World Cricket review - second-half 2008 and early 2009!

Well, a lot has happened in the last six months. I won't even claim to try and summarise every important event. I'll just hit what I consider are the highlights ( of the latter half of 2008) :) and hope I haven't missed anything too important :

a. India toured SL: And were soundly beaten in the Test series 2-1 and in the Asia Cup final, all coz the vaunted batting lineup had no clue how to play Ajantha Mendis, the new spinning star. Dravid's mediocre run continued.

b.SA toured England: Beat Eng in the Tests 2-1 and lost the ODI series 4-0. Graeme Smith bludgeoned his way to being SAF's highest scorer and KP's captaincy reign began when he took over from Vaughan for the last Test.

c. Aus toured India: For 4 Tests( who tours for 4 Tests??? Is the BCCI nuts? ) . They were beaten convincingly, 2-0, by a Kumble-and-Dhoni-led side who hit their peaks at the right moments. The Australian empire had begun to crumble. For Hayden, it might be seen as the beginning of the end after a disastrous series in the land where he resurrected his career in 2001. Dravid's regrettable lack of big scores continued - the end of an era? Kumble retired in the third Test and Ganguly retired at the end of the series - two of India's stalwarts from the 90s gone. With no viable match-winning spinner in sight ( Bhajji has too many off days), India's spin cupboard looked very bare after Jumbo's retirement.

d. SA toured Aus: And beat them 2-1 in Tests. A first victory for SA on Aussie soil. Hayden's horror run continued. And SA chased down a world-record 414 to win the second Test. They pulled off similar heroics to win the third Test from a near-losing position at the end of the second day - something Aussie teams did regualrly through the 90s and noughties. Truly, the baton seemed to have passed. Graeme Smith batting in the 4th Test, at no.11, with a broken arm, to try and salvage a draw, while Aus looked to be running out of options, signaled the change more than anything else.


e. Eng toured Ind: They were soundly beaten and trailed 5-0, after 5 matches, in the 7-match ODI series until the Mumbai terror attacks intervened. Eng departed hurriedly only to return, in a marvellous display of sporting spirit, diplomacy by KP and solidarity with India, to play the two-Test series in Chennai and Mohali. India chased down 387 to win the first Test ( the highest fourth innings run-chase in India) at Chennai thanks to a whirlwind 83 from Sehwag that put the target within reach and a composed unbeaten century from Tendy that helped erase his demons of never actually performing in the fourth innings / leading India to victory. Dravid recovered his form in the second Test (136) to effectively shut out any English chances of winning the Test, inspite of a fine KP century. India won the series 1-0.

f. In the Ranji Trophy, after hiccups against UP and TN, Karnataka defeated Baroda, Andra and Maharashtra to qualify second from their group, behind TN and in front of UP, for the quarters. They went down to Saurashtra in the quarters when Sau. chased down 325 on a turner on the last day(at Brabourne, which wasn't the home ground for Sau or Kar. What's wrong, BCCI??) thanks to fine innings from Kotak and a century from Pujara. In the semis, a marathon innings from UP batsman Shukla ( the fourth-longest in first-class history) helped UP gain the first-innings lead over TN and qualify for the finals against Mumbai, whose mammoth 637 proved too much for Saurashtra to overcome in the other semi-final. UP are in the finals for the 3rd time since 2004 and Mumbai are on course for their 32nd title, I think.

Flintoff's over to Kallis!

The following is a live match report, lifted from Cricinfo, consisting of ball-by-ball commentary by its excellent team on the superb contest between Flintoff and Kallis ( or bat vs ball, SAF vs Eng, Tests vs trashy cricket - any number of similes) . This contest is one for the ages, rivalling tha tbetween Donald and Athers. Setting is Edgbaston, 3rd Test of a 4 Test series, SAF leading 1-0, Flintoff back after 18 months off, Eng collapsing to 231 in their first, SAF battling to gain a substantial lead on a rain-marred second day that saw the entire post-lunch session lost, Eng desperate to get their noses in front in this session...

