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Ever since the ICC announced the format for the 2011 Cricket World Cup, I found that a majority of English and Aussie bloggers and newspaper writers and former players have pounced upon BCCI's evil influence to create a format designed to ensure "India is not knocked out in the first round". They are, ofcourse, referring to the 2007 World Cup where India, indeed get knocked out.
Yet, does it protect only India? Does it not equally protect every other major nation? I have been pointing out in vain that the format is designd to protect all major nations,and it is a cynical, belly-burning exercise to keep pointing at India. And how I have been vindicated.
Let's assume we had the 2007 format. Further assume one of the 4 member groups had India, England, Netherlands and Bangladesh, here's how the points table will lool like:
India - 5 Points
Bangladesh - 4
England - 3
Netherlands - 0
In other words, England would already have been knocked out instead of sneaking through to Quarter Finals, as they are bound to now, and then ride their luck to a Cup win or atleast a Semi Final place!
In 2007, it was a freak occurence in the toughest groups - Ireland and Bangladesh being the best minnows, they were best placed to upset and they did. What if Bangladesh had been in South Africa's group in 2007? Bangla did beat SA in 2007, right? What if it had been in the group stage instead of Super-8? Would the same India haters be crying about the format being changed to protect South Africa? Ofcourse, not! That format gave too much leverage to one upset win and deserved to be changed - and this is why:
This is a good England team that can go on to win the World Cup. It would have been a travesty if they had been penalised for their freak loss to Ireland. If it had been the 2007 format, England would have been knocked out already.
I dont find Indian bloggers gleefully knocking England for this yet a whole lot of Foreign media writers and former playerr and bloggers still keep parroting the "format designed to protect India" line. Goes to show who real cricket fans are and who are blinded by hate.
So, who did the 2011 World Cup format protect? India? Answer that, my dear India-hating bloggers and newspaper writers and former players!
EDIT: There's a delicious irony as a corollary to this which I just realised - imagine this, WI beat India and England beat West Indies and Bangla beat Saffers, then India might be out of the Cup depending on runrate - and they would be already through if we had the 2007 format! Talk about the best laid plans of men and mICCe :lol:
Who did the 2011 World Cup Format Protect?
The new IPL Play Off Format - The solution that makes the problem worse!
I think it can make it worse with a scenario where an even bigger injustice can be done. I will edit this later to add my summary on why this is so but here;s the scenario for now
SCENARIO A:
League Stage
MI - 1st - 24 Points
CSK - 2nd - 16 points
RCB - 3rd - 16 Points
KKR - 4th - 16 Points
Say, it is like this:
MI beat CSK in both league games and finish first in the group stages:
Game A - MI vs CSK (1st vs 2nd) - Winner goes to the final. Say MI is the winner .
Game B - RCB vs KKR (3rd vs 4th) - Winner goes to Game C. Say RCB is the winner.
Game C - CSK vs RCB (Game A loser vs Game B winner). Winner goes to the final. Say CSK is the winner .
Final - MI vs CSK.
Suppose CSK wins final
As I said, in this scenario, a team that has outshone all others through the tournament, and also played a one-off crunch game(play off) and beaten an opponent (already crushed by them in 2 league games)in that crunch game.
What are you telling them now? One MORE crunch game.
This is a bit like playing the tournament until your #2 wins a singe game against #1 and calling a stop when that happens, literally. In no way can we tell that #2 had proven themselves in crunch situations better than #1 nor can we say that #2 had a overall good record compared to #1.
This is clearly injustice, far worse than what happens when a #1 team loses a one-off semi finals(one CRUNCH game) after topping the group. Here, #1 won the group convincingly, won a crunch game, and still were told, win one more game. I just don't see it as #2 is better than #1 in any aspect at all, including facing crunch situations.
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Team Bonding is passe! Franchisees are the way to go!
A year ago, the first edition of CLT20 in Cricket concluded. Very conveniently for a section (a large one) of western media, and former cricketers from Australia, England etc, an Aussie team won it and all IPL teams crashed before semis. They went on to mock IPL, and concluded that IPL teams can never match the teams from other countries, who have bonded through the year and fight for each other(!).
