Maidenbowling

Hyderabad Blues

2009-11-05T18:55:00.000-08:00

The gods must have a twisted sense of humor.
:-(

For those who watched the game, I guess this is what the elders meant when they said your previous janam ka paap will catch up with you.
Sigh.

I dunno what else to say, but this is sorrow.

An excerpt from CI:

Nobody does solos better than Sachin Tendulkar, nor, perhaps, has anyone endured as much heartbreak during those solos. It was India of the 90s all over again: Tendulkar almost chased 351 on his own but, with the target in sight, he got out and the rest choked, falling short by three runs with two balls still to go. In Chennai in 1998-99, Tendulkar, having played an innings as incredible as this, left the last three wickets 17 to get; tonight he left them 19 off 17.

So near yet so far does not quite sum it up for me.

Perhaps Uppal shouldn't host anymore matches.

Small Talk

2009-11-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

Goes without saying that IPL is evil.
It makes players break down.

For instance, the following got injured while paying the IPL:

Tim Paine
Brad Haddin
Michael Clarke - he is anorexic; so he doesn't even have to play the IPL, he just thought of it and broke a bone.
James Hopes & Brett Lee – they interacted with Evil Modi during the CL2009.
(I think I can feel the beginnings of a headache because I typed Mo the man's name.)
Nathan Bracken
Peter Siddle
Moises Henriques

Which begs the question, why isn't the one who shall not be named not injured yet?

Sabotage?
I am thinking someone needs to put a little Andhra Mirchi (Ah look, that is Austraian for a lot of Mirchi mate!) like a pinch, into the man's food and that ought to take care of him.

Meanwhile, in the Indian camp, the one with the "Attitude Problems" (no, please click on the link) is sitting out and the Preppie Nerd is back.
However, he and his man Seawag (that is Australian for "Sehwag") will be separated by ~~God~~ SRT.

Anyway.

India better win this is all I am saying.

p.s. I don't care if this is a 2nd string Australian team India better win this.
p.p.s. I don't care if Ponting shows up with 10 Australian school kids India better win this.
p.p.p.s Heck I don't care if Ponting shows up with 10 copies of Geoff Boycott's Mum, India better win this.

Note: I better put this in there that I am being sarcastic about that IPL injury list.
*cough*

Oh no!

2009-11-02T21:09:00.000-08:00

Something happened this morning(my time anyway)...but I shall not talk talk about that.
No.Shush. :-$
Too depressing.
:-(

Instead I'll wonder why that one whose name shall not be taken took 3 wickets and scored 49 runs.
Hmpf.
And who the heck is Dougie B???
Plus isn't half of the Australian team down with swine-flu or something?
(Yup I read that on Cricinfo.)

No.Too darn depressing.

Instead I'll focus on Uppal.Mana Hyderabad.
And I'll sing, మా తెలేగు తల్లి కి మల్లి పూ...

I don't know what I wrote there...I am guessing it'sOK.
(Sharath, correct chestawa tappulu unte?)

Meanwhile in other news Kohli batted at #3.
Uff! These are the times I wonder if Dhoni has bumped his pretty li'l head against the wall and lost all cricketing sense.
Or I conveniently blame Kirsten.

Why the heck did god invent Raina if he wasnt't going to be sent in at #3?

Meanwhile all of you who said that 7-match series are too long... (who me? Never!) see now it's a 3-match series.

Later.

Kotla conquered

2009-10-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

At the end of the game, an amazing statistic was read out: Dhoni has remained unbeaten in 22 successful run chases!

That takes nerves of steel; admit it haters, Dhoni was never just a show pony.

I started watching the match from when the Beauty and the Beast started batting. It was all calm and composed, but really good to watch. I particularly liked how the Ritz cracker was treated with respect, and the “hammering” spared for the "Spaniard". Did you notice how Yuvi went into conquistador mode against Moises?

Speaking of Yuvi, there was an effortless six he hit against M, which I thought would get caught in the deep. Yuvi is a bit of a characterless insaan but these are the times I feel all mother-hennish and proud of him.

