Danish Kaneria. Improving rapidly, he is a strong bowler and more consistent than when England faced him last. He lacks the wile of Shane Warne, but he can spin the ball both ways and is not flustered by rough treatment.

The real problem for England, however, may be to stave off boredom. Evenings are long and featureless, the wives and girlfriends have elected not to travel, and there is not much to do but pop in and out of each other's rooms.

Meanwhile David Graveny starts the argument all over again...that Eng should be considered the best in the world, should they win in Pak and India

."We are halfway there, having beaten Australia and won the Ashes.

"But to become the world's top team we have to beat Pakistan and India,"

and

"England are up there. The mark of a good team is to beat Australia, anywhere, and also to win on the sub-continent."

And finally, the sorry saga of the Ashes aftermath in Australia continues...with its lone victim Damien Martyn.

Martyn, who turned 34 last Friday, has returned to state cricket and made a superb 110 in Western Australia's five-wicket ING Cup win over Victoria yesterday.

Asked if he was doing anything different with his batting since being dropped, Martyn replied curtly that nothing had changed since the Ashes series finished in September.

"It's the same as England," he said, "no different. (There were) better bowlers in England.

"When I got 1200 runs in a season, people asked what was different but I was batting exactly the same way.

"It's just cricket.

Tales of Waugh v2(-worma)

At the end of the last article linked in previous post, another 'lesson' for us...this one about 'differences' between coach and captain ;-)

At the end of the year, Waugh found himself negotiating contracts. He reveals just how low the Australian captain rated on the pay scale.

"I went in with modest expectations after being ranked the 13th most important player in Australia during the previous year's negotiations over a one-year contract," he writes.

"I thought the length of that deal was probably fair enough, but still somewhat galling, considering the team manager (Steve Bernard) had been given a three-year guarantee after a performance that I would consider steady at best.

"As it turned out, my surge from 13th to 12th in the rankings was merely cosmetic, but nevertheless a pleasant move and in complete contrast to the ambush that lay in waiting.

"I was told by the chairman of selectors (Trevor Hohns), in a statement that was backed up by the coach (John Buchanan), that there were one or two players unhappy with my captaincy.

"This was the first time I'd heard any such rumblings and I didn't appreciate the coach divulging his perceptions in this forum, especially when he'd had six weeks in the West Indies and a further two months afterwards to let me in on the issue.

"Further annoying for me was that no reasons, no issues, no clarity and no names were put forward, meaning I had absolutely no idea what the problem was or, in fact, whether there was a genuine concern."

Waugh asked team members about the claims and believes they were without real foundation and that a "link had been taken out of the chain of trust between Buck (Buchanan) and me that day".

And we all know this is not the only time when there was a difference between Waugh and Buchanan. Waugh was publicly known to have advocated for taking away Buchanan's rights in selectorial matters.

And some more revelations here, this time from the 1999 Caribbean tour. This time talking about the fragmentation in the team

"What I saw as a drinking culture was affecting more members of the squad than I had initially thought," he wrote.

"We were tending to socialise in the same groups (and) that had unhinged what should have been the joker in our pack: togetherness.

"As captain, I felt slightly let down by my most senior professional, Ian Healy, who was struggling to come to terms with the approaching end of his career and for the first time in his cricket life had let his discipline and work ethic slide.

"Mark Waugh had an average tour and didn't get involved enough in the running of the team, while some younger guys followed the leads and erroneous ways of others.

"I felt betrayed when later I discovered that secret pacts had been made by some of the guys to stay out past curfew"

To me, the most amazing aspect of all these revelations is that it was all happening in the midst of the 'dominant' phase of the team. That all this while, on the playing field, this team was blowing away all opposition. That does say a lot about the 'on-field' character of the team, and how, at times, that can work 'above' the off-field differences.

In the same article, he talks of dropping Warne, and his differences with Chappel, who called him a selfish cricketer.

Waugh also had a shot at the man he regards as his constant critic, former Test skipper and prominent TV commentator Chappell.

"Ian Chappell has always sweated on my blunders and reported them with an 'I told you so' mentality.

"He labelled me 'selfish' which for a cricketer is tantamount to being accused of treason.

"To say Chappell's criticism irked me would be an understatement, but I knew he was entitled to his opinion.

"(But) I have always felt that a critic must be either constructive or base his comments on fact."

And another one here. This one's about the Slater episode. As we know Slater had recently accused Waugh for his drop from test squad, and that too at a difficult time of his life. Waugh speaks about his involvement, and with no regrets related to the issue. He does blame CA for not doing enough about it, at the time, despite his request. Has some good words for Buchanan in this passage.

