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"I am pretty used to talking. Even when I was playing cricket my managers asked me to address the media. I think if you are to the point while addressing people that give a good impression," the former cricketer said.
Sunil Gavaskar ?
Manoj Prabhakar ??
Sebastian Coe ??? *
Sharad Pawar ????
Sachin Tendulkar ?????
* I know you are abusing me, pls go on… You thought it was a faux pas ?? I was just listing some seasoned politicians out !!
I am sure, had you missed that rediff.com story (like how I almost did…) you wouldn’t know who this gentle man is…
Yes… theboysplayedwell… itwasaneasypitchtobatonbattingwicketgoodtosstowinandtheboysplayedwellthankyou…
Mohammad Azharuddin was the one who said so…
I tried imagining how he would speak in the parliament, just in case he gets elected…
Theboysaresufferingtheconditionsareterribletheycan’tbathnowateracuteshortageI’msurewewould workonthispositivelyandperformwelltommorowthankyou
I would advise you guys take a breath control session before even trying that…
Guys from Hyderabad… get ready to face the music, yes those music of speeches. He is pretty used to talking.
At least he says so...
Facing the music
The face and voice of Windies Cricket
England vs. West Indies in the Caribbean, who would you like to listen to?
I give you Michael Holding, and he gives you plenty more, hop by here for a listen.
But before that, here's a small ask: who's the voice and face of Indian cricket? SMG or SRT?
Sri Lanka cricket - Ranjit Fernando or Arjuna Ranatunga?
Pak Cricket - Rameez Raja or Imran Khan?
Bangladesh cricket? Never mind.
oye! its friday...
don't worry, i know it's saturday...i'm talking about the talk show hosted by farhan akhtar and it's about the last episode in which the guest was our very own dada!
yes, sourav ganguly was the guest yesterday and there was this interesting anecdote dada shared with us...the talk drifted to the instincts captain go by sometimes, specially about a player...though the wording may not be the same but i will try to catch the essence...
dada said...
i won't name the player...once before going on the south africa tour i was sitting with selectors to select the team and i was insisting on 'this' player...selectors told me why you want to select this player...he doesn't even know how to play pace bowling...very weak against short pitch stuff...won't be able to handle seam bowling in south africa...his career will be finished if we select him...let him go to hongkong super sixes...
but i remained adamant on selecting this player...they eventually selected the player and he scored century on debut there...
i think the player dada talked about is our own viru and this is the match he was referring to...
no wonder that viru still speaks highly of him...some times out of turn which threatened in ending his career durning the chappell regime...
what say?
update:
here's the video
...and you can watch full episode here...its worth seeing it...
(tip: see from part 4 onwards...)
Pick and Lose.
Get your team wrong and you’ll be lucky not to lose the match. India’s team selection was flawed in the first T20 and only marginally better in the 2nd - but it still wasn’t the best team on offer.
The fuss over Irfan Pathan continues, and even though he won a recent T20 vs. Sri Lanka with the bat and his brother, and nearly did so again with the ball yesterday, look what he’s done in the last two games:
1st T20: 3-0-38-0, 12(14)
2nd T20 4-0-41-2, 15(10).
At best he’s a hit-and-miss player.
First, Irfan does enough to lose you a game in his first spell. Then he bowls a good spell of 2 balls in an over. And you’re thinking, here comes redemption, then the full toss, half tracker.
Face it, not easy to get a full 4 overs out of Irfan in a T20, less likely then, to get full ten in an ODI. And to be honest, he’s nowhere on the test radar.
For the ODIs too, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel and Praveen Kumar make the grade before him.
Can Indian then, luxuriate in a player, who at best, is a makeshift, wannabe allrounder, T20 specialist? And while we’re at it, why not bring Agrakar back too.
The "Final Frontier"
So then, the final frontier, is it?
That is what many are calling the New Zealand series for India.
Steve Waugh never managed to conquer his final frontier, yet his team remained the best in the world for a good 7 years after that. Arguably they still are.
An Indian fan shouldn't worry too much because of the two 20-20 losses.
The matches could have gone either way, and Homer here has aptly described what went wrong in the 1st game. He's spot on.
Moreover, India may be the best 20-20 team in the world, but they were up against the best 20-20 bowler in the world (Vettori) and one of the best 20-20 batsman in the world (McCullum).
The Indian fan should not even worry if India loses the ODI series 5-0, for that is not what the "final frontier" is all about.
The 3 tests are.
With the Sachins, Dravids, and Laxmans back in the fold for those games, India should not have much to worry about I believe.
Nevertheless, even if the "final frontier" is not conquered, it should not be regarded as the end of India's resurgence.
I personally feel that the Indian fans have needlessly hyped up their own expectations. Those calling India the best team in the world need to realise that India is still a weak tourist. Or rather, an improving tourist.
They have always been invincible at home. Under Azhar, Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid, Kumble, and even under the captains before that, India hardly ever lost at home.
Last year's 2-0 win over Australia wasn't the first time India managed that. They did it under Ganguly in 2001 as well.
Hence, India's performance at home has not really improved - it has always been outstanding and it remains to be.
So what resurgence may I ask?
In the ODIs and 20-20 games? The 'real' fans would tell you that those games hardly count and I agree.
Coming back to India's improvement as a tourist. Now that maybe called resurgence.
However, bear in mind that this resurgence is based on first ever series victories in Pakistan (2004), West Indies (2006), and England (2007).