Of course, that was cynical but a large section of the western press, former cricketers, bloggers from Aus/Eng/NZ-etc, commenters thereof rejoiced in their theory and generally let out a cry of joy in India's direction. Where are you folks? Just show up now!
Some stats from CLT20
An IPL team was the champion
Half of the finalists were from IPL, the better half at that
50% of the Semi-finalists were from IPL
66% of the IPL teams made it to the semis
The next best was Aussie teams(50%), Saffers(50%).
So, what happened to all that team bonding, and money based franchisees can never beat the sheer love and passion that other league cricketers have for their team LOL
Ian Slipper(Former Cricketer, Australia) and co., please voice your opinion now
And all assorted bloggers who expressed that sentiment last year, speak up now. I have bookmarked a lot of you so I'll publish the links soon of all you wise old men where you cynically, with an agenda, tried to link up unlinked facts and based on your indigestion at IPL's success, tried to use NSW's victory as a prop.
What did you say? Oh yeah I am gloating on the basis of a single triumph by an IPL team. Of course, that is silly. That is the point. That is what you did last year. I laughed at you then. I am laughing now. Yeah, you know who you are. That is why you shouldn't gloat based on a single event. Hope you learnt your lesson.
*And I am not seriously gloating - I am just making a point - so you cannot throw this back at me if a non-IPL team wins next year.
** IPL may be evil. But the point is many of ye who are opposing IPL could possibly be equally evil, just with a different agenda. Simple, plain, obvious fact but needs restating in today's unthinking world.
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 ;-)
Thank You, Lalit! Says Who? ECB, that's who!
Well, why would we thank Lalit when there is Sachin and Captain Cool to thank?There's a reason, you see.England have won the world cup. That's right. You aren't dreaming and I haven't gone insane.How did they do it?This is where you get the inside scoop from Bored - sources close to England management sang to the Bored representative.They won because they followed the IPL model.Yes, thanks Lalit. How? Why, by picking 4 foreign players in the 11, ofcourse. Which was the last team in Cricket that won with 4 foreign players? CSK, ofcourse. Which tournament? Exactly! And who dreamed up the 4 foreign player rule? So you can take Cricket out of Lalit's hands but you can never take Lalit out of Cricket!
The Ashes T20 Final
A year ago, we had proudly predicted an Ashes T20 Final but sadly it wasnt to be.
Never mind, Life always gives a second chance. So, we are on the brink of an ashes T20 final this time, and what's more, England are actually looking competitive.
Very often, when you watch re-runs of tournaments, hindsight provides you clues from the league and semis where the winning team had some magic moments. In 2007, it was the way providence kept saving India, with the Bowl-out win, Yuvraj going ballsitic when it looked like the total will just be competitive, and Rohit Sharma taking India to safety after a top order failure in the Semis. Then, there was Sreesanth with that delivery to Hayden.
So, this time I applied that hindsight in advance, and it seems to me that team that have had that magic this time are Australia. Thrice, their top order failed, and thrice, there was magic with someone or the other putting their hands up and rescuing them. Portents? I think so. I would be extremely surprised if Australia dont make it to the finals, atleast. Considering England's form, it wont be that big a surprise if they beat Australia in the finals. Nevertheless, it is going to be tough for England. They'll be hoping to have Pakistan in the finals. Lightning doesnt strike twice - I dont think Pakistan can repeat last year's feat. So, it is either England or Australia. An Ashes Final.
In retrospect, it is alleged that the 2007 T20 WC was fixed to revive Cricket in Sub-Continent. Should we do the same now if there is an Ashes final? Wouldnt it be a great fillip to England Cricket, if England win the WC now? I suggest let's all start using the same tactic as western media and allege that this was fixed to revive English T20 and LOI cricket :-)
Back and Forth...
Ireland struggling to retain their players, goes the report.
