The England bowlers are under extreme media scrutiny these days since they were charged with tampering the ball in the last test match versus South Africa. However, if you closely look at the TV grabs, it really doesn’t look like James Anderson was manipulating the seam in any way. In fact, at one point, it is clearly visible that he is holding the ball, near the seam and not upon it and simply polishing
one side of the ball. Yes, the rubbing part does give the impression of pressing down upon the ball but it isn’t hard enough to actually disfigure a cricket ball. I have played a lot of cricket myself and let me tell you that the most used, worn-out of cricket ball also don’t get maneuvered so easily as suggested by the Protean media speculation. What is most strange is that the TV umpire, despite having a host of technological assistance at his disposal couldn’t make this simple differentiation and vented this unrequired controversy. Just ask any domestic or club level player around you and they will say the same after seeing the Stuart Broad – Anderson TV footage — nothing so drastic ever happened, it is just misplaced, wishful thinking of some over-critical cricketing ‘experts’.
Afridi for full-time captaincy?
I must have heard it wrong or there is something even more wrong with Pakistani cricket than I had imagined until now. If reports are to be believed some folks in the PCB are planning to make Shahid Afridi as Pakistan’s permanent skipper. I don’t have anything personal about the guy — that might be the general impression since I am a hardcore Indian cricket fan, but I don’t think he is even close to having the temperament that international skippers are supposed to have. For starters, I doubt his presence in all formats of the game not because he isn’t a decent player but simply because it just doesn’t look that he is pushing himself to establish himself
as a comprehensive international player. He has never been seen complaining about the lack of test matches he has played or the careless manner in which he has repeatedly got out just when the team looked like winning an ODI game. Add to this, the fact that he has never been consistent at any place in the long list of batting order swaps that have been hurled at him, make him a very susceptible kind of batter… destructive yes, but consistent enough to lead by example — I very seriously doubt… at best he is a T20 captain since owing responsibility is not really emphasized upon in the T20 format.
as a comprehensive international player. He has never been seen complaining about the lack of test matches he has played or the careless manner in which he has repeatedly got out just when the team looked like winning an ODI game. Add to this, the fact that he has never been consistent at any place in the long list of batting order swaps that have been hurled at him, make him a very susceptible kind of batter… destructive yes, but consistent enough to lead by example — I very seriously doubt… at best he is a T20 captain since owing responsibility is not really emphasized upon in the T20 format.
How Many Coaches Are Enough?
This is the question I want to pose to some of international captains who seem to be demanding a certain type of coach, every time their respective team shows signs of lagging behind in a certain aspect of the game. Dhoni was the one who called for a full-time fielding coach along with an assistant because the pathetic fielding standards of the Indian team have now become a commonly acknowledged fact. Is it that the fielding coach is going to sprinkle some magic on 25+yr olds who have been playing this game for more than a decade and make them bend and twist along the lines of cricket’s ex-Mr. Fielding Jonty Rhodes? The Indian fielders cannot perform basic fielding actions with precision like bending down fully and collecting the ball cleanly. Is that really something for which you need a full-time, dedicated coach? Mohammed Yousuf has now demanded a batting coach because his side has stumbled twice against the average spin of Nathan Hauritz & Co. What are we supposed to believe? The Pakistani batsmen who dug out the short pitched bowling that supposed to be their nemesis but got out repeatedly to a lollypop bowler like Hauritz are going to be re-taught how to play down flighted deliveries? Seriously, we need some sense being knocked into captains who just cannot acknowledge the fact that their sides are performing badly in a certain way simply because there is lack of application. How about keeping a coach for being honest and forthright if we are already on a coach-appointing spree??
Can the Indian bowlers deliver even once?
This is what the captain, MS Dhoni must be wondering after yesterday’s loss to Sri Lanka in the second match of the Dhaka Cup. Dhoni has been very vocal about the inability of his bowlers to either contain runs or take wickets. He has often been seen in the press conferences lamenting the fact that there very few occasions wherein the bowlers have won a game on their own. Yes, it is batsmen’s game but then Dhoni cannot be blamed for expecting his bowlers to deliver at least once every ten matches or so. Just take yesterday’s ODI for instance, the total of 280 wasn’t all that bad a score and though dew was an issue, the opening Indian bowlers could have rattled the Lankans by picking up a few early wickets. That is something that hasn’t happened in the last six months for the Indian team and the trend continued yesterday night. As usual, Ashish Nehra leaked runs in his opening spell and Sreesanth reminded us why he cannot be looked upon as a reliant bowler, as he had one of his many average days, yet again. To blame the batsmen for not crossing the 300-run mark is foolish considering that they too should be give some breathing space — if they didn’t hammer the living hell out of the opposition bowlers in one, occasional match, the bowlers should have taken up the responsibility.