Finally...I feel sorry for the sales figures of Freddie's book ;-)

Update : Also check out the Waugh-Ambrose incident from '95 Carribean tour, also from the book, as quoted here. And more excerpts around the match-fixing aspects here. The Rashid Latif incidence is 'funny' :-)

Tales of Waugh v1(-worma)

Over the weekend, I went through the numerous extracts from Waugh's new book....and yes, the sheer enormity and range of the 'revelations'...its mind boggling! I'll try to put together the many links, and some choice extracts here. But this book, so far, looks like 'The' cricket book of my generation (as all generations have theirs).

First up...and this one can be a caution as well as a balm for the Indian supporters worried about the 'differences' in our team...Waugh discloses that Warne had a problem with his captaincy during the '99 WC campaign. And yet we know what that team achieved. Point, to me, is that all teams(apparently the great ones too) have similar issues.

And this is what he goes on to say about his sacking as ODI captain

Waugh was shocked by the way that decision was made.

He says: "I didn't have a problem with the decision. However, I did have an issue with the lack of man-management skills involved.

"Surely, after so many years playing and being the captain of a side that had been ranked No.7 when I took over and was now No.1, at least one phone call or conversation letting me know how the selectors saw the bigger picture would have been nice.

"The clinical efficiency of my dismissal stung me most because as a player I had always given everything."

Which again highlights the fact that selection panels, all around the world, are bound to be 'controversial'. (There are recent examples...speculations of Cairns being dropped for non-cricketing reasons, Martyn's scape-goat act post Ashes is appaling to say the least...but those for another post)

Then, there is another passage in which he reveals his desperation(or determination) to get back to the ODI side, that he proposed to CA to lead the Aus A team to SA! And even that being denied, he then moved to Kent, to keep in touch with ODI cricket. He continues with his county experience, throwing light on their 'mint chewing' habits...and now we know it doesn't matter what Bracken and Jones are claiming and/or denying.

"On my first day in the field, I got a whiff of the mentality of some of the guys when I was offered some extra-strong mints from a team-mate, which I thought was a nice gesture to make me feel welcome," he says in the book.

"Seconds later, as I crunched into a chalky, coin-sized lozenge, a startled voice said: What the hell are you doing? You don't chew the mints!'

"'Why not? They taste pretty good, pal,' Waugh retorted.

"'You're wasting them,' his team-mate replied.

'You're supposed to suck 'em and then use the saliva to polish the ball. It's the best ball shiner available.'

"'Piss off, mate, I'm eating mine,' Waugh said.

"It was the last free mint I was offered. Even though it wasn't that important then, it was a sign that all wasn't well.

But its this particular piece, from the same article, which 'converted' me to a sure-shot customer of this book. Its from the Aus-Pak test series (in Colombo, UAE etc...where Akhtar was in devastating form)

Waugh reveals that selectors' decisions and media criticism weighed on him in his last few years of the game. During a series against Pakistan in the UAE, he was feeling low following a bad performance in Sharjah for his 150th Test.

"I knew that with another failure in the next Test, my tally would be complete at 151 (Tests)," he wrote.

"In the days before the match, Mark and I became the target of taunts from the Pakistan coach, Richard Pybus, who said we were past it, which was a bit rich considering his side had been annihilated.

"I noted that Mark didn't appear to be too angered by the comments, which concerned me, as he normally hated negative press.

"The four years of constant inquisition about the bookie affair had worn him down and the game was no longer fun for him, or the adventure it used to be."

Waugh, who had been without his lucky red rag for the previous game, was relieved to have it couriered over and encouragement from team-mates made him determined to do well.

Waqar Younis welcomed him with the words, "'Let's send him out in style, fellas. Let's make his last Test finish with a duck' before I'd even scratched out my centre. I returned fire with 'Not today'."

Waugh brought up his century with two successive sixes.

Also delightfully revealing is the Waugh-Lara incidence from the 2003 Carribean tour(the McGrath-Sarwan tour :-). The picture, also shown in this article, of ice-cool Waugh and Volcano-hot Lara inches from each other is still clear in my mind. Which is why its such an interesting prospect for me...to think that the book would be full of such insights into the personality of this man...and also that of his contemporaies, some of whom are equally, if not more, interesting.

Some results(-worma)

Quite an eventful day in terms of non-international results...so I thought of putting them in single place...and in perspective.

Firstly SL team lost their practice match to MCA President's XI...which was significantly weaker than the regular Mumbai team (some of the regulars are playing in Duleep trophy match, some in camp, while it seems some other regulars like Kambli etc were rested?).

From what I could understand from the score....the SL batsmen seem to have got a scratchy start after Jayasurya pulled out midway due to injury(the SL batsmen have, in general, been struggling right from the start of this season, and it seems to be happening here as well. We threw away some initiative in the Indian Oil Cup after nailing them, lets see if we can make it count this time)

The SL bowling was not really bad, considering their 3 frontline ODI bowlers Vaas, Murali and Jayasurya were missing from the attack. Zoysa and Mahroof, likely to be in their squad for match 1, did well while Fernando didn't. The support bowlers were, understandably, not as restrictive as they are at home.