Meanwhile, all of you who said India did not deserve to win in the first match admit it, in that case, if Australia had won this one, it would’ve been plain Unfair (yup with an uppercase “U”).

Though I admit, when Yuvi got out I went into nervous mode (“Abhi Dilli door hai.”)

On a different note, Team India has this habit of khuda meherbaan toh ghada pehelwan (literally: by the almighty’s grace even an ass can be a horse)… remember how they turned Mr. Anorexia (Clarke) into a spinner?

However, the converse is true too. Watson did not bowl even a single ball!!!!

:P.

So the Singhs were Kings tonight and my Chennai nice guy Hussey played well too.

All in all, a good day.

2-1!!!

p.s. Stupid Willow TV; no post-match presentation. Hmpf.

YahoooOOOoo

2009-10-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

OK people I write this one from heaven, or maybe I am on top of the world and looking down on creation and the only explanation I can find is that MSD rocks!!!
:-)

And while some of you might say, "But Leela you did not watch the game live, his batting is ugly as sin!"
Whatev.
Save your sense of aesthetics for an art gallery.

Plus I disagree; he is special, rustic beauty n' all.

Sorry for getting into fangirl mode, but today is special.

I am even loving Cricinfo.
(Quick! Click on the links before they "refresh" the content!)

First, he consolidated the innings with Gautam Gambhir. Then, in tandem with Suresh Raina, he ripped the bowling to shreds. MS Dhoni's superb 107-ball 124 was the foundation for India's highest-ever total against Australia

gem of an innings

MS Dhoni lets Mitchell Johnson have it, filmy style

So, ciao people while I go and hit my favorite thing ever (for today): "Replay"

It's an hopeless situation

2009-10-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

Not for us baba! For Australia.
Literally. Because James Hopes is not playing in the next match.
(How clever of me!)

And Lee and Johnson might be dealing with injuries too.
You know what this means? You know?

There might actually be a possibility of Watto leading the Australian attack. No wait, that might be Siddle.
(I am too tierd to worry about trivial details now...)

YAHOOOoOOooo.

I went and replayed the (in the words of TG) "it beggars belief" over.
The technical term for that bowling is uh oh oh oh.
In SMG's voice.

Of course if an Indian bowler had done that, we would've lynched him. Or probably his effigy.

This also means that Andrew MacDonald will be bowling. (I am not sure where I read that... not Cricinfo.)
Remind me, is he a good bowler? Did he not win a match for Victoria in the CL 2009?

I am just prejudiced and mean, but Donald should not be winning any games for any team.
I checked. It's written in the holy books. Each one of them.

And I can kill Bhajji for making Hauritz look like a spinner. Actually I could kill Ponting for.... ok leave it. Too many reasons.

I just re-read what I wrote. That's not me! Eeeps!
:-D
Please feel free to blame my co-worker for me being cranky.
Peace.

EDIT: Hot off the presses. Lee and Johnson are indeed sitting out. And the Australians have paged Moises Henriques. I am paging KP. Kieron Pollard. Right Now.

A rural affair

2009-10-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

So, I did not see the match live.
Thank God!!!
I would've been so.... dejected.

Anyway, I hit replay and saw our favorite, Aussie-baiting (or is it hating?), dart-throwing, nail-biting, slapper Bhajji, doing his thing again.
It was all so theekha, that I've christened him Mirchi Bhajji.
No, you won't call that tacky, if you eat the same in Hyderabad.

(BTW, I did not get the memo; are we hating him or loving him this week?)
And I finally believe SMG; yes that PK is a bit of a tonker.

So the two men introduced agriculture to a cricket field, and it was all so much fun until Siddle showed up and chopped all our dreams like the wood-chopper that he is.

In the end a very rural affair indeed.

p.s. it was fun to watch Cupcake Watson being taken apart!
Note to self: What's with the Watto hate woman?

365 days and counting...

2009-10-24T17:32:00.000-07:00

Now that in real life I've become a nameless, faceless, worker-bee in a big corporation, it's hard to keep you posted on my pretend-person life; so I missed maidenbowling's first birthday (21-OCT, in case anyone was curious).

