drawn on recycled paper
And now Raina says Thank You Sachin!
Soon after his debut hundred, still in his ice bath, this is what Suresh Raina said:
"It was a pressure situation I was feeling the nerves since we had lost the first Test. He came up to me and just told me to enjoy, to choose my shots wisely, to just hang in there. He said, 'no matter what else you do in life, your first Test will always be special, so make it count.' Test cricket is about confidence, about grinding it out. It was a huge learning curve for me. I enjoyed it immensely."And this is what Thank You Sachin said:
"I just tried to make him feel comfortable. He showed character and that is important."
And this is what BCC! says:
Thank You @Girsubra for "@BoredCricket Folks ,its time for another 'Thank you Sachin' Post.This time for Suresh raina"
Bedi's latest dig at Murali
Bored Profile: Rumesh Ratnayake
Rumesh Ratnayake was the front man for a 80s pop group called the Sri Lankan cricket team. He knew a thing or two about headbands.
There are only two men in Indian cricket
Bishen Singh Bedi might have a loose tongue, he might be a publicity monger, for all his acerbic he was, is and will be a great master of a dying trade. The art left arm slow bowling. Ask any one who’s savvy enough to speak cricket without having to refer to www, he would say “Bedi was the baap of all”.
In roughly 13 years, he played 67 tests. His returns with his left hand were 266 scalps at 28.71.
Muralitharan played for 18 years, 133 tests and returned with 800 scalps at 22.72
Let’s look at some statistics now…
What are we going to see now ?
a. Where Muralitharan was when he finished playing his 67th test
b. Removing all the home test matches, to avoid the “My favorite groundsman” factor for both bowlers
c. Remove the obvious minions, Zimbabwe is the only one in the list so we remove them
d. Because we are removing Zimbabwe whom Bedi never played and some might argue they had the Flower power when Muralitharan played. We make a compromise, in all matches Muralitharan took more than 2 wickets you discount 2 wickets (meaning you add it to his total tally, that of the Flower’s). Just to give him that advantage of hard earned wickets
Now, here’s how the board looks
Bishen “Loud mouth” Bedi
Tests played: 67
Tests played at home: 28
Wickets: 266
Wickets at home: 129
So we reset his tally to 266 - 129 = 137
So Bedi’s final figure is 137 test wickets at the end of his career
Muttiah “Protractor” Muralitharan
Total Tests played: 133
Wickets: 800
At the end of 67 tests…
Tests played at home: 35
Wickets: 340
Wickets at home: 195
Wickets against Zimbabwe (after deducting 2 from tally more than 2, the actual tally is 12): 9
So the rest tally is: 340 – 195 – 9 = 133
After 67 tests who is great ?
Who tested the batsmen the most ?
And who troubled the establishment more ?
Let us not let someone belittle one of our greats. We Indians have this habit of letting go of our culture, history & the greats, as told by our forefathers. Thanks to politics we can’t acknowledge the fact that we have let ourselves hijacked.
Let’s try and make Indian cricket politics free !! (outside the purview of BCCI of course)
As of now we know that there are only two real men in Indian cricket, one is Prasanna and the other is Maninder Singh. Let’s join them in telling the world “No Muralitharan, you are wrong… Singh Bedi is King Bedi”.
And hope he says “Sorry, I was misquoted” (as they all say !!)
#356 for Harbhajan!!! What a bowler!!!
by Mahek + NC
The rapist pitch
Centuries ago, people used to call the pitch at the Sharjah a bowlers nightmare. The pitch on which the current match is going on and countless such airstrips masquerading as pitches in the subcontinent seem to have gone a step further. Just 4 wickets gone in just two days. That means a dismissal every one and a half session. A wicket every 44.3 overs. Heck, I could have survived a few overs on this "pitch".
Admitted, the bowling on display was not great. However as seen in the last match, a little help transformed the Indian pea shooters to at least the "competent" level. Here help was in the form of the opposing captain saying "I Declare". The Lankan bowlers must have cringed on hearing those words.