But atleast the MCA team didn't let the SL team enjoy a good comfortable game. In that sense, bound to have some impact on the series starter...atleast in terms of SL confidence levels



The other results...East Zone's 100+ lead turned out to be enough to earn them a comfortable victory.

In the other match, South Zone couldnt build a defendable lead, despite Laxman and Badani threatnening to do that at a point. Laxman finally made 67, Badani 47 n.o. But more significantly, Zaheer took 6 wickets. Looks like he's working well on his improvement. Hope he puts his head down for a few more matches and is back to his best by the time we play our test series, because I feel in home tests we may need him much more than ODIs.

At the end of the day, South Zone was still fighting in defense of their 103 runs lead. Balaji once again picked a couple of quick wickets. Its turning out to be a significant match for him as well. Like Khan, I hope he also continues his fight..back into his best form.

Some global updates(-worma)

First up..some not-always-meaningful controversies doing the rounds...

The first one around the Super Series...firstly they collected a bunch of players, many of them coming from off-season, to fight against a well oiled battle tank...and then there are these complaints about attitudes and fitness and what not. As I said earlier, why expect 'commitment' from them towards a cause which hardly anyone believes in....in fact which hardly fits the definition of a 'cause' IMO!

Anyways...now Inzy denies having any problems with Smith. Also says his mind was distracted by the earthquake. Also this one about the Wright-Shoaib spat.

More than these reports, I enjoyed these 'mock' Super Series Diaries of Smith (here and here). Dan seems to have used the news/analysis/rumor/info bits about players very well into this 'out of context' diaries. My personal favorite...the Shakespearean appearance of a ghost-like Vaughan to haunt Smith at all crucial moments...hilarious stuff. (Thanks Prakash Thulasiraman, I presume one of our readers here, for pointing these out to me)


Anyway, the other controversy around the breath mints and reverse swing...which I referred to a couple of days back. We read yesterday how Bracken tried to do some damage control, and how Jones came out rebutting(especially in context of Ashes). Here's a take by Tim de Lisle in Guardian.

For now, the only undoubted mint is the one the England players are making. In truth, they won the Ashes by being fearless, well-led, united, and having a magic ingredient: extra strong Flintoff.

I think this should close the matter, as far as England's Ashes success is concerned?


Some other bits of news...

Cricinfo has yet another blog after recently launching the Surfer. This one is more of a discussion forum for the cricinfo 'experts' with no scope for readers' comments. Not yet atleast. I'm not too impressed, I must say...but do visit and judge for yourselves.

Waugh has 'handwritten' his autobiography...and injured his writst in the process!..boy, he sure did retire at the right time ;-). But seriously...this one, titled Out of My Comfort Zone, might be worth catching.

And Harsha's new column about RD's captaincy stint. As usual of Harsha, a very balanced piece...interesting bits, for me, are

More interesting, can he separate personal form from the fortunes of the team? A year ago I had done a business programme on CNBC and Sourav Ganguly had said, "I have told Rahul that when you become captain you will have to separate your two roles. That is the most difficult part."

and

On the way though he will have to rub some people the wrong way. He has hardly ever done that and it will be interesting to see how he reacts to people who have a voice but for whom he has no time. There are many of those in our cricket

And on a lighter side, atleast I have started liking the artistically creative titles that Harsha has started conjuring for his articles :-)

And finally...me stepping gingerly on a mine-field(;-)...SG seems to have 'earned' a recall to the national team(?)

Indian Domestic Circuit(-worma)

Just a thought that re-popped in my mind...following the recent Duleep trophy scores. Have been wondering in recent times...is it just my imagination or have the scores in our domestic matches been going down in recent times?

For example...observe the recently concluded Irani trophy scorecard. Or the Ranji semifinals and finals of last season...were not high-scoring if I remember? Or have a look at the Ranji averages from last season. Or of course the ongoing Duleep trophy matches.

Now there can be the following reasons...but these are more of questions to you guys..since this is just an *idea* in my mind rather than a firm *opinion*:

1) The quality of batting has gone down? Since VVS...who's really made tons of runs with double and triple tons in a domestic season?...

2) The quality of bowling, esp pace/seam/swing has gone up? Ofcourse this can also be supported by the fact that so many pacers are now lining up for the national cap.

3) Pitches have been livelier? And not just in pace but generally more livelier for bowlers(spin included) and not dead surfaces as in the past? For example...the North v East match seems to be helping pacers(atleast this report mentions a lively pitch?) while West v South seems to be lively for spinners on day 1!

4) All of these?

5) This is just a figment of my imagination...nothing of this sort happening...I need rest...and some quality cricket to recover? :-))


What do you guys think? Especially the ones following the domestic scene more closely?

