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!!

India ODI Matches ‘dry runs’ to World Cup 2011: Really Mr. Shastri??

This is referring to a recent published article that listed the views of India’s former captain, Mr. Ravi Shastri, wherein he has mentioned that the 18 or so ODIs that India has before the forthcoming WC 2011 matches are essentially practice matches. In fact, he used the term ‘dry runs’ to describe these matches.What I cannot figure out is how have 18 international matches been reduced to the pedestal of just being trial matches or what they now popular call ‘testing the bench strength’. Isn't every international match being played with the India cap and isn't it supposed to put the best available national talent on the field?

I can understand that some international-scale matches between European nations are often played as ‘friendlies’. However, the use of this term to label the matches ensures that the spectators understand the reality that the level of intensity and commitment they expect in an international encounter might be missing to some extent. At least, this labeling ensures that the spectators and national followers of the game aren’t misled in any way. Similarly, a tobacco product has to carry an official warning about the injurious nature of the product. Whether this makes a difference to the judgment of a consumer or not is beyond the purview of this official warning.

Has the BCCI or any national representative of the game even bothered to inform that the forthcoming ‘non-friendlies’ featuring India are prone to be used as some sort of a testing ground for newer talents?

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.