Test series have still been lost in South Africa and Australia during this period of resurgence. Even in Sri Lanka, where India haven't won a test series since 1993. And a series in Pakistan after that first ever historic win was also lost.
New Zealand is a different story altogether. India have not won a test series there since 1967, and they won their last test in the country in 1975.
Sachin and Dravid were still in their diapers then, while the rest of the Indian squad members were not even conceived. Not even Laxman.
That's how long ago India won a test in Kiwi land.
Improving tourists, no doubt but still a weak team on foreign land I reckon.
Having said that, this probably is the best chance India has to conquer their "final frontier", however, even if they don't, it should only be regarded as a stumbling block, and not an end to this somewhat of a resurgence.
Vettori & Co. cannot be underestimated and India will do themselves a lot of good if they shed some of their confidence and listen to what Sachin had to say before the tour.
They'll be thanking Sachin for sure if they do that and win the test series.
Happy Bored Day Ye Olde Left Armer
Happy B’day Karsan Ghavri. For me, you were the first Indian quick – but you weren’t that quick, were you? You bowled left arm then, do Zaheer and Irfan and Ashish even know your name? You ran in from behind the sightscreen - looked like that, your run-up was that long. And you could bat, and look cool and hit hard, and it was the 70s, and you looked like you was part of Led Zeppelin. Rock on.
(to reaquaint yourself with Ghavri, look left for his page link today, tomorrow he'll be left behind, again)
Malfunction
Noun: mal’fúngkshun, A failure to function normally
I was searching for the “one word” that would best describe the Indian teams T20 performance today and found this one.
If anyone thought it is not, then sample this
94 for 5 in 13.2 – Almost 50% of your batting arsenal spent even before you crossed 100 and that to after exhausting 65% of the batting quota, not forgetting that fact that it was a T20 on a ground that was only bigger than the ones where we used to play book cricket those days (read classrooms)
MS Dhoni - Youth icon, inspirational captain, the mainstay of Indian middle order decides slow and steady wins the race, in a must win T20 scoring (a near run a ball) 28 runs in 30 balls
Ravinder Jadeja after having middled a couple beautifully decides enough is enough and holes one out to a hungry Guptill (16.5). Left one to wonder what the Indian strategy was
Irfan Pathan opening the Indian bowling started off on a great note, a six to Jesse Ryder. Bowling one of the shortest of short balls, at an express speed of not more than what would have been Anil Kumble’s “slowest” slower ball
But it was still a close match, or at least so it seemed. The Kiwis could win only in the last ball of the match
If you try and hide everything else and only look at the fact that NZ took their full quota of 20 overs to win or things like 86 of the Indian runs came in boundaries or that the Indians cleared the ropes more than the Kiwis then I must tell you that the grass is still very green on the other side of the septic tank.
But I thought the Indians were never in control of the T20’s, both the first match and this one. It makes one think if this is the beginning of the end, of what most of us call the great Indian cricket resurgence. I wish, I hope & pray that I be wrong when I say this. The verdict we dread would be out in the open in a couple of more weeks.
Ok, now to the most important part of this post. Why did one title this Malfunction?
One of the great Indian news channels called it so. Nope, they weren’t discussing any cricket when they said this. Apparently Ishant Sharma got his bottom exposed (of course not bare bottom, one could only see his thermal suit inner) and they called this a sacrilege and a wardrobe malfunction on the cricket field. The most interesting observation made by the esteemed channel was that the clothing sponsor Nike has to now answer a few difficult questions about how this happened.
This is what I call the great Indian news television malfunction.
The dullest 10,000th run celebration.
Kallis has been called many things by the SAFs in the box today. None of them are very evocative, still, they are very excited. Best player ever, best overall averages, best allrounder. Just listening to them, you’d think Best Bus service was plying through their mouths. And as Kallis gets close to 10,000 runs they are beyond incorrigible.
Somehow the 10,000th run seems to have calmed them down. As it has Kallis, who raised his bat as if he was about to announce his retirement. Needs to pick a few 10k tips from his IPL mate, Dravid, who did the whole Bangalore Royal Challengers cheerleader routine. And then some.
Graeme McKenzie gone!
South Africa in shock. They knocked two openers instead of one. With Graeme Smith caught behind, the SAF commentators were caught with their 'foot in the mouth' - called it "Graeme McKenzie gone...indeed, no Graeme Smith gone." Sounded just like the Aussies have all summer. Or the Kiwis are, in spite of winning.
2-2, Graeme Amla gone, and with him Hashim too.
Kirmani the prophet?
by Mohit Varma
So did Syed Kirmani call it correctly, in his comments when he said India's run could end in Kiwiland. After the first two T 20 matches, the World Champions have been humbled. The rest of the series is wide open now. Looks like the series Down Under has given the Kiwis the confidence they need. And once again, the Kiwis are the most interesting side in the world with the ability to humble the big teams. Vettori, like Fleming has become a skipper to watch.
What the tour has shown so far is that India as a team, and MSD as a captain are still evolving. MSD's batting in the second T 20 defied logic. Thanks to his unduly patient knock, India left it too late, and in the end too little. The Aussies at their peak did not take their foot of the pedal, and could decimate an opposition. India have the same capability, but they need the confidence to implement it. The captain has to give the team that confidence.Ponting did it with Australia, Smith is doing it with South Africe, and Dhoni has to do it with India.
After India's losses in the T 20 the rest of the series is wide open now.
Dhoni the captain is truly under the test. So's Kirmani the prophet.