Cricinfo's commentary: Flintoff v Kallis

68.1 Flintoff to Kallis, no run, a fired-up bouncer to which Kallis snaps his neck out of the way. It's fast, it's straight, and Kallis avoids facial surgery by an inch That was quick, mark my words 68.2 Flintoff to Kallis, no run, 85.7mph and left alone outside off 68.3 Flintoff to Kallis, no run, a swing and a miss outside off! This is terrific Test match cricket here, a wonderful sight to see Flintoff roar up to the crease against one of the very best of modern-day batsmen 68.4 Flintoff to Kallis, OUT, he's BOWLED HIM! What a ball from Flintoff and what an over, fired in at off stump and Kallis is beaten for pace and outswing, his off stump knocked back several metres And Flintoff celebrates, arching back and roaring his angry delight - it's been a terrific, enthralling couple of overs. The key to Kallis's dismissal was Flintoff's never-say-die attitude. He felt cheated and wanted revenge. 68.5 Flintoff to de Villiers, no run, another fast yorker spearing into de Villiers' middle stump. That, too, was quick - upwards of 86mph Flintoff is as pumped up as you can imagine. Puce in the face 68.6 Flintoff to de Villiers, no run, 88.7mph and it's left alone by de Villiers. Edgbaston stands for Flintoff who's produced two memorable overs, the type of inspirational cricket England have missed from him for 18 months

Best Freekick in the English Premier League..

.. according to  Alex Ferguson



And this, according to most people is the best freekick ever.

Gilly , Take a Bow

Adam Gilchrist's retirement from Test cricket and his impending retirement from ODI's is a big loss for world cricket. A true great, he redefined the wicketkeeper's role with his breathtaking batting. A lot has been written about his greatness and his legend will live on forever in cricketing discussions. So I will refrain from writing more about his exploits.

I will just jot down a few of my top Gilchrist memories:

+ Gilchrist once stood up to the stumps during the fast bowling spells of McGrath and Kasprowicz in a ODI vs New Zealand and effected a stumping of Craig McMillan off a McGrath delivery timed at 136 kph.

+ His commentary during a T20 match was extremely funny. Such an entertainer !!

Gilchrist is sometimes called Churchie by his mates. The nickname came upon him courtesy an English fan during his first tour of England who after taking autographs from all the stalwarts in the Aussie team asked for his by addressing him as Adam Gilchurch. 

A video where he gets out after a swashbuckling knock and is addressed as Gilchurch by the commentators.

+ Gilchrist walked during a crucial World Cup semifinal game vs Sri Lanka. Not being standard practice, it shook the moral ethic of the game and divided opinions of the cricketing public.

+ He batted with a squash ball in his glove to score one of the greatest centuries in ODI's.  His 149 in the World Cup 2007 final was a pure joy to watch and showcased his breathtaking talent to the fullest.

The entire community of cricket tragics will miss you forever. For the non-stop pleasure, Gilly, Take a Bow.

A step forward....or too many steps ahead??

