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Dravid: The Falling Wall?

Often quoted as the Great Wall of India, Rahul Dravid just cannot get himself out of what cannot be referred to as a dry patch or being out-of-form but a strange phase wherein he just cannot occupy the crease long enough to justify such adjectives. It seems that the great batsman is either losing his reflexes or just playing a few test matches in a year simply means that he isn't getting enough international cricket to make him flourish at the crease in the manner that saw him conquer the best of South African and Australian bowling attacks. He is getting out to rather soft deliveries, none of them looking threatening enough for someone of Dravid's stature. Further, what is worrying is that his body seems to be moving a bit too much when playing the on-drives. A small but exaggerated shuffle towards the off-side seems to be the undoing in this case. Just imagine a team that is on the verge of losing Dravid and Laxman in the very near future.....any worthy new stars in the Indian batting line-up to vouch for such profiles??

Murali's Greatness: a never-ending cricketing controversy

Muralitharan has announced that the first test match between Sri Lanka and India would be his last test match as he wants to preserve himself for the forthcoming world cup that is scheduled to be hosted in the sub-continent. The decision is just a bit surprising considering that he is on the verge of breaking the 800 test wicket barrier; his currently tally being a tantalizing close affair at 792 scalps. Further, the tongues are already wagging about the legacy of the Lankan spin maestro. The only thing that I would like to highlight is that his achievements should not be looked down upon by Warne's die-hard supporters simply because both of them were able to extract a lot of their victims from conditions that were heavily loaded in their favor. While Murali playing on slow pitches at home

was very obvious, many people don't seem to notice that Warne got a lot of his wickets by playing endless series of tests against West Indies and England sides that are among the two, poorest players of spin bowling in the last decade of cricket. If Murali got pitches to his liking, Warne got opponents who were notoriously bad players of quality spin....I would recommend some introspection before making judgmental decisions about Murali's "achievements" (the double-quote pun non intended).

England Rising? Wins against Australia Suggest so...

It is hard to imagine that Strauss, the English captain, can actually adapt to the ODI style of batting but as it turns out, in the current One-day series against Australia, his style of batting is perfectly suited to the kind of pitches that are on display. The ball is seaming around and Strauss' typical style of batting wherein the emphasis is on collecting singles through shoves and pushes seems to be invaluable. And yes, England have won the series now!! This is remarkable considering that they usually struggle to even defeat teams like the WI on their own pitches. What seems to have really worked for the Poms is their recent victory in the T20 World Cup. The team has carried that momentum into the series and the Kangaroos have been surprised without a doubt. Add to this, the presence of useful bowlers like Swann and Broad and the England team does look like a good ODI unit for the first time in probably, the last ten years.

Proteas + Irish Contributions = England Wins

You cannot deny that this is the current situation in the English cricket team. Just take out the South African Kevin Pietersen from their test match performances over the last four years and team would have struggled to even come close to be counted among the top, four test cricket teams in the ICC rankings. Now, it seems that the Irish batsman, Eoin Morgan, is doing a similar act for England in their ODIs against Australia. Just look at the statistics of the first game wherein he scored a century to bail out the English side. Combine this with Morgan’s T20 performances and surely England could not have won the ICC T20 world cup without his services. I hope the immigration rule-markers in England are aware of these facts or may be they are and that is why England seems to gobble-up international players and presents them as its own!!

Indian vs Pakistan: Still the same flavor??

I would guess not considering that the number of matches played between 2004 and 2007 entered the zone of being excessive. Further, the kind of tension that used to exist at Sharjah matches seems to have disappeared. Yes, the last match played at the Asia Cup was still enthralling and I was glad to see Gautam Gambhir give a verbal thrashing to Kamran Akmal. However, I still feel that the passion of such clashes has somewhat diminished….or it could be that the alternative means of entertainment has made us a bit immune to what such matches offer.

WI vs South Africa: Nash & Chanderpaul seem like the perfect batting couple!

