We were out most of yesterday and returned at around 8 PM. I happened to switch to ESPN to see what was happening. I saw South Africa at a handsome run rate (9+ runs/over) but the asking rate (8+ runs/over) seemed to be high too. I added up the score and the required runs and I was flabbergasted at the target. 435 runs?? How badly did the Springboks bowl?!!
Then I began to notice fours and sixes quite regularly. The man responsible was Herschelle Gibbs. He was over a hundred runs old then and was going quite strong. I was rooting for South Africa as Australia have been winning almost every game and I am really tired of seeing the same yellow shirts win each time. When Gibbs and Kallis got out, I thought - 434 is obviously a very difficult score to get but one had to give it to the South Africans for soldiering on fearlessly.
Then the gap began to narrow till Brett Lee's last over when only 7 runs were needed. When Boucher hit the final boundary, I leapt in joy and everybody at home shared my feeling. What a win for South Africa!
Australia's invincibility should end and it probably has. We need games to be more unpredictable for the good of cricket. Now, India, under Dravid, has vastly improved its game and so have England, Pakistan and South Africa. The cricket world as we see has become flatter now - no higher teams and no lower teams - but a bunch of teams with around the same level of ability. That should make the 2007 world cup very interesting!
Once again, congratulations South Africa!
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Monday, March 13, 2006
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Play called off on day one in the Chennai test and other thoughts
I knew something like this would happen. Isn't it quite well known that Chennai experiences this kind of weather at this time of the year? If it is already known so well, why would anybody in his right mind schedule a match there?
India and SA could not play the one dayer because of rain and now the first day's play of the test has been called off. Please, please - don't schedule a match in Chennai in the months of November and December.
This brings me to another point. Is weather such an important part of cricket. Cricket - as the cliche goes - is a game of glorious uncertainties. We've all known the Fremantle doctor wreak havoc on unfortunate batsmen in Perth. The dew in the day night games in India is all too well known. If, however, the match has to be an equal contest without being some kind of a lottery, the same conditions have to be given to both teams.
Just think about what happens normally. A team fielding first will have it easy when the wicket is still green and the ball is easy to catch. But the team that fields next will have it bad, especially in a day-night game - when it has to cope with the dew and the ball getting slippery and all. Sometimes, I think this is unfair. Winning the toss and deciding to bat or field is OK - some one has to do it first. But you just can't have the team that wins the toss win the game - assuming that they've read the wicket properly.
Isn't basketball better? No weather gods intervening. Of course there is psychological pressure - but that's it! The fight is between the teams and their abilities only.
Many puritans of the game love this uncertainty which comes in because of the weather, the wicket and idiosyncratic umpires, in addition to the pressure that is experienced by the players. But in these days of instant food and one dayers in colored clothing, do we need such things that bring us more uncertainty?
I, personally, am on the fence on this. As long as it is enjoyable, anything is fine. But sometimes, scheduling the matches at a place and time perfect for rain is unforgivable. Talk to South Africa who had a great chance in the 1992 world cup and lost it in the Semi finals because of the rain and two guys known as Duckworth and Lewis.
The Telstra dome in Australia seemed to be a good idea. Cricket administrators and insurance companies all over the world would salivate over that kind of a cricket venue. You don't have rain interfering and won't have dew. Teams fight it out with all other things being equal. It should be an ideal kind of place to play cricket. But, then, I there is something that is seen lacking in such synthetic environments.
An article written on cricinfo a while ago was on similar lines. Both the players and spectators won't get to see the sky. There wouldn't be any birds (especially the seagulls we see in Australia), and of course, there wouldn't be people sun bathing.
As I said earlier, anything in the game is fine as long as it is enjoyable ! But what is enjoyable? That is a tricky question and I don't have the time to answer it!
India and SA could not play the one dayer because of rain and now the first day's play of the test has been called off. Please, please - don't schedule a match in Chennai in the months of November and December.
This brings me to another point. Is weather such an important part of cricket. Cricket - as the cliche goes - is a game of glorious uncertainties. We've all known the Fremantle doctor wreak havoc on unfortunate batsmen in Perth. The dew in the day night games in India is all too well known. If, however, the match has to be an equal contest without being some kind of a lottery, the same conditions have to be given to both teams.