Anglo-Indian stories(-worma)

Nathan Bracken, from his county experience, reveals the secret of Eng bowlers getting so much reverse swing.

."It is a breath mint that makes your saliva very sugary.

"At Gloucester as soon as we needed the ball to go 'Irish' they would bring out some of these mints and it would work."

There have been no suggestions that England's bowlers broke any rules as players are allowed to apply saliva and sweat to polish the ball.

So...let me understand....applying saliva is ok...applying sweet/candy is not ok(remember RD in Aus)...but applying saliva after eating the mint is again ok?...how much gap should be there between swallowing the candy and 'using' the umm...saliva?...what percentage of sweet levels in saliva are permissible?...uh..biology lessons, anyone?

I think ICC is again going to land in one of their regular messy holes. Ofcourse only if this story is noticed. I'll wait for developments/rebuttals on this one...ofcourse without holding my breath (after all one has to remember that this is an Australian speaking about English cricketers)

Meanwhile Flintoff climbs the ICC rankings as a test bowler. Up to number 4...which is a bit of an achievement for a bowler not consistently ripping through opposition lineups. Ofcourse a testament to strong Eng attack. Speaking of which, bad news...Jones is likely to be fit for Indian tour ;-).

Btw notice those bowler ratings....Shoaib still at number 7...despite having his last good test match....when was it? ;-)...no surprises then that there is so much clamouring over him

Slow news day...not much on the Indian scene...usual "positive vibes" from SL players, coaches...Indian counterparts etc...usual BCCI election preperations....ah well atleast we have a game to follow tomorrow ;-)

Btw..anyone aware of Mumbai Cricket Association President's XI squad to face SL in practice game? This interests me a bit, because Mumbai usually takes these practice games against visitors seriously...and sometimes plays a few tactical moves etc.

On my way out(-worma)

I got hold of this mini report card of the World XI players from down under. Do go have a look. Its not complete in all sense...a bit extra harsh on the Pak players when you compare their poor performance with that of some SA players, and no mention of Sehwag...still gives a good idea.

What it does confirm, though, is what many of us had read, thought and discussed....that there was nothing at stake...and with no accountability...its really difficult to get 100% out of each of them.


Oh...and btw...what's with the Aus selectors...how can they think of dropping McGill now? Sure its been done in the past, but then they had excellent pace replacements. So, despite dropping him, they could still abide by the 'pick the best bowlers' policy. But what now?

Super Test Day 4 - open thread

So...can they pull it off? Nope. Not in my opinion. As I said yesterday, 350+ is a tough ask for any good batting lineup (of any top team)...and this is not even a team...and they are up against Warne and McGill(who is as potent as Warne for half the world). McGrath may still have a bonus wicket or two hidden somewhere.

Anyways...open thread for you guys...

On another note, most of you might have noticed the Discussion Group linked from the main page. Some of you may already have registered. Well...the activity there would start once Prem is back and gives it some direction. It was Prem's idea, with help from Arjun, in having a forum for more focused discussion on topics, rather than the using the not very convenient way of comments section, as we do now.

For those who haven't yet visited it, check it out...create an id...maybe familiarize yourself with the basics. And then, lets see how it goes when Prem is back.

The Super Test Match : Day 3 open thread

I don't know what to make of this....most of the top(5) test teams would probably have done better than this collection of stars. And this is Sydney, the most batting-friendly of all Aus test venues!

As of now...this test looks like heading towards only one direction....and it won't need 6 days to get there. Lets see if RD or Freddie have a different plan when they bat the second time around. As for Aus batting, a minimum lead of 350+ is looming...and beyond that, its hardly likely to matter if World XI bowled well or not.

Open thread for you guys...again looks unlikely for me to catch any action...

Speak up(-worma)

Once again its the season for soundbites in Indian cricket. Some obvious, bordering on cliched....others weird enough to loose sleep over ;-)

Here's a nice bunch.

The first one from Sree Santh who's still trying to come to terms with the reality of his selection.

This is the happiest day of my life," he says, "to get a chance to play with those players who have been my idols since the day I started playing cricket. It does not matter whether you play one match or two with them. What's important is the experience and exposure,

and also

I think, I am mature now, I believe that to intimidate a batsman you don’t need to look frightening, I wouldn’t even mind muttering a sorry if the batsman is unlucky to get out on my ball. But I am a fierce competitor

To me he surely sounds mature...and why not...he's a painter, a dancer, a singer and a budding sports psychologist!..looks like the Keralite sensibilities are arriving in Indian cricket (apologies for that bit of 'regionalism' ;-) Now lets see how much of a cricketer is he.


Kapil Paaji, on RD's captaincy, has this cryptic clue to deliver

Dravid should give mind to every aspect of the game. He should not be doing anything to please somebody. Personal liking and disliking should not come into the game.

