Stop Faking It !

I was just surfing the internet in my hotel room, simultaneously surfing the channels on TV and stumbled upon this program on ABC called "The Bachelor Paris" and as the program moved on, it got me more irritated and restless, which has now prompted me to vent it out in this post. The theme of this program is basically one guy dating (and checking out) 3 hot women in search of true love. Smell something? Well, I saw it. TRP does matter, and how some people just cant fake it on TV. With luxorious hotels and outings, fancy dinners and candles and every now and then one of the sexes proclaiming something from his or her agenda (to find true love), its just so PLASTIC. I really do not understand how all this talking (and thinking), which is supposed to be intimate, private can be thrown at your face, with you having to gulp down most part of it with a smirk. There are personal interviews, questionaire sessions, group expressions all of which seem made up, and trust me when I say that all this actually sells. Everything it seems goes by a certain script which at some points is highly predictable. Anyhow, this guy is getting on my nerves. How can one guy try out 3 hotties at the same time and still get away with one at the end? Stop faking it!

Sehwag Unlimited

I can't help myself not to write down something about Virender Sehwag a.k.a the Sultan of Multan a.k.a the Nawab of Najafgarh. This "jaat" has changed the face of Indian Test cricket so dramatically that now whenever he crosses the 30-40 run mark, Indian faces light up and prepare for a lengthy show of fireworks. I have been following Sehwag's first innings knock against Pakistan (1st test of India's tour at Lahore) and I am short of adjectives to say the least about the manner in which he literally executed each Pakistani bowler.

There has always been a cliche or jinx attached to an Indo-Pak match (test, one-day...even hockey), but Sehwag doesn't get affected by anything. To my understanding his logic is simple and elementary. I am sure the following would be a list of questions he would be asking himself on the day of batting in any test match,

1. Q - Had milk or enough food? A - Yes.
2. Q - All cricketing gear worn? A - Yes.
3. Q - Bat selected? A - Yes.
4. Q - Ball sighting ok? A - Yes, will wait for bowler to bowl.
5. Q - Bowler fast/medium pace? A - Yes. Yippie, hit only 4s.
6. Q - Like the ball being bowled? A - Yes, will square-cut OR No, will anyhow try square-cut or other shot or leave/defend.
7. Q - Bowler spinner? A - Yes, argh...spinners can't bowl to me, hit as many 4s and 6s as possible (I can't possibly suggest what he thinks when he plays spinners).

The basic methodology remains the same. "Make as many runs in as many 4s and 6s possible, without running too much".

Reason/Explaination - Don't want to get too tired or before the bowler refuses to bowl, take advantage and make as many runs. I also may not get to bat later :D

And that is what our understanding used to be when we played cricket as kids.

Like a Samurai...

Indian Cricket is in limelight again. What has taken away the shine and accolades from India's recent test win against the Lankans is not another cricket controversy but a huge blunder on the part of the selection committee. The manner in which Saurav Ganguly, the disposed Indian captain, has been shown the door is reckless, unprofessional and above all disgraceful. I believe, as most people would, that leading a national team in any sport is a moment of honor and pride. No matter how poor a former-leader's past performances have been, he should always deserve a respectful exit. Like Samurai warriors, who are given a choice to end their own lives when defeated in a battle, SG should have been presented with such a option. An option of either standing up again, fighting until a glorious end or a graceful salute on an appropriate exit. SG has a lot of cricket left in him and I am sure he will work hard and fight his way back into the team but the scars of the battle he lost will remain forever etched in his psyche. All the best "Prince of Kolkata".

Fallen Hero Fades Away

Saurav Ganguly (SG) stepped down as captain of Bengal’s Ranji team yesterday after being dethroned as the captain of the Indian Cricket’s test side. This is a sign of change in India’s cricket selectors and their attitude towards picking a team for a series. Not long back, some players were picked not on performance in the past season(s) or matches, but purely on statistics. This created a wave of comfort for senior players (SG, VVS) which they were happy to ride and get into the team even when their previous few performances on the field or at the pitch were well below par. SG is a great player with no second thought, but he had been basking in the glory of past performances for too long and it started showing in his performances. With the nascency of the “short ball” being his weakness, he was an easy target to opposition strategists and bowlers, peppering him with the “rib-ticklers” and eventually celebrating his fall to a poor shot. Sometimes people counted him out in team’s contribution with the bat in matches. He, however, did have time to correct this chunk in his armor, but was unable to probably because this was more of a mental roadblock than a flaw in his technique. I have seen him pull, sometimes hook short balls during his purple patch days with SRT en route to becoming one of the most feared and formidable opening pair in ODIs.

It is time SG and his fans realize that Chappell, with the backup of selectors, is trying to cut out the cancer of past performances affecting players. The move to appoint RD as the test captain is right, not because SG had a bitter spat with RD and GC, but the fact that he has not been performing well (you can’t possibly include SG’s ton against Zim) and cannot be straight away appointed captain of the test side let alone his selection as a player. The dark practices of politics in sports (regional quota, star players) are slowly but steadily being abolished, which is a good sign for Indian cricket, to say the least. The message on the wall is clear “Perform or Perish”.

A quote from Kurt Cobain’s suicide note “It’s better to burn out than to fade away” IMO gives an insight to what should inspire the “Prince of Kolkata” and rekindle the fiery Ganguly of yesteryears.