It was heartening to see that somebody from the WI camp finally decided to bat with some semblance of spirit. As a result, the hosts are now in a position to easily draw the game unless they do something drastically stupid. Once again, the rescue act has been perpetrated by Chanderpaul. He is someone I have often written about on this blog. He appeals to my senses with his ability to succeed despite not having the natural flair that most left-handed batsmen possess or the arrogance that is trademark of the Calypso batsmen. Now, it seems that he has found an able supporter in the form of Nash. This guy is your typical grafter. He doesn't have a stroke of brilliance and if your looking for someone to make TV viewing pleasurable with off-side drives and straight pushes, Nash is not the guy one would like to recommend. He is very much like Chanderpaul, wait-out the bowler's patience and then seize upon the opportunity to score-off the slightly wayward deliveries. Until then, it is all about composure and nudging and pushing for the singles. Anyways, it is widely believed that a player's overall effectivity determines his worth in his team and not his style of performing...I hope, the likes of Sarwan and Yuvraj are listening.

Why is England going crazy over Steven Finn?

If I can recall correctly nearly every player that England have looked upon to deliver them from their poor record against Australia over the last decade has disappointed to a large extent. Yes, there have been some exception like Pietersen and Flintoff who flourished briefly before becoming vulnerable to personal and fitness-related issues. I still remember how gung-ho the English media was about players like Ronnie Irani, Ealham and Mark Alleyne, hoping that these players will be able to perform since their county records were supposedly great. Now, with the Ashes coming close, the English cricket media seems obsessed with Steven Finn and believe that he is another McGrath in the making. Whether this is due to over-optimism or simply because Finn releases the ball in a matter akin to the great Aussie bowler or due to a combination of both these factors, is beyond me. However, what still surprises me is that how the media in England starts hailing any new find as a potential Ashes winner. If you remember, Matthew Hoggard was placed on a same pedestal and was suppose to swing-out the Aussie batsmen but nothing of the sort happened, at least over a sustained period. There isn't a single English player in the last decade who has an Ashes record as consistent and significant as that of some Aussie players like Hayden, McGrath and Shane Warne. At best, some cricketers from the UK have surfaced from time to time and delivered brilliantly in small patches that simply cannot be equaled to records of these Aussie greats.....but then, reality isn't everyone's cup of tea, is it?

Micromax 2010 Asia Cup: Testing waters and making comebacks

This seems to be the theme for nearly every team participating in what is being billed as the battle for supremacy in Asian cricket. For starters, both India and Pakistan have come to this edition of the Asia Cup with players who are finding their feet in international cricket after a brief spell of being rested or dropped, for various reasons. While Pakistan aims to fight its most usual nemesis, i.e. the threat of mutiny in its ranks, India is trying to establish what could be their probable line-up for the forthcoming World Cup. Sri Lanka too are looking beyond the usual players like Jayasuriya who have delivered in the past and the onus could well be on the likes of Malinga, Herath and Angelo Mathews to stake claims not just as potential match-winners but the core of the team that is going to try and bring back the world cup to Sri Lanka. While the persistence with Muralitharan at this juncture seems a bits surprising, it is not secret that Lankans are trying to find a permanent solution to their number five, six and seven slots that seem to have been changed with unwanted regularity in the recent past.

Micromax Asia Cup 2010: Advantage Sri Lanka?

Yes, it might seem a bit premature but the fact remains that Sri Lanka are pretty much unbeatable at home. Their record in both, the ODIs and the test matches is so good that it is hard to believe that any of the other teams would be able to beat them in the league matches. Further, what makes the Lankans such a potent force is that their bowling is well-suited to the prevalent conditions. For starters, the likes of Kulusekera can bowl slow, medium-pacers that are the best option for the slightly sluggish pitch conditions here in Dambulla and the neighboring venues. On the other hand, young spinners in the side, led by Murali will ensure that the batsmen aren't able to take much liberties during the middle overs. Even the fill-up bowlers like Angelo Matthews have showed in yesterday's match against Pakistan that these Lankan bowlers know how to manipulate the conditions to their advantage. In comparison, Pakistan's bowling line-up seems full of comeback bowlers while India just doesn't have a semblance of a pace battery or a spin attack.