Too Many Dew-affected Matches for Cricketing Comfort of Fielding Sides
I don’t to nitpick but the fact is that the number of ODI matches that are turning one-sided affairs with immense disadvantage to side bowling in the evening/night are rising at an alarming rate. It is not something new as such — dew has always been a factor particularly in the sub-continental conditions where the ground conditions do tend to change once the ground develops a hard-to-counter wet blanket. However, what is surprising is that even though so many captains have complained about this issue, the ICC remains unmoved. It seems that the motive behind this calculated ignorance has been fuelled by the BCCIwhom we all know as a money-making, cash-obsessed cricketing body that rules the roost of international cricketing fixtures. As day-night matches do tend to provide more excitement and bring-in more spectators to the ground and the viewership is substantially higher than all-day ODI matches, it isn't hard to understand why the BCCI and then the ICC have turned a blind eye towards this issue. However, it would like to say that rather than eradicating or limiting day-night encounters in this part of the world, what needs to be done is finding more solutions. Yes, the answers are difficult since there is no practical escape from dewdrops that tend to descend and rise in volume with every passing minute. However, there could be a system wherein the bowling side is provided the option of using more ball — I mean more than the normal number of ball changes to ensure that the side isn't left struggling with a wet, slippery ball with which the bowlers are rendered useless. The current tri-series in Dhaka is another example of this wherein the bowlers are struggling horribly to hold the seam once the ball gets run on the wet outfield.
Dhoni as the next ‘Tendulkar’??
I would like to clear-up before anyone reading this heading gets the wrong idea. I am not trying to suggest that in terms of batting greatness and his overall genius, Dhoni can takeover Tendulkar. I am simply suggesting that the time is near when Tendulkar’s presence as a part of the regular Indian team is bound to decline considerably, i.e. in the very near future. In this perspective, being perhaps the most consistent batsman in the team after
Tendulkar and showing ample resolution to take upon the challenge in a crisis, shouldn’t Dhoni be prepared in the role of a batter-cum-captain, by freeing him from his wicket-keeping responsibilities? The reason why I say that is that no matter what experts say about cricketers doing double-edged roles today, wicket-keeping along with captaining the side and being a major wheel for the team’s middle-order performance is bound to take a toll on Dhoni at some point. Should the selectors take stock of how they plan to ensure that Tendulkar’s eventual absence in the team is compensated to some extent by having someone as reliable as Dhoni, up the order, as a specialist bastman? The point is that even if Dhoni is freed from his wicket-keeping responsibilities, the team’s balance wouldn’t suffer to a damaging effect. For starters, having Dhoni at number three would mean that more stability and tenacity would be maintained at the top. Further, some folks might recall that even as an occasional, part-time bowler Dhoni has bowled a few overs in the domestic circuit and in some test matches against Pakistan with his average speed around the 130 km/hr mark. Considering that most mainstream bowlers in the Indian squad bowl not more than 135 km/hr, this talent of Dhoni could be worked upon, essentially as a part-time contributor. With Dhoni and Yuvraj at number three and four in the batting order and their ability to share a bare minimum of eight overs among themselves, the inclusion of a specialist keeper like Dinesh Karthick would ensure that the team doesn’t lose out on either batting or bowling resources… though that is even hard to contemplate when a certain phenomenon called Sachin Tendulkar is missing from the equation.
Tendulkar and showing ample resolution to take upon the challenge in a crisis, shouldn’t Dhoni be prepared in the role of a batter-cum-captain, by freeing him from his wicket-keeping responsibilities? The reason why I say that is that no matter what experts say about cricketers doing double-edged roles today, wicket-keeping along with captaining the side and being a major wheel for the team’s middle-order performance is bound to take a toll on Dhoni at some point. Should the selectors take stock of how they plan to ensure that Tendulkar’s eventual absence in the team is compensated to some extent by having someone as reliable as Dhoni, up the order, as a specialist bastman? The point is that even if Dhoni is freed from his wicket-keeping responsibilities, the team’s balance wouldn’t suffer to a damaging effect. For starters, having Dhoni at number three would mean that more stability and tenacity would be maintained at the top. Further, some folks might recall that even as an occasional, part-time bowler Dhoni has bowled a few overs in the domestic circuit and in some test matches against Pakistan with his average speed around the 130 km/hr mark. Considering that most mainstream bowlers in the Indian squad bowl not more than 135 km/hr, this talent of Dhoni could be worked upon, essentially as a part-time contributor. With Dhoni and Yuvraj at number three and four in the batting order and their ability to share a bare minimum of eight overs among themselves, the inclusion of a specialist keeper like Dinesh Karthick would ensure that the team doesn’t lose out on either batting or bowling resources… though that is even hard to contemplate when a certain phenomenon called Sachin Tendulkar is missing from the equation.