Yusuf Pathan Watch
Earlier, this was said about the first ball Yusuf faces. This time round, the second ball got him. He would have preferred to hit Daniel for six, but MSD at the other end was batting with so much responsibility, you'd think it was a five day match with a rest day thrown in.
Blogger gets to Sehwag again.
Ian O’Brien prised Sehwag out when he got some free time from his blog. Add to that Ponting’s wicket, a few times, and you know maintaining a blog can only do wonders for your cricket.
Rohit Sharma, a very good 12th man
Finally, Rohit Sharma is where we will all cherish him.
In the dugout. If it was the IPL or the ICL, he would have yapped a lot.
And who comes in his place – Ravindra Jadeja. Not Ojha, but at least he has a J in his name. And he’s a slow bowler, and if and when India throws 6-7 wickets, he will come handy, and be expected to win the game.
Left arm over the wicket, c’mon Jaddu 2.
England's not too bad, eh?
You could be entertaining all evening, barely watch a ball, and then 70 overs later, both Strauss and Cook are back in the hut. Thank you. And suddenly it’s the KP and Owais show, time to be entertained. That’s perception. Doesn’t matter that both Strauss & Cook wangled a 6 each, Strauss scored a big 100, and Cook a big nigh hundred.
Bored Joke: What do you say when Darren Powell gets to play in spite of himself: Powell Play.
Jo'burg is so much like Karachi!
On day 1 of the 1st test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the Lankans were 3 down for not much when the Pakistan Vice Captain dropped a sitter off the Lankan Captain.
Mahela was on 43 then and went on to score 240.
On day 1 of the 1st test between Australia and South Africa, the Aussies were 3 down for not much when the South African Captain dropped a sitter off the Aussie Captain.
Ponting was on 40 then and is on 76 now and will go on to score?
Wanna Open?
Three openers have made their test debuts in this week.
The Sri Lankan got a golden duck to a beauty from Umar Gul. The Aussie got a 4th ball duck playing an ugly swipe. The Pakistani was the highest scorer amongst them and played a few confident strokes before falling to Mendis.
A few years ago, you would have expected the Aussie to get a debut ton, the Lankan to play a few confident strokes, and the Pakistani to get out playing an ugly swipe.
How times change.
Toilet seat man takes what a catch
Neil McKenzie caught Katich. Toliet seats the world over will be raised for a minute in tribute.
You can put words to the catch, but that would be doing McKenzie a huge disfavour. Just go ahead and catch it in the highlights, it's bound to be all over the place.
Fielding at Gully, McKenzie can now have an entire school of cricket named after this catch - it will aptly be called Gully cricket.
Anyway, if you're the kind of viewer that prefers reading about catches rather than catching them, here goes:
8.5
Steyn to Katich, OUT, stunning catch! And i mean stunning! Steyn pitches it just back of a length outside off stump, Katich opens the face and tries to steer the ball away but thats a brilliant effort from McKenzie at gully, diving horizontal to his right and plucking the ball with one outstretched hand, then tumbling to the ground before his team-mates and the fortunate bowler mob him
You read stunning, brilliant effort, none which do justice to the catch. So go sit on a toilet seat, and catch the catch.
Bored Joke: Guess what's being served for lunch at the Wanderers: A fresh Catch.
Saffas vs Ozzies...why BCC! should be interested
by Ankit Mishra
I was wondering what to post about, and then the single biggest thing in southern hemisphere cricket came up. South Africa takes on Australia in a test series starting today and I dug up the reasons why a Bored Cricket Crazy Indian should be interested. It took careful research and a lot of free time to come up with this: 5 reasons why a BCC! should be interested...
1. The scenery in SA is very picturesque...Don’t watch the cricket watch the stands, if you know what I mean. The only other place that compares is the West Indies, but then there is a slight difference of pigmentation which we of course are not concerned about
2. You can have fun watching the teams tug it out on “who wants to be a #2”
3. You can use your creativity to suggest 101 ways to use the ICC Mace thingie. I could suggest one here, but then the site’s ratings would change.
4. You can watch the IPL players in action before the IPL. For example, you can see if Kallis plays faster in tests.
5. Play “Kaala Bandar” from “Delhi 6” and wear the tee saying “I am not missing Symmo”. No offence meant. Hope none taken.
please come up with your own ideas...lets make this more interesting than it is for us...
Spin.
Want to fix New Zealand? Import David Hussey as a part time spin option. The Kiwis never came to grips with Hussey or for that matter any Aussie who bowled slow. If Ojha is in town, and not sightseeing, India could use four overs from him in the next T20.
Unlike India’s trump spin card, he may even think of flight, attack, offstump lines. It’s tough at times telling if Pathan’s slower one was faster or Bhajji’s faster one was slower.
And while we're at it, why does Amit Mishra not play limited overs' cricket? Too much of a threat to Bhajji, oye?!
for the Kiwi mouthpieces: It's Ishant Sharma and not Ishant Patel. Ishant was Patel-ed for every ball he bowled, and he did bowl quite a few no-balls. Appears the Patels have got to the Kiwis, no wonder they don't play Jeetan Patel that often.
"It's only T20"
“It’s only T20” - Charu Sharma, former CEO of the Bangalore Royal Challengers, said that after India lost to New Zealand today.
Guess what he said to his former employer, Vijay Mallya, after his team lost match after match in the IPL - “It’s only T20.”
Anyway, that’s three words more than Rahul Dravid said.
lesson to be learned...
for team india...
that you must respect your opponent...
you will not win matches just coz you are favorite...
nice that the notice is served hot and early...
Move over Younis, India’s back.
