Cricket: Mandira & Bermuda

I am a cricket fan..plus there is another problem, i am not fond of soccer or basketball or f-1 and other such games which are on the upswing. And I am worried, genuinely so. Firstly, I have to bear with Mandira Bedi and Co. on TV when I am trying to enjoy some serious cricket. Secondly, ICC wants me to watch Bermuda play cricket, and that in the World Cup. As if Zimbabwe and Bangladesh are not good enough. Please guys, do something, i just hope you don't kill the game...unlike lots of you i don't even have the option of switching over to EPL or NBA..I just like this cricket thing a wee bit too much.

Globalisation of cricket, My Foot!!

So China is getting serious about cricket. And United States tried its level best to host one of the matches of the next world cup on its soil. So Bermuda is no more just a triangle, but also a leading cricekting nation....My foot!!

The ICC first needs to take a long hard look at the state of the game in the countries which have already been playing cricket for years now. The picture ain't beautiful, and only once the decline there has been arrested should they go about acquiring newer territories. The Champions Trophy 2007 has just begun, and we are already witness to the pathetic state of the Zimbabwean cricket team. And this was not sudden, it has been a gradual decline, and the ICC should have stepped in and done something about it, if it is really serious about promoting cricket. In the Caribbean and England, Cricket is no longer the leading sport. Newzealand is stuck in some kind of a limbo. For as long as i have been following cricket, there has been no major upswing or downswing. They have never been a leading force in the world of cricket, and whenever they manage to win a few matches, it's always a surprise. Shane Bond was the last big thing which happened, but hardly does anyone have a clue where he is for most of the time. That's also true of the Newzealand team though. When they play their first match of the ICC Cricket Champions Trophy 2007, it will be their first serious cricket match in 7 months. Bangladesh surprises once every year, but that's about it. That leaves you with just India,Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia. So the net result of the globalise-cricket drive is 4 serious nations, down from 7 or 8 a few years back. ( Have left out South Africa, because i need a little more time to understand where they are at the moment, anyways their rise has more to do with government politics than ICC politics)

Pakistan: More politics than cricket

I am sure that i have a lot of company when i say that if Pakistan's cricketers, selectors and board put as much focus into their cricket as they do in their politics, they might just become Australia's biggest challenger on top of the cricket world. Pakistan probably produces the world's best fast bowlers consistently, even otherwise they have the biggest amount of talent-going-waste in the world of cricket. Only if stories like the recent "Younis Khan" and captaincy didn't appear all too regulary from Islamabad or Lahore or Rawalpindi. I don't know who is right or who is wrong, just that someone need to take charge of Pakistan cricket very earnestly. Maybe even Musharaff, he is after all a parton of the PCB. What say??

GANDHIgiri IN, DADAgiri OUT ??

2nd October 2006 was not just another day in the park for Saurav Ganguly. The second league match of the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy was being played at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium Chennai, and this was the first of the two or maximum three chances that he had, to create an impression on the national selectors. He started off well, and with three well-placed boundaries, he looked set to score a big one. But alas, it was not to be. When he trooped back to the pavillion for a paltry 24, he must have known it more than anyone else - that the end of the road is fast approaching. Ganguly's team lost the match by 268 runs and with that one more thing became certain - that the Greens were out of reckoning for the finals, and the next match would be Dada's last chance to redeem.

While Gandhi Jayanti proved unlucky for Dada, the next one turned out to be worse. Dimsissed for just 3 runs, the second consecutive failure means that Saurav has now lost his place even in the Rest of India team for the Irani Trophy. That's as bad as it gets, and the future doesn't look too bright for India's most successful captain ever, also my favourite cricketer. But you never know what the future holds - Gandhi has just made a come-back into our drawing rooms and lives, Dada's job is definitely easier!!

Monday Morning Blues for the Greens

No one can bat like Tendulkar used to. Not even Tendulkar! The Tendulkar we see nowadays is not the real thing - except sometimes when he decides to surprise us. Today was one such day. Twenty precisely struck boundaries and four beautiful sixes - each one with the Maestro's class written all over them made it a very special holiday - as if a Sunday, Dusshera, Vijaya Dashmi and Gandhi Jayanti already coinciding were not good enough!