The well-documented case of Morgan being a free man to represent England rather than his country, apart, one hears that Ed Joyce, once the bright future of English Cricket, prior to that of Irish Cricket, now wants to be the future of Irish Cricket again.
Pedanticism about ICC rules apart(and I know a certain gentleman who will bring the "rules" in now), one wonders how certain writers and premier cricket portals will react, if it was India poaching players in a similar fashion. Whines will abound, irrespective of conformity to rules. "It is not Cricket", the cry will go around.
If ICC is committed to the development of associate nations, what is it going to do about this? Clearly, this is not a case of Darren Patinson, whom Australia will not touch with a bargepole, getting into a pathetic English side. This is systematic poaching of a country's best players by its big-brother neighbour, by exploitation of loop holes in rules. Isnt this cynical? Isnt this a complete negation of ICC's pledge to develop cricket in associate nations? On one hand, ICC pumps in funds and programmes to develop Irish Cricket, and on the other, allows emigration of star players to England, systematically? How, pray, will an Irish school boy get the inspiration to aspire for representing Ireland in Cricket?
Of course, India has enough troubles pruning its selection to 15 players without leaving out equally deserving candidates so ICC is unlikely to run into a bitter situation where lesser countries like India exploit this rule. But, be sure of one thing - if and when that happens, there will be whining in certain countries, most of all, England, about India's big-brother poaching tendencies and how bad BCCI is for World Cricket, and how it is crushing Cricket in a neighbouring country.
In that context, one wonders if Pakistan should take in Afghanistan as an additional domestic team now, and ensure that the best among their current players are qualified and groomed for the 2015 world cup - to play for Pakistan. That will ensure that this rule is altered, and qualifying for another country made more stringent.Because an ICC rule is good only until it exclusively favours England, you know
Generating Funds - Pee Cee Bee Style
It's a crisis in the Pee Cee Bee. No, not the team losing. That happens often enough. There is the bigger crisis. Not enough money to siphon.
There's a general body meeting - urgent summons is issued to key functionaries. They collect at the poolside of the chairman's house
We, fortunately, have our own fly on the wall, and here's the scoop
(Two men in hoods enter a fortified home, and are escorted to the poolside. Found reclining in the poolside, is Zarda Beedi, the patron.)
Zarda Beedi: So, Mr Ijaazat, where's the monthly hafta
Ijaazat: Sir, thats what we came to discuss sir. Er....Underling, pls explain.
Underling of Ijaazat: The fact of the matter, is, sarcaar..err..we havent brought the hafta
Zarda beedi stands up in anger: What? What did I make you functionaries for
Ijaazat: Sir, you have to understand. We dont get matches to host these days. No revenue generated
Zarda Beedi: What happened to the tour money? Your boys went to Australia, didn they?
Underling: Sir, we lost a lot of money flowing in and out players at their whim, sir.
ZB: What happened to the Dubai matches? Surely, you got some money from there
I: No, Sir. Old dues.
ZB:(exasperated) is there no one in our cricket who makes money? Oh Come on!
Underling(brigthening up): Yes, sir. There are.
I: Eh?
ZB: Thats a good boy. Who?
U: The Players, sir
I: What?
ZB: What?
U: I mean, some of them got IPL contracts, Contracts with Australian states, ICL contracts etc
ZB: Thats really bright, my boy, really bright
I: (alarmed, he shouldnt let the underling hog credit, desparately tries to find a way to impress the cheif)
ZB: So, which of you can think of a way to extract that money from the players to our siphon.
I:(Thinks on his feet, and is on before the underling could move his lips)
Sir, I have a plan sir. Why dont we constitute a committee to inquire into our Australian tour and find scapegoats? We can fine the players, and take away part of their hard-earned cash from other sources
ZB: Brilliant, Ijaazat. You have repaid my trust. When can I expect my cut?
FAIT ACCOMPLI
The chairman of selectors was in a fix. "yeh bandha Dhoni", he was thinking, is “too chatur”. I give Badri in the squad, and he doesn’t play him. I give him Mishra, and he has the chutzpah to drop him after a good performance. And I cannot do anything about it because he is the country's darling.