For an Indian cricket fan, in a way, it’s easier on the remote that Younis packed up at 313, just shy of the T20 game in Christchurch.
Commiserations to Q, Wasim and the Younis Brigade.
The 94 runs later addiction
Younis on 306, and we’re already thinking Inzi’s record, Hanif’s record, Lara’s record, 400. That’s akin to a new day, Younis starting his innings, on 6, and we’re already thinking 100. Or is it?
Bored Banner watch - "i like your hairstyle Ramiz Raja, please give me some tips." And to think, just a few minutes back, Ramiz's hairstyle struck me as a good cartoon option. Think Chuck Norris.
Rs. 1 million announced for Younis Khan if he reaches 400 by some suit.
The millions' gone.
210.2
Fernando to Younis Khan, OUT, Gone! Good length on the off stump and jagged back in sharply, gets on the back foot to defend but was bowled through the gate, end of an absolutely superb innings by the Pakistan captain, unfortunate to have missed out on the record but he's ensured his team saves the first Test after facing a mammoth score of 644 from Sri Lanka
Younis Khan b Fernando 313 (836m 568b 27x4 4x6) SR: 55.10
Excuse me while I kiss the dirt
Younis, son of the soil that he is, kneels, kisses the earth after each ton.
Speaking to a childhood buddy, it was learnt that even as a kid, after reaching a milestone, Younis would kiss the ground.
On one such occasion, playing in a swampy park in Peshawar, Younis hit a big six, won the game, and knelt down to kiss the kechar – he rose, his face caked with sludge, and that manic smile.
Not to different from that kid in Slumdog Millionaire. Everybody was yucked out.
Rumour has it, he was much feared since then, and even known as Yuck-ounis Khan.
related story
Married to test cricket in Karachi.
by Q
I completely agree that the pitch is not what's right for tests and that its not a good advertisement at all. Either way, Pakistanis in general have stayed away from the grounds for tests, even from the interesting ones like the ones against India in Karachi and the England series in 2005-06..
Most fans watch test cricket on TV.. Having said that, in all honesty, this test match has not been boring even for a minute for me.
Initially I was excited about Sohail and Khurram making their debuts..
Secondly, I was interested to see how Pakistan survive the threat of Murali and Mendis..
Trust me, when uve been deprived of test cricket for 14 months and get to watch ur team try to save a match, its anything but boring..
I'm in a house in Pakistan where 40-50 of us relatives have gathered for my brother's wedding - all of them have been glued to the tele. That just shows that it's not been boring for us Pakistanis :-)
On the stats front. Well there are 12 frontline batsman playing in this test. All of them have got their chance to bat. Only 1 has reached a triple and another 2 a double. Sure the pitch is flat, but it takes something more than that to get to 200 and 300...
Younis and Samaraweera have played flawless innings... and given another pitch and a more potent bowling attack with this kind of determination and will (younis) and aggression (samaraweera), I reckon they would have gotten the same scores.
Having said all that, I agree that the pitch is not right.But that cannot take away from the achievements..
who made this son of a pitch?
1200 runs and 12 wickets later, we’re stuck with a bitch of a test match...
this is not the first time and most certainly not going to be the last time…
test cricket itself is being challenged like never before by the emergence of T20 and the last thing we want are dead as dodo pitches which are only going to hasten the beginning on an end we all fear…whatever purists say about test cricket’s health sighting results and the thrilling draws we had recently… it would be like ignoring the threat knowingly…
i would go on to say that more than the debacle of Antigua these pitches will kill test cricket first…
i am yet to see an advertisement of a company ridiculing its own product…then why isn’t anything done about this farce (sorry sam for using your takiyakalam) being organised in the name of test cricket…
when bowlers look the other way whenever captain wants to bowl them…when batsmen lick their lips in anticipation of adding some ‘weight’ to their stats…when the only time players involved in the game feel happy (or relieved) when two captains agree to end it…when two teams have the best talent of world cricket, with the best technicians assembled - are compelled to air the dullest test cricket…the future of which is already being debated…
then you know something is going horribly wrong...
isn’t it time we look into some ‘quality control’ of pitches too…the most important factor in any form of the game, specially test cricket…?
Stop press, stop TV: Younis Khan doubles up.
The third double in four days. Ten Sports just couldn’t take it, neither could Hathway Cable. Is it a service to the cricketing community to be off air? Can they abandon a test after 3 ½ days, or does Faisal Iqbal need to score some runs, now that he’s made it back again. Javed Uncle will be happy. It’s been 8 years since his debut, more than 14 months since his last test, (at least he has something in common with his teammates) and a nowhere test average of 25. But he has scored one hundred, that too against India, and at Karachi, where else.
While Pak cricket was away:
The banner-slogan industry thrived. The other day, this was up.
And when Pak was down, this was up: It said, ‘now that you’ve declared, let us play a little’
Such intelligence tossed with honesty, a rarity in the spontaneous art of cricket slogans.
Curious about the fourth day? Wonder what slogans it’ll bring.
Karachi Halwa.
Ok, here’s the recipe for Karachi Halwa. Or you could be a batsman at the National Stadium having your just desserts.
Anyone who has watched all three days so far deserves a medal, or a pudding – that would be the commentators, players, security, and of course, Chacha, the most demonstrative fan of Pak cricket.
Ideally, for a report on this test, Chacha would be a good bet. Imagine, enthusiasm where none exists. Sweet.
Cricket Virgins
by Naked Cricket
Cricket Virgins
They’re kinda nervous, they’re kinda scared
What will happen and what will be?
