Siddle’s Energy Bursts Worth Watching
I remember some commentator saying that Peter Siddle was built like a small horse but his bowling performances are far better than to be horsing about the issue. He has incredible bouts of energy and seeing him bowl, almost makes you wish you were so athletic, packed with so much stamina and could do what he does best — constantly bowl at 142 + km/hr without showing any signs of drop in intensity or energy. Siddle reminds a bit of the young Ntini from SA who had started out in a very similar style but then eventually the workload of the balling probably slowed him down. Hillfenhaus, the other recently introduced Aussie bowler too is impressive but he is more of the McGrath type with a measured length and line being his main thing. Siddle is a bit like Brett Lee and Waqar Younis rolled into though his wickets tally usually don’t match the wicket-taking fame of these two ultra-quick bowlers.
Watson and Marsh—Next ‘Big’ Aussie Opening Pair?
They aren’t Hayden & Gilchrist by a long shot, but still, the Aussie opening pair of Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh could the opening solution that Australia had been searching for some time. While Watson has impressed everyone with his graduation into a mainstream batsman, Marsh was always considered the next big thing to arrive from the competitive Aussie domestic circuit. I first saw him in the first season of IPL and he still looks as impressive he did when I first saw him straight-lift bowlers over their heads, making the ball often step over the boundary ropes. Both the batsmen don’t have any particular vulnerability to spin or pace and with Watson having proven himself in the test match arena recently, this could well be the opening pair that will be uniformly used in T20s, tests and ODIs. The only unsightly thing—that absolutely ridiculous dance cum hopping routine that Watson bursts into while bowling.
IPL3 undervalued? Shockingly yes, according to Mr. Modi
It is very difficult to decipher whether Lalit Modi means business or he is just obsessing with his baby—the IPL. According to him and some financial analysts, the TV rights for IPL3 have actually been under-valued and marketed at nearly 90% less than its actual worth. This announcement came on top of the fact that in the next few seasons, one IPL team would be worth around $300 million and that is just a conservative estimation, if Mr. Modi is to be believed! What I still cannot fathom is how the IPL is making so much cash considering that I have rarely seen someone truly emphatic about the fate of IPL matches and just cannot recall even person who is a real follower of this league. Do these figures represent any kind of facts whatsoever or is this another one of Modi’s brainwaves to engage some more media attention towards the IPL, may be even at the cause of raising curiosity among folks for no apparent cause?
Afridi—no longer the Pakistani roaring tiger?
He has a tiger imprint on his bat and the bat reads “sher” too which essentially means a lion and that is the type of cricketer Shahid Afridi is believed to be—till the time he started complaining about the unfair treatment against him and his teammates in being ridiculed against in the IPL auctions. It was almost unbelievable to hear the usually ferocious ‘pathan’ complaining like a meek cat on an Indian FM channel. He even had the nerves to say that he believes his team has more fans in India than in Pakistan and thus, their participation in the IPL is vital!! I always counted Afridi along the likes of Saeed Anwar and Wasim Akram—players whose performance and on-field antics reached a new height every time they played against India. I always believed that Afridi must be on the Indian team’s most vicious, almost hated opponent, considering the amount of verbal abuse he displays against the Indians. It now seems that the lure of easy IPL cash has mellowed down the Pathani tiger—they do say money can make you do strange things, don’t they?
India versus SA 2010: is it really a ‘world championship’ series?
For those who are tuned into Neo Sports, the cricketing channel controlled by the BCCI, would know that for the last few days, the channel has been advertising the upcoming test series between South African and India 2010. as the world’s test championship series. What they are essentially referring to is the fact that while India currently occupies the number test ranking, SA are at number two and the competition among these two teams to be called the top-ranked
test team is going to be intense. However, if you try to be very precise about things, it really isn’t a test championship in any way, is it? For starters, even after repeated demands from many present and ex cricketers, there is no league format for a dedicated championship tournament to decide the world’s top, test match team. Secondly, unless Australia is a part of the mix, no test championship tournament can be complete, simply because they are the biggest threat at the moment, consistently winning at home and away, with a renewed vigor. It would have been much better hand India, SA and Australia would have been made to play some sort of a triangular test championship and the eventual prize — the baton and the rightful, unargued status as the world’s best test team of 2010!!