Howsoever I manage to pack the squad with my guys, they seem to not get a chance. How do I get over this? Thinking, Thinking.
One day, just as he saw Rahul Dravid lay blinking on the hospital bed, our chairman got it in a flash. Eureka he came out shouting, thankfully fully clothed.
Next day, MSD sees the squad - and he knows his goose is cooked.
For, look at the squad and resolve this:
MSD wants to play 6 batsmen? You've got no choice but to pick Badri, dude. Take that!
Ok, you want to try to avoid that by going for 5 bowlers? You've got to pick Mishra dude!('cos you cannot obviously justify picking a newbie over Mishra when he has done well in the most recent test! Or, can you? One never knows, MSD might still pull a surprise)
Now, c'mon, MSD, show us who you hate more - Mishraji or Badri thambi(aNNan to you!) :-)
by Raj
Much ado about Bond
For about a year and a half, I kept hearing comments from folks around the Sheep-Belt(New Zealand, they call it) and their brethren from certain other countries about how the evil IPL and Lalit Modi were keeping their lode star, a certain Shane Bond, away from Test Cricket. Time and again, we’d have articles from Toms, Dicks and Harrys (never found a more apt use of this phrase, I must confess!) which ran a variation of “Monster India conspiring to keep NZ from becoming #1 test nation a.k.a preventing Shane Bond from playing test cricket”.
So, what happens now? The man’s given a reprieve, and the opportunity to play Test Cricket until the sheep come home. What does he do? Promptly goes ahead and retires from Test Cricket.
So?
Show your faces, my dear Cricket-savers from Oz, Eng and NZ. Come and argue that it was the greed of Modi, not Bond, that was the cause for him not being able to play Test Cricket. I’d love to see your tails between your legs, which is where they should be, now.
by Raj
England's best hope.
As Indian bloggers(and commenters like yours truly) went rabid on Aussie blogs, annoying the sh*t out of the latter by use of the word ‘karma’, quietly, the tough b**tards went to work. The unlikely duo of Pup and Mr.Spirit-of-Cricket(jr)* a.k.a. Brad Haddin quietly hauled Oz back into the game. As things stand, Australia stand on the verge of breaking the door open for a famous victory
So, one mulls, what’s England’s best hope? Is it that so-called great bowler, and greatest all rounder(since Botham, screw it, greatest ever) Freddie Flintoff? But then, he already has taken 2 wickets, and that’s pretty much his quota for an innings in general.
Is it going to be Swann? One hardly thinks so, Pup is the best player of spin in this team, and Haddin knows enough to block and beat Swann.
Would it be Onions or Anderson then? Well, surely Anderson got 80% of his haul for the series in the 1st innings? And Onions? Ha!Ha! Woe betide the world where Onionses hack off Australia?
That leaves Stuart Broad and Paul Collingwood, both bits-and-pieces all rounders, and it is a telling comment that Strauss would be better off trusting the latter than the former.
Who then can save England?
One thinks, thinks, and thinks….and then it strikes one…Eureka!
Why, it is Rudi of course? England’s only hope today.
What a riot that would be – 3 South Africans in English garb screwing Australia? Sounds delicious.
by Raj
Axemen Inc - The inaguration
…because the cricket’d be a poor game with artists alone
…because it is not about the methods, stupid; it’s the results
…because someone’s got to eke out the ugly runs
…heck, because they can’t score runs in any other way
…they axe, they grind, they dig, they plough
…they are the axemen, yeah
…they are the axemen; they are the axemen
…one lied of a dead grandma to skip a match
…the other lied (down in rest) to skip a test tour
…they pick; they choose
…they are soulmates, our axemen
…it’s an exclusive club, rarer than the hall of fame
…so rare only two men make it to the club today.
...or are they just one?
Morton Singh Dhoni. Founder Member. Axemen Inc. (copyright BCC!)
by Raj
El Worthy - The worthy one?
Noticed that Steve is being praised across blogs, and it is almost as if they are all calling him El Worthy in the context of organizing the tournament. This is a classic case of hindsight determining evaluation.