Cricket Virgins
Almost forgotten all that Mother had said
Cricket Virgins
There’s no penetration
There’s no initiation
What there is, is a fourteen months wait
And then you play like passengers, but you really are freight
Cricket Virgins
Suddenly the big day has come
And it no longer seems like your idea of fun
To take one day at a time is one thing
But baby, five days, one after the other
That’s just not your thing
Cricket Virgins
They’re kinda quiet, kinda shy
They not only don’t know
But they’re so scared to try
Cricket Virgins
Go to coach, get a shoulder to cry
Cricket Virgins
No penetration, no penetration
How the hell did they get to score 600 odd
What the hell they say about sparing the rod
This new cricketing position needs attention from Sigmund Freud
And a lotta cover from the Insurance company of Lloyd’s
Cricket Virgins
It was bound to hurt.
Happy Bored Day Herschelle Hic! Gibbs
Only apt to have more than a few drops of nectar before you wish Gibbs. Happy B’day Gibbs! Time to get high, and raise a few sixes with the kid from Green Point who made it to backward point. Cheers.
(to see more of the flawed genius, look left, tomorrow, who knows, it'll be either genius or just flaws)
Telecast Blues and Gold?
I have often wondered while watching cricket on TV if others share some of my cricket-telecast related pet peeves. One thing that comes to mind at first is NEO Sports's choice of font for the scorecard. I'm not sure if it is the font alone or the strange shade of violet-ish blue in the background that causes such irritation on the eyes. If you're not very close or your cable signal isn't the best it can be unbelievably hard to read. So much for the blue. There's one "gold" thing which I thought has been cute - the little cartoon that gets displayed on the bottom of the screen when the batsmen is out - with the bat being all grumpy and the ball having a "gotcha" type of expression.
Dish yours out, folks!
Cheers,
VM
‘I am the best but Abdul Qadir hates me’
That was the best banner inside the National Stadium, Karachi. Not there were many others, but Waqar Younis on air laughed honestly.
It was not an amalgamation of his Aussie-Cockney-Punjabi-accent. It was honest like his inswinging Yorkers.
Full marks to Younis for that laugh, many commentators you know would’ve glossed over with a subdued titter, off air.
Later, at the fall of Butt, with 9 balls to be bowled, in walked the other Younis. The new captain, Younis Khan.
If it was England, they would’ve sent a nightwatchman for the nitwatchman.
Means, Anderson would’ve been saved for later, and the 12th man would’ve stepped out to bat.
Cheats, every last one of them. Except for anybody with the name Younis in his name.
PS: Abdul Qadir is chairman of selectors, Pakistan
'Punter's biggest Fan Blog' or 'A Blog dedicated to Jayawardene and Rohit Sharma'
Sam vs. Achettup
Sam -
My predictions for Aus vs SA Test series beginning 26/2 are :
South Africa : 1
Australia : 2
Series 2-1 to Australia.
Posted by Sam_2 at 5:51 PM
Labels: Australia vs South Africa 09
2 comments:
achettup said...
Lets bet on it, cmon put your honor where your mouth is... If Aus win the series 2-1 I'll change the name of my blog to "Punter's Biggest Fan Blog" for a month...If not, you must change the name of your blog to "Blog dedicated to Jayawardne and Rohit Sharma" for a month...deal?
February 16, 2009 7:05 PM
Sam_2 said...
lets do that achettup :)
And what happens in case of a drawn series, gentlemen? Or a 3-0 or 1-0 series win either way?
BCC! moles in ICC
Bored Members Q’s Well Pitched, Som’s Doosra and Homer’s My Two Cents have breached the ICC.
Have you forgotten to thank Sachin today?!
No! We don't! All we know of is Sachin!
Thank You Sachin!
For if you hadn't disassociated with Pepsi, where could we see a wig-wearing Sehwag!
"Kyunki Aage badhne ke liye ek hi connection zaroori hai"
Aapka apne Sachin se!
Sachin's Thankfully
Ankit Poddar
Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka, first test in a really long while.
It can’t be easy for Pak, playing as they are a test after 14 months.
Something strange was bound to happen. But this, even by Paki standards is bizarre.
Bryce McGain: Misses Flight, Loses Flight.
______________________________________________________
Bryce McGain vs. SAF Board Pres XI:19-1-126-2-6.63. A tad flat, eh?
If we wear the team jersey, then what will the team wear?
training shots
india home cap
team india replica jerseyThe Emperor’s new clothes are for sale - Ts, shorts, caps, name it, they’re here.
SMG must be disturbed, again. What gets his goat is that fans like you and me get to wear the exact same team jersey that a player wears after years of toil.
According to him, a player earns the India cap, where as a fan can step out for a stroll and buy it.
SMG has long been of the opinion that there should be a clear difference between team and fan apparel – Do away with the BCCI logo, he says.
Bang on Sunny. Should be the BCC! logo for fans.
PS: know what the New Jersey is called: No? Johnny Collar
Pakistan stripped of title, Indians wonder what to care about.
by Ankit Mishra
There are times when you hate such a headline, there are times when you love it. This is indifferent. This is indeed different.
The erstwhile mighty West Indians have saved the ad-hoc test match by nothing more than the length of Fidel Edwards' hair.
*********
BREAKING NEWS
We are sorry to interrupt the blog post but this is important, though we are trying our level best to determine why! Anyway, here goes:
FIDEL EDWARDS WAS BORN IN A VILLAGE CALLED GAYS
Such genuine news can only be a result of being so bored...be bored....be informed!!!