Just think about what happens normally. A team fielding first will have it easy when the wicket is still green and the ball is easy to catch. But the team that fields next will have it bad, especially in a day-night game - when it has to cope with the dew and the ball getting slippery and all. Sometimes, I think this is unfair. Winning the toss and deciding to bat or field is OK - some one has to do it first. But you just can't have the team that wins the toss win the game - assuming that they've read the wicket properly.
Isn't basketball better? No weather gods intervening. Of course there is psychological pressure - but that's it! The fight is between the teams and their abilities only.
Many puritans of the game love this uncertainty which comes in because of the weather, the wicket and idiosyncratic umpires, in addition to the pressure that is experienced by the players. But in these days of instant food and one dayers in colored clothing, do we need such things that bring us more uncertainty?
I, personally, am on the fence on this. As long as it is enjoyable, anything is fine. But sometimes, scheduling the matches at a place and time perfect for rain is unforgivable. Talk to South Africa who had a great chance in the 1992 world cup and lost it in the Semi finals because of the rain and two guys known as Duckworth and Lewis.
The Telstra dome in Australia seemed to be a good idea. Cricket administrators and insurance companies all over the world would salivate over that kind of a cricket venue. You don't have rain interfering and won't have dew. Teams fight it out with all other things being equal. It should be an ideal kind of place to play cricket. But, then, I there is something that is seen lacking in such synthetic environments.
An article written on cricinfo a while ago was on similar lines. Both the players and spectators won't get to see the sky. There wouldn't be any birds (especially the seagulls we see in Australia), and of course, there wouldn't be people sun bathing.
As I said earlier, anything in the game is fine as long as it is enjoyable ! But what is enjoyable? That is a tricky question and I don't have the time to answer it!
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Cricinfo - Ganguly unfit to be captain - Chappell
I and almost a billion other people agree - Ganguly is not fit to be captain. I will even venture to say that he is not fit to be in the team too!
Chappell is the cricket coach and he should be given the authority to mould the team. If the team fails, then he is responsible. Partially responsible if he is given no power to choose the team. Fully responsible if he can call the shots. For now, I have been led to think that Greg Chappell has not been given free rein in handling the Indian team.
Ganguly, the so-called Prince of Calcutta, has reached the nadir in his career. He can either go back to the Ranji circuit and prove himself all over again or he must just retire. He has a few endorsement contracts anyway, he can live his life out! His English is pretty good too - he can join the ranks of grumpy old cricketers who have now taken to commentating for cricket matches and/or hosting cricket shows. Well, he can now vie for even the position of Coach!!
Basically, Ganguly has lost his touch and luck. How glorious was he on the off side! Dravid's now famous statement about God and Ganguly on the off side vouches for this. But since the loss in the Australian home series, India has become an enervated side. Yes, India won matches against Pakistan. But India lost at home too! Ganguly has been partially responsible for this debacle. He basically is dead weight in the team. He can't bat, can't bowl and can't field at all. If this kind of performance came from say, Mohammed Kaif, he would be ejected from the team immediately. But wait! Kaif is not even in the team in spite of his match saving exploits! And why is that? Because Ganguly is in the team!
I ask again, how often has Ganguly saved a match a la Tendulkar, Dravid or Kaif? Whenever Ganguly has fired, he has fired as an opener when there was no pressure in chasing and the game was still fresh. While chasing, Ganguly becomes a liability!
Yes, Ganguly has had some spectacular successes. But now his failure rate has increased. If Ganguly were a CEO of a company and if he had underperformed - he would have been fired by now or made to choose another role. Don't Indian fans deserve better? We have so many talented players and they can't make it to the playing eleven because one man seems to know the right people and push the right buttons to have his people in the side.
If I were in Ganguly's position, I know I would think - "Well, I have given my all for this side. Now when I am going through a lean patch, these guys are making me quit instead of supporting me. Didn't a badly performing Mark Taylor captain the Australian side for a long time? These guys have no gratitude! Hmmph!"
But unfortunately, Ganguly is the guardian of the aspirations of millions of people. I think they have given him quite a chance by allowing to remain captain for an extra couple of years. Ganguly should have understood and relinquished his position by now (like Tendulkar who wisely chose to remain a good player rather than be a bad captain). Now he faces the unpleasant predicament of getting forced out of the team and is stung. He can't capitulate now. So he is fighting a losing battle! But we never know, Ganguly, being a good "people person", can approach the right people to get Chappell fired!