Yes, Freidel de Wet could be Ntini’s Replacement
Shaun Pollock may sound a bit controversial when he says that the time has come for Ntini to hang-up his boots as far as test cricket is concerned but if you watched the first two test matches between South Africa and England, he couldn’t be more correct. Ntini was never a swing bowler and never had any real guile. His real weapon has been seemingly unending reserves of energy based upon which he could hit the deck so much that the ball would bounce awkwardly and make batsmen uncomfortable. Give him some swing or a bit of grass and these virtues become even more threatening.
However, age is beginning to creep upon South Africa’s workhorse and he is no longer the same bowler who could consistently run around the 90 mile/hr benchmark. I still recall how Ntini would literally run back to his bowling run-up even when between long, test bowling spells. Now, this pace is around the 135 km/hr mark and that isn't too great if you are wanting to take wickets simply by depending upon hitting the pitch hard. On the other hand, just like Pollock said, de Wet looks like the next big thing to have arrived on the international cricket scene. He is tall, built like a wrestler, runs up close to the stumps and even on a dead, second test match wicket, he bowled some hostile spells. He was the only South Africa bowler who looked like picking up a fiver or something close and actually troubling the English batsmen. There is just no room for sympathy in international sports and Ntini is faced with something that is applicable to all top-level sportsmen, across the world — you are only as good as your last performance!
However, age is beginning to creep upon South Africa’s workhorse and he is no longer the same bowler who could consistently run around the 90 mile/hr benchmark. I still recall how Ntini would literally run back to his bowling run-up even when between long, test bowling spells. Now, this pace is around the 135 km/hr mark and that isn't too great if you are wanting to take wickets simply by depending upon hitting the pitch hard. On the other hand, just like Pollock said, de Wet looks like the next big thing to have arrived on the international cricket scene. He is tall, built like a wrestler, runs up close to the stumps and even on a dead, second test match wicket, he bowled some hostile spells. He was the only South Africa bowler who looked like picking up a fiver or something close and actually troubling the English batsmen. There is just no room for sympathy in international sports and Ntini is faced with something that is applicable to all top-level sportsmen, across the world — you are only as good as your last performance!
Cricketing Year 2010 — the Likely Formidables!
The New Year is upon us and from a cricketing perspective, it would be fair to say that this could prove to be one of the most closely-contested cricketing seasons. For starters, India and Australia would fight it hard to decide who gets to be the best test team with South Africa and England watching the progress of these two teams closely. South Africa need to regroup to a certain extent and revamp their brand of cricket if they are to become serious contenders for the ODI’s numero uno status and for the top-end of test ranking too. The team seems to be suffered from a lack of creativity on the field and their players, for some inexplicable reason, seem down and aren’t their usual, chirpy self and the bowlers aren’t prepared to get in on with the batsmen. While India’s ascendancy will be closely monitored and followed by millions of fans, it is Pakistan that could turn out to be the real wild card. Agreed that the team has not had the best of time yet, in Australia, but they are getting a semblance of building formidable bowling unit and their batting is slowly picking-up. I would say that England has miles to go, if each mile can be equalled to a decade, before being considered serious ODI material but yes, they do have the resources to be the test championship team. Of course, all these calculations and predictions have no meaning if the recently resurgent Aussies are back to their old ways. Under Ponting, they saw a harrowing period in the first part of 2009 but are now on the way to recovery and the small period of putting in the right pieces to solve their batting order conundrum and filtering bowlers for each format of the game is near completion. If their recent progress is any indication, they may re-assert themselves as the unquestioned world champions in every format of the game.
Swann & Hauritz Prove Contemporary Batsmen Can’t Handle Basic Spin
There are two ongoing test matches and both have them proved that no matter how flat the wickets are, no matter how inventive the batsmen have become and no matter how enterprising shot-making has become, one simple, fact cannot be altered — most contemporary sides cannot handle even average-quality spin bowling if it is dished out on a sustained basis.