But, hey, better late than never.
And I thought I must celebrate this occasion by listing out my favorite Cricket blogs/posts/bloggers (from the past one year.)
I understand that you people have busy lives, but do click on the links; you won't be disappointed.

(Blogs/posts listed by author's names in alphabetical order.)

1. I enjoy reading Achettup's posts; he is a brilliant writer. While, I am guessing, the "Ponting's email hacked" post was quite popular, this one is my favorite.

2. Read any of Amy's posts and you'll be laughing out loud. However, search for "AB de Villiers" and you will stumble onto some of her best work.

3. The now "retired" dopaisekatamasha is my favorite cricket blog. Ever.
It was simple, straightforward, and presented a unique point of view.
Every time I read a post, I was left wondering, "who would've thought of that?!" And each post was backed by research and analysis, and reflected the passion that Homer feels for cricket.

The blog also gets major points for a totally cool name.

4. It's a pity that Dammith doesn't write as often as he used to. Fly-slip is one of the best cricket blogs out there. You must read his ode to "Splendid Mendis".

5. I stumbled onto Jrod's brilliant CWB by mistake; I don't even remember what I was searching for in Google. And I discovered the wonderful world of cricket blogs. While CWB is a treasure trove of insightful posts, these three stick out:

a. Jrod's application for the Kiwi coaching post.(I guess he could re-apply now!)
b. Jrod talks about the "English firm".
c. Jrod treats the teams like ladies.

To steal from Sam/Sameer/Chandler, Jrod is the Baap of Blogging!

6. While I've never ever played cricket in my life, this post by Megha, for some strange reason (because it was heart-felt?) took me back to my childhood days.

7. Nestaquin is a propah writer, very unlike yours truly, so consider the (pleasant) shock I received on reading this post. And I like this one for the debate it generated.

8. I really enjoy reading Nightwatchgirl; while the focus is solely English cricket, and the posts pithy, the blog packs quite a pleasant punch. I liked this one because we get to know the woman behind the blog; well almost.

9. Purna chimes in from Canada and I enjoy her blog very much. She has such a clever way with words... I wish I could write like that!

10. Thanks to SP, every time I think of Veeru/GG/Veeru-GG, this image flashes in my head. True, it does.

11. R-Rated joy ride; Suave's post on England's performance in 2008 in India had me in splits!

12. Suhas' writing is understated; while I prefer his non-cricketing blog, I liked this post (from his cricket blog) for selfish reasons and this one because he cared when no one else did.

That be all. There were some more, but hey I even made space for the 12th man.
Later.

p.s. I Promise to proof-read( at least twice) my posts this year and ensure that they are free of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors (how do you people tolerate me?).

p.p.s. Bloggers, please don’t leave messages thanking me.

It's an innocent world after all...

2009-10-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

So there are people out there who actually think money can buy you talent...
Don't tell me you people (I am talking to the "some people" from the above sentence) think that money can buy you love as well!!!
You do? Oh you poor things!

No.
Let me break it to you gently... money does not always buy what you want.
(Except, I could use some right now to buy that D&B bag I've been eyeing....hmmm)
Case in point: the English cricket team.
Yup they get paid loads; yet they get ritually clobbered by Australia.
Or even Yuvi XI.

In a perfect world, the English would be paid in croutons.
OK that doesn't even make sense. But I guess you know what I mean. (Please say yes.)

So the point of this post is that those who think just because the IPL teams cost millions, they should win millions... are innocent.
They, the innocent ones, might be socialists too, but let's not get personal.

The "invisible hand" of the market decides who gets what.
(My ECON101 teacher would be so proud!!)
And while the hockey players in India might think that life is unfair (for them it is, I guess) that is the way it goes.

Of course, I am disappointed that none of the IPL teams made it to the semis.
However, how this is a moral lesson is beyond me.
But then, to quote that (over-paid) Brittany Spears, I am not that innocent.

I agree with the cheerleader

2009-10-18T13:26:00.000-07:00

Cricket is way more fun than baseball.

Yes, it has been confirmed. By a cheer-leader. The American kind, called Katrina. (I bet she is blonde too.)