I leave the interpretation to the readers(also because I'm still struggling to formulate mine)


Mahendra Singh Dhoni, again on the change of captaincy, has this to say(and here I must caution, no direct quotes, only the interviewers 'interpretation' of it)

Indian team stumper Mahender Singh Dhoni today said the change of captaincy would not have much effect on the side's performance.

Wait a minute...hold on...didn't we perform badly in last two series?...So...is he saying we won't improve?...yep...had a minor ROFL moment...and the message is repeated in the article

He, however, said there would certainly be a change in the strategy following the change of skipper, but there would be hardly any impact on team performance

..and this time I seriously wondered what MSD meant? As I said, its the interviewer's interpretation...and I wish they used more of direct quotes(maybe it was a translation). Further, on his own status and role in the team, he had this bit

About the forthcoming home series against Sri Lanka, Dhoni, who carved a niche in the Indian team following his blistering 147 against Pakistan last April, said the matches would be vital for him to ensure a berth in the side for the longer version of the game.

Again caught my attention. I am hoping he realizes that aiming for more(i.e. test berth) is needed, yet being in touch with the ground even more important...that he hasn't 'yet' secured a permanent place in out ODI setup should surely be there in his immediate awareness. Ofcourse he has not shown any laxity in his application, attitude and overall approach to the game...so no real complaints.


And here's a short interview of RD from Sydney...nothing much beyond the obvious, as we expect of RD when faced with controversial questions. Although there was this funny part(I'm hoping it was in good humour?)

Dravid declined to react when asked if e-mails would be the preferred medium of communication in his regime. "I'll let the question pass," he said.

Finally, Tony Greig on captaincy in general, and current affairs around the Indian captaincy in particular.

A good captain is one who is a good man manager. Obviously, he has to be an automatic selection and, then, have the qualities to manage not just the senior players but the coach as well.

'Super' test - day 2 open thread

Yeah...well...I thought atleast some of you may still catch the action?...ahh...atleast there's a chance of Sehwag's firework later in the day. Maybe a Lara/Freddie special too?...yeah wishing for moon, I know :-)

Anyways...open thread...might catch up later in the day...

Indian squad for SL series (-worma)

Since the squad has just been declared (ok, some time back...been a 'catch-up' day for me) so there's bound to be some prolonged discussion on it. So, here's kind of an open thread..unless you all have already beaten it to death :-)

My initial thoughts: With Gambhir(opener) coming in as a replacement for Kaif(middle order) there might be an alternative opening strategy (plan B, C) in mind on team management. Gambhir also seems to have caught the attention of the management from his test form and style, rather than just the Challenger performance(where he certainly wasn't the best on show)

Laxman did well enough to be in contention for future, but as we discussed the other day, his competitor Raina did well enough not be be dropped.

And Zaheer did not do enough to merit the 'recall'. Not even with the help of 'experience' argument. And in the absence of enough of the experienced names, Santh may get a playing opportunity early enough.

Finally, what's up with Aus...anyone surprised that the top scorers are the ones who failed the most in Ashes? Looks like business as usual in Aus team...although I feel the 'bull' in Hayden has been tamed for ever ;-)

Super Test - Day 1

Alright, here we go. The Super Test is about to begin shortly. The weather is expected to play a huge role in this 6 day test which is a shame. With the extra time for the World XI to acclimatize in Sydney, I hope to see a better contest. After the debacle in the ODI series, the players should be charged up to give the Aussies a fight.

Graem Smith's choice of the final eleven was expected with Inzamam finding a position in it. With the ommision of Shaun Pollock, the bowling will be spearheaded by Harmison and Flintoff with Kallis as the third seamer. South Africa has not had spinners of the capability of Vettori and Murali and Smith will be in unchartered territory as far as manning them is concerned.

These are the lineups:
Australia 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Simon Katich, 6 Shane Watson, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Glenn McGrath, 11 Stuart MacGill, 12 Brad Hodge.

World XI 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq, 5 Brian Lara, 6 Jacques Kallis, 7 Andrew Flintoff, 8 Mark Boucher, 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

Open thread for Challenger Seniors vs B

OK, open thread for today's game...lets see how many of the youngsters get a look-in. No matter what the result, this to me is the most interesting-to-watch of the three teams.

Btw, Laxman said, at the end of yesterday's play, that the team had decided to play as a unit, rather than strive for individual performances...which is, frankly, the implicit objective of the tournament. Lots of credit to them if they planned thus, and were able to execute it.

Anyway...open thread of the day...


P.S. Those of you in touch with Prem, request to update us on the situation.

Technology...how much??