The BCCI's "reforms" of Indian cricket are, while welcome in some respects, certainly surprising and, I feel, too much of a knee-jerk reaction to happenings at WC 2007. I agree with pruning the Elite group to 10 teams. I also agree with the formation of a pool of cricketers to feed and stock the national team. But limiting players' endorsements? Removing the coach's position and putting in a manager instead? Please. Granted players might spend too much time on ads and endorsements. Granted our last coach spent more time leaking sensitive emails than actually setting a foundation for the future ( he did good work with the present batch, I'll grant that). [ And anyway, who're the former captains to decide that the players shouldn't get as much money? They didnt make as much money in their time, for sure, but denying men who followed them, just out of jealousy??? For it can only be that, else why should the Board have any say on the endorsements a player can make or not?]
One bad World Cup does not a disaster make. For sure, we lost to Bangaldesh and SL when we should've won at least against one of them. But there's the rub. Isn't that the glory of cricket, and especially ODI cricket? True, not on a regular basis but...isn't the history of the game littered with such unexpected and devastating triumphs by the underdog? Isn't that what makes the game worth watching? [ Did Australia have such a complete overhaul after their disastrous 1992 WC? Even if they did, I distinctly don't remember such panic or hysteria in Australia then]Thats why I feel the knee-jerk reaction shown by the board, not the fans, mind you, does not make sense. Rather, it stinks of panic and lack of a planned, calm approach.
Its too much, too soon and maybe even in some cases, too late. Where will we get the 30 player pool from? I doubt our pool of international-level talent stretches to 20, let alone 30.How are we going to manage to have it in place and feeding the national team by the next WC?I doubt very much if it'll even be functionally viable by the 2015 WC.
Of course, that said, our players haven't helped their cases any either. With Tendulkar breaking his usual silence with some ill-timed and ill-advised comments to the media coupled with Bhajji and others sniping at Dravid and clamouring for Sourav throughout, I never felt the team that went to the Windies was a united one. If anything, we could only win when the other team collapsed or froze at our reputations or the pitch was overwhelmingly in our favour. [ Remember Bermuda?] Tendy and others must be reprimanded ( which has been done now, thank God) and made to toe the team line. Whatever the frissures in the team, one's not doing anyone a favour by airing it in public. The press is a powerful tool , for sure - for change and knowledge, not for washing dirty linen in public.
That leads me to my final point - the media hysteria. Sure, sponsors are pumping tons of money into the game. Sure, it captures the imaginations of nearly the whole country. But please, astrological predictions ??? Mandira Bedi clones on commentary teams? [ And I mean Mandira Bedi circa 2003 - she's vastly improved now and actually makes sage comments, fed though they may be]Half of the reason the BCCI and fans reacted so crazily was the way the media hyped up our ( admittedly mediocre) team's chances before the WC and fed them to the lions just as gleefully after their shock exit. This just has to stop, or at least lessen in degree, if any semblance of sanity is ever to be brought back to Indian cricket and its administration.
India,circa 2008, will look like a Dad's army. But what a Dad's army!!! They deserve a better sendoff into the sunset than an officious Board, a demagoguing media and jealousy all round at their endorsements. sheesh.....will we ever learn to value those who serve our country?

Federer a la Laver or should it be Borg , Laver et al a la Federer?

Federer just seems to be getting more unbeatable with every succeeding tournament. The US Open series and the ongoing US Open are the only times, in recent memory, other than Nadal clashes, of course, that he has looked anything less than indomitable - dropping a set here and there and, God forbid!, losing before the finals. :D

Thankfully , he seems to have pulled his act together, somewhat, for the big event and is presently on cruise control through the US Open - except for a minor hiccup against a very strong , and improved, James Blake in the quarterfinals.

A strong Roddick awaits him in the finals , mostly - setting up a humdinger to end the year's Grand Slams. If Federer wins, he might possibly be the first player ever to win 3 US Opens and 3 Wimbledons back-to-back. Lets hope he isn't denied and holds his nerve agianst Roddick.

Funny turns of phrase and descriptions!

In the Lord's Test yesterday, Strauss was involved in a mixup with Ian Bell and eventually had him run out....by Inzamam, universally acknowledged as one of the slowest fielders on the planet.

One particularly noteworthy reaction follows:
You could say that Bell was unlucky to be run out by a direct hit from Inzamam, which is cricket's equivalent to being killed by a falling meteor while out walking the dog on Dartmoor. If International Cricket Council regulations permitted, the Pakistani captain would employ a butler to do his fielding for him.
Martin Johnson in the Telegraph

More:
In the first innings, it was Paul Collingwood who almost paid the price for a madcap dash to get Alastair Cook to his hundred, and yesterday Ian Bell was offered up in the kind of sacrifice associated with the Druids during a full moon over Stonehenge.

Some more:
Bell was clearly startled to be called for a single when Strauss hit the ball to short midwicket but, being the diffident sort of chap he is, he declined to exercise his right to remain where he was, and was run out by Inzamam-ul-Haq's direct hit.

Johnson in fine form here:
The most frantic moments of the match have come with England batsmen on 99, at which point the urge to get your name on the pavilion honours board persuades a normally rational individual that he can cover 22 yards in the kind of speed which requires reverse-thrust parachutes to bring you to a halt before embedding yourself in the sight-screen.

He's really laying into the players here :D :
In scoring a double century Yousuf got to kiss the Lord's turf twice, though on the second occasion he curiously planted a smacker on the pitch next door - becoming the first man to make hallow the 22 yards allocated for a game between Middlesex and Durham.

This guy's good. Must read his articles more regularly in future. ROTFL stuff.