Anjelo Matthews was warned officially for running on the pitch. I have a sneaking suspicion that he purposely danced on the pitch so that he could be banned and his sanity saved. If that is the case, I admire the fella.
This ain't a bowlers' graveyard. After toiling hard, if you get a century of runs made against you, you would prefer to be dead. Graveyard is where the dead rest undisturbed. Bowlers would wish to go spend the rest of their lives in the grave if they were told to bowl on pitches like these for the rest of their lives.
This thing is an undead bowler rapist.
What did Sanga & Mahela do
To declare when a batsman is just 24 shy of a test hundred that shows rare character. But then Mahela was dismissed just 26 shy off a test double. Had he batted on, Samara' would’ve had his hundred. Worse, Sanga was dismissed 81 shy of a triple hundred. Had he batted on, almost everybody in the Lankan lineup would’ve been assured of some milestone. Mendis’ maiden test fifty, he was that close to it. It was one of those days, Lanka was dreaming four fingers.
look who is whinning already...
aussie media has already started whinning about the upcoming two test series in india as bad preparation for the ashes... here is a sample clip...
Australian captain Ricky Ponting has conceded that playing Tests in Mohali and Bangalore in October is hardly ideal preparation for the first Test against England at Brisbane’s Gabba on November 25, it said.
The newspaper said “pancake-flat” Indian pitches were probably the worst place to try to recalibrate misfiring spearhead Mitchell Johnson, who returned a woeful bowling average of 72 in the two Tests against Pakistan in England.
the last time aussies visited india... they lost the series 2-0 playing on “pancake-flat” indian pitches and on one of those pitches... mohali... they were steamrolled by zaheer who cut through their middle order like a hot knife cuts through butter...
are they sure they are referring to the same 'pancake-flat' mohali...? or is this just an excuse to avoid another thrashing before the one they will receive in the ashes...?
Bored Profile: Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina was undoubtedly the most likable Indian player in the early 21st century. Selectors, captains, mates, if not vowed by his freakish talent, were charmed by his frenzied smile. Legend has it that he was one player that even the most notorious sledgers found hard to sledge – instead they would break into smile, and often enquire about his dentist or toothpaste.
In the early part of his career, which pretty much spanned till the latter part, Raina favoured the mid-wicket region – not just with his cross-batted heaves but also while fielding, and signing autographs, in addition to always setting a field with a mid wicket. This earned him the name Mr. Midwicket from none other than Mr. Cricket, Mike Hussey.
In the summer of 2010, when Yuvraj rested himself, Raina made his test debut against Sri Lanka. It was later learnt that India was up against themselves. As Raina replaced Yuvraj, he was known as the rich man’s Yuvi.
Gypsy Kings
Home, away
Home is away
Away is away
Will play where we play
Will play where we play
Anywhere, will you have us?
Will you have us?
Roll out your pitch
In the middle of Arabia
Roll out your pitch
In the middle of England
Will play
I will be chieftain for today
You will be my tribe
My mental age is much less
Than my fudged age
But I will talk
Raise my arms
And take it day by day
I will be chieftain
You will be my tribe
I will play like I'm playing
India
And we will win
Every team we play is India.
Home is away
We are away
so far away from you
So far we just can't see
(last two lines by Dire Straits, once SRT's favourite band)
The inscrutable bunch
- A player who has made retiring and unretiring a hobby of sorts.
- A player accused of tampering the pitch / ball / both who is appointed captain.
- A premier fast bowler who has gone through a gamut of problems which range from indiscipline to throwing to genital warts.
- Another fastie who when he is not snorting, is the real successor of the “Pigeon” (Finn can go fly a kite)
- A kid who enthralls us with his prefect “Waz” impressions i.e. if we are not grappling with the actual quantum of his age.
- A bowler who can bowl toe crushers in his sleep when he is not abusing his IPL captain.
- A pair of hyper talented brothers who can be as prolific as the Waughs if they curb their knack of indulging in, well, shady activities.