Ghastly Anonymous

I was going through this post on one of Cricinfo's blogs, referred by this post on India Uncut, and after having read it, I had to pour in my comments. A few linguistic professional writers have been expressing their views on the state of Indian Cricket and stuff via posts on this blog. Most of them are interesting, but this one I believe is a little annoying. The author has compared test cricket and ODIs and thrown light on the fact that the latter is miles ahead in popularity. Also Dravid-Chappell combo's stress towards a better ODI side and building a team for WC2007 has been criticised. There are, however, a few reasons that support D-C endeavour.

1. Until the ODI series with SL, India were placed 7th, only above WI and Bangladesh whilst they were #3 in test rankings. Isn't that strange? Isn't that something that we need to address. I believe Dravid-Chappell mindset is converged on ODIs more than Tests purely because they want to create a balance in how the team performs in both forms of the game. I remember a funny cartoon, where India (represented by a batsman) is standing on a podium, rather ackwardly, with one leg on a much higher platform (#3 in Test rankings) and the other on a lower scale (#7 in ODI rankings), and the man was complaining of "groin strain" (which apparently SG was suffering during that time).
2. ODIs burn players out, they test players more in terms of stamina, agility and fitness than Test matches, which are litmus tests for quality players in terms of technique, perserverance, knowledge of the game and above all, attitude. ODIs these days are won more on paper, in planning and strategizing methods to run over the opposition and let us not forget the importance of winning tosses in ODIs played in the sub-continent is another reason of one team going in with an advantage even before the first ball is bowled. How many players do we think will be able to sustain the seasons prior to the WC? It would be futile not to have enough reserves/bench-strength to replenish and conserve match-winners (SRT, RD, VS, SG and others in their 30s). This is the primary reason the current team management is trying to build a 15+ member squad with enough experience and ability to sustain the wear-n-tear of international cricket leading to the WC. I think we have enough players to fill in test places, to build a formidable test team.

Why are ODIs in the subcontinent miles ahead in popularity than Test matches? Here are a few reasons

1. Geographical Location - We do not have green-tops with overcast conditions prevailing throughout the year, unlike England or fast/bouncy pitches unlike Australia/New Zealand/South Africa. Which means, results in test matches are achieved in a far less number than over here. Failure to generate a result repels crowds, unless we are talking about the cricketing rivalry between India-Pakistan.
2. Historic Facts - England-Australia share the oldest cricketing history and perhaps the best nurtured rivalry since the old times (The Ashes). This competetiveness was generated in test cricket quite sometime back. India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka do not have such rich cricketing history. India-Pakistan matches are not doubt very competetive, but the history behind their rivalry is not related to cricket but is political.
3. Economic stability - Countries playing cricket in the subcontinent are all developing countries (or third-world countries). Australia and England, however, are developed countries. The quality and quantity of resources (financial, advertising, coaching) and facilities are much better. Cricket is not a business-sport over there. Here it is treated as another means of attracting bees to honey and generating horrendous amounts of revenue by exploiting the interest of cricket-lovers.
4. Format - A five day match will never attract more people than a one day match, even if it is the purer form of cricket. One reason being, test cricket is played during the day only. Convert it onto a day-night fixture and you will definitely see an increase in the no of people who turn up. Secondly, ODIs generate results quickly and for most matches, the result is not known until the very end. Test matches on the other hand are predective (not counting "The Ashes" series recently concluded or the past few test matches in the subcontinent). I wouldn't go in and watch a day's play when I know what the final result at the end of the day will most probably be.

Let us not compare test-matches and ODIs coz they are in their own ways two varied yet important forms of cricket.

Simply shocking

An excerpt from this shocking proclamation by PCB chief Shahryar (shut-up-yaar) Khan.

Shahryar Khan, the PCB chairman, says he his hopeful the blasts won't effect the series. "We are in constant talks with the ECB and with our government and hope the Karachi blast does not affect the England tour. When Australia can play despite the London bombings in July and Sri Lanka can play in India despite two blasts in New Delhi earlier this month, then we can have a match in Karachi as well."

Now to me this is ridiculousness at its best or as Geoffrey Boycott would put it "Rooobish". Mr Chairman, perhaps you need to enlighten yourself with the situation here. There HAS been a BOMB BLAST outside the same hotel in Karachi, which in a month's time will be host to cricketers of a country (England) hit by terrorist attacks not many days back. Perhaps, you need to understand (if you can) that citing examples of terrorist threats/attacks in other countries does not dissolve or make the visiting team's worries any easier.

And not ending this post without commenting on your examples would be a sin. If the bomb blasts that ripped London/Delhi were anywhere close to places where visiting teams were staying or playing, I am sure the respective tours would have been either called off or rescheduled.

Remember Karachi WILL host a match, so precaution is better than cure. Instead of rambling about what happened in London/Delhi, try to issue statements in a more diplomatic manner. May the general can give you a couple of bowling tips in that direction.

Stairway to Heaven

"And as we wind on down the road,
Our shadows taller than our souls,
There walks a lady we all know,
Who shines white light and wants to show,
How everything still turns to gold,
And if you listen very hard,
The truth will come to you at last,
When all are one and one is all,
To be a rock and not to roll"

The above is an extract from one of the most popular rock songs EVER... Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. This song has been so popular that someone has actually written everything (history, past, present) about it here. You have to listen it to believe the depth of creativity, verse, music, skill and absolute perfection in vocals, guitar, drums, bass (basically everything :) Another reason I'd have loved to be in my teens during the 70s. To be able to witness the era of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Who, Steppenwolf, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors would have been second to none.

"Yes there are two paths you can go by,
But in the long run,
There's still time to change the road you're on"

Cheers