ODI’s ‘25x4’ Format has A Distinct T20 Flavoring To It!

It would be an understatement to say that the contemporary format of ODIs is fighting hard for its existence. The constant criticism that it faces, seems to be echoing louder with every passing day. Among all the suggested alternatives to make the format more appealing, only one proposition has found favors among the ICC’s conservative hierarchy and many ex-cricketers. It was the maestro, Sachin Tendulkar, who suggested that the ODI game should be reinvented by introducing four innings instead of the current trend of every side having once chance to bat. According to him, each innings should be of 25 overs only.

This essentially means that each side would be batting and balling in two, separate installments. The proposal has already caught the attention of many ICC bosses and some of them are willing to give it a go-ahead by introducing it in the English county circuit. Some purists say that this format would be a bit too confusing, since most viewers would find it difficult to keep a tally of the scores over four innings in a single day. However, I really don’t think this argument makes much sense. In our times, having access to information on a 24x7 basis is no longer a challenge and hence, any concerns about viewers getting confused are unfounded. In fact, trying to read into the scoreline after each innings might just be an added incentive for people to check upon the match’s progress.

So is there anything wrong with the suggestion?

My personal opinion is that it tampers with the current format too extensively. We have already seen what the T20 game is doing to the game. Teams are constantly on the lookout for players who can score a quickfire, 20-30 runs, seldom batting with any elegance. Considering this, ODIs still breed batsmen that have some basic batting technique and the bowlers’ mettle isn't tested on the grounds of being able to contain runs only. If the 100 overs are split into four installments of 25 overs each, aren't the players being indirectly told to treat a one-dayer like a couple of back-to-back T20 games? I have no doubt that an excess of five overs in this suggested alternative won't be able to stop the madness of T20 seeping into the ODIs and changing its very essence.

Yes, there are advantages such as reducing the impact of weather conditions that often render teams at the mercy of the toss. The recently concluded tri-series in Sri Lanka is ample proof that the ground conditions could pre-decide the fate of the match — every team that batted second in this tournament, lost. Therefore, splitting the 100 overs between the two teams in an alternating format would distribute the weather-related implications. However, it is still bound to change the ODIs beyond recognition. The ongoing one–day series is proof enough that every current form of the game is absolutely different from one another — Aussies who lost the Ashes rather comprehensively have whitewashed the English team, leading the seven-match series, 5 to nil and these variations is worth preserving. Introduction of changes based upon Tendulkar’s perspective would mean making the ODI game considerably similar to the T20 format and hence, slowly eradicating the fundamental nature of one-dayers.

I am not against introducing changes but they should complement the fundamentals of ODIs rather than trying to eliminate them. Perhaps the ICC should try to correct its own mistakes that initiated the downfall of the ODI game, i.e. making the game bend too much in the favor of batsmen by allowing games on dead, lifeless pitches that don’t offer anything to the bowlers. Had this issue been dealt with in time, the aura of ODIs with the game constantly seesawing between the bowlers & batsmen would have sustained viewer interest and the present fiasco would have never emerged. I guess self-introspection is a lot tougher and the ICC is no different. The easy solution obviously lies in hosting numerous ‘meetings’ in plush resorts and five star offices to suggest wholesome, unwanted changes and you don’t have to be an ODI enthusiast or discriminator to understand this.

Did you notice any similarities in Tendulkar’s Recent Record-Breaking Moments?

This might have come to your attention if you are a keen cricket follower. Recently, Tendulkar has created two records that would be hard-to-beat any time in the near future. These include his 200+ score in one day internationals and his compilation of 50 test centuries. However, there is an amazing set of similarities when he achieved these two feats: Firstly, his batting partner on each occasion was MS Dhoni—the Indian skipper. 
Secondly, both times, the bowling opposition was that of South Africa. What is amazing is that none of the News channels seem to have covered this aspect when the record was first reported. It was only the next day that some media coverage highlighted this aspect and then, the rest followed. Further, the Protea bowlers never managed to or every tried to bounce Tendulkar. This seemed true for the ODI inning that was played on a very placid pitch but in SA itself, the non-use of neck-high bouncers against the Little Master does seem a bit strange.

Ashes First Test: Australian Bowling Exposed Beyond Redemption!

We all knew that Australia would struggle to a large extent to dismiss the England batsmen on a consistent basis. The Aussies don’t have a single spinner who is capable of turning the ball to an alarming or even an average degree. Further, their pace bowlers are too predictable, making it rather difficult to dismiss a side that has someone like Stuart Broad batting at number eight. However, no one was prepared for the mauling that the Aussie bowlers are getting as I write this blog.

They have been literally massacred, reduced to looking like a bunch of school boy bowlers who have no idea what hit them...and it did hit them...I mean, each of the English batsmen has got a century or even more, making it clear to everyone that the Australian bowlers simply don’t have the firepower to dismiss a side like England twice in a test match. How the Australians plan to win the Ashes 2010 is still a mystery to me and you have a Ponting screaming out his lungs that they are going to whitewash the England side 5-0!!!

How come Kiwi players are always hurting?