Going through the third game of the super series, I am inclined to believe, the game would be better off with the limited use of technology. Some of the innovations used in this series have done nothing to add value. It only has added more subjectivity to a game where many subjective factors are already there. Look at the way umpires handled LBW decision in this game. I can remember four appeals. Two were clearly out. Ponting to Ntini and Murali to Watson. But umpires neither gave them out nor referred to third umpire. Two were clearly not-out (I don't remember details) And what do umpires do?... Refer to the third umpire. This is absurd. We had four mistakes in a single game with so much of technology in place. Another incident which made mockery of cricket was the No-ball decision. For the first time, a no-ball was given after a wicket was taken. What about those no-balls which were not given and also did not have wickets.

What are the umpires' role from now in the field? Is it just standing there and signalling no balls, fours and sixes occasionally. Or taking bowlers' caps and sweaters? Probably, some day we will see umpires who could give cards to cricketers or even be trained enough to treat injured cricketers.

Not only are we adding more subjectivity, we are wasting so much of time. Someday, an umpire might decide to refer every single appeal to third umpire to avoid any errors. Then what? We will have half an hour for these decisions only.

So, what is the solution. We can not go with the umpiring errors also. Well, I have two suggestions.

1. Why can't we have twenty class umpires who would not make many mistakes. I mean it should be posiible if there is some really good program to produce them. Why can't ICC have professional courses on umpiring. They could promote umpiring at all levels, bring expertise, train new umpires etc..I mean it should not be impossible to produce some 20 excellent umpires from around the world, if ICC really wants that.

2. Line decisons like no-balls can be supported by technology. We can have more viodeo cameras like in champions trophy last year. For every no-ball, there should be an instantaneous flash on the screen or a sound alarm to on-field umpires. I beleieve that is not impossible if ICC wants.

Instead of going for more technology, it is the way it is used that is important.

The Grand Finale - Open thread

Ahh well...before some of you kill me....I was kidding with the title ;-)

The matches have been one-sided and boring, as is often the case with Aus matches. And I hardly stand a chance of catching the start (esp considering that I'm still awake writing this)...heck even the later part is doubtful!

The only small point of interest for me is the opening position in Aus team, since Katich is going to miss out. Reports say that James Hopes can be called up...although I wonder if Hodge might be considered in the middle order with Clarke moving up. Umm...that's actually my wish....not any chances of that happening I guess.

Anyways....open thread...

'Cricketing' updates(-worma)

Yes, this means an intention, in this post, to leave out anything related to *that* issue.

First up, here's an eminently readable piece from one of my favorite cricket writers, Osman Samiuddin, about Shoaib Akhtar. It takes a look at where Shoaib stands today, at the age of 30, and where he goes from here. Here's an interesting excerpt, but do go read the full thing.

Everything that needs to be said about Shoaib Akhtar has already been said. And broadcast. And written. Many times over. When his mood is right, when his body is right, there is no sight in cricket more exhilarating, more likely to raise hairs. There are few bowlers in the world with a capacity as destructive as his. At all other times, he is difficult, his performances erratic. He is a maverick, a loose cannon, his own man and a hindrance to the team. Pakistan cannot do without him and they also cannot do with him.

Next, a short interview with Sachin on his comeback. Some portions of it were already published earlier (regarding team unity etc.)

There is pressure on Tendulkar now and he says it isn'’t about playing international cricket once again. "‘I'’ve done that for 16 years. The only pressure is about living up to my expectations."’

I would think that he has been doing that also for so long, and so well. Its only living upto some of the fan's expectation which has led to much being written and spoken, often unjustly, about him in the past. And is sure to continue for as long as he plays.

Read here...I S Bindra is out to prove what we often discuss here. That there is much business potential in domestic cricket in India. And he is taking the organisation of Challenger tournament very seriously...has acquired corporate sponsorship for the three teams and for the tournament title.

"For PCA, we are looking at this event as a bigger event than the previous India-Pakistan Test match we hosted earlier this year. At the end of the day, domestic cricket is more important because it gives you bench strength to choose from which we are utterly lacking now," he said.

Elbows come and go(-worma)

Ok..poor title :-)...but here, the fit one heard from

The team members and coach (Chappell) are together and would remain so though there can be different views. It is like in a family where the members are having different views. But by this, it cannot be said there is no unity in the team

I leave it to you to believe him or not. He also promotes the case for a media manager for the team. A permanent and 'active' one.

And the faulty one heard about. Here's the gist of it

Ganguly's fitness test was supervised by John Gloster, the Indian team physio, and Dr Anant Joshi, the chief of the Indian board's medical panel. "Gloster and Dr Joshi examined the injury and also studied the MRI report,

. I leave this one also upto you to believe or not, since not much related to SG is accepted these days.

Interestingly, Kaif is named as India seniors captain for Challenger. Which may indicate that he is one of the candidates in the radar for being groomed for future captaincy? Otherwise a simple 'way out' could have been to ask SRT to 'fill up' the role.