Notice how many times we had a schedule like this:
3 matches in a day. 2 on the same ground. These are consecutive. The third one starts in a different ground. Now, suppose the rain delays the first match, then it eats into the second match on the same ground. Now, consider an alternate schedule: Match 1 in ground 1 first, immediately followed by Match 2 in ground 2, then Match 3 in ground 1.
Suppose rain affects only Ground 1, then you have a decent chance of the first match being rained out not affecting the other matches.
Just because the planets aligned for this situation not to happen, Elworthy has become El Worthy.
Hindsight is valuable, indeed.
by Raj
Mr. 47.82%
International T20 Strike Rate of Explosive Batsman & Captain of India before the WC game vs WI = 105.27
Strike Rate of Mr. 3 Litres-Dhoodh-per-day in yesterday's match:47.82%
by Raj
It's all in the team, mate
Zheer & Harbhajan: We wish you batted like this for Mumbai Indians
Bravo: I wish there were bowlers like you in IPL to face!
by Raj
The Ashes T20 Final
2007. Two proud cricketing nations, steeped in historical rivalry on and off the field, crash out of a prestigious World Cup. Heads roll. Tears are shed. More importantly, the suits face a drop in popularity of the game, and thence, a drop in TRP’s, and hence, drop in revenues. Out comes a T20 WC; the cash cow, hitherto not conscious of its potential, and snobbishly behind the ODI milch cow, realizes that this is the chance to restore the status of the game in its most profitable territory. Things happen. And it’s , miraculously, the final that would have exactly suited the ICC and its member boards – the very final that will resuscitate the game where it needs it most.
2009. Two proud (well, at least one of them; the other is more arrogant than proud) nations, stepped in historical rivalry on the field, face the prospect of crashing out of a World Cup, which is not so prestigious yet, or at least the two nations pretend so, maybe because they haven’t won it yet, but nevertheless, is clearly the future of the game. Both lose their first games. Articles abound laughing out loud at them. Newspapers talk about the potential drop in television ratings . Hosts crashing out in 2 days? The proud but falling champions of World Cricket crashing out in the first round? Miraculously, then, the first of these pound a volatile but a strong Pakistani side, which, one suspects, is capable of much better. Would Australia shrug off their defeat to WI and bounce back today?
Will there be an Ashes T20 final, thus conveniently generating hype for the upcoming Ashes series in host land, and also ensuring that the T20 WC is taken seriously by the snobbish Old Blighty? Will Ricky Ponting finally admit that T20 is a game of skills after all? ( I mean after/if his team wins it). After all, grapes that you can actually eat aren’t sour, are they?
by Raj
How to defend 145
Well, Dhoni, dear boy, yesterday you saw a captain with an even thinner bowling lineup than yours – they have only 2 bowlers, the rest are what KP would call pie chuckers – motivating and rallying his troops to a famous win defending 143, less than even your 146. Harmeet Singh before today had given away 192 runs, and shown no sign of any chances of bowling a decent over. But Adam kept his faith, and even after a 10 run over, gave him a plan, and helped him overcome his nerves, and the result – the result was 4-0-23-2 for the young tyro. Is there a lesson to be learnt there, Em Yes doni saar? How about less public moaning on your bowling? How about spending effort on your rookie bowlers to give them confidence? How about using your so-called street smartness to evolve plans on the field and communicate them to your bowlers?
How about taking responsibility for screwing your side with your 28(30) where you couldn’t even whip up a whiff of an attacking shot – and you tried hard, didn’t you MS? Where have your big shots gone? Are you finished as a big hitter? Did that cost your team? Thought along those lines, fella?
by Raj
Raj moment of the Finals
by Raj
Tale of two spinners
One Spinner moaned “I am being forced to bowl in the power plays with the field up”.
The other one – he doesn’t talk, his bowling does – simply took up cudgels against the most destructive batsman of the tournament in the FIRST over, and what’s more bowled him fair and square.
Who do you wish had retired and stopped playing for India?
by Raj
