So, what are the rules of cricket?

Those final moments left me more confused about the rules of cricket than ever before. In particular, the World Cup rain/bad light rules. Surely, the ICC can do much better, at the very least for the showpiece event of the game they administer.

What is a reserve day? When is it used? More importantly, when can it not be used?

Why was the match reduced to 38 overs in the first case? Wouldn't it be a smarter idea to complete the match over 2 days, allowing maximum opportunity for the maximum overs to be played? If, the ICC is okay with that long a World Cup, they can't mind an extra day for the final.

Could the umpires, technically have asked the teams to come back the next day to complete the remnant of the final? Didn't we have a complete match already, as Sri Lanka had already faced the minimum 20 overs?

If it's technically possible for the match to be completed the next day, why was Jayasuriya so worried about the rain clouds hanging over his head? Why didn't Mahela Jayawardene accept the lights that were offered earlier?

If the match could have been completed when it finally was, then why the hurry or need to reduce those 2 overs off the Lanka innings for that very short rain-break?

Wouldn't it have been more sensible to start off with a 35 over match instead of a 38 overs one, allowing for anticipated small-breaks in the middle - those irritating breaks which matter more than the one at the beginning?

A dark, bizzare end to a sad World Cup

The Australians are celebrating their third successive World Cup win, and funnily enough the final match of the 9th Cricket World Cup is still not over. Even as I begin writing this piece, the players are trotting back to the pitch to complete the final rites of this most amazing finale of the final.

What happened was this: It was absolutely dark at the Kensington Oval, Barbados and Sri Lanka needed an impossible 60+ runs to win the match in the remaining 3 overs. So, when the umpires Aleem Dar and Steve Bucknor offered the lights to the batsmen, they took it. Everyone thought the match was over - Ponting and his men began their celebrations, the groundsmen got busy removing the 30 yard markers, the presentation podium was being dragged in - but wait, said Aleem Dar. The match ain't over. 3 overs still left, and with a reserve day left, technically the teams were supposed to come back the next day to finish off the match !!

So, the final 3 overs were played in pitch-darkness, and the saddest Cricket World Cup came to a farcical end. Thankfully, the team which won it wasn't a farce. The Australian team was like a juggernaut, crushing everything that came their way, and they deserved the Cup, like no else has done before, the super West Indies of the 70s included. Congratulations, Rickey Ponting. Adieu, Glenn Mc Grath and Russel Arnold.

Astro-il-logical Cricket

So astrology is quite scientific, eh? This post is dedicated to all the astrology buffs, the one who believe that the stars decide your fate and everyone else's, and that Bejan Daruwalla and all others of his ilk can foretell almost everything. I picked up this data right from the website of one of India's leading astrologers, Bejan Daruwala's Ganesha speaks.

League Matches:

Match 1: Pakistan vs West Indies - Daruwalla predicted Pakistan would win. Wrong.

Match 2: Zimbabwe vs Ireland - Zimbabwe was tipped to win. Match Tied. Wrong, again.

Match 3: England vs Newzealand - England was predicted to win. Wrong.

Match 4: India vs Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka predicted to win. Correct.

The problem I have is not that he got so many wrong, but the way he went about carrying out his business of forecasting. In every single match that involved one of the minnows, the stronger team was tipped to win. So Mr. Bejan Daruwalla got it wrong every single time there was an upset. India and South Africa were supposed to beat Bangladesh, Pakistan was supposed to beat Ireland. So was Mr. Daruwala going by the stars or by the stats? How is it that when an expert like Daruwala studied the stars, they were always favouring the stronger team? How was it that the he got it wrong each single time there was an upset?

Not too dissimilar has been the case with the tarot card readers on Set Max. They have got it more wrong than right. If it's supposed to provide entertainment, that's alright - but too many people in this country get misled by these idiots, who work on a simple law of averages. If you make predictions for 5 people, chances are you will get a couple of them right - and they become your ardent devotees. Since every idiot goes to 5 such expert idiots each one of whom sings a different fore-tale and everyone can't go wrong, because there are only five possibiliites, another devotee is born, who besides devoting himself to his master, does some wonderful word-of-mouth publicity for his guru. The Guru who has the best mix of glib and percentage success becomes a Maha-Guru !!

****

Consider this gem:

Considering the planetary positions on the match day and their effects on match playing countries and their players Ganesha feels that in this round 8 teams that qualify for the next round would be Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Newzealand, West Indies and England.

I don't know much of astrology but do know a bit of astronomy and geography. Tell me, what kind of an alignment of the stars would suit India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka but not Bangladesh. Suits England, but neither Scotland nor Ireland. And suits the whole gamut of islands that form the Caribbean :) :) :) Next time round, Mr. Daruwalla, do pick up your basic geography text book or the atlas as well before you go about predicting everything that's going to happen, everywhere.

Should Sri Lanka bat first, or second?

So i thought Sri Lanka would do it. Then i pined my hopes on Fleming. Then, on Graeme Smith, again. And now, its Sri Lanka once more. Surely, i'm going to get it right, this time round.