And I quote her:

We think it is really fun – way more interesting than baseball. It is always changing, there’s a lot of running. In baseball there is a lot of swinging and missing and people out.

I am guessing, all that love from Katrina is coming cricket's way because she is watching T20.

Because T20 is made for women.

Women, by and large, tend to be busy creatures, and cricket is the one sport they can watch while getting other stuff done. You can wash the dishes, give the cat a bath, fill in your tax return and pluck your eyebrows, and when you come back to the game the same batsman will still be in. And the odds are that when he goes out you'll want to watch him take his helmet off, because cricketers are undoubtedly the best-looking of all sports heroes. Also, if you leave Kevin Pietersen out of it, they have the best manners.

(Note to self: You could've been multi-tasking dum dum.)

So, some woman-type observations, aka girl-talk:

1. Darren Ganga is gorgeous.

2. Rilee Rossouw is cute. OMG!!! Boy band cute. The kind I would've had a crush on if I was seventeen.

3. Boeta Dippenaar speaks in soothing tones (much like Daryll Cullinan), and was extremely gracious in defeat.

4. Roy made my day by making an appearance in ethnic wear.
(Is it just me or was he a bit nervous in the comm box? Maybe he needed a beer to loosen up...)

OK then, people, I'll go and wash the dishes.

The only choice

2009-10-17T22:46:00.000-07:00

Now that all the IPL teams have been kicked out(Gee thanks B'lore!), and the rest of the world is reading this as the victory of good over evil (??), the big question for me is who do I support?

A few days ago I'd have probably said the Vics; however, now I say: T&T.
Yeah.

Especially because their celebrations have been awesome. And KP has been the king of awesome.
Totally!

Go T&T!!

p.s. No one told me Darren Ganga is gorgeous. Hmpf.

The Delhi Australians

2009-10-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

I haven't been watching the Champions League, and it looks like lot has happened already, but somehow I managed to catch the 2nd half of today's game featuring theDelhi Daredevils and Wayamba.
And I was particularly impressed by the Delhi Australians (or the Australian Delhi'ites??): Dirk Nannes and Glen McGrath.

Now Dirk Nannes is 30 something and yet his fastest ball was 147kmph.
147!
147
147!!

When will Indian bowlers bowl at those speeds??

Dirk's match figures:
O M R W RR
4 0 24 4 6.00 (1w)

Meanwhile McGrath, while quite clumsy in the out-field, was again accurate.
The speed rarely crossed 123kmph, yet he seemed in control.
His match figures:

O M R W RR

4 0 20 2 5.00 (1w)

Anyway, good win for Delhi; good to see Sehwag among runs and Kartik maintaining his IPL2 form.

What next??

2009-10-06T20:02:00.000-07:00

This:

A hope...

2009-10-04T14:46:00.000-07:00

I will not be able to watch the match live ...
:-(
However, I am hoping when I get back I'll see something along these lines:

PLEASE...

Go Black Caps!!!

In defense of the young and the restless

2009-10-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

So Anon, made a remark about the young guns in team India and how "useless" they are outside the sub-continent. All this in response to comments about Dravid's role in India's loss to Pakistan.
I've heard this quite often; the youngsters are good enough only for the shortest format of the game. They are just flat-track bullies.

Firstly, I disagree. Patience. Give them time, and they'll flourish.

Secondly, let's just assume for a moment that the juniors are not as good as the seniors... so?
What can one do? Perhaps, that is the stock we have (and we have to live with it, until the next batch arrives).

Thirdly, I want to know why this constant comparison with seniors?
In a nation of a billion we haven't seen another Sachin (yet). Perhaps that is how it's meant to be.

How unfair is it to compare a Rohit or a Raina to Sachin??
They'll always pale in comparison.
(In fact how many people, from the other teams as well, are comparable to Sachin?)

And why just Sachin, I am against comparing them to Dravid too (not this 2009 wala RD who is masquerading as Rahul Dravid, I mean the Dravid of his prime)... or even Dada.

The point is, more often than not, they (meaning the "young guns") will always come up short because they haven't established themselves yet.
Or maybe they are just not that talented, but they are the best we have right now.