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Stupid Breaking News...Coming back to whatever we were at, because the West Indies have saved the test match in a great effort (involving sliding past active guillotines and the likes of 10 and 11 having to stare at the face of defeat for 36 minutes), they have stripped Pakistan off its title of being the most unpredictable team. All hail West Indies.
One day they would be the team to lose to, on another they are not even worth beating...
Poor Pakistan. Now the only title it holds is that of playing the least matches in a calender year. No, Zimbabwe still holds that. India, who until recently held the same record, are not sure whether to be happy or be sad. They have bigger problems, like the colour of their shirt or the late arrival of Dinesh Karthik into their team bus. Yuvraj has to decide who to pick as his girlfriend – Kotak or Lamba!
Happy Bored Day 6,6,6,6
Happy B’day Eddie Hemmings. Long before Yuvi knocked Broad for 6 6s in a T20, Kapil Dev hoisted Hemmings for 4 consecutive 6s in one over, in a test match. Why? That’s Kapil for you. No seriously, why? Ok, it was to avoid the follow on.
(For Hemming’s page, click on yr left, tomorrow it’ll be six and out)
Azhar, why have you joined politics?
click on image to enlargeby straight point + naked cricket
A distinction indeed.
by Ottayan
What do you make of this statistics?
Not only have India had just one Test series victory in New Zealand -- way back in 1968, under Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi -- they have not even won a Test match there for more than 30 years stretching back to 1976.
Will you categorize it as a distinction or a dubious distinction?
The blood of an Englishman.
Somebody had to pay for Australia’s dismal summer. Who better than a smug Englishman who worships the ground beneath Ricky’s feet.
March Nicholas has to go. Question is not why him, question is what took them so long?
Watching the Aussies go down all summer was painful, especially when you had Mark Nicholas waxing eloquent like he was at Sotheby’s auctioning antique lingerie.
Mark, at best of times, was rough on the ears.
Once the Aussies started slipping, his warped empathy touched pukish proportions. Providing solace where none existed.
He was a loner – squeezed between guys from vastly different backgrounds, accents, drinking habits, hairstyles.
Just picture Bill Lawry, Mark Taylor, little boy Slater, and Mark Nicholas together on a picnic.
Next, pick the odd one out.
Didn’t help Mark’s cause that Gilchrist and Warne joined the picnic. Mark Nicholas’ seedy voice started to stick out more.
Btw neither Mark Nicholas nor Richie Benaud were available for comment.
(the basis of this story is an old link; however, we're glad to spread cheer in the cricket world, if only for a few moments)
The Cricket Mughals
Sire, regret to inform you, 
Go fornicate a goat..because of you bored peon and bored neon r gng places
thank god they changed the color
get ready to see your favorite star in the new team uniform...team india changed its color today at a glittering event held in mumbai...
there have been mixed reactions about the change in color...some question the reasons behind it...some like...some dislike...
..and some fear that it can bring bad luck to an otherwise successful team india, sighting the example of how oz is going down the drain since they changed the color of their jerseys...
but we @ BCC! are happy...
now tomorrow if sachin won't fire...
yuvraj again starts dancing to the tune of spinners...
sehwag forgets his newly found responsibility after attaining fatherhood...
gautam the 'city' gambhir becomes gautam the 'village' against pace bowlers...
punter starts sending ishant's deliveries out of stadium even in sleep walk mode...'
zahir starts liking 'jelly beans'....
...and dhoni starts leading from the front with gloves too (haddin way)...
you know whom to blame...
yess it's the COLOR of jersey, stupid!
after the recent initiative of 'thank you sachin' campaign...the need of we hate [dash] was being felt very strongly...
so thank god (or BCCI?) they have changed the color...now we can say, very proudly, after every misadventure of team india or team 'indians'...
WE HATE the COLOR!!
Happy Bored Day to the other Don
Happy B’day Don Tallon. Thanks to you we now know of Bundaberg in Queensland, your place of birth. As also other well kept secrets – such as Bradman’s opinion of you as a wicket-keeper. (to know more about the other Don, look left to click his page today, tomorrow you will have your Phil)
Thou shalt be proven wrong
I shall make merry
and score a century
whenever my place is in treacherous doubt
And rest again, oh sweet rest
till such time, when my place is
in treacherous doubt
I shall make merry
and score a century
and rest again
Ten Sports are the Pirates of the Caribbean.
Ok, you’ve heard that bit about the batsman seeing the ball like a football - now with Ten Sports so can you.
Their telecast is like one of those pirated camera prints – you never get the full picture, you end up with body doubles.
Benn is not only 10ft tall, he’s now ten feet wide too. Only on Ten Sports.
If that’s not bad enough, you can’t tell Collingwood’s score. Or how many minutes of your time he’s taken.
Not that you want to know, but when that is no longer an option, it hurts.
Not Going To Safferland? Still Want to Play?
By Achettup
Why not consider another game? You're not the only guys who will miss the cricket, team up with all the other madcaps who weren't picked. What, you want a game that will let you swear, clobber each other all over the park and role play uninhibitedly? Thats a tough one... Hey how about this:
Now you can scream and thump each other all day long while entertaining us just as much as you would have on the cricket ground.
P.S: Brownie points* if you can guess who the joker is...
*No racial innuendos intended, either in that line or the entire theme of the post.