- A team whose current members and alumni have been accused of all sort of actions ranging from match fixing to ball tampering to smoking hash to rebelling against captain/coach to….well, all sort of actions.
- A team gifted with a board which is daft / unprofessional/ clueless and the “butt” of all jokes.
- A team which gifts fivers to devastating bowlers like Watson, North and, well, Ganguly (Toronto, you remember??)
- A team that has their top players retiring/deserting/sulking all the time and which still can compete with the best (though in patches).
- A team which can have a young and inexperienced player become captain at short notice and still blast the opposition for less than 100 runs.
This may sound like an extremely disjointed and inconsistent post. In a way it perfectly symbolizes the Pakistan cricket team.
A Quick One While I'm Away
Some top quality fast bowling this week. First the awesome Aamer-Asif-Gul trio giving it to the Aussies . Then Malinga yesterday. The man makes for compelling television. What a spell that was last evening !
I thought we'd produced a couple of toe-crushing yorker bowlers ourselves but realised I was wrong. I mean , none of the injuries to our 'non-spin' bowlers can be attributed to the batsman driving it straight back to their toes.
Gotta feel for young Abhimanyu who has now entered the chakravyu of indian non-spin bowling. The spiral goes like this : 135 kmph (at which point the indian media declare the arrival of a new speed sensation)- 130 kmph - 125 kmph - 120 kmph - oblivion.
Talking of which , I thought it was hallucinations from an overwrought week for me but it was a ghost called Ishant Sharna alright. Come back to haunt the cleaners once again.
by Bhaskar Khaund
PS : hope I got the poor sweet dear's name right - or was it irfan patel ?
RDX: Run outs can be funny
Before my run-out we had not run many singles. At first it felt good to get the circulation in the legs going. Even though a single to mid off can be tricky, Malinga was quite deep. After the single, we ran off a miss-field. It was a senseless run, and I have taken many such senseless runs in my career. But it is always disappointing. I really felt like hurling my bat, but somehow better sense prevailed. Later in the dressing room, Yuvi and Bhajji started to refer to me as Inzi. Gambhir begged to differ, laying claim to being the Inzi in the Indian team. We were still laughing when Sachin walked back. Evidently he wasn’t amused. After stumps, Viru congratulated me on getting run out again.
pak captaincy: why not umar akmal...?
pakistan cricket has a penchant for going round and round in circles... which is well reflected by countless 'for now' retirements from MoYo...
why not make a definite decision which will serve them for the long term even if it appears a bit of out of the box and uncomfortable to some seniors gleefully waiting to aajmaao their hand at captaincy...?
why not give it to umar akmal...?
for one he is the only player who's name is written first in all formats of the game...
although he is only about a season old... he has already acquired a reputation of a senior in the team...
he right now can't be toppled... not going anywhere anytime soon... is actually the most lambi race ka ghoda for pakistan... so why not give him the captaincy...? the kid doesn't know what the word fear means so i don't think he will see captaincy as added pressure... in fact he might just enjoy it...
as for the little things like will he win the match for pakistan anytime soon...?
to that my counter will be... did the so called seniors win... unhone kitne jhande gaad diye...?
give him the job i say...
WADA: bcci emerges winner...
so finally icc has rightly snubbed wada and its whereabouts clause and adopted its own cricket specific code and dope policy...
this is what i said earlier on wada and bcci's stand...
arguments we have heard in support of the wada whereabouts clause...
'how come others did not spot it...'
'how can so many people be so ignorant...'
'why have others not raised their voice before signing...'