Also Satyajit Parab replaces SG in seniors team, and Yusuf Pathan gets his place in B squad.

Super Series begins (-worma)

The super series begins tomorrow...and both teams have declared their 12 players...and both have gone with an extra bowler(if you count Afridi as a bowler, as WXI is doing).

Aus has announced Katich as their new opener, and it seems like a long term decision. Don't know how good it is though...since he is not in the typical ODI opener mould. I would have promoted Clarke. But in this strong Aus team...some of the individual weaknesses often remain hidden...and this could be one of them.

The pitch is supposed to be slow and low, hence the extra spinner in WXI...and Aus would have to use Katich and Symonds as spinners along with White.

And, to me, it looks like Afridi or Vettori(more likely) can be the supersub for WXI. Aus, due to injuries, don't have the luxury of too much spare talent in this particular lineup(and where is Hodge?)...so maybe Watson as supersub(?)


Meanwhile...here is an interesting article in Guardian...talking about the problems Smith faces in captaining WXI(test)...despite an overflow of talent in his ranks (which has probably come bundled with an overdose of ego)

You're used to playing matches wishing you had an extra fast bowler or a spinner, but now you have no excuse

And from our own land(-worma)

Here comes the next twist in the BCCI tale...the Supreme Court has asked the concerned parties (within BCCI..and member clubs etc) to sort out the differences and chose a non-judicial observer for the polls. So JD's winning move of last time...already quashed. Whats he gonna come up next...wait and watch :-)

And here is an interview from the other 'camp' contender...Sharad Pawar...read it yourself and judge what's he got in store for us.

In other news..Kambli looking for the captaincy of Mumbai team...and even a chance to get back into Indian team!...Ahh well...anyway its good to see him healthy and back to his 'normal' self again :-)

More global roundup(-worma)

In a bit of shocking news (continued) Martyn concedes that there are slim chances of his return to test cricket. To me this is surprising at the least....because not only was he their best batsmen in the last season, but has been consistently good for previous 3-4 seasons...and moreover his poor run (if one can call it that) has only been for 4 matches (remember he had a good knock in Aus second innings in the Lords test)...and some of those have been poor ump decisions! I still feel he can come back, and certainly 'looks' like having more cricket left in him than some others in the current squad.

In other news...there is wicked satisfaction for those who are frustrated with our bowlers (esp Nehra and Khan) breaking down often. Here is their Guru breaking down on an injury return! Come to think of it...Nz, for all its advancements and modern practices etc...have this problem the most acute of all international teams.

Also Tait(with what...2 test matches?) breaks down...missing out the Super Series...along with Hogg.

And amidst all the euphoria around the super-series...Gilchrist voices his stand-out(as usual) opinion that its wrong to grant official status to the series. Atleast I agree with him.

And Waugh has words of warning for both Aus and its challenger Eng here.

"When you are in a two-way contest someone has to win and someone has to lose, and it's just that England outplayed Australia," he said.

"I don't believe for a moment Australia are on the wane.

"It's just that they didn't play as well as they had liked and the next six months will be a real challenge to see how Australia copes following this recent series.

"But I wouldn't write Australia off just yet.

"And for England to judge itself as a great team they have to win both home and away against every side and that is something England must set themselves the task to achieve.

Trouble in Oz land(-worma)

First story of the day..this article from Bob Simpson...on his coaching days with Aus team...and what ails them today. Some of it applies quite directly to the problems we face...even otherwise a very interesting read. One point that I specifically wanted to highlight...something which we also often discuss:

Dennis Lillee headed this programme for over a decade and his brief was to develop and prepare young promising new ball bowlers to replace injured or ageing Test and Sheffield Shield bowlers.
By the look of the bare cupboard around the states, Pace Australia has hardly been a raging success. In fact the very title "Pace Australia" may well have derailed the search for new ball bowlers before it began.
In those days pace was the only thing considered. With Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson and the West Indies, the ability to have new ball success any other way was virtually ignored. Dennis Lillee was a great fast bowler who had enormous success.
Unfortunately trying to copy a great cricketer's personal style is not always the best way. I think this is one of the reasons we don't have swing bowlers around today. I often wonder how many potential medium pacers have been destroyed/lost due to Australia's insane drive for pace alone.
Perhaps under Damien Fleming, a genuine swing bowler, we will see a more balanced new ball approach. While the Australian Cricket Academy has received credit for the development of young cricketers, how successful has it really been?

Sunday roundup (-worma)

World XI made a winning start against Victoria...and guess who were the key performers for them! Dravid made a typical anchoring 66(70b) when the WXI were wobbling in mid innings...with Gayle(batting at 8!) and Pollock providing the partnership. Shoaib and Murali then had good spells with the ball.