When Lahiri finally ended the Green's miseries, Tendulkar had already compiled 139 of just 100 balls - this desipite the fact that an early fall of wicket had caused Tendulkar to start his innings catiously. The score had already raced to 226 and this was only the 33rd over. Dravid's and Dhoni's half-centuries ensured that Sachin's good work was not undone and with the Blues ending their innings at a mammoth 381, the cricket match was as good as over. Except perhaps for one aspect - Saurav Ganguly. The new chief selector, Dilip Vengsarkar had ignited hopes by saying that they would be watching Ganguly very closely. Ganguly began well and he pierced his favourite off side field succesfully to notch three beatiful boundaries. But that was just about it. He soon perished for 24. With him gone,and the result
already decided (well almost), the match was as good as over.

A 268 run defeat victory means that the Blues have virtually ensured themselves a place in the finals. And so have the Reds?

( NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, Match 2: Blue vs Green, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, 2nd October 2006)

Red, Blue & Green: A Colourful Challenger

The Challenger Trophy is probably the most interesting concept conceived by the BCCI ever. And this year they have added the right dash of colour(s) to it too. While India Blue is obviously what was earlier India Seniors, A & B have now become Red & Green. While it's fascinating to watch the very best of Indian cricket competing against each other, the NKP Salve Challenger trophy is most popular because of the way it's connected to future selections to Team India. We have seen in the past that one good performance here often catapults a player into the big league. Bowlers who have picked up big wickets have been the luckiest in that sense.

Challenger 2006 is important because of 2007 - the World Cup is just round the corner, and the Indian ODI team is in the middle of a big slump. Which means, a few premier seats are up for the grabs. Sehwag's position in the team is very surprisingly a little shaky ( who would have bargained for Sehwag becoming a Test mega-success and and ODI failure?) and Ganguly is dying to make a comeback. The Challenger could be his last chance to make an impression. The Indian pacers performed not too creditably in Malaysia, and coupled with the fact that the lone spinner was a success, the selectors would definitely have a re-look at Kumble. The biggest grudge of Laxman's life has been his exclusion from the World Cup 2003 team, and he will be vying to make amends here. Interestingly, the person he lost a place to in the previous edition of the World Cup has again made a timely impression with his fighting knock in Malaysia and is a part of the "Blues" now. Zaheer Khan and Piyush Chawla are the other leading contenders. Forty-two of India's best are in the fray - let's see who comes out with flying colours

Ganguly: From Challenger to World Cup??

The Cricket World Cup 2007 is not too far away - it's actually so close that fans have already started buying tickets to the West Indies! Does Dada hold any chance? And is there enough time to make an impression? The answers to both these questions is an unequivocal yes. The Indian team is in the middle of a big ODI slump and the batting order - both opening and middle order is far from settled. And this coupled with the fact that the World Cup is too close may ironically be the biggest reason why Saurav holds a good chance.

Dravid, by promoting himself up the order has unsettled both the top order and the middle order. And he needs to quickly make some adjustments so that the team has a settled look before the World Cup starts. Sehwag's recent and not-too-recent ODI records have been pathetic and it may not be possible to justify his inclusion for very long unless he posts some consistent scores. An opening slot may be up for grabs, and if it comes to a toss-up, Ganguly's bowling might give him the selection edge. ( Remember that the cricket world cup rules allow only 14 players, and multi-faceted players may be prefered, not the best logic but you can never tell)

But first things first - Ganguly first needs to put some runs on the board to make the selectors look up. And the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy is just the right place to do it. And no one knows it more than Dada himself. Although his team plays their first match only on Monday, Ganguly was the first one to arrive for practise today. he had a long net session ( 45 minutes) and was seen playing his traditional lofted drives. He looks determined, for sure.

Durga Puja celebrations are on in Bengal, and the first match of the Challenger is on the Vijaya Dashmi day, considered the most auspicious day of the year in Bengal. Who knows what the future holds? Maybe Kiran More's perfectly-timed exit and Vengsarkar's entry is because of some divine intervention !!!