In about 48 hours from now, we will have a new World Cup Cricket Champion. Or will we? It's been 18 years now, and it's getting more and more boring to watch the Australians bull-dozer their way over everyone else. It's frustrating to see that one of the top stories on Cricinfo after the semi-final between Australia and South Africa is on "South Africa's lowest ever ODI scores". Can't get worse, can it? Warnie was probably right when he said that the South Africans are too boring to win the World Cup. Which leaves us with Sri Lanka.

In about 48 hours from now, the Jayawardene-Moody strategy of un-exposing Vaas & Muralidharan may be beginning to be hailed as as a master-stroke. Ponting may lose his control over his tongue yet again and tell the world that it was the illegal Malinga who stopped him from emulating Lloyd. BCCI may rue the fact that they chose Greg Chappell and passed the ace to Sri Lanka. Marvan Attapattu's ODI career may come to a permanent close. So much can happen on the 28th of April 2007. Only if everything goes right - that is. Let's look at just one, the first one.

When Jayawardene goes out for the toss with Ponting at the Kensington Oval, Barbados he cannot forget history. Especially, two decisions. One - which Ganguly made in South Africa after he won the toss in the 2003 World Cup Final. No one can forget the carnage that Ponting and Martyn unleashed on the hapless Indian bowlers. Two - the last one, which Graeme Smith made. Australia's weak link is their bowling..if you want to beat them, the only way is to bat first, put up a good score and put some pressure on the Aussie top order. Unfortunately for Sri Lanka and Jayawardene, there are only two options for the guy who wins the toss - and neither seems to be working against the Australians. What should he do?

One way or the other, I'd go with Ganguly unless there is a threat of the wicket crumbling in the second half. The World Cup final is a big thing, Australia or not. What happened on that day in South Africa cannot be allowed to terrorize the progeny for ever. Gilchrist is not in the best of nick, and Hayden and Ponting will not want to miss out now. Let them face the heat, first. If they come out trumps, well they are good, and you will have to give it to them. But make it more difficult for them - let Ponting and Buchanan worry about what a good score is going to be. Let them worry about making the most of the powerplay overs - before Murali comes in. Batting first, Lanka would be chasing )(an imagined) 300. Batting second, it's unlikely to get much worse. And if it does, there will be the inspiration of the 1996 chase to look upto.

Thank you, Lara

'It was a joy to watch Lara bat.'

Nothing else mattered more, or counted for more. Not his world-record 365, and not his world-record 400. Not even the mammoth 32,000 runs he piled up in international cricket. Nor his 501. These are mere numbers, and unlike Don, for whom I need to factor in the 99.94 to understand the man's greatness, I don't need those crutches for Brian Lara.

Lara, I have seen him both batting and battling, both his opponents and team mates. I watched him stand against the might of Australia, all alone, well almost - he had Courtney Walsh for support, and not with the ball, but a bat. Still, he came out triumphant. I saw him handling the wiles of Muralitharan on the spinning Lankan tracks. Three tests - of cricket, of patience, of skills and Brian came out trumps every single time. Yet, he had no reason to smile - every one of the 3 times. If you didn't follow Lara, as I didn't Don, let me give you the crutches: In that 2001-02 series, Brian Lara scored 688 runs in a 3 test series and yet ended up on the losing side every time. The remaining team put together scored just about 200 more than what Lara added single-handedly.

But it was a joy to watch Brian Lara bat - even as the great West Indies team of the 70s and the early 80s sunk further down, Lara still gave one reason to every cricket fan to come and watch West Indies play. Because, once Lara walked into the centre and wielded his willow, you forgot everything else - the gloom and the despair were dispersed, even if temporarily. While Lara batted, there was hope. While Lara batted, a victory was possible. While Lara batted, the old man in the stands in Antigua smiled, again. While Lara batted, the pride and honour of West Indian cricket was momentarily restored.

While Lara batted, cricket looked beautiful.

Thank you, Brian Lara for all those wonderful moments, and more.

Cricket Et cetera

Women add colour to everything,
including Cricket.

Get high on life, and not the Shoaib Akhtar way

Remember Nandrolone? That's what Shoaib Akhtar ingested to get into trouble. The problem is he ain't the only one - just a bad shining example. While Akhtar and Ben Johnson and many other sportsmen may have popped those pills or injected themselves for enhanced performance, there are many, many others who do it for a momentary high. What one doesn't realize, or ignores is that the momentary 'high' is followed by a long 'low'.

Drug addiction is a problem - one of the biggest ones which affects the world today, especially the youth. But there is hope - it's not incurable. Proper treatment can rid one of this habit, once and for all - and you can lead a perfectly healthy life post the treatment. One of the finest drug addiction treatment places is Stone Hawk. So if you know someone who is addicted, let him know that there is help available - at Narconon Stone Hawk. So, let the healing begin and start a fresh, new chapter in life.

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