Shillingford and Suleimann Benn Make Sense for the WI

It was heartening to see a West Indian bowling performance that had some intensity to it and didn't border on being mediocre-something that the team has been struggling to avoid for the past several years. In terms of bowling combinations, Shillingford and Benn combined really well to form a spin combo that made a lot of sense for a side that usually depends upon its fast bowlers to do all the work, including the donkey work that is needed in the middle overs. I like the way Shillingford was willing to give some air to the ball and didn't mind varying his pace, every few deliveries. On the other hand, Benn used the slight bounce in the pitch to his advantage. Given that the West Indian side does not have a single fast bowler who is seriously experienced, the presence of two spinners who can bowl tight, long spells is really handy.

I hope the Indian Selectors are considering suicide as an option

After losing two successive matches to a Zimbabwean side that is devoid of even one truly internationally-accomplished player, the Indian selectors should seriously consider resigning from their posts, ensured that their families have enough life insurance or medical insurance supplies and then jumping from the top of the buildings in which they reside and make us believe, they work in those chambers for the improvement of Indian cricket. For starters, it still escapes the mind that what they were thinking sending five or six new, greenhorn bowlers when not even one of them appears to be capable of running through a side in either an ODI or a test match. All the bowlers put together have looked pedestrian at best and then to actually believe that these guys were going to whitewash the Zims just because they are ranked at the bottom of world rankings is the kind of thinking that only the politically-inclined men working at the BCCI are capable of....my bet is that the India A squad at the moment has more skills than the Raina-led team, even though it consists of many players with far lesser experience.

Micromax Cup 2010: Some glaring mistakes!

The tri-series between India, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka is underway and though it is good to see the two sub-continental teams trying out some youngsters and allowing the spectators to watch new players who are willing to push themselves real heard, there are some issues that need to be introspected. For starters, both the Indian and Lankan teams have rested too many of their regular players. It should be remembered that the series is being played in Zimbabwe: a place that needs its regular dose of cricketing stars to engage more spectators.

Thus, allowing these two teams to rest as many as six and seven or so players is seriously disturbing and just doesn't help the cause of popularizing the game in the African continent. Further, the pitch is posing some questions. It seems that there aren't too many options in terms of choosing pitches on the main square. As a result, the matches are being played continuously on the same stretch and the pitch is getting slower with each progressing match. In all probability, by the time the finals arrive, the pitch wouldn't be worth more than 180 runs as a match-winning score. The big plus has come about in terms of Zimbabwe's win against India. Though this might hurt the Indian cricket fans back home, it helps the cause of uplifting the game in Zimbabwe to a large extent.

Anybody watched T20 Women’s World Cup matches?

International cricket certainly isn't going to go score many points for equality of the genders. For starters, there is little that the ICC has done for the female cricketers in terms of scheduling tournaments across the world. Secondly, the broadcast of women’s matches for something as important as the world cup were done so shabbily that not many people even realized that just when their teams were fighting out for a semi-final berth in the West Indies, the women counterparts of the men’s teams were also sweating it out to make a point, both in terms of engaging attention towards their skills and winning an ICC tournament. I still don’t get it—the viewership for T20 World Cup itself wasn’t too encouraging and further the spectator interest in island nations was also abysmal, then how scheduling women’s cricket matches in the same stadium really helps the cause of women’s cricket?

Does Caribbean qualify as World Cup venue?

The T20 World Cup in the West Indies has just ended and just like 50-over format World Cup that was held here in 2007, the entire tournament was a dampener in terms of stadium spectator volumes. This has become an increasingly worrying trend ever since the native, West Indian side started sliding after their 1996 Frank-Worrell Trophy loss to the Australians. Ever since that debacle happened, except for the test matches wherein Brian Lara was involved, the stadium volumes have been dwindling and the authorities including the WICB have not done anything constructive to resolve it. The 2007 World Cup was an absolute disaster
in terms of the non-participation of the spectators in the proceedings of the match. Yes, the ban on the usual musical stuff and alcoholic beverages that the West Indian spectators were always allowed to carry inside were also banned then and this did play a part in reducing the amount of spectator interest However, there was nothing missing from the T20 World Cup and even then, the venues had an empty look to them. Take-out the number of Indian fans who descended from the US and you can be assured that the stadiums might have been half-empty. I was just wondering whether the West Indies still qualifies as an international venue for matches wherein the home team is not involved?