'571 bodies who have signed the code can't be wrong...'
i would say that's exactly what the 571st said before signing...
most must have had reservations... but they signed thinking that nobody has raised the issue so far...
it took bcci to raise its voice against the practicality of the 'whereabouts' clause and it has given a platform for others to voice their inner doubts... and now we are seeing others pitching in...
the lone fighter, bcci, who unlike some 'cricket saving' boards, did not take it lying down and raised strong concerns refusing to sign until it is cricket specific, are now having the last laugh... and with it are smiling silently the same boards who succumbed meekly and signed it in the 'larger interest of the game' to wada's whereabouts clause, knowing fully well that it is the effort and stand of bcci which has made this possible...
but now, since icc has snubbed wada, i am yet to count a single article from 'experts' and 'cricket historians' who were yelling from roof top about save WADA code and specially the stand taken by 'ill informed' 'irrational' 'hugely spoilt' indian players... and bcci who backed them to the hilt...
Boomerang Boomerang Afridi :
For reasons almost as inexplicable as Shahid bhai himself , Afridi's dismissal somehow took me back to the Ind vs Eng test in Delhi , winter of 1984-85 when Kapil Dev holed out in the deep at a crucial stage on the last day. That had India hole-ing out even deeper , going on to concede that test and later the series 1-2. (That was Azza's legendary 3 centuries-on-debut series )
Skipper Sunny bhai was so unamused that he had the greatest Indian cricketer ever (as he subsequently went on to term praji) sacked for the remainder of the series. If memory serves me well Kapil praji did his damdest to return the favour later when it was his turn to be boss. On whether he succeded or not my memory does not serve me at all (or serves me only as well as Sunny and Kaps probably served each other). But those two sure did go at each other a fair bit.
And that's the difference with Shahid bhai. While Sunny bhai and Kapil praji went at each other , Shahid bhai only goes at Shahid bhai. The man is so self critical ! He probably calls himself Boo Boo Afridi. I bet if Afridi was bowling to Afridi , Afridi would give Afridi a massive, contemptuous charge down the track. And possibly hole out in the deep.
by Bhaskar Khaund
But ShiteBhai, What Would Imran Khan Do?
Well, Imran Khan appeared on twitter and laid the smackdown on ShiteBhai's ass:
Afridi should take on the captaincy challenge.Force himself to develop a defensive batting technique and bowl his fast leg breaks to contain
By running away from the leadership challenege Afridi would destabilise the team and do a huge injustice to is enormous God given talent
The responsibility of captaincy improved my batting From mid20s,my batting average went up to 50.To lead by example I had to develop defenceWell, Imran was always a dreamy idealist. Sometimes that can win you a world cup, sometimes that can mean trying in vain to turn around your country's fortunes over the last 15 years. Not that that is anything to be scorned at, one can only but salute the perseverance and determination of arguably the most respected Pakistani worldwide.
Its too late now. The entire world knows ShahidBhai is cricket's biggest captaining pussy since Kim Hughes [hah! see how I did that... well in keeping with Indian cricket bloggers attacking anything Australian or Pakistani right now!]
Boom Boom or "Too Phattu to play real cricket" Afridi
Asia Cup 2010 - Match 1 - Pakistan in deep shit chasing 240 odd. Captain Afridi comes out, plays his usual boom boom shots but more importantly mixes them with caution and sensible play. He almost wins the match singlehandedly but for cramps, fuckall running and nincompoop teammates.
Pak Vs Aus Test match 1 at Lords - Pakistan in deep shit chasing 250 odd to take the 1st innings lead. Captain Afridi comes out, plays his usual boom boom shots but more importantly (and frankly, pathetically) forgets the caution and sensible play he showed in the Asia Cup (and the World T20s). If he could play that way in a stupid ODI, why cannot he in the Tests. Does the sight of close in fielders make him pee in his pants? Or is it that he does not give a damn about Test cricket?
I refuse to respect Afridi. Anyone who does not respect Test cricket and prefers stupid T20s over it is not respectworthy and, dare I say, man enough.
Who Wears The Pants In This Family?
So who decides if Pakistan needs a strong middle order? On cricinfo, they've taken pains to name all the people who were involved in that decision making meeting:
The PCB said in a statement that Kamran Akmal would be Butt's vice-captain for the Tests in England and that the matter concerning the inclusion of Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf in the team was also discussed at a meeting but was deferred.
Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, convened a meeting on Saturday involving the team management and senior players to discuss the way forward following Afridi's decision to retire from Tests. The meeting was attended by the team manager Yawar Saeed, coach Waqar Younis, associate manager Shafqat Rana, Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Umar Gul.
Besides having one Butt too many in that meeting, there seems to be a peculiar mix of "senior" players in the meeting. I don't recall, what position did Shoaib Mirza bat at again in the previous test? Oh, thats right, they played a débutante ahead of him! As a "senior" player of considerable new "influence", his opinion on team harmony must have been crucial. This after a stats piece showed just how dependent the team is on a strong middle order. "matter deferred" it seems, at this rate soon your cricket will be "deferred" too Butthead...
The Aussie Blog World Reacts to Elbowgate
Monkey1: I didnt see nothin'
(Monkey 1 preaches humanism and pretends to love all races, in general dispenses advice to others not to be divisive but ofcourse, does this by maintaining deathly silence on Aussie transgressions and proclaiming the offenders great fair cricketers when they score a century or achieve some statistical feat)
Monkey2: Didnt hear nothin'
(Monkey2, actually an aggregation of the typical ranting Aussie, who will safely throw "reverse racism" at anyone pointing out a genuine fault of their countrymen)
Monkey3: Wont say nuthin'
(Monkey3 has a great sense of humour, mostly not related to actual Cricket, and will milk such a scenario otherwise but again, deathly silence)
P.S: The reference is to Gandhi's monkeys. This should not be taken as a literal interpretation that I am calling Aussies monkeys :-). In case, monkey is offensive, I am willing to replace it with Bas**rd as I am told it is a great term of endearment among Aussies.
P.S 2: The references are to general prototypes. No living or dead person is alluded to ;-)
elbowgate: the repercussions...
we all know ponting has taken 'give me my elbow space' to altogether new levels...
no wonder every player in the world is out to congratulate and thank him...for they too at some point or the other in their careers felt the need for some 'personal space'...but did not know how to approach it...
now they know what to do when someone invades their personal space even when on-field and once again it is shri shri ponting 2010 who has shown the way by putting his neck on the line...
but elbowgate has had its repercussions...already...
only yesterday when pakistani wickets were not falling... north was toiling aimlessly, before pak decided to give him the honor role, players wanted to ask ponting during the over breaks to take new ball... but didn't coz they feared invading his personal space...
cricket australia has announced the new seating patterns when they will discuss team selections and ponting will be seated in the tenth row with two rows front and back being left vacant to give him his much needed personal space... in fact talks of having the video conference whenever ponting is needed to discuss cricketing and team matters is also being looked into as a viable and feasible option...
from now onwards... ponting will address pre or post match press conferences alone... as coach... vice captain and team mates have refused to share podium space with him...
last heard... security officers have refused to provide ponting with 'close and tight security' on hearing the news... negotiations are on at ca headquarters as security is a highly sensitive issue these days but security officers are not giving in to the pressure unless ponting's elbows are strapped tightly to his back...
but most importantly... the elbowgate has led to some problems in ponting's marital life (for obvious reasons) but as this blog is about cricket...
Player Profile: Shoaib Malik Mirza
As a fielder, Malik had a safe pair of hands, though he underachieved as a batsman and did not achieve anything as a captain. He did achieve as a politician, and was nicknamed Deemak (Termite) by Afridi. After this comment he returned to the team.When not playing, he eats away at the woodwork.
In addition to not playing for Pakistan, Malik did not play for the Delhi Daredevils. He now spends his time between the Pak dressing room and his wife’s dressing room.
England down
I was on a road trip when the match happened and nearly crashed into another car when I heard the result. We had finally beaten the Poms. Nothing gives me more joy than to see the English be beaten at their own game.
But more than that, this win meant the three match ODI had been tied 1-1 and for the second time, Bangladesh had a chance to win a ODI series (if we exclude West Indies and Zimbabwe).