Just look at the Pakistani side. They were supposed to struggle against the fast, Aussie bowlers but they have fallen prey to a fiver from Hauritz. No disrespect towards Nathan Hauritz, but by no means is he a match-winning Tweaker. By no means Hauritz can be described as a big spinner of the ball. He is simply a line and length, off-spinner who has the ability to stick to a line and wait for the batsmen to commit a folly and usually that doesn’t work since the pitches are so flat these days that all sorts of strange, counter strokes can be played to negate whatever little spin he is able to generate. The same applied to Kumble for a long time when he could take buckets of wicket at home because the pitches were up and down but was redundant in overseas conditions because simply pitching the ball between the stumps didn’t make an impact. The same applies to South Africa. Graeme Swann does have the talent to make the ball dip in the air but he cannot spin it an impressive extent even if his own life dependent upon it. He simply owes his wickets against South Africa to the Proteas batsmen being apprehensive on the slight indications of some, meagre turn on a wicket that is slowly wearing out.
The final result — two average spin bowlers have delivered what are potentially match-winning spells.
Just look at the Pakistani side. They were supposed to struggle against the fast, Aussie bowlers but they have fallen prey to a fiver from Hauritz. No disrespect towards Nathan Hauritz, but by no means is he a match-winning Tweaker. By no means Hauritz can be described as a big spinner of the ball. He is simply a line and length, off-spinner who has the ability to stick to a line and wait for the batsmen to commit a folly and usually that doesn’t work since the pitches are so flat these days that all sorts of strange, counter strokes can be played to negate whatever little spin he is able to generate. The same applied to Kumble for a long time when he could take buckets of wicket at home because the pitches were up and down but was redundant in overseas conditions because simply pitching the ball between the stumps didn’t make an impact. The same applies to South Africa. Graeme Swann does have the talent to make the ball dip in the air but he cannot spin it an impressive extent even if his own life dependent upon it. He simply owes his wickets against South Africa to the Proteas batsmen being apprehensive on the slight indications of some, meagre turn on a wicket that is slowly wearing out.
The final result — two average spin bowlers have delivered what are potentially match-winning spells.
Both SA and England stuck with lower-order batsmen: Lack of Aggressive Bowling?
I realize that saying so would mean undermining the usual tenacity shown by the Proteas bowlers but the fact remains that England was able to save the first test match purely due to the inability of the South African bowlers to dismiss the late batting order of England. For starters, they allowed Graeme Swann to make a half-century and give England's total
a sense of respectability and on the final, decisive day of the test match, the South Africa bowlers just kept bowling outside the off-stump or so short that the ball never made an impact. I was wondering what happened to Ntini and his ilk who would get under the batsmen chin and in their toes as soon as the number seven onwards batting of the opposition took stance against them. Is it just lack of intensity or are the bowlers bowling too much of the regular line and length type bowling? The same holds true for England in the second test match against South Africa. They could have easily restricted South Africa to about 270 but then Steyn took over and carted the England bowling to all parts. Stuart Broad kept bowling what is generally regarded as the conventional, decent line, without trying to bounce out Dale Steyn. I believe England are missing someone like Harmison and Flintoff whose height and overall bowling style made them a headache for the lower-order batsmen. Onions and Anderson merely kept on pitching around the good-length area without trying out the slower balls or yorkers that are becoming so useful these days, considering the amount of ODI and T20 cricket being played…just strange!!
a sense of respectability and on the final, decisive day of the test match, the South Africa bowlers just kept bowling outside the off-stump or so short that the ball never made an impact. I was wondering what happened to Ntini and his ilk who would get under the batsmen chin and in their toes as soon as the number seven onwards batting of the opposition took stance against them. Is it just lack of intensity or are the bowlers bowling too much of the regular line and length type bowling? The same holds true for England in the second test match against South Africa. They could have easily restricted South Africa to about 270 but then Steyn took over and carted the England bowling to all parts. Stuart Broad kept bowling what is generally regarded as the conventional, decent line, without trying to bounce out Dale Steyn. I believe England are missing someone like Harmison and Flintoff whose height and overall bowling style made them a headache for the lower-order batsmen. Onions and Anderson merely kept on pitching around the good-length area without trying out the slower balls or yorkers that are becoming so useful these days, considering the amount of ODI and T20 cricket being played…just strange!!
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