Irfan playing French Cricket
by Mohit Varma
What is Irfan banging when it's not the cricket ball? Well some friends of friends one of whom is dating a french diplomat has the answer. He bumped into Irfan at a party thrown by the French diplomat, where Irfan was with his French girlfriend.
Pathan expressed his unhappiness at the publicity that surrounds cricketers, saying that they hardly have any privacy. And even when they have privacy some friends of friends of a very bored mohit discover Pathan's lady love. But you have to agree with Pathan, it's tough being a cricketer in India.
Scoop: The Cricket Budget Revealed
Slowdown, what slowdown? Here’s the CRICKET Budget – and NOT the whole SPORTS Budget. This is yet again an insiders’ job, and as is often the case, we cannot name the source.
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Sachin Tendulkar Rehabilitation Program (up to 2011 World Cup): Rs. 1013.24 cr.
(is liable to be increased if deemed necessary, or as and when the player breaks down, undergoes unforeseen surgery, or travel to another country for the same. This does not include allowances to the player when on medical duties. This also does not include other Miscellaneous expenses in the SRT budget for misc. expenses)
Miscellaneous expenses towards SRT: Rs.823.11 cr.
(Public Relations, goodwill maintenance, interview therapy, Elite model programme)
Thank You Sachin Initiative Rs. 475.17 cr.
(A new provision in the budget, towards third party (players) content creation and inventions - separate allocation for SRT’s presence at key sessions. Includes spontaneous media interaction simulation, face your fears German-Bindra package includes high altitude training.)
Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) Rs. 578.97 cr.
(subject to changes as per negotiations; targets key group, icon players. allocation varies as per market value of player)
Appearance Elevator Scheme Rs. 763.09 cr.
(styling, haircuts, misc. physical appearance driven initiatives+cerebral)
New Talent Development Rs. 4.06 cr.
(may be discontinued as research reveals that Talent is inborn and cannot be developed)
Lalit Modi LitigationFund Rs. 768.08cr.
(aka LL or Lalit’s Law, reserved for litigation - misc legal cases, unlawful procedures undertaken against the good name of Mr. Modi)
Modi ‘Rambagh Palace’ Hotel Allowance
(determined at the end of the financial year)
IPL
(aka International Promotion League – cannot and will not be determined, is not for public scrutiny, only for the Auditors of PwC)
VIP Protocol Fund
(a paltry amount, for the unkeep of VIP boxes, misc facilities, entertainment allowance, more a service to the people that serve our nation. Not determined)
E&OE
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by straight point+naked cricket
Happy Bored Day 'Simply Immaculate Bowling'
Haddin will go for a toss
With Vettori in the T20 game on Sunday. Which will be Ricky’s day of rest.
There was a sketchy prediction for Haddin to skipper Australia; he’ll need to lead from the front again, with his gloves.
Appears he pulled off one of those nonchalant glove manoeuvres in the dark. Again. That swung it for him.
There was also this theory on Hayden keeping Haddin out because of the nuances of English spelling.
As for Sunday's game, appears Haddin will fail. All of us at BCC! wish him the worst of luck.
This Valentine's Day, what does Sachin support?
Pragyan Ojha joins ‘Thank You Sachin!’ Group
Ojha had gone largely unnoticed until Sachin spoke to him. This is what Ojha said, or rather, this is what he said about what Sachin said to him.
"It was in the third match and he came and told me that if I can stick to my disciplined line and length, I will get wickets. He also told me to focus on my strength and reminded me of my domestic performance. I got four wickets in that match."
join the Thank You Sachin group you thankless so and so
Happy Bored Day Forgotten Banerjee
Happy B’day Subroto Banerjee. Hard to fathom why you were a one test pony – and bowled only in the first innings, that too after 3/41. Not that it kept me awake at night, but yours was the ‘common quick bowler vanishes’ story from the 90s. And to think that Warne made his debut in the same test. On your 40th, let’s remember that 3/41. And those 3 runs you made.
(look left for Subroto's page today, tomorrow, it will be forgotten again)
nz tour: are 'we' really ready...?
i came across this statement from tendulkar…
"it is a fairly new team and the challenge is definitely there. playing in new zealand, where the conditions are going to be tough, is a completely different experience."
i think we are still not over the last tour's ghosts to new zealand…and i must say we are over reacting and over rating nz tour than it really deserve…
we have got the most devastating and inform opening combination in the world in batting as well as bowling and man to man nz team don’t even compare…they are struggling to find a good replacement of a player like oram…mccullum has been in indifferent form off late…their bowling is good, but it’s anything but threatening…
so while we may get some ‘different’ conditions over there…i am confident that we have players who will see us thru…besides that india will be first playing two t20s and five odis…then only we will play real cricket that is test matches…
the itinerary of the tour is such that it will provide us enough time to get accustomed to, and for a team that is looking to be tops it’s very handy…
then why the fuss…? are they ‘programming’ us for the possible mishap, like last time, we might have over there? why are we made to believe that mines are awaiting us in nz? …and even if they have prepared mines, we have the resources to exploit them to our advantage…
if we really want to be the no.1 team, we won’t always find conditions we want…we won’t find opposition teams lying on the mat for us to walk all over them…we have to conquer them in their own backyard to be no. 1, not only in icc ratings… but to be adjudged real champions…
i think this is pessimism working overtime…which prevents us from thinking that we can really beat the shit out of a team struggling to keep its place at the bottom of the table… we are still very cautious, thinking a bad patch is just around the corner…the same pessimism which makes us think that oh we are surely gonna lose this match coz law of averages are gonna catch up with us soon…
wonder why the law of averages never caught up with oz and west indies in their prime…?
when will we get accustomed to being a nation, and a team which is not only looking to be the top in the world, but really has the potential to be so…?
don’t you think we too need to change in our attitude and thinking the way we want our team to?