test team is going to be intense. However, if you try to be very precise about things, it really isn’t a test championship in any way, is it? For starters, even after repeated demands from many present and ex cricketers, there is no league format for a dedicated championship tournament to decide the world’s top, test match team. Secondly, unless Australia is a part of the mix, no test championship tournament can be complete, simply because they are the biggest threat at the moment, consistently winning at home and away, with a renewed vigor. It would have been much better hand India, SA and Australia would have been made to play some sort of a triangular test championship and the eventual prize — the baton and the rightful, unargued status as the world’s best test team of 2010!!
Stop whining about India’s batting versus Bangladesh, it makes the game interesting
A lot of people in India, particularly the over-critical media, has been voicing their disappointment about how the Indian batsmen faltered against a mediocre team like Bangladesh. However, I believe that things need to be looked at from a much larger perspective.
For starters, the Idea test series has very little to offer in terms of exciting encounters since the Bangladeshi cricket team hardly has any renowned players. With the Indian batsmen getting out to a score of less than 250 runs, the game has been set-up in a manner that at least makes it a bit engaging, at least in terms of TV viewership. And further, all these emotional outbursts about India faring so averagely after graduating to the number one test team spot is getting a bit too repetitive — India haven’t even spent two straight months at this ranking. It is just an occasional thing and one day of average batting performance is not going to sink the ship… seriously, some folks need to take things a bit less seriously!
For starters, the Idea test series has very little to offer in terms of exciting encounters since the Bangladeshi cricket team hardly has any renowned players. With the Indian batsmen getting out to a score of less than 250 runs, the game has been set-up in a manner that at least makes it a bit engaging, at least in terms of TV viewership. And further, all these emotional outbursts about India faring so averagely after graduating to the number one test team spot is getting a bit too repetitive — India haven’t even spent two straight months at this ranking. It is just an occasional thing and one day of average batting performance is not going to sink the ship… seriously, some folks need to take things a bit less seriously!
How ‘global’ really is IPL3?
The third edition of the IPL is upon us and if you look at the configuration of the tournament in terms of international players participating, an immediate question comes to the mind—how ‘international’ is the International Premier League? I am not talking about the widespread disregard for T20 and the utter dismay of some former players, frowning upon how IPL is spoiling international cricketers by paying them excessively. I am concerned about its status as a globally competitive event. For starters, most of the current Australian cricketers have opted out,
stating that they would rather take rest and prolong their careers for their national teams rather than wallow in the riches of IPLIII. Secondly, you really cannot expect lots of Pakistani players to be playing, considering the current unrest in the relations of India-Pakistan. Further, England players too have refrained from participating in the aftermath of the two of their biggest stars, Flintoff and Pieterson failing miserably in the first edition—you may already know that Flintoff is away with a serious injury and Kevin Pieterson is badly out of form. Considering that nearly every current Indian player is playing and the number of international players that can be fielded isn’t a major proportion by any means, is this actually a global-scale cricketing event? I would rather look upon it as a India’s premier T20 championship that allows some international cricket players to participate. But I guess, when so much money is involved, the reality really doesn’t matter, does it Mr. Modi?
stating that they would rather take rest and prolong their careers for their national teams rather than wallow in the riches of IPLIII. Secondly, you really cannot expect lots of Pakistani players to be playing, considering the current unrest in the relations of India-Pakistan. Further, England players too have refrained from participating in the aftermath of the two of their biggest stars, Flintoff and Pieterson failing miserably in the first edition—you may already know that Flintoff is away with a serious injury and Kevin Pieterson is badly out of form. Considering that nearly every current Indian player is playing and the number of international players that can be fielded isn’t a major proportion by any means, is this actually a global-scale cricketing event? I would rather look upon it as a India’s premier T20 championship that allows some international cricket players to participate. But I guess, when so much money is involved, the reality really doesn’t matter, does it Mr. Modi?