I think that the solution to this problem is to have a bunch of *paid* administrators lead the BCCI a la Cricket Australia. BCCI should be run like a modern company and not like a medieval fiefdom. Accountability increases and hence everybody feels responsible.
In spite of being a cricket fan, I will have to say that cricket has too big a following in India compared to other sports. Poor hockey players! When Anju Bobby George wins a silver medal in the World Championships, she is overshadowed by Irfan Pathan who takes a bunch of wickets! Or even worse, by somebody like Ganguly who decides to make a private discussion between him and his coach public! This cricket mania in India is the reason why I am even writing this blog up!
I am also appalled by the media behavior here. The media comes across here as spoilsports who have no other job but to get TRP points by publicising into a confidential report sent by a coach to his team administrators. They are the ones who have created the storm in the tea cup! Reporters should exercise discretion before making such things public.
I hope the next few days see more light than heat in this matter.
Chappell is the cricket coach and he should be given the authority to mould the team. If the team fails, then he is responsible. Partially responsible if he is given no power to choose the team. Fully responsible if he can call the shots. For now, I have been led to think that Greg Chappell has not been given free rein in handling the Indian team.
Ganguly, the so-called Prince of Calcutta, has reached the nadir in his career. He can either go back to the Ranji circuit and prove himself all over again or he must just retire. He has a few endorsement contracts anyway, he can live his life out! His English is pretty good too - he can join the ranks of grumpy old cricketers who have now taken to commentating for cricket matches and/or hosting cricket shows. Well, he can now vie for even the position of Coach!!
Basically, Ganguly has lost his touch and luck. How glorious was he on the off side! Dravid's now famous statement about God and Ganguly on the off side vouches for this. But since the loss in the Australian home series, India has become an enervated side. Yes, India won matches against Pakistan. But India lost at home too! Ganguly has been partially responsible for this debacle. He basically is dead weight in the team. He can't bat, can't bowl and can't field at all. If this kind of performance came from say, Mohammed Kaif, he would be ejected from the team immediately. But wait! Kaif is not even in the team in spite of his match saving exploits! And why is that? Because Ganguly is in the team!
I ask again, how often has Ganguly saved a match a la Tendulkar, Dravid or Kaif? Whenever Ganguly has fired, he has fired as an opener when there was no pressure in chasing and the game was still fresh. While chasing, Ganguly becomes a liability!
Yes, Ganguly has had some spectacular successes. But now his failure rate has increased. If Ganguly were a CEO of a company and if he had underperformed - he would have been fired by now or made to choose another role. Don't Indian fans deserve better? We have so many talented players and they can't make it to the playing eleven because one man seems to know the right people and push the right buttons to have his people in the side.
If I were in Ganguly's position, I know I would think - "Well, I have given my all for this side. Now when I am going through a lean patch, these guys are making me quit instead of supporting me. Didn't a badly performing Mark Taylor captain the Australian side for a long time? These guys have no gratitude! Hmmph!"
But unfortunately, Ganguly is the guardian of the aspirations of millions of people. I think they have given him quite a chance by allowing to remain captain for an extra couple of years. Ganguly should have understood and relinquished his position by now (like Tendulkar who wisely chose to remain a good player rather than be a bad captain). Now he faces the unpleasant predicament of getting forced out of the team and is stung. He can't capitulate now. So he is fighting a losing battle! But we never know, Ganguly, being a good "people person", can approach the right people to get Chappell fired!
I think that the solution to this problem is to have a bunch of *paid* administrators lead the BCCI a la Cricket Australia. BCCI should be run like a modern company and not like a medieval fiefdom. Accountability increases and hence everybody feels responsible.
In spite of being a cricket fan, I will have to say that cricket has too big a following in India compared to other sports. Poor hockey players! When Anju Bobby George wins a silver medal in the World Championships, she is overshadowed by Irfan Pathan who takes a bunch of wickets! Or even worse, by somebody like Ganguly who decides to make a private discussion between him and his coach public! This cricket mania in India is the reason why I am even writing this blog up!
I am also appalled by the media behavior here. The media comes across here as spoilsports who have no other job but to get TRP points by publicising into a confidential report sent by a coach to his team administrators. They are the ones who have created the storm in the tea cup! Reporters should exercise discretion before making such things public.
I hope the next few days see more light than heat in this matter.
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