Huge stuff.
We didn't win of course, and although I secretly wished that we would I knew that it was not happening. Not because the second ODI win was a fluke, but because we lack the temperament to play big matches. Also, those Poms, they are slightly okay at this ODI thingy these days.
But now that we are done with our one night stands with the top level teams, we can think of roping them into relationships. Serious ones, where we dominate. I believe we are steadily making our way there...Mortaza is the new captain (I support it, Shakib was terrible and it was affecting his performance), Junaid Siddique is becoming a serious contender for the number three spot, we just won a match where Tamim was out early and even Crashrafool is being dropped occasionally. Not to mention Jamie Siddons has nearly perfected his suppressed angry face and these days you can only see the veins throbbing furiously. They are also picking up war injuries...well so far only my adopted son Mushfiq is. How can you not be rewarded after that?
Yes, we are done with one night stands. We are far too old for them.
Well...maybe one more with Ireland.
Bored Profile: Eddo Brandes
Why no DKNY?
The Indian selectors have decided to send Wriddhiman Saha as a backup to MS Dhoni for the Sri Lanka test series. One man who should be particularly pissed off is Dinesh Karthik.
The bugger's number seems to be on their Speed Dials whenever they need a replacement. How many times have we read Karthik being called in to either provide cover or to replace a batsman?
The guy has done a reasonably fair job in whatever chances he's got few and far between.
He was asked to open the Innings in test matches, he did it.
Asked to open in ODI's, done.
A test batting average of 27.
The number of tests he's played
2010 : 1 (so far)
2009 : 1
2008 : 2
2007 : 9
ODI batting average of 30. Still pretty handy for a keeper in these times.
Brad Haddin -32, Mark Boucher- 28, Kamran Akmal - 26, Matt Prior - 25, are a few samples you might want to look at.
He may not really be the explosive type that seems to be imperative for keepers these days. But, bat he can.
He isn't even a liability behind the stumps. Okay, i do still remember that backhand flick that he attempted at the stumps and missed while Dilshan was at the other end of the pitch
Saha might be someone for the future, but from whatever was seen in the SA tests at home, he clearly isn't ready for the big stage yet. Why not someone who's been in the set up for some time now?
What really is the motive behind sending Saha instead of Karthik?
what message does the Board wanna give to Karthik?
Do they just expect him to be the replacement guy all the time. Doesn't he deserve a longer run in the team.
He does goof up at times with the simplest of chances or either throws his wicket away when set for a good score. But the least the lad deserves is a decent run.
There really isn't much sense in making him the go to guy in case of an emergency and giving him the thumbs down when it comes to a proper stint.
Like Ali-G would say, KEEP IT REAL, guys.
Bored Profiles: Chris Harris
(Left: Harris in tests, Right: Harris in ODIs)
Harris was not a cricketer, he was a quandary. When he played limited overs cricket, and pulled it off you wondered why he didn’t play more – and when he played some tests, you wondered, why did he even bother. Figures, he played well over 200 one-dayers, and barely 20 tests. Harris was responsible for the phrase “honest cricketer who gives it his all”. He was great off his own bowling, which is why captains were often tempted to make him bowl others’ quota in the death overs. Even though Harris has not played international cricket in years, his bald earnestness will always linger. Today, the Kiwis need more like him. Or Nicolas Cage. Either way, they’re the same person.(drawn on recycled paper)
FIFA World Cup Contest with Bored Peon & Bored Neon (Reminder)
What's Bored Peon saying to Bored Neon saying to Bored Peon?
(check the post below for hints)
(check the post below for hints)
FIFA World Cup Contest with Bored Peon & Bored Neon
What's Bored Peon saying to Bored Neon saying to Bored Neon? Say it, and get your answer in the blurb. More marks for Paul the octopus and cricket in your answer.
Player Profile: Bhajji
Behind the volatile exterior is a simple, straight forward Punjabi lad that plays the game like any kid with a deep love for it. In a world of pre-programmed players, Bhajji had it in him to slap Sree (most players knew it was a longtime coming), airlift Neeta Ambani, be every players best buddy, including Sachin Tendulkar, be every Aussies worst nightmare.