I think we Indian fans must reconcile to the fact that those (Sachin, RD, Saurav...) men were unique.
It was something in the stars; Rahu, Shani, and Ketu (if you will!) aligned perfectly to give us those stalwarts.

And perhaps it will take a while for Indian cricket to produce such magical talent; until then we'll have to make do with the Rainas and the Kohlis.
(And yes, that means we can't keep running back to RD expecting him to rescue the young ones from short pitch bowling...)

And who knows, if we are patient, these freshers might just transform themselves. They may not turn into the next Sachin/Dravid/Saurav, but they might establish their own unique identities.
Case in point, Gambhir.

So, patience Anon.

Pretty much every cricket-playing nation goes through such a churn.
For instance, can the new Pakistani bowlers stand up to the examples set by Wasim, Waqar, Imran?
Or, can the new spinners in Australia be talked about in the same context as Warne?
:-)
No and No.

Some time ago Rohit Brijnath wrote this article about the "famous five" of Indian cricket; a few lines:

We met the Great One in 1989, when he introduced himself to us with high notes hit by bat and vocal chord. Tendulkar may have two children, but for my generation he is always favorite son. Then the rest came. In 1990, The Precise One [Kumble], a scholarly warrior who unveiled his spinning craft with devotion; in 1992, The Defiant One [Ganguly], a steely, stylish man of amusing, aristocratic belligerence; in 1996, The Intense One [Dravid], cricket's student who batted like a monk upholding a vow of discipline; and finally The Elegant One [VVS], who was a Japanese haiku master in a previous life.

Wow.

I don't know whether the new "stars" will be able to inspire such writing at the end of their respective careers, but what I am saying is, give youth a chance, they might just surprise us!

Brickbats....

2009-10-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

So I found the following on Youtube:

And

Sigh.

Apparently it's the rain.

2009-09-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

The rain spoiled India's chances to reach the semis it seems.
Cricinfo says: Washout hits India's semis chances

Yeah right!!

Be honest, did anyone of you really think India would have won that match??
(I had to "watch" the match on CI so I could be wrong here...)

With our cr@p bowling and wierd batting lineup, really is that what we expected?
I honestly did not.

I am NOT criticisng team India. They have done well in the past two years and it reflects in the stats. However, in the Champions Trophy they have made some glaring mistakes-like showing up without pace bowlers.
Oops!

So no, CI, rain hasn't marred our chances. If anything, it has given us a ray of hope.
If our neighbors beat the Aussies, and we beat theWindies...there might still be a chance.

The rain has actually helped.

Congratulations to those...

2009-09-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

...who deserve.

# To Ashish Nehra for not losing his head.

# Shoaib Malik for a calm 100+.

# Moyo for ~~flip-flopping~~ forgetting the ICL and playing second-fiddle to Malik.

# To Gambhir for being able to concentrate despite all the affection he seemed to elicit from the Pak bowlers... until he forgot to dive.

# To Raina for showing us that "evil Dhoni is an idiot" and that he should've sent you in earlier.

# To RD for:

~~building a wall~~
~~making me feel like choking you~~
~~running like an ...~~
~~not being able to score at a decent rate~~
making the final score somewhat bearable.

# To the Pak spinners for showing up Bhajji.

# To Yunis Khan for ensuring that his words didn't come back to bite him.

# To all the Pak fans at the Centurion.

England win!

2009-09-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I put my pride on the line and said I want to see England in the final four.
And OMG(!!) they actually won a game.

All hail Collingwood, the ugly.
And that Irish guy.

Perhaps, it's juvenile to say, "I told you so"; so I will not.
Instead, I'll sport a smug smile and, in celebration of England's shock victory...
Wait.
When did I start caring about England??

Wierd.

Anyway, all I can say to England is:

~~I forgive you for Mike Atherton.~~

~~I forgive you for Andrew Miller.~~

~~I forgive you for Nasser Hussain.~~

~~I forgive you for Freddie Flintoff.~~

I forgive you for not showing up for the Chennai test.

P.S. Someone has been leaving me messages in Japanese... and I must be getting old (and cranky) for I haven't snooped around looking for transliteration software.. (*sigh*) English please!