But the match turned out to be close..since Victoria also had some quality players, close on national fringes...and Hodge and White made it count. Harwood was their best bowler(dunno much about him).


Back to Indian news...and Sachin, who had earlier stated that there was still some pain in the elbow, has now confirmed further that his foray into the middle is just at the right time, and after the requisite expert consultations.

I am doing this after consulting the doctor who performed the corrective surgery in England. We decided that this is the right time to at least go and have a hit

And he has also been repeating that this, afterall, is his way of judging the status of the elbow and the whole situation...and not an outright confirmation of his return to international scene.

I would exactly know where I stand and basically that becomes my target. After the Challenger, I will be in a better position to figure out how it (left elbow) is

Kiran More, does say here that some of the names missing in the Challenger squad were still in contention and age has not been the criteria for ruling out players.

Which brings back the Kumble question, as I said yesterday. Now there is one report which does mention him being under rehab for four weeks...although no specific reasons mentioned.

Some more positive news....as mentioned in the review committee report (yes 'that' review committee)...there was discussion on doing away with the zonal selection system. Given the immense importance of this issue, it was surprising how little it was talked about in the media.... and even here. But this report again mentions(if you ignore the heading) that there are enough indications of the change being considered seriously. Maybe as soon as the next AGM (yes the postponed one).

I guess if the election issue is settled beforehand, then there are chances of this being brought up. Meanwhile...here is one reason why a delay of a couple of months on such a big change won't make too much of a difference(as long as it does come later)

A senior Indian cricketer told The Indian Express: "The current 16 players in the Indian team are the best available. So there is no need to change things for the time being."

Here is an interview with Sandeep Patil, touching on this issue among others. Also mentions this important bit

I would also be happy if the BCCI appoints a permanent manager. South Africa has had Ghoolam Rajah for several years and Australia has Steve Bernard and both have produced results. Continuity has to be maintained to avoid anomalies creeping into reports submitted by different managers

Meanwhile, read here(towards the end of the article) what Ian Frazer has to say about the fitness schedule of our team. Also...this bit was important

He also had another significant observation: seniors aren'’t passing on enough tips to the youngsters. "‘I'’d like to see the Sachins talk a lot more to the young boys, try and tell them about their experiences and how they handled a particular situation."’

Ofcourse he didn't actually mean Sachin, since he(and GC) haven't yet worked with him...but still this comes as a surprise to me.

Back in action (- worma)

I mean Sachin...not me (although I'm also back in action :-)..well the Challenger trophy would bring the much needed focus of Indian cricket back to things that are cricket....it can surely do with some of that.

The squads look interesting, and a welcome departure from the past of dividing the seniors team into three equal portions!

And this also means the time for the big question, which we have been discussing so often here, to be answered..."what happens when Sachin is back" ? Well....this tournament should show if Sachin is ready to be back on the international scene, and also the status of some other challenge-able position holders in the team. SG would surely be watched closely (in this connection...the recent announcement that the captain would be announced one day after the squad holds significance)...Laxman and JP Yadav are the others who would be pushing hard for a position (for if all else falls in place, then JP is the one most likely to miss out a birth in starting XI). And the best case scenario can be that all turns out well...and we have a healthy bench strength :-)

But for me, the most interesting aspect is some of the youngsters...Piyush Chawla is one of them (he was our most impressive player with bat and ball in the recent ODI series against Aus)...VRV is another....and same with Shikhar Dhawan (although he did get a chance in the practise games which GC organised at the start of the season). And in this context the format, as I mentioned earlier, is important. For that would mean that the newcomers would be tested against a full fledged international lineup (in our seniors).

The report also says Nehra and Kumble are rested.....although I didn't come across any reason for Kumble...can it be that he is finally out of contention for ODIs?

And lastly, the inclusion of Parthiv in the B squad also allays some fears (sometimes expressed here) that he has fallen off the scheme of things.


In other news...the ICC super series is heating up. And nice to hear Dravid speak out on international cricket...specifically the status of Eng as the challenger to the throne. I somehow feel that our Indian cricketers don't speak out as often on the broader aspects of the world cricket scenario. Here he feels that Eng have some way to go, and the results in coming winter can cover a lot of ground for them. It does seem that from 'interest' point of view the coming Eng-Pak series can even overshadow the upcoming Aus-WI series...another 'unthinkable' some time back!...

And Flintoff will miss the warm-up game tomorrow against Victoria (would be interesting to check that out on a lazy sunday afternoon :-)...for he was hit by a Shoaib delivery in practise (which makes me wonder...has Shoaib already delivered his one impressive performance quota for the series ;-)

By the way, you guys....any idea about the webcast scope of Super Series and Challenger?

update: As some people pointed out, the captain for SL ODI series is indeed going to be chosen *before* the rest of the team. Sorry...my bad...caused some confusion above :-)