At the height of his cricket stardom, Bhajji realized it was incidental that he was playing cricket. It was far more important to play the people. And even though many were aware of Bhajji’s manipulation, they were taken in by his war-cries, chest beating, sledging, name calling, because behind this was an outspoken innocence that was in contradiction to his Machiavellian ways.
Player Profile: Ashish Nehra
An idea whose time has come again
Cricinfo has ‘em and cwb has ‘em
And if you look at players sideways
They have ‘em
Player Profiles!
We’re gonna have ‘em.
Muralitharan to retire. Muralidaran to stay on.
For long, Murali’s had me flummoxed, and I’ve not even faced him. What’s with the two names, champ? I usually don’t address anybody as champ, chief, big guy, but Murali earns it. More than the bowling, it’s his batting. That was entertainment, paisa vasool. It’s guys like Murali and Walsh, and their batting that made me loathe the super sub rule. They are the originals, genuine nutcases.
And when you’re done with his batting, it’s that disarming smile – why did they not use him against the Tigers? Beyond the wild smiles, his laidback chat – didn’t he always seem a few beers down? What more can you ask in a cricketer, and those eyes – it’s like he was bowling three balls at you.
Come to think of it, the world records, chucking, they just don’t go with him. Murali was always too cool for professional sport; he just seemed like some guy you played with in the neighbourhood park.
He has that likable way, as does Jayasuriya. And even though both could have retired long way back, it’s tough for a team let go of its teddy bears.
Heck, don’t put it beyond them to continue to accommodate Sanath and Murali somehow. Sanath to help politicize cricket, and Murali, well, he could be the T20 batting coach.
But I do think he will make an ace administrator – Australia can do better, push Murali instead of that Howard guy.
Balls to Sehwag
Bedi’s gone and said, what quite a few of us, including SP and me have felt for a long time. Why didn’t we say it before – how could we, we were too busy aimlessly targeting Bhajji, better judgment failed us.
But Bedi is different, in spite of his son’s misdemeanors at the IPL, he still can tell an off-spinner from an off-darter. Here’s what he said –
“I think Sehwag is probably the best offspiner in the Indian team. He has a clean action and also spins the ball”
Point taken, and Bhajji taken along with it. But when does Sehwag bowl – rarely. If it’s not a shoulder injury, it’s his arm that’s hurting. Either that, or MS Dhoni has underbowled him. Better to underbowl Sehwag that overbowl him, next thing you know, he’ll have trouble lifting his bat.
But when Sehwag bowls, he looks like a bowler more in the classical mode. At times I’ve had to adjust the picture tube, because we go all sepia when he comes on. He’s that pretty to watch, and he wears his cap, his hair, anything, that bindaas he is.
There’s that elusively slow, easy run-up from a few paces, like a languid morning stroll, then that charming action, the release, the flight, landing, smart lengths – damn, it’s time for Sehwag to abandon batting, just bowl Jatman.
And then he can be almost as good as Bhajji, the next great bowling all-rounder. Another train of thought, Sehwag in the middle order? But that’s another post.
You can't keep him out of the game.
It's worth dwelling on, who are these players you can't keep out of the game: Shoaib Malik, Akmal & Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohd. Asif. Infidelity to the game is never an issue, you just can't keep these boys out of the game.
And who are the players you can keep out of the game: MoYo and Younis Khan. And of course, David Hussey, who prompted the comment with some fielding, then a run-out, then a wicket. What will happen when he bats? They'll write a book about him titled You can't keep him out of the game.
KhufiaBaaz: I was at Dhoni’s engagement!
Bhajji did a dance number to Howzaat masti remix, and Raina moved to We are the Champions. The couple posed with the IPL trophy; and there was video con with Lalit Modi, who couldn’t make it as he was in South Africa.