You’re invited to the Rohit Sharma bash.
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named: With a name like Rohit Sharma he will never succeed.
I: Huh?
Sounded foolish at first, but then think about it – If he was called Rohhhit Sharmakar or Rohit Sharam kar, would we have waited so long to get on his case. As it is, we’re still spanking ‘n’ thanking Sachin with another pointless facebook group called Thank You Sachin.
Give Rohit Sharma a minute. Just a minute. The team to NZL will be announced today.
Rohit Sharma was announced a while back. And now the pronouncement. Over to Arm Ball and Island Express and Straight Points.
It’s getting hot in there.
The fifth day of the Aus-NZ one day series test match
Going into the fifth ODI feels more like the fifth day of a test.
Kiwis took the first two days, Aussies the next two, and if you go by recent memory, the last day should go SAF’s way or India’s way or Carlito’s way.
Who knows, even Kiwi’s way. But it seems less likely now. Unless some Good Samaritan ties the Aussies to their beds and plays 5th day fare from Mohali. On rerun obviously.
Be a smart ploy to knot Haddin up, with his hands in front, and show him his 5th morn’ dismissal in Mohali. On rerun obviously. For good measure, his eyes should be kept from closing (refer Clockwork Orange)
Haddin will be a key player. Not only is he leading from the front with his gloves, he also got that 100 right on top.
Trouble is Haddin was meant to open all along. But because of a freak accounting error, the machines slotted Hayden there, and not Haddin.
The machines cheated Haddin of his chance. And that made him put country before gloves. Then some specky called him all sorts of stuff.
NZL to win: Play Patel. Oz to win: Do not play Patel.
Other lesser factors: For NZL: Sledge Ricky, Haddin and generally talk about Roy. Attack with spin.
For Oz: Use Hopes and Haddin as key players. Also anybody else whose name starts with ‘H’ will be vital, that makes two Husseys and one Hilfenhaus (not from Harry Potter)
Be good for Oz if Pup doesn’t play. It’s time for Punter to express himself fully, and grow into the role of captaincy. It’s been a long time, and I believe, his time has come.
Bored Peon & Bored Neon: Cut
click image to enlarge
Whatever… Thank Sachin
by A Bisht
Yousuf Pathan aroused the hopes
Younger Pathan blazed the shots
Brothers made India win
But before thanking duo, Thank Sachin
Mohammad Asif did the pot
Dubai police got the rot
Media helped the honesty win
But before thanking media, Thank Sachin
Symmonds made famous the fishing thing
Cricket Australia interrupted his bling
It’s the IPL who absolved his sin
But before thanking IPL, Thank Sachin
Sehwag was happy with his batting
Then came Chappell, with his constant chatting
He overdo the chat to make Sehwag dim
But before thanking Chappell, Thank Sachin
Warney messaged any girl he saw
He kept on sharpening his messaging paw
He lost the captaincy and the fun
His antics made the girls shun
Then he steered his team to the IPL win
But before thanking Warney, Thank Sachin
Today, NC made a group at Facebook
Wants everyone to have a look
You please join and make him win
But before thanking me, Thank Sachin
Join the group...But pl Thank Sachin
Happy Bored Day HE'S GAAAAAAAAAAWN!!!
Happy B'day Bill. There was a time you made dull matches less dull. Now your team's full of dullheads, both on the field and in the com box. Here's raising a glass to the man who loves to raise his voice.
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Bill Lawry joke:
bored peon: why channel 9 was looking to sack bill?
bored neon: coz his bills used to come in lorry..
i fear for srilanka...
not coz mahela jayawardene has resigned from captaincy...
but for the reason what i saw in yesterday's match that india won...
...and the name of my fear is tillakaratne mudiyanselage dilshan...
he was all over the place yesterday...
yelling at bowlers...shouting at fielders...
one moment he looked to be in heaven...
and another looked as if he will have a heart attack...
one shot from batsman and you could see how his shoulders dropped...
all in all a nervous wreck...
he was a text book example of how a captain should not behave on field...
so please srilanka, if you want to appoint any captain...
arrange another T20 match with us...to see how he fares...
we are anyway free still...before we play next T20 match with nz...
and we can do atleast this much for you...for being such a good neighbors...
yes dhoni?
ps: even bcci seems to like this idea...
Brothers in Arms
by Mohit Varma
India were in Dire Straits until they had the Brothers in Arms. The partnership between Yusuf and Irfan was a great display of the thrills of T 20, as well as the evolution of the Indian side.
T 20 is truly a game of chances, and India has the players that will take their chances. It was a team victory yesterday, and this is the great thing about the current Indian side. It's no longer dependent on individuals. Even after the early departure of Sehwag and Gambhir, the team did not stop chasing the win. Yuvraj, Raina and the Pathan brothers went for the chase.
There's an important reason that India is doing well in the T 20. If you look at the batting and bowling departments, in the T 20 team yesterday there were 8 all rounders among 11 players. Raina, Sharma and Gambhir are the only specialists. It won't be surprising if the skipper tries to achieve the same in the 50 over format. The shorter versions of the game suit all rounders. It may be a reason why Dhoni has broght Irfan back to the one day side.
To end on a note fantastical: Will the Indian T 20 side eventually be 11 all rounders?
P.S. Whatever happens to Mahela and Sangakarra