Strauss wouldn’t have had a worst day!
England had just managed to escape a very evident defeat in the third test match versus South Africa and the Barmy Army would have been hoping for a better show on the first day of the final test match. However, it was their captain, Andrew Strauss who had a particularly bad day, and did nearly every thing wrong to squander away
England's chances. For starters, he chose to bat on what is essentially a typically English, green, swinging pitch. Secondly, he got himself out on the first ball of the match. Yes, Amla did take a great catch but getting out for a duck in the decider can never augur well for a team that isn’t high on experience or confidence. What confuses me is the fact that Sidebottom was chosen over Graham Onions although the latter has had a very successful series. This means that the team is depending a lot on Sidebottom’s ability to swing the ball and yet, when the chance to bowl first was served on a platter, Strauss just turned it down and the entire England team has been shot-out for less than a 200!
England's chances. For starters, he chose to bat on what is essentially a typically English, green, swinging pitch. Secondly, he got himself out on the first ball of the match. Yes, Amla did take a great catch but getting out for a duck in the decider can never augur well for a team that isn’t high on experience or confidence. What confuses me is the fact that Sidebottom was chosen over Graham Onions although the latter has had a very successful series. This means that the team is depending a lot on Sidebottom’s ability to swing the ball and yet, when the chance to bowl first was served on a platter, Strauss just turned it down and the entire England team has been shot-out for less than a 200!
This was always coming...India's final loss
Some folks might call it India’s inability to deliver in crunch situations or the collective failure of their batsmen just when it mattered most but I would call it a matter of simple probability… you just cannot keep expecting your batsmen to win every game. The batsmen had been delivering in nearly every match for the past two months
and one bad game was due at some point in time and unfortunately for the Indians it happened in the final of the Bangladesh triseries. Still you would have to say that the batsmen delivered to some extent but as usual, the bowling was below par and it never looked like India would put-up a fierce competition in terms of defending what looked like a low but midway-kind of score.
and one bad game was due at some point in time and unfortunately for the Indians it happened in the final of the Bangladesh triseries. Still you would have to say that the batsmen delivered to some extent but as usual, the bowling was below par and it never looked like India would put-up a fierce competition in terms of defending what looked like a low but midway-kind of score.
South Africa’s Bowling Resources Beginning to take an Impressive Shape
Parnell came and went without doing much, but in the short while that he played for the South African team, the young left-armer showed a lot of promise and in a cricketing nation that hasn’t traditionally produced left-arm seam bowlers, Parnell was rated highly and counted upon to be a big, name in the near future. Now, he is on the verge of making a comeback and if early comments are to be believed, his pace and his penetrative ability have
only improved. He would add more fuel to a bowling attack that is slowly but steadily getting back to its old glory days. With Ntini aging and Pollock no longer able to horse-carry the bowling attack, things were getting a bit difficult for Graeme Smith. However, with Mornie Morkel and Dale Steyn rising to the challenge and the young De Wet being added to the mix, things are improving very quickly. Further, all these bowlers are very young, quick, well-built and seem to have it in them to present a dependable pool at Graeme Smith’s disposal. I dare say that the Aussies might be beaming a lot about their own bench of bowlers but the SA bowlers look at par and they are a lot younger and devoid of those painfully repetitive Aussie on-field antics.
only improved. He would add more fuel to a bowling attack that is slowly but steadily getting back to its old glory days. With Ntini aging and Pollock no longer able to horse-carry the bowling attack, things were getting a bit difficult for Graeme Smith. However, with Mornie Morkel and Dale Steyn rising to the challenge and the young De Wet being added to the mix, things are improving very quickly. Further, all these bowlers are very young, quick, well-built and seem to have it in them to present a dependable pool at Graeme Smith’s disposal. I dare say that the Aussies might be beaming a lot about their own bench of bowlers but the SA bowlers look at par and they are a lot younger and devoid of those painfully repetitive Aussie on-field antics.
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