That’s it for now, excuse me while I get myself some chhachh. Cheers dears!
(ok, her name is Sakshi Rawat and not Rakhi Sawant)
Any contest doesn't become dirty if politicians are invloved in it
It's not necessary to look at any situation in which politicians are involved as a political battle. As when a group of powerful people contest for key positions in a democratic set up, irrespective of them being politicians or not & the name one assigns to the contest, it always needs garnering support. So there's no question of who stooped more (as politics obsessed Indian media and mindset wants us to believe).
The balance of cricket economics has surely shifted towards the Asian block,owing both to numbers and cricket craziness; so whenever people contest for democratic bodies, the tilt will invariably be towards the block of the Asian cricket playing nations. This has been proved time and again.
John Howard got the pasting, as Pawar has to be the ICC president; and as a consequence John Howard can't take the subordinate's post, as someone who supported Pawar has to get the honour of filling the smaller chair.
So it's not necessary to consume the usual 'the politicians playing dirty tricks on each other' debate all the time. Media, particularly the Indian media knows what Indian psyche likes to hear and see, and that's why it incorporates the 'dirty politics angle' wherever it sees politicians involved.
So the John Howard incident is just a contest where powerful and influential got involved.We better believe it like this. Rest is just for the consumption of masses.
sp chats with cheeka about CHE…
sp: how are you keeping these days cheeka…?
cheeka: Soophar!!! WeHaveWhonAashiaCupWithoutSeniorsNowNobodyCanSayOurYoungstersAreBhaad…
sp: what? what are you saying? we won asia cup without seniors?!!!
cheeka: IKnewYouWouldComeUndherPrepared… Don’tYouKnowWePhlayedAashiaCupWithoutSaachinnShewaagAndYuvraj??
sp: oh! i will let that pass… actually i wanted to talk about pujara…
Cheeka: Whaat!!??? ThenWhyAreYouWaistingMyTimeHere? IfYouWantToTalkAboutPujara…YouShouldGoToTheTempleMyFriend…
sp: that wasn’t funny… it’s about cheteshar pujara who plays for saurashtra and now is captaining indiaA in England…
cheeka: Oh!! YourMishtakeYouShouldHaveSpelledItCorrectly…OkhayWhatIsThereToTalkAboutHim…?
sp: he has been consistently performing at domestic level for quite a few seasons… and now as captain of india A is again performing very well in england too… only yesterday he scored another century at more than run a ball that helped india a win the match… so my natural question is why che is not in team india…? when he will be given his dues..?
cheeka: ButTellMeWhereIsThePlaceInTheSeniorTeam? IfSomeOneGetsInjuredWeHaveAContractWithDhineshKharthikToBeAForeverReplacementPlayer…WeHave’HeavyWeights’LikeYuvi…EvenBadrinathWhoHailsFromMyStateCannotFindAPlaceInTheTeamYouSee…
sp: but badrinath has been given his due chances to fail… why can’t pujara be given the same right which he has earned with marked performances at every level he has played…
cheeka: YouSeemToHaveIgnoredTheMostImportantLevel... IPL… IfYouAreFollowingOurSelectionPolicyDidn’tWeSend'IPL-XI'ForZimbabweTour…? It’sHisFaultIfHeCannotPerformAtIPL… EvenAGood20-30WouldHaveEarnedHimAnIndianCapAndPlaceInTeamIndiaYouSee…
sp: but if IPL is the main selection criteria… what for we have domestic cricket ranji trophy in place for…?
cheeka: DomesticLevelisThereToMakePlayerA‘Finished’Product…
Is that the BCCI crest in the centre?
Is Bharti Kher into cricket? Should the Indian women's team wear bindis? When the men lose, should they wear bangles?
Above: Squaring the circle by Bharti Kher
Bored Art
Bored member Namya was in Delhi on football duties. We had a bored meeting in a chauffeur driven City, picked a painting, packed a pizza and close to two hours in an art gallery. Chances are this will spawn a new series on cricket art.
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