MSD's Honesty eventually dithers!!

It was heartbreaking to see that one of the most honest and forthright captains in contemporary cricket, Mahender Singh Dhoni, was spilling-out excuses in the aftermath of being kicked out of the world cup T20. It was unusual to see MSD so hesitant and confused when asked to give reasons for the team's failure during teh post-match conference. Usually, Dhoni is a picture of being calm and is able to handle all queries with a degree of rustic honesty that had become his trademark. Some commentators even joked that he was so forthcoming in his views about defeat or victory that it was almost impossible for the journalists posing the questions to find the captain on the wrong foot. However, it seems that the recent spate of defeats and the fact that the Indian team has been kicked out of its third, straight world cup campaign proved too much for Dhoni. How else do you explain that the man who openly argued about the un-taxing nature of the IPL and its supposed 'zero effect' on the team's international performance suddenly realized that the late-night parties were eating into his players' energy levels. More than the defeat, it was the manner in which MSD handled the entire after-match period that will make most Indian cricket fans feel edgy about their team's future. To be brutally honest, besides MSD, there isn't a single guy in the team who looks responsible or fit enough to be burdened with Indian cricket captaincy. Every good thing comes to an end...I was hoping, Dhoni's charm would have stayed with us a bit longer..nothing else!

Jayawardene Proves More 'Proper' Batsmen Flourish in T20 format

By now,you would have read about or seen the magnificent innings that Jayawardene played yesterday, against the West Indies. While it has been surprising to most cricket observers that Mahela has taken so well to the opening profile that he was offered even though Jayasuriya is still in the playing XI.However, I would like to add that the promotion of Mahela to the opening slot and his tremendous success in his new role proves one thing that might have escaped the attention of the T20 fans: it is not the mad-hopping T20 batsmen that are making the most of this shortened format of the game but the veterans or those who have flourished as test and ODI batsmen who are bringing-in the most, match-winning innings.

Even if you look at the IPL since its very inception, it was the likes of Hayden, Gilchrist, Gayle and Sehewag, all big test match players, who made the most impact. Even in the last edition of the IPL, i.e. the 2010 IPL season, it was Sachin Tendulkar, regarded more orthodox than some of the supposed T20 specialists like Pollard and Shane Watson who was the most consistent and the biggest run-getter of the tournament. Geoffrey Boycott has often commented that it is not the format of the game that creates champion batsmen but it is the champion players who adapt and come to terms with the newest of formats and still reign. Jayawardene's tremendous success and his unbelievable range of shots on display in the current edition of the T20 World Cup merely supports this theory. All the youngsters who were thinking that they are going to make a living out simply clobbering the ball in T20s and sustain themselves in the squad by scoring an odd 20-25 runs are on a short lease...perform soon or perish forever.

T20 World Cup 2010: slower pitches, bigger boundaries & the calypso factor

I have not watched many matches of the just-started WC 2010 in the West Indies but I can easily tell that at least during the group stage of the tournament, the pitches are going to be rather slow and the batsmen might have to work a bit harder than they are used to. In fact, this is a bit of a pleasant change considering that T20 games are largely decided by batsmen who are given the luxury of scoring off every ball, courtesy, the shorter boundaries and dead pitches. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that the boundaries too seem stretched out in the West Indies which means that batsmen would have to run harder and there would be less boundaries scored in the match. Whether this was done by default or through meticulous planning to make the game more even is unknown but it must offer some relief to the harassed T20 bowlers.

And I must add that the old Calypso thing of dancing in the stands and using all sorts of strange musical contraptions is back. I was wondering after the last, 50-over World Cup if all the cheering had also gone away to the basketball games just like they say that all the young, promising West Indian fast bowlers end-up re-directing themselves towards the NBA league. Further, there is a strong wind that has been prevailing since the outset of the tournament. While this does make the life difficult for the bowlers and the fielders to a certain extent, it also ensures that the spinners can strive for getting some deviation upon flighting the ball. This is something that could work wonders for teams like India and Sri Lanka that are packed with specialist and plenty of part-time spinners.