Not a prediction... just a wish

2009-09-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

Now that a few matches have been played in the Champions Trophy, and we are getting a feel of the tournament, I thought I'll fess up and state which teams I want to see in the "final four."

Here it goes:

India - Obviously!
While the Indian camp has had to deal with injury issues, and the pace-bowling seems weak, I do hope team India does well.
(PLEASE!)
After a sustained campaign, albeit with a few hiccups, (and with some help from the Saffers and the Aussies) team India has managed to place itself on top of the ever-fluctuating rankings.
Some of the victories have been ugly, but a win is better than a loss.
So it's OK, I guess.

Australia - I do like them you know...
I did not see their recent campaign against England, not that that matters (England are shite against most oppositions), but I do have a feeling they'll do well.
Or maybe I am hoping they do well.
Oh c'mon, you know they'll be there in the final four.

~~New Zealand~~Sri Lanka - ditto.. I like them.
We always need one team that punches above its weight in a tournament.
It's written in the Vedas.
And since the Kiwis are determined to fail, I've chosen Sri Lanka.
Plus they boast of freaks, such as Mendis, Murali, and Dilshan.
You have to root for them.

England - No this is not a joke. Yes, I can explain.
I read NWG's post this morning, and she is supporting India (after England, of course! And she has her reasons..) and it's such a rarity to see a non-Indian supporting India that I decided to return the favor.
Plus, what are the chances of England losing yet another ODI thinggy??
OK don't answer that.

A quick note on the other four.

Pakistan - They won the T20 thinggy right? So why another tournament?
:D

Windies - Umm...

New Zealand - See above.

South Africa - No.
That's all.

On a slightly different note...

2009-09-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

Maidenbowling's regular reader Mahek has applied for the RCB gig.
And he needs your help.

Here:

I voted for him, and you must too.

Click here and vote.

Ranking Team India

2009-09-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Team India had a brief stint at the top of the charts; the love affair barely lasted 24 hrs.

Obviously, India's stay at the # 1 spot generated some debate.

Some good questions were raised.

For instance, a team that fields so badly, can it claim to be #1?

Or, a team that loses by huge margins and displays feeble/insipid performances, can that claim to be #1?

Or, a team whose "front line bowlers" basically leaked runs and did well only against the rather hapless Kiwis, does it deserve the #1 status?

Like I said, good questions.

However, we all know that the rankings are decided by the ICC based on win/loss records. And it is what it is.

Team India, despite its failings, qualifies for the #3 spot.

(And for those brief 24 hours, a few days ago, they deserved #1.)

A look at the stats:

(I am posting stats since 2007, following the World Cup, because that is when India started its rise up the charts.)

India in Bangladesh ODI Series 2007 India 2-0 (3)

India in Ireland ODI Match 2007 India 1-0 (1)

Future Cup (India, South Africa in Ireland)2007India2-1 (3)

Future Friendship Cup (India, Pakistan in Scotland)2007abandoned0-0 (1)

India in Scotland ODI Match2007India1-0 (1)
NatWest Series [India in England]2007England4-3 (7)

Australia in India ODI Series2007/08Australia4-2 (7)

Pakistan in India ODI Series2007/08India3-2 (5)

Commonwealth Bank Series (Australia, India, Sri Lanka in Australia)2007/08India
Kitply Cup (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan in Bangladesh)2008Pakistan

Asia Cup (Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates in Pakistan) 2008Sri Lanka

India in Sri Lanka ODI Series2008India3-2 (5)

England in India ODI Series2008/09India5-0 (5)

India in Sri Lanka ODI Series2008/09India4-1 (5)

India in New Zealand ODI Series2008/09India3-1 (5)

India in West Indies ODI Series2009India2-1 (4)

Compaq Cup (India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka)2009India

Not bad eh?

And this is not just against weaker teams like Bangladesh or Ireland or ZIM.

And most of these victories were on foriegn soil.

Sure, some of you might reject stats, but these stats are what decide the rankings!