It seems to be a pattern that no cricket follower in New Zealand would like to acknowledge. Despite not playing too much cricket and being gifted with naturally impressive physiques, it seem that the kiwi bunch of cricketers are most prone to injuries. Take the case of Chris Cairns who at one point was regarded as the leading all-rounder in the game but succumbed to multiple injuries. The same thing happened to Dion Nash who probably wasn’t as good as Cairns but was a very useful swing bowler. The same thing happened to Geoff Allot,
the unsung kiwi hero from the 99 world cup and the latest crop of bowlers from the nation located at the deepest end of the southern hemisphere, including Kyle Mills and Daryl Tuffey. Now, it seems that the virus of getting injured without actually doing too much is spread among the New Zealand batsmen. Just take a look at the current state of the test match between NZ and India being played at Nagpur. Jesse Ryder is hobbling all over the 22 yards and Brendon McCullum can hardly bend! What is with all these players—is there some injury-engaging element in their DNAs?

Against the Spin » Twenty20: Cricket’s great equalizer

Against the Spin » Twenty20: Cricket’s great equalizer

I seriously disagree with this view. T20 does not create a level playing field. It only lowers the benchmarks needed to win the game to such an extent that the chances of mediocre teams rising to the fore and winning games increases exponentially. Just because some major teams have struggled T20 does not mean that T20 is a leveler....test cricket is a leveler because it does not allow any scope to hide your weaknesses and only the better team can win.

Laxman Again Proves: Age Argument Doesn’t Exist In Test Cricket

VVS Laxman is truly team India’s saviour when it comes to bailing out the team from seemingly hopeless situations. However, not many people realize that he is also pushing 36 in terms of his ‘calendar’ age and yet, his batting aggregate in the last 15 or so test matches is close to 66!! In fact, it seems like Laxman has discovered the most consistent patch of his career. Further, he seems to have aborted all questions about age being a factor, i.e. at least in test cricket. Steve Waugh, Shane Warne and Glen McGrath were the others who proved that age has nothing to do with test cricket and even Tendulkar seems to be championing the same cause.

Is Resting So Many Players Needed?

Australia has been doing it for some time now and India seems to have suddenly woken up to the fact that its top players need to be rested ocassionally to ensure their well-being for the forthcoming World Cup 2012 and probably, to extend their careers. However, I do not understand the wisdom of resting so many players together. For instance, the Indian team is remarkably short on bowling potential and the Aussies are fielding some sort of an A team! And this is despite the fact that the Aussies are yet to win anything on their Indian trip.

Yes, preparing for the Ashes does seem paramount but doesn't winning matches leading up to a major series the best form of preparation? Australia used to do this in the past too but at that time, they had the kind of bench that could carry-on in the short-term absence of some seniors. I still cannot find anyone in their squad who is even as good as a Ponting or a Mike Hussey so suggesting that they are finding replacements is a bit of fanciful thinking. In this scenario, what is the kind of seriouness attached to the last ODI between Indian and Australia that is to be played in Goa??

Champions League 2010: Any Real Takers??

So the Chennai Super Kings have won the second edition of the Champions League but I still cannot get my head around the reason for hosting such tournaments. Just looking around, it seems that no one was really interested in whatever happened in South Africa, not at least in my part of the world. The matches had no build-up in terms of team rivalries or anything significant, there were no special players who have emerged from the tournament and apart from Dhoni who seemed pretty happy to add another trophy in 2010, no one really seemed really interested or desperate enough to put-in blood and sweat to win the matches. The regional players of  T20 teams from around the world were overshadowed by the three Indian teams
that participated. That is another question I had in mind: how come three IPL teams get to qualify as against just one each from the rest of cricket-playing nations? Does this mean that IPL teams are superior to the runners-up in the English county league or for that matter, other T20 teams that finished second and third in their respective national leagues?? Just doesn't make any sense to me...well anyways, as Ravi Shastri said recently, in his typically mundane style of commentating that the "sponsors" are beginning to understand the worth of such tournaments....well, that is all that seems to matter in the world of cricket these days. You should confirm that with an individual called Salman Butt!!

Pakistan Fixing Scandal: Hardly Surprising

 While this may sound unkind and outrightly rude to some folks, the fact is that most people who have been keenly following the game in and around the sub-continent have always believed or at least suspected that running of the game in Pakistan has always been clouded by match-fixers and the betting mafia that is very strong in these parts. It should be noted that the recent string of skeletons that seem to be tumbling out of the Pakistani dressing room are largely because of the kind of investigative media we have these days and not because the match-fixing has suddenly arisen. A few years ago, in Sharjah and in India, when such matters were reported, the technology available to the reporters and the sting journalists
was hardly penetrative as it is now. It was just a matter of time before those involved in making money by fooling the game's followers slipped in their methods and the ever-vigilant media dogs caught them red-handed...don't read too much into what is going to happen to the Pakistani players accused in this scandal...they will be banned for different durations only to be brought together as the World Cup 2011 draws near...again, not because the world cup is a very important tournament but also because it is going to be a big money-spinner for these spinsters.

India: World Champs, really?!!

I find it very hard to believe that India are currently listed as the number one test team considering that their batsmen cannot play even average bowlers on pitches that put forth the most minimal of swing or pace. It was utterly disgusting to see the top-order of the famed Indian batting line-up to reach scores of about 100 runs against a rather mediocre Sri Lankan attack. Further, the skipper Dhoni seems to have entered some sort of a moronic phase of thinking wherein rather than talking about his team's deficiencies, he is more concerned about highlighting the state of the practice pitches or talking about the missed-century opportunity that happened to Sehewag. What happened to the real Dhoni, who came across as a very forthcoming and honest skipper who never backed down from accepting his team's debacles. Does this

have something to do with post-marital changes in a man's psyche?? I hope not....considering the number of players in the usual squad of XV who must be contemplating marriage!!