And, sure Team India isn't as good as the all-conquering Aussies of the past; they haven't managed to distance themselves from the rest of the pack as successfully and consistently as the Aussies did.

And the fielding is embarrasing.

So is some of the pace bowling.

But, remember, this was a team without its regular openers, and ZAK.

And things change.

Heck even the Aussies, who struggled against spin not so long ago, are calling themselves "working class"!!!

And when was the last time South Africa won a major tournament?

Maybe Team India is not that great, but the flux in the rankings (Ind, Aus, SA keep changing places) is also proving that there isn't any one team that is a clear leader.

And maybe that isn't such a bad thing.

A "cultural" issue

2009-09-13T19:53:00.001-07:00

Yes it is.
It is the reason why India and Pakistan don't have players' associations.
So says, Wasim Akram. He actually says:

Our culture will be the biggest barrier, if a players' association has to see light of the day and then deliver,... A geographical divide hasn't partitioned our way of thinking. We have a strange culture in India and Pakistan. Players just can't trust each other. I think it is the only reason why players' associations have not worked.

Read Here.
OK, all good I guess, but pray why include India?? It's not as if India and Pakistan are joined at the hip or something.
OK, wait, we do share a huge border, but still is it the same culture??

I am sure a huge chunk of a large and diverse nation like India will vehemently disagree!

ODIs...

2009-09-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

Are you guys ready for 9/11?
Er.. I did not mean that.
I meant the tri-series where the big bad Team India plays the two nice guys of international cricket, NZ and SL.

I am looking forward to the series but I wonder how much fun it'll be?

Meanwhile, most people have now declared ODIs dead (or dying).
And, here I think DP is saying don't even bother. I think.

I first heard about the death of the ODIs back in 2007, right after India won the T20 Wc.
It was on NDTV; while the rest of the cricket "experts" wondered if T20s would kill Test cricket, Ajay Jadeja categorically stated that T20 cricket would impact ODIs and not Tests.

Anyway.

The last time I really, truly enjoyed an ODI series was the CB Series. Sure the buildup to the finals was slow (too many league games), but the two finals were something.
But now, in hindsight, I think the series meant something because of the whole Sydney-Bucknor-TMK-Monkey saga.
I mean, you had to support your team. Pride was involved.

For some, the entire series and its outcome meant a validation of what you stood for.
If you supported India, you wanted the bullies (i.e Team Australia) to be taught a lesson.
If you supported Australia, you wanted the whinging men in blue to be given a thrashing.
And the media added to the buildup.

Of course, now we can all laugh at it. I hope.

EDIT: Some people were unable to view the video.. so I've taken it out. Click HERE.

LOL! (Thanks S.)

A friend recently mentioned that she had great fun watching the last ODI series between Australia and South Africa. And she is not even an Australian or a Saffer.
But, again, I think it had something to do with the buildup.
Remember the way Smith walked out to bat with a broken arm on the last day of the Sydney test?
The entire drama of the Test series helped sell the ODIs.

And if I look back at the 90s-early 2000s, Indo-Pak encounters generated that type of interest.
But, again, there was drama involved which was beyond cricket. Those series meant something. Supporting your national team was an exercise in patriotism.
The way India and Pak view each other right now, the equation has changed and I think that spark has gone.

I think that is thing with the ODIs... unless they truly matter, they don't.
Know what I mean?

Anyway, lets see how this series goes!

"See ball, hit ball"

2009-09-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

That's what Veeru says.
Actually he says more.
Like:

I don't want to be a captain, I have already told selectors about it. I have said that a new player should be made vice-captain and be groomed to be a captain,

After the NZ experiment, I am guessing we should all thank him for that.

On dada's contribution to Indian cricket, he says:

Sourav took over as captain of the India cricket team when it was going through a very bad patch. The Indian team was struggling to put come out of the match-fixing scandal. He had a responsibility to put together a new team and he did a splendid job

See? All you dada haters... you...

And we all know that he recently led a coup against the earthworms that be the DDCA(with due apologies to earthworms, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Earthworms).

But did you know he also had a total Jerry Maguire-like "you complete me" moment with Sachin?

Anyway, I am blaming all this gyaan on the new hairstyle.